Chapter 476: Exotic Fragrance

Pei Mianman and the other women couldn't even stand still, let alone try to help. The overwhelming pressure forced them to retreat, leaving them to watch Zuan with apprehension.

Sang Qian, too, hastily shielded her father and brother, retreating a considerable distance. She then looked back at the scene, wondering, "Can that man still perform miracles?"

Zuan was not faring well at all; he was directly facing the dragon's onslaught, with most of the immense pressure concentrated solely on him. Any other Fifth-Rank cultivator, or even a Sixth-Rank one in his position, would likely have been pinned down by the formidable pressure, unable to move.

However, Zuan's body, having been tempered twice by the Primordial Chaos Sutra, combined with his will forged through multiple encounters with powerful cultivators at the brink of life and death, allowed him to barely withstand the pressure.

He immediately used the Sunflower Phantasm, creating three illusory figures that dodged with incredibly subtle footwork. While they evaded the dragon's furious lunge, two of the figures were still shredded by the massive dragon claws, and even his main body was almost hit, the sharp talons missing him by mere inches.

Zuan's expression darkened. While his Sunflower Phantasm was an excellent evasive skill, the dragon was simply too enormous. Any significant distance he covered to dodge would be instantly negated by a sweep of the dragon's paw, which covered a vast area, rendering his evasion pointless.

He had initially thought that given its immense size, the dragon would lack agility. His plan was to maneuver around to its sides or back, then seize an opportunity to use the "Certain Death Dagger" to finish it off, making it follow the fate of its red dragon kin. However, he quickly realized his mistake. While the dragon's body might seem somewhat inflexible, that was only in comparison to cultivators of its own rank! With such a vast disparity in their cultivation levels, he couldn't exploit this perceived weakness. To him, the dragon moved as smoothly as an eel, utterly devoid of clumsiness.

Finally, Zuan failed to dodge in time and was struck by the enormous dragon tail. The impact felt like being hit by a speeding train, sending excruciating pain through his body as he was flung backward, a tragic crimson streak of blood arcing through the air.

"Ah Zu!" Seeing him fall at such terrifying speed, knowing a ground impact would surely shatter his bones, Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan cast aside all caution, rushing forward together to catch him.

However, the immense impact still made both women tremble, and they simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood. Clearly, even the aftershock from a master-level cultivator was more than they could withstand.

Ao Quan sneered, "I didn't expect a despicable fellow like you to have such devoted confidantes. Then die together!" With that, he slammed a paw down toward their location.

"Watch out!" Sang Qian cried out from afar. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to see Zuan die there—was it the camaraderie from fighting side-by-side, or perhaps the warmth of his smile when he had held her?

Seeing his sister worry about that man, Sang Qian snorted, clearly displeased. Sang Hong, meanwhile, glanced at his daughter with surprise, thinking, *If only I had known, taking my daughter to Moonlit City back then would have brought this all to a perfect conclusion. Alas, nothing can be redone, alas...*

Seeing the massive dragon claw descending like Mount Tai, Zuan urgently reached out, pushing the two women dozens of feet away. Then, using the recoil, he instantly summoned Da Feng and teleported in the opposite direction.

With a thunderous crash, the spot where they had just stood was shattered into fragments, leaving only a deep, horrifying imprint of a claw.

Ao Quan, missing his strike, did not pursue Zuan. Instead, he sneered, "Do you think I'll still chase you? From what I just saw, these two women care deeply for you, and you seem to be risking your life to save them. In that case, I'll make you watch them die. You brought this upon them!" Having said that, he shifted his body and lunged directly towards the two women.

Pei Mianman gasped in alarm, quickly grabbing Zheng Dan and desperately trying to evade. Alas, even with Zuan's Sunflower Phantasm movement technique combined with Da Feng's teleportation, he could barely dodge the dragon's attacks. How could they possibly escape? They could already distinctly feel the chilling presence of its massive teeth and the foul stench from its mouth.

"What a pity," he mused. "Back in my day, I would certainly have kept two such beautiful women to amuse myself. But now, I'm no longer in the mood. All of you, die!" With that, he opened his mouth wide and lunged to bite the two women, musing how the tender flesh and blood of such young girls must be exquisitely delicious.

"Ah!" Sang Qian gasped, turning away, unable to watch.

Sang Qian was filled with regret. He never expected his fiancée, and that incredibly beautiful woman, to die first. "Damn it, it's all Zuan's fault!"

Rage from Sang Qian +452!

Zuan, witnessing this scene from the other side, was beside himself with fury and despair. Unfortunately, the cultivation gap between them was too vast; he had no time to save them. Could he only stand by and watch them perish? No, absolutely not!

In that instant, his mind raced, reviewing all his skills, searching for any possible way to save them. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted, "You old mud eel! If you're old and impotent, just admit it! Don't try to make it sound so refined!"

"What?!" Although he knew the man was trying to provoke him, Ao Quan felt a surge of rage shoot straight to his head. He no longer cared about anything else; his only thought was to instantly kill that obnoxious fellow. He abandoned his attack on Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan, swung his dragon tail, and lunged directly at Zuan.

Zuan, worried that Pei Mianman and the others might be caught in the crossfire again, simply summoned Da Feng and ran deeper into the mountains. As he ran, he looked back and provoked, "What, did I hit a nerve, making you furious with shame? Serves you right for disrespecting your elders first!"

Indeed, to save the two women from imminent death, he had used his "Foul Mouth" skill, completely drawing Ao Quan's hatred onto himself. Now, it was truly a fight to the death between them. If possible, he wouldn't have wanted to use such a method, but he couldn't just stand by and watch the two women die in front of him. So, he had to take this gamble.

"I'll kill you!" Ao Quan's dragon eyes were bloodshot. His only thought now was to flay this guy alive, making him suffer a prolonged, tortured death, even forgetting about the Nirvana Sutra on him.

Seeing that he had successfully drawn the taunt, Zuan dared not delay further. He quickly summoned Da Feng and desperately fled. But even with his teleportation, the dragon, with its hundred-zhang body, would catch up quickly with just a flick of its tail.

"Empress Sister, Empress Sister?" Zuan repeatedly called out to Mi Li, but unfortunately, there was no response from beginning to end. This woman is truly unreliable! Zuan complained endlessly; she was never around when he was in danger. Of course, he knew that this reliance on her was unhealthy, and she had warned him about it. But in a desperate situation, he couldn't help but think of her.

After several fruitless calls, Zuan finally gave up, also abandoning his escape. Da Feng couldn't be summoned again for a while, so he had no choice but to fight with his back against the wall.

"Why aren't you running anymore? Can't move?" Ao Quan sneered, lunging directly at him.

Zuan dodged while drawing his Taia Sword, stabbing at the dragon. They exchanged blows for over a dozen rounds until, finally, Zuan was a fraction too slow and was hit by the dragon's claw. Excruciating pain shot through his hand, making him unable to grip the Taia Sword, which flew off and embedded itself deep into a nearby tree.

"A good sword, indeed. It will be mine after I kill you." Ao Quan directly pressed a claw down on Zuan's chest, intending to crush him to pieces.

"The gap is still too vast," Zuan thought, his face flickering between despair and determination. "Against absolute power, no amount of strategy is useful." He desperately tried to think of a way out.

Just then, a flash of purple appeared beside him. A beautiful figure, in the instant the dragon claw descended, embraced Zuan and pulled him aside. Catching the familiar, sweet, and exotic fragrance from the beautiful woman, Zuan was both startled and overjoyed. "It's you?"