Chapter 493: One Hair-Trigger Away from Explosion

The scene immediately fell silent. The Demonic Cult members, who had initially been arrogant, now had only terror in their eyes.

The swarm of black mosquitoes re-formed into Mosquito Daoist. She stood proudly, a horsetail whisk in one hand, the other behind her back. "Now that you know who I am," she declared, "why haven't you retreated quickly?"

Clearly, after their brief exchange, she had determined that these people were not weak. Although she didn't fear them, it would take a considerable effort to deal with them. Her primary goal this time was Zu An's 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra', and of course, now she also wanted that beautiful woman's Changxin Palace Lamp.

Seeing the Eight Great Wanderers, who had been so imposing just moments before, now cowering like quails, Zu An quickly asked the beauty in his arms, "What's going on? Is this person famous?"

Although he had known her name was Mosquito Daoist from the start, he had never heard of her before.

Qiu Honglei's face flushed slightly. "Please put me down first," she said, "how long do you plan to hold me?"

Only then did Zu An realize, and he chuckled awkwardly. "I saw you were badly injured," he said, "and thought you hadn't recovered yet." As he spoke, he lowered her. He hadn't noticed it during their brush with death, but now he felt the astonishing resilience of her delicate body and the intoxicating fragrance emanating from her.

Even after letting her go, he could still feel the lingering warmth and softness of her skin on his fingertips.

"I've mostly recovered," Qiu Honglei said, a little unnaturally, as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Perhaps due to the firelight from a nearby room, a touch of crimson appeared on her exquisite face, making her look even more alluring. "Thank you for saving me just now," she added.

Zu An looked disappointed. "Just a verbal 'thank you'?" he scoffed. "That's not sincere at all. Shouldn't a life-saving grace be repaid with oneself?"

"Hmph, you rogue!" Qiu Honglei was clearly used to his manner of speaking and didn't get angry. She took the opportunity to explain, "Mosquito Daoist is a top expert of the Blood Clan. She specializes in draining people's vital blood. Back then, countless experts from various clans met their end at her hands. I never expected her to appear here."

"Blood Clan?" Zu An recalled the knowledge Shang Liuyu had explained to him back at the academy. He simply couldn't imagine that this seemingly ordinary human in front of him was actually a mosquito transformed.

In his previous life, he had hated mosquitoes the most. He never expected that mosquitoes in this world could become spirits.

Golden Wanderer said in a deep voice, "Our Holy Cult and your Blood Clan have always kept to ourselves. Why do you seek to kill our people?"

Mosquito Daoist covered her mouth with her hand, shaking with laughter. "What a joke!" she scoffed. "I roam the world as I please, killing whoever I wish. Do I need to explain myself to you? If you know what's good for you, get out of my way, or I don't mind draining a few more people."

Hearing her words, the Wanderers instinctively took a step back. They were clearly quite wary of her fearsome reputation. In fact, having just witnessed her instantly injure Fire Wanderer, shatter Water Wanderer's elemental shield with two palms, and effortlessly neutralize the attacks of the others, it was already clear that her cultivation was at least at the Grandmaster level or higher. After learning her identity and recalling the various rumors about her, they became even more apprehensive.

At this point, Qiu Honglei spoke. "Ultimately, you're here for the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra', aren't you?" she said. "Unfortunately, this item is something our Cult Master is determined to acquire, so we cannot let you have it." She deliberately highlighted the stakes involved, reminding those Wanderers who were losing their will to fight that there was no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

The Wanderers were startled. Only then did they realize that the Cult Master had issued a death order this time. If Zu An were lost, it would be one thing if they were simply outmatched, but if they surrendered without a fight out of fear of death, they would likely face the cult's tortures.

At this point, Qiu Honglei continued, "Besides, you may not be truly invincible. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been chased for so many years, forced to hide and live in the shadows."

Zu An secretly admired her. She truly was the top courtesan of Immortal's Abode for many years. This ability to subtly stir emotions and inspire confidence in her teammates was almost... as good as his own!

Mosquito Daoist, standing nearby, flew into a rage. "You sharp-tongued, stinking brat, acting like a vixen!" she snarled. "I've disliked you for a long time! Prepare to die!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than she lunged at Qiu Honglei.

The other Wanderers were already on guard. Wind Wanderer merely fanned his fan, and a gust of wind pulled Qiu Honglei and Zu An to the side. Several tornadoes then appeared in their place, coiling around Mosquito Daoist.

Mosquito Daoist's eyes narrowed. She swept her horsetail whisk to the side a few times, forcibly destroying the tornadoes. However, her attack momentum was ultimately slowed down.

At this moment, Thunder Wanderer yelled and swung a massive hammer at her. The hammer was wreathed in lightning, and even from a distance, one could feel the immense power it contained.

The attack was fierce, and Mosquito Daoist dared not meet it head-on. With a flick of her wrist, her horsetail whisk wrapped directly around the hammer's handle, then, with a soft pull, diverted it to the side.

Thunder Wanderer felt a strange force transmit through the hammer. He could no longer control its direction, and he swung the large iron hammer, smashing it into a nearby inn.

With a deafening crash, dust and debris flew everywhere. Nearly half of the inn's rooms collapsed, and some sparks of lightning still flickered in the ruins. Zu An even saw a few chickens fly out of the kitchen during the chaos. Unfortunately, they were instantly fried into roast chickens by the violent lightning.

He swallowed hard. "She's truly a female berserker," he thought. Her destructive power was incredible; his only regret was that she didn't hit Mosquito Daoist.

At this moment, Mosquito Daoist continued her charge, but a tall, burly figure blocked her path.

"Seeking death!"

Mosquito Daoist let out a sinister grin. For a moment, her mouth seemed to stretch almost to her ears. Her horsetail whisk grew immensely in the wind, striking out like countless steel needles towards her opponent. The strands of her horsetail whisk were transformed from the mouthparts she had refined over the years. They could be both rigid and soft, and also had the ability to suck blood. If they pricked an opponent's body, not to mention a human man, even an elephant would have all its vital blood drained by the whisk within a few breaths. Unfortunately, nearly a third of them had just been burned by that fellow Zu An's oil lamp in the room. The thought made her heart ache, as refining each mouthpart was no easy feat.

Rage from Mosquito Daoist +731!

"Watch out!" Zu An quickly warned Earth Wanderer, thinking, 'Mosquito Daoist truly hates me to the core. Even when fighting others, she doesn't forget to contribute rage points to me. If I fall into her hands, I'd probably rather die.'

Earth Wanderer let out a shout, and a giant, human-sized shield suddenly appeared in front of him, forcibly blocking the countless steel-needle-like whisk strands.

Mosquito Daoist had initially dismissed the shield he pulled out. After all, her horsetail whisk could split stones and crack monuments, and cutting through metal and jade was no difficult task. What could such a mere shield possibly withstand?

However, her eyes soon widened in surprise because her whisk strands couldn't penetrate the shield!

"An earth elemental practitioner?" She quickly realized that the opponent's shield was extraordinary. It also possessed the power of Earth's Protection, making it indeed extremely difficult to breach from the front.

Her reaction was swift. With a flick of her hand, the whisk strands bypassed the shield directly, attacking her opponent from the sides, above, and all other directions.

Earth Wanderer was well-prepared. He pressed his hand to the ground, and the earth suddenly rose as massive figures crawled out from the ground.

"Gargoyles?" Zu An's eyes nearly popped out. These creatures emerging from the ground resembled gargoyles from his previous life's films and television shows. However, there was something different about them, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. He could only vaguely sense that these gargoyles didn't have that eerie ghostly aura.

The stone gargoyles stood around Earth Wanderer, blocking the whisk strands for him.

Mosquito Daoist let out a soft laugh. With a flick of her wrist, she made a flourish with her whisk. The dense whisk strands instantly sliced into the stone gargoyles' bodies, tearing them to pieces.

However, the smile on her face quickly froze. The stone gargoyles, despite being cut apart, seemed completely unaffected; their wounds quickly healed. Then they charged at her from all directions.