Chapter 498: The Battle of Asura

Hearing her words, Zu An scratched his head, gave an awkward smile, and mumbled, "It's really dangerous here for me, you know."

Qiu Honglei, who was rushing towards him, stopped when she saw this. After confirming Zu An was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt quite awkward remembering Pei Mianman's words.

However, she reacted quickly, letting out a charming laugh. "Ah Zu, is this young lady your wife, Miss Chu?"

Zu An was speechless.

Pei Mianman was furious. The other woman was clearly trying to provoke her, sarcastically implying she wasn't Zu An's wife and had no right to be jealous here.

"I'm Chu Chuyan's good friend, what's wrong with helping her keep an eye on her husband?" As soon as Pei Mianman said this, she regretted it. They were already divorced, why was she bringing up Chu Chuyan? Why was she feeling so guilty?

"Oh," Qiu Honglei deliberately drew out the sound. "Helping a friend watch her husband, huh? Or perhaps you've fallen for your friend's husband?"

Zu An was speechless.

Pei Mianman was speechless.

At that moment, the Mosquito Daoist, who was nearby, angrily declared, "I have no time to listen to your petty squabbles!"

She flashed forward, rushing towards Qiu Honglei. The light from the lamp had been tormenting her, so she decided to deal with Qiu Honglei first. Judging by their reactions, Zu An wouldn't abandon such a beautiful woman to escape alone.

Qiu Honglei dared not be careless and immediately used all her skills to counter the attack. However, she was quickly in dire peril. If the Mosquito Daoist hadn't been somewhat wary of the Changxin Palace Lantern in her hand, Qiu Honglei might have died on the spot.

Zu An, seeing this, was alarmed and quickly swung his sword to help. "Big Manman, we can sort out any grievances later. Let's deal with this buzzing dead mosquito first!"

Dead mosquito?

Upon hearing that name, the Mosquito Daoist was utterly enraged.

"You brat, I'll make you regret ever having such a mouth!"

Rage from the Mosquito Daoist +888!

Hearing the words "Mosquito Daoist," Pei Mianman was startled. She had previously witnessed Sang Qian's gruesome death, which Zhuxie Chixin had analyzed as the work of the Blood Clan. He had even listed several possible culprits, and the Mosquito Daoist was among them.

Given that she was here now, who else could be the killer?

She quickly warned, "Be careful, she drains people's vital essence, turning them into mummified corpses!"

Zu An was surprised, thinking, *Big Manman is truly knowledgeable; she even knows this?*

The Mosquito Daoist let out a chilling laugh. "Don't worry, I'll drain you all dry later!"

Especially looking at Pei Mianman's ample chest, she couldn't help but swallow, thinking, *Once I drain you, let's see how 'big' you still are!*

Seeing Zu An and Qiu Honglei increasingly in peril, Pei Mianman dared not be careless. Black flames erupted around her as she rushed forward to assist.

Sensing the strangeness of the black flames, the Mosquito Daoist quickly put away her whisk. Every strand on this whisk was refined from her shed mouthparts, painstakingly acquired. Yet, half of it had already been burned tonight. She dared not use it again, lest it be burned further by the strange black flames. Even if she killed the three of them, it wouldn't compensate for the loss.

Even without using her weapon, her cultivation was still far superior to the three of them.

Pei Mianman's arm went numb just from being brushed by her palm wind, and she was horrified. *How can this Mosquito Daoist be so strong?*

Zu An noticed her reaction and, worried she might be at a disadvantage, quickly warned, "Be careful, this person is at least a Grandmaster, and her methods are extremely vicious."

Before Pei Mianman could reply, the Mosquito Daoist giggled. "Little brother, you really know your big sister, don't you? Come let big sister give you some loving care."

Though she was smiling, she was incredibly frustrated. With her cultivation, dealing with three sixth-rank cultivators should have been effortless, let alone these three whose average level wasn't even sixth-rank.

But the three of them were truly odd. Zu An's ghostly footwork and his strange ability to grow stronger the longer he fought entangled her. Qiu Honglei's Changxin Palace Lantern delayed her movements, and the strange black flames on the large-chested woman were vastly different from ordinary fire. If she wasn't careful, she could be scorched by them, experiencing a pain that felt like it harmed the soul.

Their combined efforts temporarily left her somewhat constrained.

Hearing her laughter, the others felt a chill. She had just been threatening Zu An, and now she was teasing him with charming words; her mood was truly unpredictable.

However, sensing the opponent's attacks growing fiercer, the three dared not be distracted.

Even so, Qiu Honglei suddenly groaned as the Mosquito Daoist's attack grazed her shoulder. The Mosquito Daoist's sharp, gleaming claws immediately lashed out towards her head, intending to seize the opportunity to take her life.

Just then, an arm wreathed in black flames swept across, blocking in front of Qiu Honglei and buying a crucial second.

Zu An took the opportunity to pull Qiu Honglei behind him, evading the Mosquito Daoist's follow-up attack.

"Thank you!" Qiu Honglei, still shaken, wasn't speaking to Zu An but looked gratefully at Pei Mianman.

Pei Mianman grunted. She had no energy to reply; the Mosquito Daoist's relentless onslaught left her no room for distraction.

The Mosquito Daoist grew increasingly furious that she couldn't subdue these three juniors. She let out a piercing roar, then summoned a swarm of densely packed blood-winged black mosquitos that lunged towards the group.

All three were startled. While the mosquitos hesitated to approach Pei Mianman due to the protective black flames around her, the other two quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the black mosquitos.

Qiu Honglei fared slightly better; holding the Changxin Palace Lantern, she could slow the mosquitos' movements, allowing her to barely evade them. However, she was powerless to assist anyone else.

Zu An, however, was in a dire situation. He incessantly swung his longsword and occasionally swatted with his hand, but the mosquitos were extremely cunning, always finding an opening to bite him.

He felt an intermittent tingling and itching sensation from the bites, realizing these mosquitos were venomous. But without any area-of-effect skills, he couldn't deal with them quickly.

Seeing this, Pei Mianman quickly sent a wisp of black flame to protect him. Witnessing the blazing fire, the sky full of blood-winged black mosquitos hastily retreated, and Zu An's predicament eased slightly.

However, this momentary distraction allowed the Mosquito Daoist to find an opening, directly striking Pei Mianman's chest with a palm.

Pei Mianman screamed, spitting blood as she was flung aside.

"So soft!" The lingering sensation from that brief touch remained on her hand. The Mosquito Daoist frowned. This woman's chest was too large; with such a massive buffer, her previous strike might not have been fatal.

So she quickly moved forward to finish her off.

Zu An ignored the mosquito bites and rushed to rescue her, but the Mosquito Daoist flicked his sword with a finger. The immense force nearly made him lose his grip on the longsword, and blood welled up in the web of his hand.

Without the Changxin Palace Lantern weakening her, the Mosquito Daoist finally displayed her terrifying cultivation.

Having no other choice, Zu An threw himself onto Pei Mianman, using his body as her shield.

The Mosquito Daoist instantly saw through his intention and roared in anger, "Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?!"

Without hesitation, her hand thrust directly towards his back.

This strike was enough to pierce through his body and then tear out Pei Mianman's heart.

Pei Mianman would certainly die, but Zu An might not. Firstly, it wasn't a vital point for him, and secondly, his terrifying regenerative ability had left a deep impression on her.

Feeling the terrifying killing intent, Zu An gave a bitter laugh. "It seems we're destined to be a pair of ill-fated lovers today."

Pei Mianman stared at him, her gaze incredibly gentle. With him standing selflessly in front of her, even willing to die to save her, death no longer seemed so frightening.

Just then, the surrounding air plummeted, and faint snowflakes could be seen falling. Many of the blood-winged black mosquitos that had been flying around were instantly frozen into ice sculptures and fell to the ground.

Zu An was momentarily stunned. "Snow in June? Is Heaven unwilling for us to become ill-fated lovers?"

Pei Mianman's face suddenly flushed crimson. "Ill-fated lovers, my foot! Don't you recognize your wife's Snowflake Divine Sword?"

At that moment, a streak of cold light shot in from the side, like lightning, piercing towards the Mosquito Daoist's vital point.