Chapter 501: Heavenly Fire Meteor

Pei Mianman quickly supported him. "A'Zu, don't be fooled by him. Even with the previous group from the Demonic Cult, it's impossible for her to be injured like this. Zhu Xiechixin and his people must have arrived, which is why she's in such a state. With those people from the capital, how could Chu Yan be in trouble?"

Zu An finally collected himself. He had witnessed Chu Yan use forbidden life techniques in the secret realm. At Rank 5, she could fight against a Rank 9 devourer Kun. Now that she was Rank 7, if it truly came down to life or death, even Mosquito Daoist might not be able to easily kill her after she employed a forbidden technique.

However, he hadn't sensed any aura of a forbidden technique being used from that direction at all. This proved that Chu Yan hadn't been forced into a desperate situation.

With this thought, he completely relaxed. He glared at Mosquito Daoist and cursed, "Dead mosquito, I can't believe you're such a liar. You scared your dad to death!"

Mosquito Daoist flew into a rage. "You brat, what did you say!"

She had dominated the world for so many years; when had she ever been insulted like this by a junior? Her rage soared, registering 999 points!

As she was about to step forward and teach him a profound lesson, a bizarre, crimson bird seemed to appear before her eyes. The strange bird fluttered in front of her, then opened its pointed beak, emitting a peculiar sound wave.

Mosquito Daoist shrieked and quickly covered her ears, but the sound couldn't be blocked at all. Being a master of sonic martial arts herself, she immediately understood that this was not an ordinary sound wave but an attack targeting the soul. She quickly focused her mind, channeling her vital energy to defend herself.

On the other side, seeing her agonizing reaction, Pei Mianman seemed eager to act. Zu An quickly pulled her and ran. "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and run while we have the chance!"

His Azure Teal skill primarily targeted the spiritual plane. It was remarkably effective in countering others' spiritual attacks, but its effectiveness as an offensive ability was questionable. After all, the cultivation gap between him and Mosquito Daoist was simply too vast. Although Mosquito Daoist had been caught off guard, the Azure Teal could at most delay her for a short while; it couldn't inflict significant substantial damage. As for trying to get close and kill her using this opportunity, that was wishful thinking. While her spiritual plane was deeply affected, she wasn't out of control. If faced with his attack, she would naturally retaliate.

If the gap between them hadn't been so large, he might have risked it. But with a chasm-like difference in cultivation, taking such a risk was meaningless. So he immediately pulled Pei Mianman and ran deeper into the mountain forest.

Seeing the direction they were fleeing, Mosquito Daoist roared furiously, "I will kill you both!" She wanted to pursue them, but her head throbbed violently, forcing her to kneel and clutch her head tightly. However, she wasn't overly worried. She was certain the opponent's skill had a time limit, and once its effect wore off, she could immediately resume her pursuit. Both of them were wounded, and the scent of their blood would linger in the air. No matter where they fled, they couldn't escape her grasp.

Zu An, fleeing on the other side, was clearly aware of this problem. Mosquito Daoist had managed to track them down multiple times. It was evident that even if they escaped again, this outcome would be hard to avoid. Both of them were heavily wounded, with many bloodstains on their bodies and clothes. Even if their wounds healed completely now, and they showered and changed clothes, the scent of blood probably wouldn't be entirely eliminated. After all, having often watched "Animal World" in his previous life, he had heard that a single drop of blood diluted a thousand times could still be detected by sharks several kilometers away. Therefore, the sense of smell of these demon races couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

"Where do we run now?" Pei Mianman asked, her voice filled with worry.

Zu An thought for a moment. "Let's go back and rendezvous with that Zhu Xiechixin you mentioned. Mosquito Daoist suffered so many injuries earlier, most likely caused by him. If that's the case, it should be safe to go to his side."

"But that's only temporary safety. We'd still be dead once we return to the capital," Pei Mianman said, looking at him skeptically. "Are you really not trying to see Chu Yan?"

Zu An was speechless. "At a time like this, and your imagination is still so vivid? Of course that's not the reason. Didn't I explain it to you before?"

"Alright then," Pei Mianman said, still half-believing, half-doubting. "But the way back is blocked by Mosquito Daoist. If we go straight back, we might run right into her."

"That's why I'm heading in this direction," Zu An replied. "We'll take a big detour back."

The two reached an agreement and continued to traverse the mountain forest. After a while, a faint buzzing sound subtly emerged in the air again.

"Mosquito Daoist is catching up again," Pei Mianman said with a worried expression. Every time Mosquito Daoist was about to appear, that sound preceded her. She figured it was her sending out her disciples and grand-disciples, the Blood-Winged Black Mosquitoes, for reconnaissance in all directions.

"That creature is truly relentless!" Zu An gritted his teeth in frustration, thinking, if only he had a can of insecticide or an electric fly swatter, he'd exterminate her. Unfortunately, these were mere thoughts. Even if he had those items from his past life, they certainly wouldn't work on this mosquito spirit.

Just then, the surroundings suddenly brightened. Zu An was startled. "Is it already dawn?" The timing felt wrong. Was time passing particularly fast because they were being hunted?

"It's not dawn, it's that!" Pei Mianman exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

Zu An looked up and saw what appeared to be a meteor in the sky. However, unlike typical fleeting meteors, this one grew increasingly brighter and larger, descending closer and closer to the ground. Pei Mianman instinctively clutched Zu An's arm tightly, her voice trembling slightly. "A celestial anomaly! This is an inauspicious sign. Do you think we're really going to die here today?"

Zu An found it somewhat amusing. He hadn't expected her, usually so vibrant and uninhibited, to have such a timid side. He patted her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's just a meteorite, a normal astronomical phenomenon." Thanks to the advanced smartphone cameras and self-media in his previous life, he had witnessed many instances of meteorites falling, such as the large one in Russia years ago, and another in Qinghai, China...

As he spoke, the already bright meteorite suddenly emitted a dazzling white light. It had been bright before, but at that moment, it was like a miniature sun. Though it was the middle of the night, for that instant, it felt like broad daylight, and even distant objects were clearly visible. This temporary daylight lasted for about half a minute. Immediately afterward, the dazzling white light quickly faded. The bright meteorite seemed to disintegrate, turning into dozens of dark red flames that shot off in various directions.

The sky plunged into darkness once more, and silence fell upon the surroundings.

Zu An's eyes lit up. "A celestial anomaly always signals a rare treasure! Let's go take a look."

Pei Mianman, however, was somewhat worried. "We're being hunted down right now, our lives are in peril, and you're still in the mood to search for some rare treasure?"

Zu An chuckled. "You don't understand. Even if we try to escape back now, Mosquito Daoist will surely catch up to us very soon, and we won't have time to meet up with Zhu Xiechixin and his group. But that massive commotion from the meteorite falling from the sky earlier must have been seen by many people within dozens of miles, and Zhu Xiechixin's group will be no exception." He continued, "No one would be unmoved by a rare treasure falling from the sky; they'll definitely come to investigate. And their speed is certainly much faster than ours. That way, it'll be safer than us trying to find them ourselves."

Pei Mianman looked at him in surprise. She had thought he was just greedy, but she hadn't realized he had considered everything so thoroughly.

Zu An smiled shyly. "Don't stare at me like that. Studies show that if you stare at someone for thirty seconds, you'll inevitably fall in love with them."

"Love you, my foot!" Pei Mianman playfully cursed, lightly hitting him with her fist. "How come I've never seen you act like this in front of Chu Yan?"

Zu An's eyes widened. "Are you implying you want me to be more intimate with you in front of Chu Yan?"

"Pah! Dream on," Pei Mianman spat, then flustered, ran forward.

Zu An chuckled and followed suit. The two followed the direction where they remembered the largest meteorite had fallen. After a while, they arrived at a massive crater, dozens of yards in diameter, with the surrounding land scorched black and residual flames flickering on the nearby grass.