Chapter 308: Unrepentant at Death

Upon hearing his words, Liu Chan and his group instantly erupted in an uproar.

Even Chen Xuan felt a surge of anger shoot straight to his head. Seeing his smug expression and imagining Zheng Dan, under the drug's effects, charmingly yielding to him, Chen Xuan felt like he was about to explode.

The group cursed furiously, but this time Chen Xuan was at the very front. He thought to himself that he must tear this scoundrel into a million pieces to sate the hatred in his heart.

Seeing them pursue him menacingly, Zu An thought, "The art of eloquent cursing truly is effective."

Noticing that Chen Xuan's speed was fifty percent faster than before, evidently having held back earlier, he dared not delay any longer. He activated the Sunflower Phantasm and ran towards the cave with all his might.

Chasing all the way to the cave entrance, his face flushed, Chen Xuan felt a warning sign in his heart. After all, years of dealing with various dangers had honed his extraordinary perceptive abilities. His instincts told him not to pursue further; doing so would likely be dangerous.

But another voice incessantly echoed in his ears: "You've let him escape so many times. Are you going to let him escape again this time? Are you not going to avenge your brothers? Are you giving up on Zheng Dan?"

Noticing Chen Xuan had stopped near the cave entrance, and worried he wouldn't be lured in, Zu An simply launched another round of provocative words: "I thought you were so impressive with all your usual boasting. Turns out you're just a coward." As he spoke, he walked further into the cave.

Such a clumsy provocation, normally, wouldn't have caused the slightest emotional ripple in Chen Xuan. But now, as it fell upon his ears, every word felt like a direct assault on his spirit. He even automatically translated it into something else: as if Zheng Dan was his wife, and someone was inside 'playing' with his wife, while he could only stand helplessly guarding the entrance...

He didn't know why he suddenly had such a thought, but Zheng Dan was indeed as good as his. Now that the cooked duck had flown away, he naturally directed all his rage towards Zu An.

"I'll kill you!"

Chen Xuan could bear it no longer. With a furious roar, he charged straight in.

Zu An, meanwhile, had already found a hiding spot in a secluded rock crevice in the passage. The dim light inside, coupled with his use of the 'Bright Mirror, Not a Platform' technique to conceal his aura, meant that Chen Xuan, in his furious rage, didn't notice him at all. Instead, he charged straight into the cave. At that moment, he had only one thought: to rescue his woman from the cave and, at the same time, tear Zu An into a million pieces.

As soon as he charged in, an earth-shattering roar erupted from within. Chen Xuan let out a scream, flung out as if he were a cannonball. Immediately after, the massive body of the red dragon also burst out.

"Despicable humans, how dare you repeatedly disturb my peaceful cultivation! You are seeking death!" The red dragon hovered in mid-air, its tens of meters long body exerting an innate dominance over the tiny human figures.

Seeing the colossal figure before him, Chen Xuan's heart turned cold. He finally understood Zu An's scheme: Zu An must have deliberately lured him here, intending to use the dragon to eliminate him. The moment this realization struck him, his hatred for Zu An intensified. That bastard was truly too sinister and vicious! He absolutely had to kill him today, otherwise he would surely become a major future threat. He himself found it strange; facing a mighty dragon, he actually had the presence of mind to think about killing Zu An. Clearly, the top priority should have been how to preserve his own life.

The dragon's lantern-like red eyes scrutinized him, noting the golden light emanating from his body: "So you are a Metal-element cultivator. No wonder you survived one of my attacks unscathed."

Chen Xuan inwardly cursed his luck. At this moment, his qi and blood were already in turmoil, and he had sustained considerable injuries. He hurriedly said, "Great King, I merely pursued an enemy to this point, with absolutely no intention of disturbing you. I will leave immediately; I hope Your Majesty does not mind." At the same time, he pondered setting up an ambush a little further away, to wait for Zu An to emerge. Without killing him, his mind would never be at peace.

The dragon gave a cold snort. "My whereabouts cannot be known by humans, so you must die." With a twist of its body, its long tail, carrying terrifying destructive power, swept towards him.

Chen Xuan's expression drastically changed. He frantically tried to dodge, but though the dragon's body was massive, its movements were surprisingly agile. Coupled with its enormous size, the distance it covered with even a slight movement would take a human a long time to run. Despite Chen Xuan's best efforts to evade, he was still grazed by its tail. He rolled several times, breaking a few trees, and immediately felt the entire side of his body that had been hit go numb. This time, the force unleashed by the dragon was far greater than it had been in the cave, clearly indicating its murderous intent.

"Boss, what's going on... Oh my God!" Liu Chan and the others, whose cultivation levels were not as high as Chen Xuan's, had fallen behind. Hearing the commotion, they excitedly rushed over, thinking Chen Xuan was torturing Zu An, only to see their boss being brutalized.

Seeing the red dragon's massive body, the entire group was chilled to the bone. Dragons were legendary creatures; they never imagined they would encounter one here. Without the slightest hesitation, the group took to their heels and ran. As for their 'boss,' they'd just let him stay behind and help delay the dragon. Anyway, it was better without him; then the Giant Whale Gang would be theirs to command. Maybe they could even take the opportunity to conquer Black Wind Stronghold.

The red dragon turned its head to look at them, but didn't give chase. Instead, it opened its maw and a stream of flame shot forth. Liu Chan and the others were instantly enveloped by the tongues of flame. They desperately rolled around, trying to extinguish the fire on their bodies. But no matter how they swatted or rolled on the ground, the flames showed no signs of extinguishing. Agonized wails erupted from the flames. Barely a few seconds later, the entire group was reduced to charcoal, turning into countless specks of dust with a single gust of wind.

Chen Xuan was terrified. He turned and ran, having abandoned any thought of a desperate struggle. He knew that the Metal element was naturally countered by the Fire element. His 'Indestructible Vajra Body,' which he had painstakingly cultivated, might withstand a few rounds against physical attacks, but against fire, it meant certain death. Seeing his rapid escape, the red dragon directly gave chase.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, Zu An heard the bursts of screams from outside and thought, "You deserve your bad luck."

He rushed to Zheng Dan's side, noticed she was bound by something like a white cloud, and quickly tore it away.

"Ah Zu~" Zheng Dan's body was burning hot, and her eyes were glazed over. Vaguely seeing Zu An, she couldn't help but feel both surprised and delighted. "Am I not dreaming?"

"No, I'm taking you out now." Zu An dared not delay for a moment. He picked her up and was about to leave.

At that moment, Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind: "Take that bead; it is extremely unusual."

Zu An replied, "Alright!" He leaped into mid-air and plucked the bead into his hand. He felt a warm sensation emanate from his palm. He didn't have time to examine the bead's purpose, so he simply tucked it into his bosom and ran out, carrying Zheng Dan.

Just then, an earth-shattering roar echoed from outside, followed by a gust of wind and an oppressive aura sweeping towards him. As Zu An exited the cave, he saw the red dragon had already returned, blocking his path squarely.

"Despicable human, you deliberately had your companion lure me away, only to then steal my Glazed Treasure Pearl!" the red dragon angrily declared.

At this moment, Chen Xuan felt an immense surge of profanity internally. "Who the hell is his companion?" he thought. "I'm the one who got terribly screwed over!"

Anger value from Chen Xuan +1024!

Receiving this string of anger value from the system backend made Zu An pause. "Could Chen Xuan still be hiding nearby?" He looked around for a long time but couldn't see a single soul, nor did he know where that guy was hiding. Just as he felt a pang of regret, a weak voice suddenly echoed from mid-air: "You bastard, I'm right here..."

Anger value from Chen Xuan +999!

Zu An looked up, and his face immediately became a sight to behold. The usually arrogant Chen Xuan was now utterly drained of color, for he was impaled by the red dragon's massive claw. Pei Mianman had previously mentioned to him that during a battle with Chen Xuan on the river, he was invulnerable and extremely difficult to deal with. Yet his invulnerable body was easily pierced through the back by one of the red dragon's claws, which then emerged from his chest. Blood dripped continuously down the dragon's claw. No wonder his face was completely devoid of color; it had all drained from his chest.

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "Stronghold Master Chen, weren't you quite formidable just now? How did you end up in such a sorry state?"

Chen Xuan: "..." He hadn't expected that even in his miserable state, this guy would still be gloating.

Originally on his last breath, his anger surged, causing him to straighten his body as if in a final flicker of life. "You damn little bastard," he cursed, "even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go!" His sudden movement caused the dragon's claw to twist in his chest cavity, and he nearly fainted from the pain.

All of this was Zu An's fault!

Anger value from Chen Xuan +999+999+999...

Zu An chuckled. "From the first time we met, all you ever did was spout threats. Now that you're about to die, you're still just spouting threats. How pathetic."

Chen Xuan: "..."

Anger value from Chen Xuan +1024!

He struggled desperately, thinking that even if he died, he would take a piece of this guy's flesh with him. But the red dragon became displeased. Feeling him writhe, it directly pressed its claw to the ground, and his body was instantly crushed like a shattered watermelon.

Thus, a powerful figure of his generation met his end.

Zheng Dan was so frightened that she buried her face in his chest. Although she had killed her fair share of people during her time as the leader of the Giant Whale Gang, she had never witnessed such a gruesome sight. What's more, the victim was an underworld overlord as notorious as she was. For a moment, she couldn't help but feel a pang of 'when the rabbit dies, the fox mourns.' After all, in her eyes, they had no chance of victory against this terrifying red dragon. Chen Xuan had merely passed away a step earlier than her.

At that moment, the red dragon's enormous eyes fixed intently on Zu An. "So it was you. You actually didn't die just now."

Zu An smiled faintly. "If you're still alive, how dare I die first?"

Anger value from the Red Dragon +1024!

"Seeking death!" the red dragon roared in fury, a scorching flame spraying directly towards him.