Chapter 473: Exotic Fragrance

Pei Mianman and the other women couldn't even stand still, let alone go forward to help. The immense pressure pushing against them forced them to retreat, leaving them to watch Zu An with apprehension.

Sang Qian also quickly shielded her father and brother, retreating a great distance before looking back at the scene. "Can that man still perform miracles?" she wondered.

Zu An was also struggling at this moment. He was directly facing the dragon's assault, and most of its immense pressure was directed solely at him. Any other fifth-rank cultivator, or even a sixth-rank one, in his position would likely have been crushed by the powerful pressure, unable to move.

Zu An's physical body had been tempered twice by the Primordial Chaos Sutra. Furthermore, his will had been honed through numerous encounters with super-powerful adversaries, facing life and death situations, allowing him to barely withstand the current onslaught.

He immediately activated Sunflower Phantoms, creating three illusory figures. They each dodged with incredibly subtle movements. Although they evaded the dragon's furious pounce, two of the figures were still torn apart by its massive claws, and even his main body was almost hit, the sharp claws missing him by mere inches.

Zu An's expression immediately turned grim. While his Sunflower Phantoms were a superb evasion technique, the dragon was simply too enormous. He might dodge across a significant distance, but the dragon's single swipe could cover a vast area, rendering his evasions meaningless.

He had initially thought that given the dragon's immense size, it would lack agility. He planned to maneuver around its back or sides to evade, then seize an opportunity to strike with the "Death Dagger," ensuring it met the same fate as its red dragon kin. However, he quickly realized his mistake. While the dragon might appear somewhat inflexible due to its size, that was only true when compared to experts of its own caliber. With such a vast disparity in their cultivation levels, he couldn't exploit that weakness at all. In his eyes, the opponent moved as nimbly as a loach, showing no clumsiness whatsoever.

Eventually, Zu An couldn't dodge in time and was struck by the thick dragon tail. The impact felt like being hit by a speeding train, sending excruciating pain throughout his body. He was sent flying backward, a crimson streak of blood arcing beautifully yet tragically through the air.

"A'Zu!"

Seeing his terrifying descent, knowing that a fall would likely shatter every bone in his body, Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan rushed forward simultaneously, disregarding all else, to catch him. However, the immense force still made both women tremble, and they simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood. Evidently, even the residual force of a Grandmaster-level expert's attack was beyond their capacity to withstand.

Ao Quan sneered, "I didn't expect a shameful fellow like you to have such devoted confidantes. Then you can all die together!" With that, he slammed a massive claw towards their location.

"Watch out!" Sang Qian cried out from afar. For some reason, she didn't want to see Zu An die there, whether it was due to the camaraderie they had just shared in battle or the warm smile he had given her when he held her.

Seeing his sister worry about that guy, Sang Qian snorted, clearly displeased. Sang Hong glanced at his daughter with surprise, thinking, "If only I had known, taking my daughter to Moonlit City back then would have been perfect by now. Alas, everything cannot be undone, what a pity..."

Seeing the enormous dragon claw descend like Mount Tai, Zu An quickly pushed the two women, sending them dozens of yards away. Then, using the recoil, he instantly summoned the Great Wind and teleported in the opposite direction.

*Boom!*

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

Ao Quan missed his strike but didn't pursue Zu An. Instead, he sneered, "Do you think I'd still chase you? From what I just saw, these two women are devoted to you, and you seemed to fight desperately to save them. In that case, I'll let you watch them die with your own eyes. You're the one who caused their demise!"

After saying that, he shifted his body and lunged directly towards the two women.

Pei Mianman was terrified. She quickly grabbed Zheng Dan and frantically tried to evade. Unfortunately, even with Zu An's Sunflower Phantoms movement technique combined with the Great Wind's teleportation, he could barely evade the dragon's attacks. How could they possibly escape? They could already distinctly feel the chilling giant teeth and smell the foul odor from the dragon's mouth.

"What a shame," Ao Quan mused. "Back in my day, I definitely would have kept such beautiful women to amuse myself with. But now, I'm not in the mood. Just die, both of you!" With that, he opened his mouth and bit towards the two women, musing that the flesh and blood of such tender maidens would surely be exquisite to taste.

"Ah~"

Sang Qian cried out and turned her head, unable to bear watching.

Sang Qian was filled with regret, realizing that his fiancée, along with that stunning beauty, would be the first to die. "Damn it, it's all Zu An's fault!" he cursed.

Rage points from Sang Qian +452!

On the other side, Zu An watched the scene with eyes wide in disbelief and fury. Unfortunately, the disparity in their cultivation levels was too great, and he had no time to save them. Was he truly doomed to watch them perish? No, absolutely not!

In that instant, his mind raced, considering all his skills, searching for any possible way to save them. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he quickly roared, "You old loach, if you're too old and impotent, just admit it! Don't try to sugarcoat it so elegantly!"

"What?" Although Ao Quan knew the other party was trying to provoke him, a surge of rage still rushed directly to his head. He no longer cared about anything else; his only thought was to immediately kill that annoying fellow. He abandoned his attack on Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan. With a flick of his dragon tail, he lunged directly towards Zu An.

Worried that Pei Mianman and the others might be caught in the crossfire again, Zu An simply summoned the Great Wind and fled deep into the mountains, looking back as he ran to taunt, "What's wrong? Are you enraged because I hit a nerve? Serves you right for disrespecting your elders first!"

Indeed, to save the two women who were on the brink of death, he had used his "Verbal Provocation" skill, completely drawing Ao Quan's hatred onto himself. Now, there was no turning back; it was a battle to the death. If he had a choice, he wouldn't use such a method, but he couldn't 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 glowed red. His sole thought now was to flay this guy alive and torture him to death, even forgetting about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra on him.

Seeing that he had successfully drawn the taunt, Zu An dared not delay. He frantically summoned the Great Wind and desperately fled. But even as he teleported, the dragon, with its hundred-foot body, would quickly catch up with just a slight flick of its tail.

"Empress Sister, Empress Sister?" Zu An repeatedly called out to Mi Li, but there was no response whatsoever. This woman is truly unreliable! Zu An couldn't help but complain; she was never around when he was in danger. Of course, he knew that this reliant mindset was unhealthy, and she had warned him about it. Yet, in moments of despair, he couldn't help but think of her.

After several fruitless calls, Zu An finally gave up, and with that, he abandoned his escape. He couldn't summon the Great Wind 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.

Zu An dodged while pulling out the Tai'a Sword and thrusting it at the dragon. They exchanged blows for more than a dozen rounds until, finally, Zu An's movement was a fraction too slow. A claw struck him, sending excruciating pain through his hand. He could no longer grip the Tai'a Sword, and it flew off to the side, embedding itself deep into a tree.

"A fine sword indeed. It will be mine once I kill you." Ao Quan brought a claw down directly onto Zu An's chest, intending to crush him to dust.

"The gap is still too vast," Zu An thought, his expression flickering with uncertainty. "Against absolute power, no amount of strategy is useful." He frantically racked his brain for a way out.

Just then, a flash of purple appeared beside him. A beautiful figure instantly embraced Zu An, pulling him aside just as the dragon's claw descended.

Smelling the familiar, sweet, and exotic fragrance of the woman, Zu An was both surprised and delighted. "Is that you?"