Chapter 490: About to Explode

The scene immediately quieted down. The members of the Demonic Cult, who had initially been arrogant, now had eyes filled with terror.

The dense swarm of mosquitoes transformed back into Mosquito Daoist. She stood proudly, a whisk in one hand and the other behind her back. "Since you know who I am, why haven't you retreated?" she declared.

Evidently, the recent skirmish had shown her that these people were not weak. While she didn't fear them, dealing with them would require considerable effort. Her primary objective this time was Zi An's *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*, and now, of course, the beautiful woman's Changxin Palace Lantern had been added to her list.

Witnessing the previously formidable Eight Grandmasters now resembling quails, Zi An quickly asked the beauty in his arms, "What's going on? Is this person very 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. "You can put me down now. How long do you plan to hold me?"

Zi An then realized, giving an embarrassed chuckle. "I saw you were quite injured and thought you hadn't recovered yet."

He said this while gently putting her down. In the recent life-and-death situation, he hadn't noticed, but now he felt the astonishing resilience of her delicate body and the captivating fragrance emanating from her.

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

"I've mostly recovered," Qiu Honglei said, somewhat awkwardly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Perhaps due to the firelight from the nearby room, a touch of crimson bloomed on her exquisite face, making her appear even more alluring. "Thank you for saving me just now."

Zi An's face showed disappointment. "Just a verbal thank you? That's not sincere at all. Shouldn't a life-saving grace be repaid with marriage?"

"Pah, you rogue!" Qiu Honglei, clearly accustomed to his style of speaking, didn't get angry. Instead, she helped explain, "Mosquito Daoist is a top-tier expert from the Blood Clan. She specializes in draining people's essence and blood. Countless powerhouses from various clans met their end at her hands back then. I can't believe she's here."

"Blood Clan?" Zi An recalled the knowledge Shang Liuyu had imparted to him at the academy. He found it hard to imagine that this living person before him was actually a mosquito.

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

Grandmaster Jin said in a deep voice, "Our Sacred Cult and your Blood Clan have always kept to ourselves, not interfering with each other. Why are you killing our people?"

Mosquito Daoist covered her mouth, laughing so hard her body swayed. "Ridiculous! I roam the world freely, killing whoever I please. Do I need to explain myself to you? If you're sensible, step aside quickly, or I won't mind draining a few more people."

Upon hearing her words, the grandmasters instinctively took a step back, clearly wary of her notorious reputation.

In fact, after witnessing her instantly injure Grandmaster Huo, shatter Grandmaster Shui's elemental shield with two palms, and effortlessly deflect 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, their apprehension grew even stronger.

At this point, Qiu Honglei spoke up, "Ultimately, you're here for the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*, aren't you? Unfortunately, that item is something our Cult Master is determined to acquire, so it's impossible for us to hand it over to you."

She deliberately highlighted the high stakes, reminding the wavering grandmasters that there was no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

The grandmasters' hearts jolted. They suddenly realized that the Cult Master had given a death order this time. If Zi An were lost, it would be one thing if they were simply outmatched, but if they surrendered without a fight due to fear of death, they would likely face the cruel tortures of the cult.

Then Qiu Honglei added, "Furthermore, you might not be invincible. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been hunted and forced to hide in the shadows for so many years."

Zi An listened with secret admiration. As expected of a courtesan who had spent many years at the Immortal Abode, her ability to subtly stir emotions and ignite confidence in her teammates was almost... as good as his!

Mosquito Daoist, standing nearby, flew into a rage. "You sharp-tongued, impudent girl! Looking like a vixen! I've long disliked you. Prepare to die!"

No sooner had she spoken than she charged towards Qiu Honglei.

The other grandmasters were already on guard. Grandmaster Feng merely waved his fan, and a field of wind pulled Qiu Honglei and Zi An to the side. Several tornadoes then appeared in their place, ensnaring Mosquito Daoist.

Mosquito Daoist's eyes narrowed. She swept her whisk sideways a few times, forcefully disrupting the tornadoes, but her attacking momentum was still slowed down slightly.

At this moment, Grandmaster Lei, yelling, swung a gigantic hammer at her. Lightning crackled around the hammer, and even from a distance, one could feel the immense power it contained.

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

Grandmaster Lei felt a strange force and could no longer control his direction. Wielding the large iron hammer, he smashed it towards the nearby inn.

With a thunderous crash, dust billowed everywhere. Nearly half of the inn's rooms collapsed, and remnants of electricity continued to flicker in the ruins.

Zi An even saw a few chickens from the kitchen flying out amidst the chaos, only to be instantly roasted by the violent lightning.

He swallowed hard. What a destructive woman she was! Her power was truly immense. The only pity was that she hadn't hit Mosquito Daoist.

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

"You're seeking death!"

Mosquito Daoist let out a sinister chuckle, her mouth seemingly splitting open to her ears for a moment. Her whisk, expanding wildly in the wind, shot out like countless steel needles towards her opponent.

The threads on the whisk were transformed from her refined proboscises accumulated over the years. They could be both rigid and flexible, and also possessed the ability to drain blood. If they pierced an opponent's body, not to mention a human man, even an elephant would have its essence and blood completely drained by the whisk in a matter of breaths.

Unfortunately, nearly a third of them had been burned by Zi An's oil lamp back in the room. Thinking of this made her heart ache; refining each proboscis was no easy feat.

Rage value from Mosquito Daoist +731!

"Watch out!" Zi An quickly warned Grandmaster Tu, thinking, "Mosquito Daoist truly hates me to the core. Even when fighting others, she doesn't forget to contribute rage points to me. Falling into her hands would probably be worse than death."

Grandmaster Tu roared, and suddenly a gigantic, man-sized shield appeared before him, forcefully blocking the countless steel-needle-like whisk threads.

Mosquito Daoist had initially dismissed the shield, knowing her whisk could split stone tablets and cut through gold and jade with ease. What could such a mere shield possibly withstand?

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

"An earth element cultivator?" She quickly realized that the opponent's shield was extraordinary and imbued with the power of Earth's protection, making it indeed incredibly difficult to breach from the front.

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

Grandmaster Tu was prepared. He pressed his hand to the ground, and the earth suddenly rose, as gigantic figures crawled out from beneath the surface.

"Stone golems?" Zi An's eyes nearly popped out. These creatures emerging from the ground resembled the gargoyles from his previous life's films and TV shows, yet they were subtly different. He couldn't pinpoint the exact difference, only vaguely sensing that these stone golems lacked an eerie ghostly aura.

The stone golems stood around Grandmaster Tu, blocking the whisk threads for him.

Mosquito Daoist chuckled softly. With a flick of her wrist, she made a flourish, and the dense whisk threads instantly sliced into the stone golems' bodies, tearing them into pieces.

However, the smile on her face quickly froze. The stone golems, though severed, seemed completely unaffected. Their wounds rapidly healed, and then they charged at her from all directions.