Chapter 1276: Unexpected
After using all of his strength, Qiao Heng could no longer hold on. His legs buckled, and he collapsed onto his knees.
Princess Suolun and Changning felt despair when they saw that. They were from the fiend races, so they knew about the Elf race’s ultimate move. That was why their expectations had been proportionally great. Still, they had known that considering the power the black-haired monster had shown, it would probably be hard for them to kill it. Even so, it should have been injured at least a little bit, right?
In the end, however, the monster had stopped the arrow single-handedly, and only a bit of its fur had burned… Could that even count as an injury?
Qiao Heng’s eyes were full of despair. He looked at Zu An with a bitter smile and said, “Brother, I wanted that to be a heroic final act, but who would’ve thought that I wouldn’t even be capable of that...”
Zu An patted his shoulder and replied, “You’ve worked hard. Just leave the rest to me.”
Qiao Heng’s gaze was listless. It was clear that the fact that the Elf race’s ultimate Emerald Immortal Tear couldn"t even penetrate the enemy’s skin had dealt too great of a psychological blow for him to handle. Faced with such a gap of absolute strength, he didn’t think that Zu An could change anything.
Princess Suolun’s expression was extremely conflicted when she looked at Zu An. The others were all in despair, and yet, why was this man still able to remain so calm and composed? She thought, Some people were born for greatness after all. The fact that I was able to see this kind of hero before I died is already a blessing from the heavens.
Meanwhile, Princess Changning instead shrank backwards. She secretly glanced at the Three Three Flower at the center of the pool. From the looks of it, it was going to blossom soon and probably didn’t need many more people’s blood essence. She thought, As long as I die after them, I’ll be able to escape this disaster!
Zu An stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels and rushed forth. At that moment, the survivors on the stone platform were wounded and weak. If the battle’s fluctuations reached the, he wasn’t confident in his ability to protect all of them.
The black-haired monster was clearly a bit surprised that there was someone who would take the initiative to face it. However, it gave the Wind Fire Wheels underneath Zu An a look. Compared to the person, it seemed a bit more interested in them. As such, it reached out and tried to grab the Wind Fire Wheels.
As soon as the monster raised its hand, Zu An felt as if the Wind Fire Wheels were about to break free from his control and fly toward it. He quickly flew toward the Three Three Flower to divert its attention.
In such a situation where flight was restricted, if he didn’t have the Wind Fire Wheels, he would have no footing left. How was he supposed to even fight then?
Sure enough, the monster panicked when it saw Zu An move closer to the Three Three Flower. It didn’t bother with the Wind Fire Wheels and instead grabbed toward Zu An’s shoulder.
The survivors were incredibly nervous. They could feel the power of the monster’s world-shrouding claw even from far away. Previously, all of the other younger generation fiend race cultivators had all lost their lives precisely due to that claw.
Zu An didn’t panic like Duan Tiande or Ma Huang, instead remaining extremely calm. He didn’t seem as if he were facing a life or death crisis at all. He also raised his palm.
When she saw that, Princess Suolun almost cried out in alarm. This monster has grandmaster rank cultivation; isn’t facing it head-on simply courting death?
In her opinion, the smartest choice would have been to use that strange movement skill of his to evade, as his instantaneous movement was comparable to the dark elves’ shadow jumping technique.
However, she quickly understood what was going on. If he backs off, then that monster’s attention might shift to us… Her beautiful eyes became moist when she thought of that.
Bang!
There was no great explosion the way the survivors had imagined, nor was Zu An blown back while vomiting blood. He only staggered a bit, and that seemingly unrivaled claw had actually been stopped head-on!
Yu Yanluo’s clenched fists finally relaxed a bit. Off to the side, Yun Jianyue chuckled and said, “I already told you that you didn’t have to worry. Your man is fine.”
Yu Yanluo chuckled in embarra.s.sment. Then, she secretly gave Yan Xuehen a look. She still remembered that time she and Zu An had been chased relentlessly by the other woman.
Yan Xuehen explained, “He has a miraculous skill that can neutralize and absorb an opponent’s attacks. That is why he is not instantly crushed when facing extremely powerful opponents.”
She recalled how when she had fought against Zu An, it was as if an invisible black hole had covered his entire body. A large portion of her strength had been sucked away by that strange force, making it hard for her to defeat him the way she usually crushed ordinary cultivators.
However, that skill could only give Zu An a fighting chance, because he hadn’t even reached the master rank yet. Winning was almost impossible. His only hope was that the black-haired monster’s intelligence was lacking, so it couldn"t use the unique abilities of a grandmaster and it only fought based on combat instincts.
The black-haired monster clearly hadn’t expected the ‘ant’ before it to be able to stop this attack either. It roared, then rushed at Zu An again. Its frightening aura even made the entire blood pool start to boil.
Those on the stone platform were struggling even more, finding it difficult to even breathe. Princess Changning, who was a bit weaker than the rest, was pressed directly against the ground.
Suddenly, Zu An roared, “Now!”
Yun Jianyue had long since been prepared. Her sleeves moved, and the Empress Lantern appeared overhead. She guided its faint yellow radiance, aiming it at the monster. If she had been at her peak, she would have been confident that she could completely stop the monster’s movements for a while. In her current state, however, she could only slow it down a bit.
Yu Yanluo also made her move. Her black hair fluttered around, turning into countless small snakes. Then, her eyes released a yellow radiance.
Yan Xuehen blushed. When she had been chasing down Zu An and Yu Yanluo, it was precisely that move that had almost left her petrified. Her dress had also shattered at that time, and Zu An had seen everything…
Princess Suolun’s mouth hung wide open in shock. This woman was actually the Medusa Queen! She thought, Then doesn’t this mean this man is precisely that mysterious person who defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince not too long ago?
Princess Changning’s expression was conflicted. Never could she have expected this man to actually be her personal enemy, the one who had defeated her ‘fiance’. After learning of the Golden Crow Crown Prince’s defeat, she had been cursing that mysterious person everyday. Yet today, she had actually been saved by that very same person!
The Empress Lantern and Medusa’s Eye surrounded the black-haired monster, and under their control, even the body of such a powerful monster stiffened. The black energy around it couldn"t resist the Empress Lantern’s light and the power of petrification at once.
Zu An didn’t dare to let up. He activated the Tai’e Sword’s Domain of Power, and even summoned Hundredwarble to launch a mental attack. The Poisonous p.r.i.c.k appeared in his hand, and he used the Star Shattering Imprint, erupting with ten times his strength. His entire body turned into a shooting star, his expression resolute as he charged at the monster.
He clearly knew that with their difference in strength, his other methods wouldn’t do a thing to the monster. That was why he had decided to just go all out from the start, to catch it off guard. Sure enough, the monster had been trapped by the combined skills. No matter how strong it was, it was still frozen for a bit.
Meanwhile, Zu An even used the Unshakable Daoist Manual Yan Xuehen had taught him to conceal his killing intent. By the time the monster reacted, it was already too late.
Pfft!
Not even a grandmaster’s defenses could stop the Star Shattering Imprint’s tenfold increase in power. With a spurt, the Poisonous p.r.i.c.k stabbed directly into the monster’s body.
Zu An sighed in relief. Even the giant dragon had lost its life after having a bit of skin cut by the Poisonous p.r.i.c.k, let alone right now where the blade had dug all the way in.
However, his expression suddenly changed and he quickly backed up. Still, he was too late. The monster smashed its fist toward him. Zu An hurriedly brought his arms up, but his entire body was still blown back.
Because he had just used the Star Shattering Imprint, all of the energies within him were running amok. It was difficult for him to keep his balance on the Wind Fire Wheels. He staggered and almost fell into the blood pool.
The expressions of those on the stone platform changed. Yun Jianyue reacted the most quickly. She removed Yan Xuehen’s waistband, flinging it outward and hooking it around Zu An’s arm, then pulled him back.
When she saw that Zu An had successfully been saved, Yan Xuehen recovered from her shock. However, she quickly realized something and clutched her dress in embarra.s.sment and annoyance, protesting, “You witch, why are you grabbing my waistband?”
Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “You’ve just been watching without doing anything; you’re really ruining your reputation. I’m trying to give you some contribution too, and yet you’re not thanking me but instead criticizing me?”
Yan Xuehen was speechless. This witch was speaking nonsense with a completely straight face, but she really didn’t know how to retort.
A sky-shaking roar of anger echoed through the hall. The monster roared again and again, clearly angered by what had happened.
Zu An’s expression was grave when he saw that the monster was still vigorous and animated. Why didn’t the Poisonous p.r.i.c.k work?
This doesn’t make any sense!
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