Chapter 1147: No Way Out
Yan Xuehen’s first reaction was that she had misheard something. However, since she had grandmaster rank cultivation, she reacted quickly. How could she have possibly misheard?
As such, her expression turned cold and she retorted, “Are you mocking me?”
You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444…
Zu An sighed and replied, “Is sect master not directing the very same mockery at me? I only had a simple request for you, and yet you disagreed. Now, you’ve made so many requests of me, none of which I would ever agree to.”
Both separating from Chuyan and abandoning Yu Yanluo were conditions he would never agree to. The only one that wasn’t too big of a deal was calling her master…
Yan Xuehen’s expression turned cold. She said, “It looks as if you have decided to go about things the wrong way. Do not blame me for being impolite then.”
You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +109 +109 +109…
She felt she had already been benevolent enough. She had given him many chances, but unfortunately, he hadn’t treasured them and had even harassed her verbally.
She lashed out with her palm as she finished speaking. She didn’t move at all, only casually waving her hand. The air instantly condensed into a faint palm, striking toward Zu An’s face. It was so fast that not even Yu Yanluo had time to react.
With things being the way they were, Yan Xuehen didn’t hold back. The strike of a grandmaster definitely wasn’t something Zu An could handle at his current cultivation level. It should have been enough to cut his life force short right there and then.
It was just unfortunate that a cultivation genius was going to fall here. Zu An had been infatuated by the Medusa’s beauty, and he carried compassion for the fiend races. If the fiend races roped him into their faction, with his talent, he would definitely become a disaster for the human race in the future. As such, Yan Xuehen felt that it would be better to just nip this calamity in the bud.
But her expression quickly changed. She saw Zu An raise his hands, and something that resembled a black hole seemed to appear in front of him. When the terrifying force of Yan Xuehen’s palm arrived, it was continuously sucked into the black hole and quickly dissipated into nothingness.
“Huh?” Yan Xuehen exclaimed in confusion. She wasn’t too sure what had happened, so she instantly drew closer to try attacking again.
Zu An frantically evaded her with the Sunflower Phantasm, turning into several clones and darting in different directions. However, Yan Xuehen said, “Your movement technique is indeed mysterious; every clone is identical to your original body in aura. It would be hard for even a master rank cultivator to tell the difference. Unfortunately, you ran into me.”
Her longsword instantly struck Zu An’s sword as soon as she spoke. Intense pain shot through Zu An’s fingers, and he almost lost his grip on his weapon. He quickly used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to disperse his opponent’s powerful strike.
The ki of a grandmaster wasn’t so easily absorbed, however. Every single strand carried a trace of her soul imprint, which meant that there would easily be issues if he took it into his body.
But Zu An was a smart person. He recalled that in ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’, Xiang Wentian hadn’t learned the real ‘Star Swallowing Art’, but rather had learned the ‘Ground Redirection Method’, which transmitted the opponent’s force into the ground. As such, he just copied that technique, only sucking out the power but not absorbing it. To a certain degree, that evened the playing field.
Yan Xuehen was also greatly alarmed. After all, a grandmaster could plow through master rank cultivators. Zu An wasn’t even at the master rank, however. Normally speaking, as long as the two faced each other with blades or fists in a frontal clash, Zu An should immediately have been severely injured.
No matter how strong an ant was, how could it withstand the stomp of an elephant? And yet, Zu An just happened to make such a miracle a reality.
Zu An took the chance to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, grandmasters could even fight while their attention was divided. Yan Xuehen easily stopped his attack, asking, “The Snowflake Sword? Where did you secretly learn that from?”
“My wife taught me, of course,” Zu An replied while searching for anything else that could get him out of this emergency. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything even after thinking for a long time. A grandmaster really was way too strong, let alone Yan Xuehen who wasn’t merely an ordinary grandmaster. It was a pity that he didn’t have the Heiress Ball of Delights anymore, or else he would teach her that even a gigolo had his pride.
“I was the one who taught Chuyan that sword technique, and yet you are actually using this skill to face me? Hmph, you are simply showing off your meager skills before a master,” Yan Xuehen remarked, a bit annoyed. That girl Chuyan actually taught our secret manual to someone else! I am definitely going to discipline her once I get back.
Yu Yanluo cried out, “Sect Master Yan, you are a senior. It would be one thing if you acted against a junior once or twice, but how many times have you attacked already? Furthermore, Zu An is even seriously injured, and yet you are taking advantage of his difficulties. Is this how your orthodox sects do things?”
After using Medusa’s Eye twice, she had already reached her limit. She could only use her brush to continuously draw diagrams in the air, providing Zu An with a supportive halo. But she knew that against a grandmaster, it wouldn’t be enough at all.
She was already indignant about the fact that Yan Xuehen’s sword had pierced Zu An’s body. It would be dangerous even if an ordinary person stabbed one in the chest, let alone if it were a grandmaster’s sword strike.
Yan Xuehen’s eyes shifted to Zu An’s chest. She was inwardly surprised. He can still fight as if nothing is wrong, even after taking my sword? Is this still the body of a human?
But her expression immediately turned cold as she replied, “Do not try to incite me with words. This is not a competition of martial arts, but rather a matter concerning the eradication of evil. I originally thought that Zu An was bewitched by your beauty, but now, it seems that he already fell into depravity. What he cultivates is actually an evil art that absorbs others’ cultivation.”
She was experienced and knowledgeable. Based on their brief interaction, she had already deduced that what Zu An had used to neutralize her attacks was some unknown evil art. Any methods that could absorb another’s skills were known as evil arts.
No wonder his cultivation is so high at his age. So it was because of this evil art. Just how many cultivators did he cruelly absorb to reach his current level?
The more it was like that, the more she had to get rid of him as soon as possible. He might become a great demon if he were allowed to grow up. At that point, no one would be able to keep him in check anymore.
She no longer held back and unleashed her domain when she realized that.
Absolute Cold!
The temperature instantly dropped. The surrounding cave walls began to quickly freeze at a visible rate. Snowflakes even began to float in the air.
Yu Yanluo had always feared the cold to begin with, and now, her entire body was shivering. However, she didn’t have time to think about such things and instead looked nervously at Zu An. She could clearly sense the pressure even from where she was, and yet Zu An had taken it head on. How could he possibly endure?
Zu An’s entire body turned ice-cold as his limbs began to quickly freeze over. He immediately used Fire Phoenix, producing a raging flame around him. Only then did the ice around him melt. But that was it. The Fire Phoenix ability was only enough to prevent him from being frozen into a sculpture. Under the tremendous power of the domain, he still couldn’t move at all.
“Huh?” Yan Xuehen exclaimed in surprise. She had seen him use an ice element ability before, the Snowflake Sword. But now, he was using the fire element. He cultivated both ice and fire!
She was well-informed and knew that there were a select few possessed dual elements. She immediately felt even more regret that she was going to kill such an incredible genius. But since he had already gone down the evil path, she had to eliminate him as soon as possible. She definitely couldn’t let him escape.
Her sword flew out. Once it returned, it would take his head with it.
When he faced the incoming killing intent, Zu An suddenly thought of something. He quickly summoned the Tai’e Sword’s Domain of Power. It wouldn’t do too much against a grandmaster, but since it was called a domain too, it might have its own laws and principles.
Sure enough, the Tai’e Sword released a draconic roar. The domain of power spread out, and the Absolute Cold domain around him shrank back a few feet. When Zu An recovered the ability to move, he dropped and rolled, avoiding Yan Xuehen’s lethal strike.
“Huh, a domain?” Yan Xuehen remarked. She had cultivated for so many years. She was already at a level where few things could surprise her. But today, this brat had brought her surprise after surprise. Just what level of cultivation is he at? He actually managed to create a domain of his own?
After her initial shock, her gaze landed on Zu An’s longsword and she thought, The aura’s domain seems to have originated from this sword… She hadn’t even been able to snap the sword earlier, so it was definitely a divine weapon. Furthermore, it seemed she had even underestimated its grade previously.
Yan Xuehen’s Flying Snow Sword returned to her side, and she took it in hand. She wouldn’t give him any more chances. Her entire figure turned into a streak of light, shooting at Zu An.
Every single cell in Zu An’s body was screaming that the situation was bad. He knew that no matter how strong his body was, he probably wouldn’t survive such an attack. Yan Xuehen was now dead set on killing him. He wanted to dodge, but he could sense that her divine will was already locked onto him. He knew that no matter how he tried to evade, his body would be pierced through a moment later.
What do I do? What do I do?!
As the threat of death enveloped him, Zu An’s thoughts moved quickly. He thought about all of the skills he had, but none of them could save him. He even secretly called out to Mi Li, but she didn’t respond. She was clearly at a critical stage of repairing her soul and couldn't sense what was happening outside.
Am I really going to die here today?