Chapter 823, (1): Mutual Selfless Sacrifice

But suddenly, something happened on the battlefield. Zu An completely released his ice barrier, allowing the water arrows to fly toward him.

Bi Linglong cried out in alarm. However, she discovered that Zu An was unfazed. The water arrows couldn’t hit him and instead brushed right past his body. She thought, What is going on?

It wasn’t just her. When it saw that every shot missed, the Jade Moon Serpent was completely baffled as well. Was it because it was angry that its aim had become a bit off? As such, it summoned more water arrows and fired them at Zu An from all sorts of different angles.

But even though those arrows had clearly been aimed well in the beginning, once they reached within three feet of Zu An, they would mysteriously shift an inch or two to the side. Even though it wasn’t much, it was still enough for Zu An to avoid them.

The others also noticed this strange phenomenon. They began to cheer one after another.

“Sir Zu is mighty!”

“With Sir Zu on our side, everything becomes easy!”

“Sir Zu, have my child!”

Bi Linglong frowned. These clan disciples really had no filter. You want to give birth to Sir Zu’s child? Do you have the ability? I’m probably the only one here who can…

Ah, pah pah. What the hell am I thinking?

But as she watched Zu An leisurely walk amid the rain of arrows, easily avoiding those deadly attacks, she couldn’t help but think to herself, I guess he is pretty handsome when he’s being serious.

She quickly refocused her thoughts on the battle. With things the way they were, she had already given out all the orders she could. The others were working together in a methodical manner. The seventh ranked puppets were already dead, so their strength couldn’t compare to when they were still alive. They were already near the point of collapse. She joined the fray so that she could end the battle quickly, and then lead everyone over to help Zu An.

“Petty human, what kind of weird magic are you using?” The Jade Moon Serpent’s eyes widened. Its expression was full of disbelief.

“Ugly loach, who do you think you’re talking to?” Zu An was stunned. You haven’t even evolved into a dragon yet, so why do you already have their annoying arrogance?

Even if you were one, it’s not as if I haven’t killed dragons before. What’s a stupid serpent like you acting all cocky for?

“Ugly loach?” The Jade Moon Serpent was stunned. It reacted to what Zu An said, its entire body shaking with rage. “This king is going to flay your skin and rip out your tendons! I’ll let you know the consequences of angering me.”

You have successfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +888 +888 +888…

Seeing that the water arrows couldn’t injure Zu An, it decided to just give up on water arrows. Instead, it spat out a bubble that flew over slowly. Zu An tapped his feet against the ground and avoided it.

“This thing might be able to deal with those of lower cultivation, yet you’re trying to use it against a high level cultivator?” Zu An asked, confused. This serpent shouldn’t be that stupid, right?

But the Jade Moon Serpent didn’t give him a chance to think about that as it swung its massive tail.

Zu An was alarmed. This thing relied on its thick skin and tough flesh, so he’d give it a taste of the Poisonous Prick.

Mi Li spoke up again. “Don’t keep relying on that Poisonous Prick of yours. It will limit your progress. One day, you will meet someone who’s protected against your dagger, so what will you do then? Your cultivation has grown too quickly and your foundation isn’t stable. This is a rare chance for you to train yourself and fight it fair and square!”

With how strongly the winds around him were stirring, Zu An didn’t dare to take it head-on. He used the Sunflower Phantasm to evade. The tail slammed into a boulder by the pond. The boulder, which was the size of a small house, was instantly crushed into powder. The power of the Serpent’s strike was just too terrifying.

The young masters in the distance were horrified. They felt more and more admiration for Zu An. He could actually fight against this kind of monster!

Meanwhile, Zu An was secretly talking to Mi Li. “But if I fight fair and square against it, that will take too much time! Many of those young masters might perish.”

“When did you become such a saint?” Mi Li snorted. “The path of cultivation will always rely on you alone. This is something all cultivators must realize. If they need others to save them every time, what meaning is there left in bitter cultivation? You can save them this time, but can you save them every time?”

Zu An didn’t agree. “I don’t care about the future, but I have to care about the present.”

Mi Li’s voice actually carried a bit of praise as she said, “I didn’t expect your will to actually be so firm. However, you don’t need to worry. Those water puppets have been wounded by my soul attack. That crown princess is decent at command, so victory is already guaranteed. They’ll only get a bit injured at most and their lives aren’t really in danger. That’s why you can just focus on your fight.”

Zu An sighed in relief. But just then, the Jade Moon Serpent’s massive claw swung over. Even though it hadn’t evolved into a dragon yet, it was starting to possess a dragon’s powerful body. Its entire body could be used as a weapon.

Zu An dodged while looking for a chance. Since he wasn’t going to use the Poisonous Prick, random injuries were meaningless. He wasn’t going to attack unless he could deal significant damage.

Snakes had their seven joints, and dragons had their reverse scales. Serpents probably weren’t too different, either. He quickly noticed one scale that was a bit lighter than the other scales around its neck.

The Jade Moon Serpent launched another round of attacks, but Zu An easily avoided them. He was just about to strike, but he suddenly went on alert. He noticed that there was something shiny next to him. It was the bubble the Jade Moon Serpent had created earlier!

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Unfortunately, it was already too late, and he was completely trapped in the bubble. This bubble was many times stronger than the ones that had trapped the warriors below. He tried to struggle, yet he felt as if he were trapped in a swamp and unable to gain any footing. Even his breathing became difficult.

At that moment, he finally realized that the Serpent’s vicious attacks with its body were merely feints. It had continued to release these types of bubbles around it, and they were the trap it was really baiting him into. He had been mocking these bubbles for being slow just now, but he hadn’t thought about how they would continue to bounce around and change directions!

As if she could read his mind, Mi Li jeered, “Now do you know what the price of underestimating your enemy is?”

Zu An’s face heated up, but he didn’t reply. He used his Snowflake Sword and the bubbles gradually became covered in frost, losing their original flexibility. He then used this chance to break out of the ice.

A massive water arrow passed through where he had just been a split second later. It turned out that the Jade Moon Serpent had launched a vicious attack the moment he was trapped. It hadn’t expected him to avoid it at the last moment.

The Jade Moon Serpent was extremely annoyed. “Puny human, do you only know how to hide?”

“Ugly loach, aren’t you always hiding too? If you have the skills, then how about you take one strike from me?” Zu An replied mockingly.

The Jade Moon Serpent was clearly a water element beast, yet right now, it seemed as if flames were coming out of its eyes. “Lowly human, you’ve now truly offended this king. You can keep dodging, but this king wants to see if your companions can dodge just like you.”

You have successfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +999 +999 +999…

After it spoke, it aimed its mouth at where most of the group was. A sphere of light flickered around its mouth, growing larger and larger as it charged its attack. Its destructive aura filled every inch of the place.

“Everyone, be careful! It’s about to launch its attack!” Bi Linglong was horrified and quickly warned the others. They immediately brought out their small shields and entered a special formation.

According to the different intelligence reports, the Jade Moon Serpent could release an absurdly powerful ball of water element energy that would obliterate all life around it. They had prepared special shields for this attack, and they had been training in a new formation to neutralize such attacks for the past few days.

Unfortunately, all of that was built on the premise that they were facing a seventh ranked creature. Even if the opponent were at the eighth rank, they might be able to barely hold on. Unfortunately, the enemy was a ninth ranked vicious beast, its strength already far above theirs. It wasn’t something they could handle at all.

Despair flickered through the group’s eyes. Bi Linglong once again reached for the flower mark on her forehead.