The atmosphere was tense, and war was on the verge of breaking out. Su Yuan and Chong Ming confronted each other, neither willing to back down an inch.
Su Yuan would never allow this Chong Ming bird to take away the Bu Ye Ding. This cauldron was extremely important to both Su Yuan and the demon race.
In contrast to Su Yuan's coldness, Chong Ming seemed calm and composed. He didn't even look at Su Yuan much. His eyes only fell on Zhao Zhao in Su Yuan's arms. When he saw the dragon's hand around his own disciple's waist, he frowned unpleasantly.
"If you want the cauldron, then let's see if you have the ability."
As soon as the words were spoken, Chong Ming's wings reappeared. He instantly soared into the sky, and divine fire rained down, carrying an imposing manner that seemed to destroy everything.
The heat wave surged. Su Yuan took Zhao Zhao and lightly tapped his toes on the ground, rising into the air. With his other hand, he teleported Nan Jia away from the attack range of Chong Ming's divine fire.
A streak of blue - violet light clashed with the divine fire, and neither of them got the upper hand.
"Damn it! Boss, you could at least say something before you start fighting!" Nan Jia was covered in dust from the airflow generated by the clash. She was very unhappy. This was so unlike the image of a nine - tailed fox.
Su Yuan glanced at Nan Jia indifferently, then handed Zhao Zhao to her and drew a barrier to protect the two of them.
"Take good care of her."
"Huh?" Nan Jia didn't even want to talk. Thinking of Zhao Zhao's appearance when she asked to open the celestial eye just now, she really didn't know who should take care of whom.
The boss asking her to take care of Zhao Zhao really overestimated her.
Over there, Su Yuan and Chong Ming had already fought several rounds. They seemed to be evenly matched at the moment, and neither could hurt the other.
Su Yuan was extremely powerful, but Chong Ming's moves were extremely tricky. Moreover, he seemed to be very familiar with Su Yuan. Every move was aimed at Su Yuan's weak points.
"Hiss..." Nan Jia rubbed her chin, completely puzzled. "Where does this Chong Ming bird come from? Why does his fighting style seem to be specifically designed to target our boss? Zhao Zhao, what do you think?"
She turned to look at Zhao Zhao, only to find that Zhao Zhao's chest was rising and falling nervously, and there was blood oozing from her palm.
A strange and exotic fragrance lingered in Nan Jia's nose, but she didn't have the time to care about it. She quickly tried to pry open Zhao Zhao's hand. "What are you doing? Let go quickly. Don't you know your hand is bleeding from your own nails?"
Zhao Zhao shook her head blankly and stared intently at the battle over there.
"Don't be nervous. The boss is very powerful. He hasn't even used half of his strength yet." Nan Jia thought she was afraid that Su Yuan would get hurt, so she quickly comforted her.
Nan Jia's words hit Zhao Zhao's heart one by one. Her mind was in a mess. She didn't know why her master wanted to take away that cauldron, nor when he had studied the spells and moves specifically targeting Su Yuan...
She was afraid that her master would get hurt, and she was also worried about Su Yuan's safety. These two emotions tugged at her, making her restless.
Nan Jia said that Su Yuan hadn't used his full strength, but Zhao Zhao knew very well that neither had her master.
"It seems you've spent a lot of effort on me. It's a pity," the features of a dragon body appeared on Su Yuan. The sky was covered with dark clouds and lightning flashed. He wanted to end this fight. "All your efforts are in vain."
Purple lightning struck down. Chong Ming was caught off guard, and one of his wings was hit. He instantly fell from the sky.
Su Yuan pressed on his advantage. A long spear appeared in his hand, pointing straight at Chong Ming's throat.
"Don't—!"
Clang! Duan Hun, Zhao Zhao's sword, blocked Su Yuan's long spear. Zhao Zhao broke through the barrier and stood in front of Chong Ming.
Su Yuan stopped in time. He looked at Zhao Zhao in shock and disbelief.
"Zhao Zhao, get out of the way." He endured and restrained himself, trying to reach out to Zhao Zhao calmly.
"Su Yuan, don't..." Zhao Zhao didn't stand on his side. She still stubbornly stood in front of Chong Ming, her eyes moist and her words sincere. "Su Yuan, don't hurt him."
Chong Ming looked at Zhao Zhao standing in front of him. Suddenly, he put away a black object in his hand and slowly curled his lips.
"Zhao Zhao, I'll say it one more time. Come here." Su Yuan was furious, with a rage Zhao Zhao had never seen before. It made her feel strange and scared.
She knew that the best thing to do now was to immediately hold Su Yuan's hand and walk to his side.
But she couldn't do that. She was raised by her master. Without her master, she might have died a hundred years ago. She couldn't let anything happen to her master.
"Su Yuan, I'll help you get the cauldron back. Let him go. Trust me—"
"That's enough." A hint of red appeared in Su Yuan's pupils, and his expression was cold. "Kill him, and you'll come back."
"No!" Zhao Zhao subconsciously took a step forward to stop Su Yuan, but then she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. Something pierced her skin.
A burning sensation quickly gathered in her heart along with the blood. She felt like she was suffocating.
She spat out a mouthful of blood. The last thing Zhao Zhao saw was Su Yuan's anxious and panicked outstretched hand and her master's departing back.
"Master..." She silently called out to that back, and then fell into a long darkness.
The excitement Nan Jia had experienced today was almost as intense as the sum of her experiences in the past few decades. Looking at the boss holding Zhao Zhao with a deathly - pale face, she felt that... the days of the Demon Management Bureau were probably going to be tough from now on.
Alas, why did Zhao Zhao do this? Did she really have some relationship with that Chong Ming bird?
She wanted to speak up and test Su Yuan's attitude, but when she met Su Yuan's gaze, she could only silently worry about Zhao Zhao in her heart.
Thinking of another thing, Nan Jia asked worriedly, "Boss, did your karmic affliction flare up again today?"
Looking at the redness that hadn't completely faded from Su Yuan's eyes, she couldn't help but be suspicious.
Su Yuan didn't answer Nan Jia's question. He handed Zhao Zhao in his arms to Nan Jia. In Nan Jia's shocked gaze, he said calmly, "You take her back. I'll go after the Bu Ye Ding."
This was just crazy. Nan Jia grimaced and wanted to curse.
Oh my god! The boss was...
"Zhao Zhao seems to be injured. Aren't you worried?" Nan Jia tried to ease the atmosphere between the young lovers.
Su Yuan's eyes twitched, and the hand hanging by his side clenched into a fist. He suddenly thought of the Chong Ming bird he had encountered in the Xuan Sect.
The dark thoughts in his heart were howling and restless. Su Yuan closed his eyes, said nothing, and turned away.
Was he really not worried? No, in fact, he was very worried.
But Su Yuan's state was not suitable for staying now. Just thinking about how firmly Zhao Zhao wanted to stand on the opposite side of him, her eyes full of worry for someone else, her tear - filled eyes pleading for someone else word by word... Just thinking about these things made him eager to do something.
Do something to make sure this person would always belong to him, do something to keep her by his side forever.
Su Yuan smiled self - deprecatingly. After living for tens of thousands of years, how could he be so stupid?
He had even vowed to let her make her own choice after she grew up...
Admit it, Su Yuan. You simply can't bear to let go, and you simply can't.
You're like a monster hiding in the abyss. Your vicious and selfish possessiveness is your true nature buried beneath the ice.