Meng Ke'er was extremely unwilling. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she could take advantage of her current fifth-tier power to eliminate Chen Nan, it would be truly a secret.
She gritted her teeth and loosened the seal once more. A vast power surged forth from her body, undulating between heaven and earth. Her spiritual awareness increased dramatically, and the world before her seemed to brighten instantly; the once pitch-black river water seemed to become crystal clear.
Chen Nan and the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon, both in the distance, felt a powerful sense of oppression. A vast, ocean-like power rippled and surged in the night sky, making them tremble with fear.
Chen Nan was filled with doubt and wondered to himself whether her cultivation level was acquired through her own efforts or given to her from the outside world.
Regardless of the method, the facts before our eyes show that Meng Ke'er seemed to have become much stronger in an instant, probably climbing from the initial stage of the fifth rank to the intermediate stage of the fifth rank. It's really terrifying!
The purple-gold dragon shrank its neck in fright, having degenerated from a powerful divine dragon into a mediocre rogue dragon; its courage seemed to have diminished considerably.
Meng Ke'er stepped onto the jade lotus platform and flew rapidly along the ring river towards Chen Nan's direction. The purple-gold dragon dragged Chen Nan and immediately sank to the bottom of the water.
This time, the two seemed to sense the danger and did not swim quickly in the river. In the dim riverbed, Chen Nan grabbed the tail of the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon and made a gesture to it. The man and the dragon swam to the edge of the riverbed and then plunged into the silt.
The city's moat water was introduced into the city of sin from the mountains a thousand years ago. The river flows year-round, and the silt beneath it is several meters thick. A man and a dragon easily submerged into the mud. Relying on the fact that these two creatures are not ordinary characters, they do not need to breathe for a while; otherwise, such suffocation would surely be unbearable.
At this moment, Meng Ke'er's eyes shone like cold stars. Two divine lights emanated from her eyes, seemingly materializing. With her cultivation level rising again, her spiritual senses were greatly enhanced. The originally dark river water now seemed clear, and she could vaguely see the scene at the bottom of the river.
She flew swiftly above the city moat, tracking the figures of Chen Nan and the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon. As she passed their hiding place, she seemed to sense something. She paused slightly, and the jade lotus petals beside her plunged rapidly into the river. The water instantly shone brightly, churning and killing countless fish and shrimp. The jade lotus petals then swept into the silt at the riverbed, churning the water into a murky mess.
Chen Nan felt the energy fluctuations emanating from the jade lotus petals, which startled him. Fortunately, he and the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon were close to the very edge of the riverbed and were not greatly affected.
Meng Ke'er frowned. She stopped her aimless attack and rushed forward quickly.
As the terrifying fluctuations of the jade lotus petals gradually faded away, Chen Nan and the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon struggled to escape from the mud and took a deep breath after reaching the water's surface.
At this moment, Meng Ke'er was already more than two thousand meters away. Looking from afar, she was enveloped in auspicious light, making her exceptionally dazzling in the night sky.
Only then did the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon dare to speak up: "Let's take this opportunity to escape quickly, back to that 'what... Wind Academy,' where she might not dare to kill us."
Chen Nan looked at Meng Ke'er in the distant sky. Two beams of light shot from his eyes as he said, "Why are you running away? Don't forget why we came here tonight."
"Are you crazy? This little wench has such powerful energy inside her, how can we be her match? Heaven knows when she will be overwhelmed by the power she has sealed. If things go wrong, we might be caught and executed by her first."
Chen Nan shook his head and said, "The time should be coming soon. Besides, if we run away now, she might find out. It's safer to stay in the river. Let's wait a little longer; maybe we can capture her alive."
Just then, Meng Ke'er in the distant sky suddenly trembled, and the multicolored light surrounding her flickered. She began to shake violently in the air, and then suddenly plummeted to the ground. Although the fall wasn't very forceful, it was clear that something was wrong with her body. She seemed to have suddenly become weak and unable to hover in the air.
Meng Ke'er staggered as she fell from the sky. She then landed on the riverbank more than a thousand meters away from Chen Nan. The light around her gradually dimmed, and she finally collapsed to the ground.
The purple-gold dragon was extremely excited and was about to shout when Chen Nan covered its mouth.
"Keep your voice down."
"Awoo... The moment has finally come! What are you waiting for? I'm going to take my revenge now. That wretched little girl made me suffer so much. If I don't get my money back today, I'll be unworthy of being called a descendant of the Dragon Emperor."
"You four-legged snake, sometimes you're as cunning as a rogue, and sometimes you're as stupid as a pig. How can you be sure this isn't a trap? What if she's deliberately trying to lure us in? Let's wait and see."
Although the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon suddenly realized, he was still quite unconvinced and said, "I suspect that she really was backfired by the sealed power within her body. You're overthinking it."
"Stupid dragon, if you don't believe me, go up and see for yourself, but don't bring the war here." Chen Nan knocked it hard and said, "Your snake skin is harder than the rocks in the latrine. Even if she cuts you ten or eight times, you won't be afraid. I'm not like you. Don't lead her here."
Relying on its body being as hard as refined iron, the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon was unafraid of sudden danger and quickly swam forward along the ring river. When it reached the section of the river near Meng Ke'er, it took off and flew into the air.
It carefully examined Meng Ke'er lying on the ground and found that she seemed to have really fainted. All the radiance on her body had faded, and she lay quietly on the ground like a withered flower. Even the Taoist treasure, the Jade Lotus Platform, which it had coveted for many days, had not been put away.
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon wanted to burst into laughter, but after all, it was a rogue and scoundrel-like monster dragon. Although it was sometimes careless, it wasn't stupid at all. It cautiously flew down and then slowly approached Meng Ke'er.
It wasn't until it was a few meters away from Meng Ke'er that it truly realized that Meng Ke'er wasn't faking it, because it could no longer sense that powerful and terrifying energy fluctuation. On the contrary, only a faint fluctuation was emanating from Meng Ke'er's body, and she seemed very weak.
"Haha...you little wench, you've finally met your match! What goes around comes around. You dared to torment me like that during the day. Today I'll show you what I'm capable of, roar..." Although the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon said this, it was still extremely cautious. Its words were mainly a test.
"Awooo... She really passed out." The purple-gold dragon finally arrived at Meng Ke'er's side, baring its fangs and claws while laughing wildly, "Hahaha... It's true... Hahaha..."
The purple-gold dragon seemed to remember something and roared viciously, "I told you. The best way to get revenge on you is... a hundred times over! I'll go find that brat and teach him a lesson!"
It transformed into a bolt of lightning, soaring into the air and instantly appearing before Chen Nan. It said, "My guess was absolutely right. That little wench really couldn't hold on any longer and is now unconscious. Come with me quickly and give her the cruelest punishment." Its smile was utterly wicked.
Chen Nan was surprised and unsure, feeling that something was amiss, and said, "No rush, it's a long night. Why be in such a hurry? Let's wait and see."
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon wasn't stupid either; after thinking it over, it made sense, lest it fall into a trap. The two of them had become incredibly cunning by now. They considered this matter of life and death very carefully and didn't easily trust Meng Ke'er.
Half an hour passed, and there was still no movement from the other side of the riverbank. Meng Ke'er remained lying motionless on the ground. The man and the dragon felt that there should be no problem, so they carefully climbed out of the river and slowly moved forward.
The powerful aura emanating from Meng Ke'er had vanished. She lay curled up quietly on the ground, her exquisite face deathly pale. Gone was the aloofness of a holy land's successor; instead, she appeared pitiful and vulnerable.
Chen Nan pushed his power to the limit, drew the long sword from his back, and pointed it at Meng Ke'er. The brilliant sword light flickered and emitted a chilling glint.
The purple-gold dragon roared restlessly, but stopped four zhang away from Meng Ke'er. He raised his longsword high, and a surge of powerful energy emanated from his body. A blazing sword beam shot out, reaching a length of four zhang.
The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon exclaimed in surprise, "Are you going to kill her directly?"
Chen Nan didn't answer, his eyes flashing with cold light. Finally, he swung his sword forward with a fierce slash, the dazzling sword light tearing through the void and emitting a series of sharp whistling sounds as it hurtled towards Meng Ke'er.
However, at that moment, Meng Ke'er, who had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly opened her eyes, and two beams of divine light burst forth. Gone was her previous pitiful appearance; a powerful force erupted from her body. She left an afterimage in place and instantly moved five zhang away, dodging Chen Nan's fierce slash. At the same time, she also put away the jade lotus platform.
The enormous sword light cleaved a deep trench several meters long in the riverbank, stirring up dust and smoke. Just then, Meng Ke'er took action, wielding a short sword and transforming into a streak of white light as she charged towards Chen Nan, her dazzling sword light exuding a chilling aura.
Chen Nan cried out in alarm and used the Divine Void Step to rush towards the city moat, which was a dozen feet away. Although he could cover three feet with each step, his speed was clearly inferior to that of a fifth-tier peerless expert. He was intercepted by the opponent after taking only two steps.
As if she could teleport, Meng Ke'er suddenly appeared in front of him, her short sword emitting a terrifying wave, and a huge sword beam shot out, slashing towards Chen Nan.
Chen Nan knew he had no chance against a fifth-tier master, so he quickly dodged to the side, pushing his Divine Void Steps to their limit. A vast power surged forth like a raging sea, the immense pressure making him feel as if he were about to explode. His blood surged, and his skin felt like it was being cut by knives.
Just then, under the immense pressure from the outside world, Chen Nan's family's secret technique reversed its course once again. The golden true energy turned pitch black, emitting an eerie aura. Chen Nan was already used to the reversal of his family's secret technique; now, as long as it was stimulated by an incredibly powerful external force, the secret technique he cultivated would reverse its course.
After the reversal of his profound power, Chen Nan's internal energy became much more fierce and violent, significantly stronger than before. However, it was still no match for a fifth-tier peerless master. Even though he had quickly broken out of the space shrouded by the sword light, the surging power that followed was still too much for him to resist. He was like a small boat in the ocean, swept away by a huge wave.
The ferocious force blasted Chen Nan back more than ten feet. Under the immense pressure, every inch of his skin bled, as if it were about to tear apart. He tumbled in the air, coughing up mouthfuls of blood, before finally crashing to the ground with a somersault.
"Awooo... That wretched little wench is so cunning, always plotting and scheming." The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon was both angry and resentful, hiding high in the sky and not daring to approach. However, it wasn't too afraid; if all else failed, it could hide in the city moat.
Chen Nan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up unsteadily, and coldly glanced at Meng Ke'er. He hadn't expected that the power of the seal hadn't backfired on her yet, guessing that she must have used some secret method to buy time.
Meng Ke'er, dressed in white, possessed a beauty so stunning that even the stars and moon paled in comparison, daring not to rival her radiance. However, at this moment, her jade-like face was covered in frost, and her holy aura gradually faded, exuding a chilling killing intent.
"Chen Nan, now let's see how you escape!" Her cold words revealed her murderous intent and showed her determination.
However, at that moment, a monstrous energy surged from the opposite bank of the city's ring river, towards the City of Sin. The terrifying, undulating waves caused Chen Nan and Meng Ke'er to change color simultaneously. The power was simply too immense, like a vast ocean instantly engulfing them, or like a giant mountain pressing down on them, giving them a heavy sense of oppression, making it impossible for them to move an inch.
The purple-gold dragon high in the sky was also surrounded by a terrifying force, unable to move an inch. It stared in fear in the direction of the City of Sin.
The sealed power within Meng Ke'er's body was squeezed by the vast external force, and it seemed to go out of control all at once. Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and traces of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.