The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Chen Dong didn't put much stock in Ao Tian's verbal promise. According to the Cyan Sky Sect's Demon Scrolls, Ao Tian was a ruthless tyrant, known for his reckless, wicked, and self-serving ways.

Chen Dong first restrained Ao Jun again, then sealed the Communication Golden Scale.

Then, he frowned and said, "Let's get out of here first!"

He then waved his hand, conjuring a ray of rosy light that enveloped the badly burned Ao Jun, and led the way east.

Earth Sinking Mountain was to the southeast, while Ao Tian was pursuing them from the south, from Xia Yang Ridge. Chen Dong planned to take a detour to avoid him. Regardless of whether Ao Tian was truly giving chase, it was best to steer clear.

Meng Yingluo still looked delicate and weak.

"Senior Brother, wait for me! I still can't muster my Spiritual Qi..."

Chen Dong once again conjured a ray of rosy light, sweeping Meng Yingluo up with none of the care he'd shown before.

"Senior Brother, you're hurting me! I want you to hold me..."

Chen Dong ignored her, instead sending a mental transmission to Liu Ling, who had caught up.

"You know something, don't you?"

Liu Ling looked slightly panicked, wanting to speak but hesitating. The existence of the Beast Taming Contract made it impossible for her to disobey Chen Dong's command.

Her expression clearly showed she was hiding something.

Chen Dong roared, "Speak!"

Liu Ling instantly looked deeply wronged. "Master, with the Beast Taming Contract in place, Liu Ling would never harm you!"

Just as Chen Dong was about to press the issue, he felt a sudden, extreme sense of danger.

He looked up and was instantly shocked. A streak of golden light was streaking across the horizon toward them at an incredible speed.

Fast. It was just too fast. Chen Dong wanted to dodge, but there was no time. In an instant, the golden light was right before his eyes.

Without a second thought, Chen Dong yanked Ao Jun up to use him as a shield while simultaneously gathering a thick layer of Spiritual Power for defense. However, the golden light passed through Ao Jun's body, then effortlessly pierced his Spiritual Power defense and shot through Chen Dong's body. A bloody hole larger than a bowl instantly opened up in his left side.

Yet Ao Jun was completely unharmed.

"Master!" Liu Ling cried out tearfully, teleporting in front of Chen Dong with a look of grief and indignation, her eyes fixed on the southern sky.

Chen Dong choked and spat out a mouthful of blood. 'Damn it! It's the Golden Flood Dragon Race's Innate Divine Technique—Sharp-Breath Divine Light. Thankfully, I managed to avoid my vital spots in that instant. If that Sharp-Breath Divine Light had pierced my Dantian, I'd be dead right here.'

The sky rumbled as Ao Tian's arrogant voice echoed from afar. "Your spiritual sense is truly sharp. To think even a sneak attack like that couldn't take you down!"

'Just as I thought. You can't trust the words of a tyrant like him. That killing blow probably came from dozens of miles away.'

Even for a Nascent Soul Perfection cultivator like Ao Tian, one who had comprehended the Dao to the point of manifesting techniques through his very being, it was impossible to arrive so quickly. He had to be at least as far away still.

Chen Dong questioned him angrily, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill your son?"

Chen Dong knew that since Ao Tian could pinpoint his location, he must have heard the question.

He then quickly took out several medicinal pills and swallowed them. A dense web of tiny lightning arcs flickered over the wound on his side, resisting the corrosion of Ao Tian's Spiritual Power. At the same time, he frantically poured his Spiritual Qi into the Teleportation Talisman in his hand.

"Are you asking me?" Ao Jun's expression suddenly changed. He formed a Jiao Claw with his right hand, tearing through the rosy light and the seals binding him, and swiped it at Chen Dong.

Chen Dong instantly cast a thunder technique, forming a Thunder Sword to block the Jiao Claw.

The arrogant aura emanating from Ao Jun was completely different from before, and his tone was identical to Ao Tian's. It was obvious that Ao Tian was now in control of Ao Jun's body.

'It was the Innate Divine Technique from just now! Ao Tian actually calculated this far ahead! He knew I would use Ao Jun as a shield, and he dared to split off a part of his divine soul and hide it within the technique, using it to enter Ao Jun's body.'

It was an incredibly bold move. Forcibly splitting one's divine soul before reaching the Divinity Transformation Stage was immensely risky. If the soul fragment couldn't be retrieved—for instance, if Chen Dong managed to destroy it—the damage would be permanent. For a cultivator of the Heart Thought Dao, this was a method that could damage one's own Dao Foundation.

However, this also demonstrated Ao Tian's immense power. In terms of approaching the Divinity Transformation Stage, he was even stronger than Feng Fu.

"Now, I am right before your eyes. Can you kill me?!"

As he spoke, he unleashed a continuous flurry of claw strikes. Each one was incredibly sharp, comparable to an attack from a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, and Chen Dong struggled to block them.

Meng Yingluo was heavily injured and completely unable to intervene in this sudden turn of events.

Liu Ling crossed her hands and cast a holy, fluorescent light in an attempt to help, but she was sent flying by one of Ao Tian's strikes.

Ao Jun's body was only at the Early-stage Golden Core, but in Ao Tian's hands, it wielded power approaching the Late-stage Golden Core. Liu Ling could currently only display power at an Early-stage Golden Core level; she was no match for him at all.

Controlling Ao Jun's body, Ao Tian's attacks were like a torrential storm, giving Chen Dong no chance to catch his breath. Perhaps he had calculated from the very beginning that his true self wouldn't even need to be present to deal with them.

"I see you as nothing more than a worm, yet you dare to negotiate terms with me!"

The continuous flurry of claw shadows suddenly stopped, and in the next instant, a beam of golden Divine Light shot out.

It was too close. Ao Tian's combat experience was immense, and the timing and angle of this Divine Light were incredibly insidious.

Chen Dong had no way to dodge. The Golden Flood Dragon Race's Innate Divine Technique was too powerful; his Protective Spiritual Qi couldn't block it. Having already been struck by one beam, getting hit by a second would very likely lead to his instant defeat.

At this moment of extreme crisis, Chen Dong let out a low snarl: "Asura Dao—Annihilate!"