44: Chapter 44 Fierce Battle in the Dense Forest, Illusory Fire Arrows Display Their Divine Power

The moment the golden arrow pierced the throat of the cultist leader, the air in the dense forest suddenly froze.

The remaining thirty-plus Blood Shadow Pavilion cultists were stunned for a moment before they each drew the blood-colored scimitars from their waists, their faces twisting into hideous sneers. Instead of fearing, thick blood mist surged from their bodies, and their auras climbed steadily—these people had actually taken the Blood Shadow Pavilion's forbidden medicine to forcibly boost their cultivation!

"Courting death! You dare kill our Blood Shadow Pavilion people? Today, we'll make this forest your grave!" a cultist with a scarred face roared, his scimitar slashing out a blood-colored Saber Qi that lunged straight for Lin Zhou's face.

"Qin Yue, protect the civilians! Su Ye, charge the front! Senior Brother Zhao Lie, pick them off from range!"

Lin Zhou's voice was calm and steady; before his words even landed, the sun-shooting bow in his hand was already fully drawn once more.

This time, what condensed on the bowstring was no longer just simple True Sun Fire, but a Fusion with the power of the Celestial Fox Illusion Domain. The arrow was golden throughout, surrounded by illusory white fox silhouettes, emitting an aura that was both holy and eerie.

"Ten Thousand Arrows Rending the Sky and Piercing Clouds · Illusion Fire!"

Whiz!

The arrow left the string, instantly splitting into a rain of hundreds of golden-red arrows. Each arrow carried the scorching power of True Sun Fire while also being enveloped by the hallucinatory effects of the Celestial Fox Illusion Domain.

Seeing this, the cultists rushing forward waved their blades to block. But the moment their blade light touched the arrow rain, countless terrifying illusions suddenly appeared before their eyes—some saw themselves burned to ashes by True Sun Fire, some saw themselves becoming blood slaves, and others saw the Blood Shadow Pavilion completely destroyed after the Blood Demon emerged.

"Ah!"

"No!"

Screams of agony rose one after another, and the cultists' movements showed a clear lag.

Now!

Su Ye roared, his body swelling to three meters tall as his Mountain-Opening Axe, carrying blazing flames, charged into the group of cultists like a tiger descending a mountain. His Berserker Bloodline completely erupted, his Physical Body becoming as hard as iron; the blood-colored scimitars hacking at him only left faint white marks.

"Go to hell!"

Su Ye's axe fell, splitting a cultist directly in half. Blood splashed onto his face, making him look even more ferocious.

Qin Yue moved like lightning, her Frost Sword flashing with cold light as she guarded the civilians. Her Azure Cloud Sword Technique was pushed to its limit; wherever the sword wind passed, the blood mist dissipated. Any fish that slipped through the net trying to harm the civilians was silenced by her blade to the throat.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Zhao Lie's arrows also accurately shot toward those cultists confused by the illusions. His arrows specifically targeted the cultists' wrists and knees; every arrow could disable a cultist's combat power, greatly reducing the pressure on Su Ye.

Lin Zhou held the sun-shooting bow, his gaze like a torch, locking onto the stronger cultists.

He noticed three cultists with auras reaching the legendary rank sitting cross-legged at the back of the group, chanting. In front of them sat a blood-colored Formation Plate, which emitted a heart-palpitating evil aura.

"Not good! They are performing an evil technique!"

Lin Zhou's expression changed; he could feel a terrifying Blood Devilish Qi gathering within the Formation Plate. If they were allowed to finish the spell, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Senior Brother Zhao Lie, cover me!"

Lin Zhou shouted, his body turning into a streak of golden light as he rushed toward the three cultists.

Seeing this, the three cultists sneered. They suddenly stood up and struck out with their palms simultaneously, sending three blood-colored palm prints hurtling toward Lin Zhou. The palm prints contained dense Blood Devilish Qi and emitted a foul stench.

"Paltry tricks!"

Lin Zhou's eyes were cold; with a swing of the sun-shooting bow, a golden arrow light slashed out, splitting the three blood-colored palm prints in half.

At the same time, Zhao Lie's arrows accurately shot toward the foreheads of the three cultists.

"Hmph!"

One cultist snorted coldly and waved his hand, creating a blood mist barrier in front of him. Zhao Lie's arrows hit the barrier and were instantly corroded by the Blood Devilish Qi, turning into fly ash.

"Lin Zhou, your opponents are us!"

The three cultists surrounded Lin Zhou in a triangular formation. Blood mist churned around them, and their auras were terrifying.

"Just the three of you? You think you're worthy of being my opponents?"

A mocking smile played at the corner of Lin Zhou's mouth. The Pseudo-King Initial Stage spiritual energy in his body erupted without reservation, his Ten Thousand Arrows Return to Origin Perfection Concept was fully activated, and the 80% Awakening of his Celestial Fox Physique boosted his speed to the limit.

His figure flickered through the forest like a ghost, causing all the attacks from the three cultists to miss.

"Damn it! How can he be so fast!"

One cultist cursed, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.

Lin Zhou ignored them, instead seizing a flaw and raising his hand to fire an Illusion Fire arrow.

This arrow went straight for the forehead of one of the cultists.

Seeing this, the cultist hurriedly swung his blade to block. But the moment his blade light touched the arrow, a terrifying illusion suddenly appeared before his eyes—he saw Lin Zhou holding the sun-shooting bow, piercing the Blood Demon's head with a single arrow.

"No! Impossible!"

The cultist's mind wavered, and his movements lagged for a moment.

Now!

The Illusion Fire arrow took advantage of the opening, instantly piercing his forehead. True Sun Fire surged into his body along the arrow, instantly incinerating his internal organs to ash.

"Third Brother!"

Seeing this, the other two cultists were enraged and lunged at Lin Zhou frantically.

Lin Zhou's eyes were cold as he drew the sun-shooting bow to its limit once more.

This time, he didn't use an Illusion Fire arrow but condensed a pure True Sun Fire arrow.

"Divine Arrow of Sun-Shooting · Evil-Breaking!"

Whiz!

A golden light that seemed to pierce through heaven and earth shot out at extreme speed.

The two cultists had no time to react before the golden light pierced their chests. True Sun Fire burned wildly inside them, incinerating their bodies along with the Blood Devilish Qi into ash.

After dealing with the three legendary rank cultists, Lin Zhou turned to look at the battlefield.

By now, Su Ye and Qin Yue had also finished off all the cultists. Cultist corpses were scattered throughout the forest, and the blood mist had been completely dispersed by the True Sun Fire.

Seeing this, the civilians knelt on the ground one after another, kowtowing to the four of them in gratitude.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Milords!"

"You are truly our second parents!"

Lin Zhou hurriedly stepped forward to help them up. "No need for such formalities. Protecting civilians is our duty."

Just then, Colonel Wang's communication came through again.

"Lin Zhou, excellent! You've successfully rescued the civilians!" Colonel Wang's voice was excited. "However, the Blood Shadow Pavilion is moving faster than we expected. According to the latest intelligence, the Blood Demon Grand Array is nearing completion. The time for the general offensive on Blood Shadow Mountain has been moved up to three days from now!"

Three days?

Lin Zhou's gaze became solemn.

It seemed the moment for the decisive battle had arrived early!

He turned to Su Ye, Qin Yue, and Zhao Lie, saying in a deep voice, "Brothers, get ready! Three days from now, at Blood Shadow Mountain, we will slay all the demons and restore peace to the Blue Star!"

"Slay all the demons! Restore our peace!"

Su Ye, Qin Yue, and Zhao Lie roared in unison, their voices echoing through the entire forest.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling on them as if cloaking them in golden armor.

The horn for the decisive battle had been blown!