65: Chapter 65 Demonic Fire

Meanwhile, outside Yuanhe Town.

The forces of the Red Lotus Cult had already packed up and set out.

Old Man Hongsha was followed by hundreds of cultists and three stiff-stepping Corpse People.

Each Corpse Person was stained with blood that dripped onto the ground before it could dry; this was the result of the Red Lotus Cult encountering fleeing villagers along the way and killing them all to feed the Corpse People.

The group reached a valley floor filled with grain bags and wine jars. Hongsha stopped the crowd: "Go up and see what those things are!"

Several rebels walked over and used their sabers to slash open the bags, revealing shimmering golden spirit rice inside. They opened the seals on the wine jars, and a wave of wine fragrance immediately wafted out.

It made them all feel their blood and Qi surging with vitality.

"Exalted Immortal! It seems to be golden spirit rice and crimson blood wine!"

Seeing this, Old Man Hongsha said disdainfully, "I didn't expect the Ye family to run so fast!"

These supplies were scattered in a mess, clearly abandoned by the roadside during a panicked flight because they couldn't be carried away.

But he didn't want to come all this way for nothing. Spurring his horse, he shouted, "Follow me into the village!"

If the Ye family had fled, then their goods and property would belong to him!

Above the valley entrance, Ye Jing looked down at the dense swarm of figures below. There was not a hint of fear in his eyes, only a cold, murderous intent.

Once they had all squeezed into the narrow valley mouth, Ye Jing suddenly raised his hand and roared, "Set the fire!"

As soon as he spoke, countless dry branches and leaves soaked in oil fell from the mountain walls on both sides of the pass, accompanied by the pungent smell of saltpeter.

A line of fire ignited instantly, completely sealing off both the exit and entrance of the gorge.

As the fire raged, Old Man Hongsha realized he had been ambushed. He flew into a rage: "Damn it! Everyone, kill your way out!"

The rebels were thrown into chaos by the massive fire, screaming incessantly as they followed Old Man Hongsha's orders, clutching their blades and axes to charge out of the inferno.

But immediately following that, a dense volley of fire arrows shot down from the valley top, rushing toward them like rain.

Amidst the flames, Old Man Hongsha shouted and threw his red robe upward with a swirl. The red robe instantly transformed into a vast, dense net that covered them all, blocking the incoming fire arrows.

The fire arrows were blocked by the giant red cloth, yet the cloth remained completely unscathed.

Above the valley, Guo Zhengning and Zhao Yuanyi were horrified. To think the leader of the Red Lotus Cult possessed such means!

Old Man Hongsha laughed with immense pride. How could these mere mortals be a match for him!

Seeing Old Man Hongsha using a Magical Artifact for defense, Ye Jing immediately used the Immortal Willow to inspect the old man's abilities.

He saw the following information: This elder is at Qi Refining Level 2. The red cloth he uses is a self-refined low-grade Magical Artifact, which can be broken by Demon Fire.

Ye Jing hadn't expected the Immortal Willow to be able to detect an enemy's weaknesses. This was truly heaven helping him!

Thinking of this, Ye Jing looked at the chaos below. Seeing the Martial Artists busy shooting arrows at the rebels, he secretly patted Xiao Chi beside him.

It could be broken by Demon Fire, and the fire Divine Ability Xiao Chi currently used was exactly that.

"Xiao Chi! Go, destroy that red cloth!"

Xiao Chi immediately gave a low roar, flicked its tail, and charged into the chaotic rebel ranks.

Just as Old Man Hongsha was waiting for the red cloth to block all the fire arrows, a sharp, piercing pain suddenly radiated from the cloth above.

He looked up to see that a large hole had actually been torn through his refined Magical Artifact. The hole was still spreading with flames that were about to consume the entire artifact.

"This... what on earth is going on?!" Old Man Hongsha was greatly shocked.

His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the spreading flames.

The fire carried an eerie dark red hue, and its burning speed far exceeded that of ordinary fire. The protective red robe he had worked so hard to refine was now being easily eaten away like thin paper.

What made his heart race even more was that the fire contained a demonic aura. It followed the Spiritual Qi of the Magical Artifact, causing his blood and Qi to churn and even making his meager Qi Refining cultivation power fluctuate slightly.

"It's Demon Fire!" Old Man Hongsha finally realized, his gaze locking onto a red figure darting through the rebels.

It was an exotic beast shaped like a fox, surrounded by dark red Demon Fire. Every time it flicked its tail, sparks of fire splashed out.

Whenever they landed on a rebel's clothing, they instantly ignited into a large blaze, and screams of agony rose one after another.

This was Xiao Chi. Originally, using the fire Divine Ability would have exhausted its strength in one go, but over the years, with the Spiritual Qi supplements of crimson blood fruit and Mountain Delicacy Chicken provided by Ye Jing, Xiao Chi could now use this fire Divine Ability continuously.

It could be said that Xiao Chi was now the strongest combat power of the Ye family.

Xiao Chi was completely unfazed by Old Man Hongsha's glare, its clever eyes full of disdain.

It gave a sudden leap, its body carving an arc of fire in the air. The Demon Fire on its body flared up, transforming into a small streak of light that lunged straight for Old Man Hongsha's red robe.

The red robe already had a large hole; when the streak of fire hit it, it instantly shattered into pieces, and the refined Magical Artifact was destroyed.

Old Man Hongsha suffered an immediate backlash, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Meanwhile, that strange Yao Beast instantly vanished into the crowd.

The Martial Artists shooting fire arrows from above were overjoyed.

They couldn't see Xiao Chi inside the red cloth and assumed the cloth had been burned away by their continuous arrows.

"That eerie red cloth has been burned away by us! Charge! Kill the leader of the Red Lotus Cult!"

"Damn cultist! Die!"

Without the protection of the red cloth, the fire arrows from above remained as dense as rain, falling unhindered into the rebels. The already chaotic rebel force suffered heavy casualties.

Old Man Hongsha no longer intended to continue the attack. He had underestimated these villagers; there must be a cultivator like him among them, and one who could control a Yao Beast!

"Retreat!" Old Man Hongsha gritted his teeth.

If it were ordinary Martial Artists, he would have nothing to fear, but he feared a fellow cultivator most of all!

Old Man Hongsha swept a glance over the villagers, his eyes full of venom, and then turned to flee.

Looking at the flames blocking them, he let out a loud shout. Without the red robe covering him, his withered, stick-thin body was revealed to be covered in corpse spots. A black waist bell hung at his hip, which let out a crisp ring with a slight shake.

The three Corpse People were completely unafraid of the fire. They forcibly broke through the flames, smashed through the fire barriers to create a large opening, and fled into the mountain forests.

Seeing their leader fleeing, the rebels dropped their armor and weapons in a pathetic state, screaming as they ran.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuanyi immediately ordered: "Pursue them! Don't let these rebels escape!"

Hearing this and seeing the Red Lotus Cult members fleeing, the Martial Artists immediately gave chase.

Seeing the rebels fleeing toward the Qinling Mountains, Ye Jing said to Xiao Chi, "Go find Hei Feng and Xiao Yu. We're going into the mountains to hunt down Old Man Hongsha!"

Receiving the command, Xiao Chi immediately ran back toward home.

Fires continued to burn in the mountains. Facing the onslaught of a large number of First-Stage Martial Artists, the rebels were clearly unable to hold their ground.

Zhao Yuanyi and Guo Zhengning killed the rebels one by one, but no matter how long they searched among them, they couldn't find Old Man Hongsha.