82: Chapter 82 Burning the Demon Vine, First Battle Against the Ancient Demon

The Great Sun Golden Flame is a fire of utmost Yang and rigidity, naturally suppressing all Yin and evil things! Bursting forth at this moment, it could instantly break free from the bone hand's restraint and, more importantly, burn the Demon Vines to ashes with its raging flames, even deterring other potential hidden threats! He needed to use the fastest speed and the most violent flames to clear a safe area!

Thoughts moved, spiritual energy surged!

The pale bone hand gripping Lin Ye's ankle, the moment it touched the red-gold flames, hissed like snow meeting boiling oil, instantly turning charred and brittle, before being shattered into dust by a sudden shock from Lin Ye!

At the same time, the red-gold flames around Lin Ye's body erupted! It wasn't chaotic; instead, centered on him, it transformed into a rotating, expanding whirlwind of fire, sweeping all the incoming jet-black Demon Vines into it!

"Hiss — —!!!"

The Demon Vines seemed to possess life, emitting sharp, piercing hisses within the flames, twisting wildly in an attempt to break free, but how could the Great Sun Golden Flame be easily defied? Wherever the flames passed, the Demon Vines turned charred, withered, and finally into ashes at a speed visible to the naked eye!

A scorched stench and a strange, fishy-sweet smell permeated the air.

The whirlwind of fire lasted for a few breaths, burning away the lavender mist within several yards and scorching the ground into a patch of scorched earth. All the Soul-Devouring Demon Vines that had attacked were reduced to nothing. Only in the shadows of the stone pillars further away did some Demon Vines continue to writhe timidly, not daring to advance further.

"What a domineering flame!" Chu Yun exclaimed. Although he also cultivated fire Spells, he asked himself if he possessed such pure and scorching flames.

Ying's eyes flashed slightly, raising his assessment of Lin Ye's strength another level.

Su Waner breathed a sigh of relief, clutching the soul-calming ancient lamp tightly; the lamp flame seemed to have brightened slightly under the previous explosion of fire.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay. Although the Demon Vines have retreated, they might attract other things. Let's go quickly!" Lin Ye retracted his flames, his face slightly pale. The sudden eruption just now consumed quite a bit. He took a Medicinal Pill and signaled for Ying to continue leading the way.

Ying nodded, the compass needle in his hand spinning rapidly, pointing to a narrow crevice deeper in the stone forest: "This way, follow me!"

The four quickened their pace, passing through the stone forest crevice. Behind the crevice, the scene changed abruptly, revealing a vast swamp shrouded in gray-green and emitting a pungent, acidic, and rotten odor — the Bone-Corroding Swamp!

Mud churned in the swamp, bubbling, with pale skeletons and twisted plants floating on the water's surface. Some places looked like solid ground but might actually be bottomless quagmires. In the air flew some fist-sized, emerald-green, sharp-mouthed "Bone-Rotting Flies," emitting an annoying buzzing sound.

"Follow my footprints, not a single step wrong." Ying's expression also became solemn. He took out a long probe, with a stone emitting a faint silver light tied to the front, and began to carefully probe the path, marking the solid footholds.

Lin Ye and the other two followed closely, holding their breath, carefully avoiding the Bone-Rotting Flies attacking from the air (dispelling them with Sword Qi or Talismans), and trudging forward in the perilous swamp, stepping on the marks left by Ying.

They walked for a full two hours before crossing most of the swamp. During this time, they triggered hidden quagmire traps several times or were attacked by swamp Yao Beasts, all of which were resolved by the four working together.

Just as they were about to reach the opposite bank, another unexpected turn occurred!

In the center of the swamp ahead, on a relatively dry black mound, a huge mud bag suddenly bulged! The mud bag exploded, and a giant Yao Beast with a body length of over three yards, covered in black bone armor, possessing hideous mouthparts, and exuding an aura of Peak First Stage (equivalent to Qi Refining Great Perfection) — the [Bone-Corroding Crocodile] — crawled out, blocking their way!

What was more troublesome was that with the appearance of the Bone-Corroding Crocodile, seven or eight slightly smaller Bone-Corroding Crocodiles, but with auras also reaching the Late Stage of the First Stage, emerged from the surrounding swamp, semi-encircling the four in the swamp!

"It's a pack of Bone-Corroding Crocodiles! The leader is nearly Second Stage!" Ying shouted in a low voice, "We cannot engage in a protracted battle; the swamp is their home turf!"

"I will open the path, you follow closely!" A fierce look flashed in Lin Ye's eyes; he knew he had to finish this quickly. He stepped forward abruptly, his right hand drawing the red dragon sword (borrowed temporarily), and in the palm of his left hand, a wisp of extremely condensed, pale-gold, crimson flame (a combination of Great Sun Golden Flame and the red dragon sword's fire energy) rose quietly.

"Senior Brother Chu, Senior Brother Ying, Senior Sister Su, cover me and clear the small fry!"

Before the words fell, Lin Ye's figure shot out like a cannonball, rushing straight at the largest Bone-Corroding Crocodile! While in mid-air, his left hand slammed the flame onto the body of the red dragon sword!

"Blazing Dragon Soars!"

The red dragon sword emitted a high-pitched dragon roar! The fire dragon patterns wrapped around the sword blade seemed to come alive, combining with Lin Ye's Great Sun Golden Flame to transform into a red-gold fire dragon shadow, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, carrying the terrifying momentum of burning rivers and boiling seas, biting down on the Bone-Corroding Crocodile!

With this sword strike, Lin Ye held nothing back, using all his spiritual energy from the Late Stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining, fusing the utmost Yang power of the Great Sun Golden Flame with the sharpness of the red dragon sword!

The Bone-Corroding Crocodile seemed to sense a fatal threat, letting out a roar. The black light on its bone armor soared, its giant mouth opened, and a stream of foul-smelling black water shot out, meeting the fire dragon shadow!

Sss — —!!!

Water and fire clashed, erupting into a sky full of white mist! The black water stream was quickly evaporated and pierced through by the fire dragon shadow! Although the fire dragon shadow dimmed significantly, its momentum remained undiminished, slamming fiercely onto the huge front claws and head of the Bone-Corroding Crocodile!

Boom!

The red-gold flames exploded! The Bone-Corroding Crocodile let out a painful roar, its front claw bone armor shattered, its head charred, and it was smashed backward by the huge impact, falling into the swamp mud and splashing up a sky full of mud waves.

At the same time, Chu Yun's sword light, Ying's silent hidden weapons, and the "Soul-Fixing Light" (which can briefly disrupt the Divine Soul of Yao Beasts) activated by Su Waner with the soul-calming ancient lamp, also attacked the other Bone-Corroding Crocodiles, forcing them back or pinning them down.

"Go!" Lin Ye, having succeeded with one strike, did not linger, eyeing the relatively solid ground behind the black mound, and dashed forward.

Chu Yun and the others followed closely.

Just as the four stepped onto the solid land on the opposite bank, the angry roars of the Bone-Corroding Crocodiles and the churning of mud came from the swamp behind them, but they seemed unwilling to easily leave the swamp and did not pursue.

"That was close..." Su Waner said with lingering fear.

"Junior Brother Lin's sword strike is already comparable to a blow from the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment." Chu Yun looked at Lin Ye, his eyes full of amazement. He asked himself that if he were facing that Bone-Corroding Crocodile leader, he would have no chance of winning.

Ying also nodded silently, no longer doubting Lin Ye's strength.

Lin Ye took a Medicinal Pill and adjusted his breath for a moment. That sword strike just now consumed a lot, but the effect was remarkable. He also felt that after actual combat, his Fusion of the Great Sun Golden Flame and sword techniques had become more handy.

"Continue forward. The Demon Hunting Path should be not far ahead." Ying looked at the compass and pointed to a forest of withered trees on the other side of the swamp.

Crossing the withered forest, they indeed saw an ancient path hidden in the weeds, almost unrecognizable. The path was paved with some kind of black stone slabs, worn by the passage of time, with many missing, but one could still see the traces of artificial excavation. On both sides of the path, there were scattered bones of humans and Yao Beasts that had long weathered away, as well as fragments of rusted weapons, silently telling of the tragedy of ancient times.

This was the Demon Hunting Path.

The four felt refreshed and stepped onto the path. The path seemed to possess a special power; walking on it, the surrounding Devilish Qi and Evil Qi were repelled, and their minds felt much more at peace. Clearly, the Cultivators who opened this road back then had spent a lot of effort.

Moving along the path, their speed increased significantly. Along the way, they encountered several waves of sporadic demon attacks, but they were not strong and were easily resolved.

A day later, ahead of the path, a huge broken canyon appeared. On the opposite side of the canyon, the gray-black Devilish Qi was even more intense, almost condensing into substance, with twisted shadows and scarlet lights faintly visible within. That was one of the core areas of the Ancient Demon Battlefield, and "Meteor Demon Valley" was deep within that area.

The path ended abruptly at the edge of the canyon. In front, only a few remaining rusted iron chains connected the two sides of the canyon, swaying in the strong wind and making "creaking" sounds. Below the iron chains was a bottomless abyss with churning Devilish Qi.

"The iron chain bridge is broken, leaving only these few remaining chains. We need to climb across." Ying said in a deep voice, "There are strong gale winds and chaotic Devilish Qi turbulence in the canyon; we must be extremely careful."

Lin Ye looked across, then glanced at the abyss beneath his feet.

Given their cultivation levels, short-term flight using artifacts might be possible, but the fierce gales and chaotic currents above this place are extremely strong, and it might attract flying demonic beasts, making it even more dangerous.

Climbing the rope, while primitive, is safer.

"I will go first to scout the situation. Senior Brother Chu and Senior Brother Ying will protect Senior Sister Su in the middle, and I will bring up the rear," Lin Ye arranged.

"Good, be careful, Junior Brother Lin," Chu Yun nodded.

Lin Ye walked to the edge of the cliff, grasped a relatively thick iron chain, tested its stability, then took a deep breath, channeled spiritual power into his hands and feet, and like a spiritual ape, climbed onto the iron chain and moved quickly towards the opposite bank.

The iron chain swayed, and the fierce gales below howled, carrying a biting chill and chaotic Devilish Qi that constantly impacted his protective spiritual light. Lin Ye steadied his mind, his speed undiminished.

He had already passed two-thirds.

Suddenly!

In the abyss below, the Devilish Qi churned violently, and several monsters, completely composed of pitch-black Devilish Qi and shaped like giant pythons with single horns on their heads, suddenly leaped out, biting fiercely at Lin Ye on the iron chain!

"Devilish Qi Manifestation"! At least equivalent to the Peak of the First Stage, or perhaps even touching the threshold of the Second Stage!

"Careful!" Chu Yun and the others on the opposite bank exclaimed.

A cold light flashed in Lin Ye's eyes; he was on the iron chain with nowhere to dodge!

He abruptly let go, his body plummeting several feet to avoid the first Devil Python's pounce, while his legs clamped tightly onto the iron chain. Exerting force from his waist and abdomen, his body rolled backward and rose, his right hand's red dragon sword slashing out in a backhand, sending a red-gold sword light toward the second Devil Python!

The sword light swept past, and the Devil Python was cut into sections, but the Devilish Qi at the break squirmed and actually recovered quickly!

At the same time, several other Devil Pythons had pounced from different angles!

In a critical moment, Lin Ye raised his left hand, and a "Heavenly Thunder Talisman" flew out, activating in mid-air!

Boom crack—!

The blinding silver thunder exploded within the Devilish Qi! The supreme, rigid power of thunder is the nemesis of Devilish Qi! The Devil Pythons let out shrill hisses, their forms instantly dimming and dissipating by more than half!

"Now!" Lin Ye seized the opportunity, his figure swaying violently on the iron chain. Like an arrow leaving the bow, he shot towards the opposite bank, simultaneously throwing several "Flame Explosion Beads" behind him to prevent the Devilish Qi from re-condensing.

Poof!

He landed steadily on the cliff on the opposite bank, looked back, and saw that the Devilish Qi, under the ravages of thunder and fire, could not re-condense for the time being.

"Come over quickly!" Lin Ye shouted to the opposite side.

Seeing this, Chu Yun and the others did not hesitate and quickly climbed over the rope one by one. With Lin Ye covering them from the opposite bank with Sword Qi and Talismans, although there were scares, there was no danger, and the three of them arrived successfully.

"The Devilish Qi here is thick and can already manifest to attack. Everyone, be careful and follow me closely," Lin Ye said with a solemn expression, taking a Medicinal Pill to recover. The consecutive bursts just now had consumed quite a lot of energy.

The four of them rested for a while and continued to move forward along the Demon Hunting Path (there were still remains on the opposite bank).

After walking for about ten miles, the scene ahead changed drastically again.

In the gray-black Devilish Qi, wisps of eerie dark red light began to appear, and the air was filled with a rich smell of blood and a restless killing intent. The ground became scorched and hard, covered with huge cracks, and dark red magma faintly flowed within them. In the distance, there were bursts of low rumbling, as if coming from deep underground, as well as a faint, Soul-reaching hiss and wail.

Here, they were infinitely close to the "Meteor Demon Valley"!

"There are strong energy fluctuations ahead and... sounds of fighting?" Chu Yun listened carefully and suddenly said.

Lin Ye felt it too. He signaled everyone to restrain their auras and sneak forward carefully.

Climbing up a high slope, they looked down.

Below was a huge basin, as if smashed by a meteorite. In the center of the basin was a bottomless giant pit, continuously gushing dark red Devilish Qi and magma—that was the entrance to the "Meteor Demon Valley"!

And on the edge of the basin, near the side where Lin Ye and the others were, a fierce battle was breaking out at this moment!

On one side was Zhao Kun and his four cronies, as well as more than a dozen Yinkui Sect Cultivators in black robes with cold auras! One of them had an aura that had reached the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, on par with Zhao Kun!

On the other side were... Cultivators from the Golden Flame Valley! There were about seven or eight people, led by a red-haired old man who was also at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment! They seemed to have just arrived as well and were confronting and fighting with Zhao Kun's side.

Both sides seemed to be fighting for priority to enter the Meteor Demon Valley or preventing the other side from entering. Spells, Sword Qi, Puppets, and flames were intertwined, with constant roaring, leaving the edge of the basin in a mess.

"It's Zhao Kun! And people from the Golden Flame Valley!" Chu Yun whispered.

"They really are here!" Lin Ye's eyes were sharp, scanning the battlefield. Zhao Kun and the Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Yinkui Sect had joined forces and were fighting fiercely with the red-haired old man from the Golden Flame Valley, and it was difficult to distinguish a winner for the time being. The others were also locked in a chaotic battle.

"It seems they also just arrived and haven't entered the Meteor Demon Valley yet," Ying observed.

"What should we do? Sneak in during the chaos? Or..." Su Waner asked.

Lin Ye's brain raced. The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman gains? But both sides were very strong, and their goal might be something inside the valley, so being that fisherman might not be easy.

Perhaps... wait for them to both be defeated, or... enter the Meteor Demon Valley before them?

But the entrance to the Meteor Demon Valley was blocked by the Cultivators of both sides and the aftermath of the battle, so how could they sneak in?

Just then, Lin Ye suddenly noticed that on the other side of the basin, near the rock wall at the entrance of the Meteor Demon Valley, there seemed to be an inconspicuous crack half-hidden by vines and rubble. In the crack, there was a faint spatial fluctuation different from the surrounding Devilish Qi.

Could it be... that is another entrance? Or a backup passage left by the Demon Hunting Cultivators back then?

"Look there!" Lin Ye pointed to the crack.

Chu Yun and the others looked in that direction and also noticed the abnormality.

"It's possible. But we need to cross the edge of the battlefield, and we might be discovered," Ying analyzed.

"Fortune favors the bold. If we wait for them to decide the winner, no matter who wins, it will be unfavorable for us. It is better to take a risk and enter first," Lin Ye said, his eyes firm. "I have the residual effect of the 'shadowless veil' and a high-level Invisibility Talisman; I can try to take Senior Sister Su over first. Senior Brother Chu, Senior Brother Ying, you hide here and act according to the situation. If we are discovered, you can create chaos to provide cover."

"No, it's too dangerous! I'll go with you!" Chu Yun said anxiously.

"Too many people make for a larger target. I have an ancient lamp that can help hide Divine Soul fluctuations," Su Waner added.

Lin Ye pondered for a moment. "Okay, Senior Sister Su will follow me. Senior Brother Chu, Senior Brother Ying, you prepare here. If the situation takes a turn for the worse, immediately use the 'Heavenly Thunder Talisman' and 'Flame Explosion Beads' to attack the rear of Zhao Kun or the Golden Flame Valley to create chaos, and then withdraw along the Demon Hunting Path to the agreed meeting point."

"Understood!" Chu Yun and Ying nodded heavily.

Lin Ye did not hesitate any longer, took out the last high-level "Invisibility Talisman," and activated it, enveloping himself and Su Waner in a faint, almost invisible phantom, while simultaneously pushing the effect of the "shadowless veil" to the extreme. The two of them were like ghosts, sticking to the ground and using the terrain and the chaos of the battle to sneak silently toward the crack in the rock wall.

In the center of the battlefield, the battle between Zhao Kun and the red-haired old man of the Golden Flame Valley had reached a fever pitch. Both sides seemed to have truly lost their tempers, and various trump cards were used frequently, attracting most of the attention.

Lin Ye and Su Waner held their breath, moving quickly in the shadows. The distance to the crack was less than a hundred feet.

Fifty feet, thirty feet, ten feet...

They were about to successfully sneak in.

Suddenly!

The rolling dark red Devilish Qi at the entrance of the Meteor Demon Valley suddenly boiled violently! A terrifying roar, as if from the Nine Nether Hell, full of endless tyranny and desire for destruction, burst out from the depths of the valley, causing the entire basin to tremble!

Both sides of the battle, including Lin Ye and Su Waner, were shocked by this sudden change, their movements involuntarily stalling.

Immediately afterward, an indescribably terrifying suction force erupted from the entrance of the Meteor Demon Valley! At the same time, the Devilish Qi at the entrance of the valley expanded and spread crazily like a living thing, instantly covering most of the basin!

Zhao Kun, the Yinkui Sect Cultivators, the Golden Flame Valley Cultivators, and Lin Ye and Su Waner, who had just touched the edge of the crack, all felt their bodies sink, as if caught by an invisible giant hand, and were uncontrollably dragged toward the bottomless, Devilish Qi-filled entrance of the Meteor Demon Valley!