Chapter 261 The Heaven-Burning Curse

The Bat King struggled to crawl up, but its wing membranes were already torn. It stumbled, unable to fly high, and could only crazily pounce and bite at its surroundings with its sharp claws and fangs, attempting to tear open a path to survival.

Seeing this, Liu Quan immediately pulled a tinderbox from his bosom and threw it toward the crimson flame demon-binding net in his hands. The tinderbox landed on the net, instantly igniting the sulfur-soaked netting threads. Flames soared into the air, illuminating the entire cavern.

Shen Suning was startled and instinctively wanted to let go, but Liu Quan stopped her.

"Don't move. When this net burns, it won't harm the person holding it; it only burns demonic creatures!"

Before he even finished speaking, the two of them cast the burning crimson flame demon-binding net over the Bat King.

Seeing the flames rushing toward its face, the Bat King wanted to dodge, but it was forced to retreat in another direction by Wan Chongshan's hook-sickle spear, while Ling Xiaoning and Zhao Mo were already prepared and waiting.

"Ignite it!"

Ling Xiaoning gritted his teeth, pulled out his tinderbox, and ignited the net in his hands as well.

Two burning nets slowly closed in on the Bat King from left and right, the raging flames illuminating the entire cavern as bright as day.

The firelight illuminated the Bat King's twisted human face. Its fur was scorched black, and the wounds on its wing membranes were still bleeding, but its eyes remained terrifyingly bright.

The group slowly closed in, the two burning nets on either side now only a zhang away from it. The flames soared, the heat wave oppressive; in front of such flames, an ordinary person would have long since been terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Yet, the Bat King did not flee. It only stared fixedly at the approaching fire nets, letting out a low hiss from its throat, as if mocking something.

Suddenly it moved—not to escape backward, but straight toward the burning net on the left.

"It's gone mad!"

Ling Xiaoning exclaimed, and everyone else was stunned.

This fire net was a Sharp Weapon specifically designed to deal with Demon Kings. The sulfur-soaked substances in the flames meant that any demonic creature that touched it would have a layer of skin stripped off. Why was this Bat King actively pouncing onto it?

But the next instant, everyone's eyes widened.

The Bat King dove into the fire net, and the flames instantly swallowed its figure. Yet, it was not burned; it even moved through the flames with ease. Finally, it rolled inside the fire net and barely managed to squeeze out through the mesh. The sparks on its wing membranes were quickly extinguished, and there wasn't even the slightest burn on its fur.

"How is that possible?!"

Liu Quan was so shocked his jaw dropped.

Chen Mu's pupils contracted. This Bat King was actually unafraid of fire. But there was no time to think; having squeezed out of the fire net, the Bat King lunged toward the nearest person, Ling Xiaoning. Its fierce light was even more intense than before; it was clearly driven to a dead end and wanted to fight to the death.

Ling Xiaoning was so scared his face turned pale. He brandished his short sword wildly, trying to force it back, but his meager skills were simply not enough before the Bat King.

Just at this moment, a figure descended from the sky.

Chen Mu swooped down at a speed far beyond the ordinary, his soul-slaying blade slashing straight at the Bat King's nape.

This strike was both fast and ruthless.

Sensing danger, the Bat King had no choice but to give up on Ling Xiaoning, flapping its wings again to rise and avoid the blade.

But just as it dodged this blow, Chen Mu's second strike followed. The soul-slaying blade traced arcs of dark gold, each one targeting the Bat King's vital points, forcing it to dodge repeatedly.

Seeing this, Feng Qing pulled three arrowheads from his quiver, nocked them onto his bow, and aimed at the Bat King's retreat path.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Three arrows were fired in succession, forming a triangular formation that blocked the Bat King's left, right, and upper directions. The Bat King was shocked and angry; it had to abruptly halt its momentum and plummet downward.

Below, Wan Chongshan had already been waiting for it, his spear tip thrusting straight up, forcing it to flap its wings and rise again.

In just this moment of going up and down, Chen Mu had already caught up.

The soul-slaying blade slashed horizontally, the edge aiming straight for the Bat King.

The Bat King let out a sharp screech, its sharp claws meeting the blade edge, actually attempting to clash head-on with its claws. Sparks flew instantly.

Chen Mu felt a massive force transmit from the blade, but instead of retreating, he advanced. He infused the Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi into the blade, making the strike three times more ferocious.

How could the Bat King's claws withstand a blade edge infused with such Protective Aura? With a crack, two claws snapped off. Filthy blood splattered everywhere. It let out a miserable howl, its wings flapping wildly as it desperately tried to shake off Chen Mu.

Shen Suning and Liu Quan had already seen his intention and cast the net over it once more. The Bat King had nowhere to dodge and could only crash headfirst into the net. The flames swallowed it again, but it remained unafraid of fire. It struggled crazily within the net, its sharp claws tearing at the netting threads, wanting to rip an opening to escape.

But this net was woven from special Materials and was exceptionally tough; it couldn't tear it open in a short while. How could Chen Mu give it another chance? The soul-slaying blade was drawn instantly.

"Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique!"

With one slash, the blade light was like a streak of silk, unstoppable.

Sensing fatal danger, the Bat King struggled frantically, wanting to avoid this strike, but it was trapped in the net with nowhere to hide. The blade swept past, and blood splattered.

"Pfft!"

Black blood gushed out, splattering all over Chen Mu. The Bat King let out an extremely shrill scream, its wings flapping powerlessly twice before its huge body crashed into the thick bat guano, kicking up a cloud of foul-smelling dust.

Chen Mu sheathed his soul-slaying blade.

Inside the cavern, it suddenly became quiet, with only the crackling of the flames and the heavy panting of the group.

Liu Quan sat down on the ground with a thud, gasping for air.

"Oh my goodness... we finally managed to kill this beast..."

Ling Xiaoning also collapsed onto the ground, still clutching the burning net that was now nothing but ruins, his lips trembling, unable to say a single word.

Shen Suning walked over to Chen Mu and took out a handkerchief to hand to him. Chen Mu took it and casually wiped the black blood from his face.

Just at this moment, the Bat King suddenly moved.

Wan Chongshan abruptly took a step back, the spear tip pointing straight at its head, but the thing only twitched twice, its eyeballs slowly turning before finally landing on Chen Mu.

Its lips moved, emitting a disjointed, intermittent sound.

"You brat... how dare you! Heaven-Burning... A Heaven-Burning rage... blood flowing enough to float a pestle..."

Its voice was extremely low, carrying an indescribable eeriness, especially the two words "Heaven-Burning," which were articulated with exceptional clarity, as if these two words themselves contained a terrifying power.

Chen Mu slightly furrowed his brows.

"Heaven-Burning?"

He wanted to ask more, but the Bat King no longer had the strength to speak. Its pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Chen Mu, the resentment in them almost overflowing.

Chen Mu slightly furrowed his brows and threw the soul-slaying blade, completely pinning it to the ground.

The Bat King instantly stiffened and stopped twitching after a while, yet the eyes on its head still hadn't fully closed, the pitch-black eyeballs staring fixedly at him, filled with unwillingness and resentment.

A moment later, those eyes lost their luster and dimmed completely.

[Killed Human-Faced Blood Bat, plundered Martial Dao Lifespan: 1,237 years.]

Chen Mu's heart stirred slightly. 1,237 years—this Lifespan was truly not a small amount. It seemed it had occupied this place for far longer than he had imagined.

He remained calm on the surface, only bending down to pull out the soul-slaying blade, wiping the filthy blood from the blade body on the Bat King's fur, and sheathing it.

"Is it dead?"

Ling Xiaoning asked cautiously.

"It's dead."

Chen Mu nodded.

Ling Xiaoning finally let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for air. Liu Quan also climbed up, patted the dust off his body, and moved closer to the Bat King's corpse to take a look, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"This thing, fearing fire yet not fearing fire at the same time—what exactly is its trick?"