The blazing flames lit up the sky, their resplendent light making everything as bright as day. Even from a hundred miles away, one could hear the thunderous sounds.
As they gazed at the place where crimson fireballs interwove, everyone stopped in astonishment.
With Shangguan Ce at the lead, along with Li Xun, Lu Shun, and others from the Burnt Incense Valley, as well as Lu Xueqi from the Azure Ethereal Conclave and Fazhang from the Heavenly Sound Temple, the group stood on an ancient path a hundred miles from the Seven Li Dong. They watched the place where chaotic beams of light flickered.
Li Xun frowned, “It seems something is wrong.”
Fazhang gazed into the distance, his voice solemn, “That evil firelight is rising to the heavens, highly peculiar. It’s likely that some demonic fiends are causing trouble.”
Li Xun turned his head and glanced at Lu Xueqi, who stood beside him. Seeing her still cold and silent, he turned back to Shangguan Ce, “Uncle Shangguan, what should we do?”
Fazhang and the others looked to Shangguan Ce, who was staring into the distance. His expression suddenly became very strange, a mix of surprise and bewilderment.
Hearing Li Xun’s question, it was as if he had just woken up, his body shuddered, and then his expression returned to normal. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Since it’s demonic fiends, it is our duty to confront them. We must hasten there. The high flames suggest that the demon’s power is not low, and its evil influence runs deep. Every moment we arrive earlier, more lives can be saved.”
Fazhang clasped his hands together, “Uncle Shangguan is right.”
Shangguan Ce nodded, “Very well, I will go ahead. Follow quickly!”
Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he waved his hand. A gray light flashed, and he transformed into a bright beam, soaring towards the Seven Li Dong.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort sounded from the crowd. Everyone was startled, and they saw that Lu Shun’s face was sullen, wearing an expression of disdain.
Li Xun felt somewhat awkward, as these two were both his elders. He didn’t say anything, but turned to Fazhang and Lu Xueqi, “Let us also go quickly!”
Fazhang and Lu Xueqi nodded, and they both ascended into the air. Li Xun followed, and though Lu Shun was reluctant, seeing that Shangguan Ce held a higher status in everyone’s minds and with Li Xun’s words, the disciples all followed. Only Lu Shun, left behind, reluctantly flew up, cursing under his breath.
At the forefront, Fazhang and Lu Xueqi flew side by side, with Li Xun slightly behind, gradually catching up.
Just as Li Xun was about to catch up, still a few feet away, Lu Xueqi muttered, as if to herself, “Uncle Shangguan really moves fast!”
Fazhang, enveloped in the golden light of his Reincarnation Pearl, his white monk robes fluttering in the wind, turned to look at Lu Xueqi. She, in her white robes, was as cold as frost, like a celestial maiden soaring in the night sky, both beautiful and chilling.
His eyes sparkled, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. He whispered, “Yes, he is indeed very fast…”
“Whoosh!” The sound of the wind came as Li Xun caught up, flying alongside them. A little while later, Lu Shun also joined them. But at this moment, it seemed that Shangguan Ce’s power was truly unfathomable, for they could no longer see his figure ahead.
In the Seven Li Dong, the battle intensified. The Great Shaman, although struggling, used his mysterious witchcraft to make the black staff with embedded bone jade emit increasingly intense red light, covering the entire valley. Under the terrifying attack of the giant fireballs, he still managed to hold on.
Several times, the red curtain trembled violently, almost collapsing under the impact of the giant fireballs. But the Great Shaman, making strange gestures, managed to maintain it. However, no one close enough could see that the Great Shaman’s face, covered in wrinkles, was bleeding from every orifice, signaling that he was reaching his limit.
In the valley, the battle between the Miao and Li tribes was even more unfavorable for the Miao. The Miao warriors, who had once revered the Great Shaman as a god, now saw him being suppressed by the demon-like figure in the sky. With the rare and ominous sign of the Dog God barking, despair filled their hearts. Conversely, the Li warriors’ morale was soaring, and they fought with bloodshot eyes.
Gui Li stood at a distance, his brows furrowed. The spells cast by the mysterious figure in the sky were extremely rare and strange, especially the peculiar black fire within the flames, which he had never encountered before. Even the Ghost King Sect’s collection of scriptures did not record such phenomena.
The borderlands of the Southland were home to such characters, truly a world full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Gui Li, seeing the Great Shaman gradually unable to hold on, was about to fly to his aid when he heard a sudden scream from afar, mostly women and children. Turning to look, he saw that a group of Li warriors had found the mountain where the Miao women and children were hiding, and the scene turned into a bloodbath.
Gui Li’s body trembled. Over the past ten years, he had seen countless bloody scenes, but never had he killed innocent people with no means of defense. Somehow, the cries of the women and children pierced his heart like sharp swords…
Flashbacks of the village massacre from his youth, the sight of his neighbors and loved ones dying, all came rushing back.
Beside him, Xiao Bai turned to look, sensing a strong killing aura emanating from the man next to her.
His eyes had suddenly turned red.
Among the Miao, a woman screamed as she was cut down by a Li warrior. Behind her, a child, terrified, ran with his mouth wide open, unable to cry out. This was the mute boy who had brought food to Gui Li.
The murderer, with a grimace, chased after the child, raising his sharp stone axe and striking down heavily.
The child fell, opening his mouth in despair in the last moment of his life.
Bang!
Blood splattered in the night, blossoming in a gruesome display. A strong body shattered and rained down. Gui Li, bathed in the blood, his eyes red, took a deep breath.
He lifted his head and let out a long, mournful cry, a sound so desolate that it echoed through the heavens, a decade of darkness and struggle unleashed.
Everyone was shocked!
The child, trembling, watched as Gui Li’s black magic staff glowed brightly, emitting a hungry and greedy light. In an instant, the nearby Li warriors, who were chasing the women and children, were torn apart by invisible demonic force.
Rivers of blood surged into the sky, forming a flood that swirled around the desperate and mad figure, eventually being drawn into the Blood-devouring Pearl.
The entire battlefield froze, everyone staring at the devil-like figure, their eyes filled with fear.
The Blood-devouring Pearl grew brighter, and the familiar icy sensation now coursed through his body. After absorbing the essence of over a dozen people, the pearl seemed rejuvenated, its demonic power surging, the red light growing ever brighter, reflecting in Gui Li’s eyes like ghostly flames.
Xiao Bai, standing far away, watched the increasingly bloody and crazed figure, then turned her head, unwilling to see more. In the night rain of blood, she seemed to sigh softly.
Long-forgotten desires, buried screams, and the ancient rebelliousness rose again.
He screamed!
The heavens responded.
The flames in the sky, the red curtain below, trembled.
The grin within the blood, like a grimace from the underworld.
One step, taken!
The stench of blood instantly filled the air, and countless people scattered, unable to comprehend why this man, who had once been a savior, had become a demon.
But, the sweetness of the blood lay ahead, intoxicating and uncontrollable. He breathed heavily, the madness still laced with pain…
Madness born of loneliness?
Or loneliness born of madness?
The Blood-devouring Pearl, glowing red, mocked the world.
Fall! Fall!
All beings are like ants, life is inherently lonely!
Reaching out, a drop of blood slid down his fingers. The mute boy beneath his hand trembled, unable to move, only seeing the red curtain, like the end of the world, approaching…
“Zhang… Xiao… Fan…”
A voice, clear and piercing, like ice shattering, like a phoenix singing in the sky, filled with anger and sorrow.
Lu Xueqi, in her snow-white robes, arrived through the bloodlight, her Celestial Blade Tian’e unsheathed, blue light illuminating her face, her eyes, her fury, and her sorrow.
Red light flared, meeting the oncoming blue, a thunderous explosion shattered the ground, and the river, already dyed red, surged upward, coloring the entire sky.
Amidst the blood, the Great Shaman was losing ground, the red curtain weakening, and giant fireballs began to break through, crashing into the earth of the Seven Li Dong, turning it into a hellish inferno.
In the midst of the chaos, the red and blue clashed and separated. The white-robed woman slowly descended, her face devoid of color.
Before her, the man, surrounded by malevolent light, holding the Blood-devouring staff, breathed heavily.
Hot wind brushed against her clothes and hair. In the firelight, her body trembled slightly.
Only her hand, gripping Tian’e, remained firm and steady.
A sharp sound echoed, and Fazhang, Li Xun, and others, seeing the demon-like Gui Li drenched in blood, his face twisted with ferocity, were all horrified. Li Xun was less affected, but Fazhang’s eyes reflected a deep, unquenchable pain, his body shivering as he recited a prayer.
“You… you…” Lu Xueqi’s usual cold demeanor was gone, replaced by sorrow and anger, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Li Xun, standing beside her, saw the change in her expression. Smart as he was, he knew that Lu Xueqi’s distress was more than just anger.
“Zhang Xiaofan!” Li Xun roared, his face stern and angry. “These Southern tribal people have never been involved with the Central Plains. What hatred do you bear against them, that you would enjoy killing them like this?”
Gui Li and Lu Xueqi’s bodies both shook.
Surrounded by the red light of the Blood-devouring Pearl, Gui Li slowly looked around. The Miao and Li tribes had been fighting for a long time, their enmity deep. Now, in a fight to the death, they showed no mercy. The ground was littered with mangled corpses, and many of the Miao women and children, who had been chased out of hiding, lay dead and wounded.
The enmity between the Li and Miao tribes was irreconcilable, and even the women and children were not spared. The horrifying scene, combined with the raging flames, created a hell on earth.
And Gui Li, drenched in blood, was, in everyone’s eyes, the cause of all this!
He stood like a blood-thirsty demon, cruel and fierce, on the field of corpses.
Greed and evil, cruelty and madness!
Perhaps a trace of despair was buried deep within.
The warm and righteous energy, suppressed by the Blood-devouring Pearl, now slowly released, gradually countering the coldness in his heart.
But he laughed bitterly, perhaps preferring not to wake up.
Through the burning flames, the gaze of the white-robed woman pierced through all, straight into his soul.
She slowly raised her sword, Tian’e glowing like autumn water.
“Zhang… Xiao… Fan…”
A soft, distant voice, amidst the burning flames, carried a hint of sorrow. She bit her lip, tears falling. Her tears mixed with blood, dripping onto Tian’e, sliding off, and landing as droplets of blood.
Who, hurt whom…?
“Ah!”
Gui Li roared to the heavens, his mind clear but his actions mad.
Cut it off! Cut it off!
Break from the past!
He laughed cruelly, using madness to mask his pain. The Blood-devouring Pearl radiated boundless bloodlight, accompanying its master, charging towards righteousness.
Someone, far away, sighed softly, but no one heard.
The despairing figure, seemingly from a memory, was met with shouts of caution from the righteous. The image reflected in Lu Xueqi’s clear eyes.
Her lips trembled, and she whispered, that mad figure charging towards her…
“Zhang Xiaofan…” she called, in a voice no one could hear, for the third time.
Then, she charged forward, her white robes like snow, like a lily, withered but still beautiful in the fire.
Clang!
The sound rang out, and Tian’e emitted a brilliant light, blinding the sky. The red light of the Blood-devouring Pearl, like a ghost, flickered in the blue, refusing to be fully suppressed.
With a roar, a massive flame fell from the sky, and the two figures in the firelight were bleak and desolate.
Ah Hetai was stunned. Everything had been going smoothly, but now, the unexpected had happened. Strange events occurred one after another in the Seven Li Dong, and unfamiliar figures, all cultivators, appeared, some of them powerful enough to make even him wary.
But the figures below were baffling, and after a few words, they fought among themselves, ignoring him. The dominant Li tribe, startled by these newcomers, retreated like the Miao.
Ah Hetai cursed inwardly, deciding to focus on the Great Shaman, who was still resisting. He shouted, spreading his arms wide, and from his fourteen joints, blood gushed out. At the same time, the black fire in the giant fireballs surged, breaking through the clouds, and racing towards the Great Shaman.
The fragile red curtain finally collapsed, and under the relentless bombardment of the black fire, it fell to the ground.
Ah Hetai, overjoyed, rushed down from the sky, landing on the platform where the Great Shaman was.
The Great Shaman, struggling to stand with the black staff, rasped, “You… you’re mad, to seek the Beast Demon…”
Ah Hetai, not letting him finish, kicked the old man down, snatching the black staff and examining it. Indeed, it was the sacred Bone Jade that the Li tribe had coveted for two centuries.
Overcome with triumph, he prepared to deliver the final blow, but from the corner of his eye, he saw that the outsiders below were starting to notice him and were flying towards the platform.
Alarmed, Ah Hetai decided not to linger. The Great Shaman, already weakened by the demon’s power, was no longer a threat to the Li tribe.
He made his decision instantly, and soared into the sky, disappearing into the burning flames.
Leaving behind a hellish Seven Li Dong and an old man, gasping in despair, “Beast Demon… that is the Beast Demon… how dare you…”
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