Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The clamorous forest fell into a dead silence.

As Huo Wuyan's words fell, Patriarch Chongyao and the others changed color. He could barely maintain his composed demeanor, his hands clenched into fists hidden in his sleeves as he suppressed the urge to curse aloud, said with a stiff expression, "Senior is joking…"

Patriarch Tong, on the other hand, glared wide-eyed, fixing his gaze on Huo Wuyan. No one could accept such blunt humiliation, least of all a hot-tempered, proud man like him. He let out a scornful laugh. "What big talk!"

As his words fell, the spiritual energy around him surged instantly, the muscles in his arms swelling rapidly, veins bulging on his forehead. That dragon was indeed formidable, but they were no pushovers either. While they might not be a match for the dragon, they were far from being easy prey.

Kill him? Not so fast.

In all his years in the cultivation world, no one had ever dared to belittle them so. This dragon was far too arrogant!

He shot a venomous glare at Lu Yuanyin and the others, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.

Unlike Patriarch Tong, that muscle-bound simpleton, Patriarch Chongyao had no desire to completely sever ties with the dragon clan. His expression turned grave, but as he looked at the tall figure in the distance, he forced a stiff smile.

He quickly spoke up, "This is all a misunderstanding! Everyone, please calm down!"

Yet, as his words died out, no one responded.

Patriarch Chongyao frowned. His gaze swept over the crowd, landing on Huo Wuyan, who was looking down at the young woman beside him with an indifferent expression. The wind lifted his long hair, a few stray strands falling across his forehead, obscuring the look in his eyes.

Patriarch Chongyao couldn't make out his expression, but he could sense the unrestrained killing intent in the air.

At that moment, he realized clearly that unlike before, Huo Wuyan truly intended to kill them this time...

The realization made his heart leap, a vague premonition of danger creeping in.

Silence reigned. Even the howling wind seemed to freeze. Patriarch Chongyao could hear his own rapid heartbeat, a layer of cold sweat forming on his palms. Sensing the tense atmosphere, he couldn't help but feel a growing anxiety.

Patriarch Chongyao had once considered revenge. He had longed to grind both the dragon and Lu Yuanyin into dust. Huo Wuyan had burned Chongyao Mountain, ruined his reputation, and gravely injured the elders. That was a grudge hard to swallow.

But later, he had slowly abandoned that thought.

He knew he was no match for Huo Wuyan. Continuing would only make things worse for him. He had even stopped troubling Lu Yuanyin, hoping the matter would simply blow over.

Yet he never expected today's events to unfold.

Patriarch Chongyao's expression darkened. His face was tense as he stared at Lu Yuanyin, standing behind Huo Wuyan. His emotions were indescribably complicated.

Just before all this, Chongyao Sect had been smooth sailing. But overnight, everything had changed—all because of a despised, neglected female disciple.

Now, Chongyao Sect was plagued with internal and external troubles. Immortal Lord Changye was missing. The sect had suffered heavy losses. So many villagers in the city had been infected with corpse poison. For them, provoking the dragon clan—a behemoth—would bring no benefit.

Patriarch Chongyao's thoughts raced as he tried to figure out how to turn the situation around, when he saw the young woman behind Huo Wuyan lift her face.

She looked earnestly at the tall male cultivator beside her and offered a faint smile. "Deal."

Patriarch Chongyao was taken aback. He watched the scene with a grim look, finding it absurd. For a woman, Huo Wuyan would actually sever ties with Chongyao Sect?

He had never imagined the legendary dragon chief would be such a fool, blinded by lust!

Patriarch Chongyao's face twisted momentarily. His body tensed, and he quickly looked warily at Huo Wuyan. "Senior, this matter..."

Before he could finish, a cool breeze swept past, and a tall figure appeared silently behind them, accompanied by a surge of overwhelming spiritual energy!

Patriarch Chongyao's face changed drastically. Cold sweat soaked his back. He had no choice but to hastily raise a barrier. A dull, booming sound rang out as reddish-golden spiritual energy, carrying unstoppable force, slammed violently against the barrier.

Ripples spread like water across the transparent barrier. Spiritual light flickered. As his expression darkened, the barrier shattered in an instant!

A sense of unease settled in his heart. He hurriedly said, "Senior, we have no intention of fighting you. Please calm down!"

But the golden flames did not relent, surging madly toward them again. The surrounding temperature rose at a terrifying speed. Patriarch Chongyao's expression grew even uglier. Compared to last time, he could clearly feel that Huo Wuyan was even stronger now...

Sensing Huo Wuyan's relentless advance, Patriarch Tong gave a cold laugh. His face twisted with malice as he glared at the tall cultivator hovering in the void and roared, "You want my life? Let's see if you have what it takes!"

"Why aren't you all attacking?!"

With a shout, his spiritual energy exploded. With a crisp tearing sound, his clothes burst apart as his muscles bulged. He channeled his energy, raised his giant hammer, and smashed it wildly toward Huo Wuyan. Under the terrifying force, the surrounding void cracked into countless web-like fractures, accompanied by gusts of fierce wind.

Patriarch Tong grinned savagely. "Senior, try this move!"

As his words fell, a massive phantom slowly emerged behind him. The giant figure had three heads and six arms, wielding giant hammers. Its hair was vermilion, its mouth full of fangs, and its eyes glared like a tiger's, as if it were a demon from hell, ferocious and menacing.

As Patriarch Tong swung his hammer, the phantom also swung its hammers wildly, crashing down heavily toward Huo Wuyan.

Lu Yuanyin watched the dark mist in the sky, her eyes flickering with worry. She turned to Qing Nong uneasily. "If Huo Wuyan kills Patriarch Chongyao, won't those people..."

Qing Nong gave her shoulder a casual pat and said with a smile, "What's there to fear? If the sky falls, the old dragons will prop it up. Since he dares to act, it's fine."

Besides, these people had repeatedly made moves against Lu Yuanyin. Even if they hadn't shown up today, Huo Wuyan and the old dragons would not have let them off.

These dragons had always been protective of their own and petty.

The elders who had accompanied them also activated their spiritual energy and summoned artifacts to join the fray.

In an instant, the wind and clouds turned ominous. With the phantom's movements, the earth trembled violently. Strands of black mist slowly spread across the sky. The daylight dimmed, and for a moment, she thought she heard the wails of countless ghosts.

Lu Yuanyin stared at the phantom behind Patriarch Tong, her eyes widening in surprise. "Is this the Dharma Aspect?!"

Her hands tightened in her sleeves, her heart clenching with tension. She had read about this secret technique in ancient texts. Once mastered, its power was boundless. Very few had learned it over the centuries. She hadn't expected Patriarch Tong to have mastered it without anyone knowing.

Even Qing Nong raised an eyebrow. "Interesting..."

Lu Yuanyin looked up nervously. Dazzling spiritual light flashed, and a vast force exploded in the void, lighting up the sky as if it were day. Under the violent energy, the surrounding giant trees snapped at their trunks, and mountains crumbled.

Her eyes stung with pain. She could barely make out the scene in the air. Tears welled up, and she rubbed her sore eyes, her head throbbing.

Huo Wuyan was powerful, but Patriarch Tong and the others had numbers and formidable techniques. Just as she was growing anxious, a crisp voice came from beside her. "This is far from enough. Just a trick to scare children."

Lu Yuanyin: "..."

She fell silent for a moment. This secret technique, which countless cultivators would go crazy over, was dismissed as a child's trick in the white dragon elder's mouth.

The white dragon waved his hand casually, and a gentle breeze brushed past Lu Yuanyin's face. The soreness in her eyes faded. She slowly opened her eyes to see a white-haired male cultivator standing before her with a gentle expression, dressed in immaculate white robes. Even his pupils and lashes were as white as snow.

Though a smile lingered on his face, his eyes held a coldness like frost and snow, a mysterious detachment.

Lu Yuanyin blinked, and the transcendent cultivator winked back at her, then said softly, "So, you're my aunt-by-marriage?"

Lu Yuanyin: "..."

She let out a dry laugh. "Probably."

She felt this dragon was somehow different from the Azure Dragon and the other elders. Instinctively, she stepped back. Just as her words fell, a dull boom echoed from behind. A mountain-like figure burst out from the spiritual light, slamming heavily into a cliff. Rocks tumbled, and the phantom behind him trembled.

Patriarch Tong shook himself off and stood up unsteadily. One of his arms had been scorched black by the golden flames, dark blood spilling all over the ground. Gritting his teeth, he let out a bellow, picked up his giant hammer, and charged back into the raging spiritual light. "I'll fight you with my life!"

The next moment, the blazing golden flames surged, transforming into fiery serpents that quickly coiled around the limbs of the giant phantom.

Under the scorching golden flames, the giant phantom shrieked horribly, struggling wildly, its ferocious face contorted in pain. Patriarch Tong also coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale.

Lu Yuanyin felt as if demonic sounds were drilling into her ears; she quickly covered them, but saw the golden flames growing fiercer, completely engulfing the giant phantom. The phantom charged wildly through the void, howling in pain, its form rapidly shrinking.

Then, under Patriarch Tong's terrified stare, it transformed into a sky full of spiritual light and abruptly dissipated into the void.

Yet the golden flames didn't let up, the surrounding temperature rapidly rising. Under the horrified gazes of Patriarch Tong, Chongyao Sect Master, and the others, the flames quickly crept over their bodies. They only then sensed a sliver of fear.

Patriarch Tong hurriedly tried to tear open the void to get away, but the space around him seemed frozen; the "shrinking the earth into inches" technique he had once effortlessly performed was now completely useless.

All that met his eyes was a raging sea of flames.

……

"Father!"

Tong Lanyi, already heavily injured, watched helplessly as Patriarch Tong was completely devoured by the golden flames. Sensing his aura slowly fading, she widened her eyes in disbelief and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Excruciating pain wildly spread through her body. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

The crimson-gold flames slowly spread through the void, tinging the whole sky with a faint fiery hue, like a sky full of rosy clouds.

Lu Yuanyin stared blankly at the void. The several powerful figures who had dominated the cultivation world for centuries had, in this instant, turned into handfuls of black ash, scattered by the wind across heaven and earth, leaving not a trace behind.

Until a slight sound came from beside her. Lu Yuanyin turned around and saw Huo Wuyan forming hand seals with his fingertips. The blazing golden flames suddenly turned into brilliant flakes of spiritual light, slowly dissipating into the void, leaving only faint glimmers behind.

Huo Wuyan strode over to her, treading on the twilight light scattered across the ground. He opened his palm, revealing several fragmented Golden Cores.

Lu Yuanyin sensed the auras of Patriarch Tong and the others from those Golden Cores—they were their inner cores.

She looked up blankly and saw Huo Wuyan lowering his eyes slightly, his crimson irises fixed on her. A bloody gash ran across his cheek, with crimson blood dripping down.

Huo Wuyan said in a deep voice, "They're dead."

"Don't be mad."

Author's note:

None