Chen Wentian had wanted to stay with Bei Yingluo for several days or at least until she was fully healed. Instead, he was forced to leave in a hurry the next day on another emergency.
Li Yuechan, Song Wushuang, and Xu Lanyi were in Divine Blazing Province and managed to run straight into a messy situation with demons that wasn't all that different from how Bei Yingluo's group was ambushed.
They had been in the middle of a demon hunt. Members of Divine Blazing Mountain had found a brand-new volcanic eruption in the Ember Mountains, a dangerous region that covered a third of the landmass of the province. A fresh volcano was a great resource for cultivators of the flame element as it spewed forth spiritual energy containing pure flame attributes as well as rare minerals and materials.
Divine Blazing Mountain was no longer the same place as before. With strict new rules as well as the prospect of having a Glacier Palace disciple as their Dao partner, the remaining disciples of Divine Blazing Mountain completely reformed and were reborn as real men. All of them plunged at the chance to cultivate the immortal flame art, Summer's Blazing Sun.
A new volcanic eruption was an irresistible draw and several groups of disciples headed out to explore it. However, nobody in the sect had heard from them for days. Two search parties that had been sent out also disappeared. In total, over fifty disciples went missing over the span of a week.
Li Yuechan, Song Wushuang, and Xu Lanyi were forced to act. A few low-level disciples didn't concern them but among those lost in the search parties included talented ones that had already married Glacier Palace members. Because of this, even if they had to deliver the worst news, they had to find out the truth of what happened.
And what they found was far beyond any of their expectations.
Just like Bei Yingluo, they ran straight into a demon ambush.
Chen Wentian found them in the middle of a lava field, surrounded by flame infants. These were demonic fiends consisting of pure flame energy the size of a human baby. Around a hundred of them surrounded his disciples from all sides, laughing and crying in their shrill voices, bombarding his disciples with a barrage of flames.
His disciples were holding on but losing ground. Their Summer and Winter's Eternal Sutra provided a degree of protection from foes weaker than them but there were simply too many. Li Yuechan carried the Giant Mole Worm with her and they also had the flame sword Summer's Dance with them.
But given the current situation with the unknown enemy, they weren't facing truly a life or death situation yet and didn't have to employ his secrets. He also had a sneaking suspicion that he shouldn't reveal any of his secrets at the moment.
Woosh!
Chen Wentian landed in front of disciples within a pillar of blue dragon flames. All of the flame infants were consumed by his divine flames and wiped from existence. It barely took him any effort. It had taken him way more energy just flying to this remote location within the mountains.
"Master!"
The trio let out sighs of relief and gathered around him. They had a few singed bits on their clothes and soot on their faces but no other injuries.
"Master, I apologize. I should have been more attentive to the situation." Li Yuechan bowed stiffly, "I put my sisters in danger. But I promise I will learn from this experience and do better in the future!"
"Hey now." He pulled her up and gave her a comforting hug. "Come here, you two!"
He gave the other two hugs as well and a good slap on Xu Lanyi's butt.
"Hey!"
"So, who wants to tell me what happened?" He asked, ignoring her glare.
"Master, it was like this…"
Song Wushuang explained that they had followed the trail the male disciples of Divine Blazing Mountain had followed and found the brand-new volcano. There were no signs of them anywhere but there were plenty of lava pearls everywhere. These were a type of gem that contained pure flame energy and were useful for all kinds of crafting and cultivation purposes.
The three of them, enticed by the lava pearls, followed the trail of the gems until they reached an area with particularly high concentration and quality. It was when they reached this place that all the flame infants emerged from their holes in the ground to ambush them from all sides.
"I suspect that the demons used the same tactic on the previous groups and this is where they died." Song Wushuang said in conclusion.
"Hmm…" Chen Wentian extended his spiritual energy into the surrounding ground.
The blackened ground consisting of hardened lava was split apart by his power and he soon confirmed the truth. The ground they were standing on was indeed the demon's killing field and pulled out a total of fifty-four human remains and broken pieces of their sect badges and belongings.
He also gathered all the lava pearls in the vicinity, enough to fill a washbasin with the marble-sized gems. They were good stuff for mortal cultivators and he was never one to skip out on such things.
"You were right. They died ugly deaths." He muttered.
"Master, I will handle their affairs." Li Yuechan said as she stored everything in her spatial bag.
"Okay." He said looked around the surroundings.
He was sure that this ambush wasn't some coincidence, not after Bei Yingluo had been ambushed right before. There was nothing and nobody around as far as his senses could discern but he felt a slight prickling in his soul, as if something was out there as if he was being watched.
Divine Blazing Province was not far from Dragon Flower Province. Geographically, it was to the north and there was one province separating them. Divine Blazing Province was also closer to Cloudy Mountain Province and the eastern border with only two provinces in between.
It was hard to imagine that his unknown foe could manipulate forces across multiple provinces. A Spirit King could do it perhaps but it was incredibly difficult for a Spirit Lord. Chen Wentian could do it because of a heaven-defying soul art. How was his enemy doing it? Was it a Spirit King?
"Master? What are you thinking about?" Song Wushuang asked.
"Nothing. If we are done here, let's return to the sect." He said.
He didn't want to stay here any longer. Something was afoot and he needed to regroup. He needed to have a chat with Zhou Ziyun.
"Yes, master!"
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