Dense hordes of undead creatures, numbering in the hundreds and thousands, with eyes glowing in silver, stared at him intently.
These undead creatures included skeletons, liches, headless terror knights, and a few abominations with massive bodies and formidable combat power. However, there were no higher-level undead among them. High-level undead possess their own consciousness, understand how to avoid danger, and would not easily be captured and controlled by heavenly fires.
However, these undead creatures were different from those in the outside world. They exuded an intense aura of yin energy, their bodies seemed as if forged from steel, giving an impression of great strength. Despite their ferocious attack momentum, Huo Yuhao sensed no life force from them, as if their souls had been hollowed out, leaving them lifeless and filled with deathly aura.
"The soul fires of these undead creatures have been completely consumed and devoured by that Heavenly fire, leaving them entirely under its control. They have even lost their basic instincts," Yao Lao remarked after a brief sensing.
"And since they have no souls, they do not feel pain or fear attacks. Unless they are reduced to ashes, even a single bone would still attack others under the Heavenly fire's control," Yao Lao continued.
"Yuhao, be careful. Although these undead creatures aren't very strong individually, their numbers are overwhelming. Try not to get injured. Use your Heavenly fire to attack them; it might be particularly effective."
Huo Yuhao nodded, his eyes flashing with an icy white light. He reached out with his right hand, taking the Heavy Mysterious Ruler from his back. Instantly, white icy flames surged up from the ruler.
"Bang!"
Where the Heavy Mysterious Ruler touched the ground, it pressed against a hard rock, which, under the ruler's immense weight, was crushed into powder and then melted into fiery red lava by the cold icy flames.
Sensing the aura of the strange fire, the surrounding undead creatures halted their attacks on Huo Yuhao, with some even retreating.
Light, thunder, and fire—these three forces, being extremely yang and rigid, greatly counteract undead creatures that rely on death and yin energy to survive.
Although the Cold Icy Flame had been refined by the Flame Mantra and could be fully controlled by Huo Yuhao, the violent and fierce power of the Heavenly fire posed a significant threat to these undead creatures.
Moments later, under the strong control of the strange fire within the demiplane, the silver light in the eyes of these undead creatures flashed violently, and they pounced at Huo Yuhao again.
"You're all looking to get wrecked, aren't you? Fine by me!"
Dragging the Heavy Mysterious Ruler with his right hand, Huo Yuhao stomped on the ground, shooting forward. As his body rotated, he swung the Heavy Mysterious Ruler, creating intense wind pressure, and slammed it horizontally at the chest of the nearest skeleton soldier.
The moment the Heavy Mysterious Ruler made contact with the skeleton soldier, the undead power flowing through its body slowed down significantly. The once steel-like bones reverted to normal bone hardness, shattering into fragments under the Heavy Mysterious Ruler's strike, then burned into ashes by the Cold Icy Flame.
"Huh?" Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the Heavy Mysterious Ruler's power suppression to be effective against these undead creatures.
These undead creatures, originally dead, were reanimated by the power of death and yin energy. Since the Heavy Mysterious Ruler could suppress their power, it would significantly weaken their strength.
Huo Yuhao continued to spin, wielding the Heavy Mysterious Ruler like a black whirlwind. The whirlwind swept through the undead creatures, instantly suppressing part of the undead power within them, making their once-hard bodies extremely fragile.
The undead creatures, driven by the Heavenly fire, showed no fear of death and did not dodge Huo Yuhao's attacks. In less than a tea break, except for three powerful abominations, all other undead creatures were slain by Huo Yuhao and burned into ashes.
The three abominations, wielding rusted red broadswords with blades wrapped in eerie green aura—a deadly corpse poison—were retreating, trying to avoid being slain by Huo Yuhao.
"Xiao Han, Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus!"
At Huo Yuhao's command, Fire Spirit Xiao Han merged Phoenix Evil Flame and Cold Icy Flame, forming a lotus shadow on his small paw.
The three abominations sensed the violent aura and attempted to flee. However, Huo Yuhao wouldn't let them escape. Fully activating the Sky Walk Technique (Tian Luo), he dashed forward, pressing the back of the Heavy Mysterious Ruler with his left hand and gripping the handle with his right, sweeping the ruler horizontally, smashing into the abominations.
Upon contact, the undead power within the abominations' bodies was momentarily stifled. Simultaneously, Fire Spirit Xiao Han hurled the black-and-white fire lotus, landing it at the center of the three abominations' positions.
"Boom!"
A terrifying explosion swept through the area, sending Huo Yuhao flying backward, using the Heavy Mysterious Ruler as a shield against the powerful impact.
The three abominations were annihilated by the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus's devastating power, reduced to ashes.
Supporting himself with the Heavy Mysterious Ruler, Huo Yuhao knelt on the ground, panting heavily. These abominations were nearly as strong as the Soul Emperors from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and Zhou Yi. It was only under the suppression of the Heavy Mysterious Ruler that Huo Yuhao managed to kill them with one strike using the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus.
However, using the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus consumed a tremendous amount of his soul power, nearly exhausting him each time. Additionally, the impact from the explosion had caused some injuries, making his chest feel as if it were burning.
"Yuhao, well done. If you can combine two or more types of strange fires, you should be able to control the power input to form Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotuses of varying strengths, which wouldn't be as taxing," Yao Lao said, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder after appearing from the ring. "Using a low-quality beast fire with the Heavenly fire, the power is still insufficient."
"I sense no more undead creatures around. Yuhao, you can proceed deeper into the cave now," Electrolux said, smiling.
Neither Yao Lao nor Electrolux had helped Huo Yuhao, watching him face the danger alone. This was not a sign of their incompetence as teachers but a way to promote Huo Yuhao's growth.
A flower in a greenhouse, untested by wind and rain, no matter how beautiful, cannot withstand unexpected events. A mere touch could scatter its petals.
Cultivation is the same. Despite his many advantages, in battle, Huo Yuhao always relies on his own efforts to break through, demonstrating wisdom. True strength comes from self-reliance, not external aids.
Nodding, Huo Yuhao activated his soul power to heal his injuries, then stored away the Heavy Mysterious Ruler. He stood up and continued to explore forward.
After walking for a quarter of an hour, Huo Yuhao, led by Xiao Han, arrived at a specific location within the stone cave. Here, he found a smaller cave with occasional flashes of silver light.
Huo Yuhao tried to release a bit of his mental power, but it melted away instantly upon contact with the silver light, like snow under the sun.
"Teacher, I've found it. This is its lair!"