Cultivating in Different Professions

Chapter 252: Chapter 164: Nine Dragon True Flame Array

"If it were a straight fight, I’m not sure I could beat you."

"A pity. I, Qi Wuyong, use my brain."

He laughed and pointed a finger.

BOOM!

A violent shockwave suddenly erupted from the forest.

Immediately after, a faint red light screen, visible to the naked eye, rose into the air. In the blink of an eye, it formed a barrier of light twenty to thirty zhang across, trapping Wan Qing and his men inside.

With a low hum, raging flames descended within the light barrier.

The trees inside the barrier were instantly scorched black, then burst into flame.

Screams of pain rang out.

It turned out that some of Qi Wuyong’s own men were also trapped inside the Array. Engulfed in fire, they rolled on the ground in agony.

Wan Qing and his men had already gathered together, standing back-to-back. Their blades swung like a whirlwind, creating a barrier of wind that forcefully kept the curtains of flame three feet away.

Their expressions were solemn and fearless.

Qi Wuyong clapped in approval.

"Worthy of battle-hardened Taiping Captains. A pity, but how long can you last inside my Nine Dragon True Flame Array?"

His face filled with smug satisfaction as he burst into laughter.

...

’Where on earth did Master Wan and the others go?’

Su Mu stood at a fork in the road, a thoughtful expression on his face.

After leaving the city, he had gone directly to the supply point Luo Anning mentioned.

There, he learned that Wan Qing and his men had already gone deep into the forest to track the killer.

Su Mu had followed the directions given by the people at the supply point, but upon reaching this spot, he had completely lost their trail.

As a Taiping Captain, Su Mu didn’t have much experience slaying demons in the Daxing Mountain. He lacked the vast experience of old Captains like Wan Qing.

It was only thanks to his meager experience as a former Hunter that he could barely make out some of the tracks left by Wan Qing’s group.

But his experience was limited, and he had still lost them.

Suddenly, Su Mu looked up in a certain direction.

He keenly sensed a fluctuation of Spiritual Qi from that direction.

Before, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to notice it.

But after cultivating the Four Symbols Rebirth Technique—especially after his Vermilion Bird Body reached great completion—he had become exceptionally sensitive to the fire-aspected particles within the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. His body could perceive the slightest change.

Now, he could feel an anomaly in the fire-aspected particles from that direction.

To be precise, a hot wind, imperceptible to ordinary people, was gusting toward him from over there.

’I’ll go check it out.’

Su Mu pondered for a moment. ’I can’t figure out which path Master Wan took anyway. Since something’s strange over there, I might as well go investigate. It could be a demon, and slaying it would count as a meritorious deed.’

...

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Several long blades transformed into an impenetrable screen of light, fending off the flames that assailed them from all directions.

Wan Qing and his men were drenched in sweat, their Brocade and Ink Shirts soaked through and clinging to their bodies.

Their faces were flushed red from the intense heat, and their hair and beards were curled and blackened.

This wasn’t some rejuvenation; they were about to catch fire.

They could block the flames, but not the intense heat.

And soon, they wouldn’t be able to block even the flames.

Sweat poured like rain, their stamina rapidly fading.

Given their age, they couldn’t fight for long to begin with.

In just a few moments, their swings had already begun to slow.

Wisps of flame occasionally slipped through the gaps in their defense and landed on them, burning holes in their Brocade and Ink Shirts before being extinguished by bursts of their energy.

This, in turn, drained their stamina even faster.

It was a vicious cycle. The faster their stamina drained, the slower their blades became. The slower their blades, the more flames slipped through, forcing them to expend even more energy to extinguish the fires that caught on them.

Watching these white-haired Captains in their final struggles, Qi Wuyong’s smile only grew wider.

"Taiping Captains. Weren’t you all so arrogant?"

Qi Wuyong roared with laughter. "And now look at you, getting tormented like dogs by me, a notorious wanted man!

I used to be like a mouse seeing a cat whenever I ran into you. But things are different now.

I’ll use your heads as my stepping stone. Soon, I, Qi Wuyong, will be an official!"

Just then, Qi Wuyong saw Wan Qing and the others inside the Nine Dragon True Flame Array begin to move.

They shifted from their back-to-back formation into a single-file line.

Wan Qing took the lead. One slash of his blade cleaved through the flames several feet ahead.

Then, he dodged back as another white-haired Taiping Captain surged forward several feet and unleashed a similar slash. The violent force of the attack parted the raging flames, creating a path.

Repeating this process, they reached the edge of the Nine Dragon True Flame Array in the blink of an eye.

BOOM!

The Captain whose turn it was slashed at the semi-transparent barrier.

The light barrier let out a KRAK and began to shake violently.

Qi Wuyong was startled.

However, after shaking for a moment, the light barrier stabilized again.

"You old bastards, you gave me a scare."

Qi Wuyong patted his chest. "I almost thought you could actually break this Nine Dragon True Flame Array.

But it looks like you don’t have what it takes."

He was sure of his victory. These old men were clearly a spent force, but the Nine Dragon True Flame Array could last for at least another two hours.

Unless the Taiping Bureau sent reinforcements, well—

Qi Wuyong sneered. As far as he knew, the Wuling Taiping Bureau Governor and those young Taiping Captains were currently deep in the Daxing Mountain, fighting over a rare treasure. They definitely couldn’t get back anytime soon.

Besides these old-timers, the Wuling Taiping Bureau only had some Taiping Captains available for support.

Taiping Captains?

If they came, they’d just be throwing their lives away, and it would only make my achievement greater.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from the forest. A youth carrying a longbow appeared, a surprised look on his face.

The youth wore a Brocade and Ink Shirt, the prominent "Tai" character on his chest revealing his identity.

’A Taiping Captain?’

Qi Wuyong froze for a second. ’The Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow? A Taiping Captain?’

’What a coincidence.’

’Did that genius from the Wuling Taiping Bureau actually show up?’

"Excellent!"

A savage smile spread across Qi Wuyong’s face. He reacted in a flash, his figure blurring as he dashed through the light screen and into the Nine Dragon True Flame Array.

As the controller of the Array, the flames within would not harm him.

If that genius from the Wuling Taiping Bureau wanted to harm him, he would have to charge into the Array.

Otherwise, even an attack from the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow would be absorbed by the Nine Dragon True Flame Array, unable to harm him inside.

And once his opponent dared to enter, he’d be a fish in a barrel, his fate sealed just like these old-timers.

As long as he was inside the Nine Dragon True Flame Array, he was invincible.

The only minor problem was that the old men were also in the Array.

The thought had barely crossed Qi Wuyong’s mind when Wan Qing and the others charged him.

The old men were covered in burns, but their eyes showed no fear. They had even abandoned their final defense. With pupils blazing with killing intent, they were determined to slay Qi Wuyong, even if it cost them their lives.

"Even if you were once fierce tigers, you are now old and decrepit. What’s more, your stamina is almost exhausted. What makes you think you can fight me?"

Qi Wuyong sneered, shifted his feet, and sent a white-haired Captain flying with a palm strike.

Then, with a flying kick, he knocked the long blade from another white-haired Captain’s hand.

SHLK!

Wan Qing’s blade sliced open Qi Wuyong’s sleeve, but ultimately failed to wound him.

In a matter of breaths, Qi Wuyong had repelled them all, and the flames, like maggots clinging to a corpse, latched onto their bodies.

Qi Wuyong glanced back at the Taiping Captain. He saw the young man lowering his Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow; the arrow he’d just fired had been absorbed directly by the Nine Dragon True Flame Array, causing the flames inside to burn even more fiercely.

The young Taiping Captain furrowed his brow.

"Go on, shoot! Shoot all you want! All your attacks will only make these old men die faster!"

Qi Wuyong laughed smugly.

Suddenly, he saw the young Taiping Captain striding toward the Array, and he couldn’t help but laugh even louder.

"Come on in! You’ll just be coming in to die!"

"Don’t!"

Wan Qing scrambled to his feet, shouting, "Go, don’t worry about us! Go!"

He swung his blade at Qi Wuyong.

BANG!

A spent force, he was no match for Qi Wuyong. After all, Qi Wuyong was a Rebirth Realm Martial Artist in the prime of his life.

Wan Qing was sent flying, spitting blood. With no strength left to resist the inferno, he was about to be consumed by the flames.

Suddenly, a hand appeared behind him, catching his body. A burst of energy erupted from it, extinguishing the flames on his clothes.

The young Taiping Captain had already stepped into the Nine Dragon True Flame Array. He supported Wan Qing with one hand, his gaze fixed on Qi Wuyong.

The raging flames that landed on him instantly became like docile little beasts, gently licking his skin but leaving him completely unharmed.

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