Chapter 116: Rage of Hongzhao!

"Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Xue Hongzhao’s agonized roar boomed across the southern ridge like thunder.

The flames lingering around his body burst outward with pure fury.

Boomm!

His divine Phoenix wavered its large wings, commanding a raging pillar of crimson-gold fire straight into the pitch-black sky.

The surrounding primates groaned in terror. Xue Hongzhao didn’t care about anything. His eyes were frenzy, and burnt with pure scarlet.

Those slaughtered disciples were like children to the Red Talon Hall. They had traveled hundreds of miles to become strong, proud cultivators.

And now, their butchered, grotesque corpses lay in the dirt.

"You filthy beasts!"

Xue Hongzhao vanished from his spot instantly. A fraction of a second later, he reappeared at center in the pack of the attacking horde.

He slammed both palms forward.

Boommm!

A terrifying wave of hot Phoenix fire exploded outward, vaporizing dozens of Rank 1 and Rank 2 monkeys into ash on contact.

The surroundings changed into a raging inferno. More beasts rushed in from the dark, filled with anger and frenzy.

Xue Hongzhao rushed toward them head-on.

The continuous strikes killed monkey after monkey, scorching their meat and spasming vehemently.

But the Sect Master’s fury had obliterated his cool. The rage of divine fire began spiraling rapidly out of control, surging toward the camps too...

"AH!"

"MY ARM!"

"Fuck!! Flames, Get back!"

The many wounded disciples shrieked in panic as the heat scorched their robes and left bruises on skin. Every disciple was scared because of the ambush, but now the sect master’s flames are out of control and scorching his own disciples.

Lin Yuan’s eyes widened. ’Ahhh.. He’s losing his mind.’

A wounded outer disciple stumbled backward, clutching a fractured shoulder as a pillar of crimson fire rushed straight for him.

Lin Yuan lunged forward, his male white tiger rushed out from the tattoos on his back in an instant flare of silver-white light.

Its massive paw slammed against the incoming wave of Phoenix fire, and roared so loud that nearly every disciple and monkey beasts turned their heads toward the roar.

The spiritual white light clashed with divine flames, the impact shockwave blasting through the ground and hurling half a dozen monkeys away.

Xue Hongzhao’s scarlet eyes darted onto Lin Yuan.

"Out of my way, boy!" He yelled, the fire sparkling from his body.

Lin Yuan stood still between the Phoenix and the scared disciples, his robes fluttering against the pure heat.

He looked into the eyes of the sect master with an angry grin.

"Are you mad, old man?!" Lin Yuan snickered, nodding his head.

Xue Hongzhao froze for a second.

Lin Yuan pointed a hand toward the trembling disciples behind him. "Our own people are burning in your reckless rage!"

Lin Yuan’s voice boomed through the roar of the flames. "Wake the fuck up!"

The eerie silence filled across the area. Xue Hongzhao stood still in place. His gaze slowly turned past Lin Yuan, looking at the scorched ground, the terrified faces of his disciples, and his own flames leaving bruises and burn marks on them.

The manic bloodlust in his eyes slowly turned into disdain.

"..." He looked down at his trembling hands.

Then, Xue Hongzhao raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the cheek. The sound echoed across the field.

The sect master rapidly shook his head, taking in a sharp breath.

"Calm down," he muttered, gritting his teeth. "Calm down!"

The roaring wall of flame shrank back into his core. The Phoenix behind him pulled its wings close, suppressing its heat.

"Everyone, fall behind the elder line!" Xue Hongzhao looked across the surviving disciples, his voice steadying back to normal. "Do not let stray fire reach you."

Lin Yuan let out a breath of smoke, giving a calm nod. "Much better."

"Don’t get cocky, brat," Xue Hongzhao muttered, staring at him.

Lin Yuan smirked faintly. "Then stop trying to incinerate your own sect."

The sect master’s eyebrow twitched, but he held his tongue. Instead, he turned around toward the screeching horde, his aura turning cold and lethal.

"My dear brats, slaughter every last one."

The elders and disciples responded instantly. "Yes, Sect Master!"

The elders formed a proper defense. The senior disciples locked their flanks, dragging the wounded toward the inner circle. And the remaining monkey horde frowned in anger.

Without any Rank 4 commanders leading the charge, the Rank 1, 2, and 3 beasts were simply butchered where they stood.

A beast leaped into Lin Yuan’s blind spot; the White Tiger snatched it out of mid-air with a lethal slash.

Another lunged low... Lin Yuan pivoted suddenly, kicking his leg into its skull and shattering it against the stone.

In the sky, Chen Ming’s Wind-Falcon cut through a cluster with compressed air blades. To the left, Lian Nichang’s silver Wolf tore through three throats in a single blur. Within minutes, the screeching faded into dying whimpers.

One by one, the last of the monkey beasts collapsed instantly. Until finally, the silence returned to the camp.

The whole ambush beasts had been wiped out. Lin Yuan stood gasping for his breath in the middle of the fresh mountain of corpses.

’There is no Rank 4 commander..’ His eyes darted across the carnage. ’But why? Where did the commanders go?’

A dozen paces away, Bai Ning stood beside her fox, its pale fur smeared with icy mist. The fox suddenly perked its ears, its head snapping toward the ground.

A lone, wounded Rank 2 macaque was crawling frantically through the mud.

Bai Ning walked slowly toward it and stopped in front of it. The beast froze in terror, looking up at her face before its instincts dragged its gaze toward the jagged southern peaks.

Bai Ning’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t kill it. Instead, she stepped deliberately aside, clearing its path.

The macaque scrambled to its feet and sprinted into the fog, fleeing toward the southern ridge.

Bai Ning turned around, her voice was low but enough to hear. "Attention!"

The disciples and elders turned to look at her.

"Elders! Some of you please be here and take care of wounded people!"

She raised an arm, pointing toward the mist-shrouded southern peaks. "The rest of you, follow me."

The murmurs of confusion lingered across the area. A lethal, chilling frost began swirling around her fox’ paws.

Bai Ning’s lips curled into a cold smirk. "Let’s hunt down their hideout. And freeze every last one of those rotten bastards to death."

"She’s spending way too much time around you," Chen Ming rubbed the back of his neck, staring at her in disbelief before staring at Lin Yuan. "That’s why she was slowly becoming like you, Lin Yuan."

"Bad influence..." Lin Yuan smirked slightly.

Bai Ning looked back over her shoulder. "Are you two standing around making jokes, or are you coming?"

"Coming!" Chen Ming sneered, clenching his fists.

"Lead the way, lady..." Lin Yuan cracked his knuckles.

Xue Hongzhao looked at the departing disciples, his face spasming as he turned to three senior elders. "Take care of the wounded and accompany them."

****

A few paces ahead into southern peaks. The strike unit moved rapidly into the mountains. The pine trees are so tall and dense, blocking out the dawn light. A suffocating, stench fog filled across the area.

Bai Ning’s Frost Fox led the tracking line, sniffing out the wounded macaque’s trail.

Lin Yuan walked right behind her, his white tigers flanking him as silent shadows. Suddenly, the male tiger dug its claws into the stone, coming to a halt.

Lin Yuan paused and asked. "What is it?"

The tiger’s golden eyes were locked onto the base of a jagged cliff. Lin Yuan followed its gaze.

There are cracked roots, splintered trunks, and thousands of claw footprints on the ground, converging into the cave under the rocky cliff.

Bai Ning halted beside him. "The beasts’ hideout!"

Every cultivator drew their weapons and called their beasts.

"Stay alert... Let’s go," The lead elder stepped to the front, his beast essence flaring around his broadsword.

They advanced into the cave. The cavern was vast and dark, its stone walls scarred with deep claw marks. The stench of rot grew heavier with every step.

’This isn’t an ordinary hideout,’ Lin Yuan thought, pinching his nose slightly. ’Something feels weird.’

Then, a loud roar erupted from the dark, shaking loose stone from the roof. Bai Ning’s fox crouched slightly, growling slightly. And the white tiger let out a rumbling growl.

A massive, shadowy form tore out from the darkness; it was a Rank 4 mutated monkey, its body bulging with blackened muscle, four arms swinging with lethal precision.

"A mutated commander!" a senior disciple yelled.

"Bring it down!" the elder commanded as the sect master remained calm looking into the deep.

The disciple flanked left; the elder lunged right.

The two concentrated waves of beast essence struck the beast vehemently. The mutated beast roared, swinging two massive fists to deflect, but the force shattered its guard.

The monster crashed vehemently into the stone wall.

The elder didn’t give it a split second to recover, he closed the distance in a second, thrusting a lethal palm strike into the beast’s skull.

The Rank 4 commander’s skull shredded into many fragments, collapsing onto the stone floor.

For two seconds, the cave went dead silent. Then Lin Yuan’s ears heard a slight vibration.

A low, rhythmic vibration hummed through the ground.

"Hold your positions," Lin Yuan alerted everyone. And the sect master also felt the vibration.

The stone floor began vibrating, the debris throbbed across the ground.

Bai Ning’s eyes widened as her fox let out a high-pitch shriek, releasing a wall of frost.

Chen Ming gripped Lin Yuan’s sleeve, his voice cracking. "What... what the hell is that?"

From the deepest abyss of the dark cave, a roar rumbled across the cave.

It was too terrifying and tremendous, filled with an aura so heavy, vile, and massive that the whole mountain rattled once.

Rooooooaaaarrrrr!

The loud roar slammed into their chests like a cannon blast. Lin Yuan’s white tiger tattoos itched against his back with agony.

’What kind of monster is sleeping on this mountain...?’ Xue Hongzhao thought, a bead of sweat crawling from his forehead.