Chapter 138 Burn Everything Away with Fireballs

"Well, Junior Sister Chu, I hail from the Xu family. Since my family's ancestor is an elder of the Lingtian Sect, I happen to know a thing or two about this Lingtian Gorge... To be honest, this trial may seem easy at first glance, but it is actually fraught with hardship and danger. Why don't you and Junior Sister Lu here join my party? That way, we can all look out for one another, right?"

Not sensing anything amiss in Chu Xin'er's expression, Xu Lingzi offered a faint, smiling explanation before extending a direct invitation.

"Hmph! Join your party? Not interested. What about you, Sister Chu?"

Xu Lingzi's earlier cold detachment had left Lu Yin with not an ounce of favorable impression, and she was eager to find her older brother, Lu Fang. Without waiting for Chu Xin'er to speak, she let out a cold snort and refused outright.

"Since Junior Sister Lu is unwilling, then I must decline as well. Thank you for your kind intentions. Lu Yin, let's go."

Chu Xin'er was even less inclined to have prolonged contact with the seemingly hypocritical Xu Lingzi. The moment Lu Yin's voice trailed off, she called out to her, transforming into a streak of escaping light that sped away.

Watching the two women fly off, the smile on Xu Lingzi's face gradually turned icy. Suddenly, with a flick of his hand, a sound-transmission talisman materialized in his palm.

He swept his divine sense into it to sense its contents for a moment, and a hint of a smile returned to his face as he muttered to himself, "Seventh Brother has finally sent word."

Deep within the woods, Xiao Wenzi was just about to exchange for a talisman to conceal his traces when a succession of rushing sounds echoed from behind him, and a dozen figures appeared one after another.

"There it is! Catch it!"

Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, and a flurry of attacks—including sword qi and blazing fire—descended like a crushing net.

Xiao Wenzi cursed inwardly. Did these fellows really think he was someone to be easily bullied? If he didn't show them some color, the trouble would likely be endless.

With a flash of his figure, he directly executed the Phantom Shadow Art, successfully dodging the assault. While the crowd was still stunned by the sudden multiplication of his afterimages, he enhanced himself with the Swift Sprite Art and darted straight in front of a young man.

Swish, swish, swish! Razor-sharp blade-wings sliced through the air, hurtling directly toward the youth.

This fellow was none other than Xu Lingzi's cousin, Xu Chen. Being a peak Qi Condensation cultivator, his combat experience was reasonably rich, and he hurriedly erected a protective spiritual barrier while raising his magical artifact to block the incoming strike.

However, although his flying sword shattered two of the blade-wing slashes, several other curved blades struck the exterior of his spiritual shield at the same time. The barrier twisted and trembled violently before shattering outright.

Such was the formidable power of the Blood Spirit Great Art. Ever since breaking through to the twelfth layer, there were very few Qi Condensation cultivators who could rely solely on a protective spiritual shield to withstand Xiao Wenzi's attacks.

"Not good—"

Xu Chen had never dreamed that his protective barrier would prove so fragile. With a drastically pale complexion, he hurriedly sidestepped to dodge, but he was still pierced by the slightly weakened blade-wing slashes.

A shrill scream rang out. Although the fellow ultimately managed to evade fatal spots like his throat and heart, his shoulder and ribs were punctured, leaving him severely wounded. Had his companions not rushed over to render aid, he surely would have been slain on the spot by Xiao Wenzi.

"Hm? What is going on?"

Hearing the familiar scream, Xu Lingzi frowned slightly, lowered the transmission talisman, and cast his powerful divine sense over the woods.

Upon quickly discovering his cousin's miserable state, the detached expression on his face turned sinister and cold. Without a moment's hesitation, he bolted into the forest.

"Damn it, that Foundation Establishment fellow is coming over! I cannot afford to get bogged down in a protracted fight. I need to find a way to conceal my aura, slip away, and rendezvous with Chu Xin'er."

Because he cultivated the Blood Spirit Great Art, Xiao Wenzi's demonic perception was superior to that of cultivators at the same realm. The moment Xu Lingzi probed the area, he immediately sensed an intense wave of crisis.

The Qi Condensation stage possessed no such oppressive might; the newcomer must be in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, just like Chu Xin'er.

Therefore, the instant he evaded the round of attacks, he executed the Demonic Body Frenzy Art, the Swift Sprite Art, and the Phantom Shadow Art back-to-back.

Even without activating the Demonic Body Frenzy Art, Xiao Wenzi at the twelfth layer was already a match for an ordinary peak Qi Condensation cultivator. Once his cultivation base surged instantly, he was simply beyond anything Xu Chen and the others could compare with.

A gray shadow flickered continuously. Before Xu Lingzi could even draw near, Xiao Wenzi had already put a considerable distance between himself and Xu Chen's group.

Two palm-sized talismans appeared before him. As his wings fluttered, the talismans melted into beams of light that merged into Xiao Wenzi's body, and he vanished into thin air just like that.

"Eh? What happened? Where did that demonic mosquito go?"

Separated by dozens of meters and blocked by trees, Xu Chen and the others—who had been left behind in the chase—did not witness Xiao Wenzi utilizing the talisman. They only felt the demonic aura ahead vanish abruptly.

They looked at one another in dismay, somewhat at a loss. Fortunately, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind, and Xu Lingzi arrived in a flash.

"What are you all staring at like fools? Where is that damned demonic mosquito?"

Because of the distance and the obstruction of the trees, even with Xu Lingzi's formidable divine sense, locking onto a target a hundred feet away required a considerable drain of energy.

Furthermore, with so many people hunting Xiao Wenzi, Xu Lingzi had assumed it would never escape easily, so he hadn't expended his divine sense to lock onto it directly. Now that he had suddenly lost the target, his expression turned rather unsightly.

"We don't know... We were chasing it, and then it suddenly disappeared," stammered a youth in brocade robes. The others averted their eyes, terrified of incurring Xu Lingzi's blame.

"Useless trash!"

The youth who spoke was also a member of the Xu family and considered Xu Lingzi's cousin. Feeling vexed, Xu Lingzi rebuked him without reservation while expanding his powerful divine sense to search the area inch by inch.

Yet, after a short while, his expression grew increasingly grim.

The fact that Xiao Wenzi could suddenly vanish without a trace while being pursued by numerous cultivators was sufficient proof on its own that it was not to be trifled with.

Seeing that even the Foundation Establishment-stage Xu Lingzi had hit a snag, the other trial-takers who did not belong to his faction lost all desire to muddy these waters and departed one by one. The brocade-robed youth who had spoken earlier asked in a low voice once more, "Big Brother Xu Lingzi, what should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Use Fireball spells to burn this entire forest to the ground. I refuse to believe we won't flush it out."

Although Xu Lingzi did not know how Xiao Wenzi had concealed its aura and form so thoroughly that even he couldn't detect it, he could be certain of one fact: the opponent's realm was not high.

Without sufficient cultivation, no matter how miraculous one's innate talents might be, it was impossible to remain hidden indefinitely.

Moreover, he was confident that when the adversary employed such heaven-defying concealment methods, high-speed flight was utterly out of the question. In other words, the demonic mosquito was still lurking in the immediate vicinity.

"Understood, Big Brother Xu Lingzi."

The few individuals following Xu Lingzi were not fools. Hearing him say this, they immediately understood his intent and began eagerly rolling up their sleeves. Xu Chen, whose wounds were currently being bandaged by a companion after taking a healing pill, wore a gaze that flickered with a chilling, vicious light.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The moment Xu Lingzi finished speaking, he soared into the air and flicked his fingers, projecting clusters of blazing fireballs toward the trees ahead.

The others quickly followed suit, though not everyone possessed a fire spiritual root or proficiency in fire-attribute spells; those lacking such aptitude swung their swords horizontally and vertically to chop down trees whenever their companions unleashed tongues of flame and fireballs.

Wood chips flew in all directions, and the fire caught the wind. The forest was soon blazing fiercely. Standing afar in the mid-air, Chu Xin'er halted her escaping light, her delicate brows furrowing slightly as she looked back.