Chapter 42: The Legend of Ancestral Roots (Part 1)

“Kill them. Kill the people of the Willow Flame Sect!” A sharp voice rang out from the crowd.

Having been confined outside the formation for a long time, those cultivators already bore a deep grudge against the Willow Flame Sect. This cry immediately resonated with many. A massive wave of cultivators surged forward toward the Willow Flame Sect like a tidal wave. Some of the scattered cultivators began to combine their spells. In an instant, fierce winds rose, and the sky seemed to collapse, heavy and oppressive. Dark clouds rapidly gathered above the Willow Flame Sect’s territory, and thunder rumbled continuously from within the gathering storm.

“This is bad.” Li Lie’s expression shifted sharply as he quickly calculated in his mind. “What to do? There are too many of them. It seems this time I won’t be able to monopolize the treasure…”

“Crackle, crackle.”

Hundreds of twisting bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky. The screams of the unfortunate were quickly drowned out by the thunderclaps. Li Lie, still thinking swiftly, punched repeatedly at the lightning striking him, cursing under his breath, “Damn it. At this rate, the Willow Flame Sect is finished.” As he spoke, he advanced toward the treasure entrance, dodging the bolts of lightning descending from above.

“Li Lie, don’t even think about escaping…” The words “escape” still lingered on the tip of the Flower Fairy’s tongue when Li Hong interrupted sharply. “Bai Xue, stand your ground. How many times have I told you, this time everything is about the treasure. Have you forgotten?”

The fairy stepped back respectfully but glared fiercely at the fleeing Li Lie.

“Master, I feel there’s something strange about that guy,” Zi Huan said, pointing at Lei Yan.

“What do you mean?” Li Hong asked, pleased. She also sensed something odd about Lei Yan.

“Before the master came, he had some conflict with senior sister…” Zi Huan glanced at the Flower Fairy, who seemed indifferent, and continued, “When senior sister attacked him, he dodged. Before, I thought he was just a clown, but now it’s different. Since he possesses the ability to break formations, senior sister’s casual strike should have easily countered him. Why dodge? Obviously, it was deliberate. Besides, his eyes were strange at that moment, as if purposely provoking trouble…” She trailed off, lost in thought.

Li Hong listened intently to Zi Huan’s analysis, then shifted her gaze toward Lei Yan. Inwardly, she thought, “This kid’s strength isn’t high, but he can easily break formations. He’s clearly a formation master. We might be able to use him later…” Turning to Bai Xue, she instructed, “Avoid direct confrontation with him as much as possible.”

Consumed with thoughts of how to kill Li Lie, Bai Xue paid no attention to other matters and promptly responded to the order.

“Not face me directly, huh? Fine.” Lei Yan’s lips curled into a faint smile as he turned his back to the Flower Fairy and the others. He had sensed their conversation through his special ability. Glancing at Rona beside him, he said, “Rona, let’s retreat and wait for Qida’s reinforcements.”

Rona instinctively nodded but suddenly seemed to realize something about Lei Yan’s identity. She immediately demanded, “Who do you think you are, ordering me around? And don’t forget just now…”

Lei Yan could clearly sense the conflict in Rona’s heart—resistance to taking orders from him yet simultaneously seeking his opinion. Looking at her, he thought, “She’s wavering already. Too bad… I’m not strong enough; otherwise, I’d have dealt with the Flower Fairy by now.”

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Rona said, displeased.

“Got a better idea?” Lei Yan sneered and shifted his gaze to Gang Xing, who was fiercely fighting nearby. Gang Xing appeared to be a madman, killing anyone who stood before him. Seeing this, Lei Yan chuckled coldly. “This guy’s really insane.”

Rona was no fool. With Red Leaf Valley yet to act, she knew the priority was preserving strength and waiting for the elders from the sect. Still, she couldn’t stand Lei Yan’s expression and said coldly, “Even if you’re right, what about Gang Xing? Letting him keep killing like this will make the Blood Moon Sect public enemy number one to these cultivators, just like the Willow Flame Sect…”

“So what if we’re public enemies?” Lei Yan sneered. “Strength is the key to everything. It only takes a few Nascent Soul experts to suppress these scattered cultivators. Maybe it won’t be long before things quiet down here.”

Rona fell silent. Indeed, as Lei Yan said, the cultivators seemed united, but once the Nascent Soul experts from the Willow Flame Sect intervened, these cultivators would scatter like sand. She slowly turned around, thinking, “Duan Hong, who exactly are you? Why have I never heard of you in the Blood Moon Sect all this time?”

Lei Yan coldly observed the ongoing slaughter. His special ability detected at least three groups within the valley who weren’t involved: those in purple robes, those in cyan brocade, and the people of Red Leaf Valley.

“Duan Hong, the elders have arrived!” Rona suddenly called out, then knelt on one knee. “I am Luo Na, leader of the Mystic Moon Hall. We welcome the three elders.”

Lei Yan’s ability also detected four men descending from the sky. One was Qida, and the other three were evidently the elders Rona mentioned. Lei Yan immediately turned and knelt on one knee. “Duan Hong, leader of the New Moon Hall, welcomes the three elders.” At once, a dozen or so Blood Moon Sect disciples behind him followed suit, kneeling. “Welcome, three elders.”

“Everyone, rise.” A silver-haired elder waved his hand, and a gentle breeze lifted everyone to their feet.

“So you’re Duan Hong,” the silver-haired elder said, looking at Lei Yan.

Lei Yan nodded slightly, avoiding the elder’s sharp gaze.

“Very good. I heard you broke through the Heavenly Gang Formation Barrier. Impressive, impressive. Didn’t expect the Blood Moon Sect to have a formation expert.” The silver-haired elder smiled. As he spoke, the two elders beside him glanced at Lei Yan before closing their eyes again.

“Rona, report the situation here,” the silver-haired elder said.

Rona reported the intelligence one by one.

Lei Yan was somewhat surprised. He had underestimated Rona, but after hearing her report, he gained a new appreciation. Her report was strictly factual, devoid of any emotion. Some details even Lei Yan had forgotten or never noticed, but Rona recorded them all, showing her meticulousness.

After the report, the silver-haired elder looked at Lei Yan with interest and then smiled. “These guys are strange. Are they waiting for the Willow Flame Sect to be destroyed? We won’t wait. Let’s head straight to the treasure entrance.” Leading the way, he flew toward the treasure entrance, followed by the two elders.

Lei Yan felt uneasy under the elder’s strange gaze but before he could dwell on it, the elder disappeared from sight. At the same time, a voice rang in his ear: “Bring that Gang Xing kid here.”

“I only need to kill the Flower Fairy,” Lei Yan reminded himself silently, turning his gaze toward Red Leaf Valley and the others.

“Duan Hong, could it be you fancy the woman who just snapped at you?” Qida laughed, noticing Lei Yan’s gaze.

Lei Yan scoffed. “Why would I fancy her?”

Rona snorted and charged toward Gang Xing.

Just as Rona left, Qida patted Lei Yan on the shoulder with a smile. “Kid, you’re something else. We’ve barely met, and you’ve already earned Rona’s grudge. I don’t know whether to envy or resent you. Anyway, good luck.” Then he shot off ahead at high speed.

Lei Yan snorted coldly. “Whatever Rona does is none of my business. Once this thing is over, I’m leaving immediately.” With that, he also rushed forward.

With Lei Yan’s agility, he quickly reached the ruined grand hall. The three Blood Moon Sect elders stood at the perimeter, surrounded by dozens of corpses of cultivators lying in disarray. Bloodstains on the elders made it clear they had slain them.

Li Lie emerged calmly from inside, smiling at the three elders. “You must be the elders of the Blood Moon Sect. The Willow Flame Sect warmly invites you to enter the hall to discuss the treasure.”

“Little brat, you can’t stop us anymore; prepare to negotiate,” the silver-haired elder said with a smile.

“Don’t misunderstand. The Willow Flame Sect certainly has the strength to keep you outside,” Li Lie said. At that moment, four middle-aged men appeared behind him.

“So the Willow Flame Sect’s words were not empty,” the silver-haired elder’s expression shifted slightly. He realized he couldn’t gauge the opponents’ strength, meaning their cultivations were at least on the same level.

Li Lie smiled seeing the elder’s reaction. “These four are elders of the Willow Flame Sect. How about that for sincerity?” He extended his right hand. “Please.”

“Good, we’ll go in.” The silver-haired elder waved his hand with a smile.

“The Willow Flame Sect really knows how to play the game,” Lei Yan thought, following at a steady pace. As he passed Li Lie, he noticed Li Lie’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely. Suddenly, Li Lie flicked his right hand, and a fiery red light shot toward Lei Yan’s forehead.

Lei Yan snorted, shifting his body to dodge the attack. At the same time, he sent a voice message, “Li Lie, isn’t it a bit early to make your move now?” He then flashed behind the Blood Moon Sect elders.

“Kid, you can dodge for a while, but not forever,” Li Lie said angrily through voice transmission.

“We’ll see about that,” Lei Yan replied coldly, spreading his special ability throughout the grand hall.

“Hmm, what’s this feeling?” As soon as Lei Yan stepped into the hall, an inexplicably familiar sensation washed over him. It felt warm and welcoming, like sensing the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth during cultivation. He looked around but found nothing, just the feeling.

While Lei Yan was puzzled, they reached the center of the hall, where nearly fifty cultivators stood, all evidently disciples of the Willow Flame Sect judging by their attire.

“Welcome, welcome all,” Liu Qing stepped forward with a smile. “Please wait a moment.”

“The Willow Flame Sect has occupied this place for a whole day. Are they trying to stall?” The silver-haired elder looked at Liu Qing with displeasure.

“And you are?” Liu Qing asked.

“I am Qin Zhu, elder of the Blood Moon Sect. These two are my younger brothers, Qin Song and Qin Bai,” the silver-haired elder introduced himself.

“Elder of the Blood Moon Sect, well known to me,” Liu Qing said with a smile, bowing slightly. “I am Liu Qing, leader of the Willow Flame Sect. We are not the only two sects here for the treasure; there seem to be several others outside. So I thought we should wait for everyone to arrive and discuss together. You may also use your spiritual perception to scan the surroundings.”

As Qin Zhu entered the hall, he swept the area with his spiritual perception but found nothing unusual; even the spiritual energy fluctuations were sparse. It was indeed strange. Moreover, with several sects outside, the three Nascent Soul experts here alone couldn’t hold the place. So he chose to remain silent.

Lei Yan seemed to have anticipated the Willow Flame Sect’s tactics and paid it no mind. What concerned him was the strange feeling—the source of this warmth. His ability searched relentlessly until it stopped at the damaged wall behind him. He slowly approached the wall.

The hall was crowded, but Lei Yan’s actions did not attract much attention. Of course, a few noticed.

“Could he have discovered something?” Rona turned to look at Lei Yan.

“That guy again? Impossible. The Willow Flame Sect spent a whole day finding this little clue, and this guy just came in—how could he find anything?” Li Lie ground his teeth in anger.

“Who is this guy?” Liu Qing’s expression shifted slightly as his spiritual perception locked firmly on Lei Yan.

Lei Yan frowned, sensing several spiritual perceptions locking onto him. He thought, “This wall must indeed be strange.”

The closer Lei Yan got to the wall, the stronger the warmth grew. He stopped right before it.

“This is a sea of fire,” Lei Yan murmured uncertainly. The wall displayed patterns resembling flames. He instinctively reached out and touched one. Immediately, images of volcanic eruptions flooded his mind—vast sheets of blazing fire connected in a continuous inferno. The heat rose palpably. The fire essence within him seemed stirred, rapidly cycling through his body. Circles upon circles of energy spun, and soon Lei Yan felt as if engulfed in flames.

“What on earth is going on?” Lei Yan vividly perceived the sensations—from fiery eruptions to cooling, then turning into fertile soil. Suddenly, his body seemed to reach its limit.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion came from beside the wall, and Lei Yan’s body was blasted backward.