An artifact like the Hundred Peaks Scroll was excellent for solo combat, but it was equally well-suited for slaughtering groups.
The eight enormous phantom mountain peaks looked ethereal and insubstantial, yet each one carried the weight of a real mountain. They required no special force—simply crashing down was intimidating enough. After Yang Kai frantically flooded them with Saint Power, the falling phantom peaks began carrying a faint aura of demonic flame. In an instant, the entire valley shook from the bombardment, and waves of Fire Spirit Beasts charged in, only to vanish in swathes.
It was Yang Kai's first time deploying the Hundred Peaks Scroll, and he suddenly discovered the artifact was remarkably useful. At the very least, it dispatched Fire Spirit Beasts far more quickly than using the Xuantian Sword and the Heaven-Slaying Spear. He immediately sheathed his demonic-flame longsword and devoted himself to unleashing the scroll's full power.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening sounds echoed from the valley.
Meanwhile, in the direction from which Yang Kai had come, a party of three appeared at the mouth of the valley. Two of them were at Saint King Stage Three, while the third was only at Saint King Stage One. Judging by their formation, the two Stage Three warriors had positioned themselves on either side of the Stage One cultivator, seemingly to protect him.
As they reached the valley's edge, the warrior in the lead suddenly halted, a look of alarm crossing his face as he peered suspiciously into the valley's depths. When he stopped, the other two naturally halted as well. The warrior at the rear scanned their surroundings alertly, but the short, stocky young man sandwiched between them wore an expression of complete indifference, glancing around from time to time as though he weren't braving the dangers of the Scorching Flame Sand Region but had come here for a stroll.
After scouting the area before the valley for a good while, the three showed no intention of advancing. The stocky young man couldn't help but urge the one in front: "Xie Yong, what are you staring at? Hurry up and move."
The warrior called Xie Yong turned back and said: "Young Master, please wait a moment. Something seems off about this valley."
So saying, he beckoned to the Stage Three warrior at the rear. Once the man had stepped forward, the two of them began examining the area together, murmuring quietly to each other.
The young man, seeing how seriously they were taking things, let out a dissatisfied snort: "Aren't you two making a fuss over nothing? We haven't encountered any real danger along the way. Didn't I dispatch those few Fire Spirit Beasts that popped up without breaking a sweat? I think this Scorching Flame Sand Region is nothing but a false reputation. All those stories about how dangerous it is—clearly just rumors passed along to scare the ignorant. Too bad they don't scare me!"
This young man was none other than Xie Hongwen, with whom Yang Kai had previously crossed paths. The other two Saint King Stage Three warriors were, naturally, members of the Xie Family sent to protect him. Qian Tong had previously gone out of his way to tell Yang Kai that these two warriors were not from Shadow Moon Hall.
Hearing Xie Hongwen's words, Xie Yong and the other warrior exchanged a glance and silently shook their heads. They knew full well that Xie Hongwen had grown accustomed to a life of comfort and had no understanding of how dangerous the outside world could be. What's more, they genuinely hadn't encountered any danger these past few days, which only reinforced his low opinion of the place.
Though they themselves had never entered the Scorching Flame Sand Region, they knew that as one of the Dark Star's three great forbidden zones, it had to hold its own share of strangeness. If it had been anyone else spouting such things, the two would have paid no heed—underestimating the danger here and meeting an unfortunate end would have been nobody's fault but their own. But they bore the responsibility of protecting Xie Hongwen, and if the young man perished due to carelessness, they would face dire consequences upon returning to the Xie Family.
The square-faced warrior felt it necessary to explain. After a moment's thought, he said gravely: "Young Master, this is still the outermost fringe of the Scorching Flame Sand Region, and we've been lucky so far—the Fire Spirit Beasts we encountered were all only fifth or sixth rank. With your mighty prowess, dispatching them was naturally no challenge."
The flattery worked its magic on Xie Hongwen. His impatient expression softened considerably, and he struck a pose of supreme arrogance, looking as though he were the most exalted being under heaven and earth.
The warrior shifted his tone and continued: "However, Young Master, you absolutely must not let your guard down. Besides the fifth and sixth-rank Fire Spirit Beasts we ran into, there are seventh-rank ones, eighth-rank ones..."
At this, Xie Hongwen cast a sidelong glare at the square-faced warrior and sneered: "Xie Jun, you underestimate me far too much. I have plenty of artifacts on hand and my techniques are exquisite. So what if a seventh or eighth-rank one shows up? I'd cut them down just as easily! Even a ninth-rank Fire Spirit Beast wouldn't faze me! As a matter of fact, I'm worried I won't run into any of those high-rank ones. Go find me a few—I'll kill them right in front of you!"
He looked positively eager to prove himself.
Xie Yong and Xie Jun maintained perfectly neutral expressions on the surface, but inwardly they were cursing Xie Hongwen to high heaven. They'd heard long ago that Xie Hongwen was an absolute fool, but only now did they realize the rumors had vastly understated just how stupid this young master truly was.
With his meager Saint King Stage One cultivation, never mind killing a ninth-rank Fire Spirit Beast—even a seventh or eighth-rank one could obliterate him in the blink of an eye. How laughable that he could boast so shamelessly.
There was no reasoning with a fool. Xie Jun and Xie Yong wisely offered a few words of agreement, which pleased Xie Hongwen immensely. He dropped the matter of their delay and nodded repeatedly: "Rest assured, as long as I get my revenge this time, once we return, I'll have my father write a letter to the clan head. You'll be handsomely rewarded."
Xie Jun and Xie Yong's eyes lit up, and they nodded their assent one after another. The reason they had taken on this assignment was that Xie Hongwen's father, Xie Li, had promised each of them the staggering sum of three hundred thousand Saint Crystals upon successful completion. Otherwise, who on earth would have come all the way to the Scorching Flame Sand Region to babysit Xie Hongwen?