One day, Yang Kai arrived before a gorge. He halted in his tracks, gazing at the narrow passage before him, his brow furrowed deep.
The gorge was only two or three zhang wide, flanked by mountains that soared ten thousand ren high, as if some supreme being had cleaved the entire range in two with a single stroke of immense power.
Yang Kai stood in place, hesitating for a full incense stick's time before finally deciding to force his way through.
Though the gorge looked somewhat dangerous, taking a detour would waste at least several days by his estimation. He didn't want to lose that time, so he could only press forward. Of course, he was confident enough in his ability to handle a certain level of risk — otherwise he wouldn't have ventured so deep into a place like this.
In the Flowing Flame Sand Field, where flight was impossible, terrain like this was absolutely the prime choice for laying ambushes and launching surprise attacks. As long as someone blocked both entrances of the gorge, even the most capable person trapped inside would be doomed.
However, warriors who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field did so seeking various benefits. While killing and plundering certainly happened from time to time, who would be bored enough to set an ambush in a spot like this?
Yang Kai figured that aside from himself, probably no one else would take this path. So he boldly stepped into the gorge.
The gorge was very long — looking from one end to the other, it stretched at least a dozen li or more. That such terrain could exist within the Flowing Flame Sand Field was truly peculiar.
For the first few li, nothing happened. But after Yang Kai had covered roughly a quarter of the distance, streaks of dazzling firelight shot out from the underground cracks. The firelight contained incredibly shocking waves of energy. The moment it appeared, it sandwiched Yang Kai from both front and back. Wriggling and shifting, it transformed into fire spirit beasts of various shapes — each one fierce and ferocious, baring their fangs as they lunged at him to bite and claw.
Yang Kai's expression was cold and detached. A long sword wreathed in roiling demonic flame had already materialized in his hand, while a purple shield transformed into a streak of violet light that hovered behind him. He ignored the fire spirit beasts lunging at his back entirely, focusing only on cutting down those that charged from the front.
Yang Kai had long anticipated this situation. That was why he had hesitated before entering the gorge. Once inside, no one would come to ambush him — but there were fire spirit beasts. Unless he killed them all, he wouldn't be getting out.
A barrage of sounds came from the purple shield behind him — the clamor of fire spirit beasts colliding with it as they lunged and were blocked. Meanwhile, Yang Kai's demonic flame sword pierced straight into the eye of a fire spirit beast shaped like a lion. He twisted it viciously. Demonic flame surged into the beast's body, and instantly a layer of black tinge spread across the red glow of its skin. The blackness raced outward at incredible speed. Its originally brilliant red body transformed into a swirling merge of black and red — an extraordinarily bizarre sight.
Seventh-tier fire spirit beasts — Yang Kai could kill one with a single full-power strike. But with so many of them here, he couldn't afford to go all-out every time. Instead, he relied on the unique properties of the demonic flame to gradually burn away their semi-corporeal bodies.
The demonic flame sword was yanked free from the lion-beast's skull. He didn't bother with whether it lived or died. Almost without pausing, he slashed directly at another fire spirit beast that had charged close. The demonic flame immediately clung to its body, and its somewhat corporeal form quickly bloomed with black flames that spread outward to consume it bit by bit.
Such terrain was unfavorable for Yang Kai to deploy all his abilities, but it was equally disadvantageous for the fire spirit beasts. With only two or three zhang of width, at most five or six could engage him face-to-face at any one time. The rest were all blocked behind by their companions.
The bizarre power coursing through him — an alternation of cold and heat, a coexistence of righteous and sinister — was something these seventh and eighth-tier fire spirit beasts simply could not withstand. One by one, the beasts blocking his path vanished into nothingness with mournful cries, and fire crystal stones of varying sizes clattered to the ground.
While killing the fire spirit beasts, Yang Kai still had enough spare energy to snatch up these invaluable fire crystal stones. In an instant, he was raking in a fortune.
There were quite a few fire spirit beasts in the gorge — several hundred at least. But no matter how numerous, they couldn't withstand being slaughtered like this. Unlike the beasts he had encountered earlier, each of these contained fire crystal stones within its body, so Yang Kai's efforts were not without reward.
As time passed, the seemingly endless fire spirit beasts gradually thinned out, and Yang Kai had advanced about a li forward.
Another fire spirit beast fell to his sword. Yang Kai stepped forward, swinging casually to block another beast's attack with one hand while reaching for a dropped fire crystal stone with the other. He had repeated this motion countless times and was thoroughly practiced at it.
Who would have known that this single step would land him on something extraordinary. A strange sensation of weight suddenly bore down on him from all directions. Yang Kai felt as though the space around his very body had solidified.
This caused his hand reaching for the fire crystal stone to freeze in midair, unable to advance even a fraction. Even the demonic flame sword he had already swung was locked in place, its blade humming and vibrating ceaselessly.
Yang Kai's expression changed drastically. Under his stunned gaze, the lunging fire spirit beast opened its massive jaws and bit down on his neck. A bestial roar erupted as blisteringly hot breath spewed from its maw, laced with thick fire venom.
Pain shot through his neck — the skin had surely been broken. The fire venom seeping into his body made his neck burn like fire, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
In the brief moment he was stunned, the fire spirit beasts ahead attacked all at once. Opening their maws, they unleashed torrents of fire serpents and blazing energy orbs that rained down on Yang Kai with overwhelming force.
Yang Kai's face turned ashen. Though he had no idea what exactly he had stumbled into, retreating now was already too late. In desperation, he could only pour everything he had into circulating his Holy Yuan, forcibly tearing his body free from the solidified space. Then, demonic flame erupted violently from within him, making him appear like a man wreathed in blazing fire.