50: Chapter 50: Slaying all pursuers, stepping into the Red Lotus Land!

"Since you're not full yet, let's not let anything go to waste."

Ye Feng's wrist gave a slight flick, and the fragment of Black Iron at his fingertips, still carrying his body heat, transformed into a streak of black light that instantly tore through the air.

The sound was so faint it was almost a joke.

Dozens of yards away, the Qingyang Sect vanguard who was just about to turn and flee suddenly froze. His hands clutched his throat tightly, yet blood still sprayed wildly from between his fingers.

His eyes bulged, and with the last of his strength before death, he viciously crushed the crimson jade pendant at his waist.

Screech—!

A blinding beam of scarlet light shot into the sky, exploding into a massive blood-colored firework above the dim wasteland.

A Resonant Fire Beacon.

Qingyang Sect Disciples within a five-hundred-mile radius would now swarm over like sharks smelling blood.

"How troublesome. They won't even give me time to loot the corpses."

Ye Feng spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. Without sparing the fallen corpse a single glance, he grabbed Zhao Waner's wrist, carried the unconscious Xiao Yue on his back, and like a kite with a broken string, plunged straight toward the bottomless rift at the end of the wasteland.

The Earth Rift Valley.

This was the scar of the wasteland, and also the only way out.

A heatwave rushed toward them, the thick smell of sulfur making their lungs ache.

A hundred yards below was churning dark red lava. The sound of bubbles bursting rose and fell like the whispers of countless vengeful spirits.

"Hold on tight."

Ye Feng gave a low shout, and the Chaos Devouring Sword Body began to operate in reverse.

In the past, he could only devour, but now, he had learned to 'expel'.

He opened his pores completely, his blood surging within him as he forcibly 'peeled' away all the bloody scent clinging to the skin and clothes of the three of them, along with the spiritual energy fluctuations left by the fierce battle.

The sensation was unpleasant, like having a layer of skin forcibly torn off.

A visible mass of pale red blood mist seeped from his body. With a backhand palm strike, he slammed it hard into the churning river of lava below.

Sizzle!

The moment the blood mist touched the high-temperature lava, it turned into a wisp of blue smoke and completely dissipated into the pungent smell of sulfur.

"Now, let's see how those dogs track us."

Ye Feng's toes tapped repeatedly against the protruding rock wall. Moving like a gecko on a wall, he landed steadily on a naturally formed stone bridge at the bottom of the valley after a few leaps.

The bridge was not peaceful.

Boom! Boom!

Several giant beasts dripping with lava were besieging a carriage.

The carriage was crafted entirely from an unknown fire-resistant redwood, and a tattered Red Lotus flag was planted on the shaft. More than half of the surrounding guards were already dead or wounded, and the remaining few were at their wits' end. The weapons in their hands struck the Lava Behemoths, but aside from kicking up a few sparks, they were useless.

"People from the Red Lotus Ancient Kingdom?" Zhao Waner shrank behind Ye Feng, her voice trembling.

Ye Feng didn't speak, but his eyes lit up.

The core of these Lava Behemoths was Fire Crystal. That was a great supplement, far tastier than that broken sword from earlier.

If he didn't snatch it now, when would he?

Without any nonsense, he exerted force through his feet and shot into the fray like a cannonball.

A guard had just been swatted away, and as a flaming giant claw was about to descend to crush him into meat paste, a figure abruptly wedged itself in between.

Ye Feng didn't use a sword, because he didn't have one.

He held his fingers together like a blade. Without a trace of spiritual energy leaking out, he precisely stabbed the very center of the Lava Behemoth's broad forehead.

There was a fist-sized crimson crystal there, radiating violent heat.

Devour!

Ye Feng's fingers seemed to become the entrance to a black hole.

The massive Lava Behemoth's movements instantly froze; it didn't even have time to scream.

The majestic fire-attribute spiritual energy within its body surged frantically through the crystal and into Ye Feng's fingertips.

In just half a breath.

Crash.

The beast that had been raging with terrifying flames just a moment ago instantly lost all its luster. It turned into a pile of grey-white withered stone and crumbled into a heap on the ground.

"The taste is a bit spicy, but it's got a kick."

Ye Feng shook his hand. The sense of weakness from having just emptied his energy was instantly filled.

The surrounding guards were dumbfounded.

What kind of demonic technique was this? Killing a Lava Beast comparable to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment with a single finger?

Right then, a corner of the curtain on the tightly closed carriage was lifted.

A token, entirely crimson and carved with a flaming lotus, flew out straight toward Ye Feng's face.

"Catch it!"

A cold yet slightly hurried female voice came from inside the carriage. "That is a Fire Spirit Identity Plate. Escort me into the city, and this identity will be your protective talisman. Otherwise, that beacon will draw more than just pursuers; it will draw the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty's iron cavalry."

She was a smart person.

Ye Feng raised his hand and caught the token; it was scalding to the touch.

He didn't even ask who she was or why.

In transactions like this, sometimes words were unnecessary.

He gripped the token tightly, and the Chaos Devouring Sword Body instantly analyzed the faint, unique royal aura contained within it.

The Sword Intent that was originally sharp and filled with slaughter was rapidly restrained under his deliberate control.

It was replaced by a heavy, scorching fire-attribute fluctuation with a hint of deathly stillness. It merged perfectly with the environment of the Earth Rift Valley and even the aura of the Red Lotus guards.

Now, he looked like a royal death soldier who had Cultivated in a subterranean fire environment for many years.

"Deal."

The corner of Ye Feng's mouth curled slightly. He tucked the token into his robes and turned to look at the giant city hidden at the end of the dark red mist.

Red Lotus Ancient Kingdom, Capital City South Gate.

The city walls towered into the clouds, entirely crimson as if they had been soaked in blood.

Atop the gate tower, a grandmaster's chair was set facing the main road to the city gate.

Shen Fen sat upright in the chair, fiddling with several broken fragments of a life tablet.

It was the life tablet of his younger brother, Shen Lang.

Just now, he had sensed that the aura of the murderer who killed his brother had completely disappeared near the Earth Rift Valley.

It was replaced by a weak yet familiar fluctuation.

That was an aura that only the death soldiers raised by the Red Lotus royalty would possess.

"How interesting."

A sinister cold light flashed in Shen Fen's narrow phoenix eyes. "Did you think that by changing your skin, I wouldn't be able to smell your stench?"

He slowly stood up, his bright red Fire Refining Cult robes snapping in the hot wind.

"Pass down the order."

Shen Fen's voice wasn't loud, yet it reached the ears of every city gate guard clearly. "Activate the 'Lava Shield'. Today, everyone entering the city, whether they be princes, nobles, peddlers, or pawns, must undergo refinement by fire."

"True gold fears no fire. Let's see how long you can keep up the act."

Following his command, a translucent dark red light screen rose from the city walls, like a giant bowl covering the gate. High-temperature lava that made one's heart skip a beat flowed across the light screen.

At that moment, the carriage with the tattered flag happened to creak onto the drawbridge over the moat.

Before the wheels had even stopped, a figure descended from the sky, pinning himself firmly in the middle of the road like an iron nail, blocking all paths.

Shen Fen stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze bypassed the trembling guards and stared straight at the carriage's cabin, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"Everyone in the carriage, get out."