Chapter 18

The flames beneath Guangxiao’s feet were no ordinary flames. In the blink of an eye, the pair of withered hands that emerged from the water were burned into two charred bones. Just as Guangxiao bent down to lift the owner of the charred bones, the corpses that had been floating around on the water’s surface had somehow gathered around his feet, surrounding the flames. By the time Guangxiao noticed, his surroundings were already filled with floating corpses.

"Corpse control technique... You don’t really think a few dead bodies can do anything to me, do you? Barbarians are barbarians, your thoughts are really simple..." Guangxiao temporarily abandoned the witch ancestor hidden in the water and turned to look at the increasing number of floating corpses. After a strange laugh, he continued, "Then, let me send you all to the afterlife, so you don’t have to suffer as wandering spirits anymore." As he spoke, he made a gesture with one hand and muttered a strange syllable. The moment the last syllable left Guangxiao’s lips, the flames beneath his feet suddenly spread out, engulfing the surrounding floating corpses.

When the flames touched the floating corpses, they struggled violently like living people, emitting an abnormally piercing cry. The sight was terrifying to everyone watching. However, it didn’t last long. They soon floated motionless on the water’s surface, their bodies beginning to deform and curl from the flames, making a crackling sound. As the corpses turned into charred remains, a nauseating smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Seeing this, some of the Miao people in the distance couldn’t hold back and started vomiting.

Guangxiao watched the scene with a smile, as if he were admiring a beautiful landscape. The Linhuo he was holding had lost all ability to move. Half of his body was submerged in the water, his eyes tightly closed, and his tongue hanging out. He looked like he was on the brink of death. Despite this, Guangxiao still tightly gripped Linhuo’s neck, not planning to let him go easily.

In the blink of an eye, the floating corpses around Guangxiao were almost all burned. At this point, Guangxiao turned his gaze back to his feet and said to the water, "You have quite a bit of patience. I thought you would take the opportunity to ambush me just now. Just for this, if you tell me where Wu Mian is hiding, I’ll spare these Miao people."

Pausing here, Guangxiao’s tone became more sinister, "If you keep holding out, I’ll uproot your entire Miao clan. I’ll find Wu Mian myself. A mere Wu Mian, Grandmaster Fangshi has the means to find him."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of water splashes suddenly shot up from the water beneath his feet, and the witch ancestor suddenly emerged from the water. His two withered hands, already charred, reached for Guangxiao’s crown. Guangxiao, as if he had anticipated this, extended his hand the moment the witch ancestor appeared and slapped the witch ancestor’s head. With a "slap," the witch ancestor was sent flying several dozen feet away. He no longer had the strength to stand on the water’s surface, and after a splash, he fell back into the water, sinking without a struggle.

After slapping the witch ancestor away, Guangxiao’s face showed a puzzled expression. He frowned and looked at the spot where the witch ancestor had fallen into the water, as if there was something he couldn’t understand.

At this moment, Linhuo, who everyone thought was dead, suddenly opened his eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around Guangxiao’s waist, trapping Guangxiao’s hands inside like an iron hoop. Almost simultaneously, the scene behind Guangxiao distorted, and a figure appeared behind him. This person held a black, short knife and silently slashed at Guangxiao’s neck.

Linhuo’s strength alone was not enough to restrain Guangxiao. He released his grip on Linhuo’s neck, freed his arms, and with a quick movement, broke Linhuo’s hold. Linhuo, now free, fell into the water. In a flash, although Linhuo had only restrained Guangxiao for a moment, it was enough for the person behind him to land the knife on Guangxiao’s neck.

With a "thud," the artery in Guangxiao’s neck was severed, and the gushing blood instantly dyed the surrounding water red. Despite his severe injury, Guangxiao remained calm. He immediately raised his shoulders and ducked his head, clamping the short knife that had cut his neck. He then quickly turned around, unable to use his techniques, and reached out to grab the figure.

The person holding the short knife, whose knife was clamped by Guangxiao, immediately let go and quickly retreated. Unfortunately, it was too late. Guangxiao grabbed the person’s shoulder and pulled, and with a "rip," a large piece of flesh and bone was torn off. This person, though fortunate to escape with his life, was left weak and limped away along the water’s surface.

Guangxiao, who had been on the verge of victory, never expected such a significant setback. He was furious, but his neck was still bleeding profusely. Due to the seed, his recovery speed was far slower than Wu Mian’s, and it would take some time to heal such a severe injury. Even with his immortal body, he couldn’t withstand such heavy blood loss. His feet felt like they were on cotton, and he could easily fall into the water at any moment.

With no choice, Guangxiao gave up on revenge and decided to return after healing to exterminate the Miao people. He first used his technique to stop the bleeding and then used water to escape. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the sight of the Miao people.

After Guangxiao disappeared, the Miao leader shouted a few commands, and dozens of Miao people dove into the water. After a while, they brought out Linhuo, who was barely breathing, and the witch ancestor’s body.

The Miao people placed the witch ancestor’s body on the shore and knelt before it, weeping loudly. The person who had cut Guangxiao knelt at the front, crying the most. While he was crying, someone came to bandage his wound. After a while, he stood up and said something loudly to the Miao people. After he finished speaking, the Miao people changed their direction and began to kneel and worship him. Then, an elder removed the ornaments from the witch ancestor’s body and respectfully placed them on this person.

The scene looked like a ritual, but it was simplified due to the urgency. After the Miao people knelt and worshiped for a while, the ritual ended. This person whispered a few words to the elder, who then shouted to the others. After a few more bows, the Miao people stood up. Except for a few who stayed to collect the bodies of their comrades, the rest headed back to the water. They swam to the waterfall and, led by one of their leaders, disappeared behind it.

In a moment, only a few busy Miao people remained at the scene, along with Linhuo, who had recovered, and the person who had just received the worship. As they watched the others disappear, they were about to take the witch ancestor’s body to the waterfall when a sharp and familiar aura suddenly appeared. Linhuo and the person shuddered, thinking Guangxiao had returned. However, when they looked in the direction of the aura, they saw a young man with white hair casually walking over, saying sarcastically, "Your business is over, now it’s time to settle our accounts, isn’t it?"

Linhuo and the person recognized the newcomer. Linhuo knew him, and the other person had learned about him from the witch ancestor’s memories.

The newcomer was Wu Mian. At this point, both Linhuo and the person’s faces had changed. They were both at the end of their strength and couldn’t withstand another attack from Wu Mian after the chaos caused by Guangxiao.

Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui had seen everything that happened here clearly. They never expected Guangxiao to be overturned at the last moment despite his overwhelming advantage. Without the threat of Guangxiao, they emerged from the bushes and watched the spot where Guangxiao had disappeared. Gui Bu Gui shook his head, turned to look at Wu Mian, and said, "I’ve always said that Guangxiao is a good-for-nothing. He relies on his little cleverness and doesn’t know his limits, which is why he can’t match Guangren. Look, he got overconfident, didn’t he? He had already restrained the Lin boy and could have gotten information from him. He could have either eliminated the witch ancestor or ignored him. Now, he’s in trouble... serves him right!"