Everyone felt a scorching heat trying to tear away at their defences as the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk flew towards them.

There was no usable feather left upon it, so to fly, it used the propulsion of the flames that brought it closer to death to rain down upon them.

“All together!”

They all released their most powerful attacks to bring it down. Different colour lights lit up the forest much brighter than the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk could ever do on its own.

Rumble!

A massive explosion spread out that rocked the land not for the first time today. To the surprise of everyone present, however, the combined attacks didn’t manage to inflict that much damage.

It simply got knocked back but quickly regained its bearing as the flames it summoned surrounded it with a certain regal majesty.

“I-Impossible!” The third elder stared on in disbelief. Was their combined attacks so weak!?

“It burned away most of our attacks,” the eyes of the second elder narrowed as he realised what happened.

The attacks they released triggered a sense of mortal danger in the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk, a mortal danger different from the flames that covered it, and so it utilised the little control it had over the flames to guard against their assault.

“Those are the flames it would have at its command should it be rank 5! Then this means no matter what we do, we won’t be able to bring it down by our own power!”

After all, a rank 5 overlord class magical beast was not something they could fight against.

Xie He was cursing inwardly for bringing this catastrophe upon himself.

“No,” the reticent second elder shook his head. “It shouldn’t be able to do that again. It is not rank 5, and it overdrew on most of its remaining life force to control it so deftly. Whatever vitality it has left is nearing its limit, but we need to kill it before that.”

Everyone knew what he meant. If the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk chose to self-destruct, not to mention them, the entire forest might be burned away as a result.

Di Yi Lingdao was well aware of the implications such widespread destruction would cause.

“Again!” He roared as he executed several hand signs. The Star Core behind him was furiously flashing as veins appeared on his forehead while beads of sweat fell like bullets!

“First Temper!”

A massive golden hammer composed of raging spiritual qi materialised above the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk.

‘What is that fool doing!?’ Uncle Tian Lu from outside cursed inwardly to himself.

Before the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk could react, the golden hammer crashed down upon the body of the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk with an unstoppable momentum!

Bam!

“Now!”

The third and second elder along with the members of the Blood Crypt Sect executed their most powerful attacks once again!

Bo-Boom!

An explosion more destructive than the previous one erupted, tearing up the landscape as it ran uninhibited!

“Block i…! Ack!”

The first elder barely managed to shout a command before he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The backlash of the earlier technique he executed broke out.

However, he didn’t need to tell them. The second and third elder knew that distance no longer played a part with an explosion of this magnitude!

Luckily, when the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk had gotten injured by the first elder earlier, the ring of fire was extinguished.

They both appeared in front of the disciples and executed their strongest defensive technique.

Rumble!

The powerful explosion shook the shields they erected, even causing cracks to appear on the surface, but thankfully, it managed to hold.

When it finally calmed down and the flames and dust from the scene subsided, the scene caused all those present to suck in a cold breath of air.

The landscape was totally different from before. A large part of the forest was clear of trees, and the land itself was devastated and scorched black.

Some distance away were the burnt remains of the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk. It was nought but cinders at the moment, dead as can be.

The member of the Blood Crypt who managed to survive breathed out in relief. Thankfully, they managed to escape this disaster.

“Hmph! You’re lucky that we managed to come out on top of this Di Yi Lingdao! If my team were to die here, your pathetic excuse for a sect couldn’t bear the consequences!”

When the first and second elder heard the words of Xie He, their expression twisted into that of anger.

Even the first elder was injured due to him executing an attack that shouldn’t have been used. Yet, if it were not for him striking at the critical moment, the opportunity to take the Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk before a possible self-detonation wouldn’t have arrived as easily as it did.

If it wasn’t for these shameless foxes, they wouldn’t have been forced to go all out as they did.

Dum!

The cultivation base of the second elder burst forth in response. The second elder was, by nature, a man of few words, but it didn’t mean he would take such insults to his own sect without retaliating.

Even more so, when his cultivation base was made known.

“Three Star Cores in the Core Flame Evocation realm!? A three star core Martial Master!?”

The three Star Cores in three of his cauldrons were flashing behind him.

This gave everyone a fright, especially the third elder who, through no small effort, finally managed to overtake the 1st elder, igniting his second star, entering the 2 Star Core realm.

They had felt it before, but because they were engrossed in the battle, they didn’t pay much attention to it. Now it finally dawned on them how powerful this low-key second elder was.

When Xie He felt this, he reflexively stepped back in fear, not stepping there to be such a powerful expert in what was considered a run down sect.

“D-Don’t go too far!”

“Or what!?” The first elder asked in a fit of fury.

Though he was injured, he had no problem borrowing the skin of a tiger to suppress Xie and his cohorts.

“The Blood Crypt Sect will never let you off if you so much as touch us!” Another member shouted.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really! Do you wish to debate this!?” This reply didn’t come from anyone already there, so everyone turned around to a small group of people making their way over.

At the front was a young man who wore a scarlet robe. His bearing was one arrogance and haughtiness, like he would put no one in his eyes.

He had two 6 Star Core Martial Masters behind him, even though he himself was merely at the peak of the Cauldron Forging realm.

When Xie He saw who it was, his face lit up in joy, “Young Master!”

When the three elders heard Xie He, their expression changed once again, this time to one of shock.

This was the young master of the Blood Crypt Sect, Xue ZI! Though he was 16, he was at the peak of the 9th Duan of the Cauldron Forging realm.

Xie He quickly ran over before kneeling down, “Young master Xue, we’ve retrieved the essence blood of Scarlet Flame Long Tailed Hawk!”

When Xue Zi heard this, he nodded in satisfaction, “I will make sure you are duly rewarded when we get to the sect.”

He quickly turned his attention back to the rabble before him, “Di Yi Lingdao, I asked you if you wish to contend this!?”

Di Yi Lingdao was well known within the demon race. He was often lauded as a fool for wanting to remain in a sect that could offer nothing, in a sect that could go no lower than it already was.

The second elder retracted his aura and grouped with the first and second elder before gathering the group of disciples together.

“Young master Xue, I mean no disrespect, but because of your people putting my own in…”

Xue Zi waved his hand, interrupting Di Yi Lingdao, “Your people are not of worth when compared to mine. How could you compare the two?”

“You!” The first elder was furious hearing this.

“What? You want to do something? Can your pathetic excuses for disciples stand up to me, a 9th Duan Martial Disciple?”

His eyes scanned them as he spoke, sensing the two males to be at the Complete Immersion Tan’tien Saturation realm, while the two girls were at the 1st Duan and 2nd Duan of the Cauldron Forging realm.

However, when he saw Shen Ling’s unusual and otherworldly look, he was shocked, “What a beauty! How could you hide a gem in a dung heap!? You there! You would do well to follow this young master!”

“Who do you think you are!? You think you are worthy to marry my junior sister!? Dream on!” Feng Yu, who was being suppressed by the seniority here, could no longer help herself when this young master suddenly decided he wanted Shen Ling to follow him.

“Feng Yu silence!” The one who spoke was the one who remained quiet recently, the third elder. Furthermore, it was to chastise his own.

“Young master Xue, surely you wouldn’t want Shen Ling?”

“You who are beneath me, have no right to tell me what I do or don’t want,” he simply waved in the third elder’s direction as if he was swatting at a fly. He had nothing to say to someone who couldn’t even back up their own disciple.

The third elder was speechless and embarrassed, but he didn’t dare to talk back, knowing that this young man’s status was very much above his own.

“Well? Do you expect me to come over there myself!”

“You can only take any of our disciples over our dead body!” The first elder was injured still, but his tone showed he wouldn’t back down.

The third elder’s cheek twitched hearing the ‘our dead body,’ part, but he chose to remain silent. The second elder said nothing, but his resolute demeanour said it all.

“Admirable!” Xue Zi nodded, “but foolish. Kill them all, save the girl. I’ll use her for relief from this trip!”

Following his command, the two 6 Star Core Martial Masters unleashed their aura, suppressing all three elders as they moved closer.

The first, second and third elder, along with everyone else was being pressed into the ground. This was a kind of power that they couldn’t resist.

Xue Zi started to fantasise about all the things he would do to Shen Ling when he got her.

Krsssh!!

Bam!

A bolt of greyish lighting struck before it revealed a foot that positioned itself quite neatly upon the cheek of Xue Zi. Not long after, said foot pushed said cheek firmly into the ground.

“W-What just happened?” Xue Zi found himself on the ground, confused as to why he was on the ground.

‘How in the world did he manage to speak with my foot in his face? I must say the wonders of the cultivation world are truly endless.’