Early the next morning, Elder Xuanyang set off for Qingshan County with Ye Wuji and three other inner sect disciples. These three disciples were the sword cultivator Lin Tianyu, the talismans master Zhao Linger, and the alchemist Wang Chen. All of them were elite members of the inner sect, with cultivation levels ranging from the late-stage Qi Condensation to the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
The five of them boarded a flying magical treasure specially made by the Qingyun Sect, the "Qingyun Sword". Its speed was astonishingly fast, and in less than half a day, they arrived at Qingshan County.
The magistrate of Qingshan County was already waiting outside the city gates. Upon seeing Elder Xuanyang and his party, he hurried forward to bow and salute: "Immortal Master Xuanyang, thank you for coming in person to save Qingshan County from this dire crisis!"
Elder Xuanyang nodded in acknowledgment: "There is no need for such formality, Magistrate. Tell me the details of the situation."
As the magistrate led them into the city, he detailed the recent attacks on several villages. According to him, over the past half-month, five villages in the southern part of the county had been successively attacked by Fire Wolves, resulting in numerous casualties. The surviving villagers had all fled to nearby towns seeking shelter.
"The strangest thing is that after attacking the villages, these Fire Wolves don't kill all the villagers. Instead, it seems they are searching for something. They search every single household and question the villagers, showing an intelligence far surpassing ordinary Demonic Beasts," the magistrate said with a worried expression.
Elder Xuanyang frowned: "Questioning the villagers? What are they asking?"
The magistrate shook his head: "That remains unclear; the accounts of the surviving villagers vary. Some say they asked about a certain medicinal herb, while others say they asked about a specific person. The accounts are completely chaotic."
Ye Wuji chimed in: "Could it be that the Fire Wolves are searching for some kind of spiritual treasure to enhance their cultivation? Once second-tier Demonic Beasts acquire simple intelligence, they often seek ways to break through."
Elder Xuanyang nodded: "That is plausible. However, it is also possible that someone is manipulating these beasts from behind the scenes with an ulterior motive."
Without hesitation, Elder Xuanyang made a decisive call: "Magistrate, please have a map of the attacked villages drawn for us. We will set off to investigate immediately."
The magistrate hurriedly had someone fetch a map, marking the locations of the five attacked villages. After carefully examining it, Elder Xuanyang said to the group: "Judging by the sequence of the attacks, these Fire Wolves seem to be searching along a specific route. The next village likely to be attacked should be... Qingshan Village."
Upon hearing the three words "Qingshan Village", Ye Wuji felt a shock in his heart: "Master, Qingshan Village... is my hometown!"
Elder Xuanyang’s expression changed: "What?"
Ye Wuji said anxiously: "That is the very village Elder Zhao brought me away from three months ago! Master, we must rush there immediately. My parents and fellow villagers are still there!"
Elder Xuanyang said in a deep voice: "There is no time to lose, let us set off at once!"
The group immediately departed, flying toward Qingshan Village. Along the way, Ye Wuji was burning with anxiety, endlessly praying that his parents and fellow villagers were safe and sound. He felt a secret remorse; when he left, he had been too consumed by excitement to consider the safety of his hometown. Now that Demonic Beasts were wreaking havoc, the ordinary people in the village were utterly powerless to resist.
After flying for about an hour, a red glow suddenly appeared in the distant sky, billowing with thick smoke.
"Oh no! Flames!" Lin Tianyu exclaimed.
Ye Wuji’s face turned pale: "Qingshan Village!"
Elder Xuanyang immediately accelerated the flying magical treasure, and before long, Qingshan Village came into view. They saw flames soaring to the heavens within the village, houses collapsed, and villagers fleeing in all directions, while over a dozen massive, fiery-red wolf-shaped Demonic Beasts were wreaking havoc in the village.
"Fire Wolves!" Wang Chen cried out, "And... that is the Fire King Wolf!"
Following the direction of Wang Chen's finger, in the center of the village stood a giant wolf twice the size of an ordinary Fire Wolf. Its entire body was wreathed in flames, and its eyes burned like torches, exuding a terrifying aura.
"Everyone be careful, the Fire King Wolf is already a third-tier Demonic Beast, and its strength is comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Elder Xuanyang warned. "Lin Tianyu, Zhao Linger, your task is to repel the ordinary Fire Wolves and rescue the villagers. Wang Chen, set up a defensive array on the outer perimeter to prevent any from slipping through the net. Wuji, you come with me to deal with the Fire King Wolf!"
The group acknowledged their orders and went to fulfill their respective duties. Ye Wuji closely followed Elder Xuanyang as they charged toward the Fire King Wolf, though his heart remained deeply worried for the safety of his parents.
"Master, please let me go and find my parents first!" Ye Wuji pleaded anxiously.
Elder Xuanyang pondered briefly: "Go, but be careful. If you encounter danger, call for help immediately!"
Ye Wuji nodded gratefully and flew directly toward the direction of the blacksmith's shop in his memory. The streets were an absolute mess, with the corpses of many villagers sprawled on the ground—a truly horrific sight. Forcing back his grief, Ye Wuji sped up.
Finally, the outline of the blacksmith's shop appeared in his line of sight, but to Ye Wuji's utter despair, the shop had already been swallowed by the raging fire, leaving behind only charred skeletal beams.
"Father! Mother!" Ye Wuji cried out involuntarily, rushing toward the ruins.
At that moment, a fiery red figure lunged at him from the side. Reacting with extreme speed, Ye Wuji executed the "Qingyun Step" taught by Elder Xuanyang and dodged, narrowly evading the sudden attack.
The creature that missed its pounce was a smaller Fire Wolf. Seeing that its sneak attack had failed, it immediately bared its fangs and let out a threatening low growl.
Filled with burning anger, and paying no mind to the fact that this was his first time truly facing a dangerous Demonic Beast, Ye Wuji drew his personal magical weapon, the "Qingfeng Sword". Channeling his Spiritual Power, he sent a sword beam slashing through the air directly at the Fire Wolf's throat.
Though the Fire Wolf possessed intelligence, it clearly hadn't expected this seemingly weak human to possess such strength. Failing to dodge in time, it was struck in the throat by the sword beam. Fresh blood immediately spurted out, and the beast collapsed to the ground, dead.
Having dealt with the small Fire Wolf, Ye Wuji continued his search for his parents' whereabouts. While calling out his parents' names, he carefully checked every fallen villager, terrified that his parents might be among them.
Passing a collapsed house, Ye Wuji suddenly heard a faint groan. Following the sound, he saw a familiar figure pinned beneath a fallen wooden beam—it was old Lin, the village hunter!
Ye Wuji hurried over, lifted the wooden beam, and rescued old Lin.
"Wuji? Is that you?" Old Lin's face was stained with blood and his voice was weak. "Didn't... didn't you go off to cultivate immortality?"
"Uncle Lin, don't speak, let me treat your injuries first." Ye Wuji took out a healing medicinal pill, fed it to old Lin, and then asked anxiously, "Do you know where my parents are?"
After swallowing the pill, old Lin's complexion improved slightly: "Your parents... they should be in the ancestral hall at the eastern end of the village. The village received news of the neighboring village being attacked long ago, and a few days ago, we organized the elderly, women, and children to gather in the ancestral hall for refuge. The hunters have been taking turns guarding it."
Ye Wuji breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Uncle Lin. Find a safe place to hide, and I will go check the ancestral hall."
Old Lin nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "Right, those damned wolves started asking about the whereabouts of an old man the moment they entered the village, and kept talking about looking for the 'Hunyuan Pill'. None of us in the village knew what they were talking about!"
"An old man? The Hunyuan Pill?" Ye Wuji's heart stirred. Could it be that mysterious old man who gave him the Hunyuan Formula? Did he leave behind some extraordinary treasure?
There was no time to overthink. Ye Wuji immediately flew toward the ancestral hall at the eastern end of the village. From afar, he saw that the surroundings of the ancestral hall had already caught fire. A few Fire Wolves were besieging a group of villagers armed with farming tools, and the villagers were fighting desperately to protect the ancestral hall's gates.
Without hesitation, Ye Wuji charged forward. The Qingfeng Sword blazed with brilliant light as streaks of sword qi whistled through the air, heading straight for the vital points of those Fire Wolves. Under his surprise attack, two Fire Wolves died on the spot, and the remaining ones fled with injuries.
"Save us, Immortal Master!" Seeing an immortal cultivator come to their rescue, the villagers were overwhelmed with emotion.
Ye Wuji shook his head: "I am no Immortal Master, I am Ye Tiantishan's son, Ye Wuji!"
Only then did the villagers recognize him, and they were utterly astonished: "Wuji? Didn't you go off to cultivate immortality? Why have you come back?"
"There's no time to explain. My Master and senior martial brothers and sister are in the village dealing with those Demonic Beasts. Have you seen my parents?"
A villager pointed toward the ancestral hall: "Brother Tianshan and his wife are both inside. They were fine just a moment ago."
Feeling a huge weight lift off his chest, Ye Wuji was about to enter the ancestral hall when he suddenly sensed a powerful aura approaching. Turning his head, he saw a giant Fire Wolf charging toward them—it was none other than the third-tier Fire King Wolf!
"Quickly go inside!" Ye Wuji pushed the villagers into the ancestral hall, then turned to face the Fire King Wolf, holding the Qingfeng Sword horizontally across his chest as he prepared for battle.
The Fire King Wolf stopped about ten zhang away from the ancestral hall and actually spoke in a harsh, grating voice: "Little cultivator, if you know what's good for you, get lost. All this king wants is to find that old man and the Hunyuan Pill; I have no wish to kill more innocents."
Ye Wuji was deeply shocked. A third-tier Demonic Beast was already capable of human speech, which far exceeded his understanding.
"Who on earth are you? Why are you attacking these innocent villagers? What are the old man and the Hunyuan Pill you speak of?" Ye Wuji asked in a deep voice while secretly circulating the Hunyuan Formula to gather all the Spiritual Power in his body in preparation for battle.
The Fire King Wolf sneered savagely: "A mere Qi Condensation cultivator dares to interrogate this king? You're courting death!"
With that, the Fire King Wolf abruptly opened its mouth and spat out a thick pillar of fire, heading straight for Ye Wuji. Ye Wuji quickly summoned the Fire-Evading Banner given to him by Li Mengzhu while simultaneously executing the Qingyun Step to dodge.
The pillar of fire slammed into the Fire-Evading Banner and was blocked by a layer of blue light barrier, but the impact was still immense, sending Ye Wuji stumbling back several steps.
"You've got some skills." The Fire King Wolf seemed somewhat surprised, but quickly sneered again, "However, in front of this king, you are still too weak!"
The Fire King Wolf's four claws kicked up wind as it instantly dashed in front of Ye Wuji, slamming a claw down. Ye Wuji had no time to dodge and could only raise his sword to block. With a deafening crash, the Qingfeng Sword almost flew out of his hand, and the immense force sent Ye Wuji flying backward to crash heavily against the wall of the ancestral hall, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Wuji!" An anxious shout came from inside the ancestral hall—it was his father, Ye Tianshan.
"Father, don't come out!" Ye Wuji struggled to his feet and shouted loudly.
The Fire King Wolf sneered as it stepped closer and closer: "Now you know my power? Tell this king now, where is that old man who can refine the Hunyuan Pill?"
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Ye Wuji suddenly understood: "Are you talking about the old man who came to our village three months ago?"
A sharp glint flashed in the Fire King Wolf's eyes: "You know him?"
Ye Wuji's mind raced as he thought of a countermeasure. This Fire King Wolf's strength far surpassed his own, and fighting it head-on would definitely spell defeat. His only option now was to find a way to stall for time until his Master and senior martial brothers and sister arrived.
"I know him, but he left long ago," Ye Wuji said, feigning calmness. "He was just an ordinary old man wandering the world with no treasures on him. You've got the wrong person."
The Fire King Wolf roared angrily: "Nonsense! This king clearly sensed the aura of the Hunyuan Pill right here in this village! Are you playing games with me?"
A thought struck Ye Wuji: Could the "Hunyuan Formula" or that strand of Spiritual Qi left to him by the old man be what the Fire King Wolf called the "Hunyuan Pill"?
Before he could ponder further, the Fire King Wolf lunged forward once more. This time, Ye Wuji had a premonition that it would be extremely difficult for him to dodge. In this moment of crisis, he recalled a special technique recorded in the Hunyuan Formula—the "Hunyuan Shield".
This technique required channeling all attributes of Spiritual Power within the body to release them simultaneously, forming an all-encompassing protective barrier. Because it required simultaneously controlling multiple attributes of Spiritual Power, ordinary cultivators could never accomplish it; only a cultivator with the Chaos Spiritual Root could execute it.
Although Ye Wuji had not fully mastered this technique, he had no other choice at the moment and could only take a gamble. He rapidly circulated the Hunyuan Formula, and the multicolored Spiritual Power within his body surged forth like a torrent, forming a dazzling five-colored light shield in front of him.
"Boom!" The Fire King Wolf's sharp claws slammed heavily against the light shield, producing a deafening explosion. Ripples spread across the surface of the shield, but remarkably, it did not shatter, successfully blocking the attack.
The Fire King Wolf was greatly alarmed: "Chaos Spiritual Power? You... you also possess the Chaos Spiritual Root?"
Taking advantage of the moment to counterattack, Ye Wuji wrapped the Qingfeng Sword in five-colored Spiritual Power and traced a graceful arc, striking directly at the Fire King Wolf's throat. The Fire King Wolf hurriedly dodged, but the blade grazed its shoulder, leaving a bone-deep wound.
"Awooo!" The Fire King Wolf howled in pain, its eyes filled with disbelief: "Impossible! How could a mere Qi Condensation cultivator possibly injure this king?!"