"Alright, since we're all in agreement, then..."
Yang Hong looked at the hundred-plus people, who displayed a mix of panic and indifference, and chuckled mockingly.
"Then, bait, let's depart."
With that, a flying sword appeared beneath Yang Hong's feet, carrying him aloft in a wobbly ascent before wobbling towards their patrol area.
The speed was not fast, and the posture was unsightly, making the brows of the cultivators following him twitch.
They thought to themselves: This time, we're probably going to be fed to the insects.
However, they didn't know that after taking off, Yang Hong had already extended his divine sense outwards.
Without even needing to investigate carefully, he discovered that within the hundred-mile radius of their patrol, there were two swarms of Lihuo Locusts, each numbering in the tens of thousands. The highest cultivation level among them was three seventh-tier Lihuo Locusts.
If they had simply gone ahead, they would have been certain death.
[What are the people from Buddhism up to?
Zhong Chengfeng's insect repellent was given to them long ago, yet there are still so many Lihuo Locusts. This is truly not normal!]
Yang Hong was someone who had single-handedly annihilated over three trillion Lihuo Locusts.
He did not believe that Buddhism lacked manpower and used the "Insect Repellent" to eliminate even more Lihuo Locusts. There was likely another grand conspiracy behind this.
For example, moving the entire Taiyuan Planet to another location?
Therefore, Yang Hong's patrol this time was truly just a patrol.
From afar, he used his "Divine Sense Thorn" to shatter the divine souls of the sixth and seventh-tier Lihuo Locusts, causing them to die directly.
Yang Hong naturally wouldn't let go of the corpses of the seventh-tier Lihuo Locusts. From afar, he commanded his storage ring to collect them.
The corpses of the sixth-tier locusts would soon be devoured by lower-tier locusts. This created a period of chaos among the locusts.
He just needed to lead his team to fly over the heads of these Lihuo Locusts.
The Lihuo Locusts below seventh-tier had limited intelligence and would not think of attacking humans flying in the sky; instead, they would be fighting over the corpses of the sixth-tier locusts.
After eight consecutive days of patrolling without encountering any Lihuo Locust attacks, even though Yang Hong himself was not surprised, the people in his team knew that it was the work of Yang Hong, this hidden expert.
On the eighth night, snowflakes the size of broken rice began to drift down from the sky.
Winter had arrived,
and the great battle was drawing near.
The next day, Ye Yudong was summoned to Wulian Mountain. He returned with a face as ugly as if he had eaten excrement.
"Sect Master, we've been used as bait again. This time, we're called the Vanguard."
"Heh heh~ It doesn't matter. Any team will do."
Yang Hong was truly indifferent. In these eight days, he had killed not only sixth and seventh-tier Lihuo Locusts but also many eighth and ninth-tier ones.
Divine sense attacks were the best way to kill Lihuo Locusts, and they also preserved their physical bodies very well.
It was also through these days of attacks that he had a general idea of what Buddhism was planning.
"Sect Master, the experts from the Chaoyang Sect said our group's luck is too good and told us to rush directly into the cave behind Liao Country.
This is asking us to die."
Seeing Li Sen's indifference, Ye Yudong explained anxiously.
"Is that so? Then I'll give you something good."
Since they were going on an adventure, and into the lair of the Lihuo Locusts, Yang Hong did not want to expose too many of his great secrets. He simply took out something he had prepared to promote in the cultivation world.
He produced bottles of wine made of glass.
"Here, one bottle each. Drink half, and sprinkle the other half on yourselves."
Yang Hong directly threw the wine bottles on the ground. Those who believed him could take them; if not, he wouldn't care.
"Mine~ Give me~ I have a bottle~ Nobody grab~ Don't grab."
As soon as Yang Hong moved aside, the 110 people rushed forward to fight for them, fearing they would miss out if they were too slow.
Although they had not witnessed Yang Hong's methods, the fact that their small team had never encountered any Lihuo Locusts in eight days indicated Yang Hong's magic.
Therefore, whatever Yang Hong produced must be extraordinary. How could they not scramble for it?
Yang Hong nodded with satisfaction. These fellows had not disappointed him.
"This wine is called Iron Thorn Wine. It's a third-grade spirit wine brewed from Iron Thorn Fruits. Although it doesn't have much effect on cultivation, the scent it emits is something the Lihuo Locusts detest the most.
As long as you sprinkle this wine, Lihuo Locusts within a two-mile radius will automatically stay away."
"I see~ The boss is truly amazing, to be able to refine such wine."
"Following the boss, we'll definitely not die."
"Haha~ We definitely won't die."
The cultivators discussed excitedly as if they had been greatly relieved, and their actions were not slow. They first drank half of the Iron Thorn Spirit Wine, then used their spiritual power to disperse half a bottle of the wine and spread it over their bodies.
Seeing that they were all prepared, Yang Hong wasted no more words and flew up on his sword.
"Depart~"
"Depart~ Straight into the lair of the Lihuo Locusts~"
"Annihilate the Lihuo Locusts~"
The 111 people cheered loudly and, under the gazes of other cultivators who saw them as fools or soon-to-be-dead, charged directly into Liao Country.
Then, to the astonishment of distant cultivators and the high-level experts monitoring them with formations, they passed through unobstructed and entered the mountain cave that the Lihuo Locusts had opened.
"They... just went in?"
"No Lihuo Locust attack?"
"I get it now. They aren't a lucky team; they have a treasure that prevents Lihuo Locusts from attacking them."
Cultivators are not fools. Upon seeing Yang Hong's actions, they immediately guessed the truth.
At this point, the cultivators began to wonder if the high-level experts were hiding something from them.
Upon entering the cave, Yang Hong did not see many Lihuo Locusts. He immediately dispersed his divine sense.
"Hmm, follow me."
Yang Hong didn't care if the people behind him could keep up. He directly used earth遁 and disappeared before their eyes. Of course, he left behind a mana channel.
Then, the 111 people arrived above a very large cave, on a platform.
Beneath them, a group of Buddhist cultivators were battling with red Lihuo Locusts.
To be precise, it was a group of Buddhist cultivators who, while defending against the attacks of the Lihuo Locusts, were using the Buddhist conversion technique to convert them, and the effect seemed quite good.
However, beside the red Lihuo Locusts, a group of black Lihuo Locusts with double heads, six arms, and four legs were watching the battlefield menacingly.
"Sect Master, should we help?"
Ye Yudong crawled up and asked cautiously, but his voice trembled, and his face was pale.
Li Sen looked at the battlefield, then used his divine sense to sense it. He confirmed that there were a full six Celestial Immortals and one True Immortal hiding in the nearby mountains.
Clearly, they were waiting for even more powerful enemies to appear, preparing to ambush.
This made Yang Hong suspect that those Arhats were not waiting for him, so he pressed down Ye Yudong, who was eager to act.
"No need. We'll just watch. There might be unexpected guests joining the battle."
"Unexpected guests? Those black monsters?"
"Yes and no. Everyone, watch quietly and don't fall.
If you fall, you're done for."
After reminding his team members, Yang Hong paid them no further attention and focused on being a spectator.
However, whenever Yang Hong participated in exploration activities, unexpected events were inevitable.
"Fellow daoists on top of the cave, please come down and help this humble monk. The Undying Temple will surely reward you handsomely in the future."
"Heh heh~ We're just passing by to spectate. You guys continue.
Keep going~~"
As he spoke, Yang Hong actually took out a watermelon and began to divide it on the spot.
This scared Yang Hong's vanguard team members witless.
The Buddhist cultivators on the ground were so angry that smoke was rising from their heads, and they wished they could kill Yang Hong first.