Chapter 398: Heavenly Fire Wasteland

In a quarter‑hour, Yuan Yao successfully conquered twenty‑seven target individuals using the Nightmare Spiritual Space, earning a twenty‑seven‑day lifespan reward.

She suddenly realized that the stronger her power, the easier the conquest missions were completed.

Yuan Yao felt a surge of joy.

At that moment, she suddenly sensed something; looking up, she saw that the once crystal‑blue sky was now gradually turning crimson, as if blazing with fierce flames.

The color deepened, eventually resembling scorching lava spewing from a volcano, constantly leaping and rolling.

Simultaneously, an unbearably scorching aura began to spread through the air, making one feel as if standing inside a furnace.

Yuan Yao's complexion instantly grew extremely solemn; her heart sank, and an ominous foreboding rose within her.

She quickly lowered her head to scan the surroundings and found that the young cultivators were still deeply unconscious, unaware of the impending danger.

Yuan Yao unleashed her powerful spiritual force, focusing her energy to launch a fierce assault on the mental‑sea spaces of those people.

In an instant, invisible shockwaves swept over, directly striking the cultivators' brains.

The stabbing pain arrived, causing one cultivator to first let out a moan: "Hiss!"

Immediately after, he furrowed his brows, clasped both hands tightly over his head, trying to alleviate the intense pain.

Other cultivators were also startled awake by the sudden agony, looking bewildered and shocked at what unfolded before them.

Yuan Yao said, "You all look quickly!"

The young cultivators followed the direction she pointed toward in the sky; in an instant, they showed expressions of extreme terror.

"This… this is …"

"It's Heavenly Fire!" a young cultivator, clearly well‑versed in the secrets of the Heavenly Fire realm, immediately sprang up and told everyone, "We must find an underground passage to evade the Heavenly Fire attack! This is the Heavenly Fire Wasteland of the secret realm; if we don't leave immediately, we'll die sooner or later!"

"Underground passage? Where is there an underground passage?!" someone asked in panic.

Upon hearing the young cultivator's words, Yuan Yao instantly released her spiritual power, extending it outward in all directions, searching for the underground passage he mentioned!

Someone's pupils narrowed slightly, exclaiming, "Heaven… Heavenly Fire! It's falling!"

From the sky above, clusters of flames fell like meteors, enveloped in layer upon layer of heat waves, surging like raging tides.

"Quick, dodge!"

Most people began to flee in panicked confusion.

But a few young cultivators stood as steady as a mountain; with a flash of movement they lifted their weapons and slashed at the Heavenly Fire with force, cleaving the fireballs!

Only—

Their efforts were like a cup of water trying to douse a fire; they still could not extinguish the flames nor stop more Heavenly Fire from falling.

At this hair‑trigger moment, a defensive barrier rose suddenly like a towering pillar, instantly enveloping the area.

The crowd stared in stunned amazement.

They all turned their gazes toward the one who had cast the defensive barrier.

A girl wearing a fox‑shaped mask, her hair styled into twin butterfly buns, dressed in a green dress, raised her hand and erected such a powerful defensive barrier, astonishing everyone.

The girl lifted her hand and pointed toward a certain direction, saying, "Everyone, keep walking this way; there is an underground passage there!"

The crowd was stunned, but the sound of the fireballs striking the defensive barrier snapped them back to reality, their faces turning pale.

Some of the young cultivators immediately clasped their fists to Yuan Yao.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator!"

Immediately, they rushed toward the direction Yuan Yao indicated.

Yuan Yao did not linger there, but headed toward the underground passage.

When the defensive barrier collapsed, the Heavenly Fire still falling from the sky could strike them.

Yuan Yao's form darted swiftly to evade the fire, moving more than twice as fast as they did.

"Ah… ah… ah…" a mournful scream came from behind.

Yuan Yao turned back and saw several young cultivators hit by the Heavenly Fire; flames instantly engulfed them, turning them into fire‑people in an instant.

"Help me!"

"Save me… ah… ah…"

They shouted in pain.

Yuan Yao slightly furrowed her brows.

These few were only at the Qi Refining Realm, so they naturally could not withstand the Heavenly Fire's assault.

Yuan Yao's figure flashed, rushed toward them, and formed a water‑type seal, hurling it at them.

The water seal acted like a thick protective shield, tightly enveloping them; the Heavenly Fire on their bodies gradually extinguished, yet they were burned beyond recognition, almost unrecognizable.

Yuan Yao's brows furrowed even deeper.

A male cultivator looked at his own horribly burned arm, trembling, touched his scorched face, and said, "My face! My hand!"

His roar seemed capable of shattering eardrums, filled with endless resentment.

His eyes, like poisonous snakes, stared fixedly at Yuan Yao, "Why didn't you save me earlier?! If you had, I wouldn't have become like this!"

He had noticed Yuan Yao from the start and had witnessed her prowess.

Had she been willing to protect them from the beginning, he would certainly not have fallen to such an end!

"It's all because of you!" the young male cultivator roared, his burned, unrecognizable face growing even more feral; he lunged toward Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao, seeing this, swiftly sidestepped.

The young male cultivator tripped over a soil pit, crashing heavily onto the ground.

At the same time, a ball of Heavenly Fire slammed onto his back!

"Ah… ah… ah…" he became a fire‑person again.

"Help! Help me!"

He tried to crawl toward Yuan Yao.

But this time, Yuan Yao did not extend a helping hand.

Her tone was indifferent: "I won't save you; die here."

Having said that, she glanced at the others, "Why aren't you leaving yet? Do you also want to stay here?"

Their injuries were not as severe as that man's, but their faces were also ruined; seeing the man's gruesome state, they had only one thought: to survive! As long as they could stay alive, there was still hope!

They glanced gratefully at Yuan Yao, then quickly ran forward.

Yuan Yao followed behind them.

"Scum!" the young male cultivator's eyes almost burst, he screamed hysterically, then instantly his whole body was overwhelmed by pain, then completely consumed by flames, finally burned down to a lump of black charcoal.

Yuan Yao escorted everyone forward all the way until she found that underground passage.

Seeing this, the people's faces lit up with joy, and they immediately headed for the underground passage.

Upon entering the underground passage, it was pitch black.

The people could only feel their way forward.

Someone anxiously asked, "Where does the end of the underground passage lead?"

"I don't know."

"So many people have been sent into the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm; others must be elsewhere. Perhaps this passage we're walking now leads to a safe place."

"Exactly! That's for sure!"

"What about that benefactor maiden?"

At that moment, someone noticed that Yuan Yao was not inside the passage.

The people's faces slightly changed, their hearts sank, and they all shouted, "Benefactor!"