Chapter 432: Flaming Peacock Tail

In the instant the snail shell fell.

The situation inside the cave took a sharp turn for the worse.

The snail shell was larger than a basketball, its pattern simple; after enclosing the foxfire lantern, the flame with a fox's tail surged wildly inside, smashing against the walls but finding no gap to escape.

A faint glow seeped from the seam at the shell's base; its calcium carbonate and chitin shell emitted a warm, fluorescent light.

But this faint glow was useless.

Instead, it made the shadowy evils gathered at the cave's entrance appear even more sinister and terrifying, crushing the minds of those inside with overwhelming dread.

They rushed forward like sharks scenting blood, shrieking—everywhere, eyes of all sizes and shapes, and horrifying bloodied maws filled the view. Gong Gong Xiujuan instantly transformed into a female demon.

Her high heels emitted an eerie red glow, briefly illuminating the surroundings; the red shadows of the shoes repelled some approaching evils.

But as soon as she began to make an impact, a three-pronged, bizarre tentacle suddenly erupted from the ground, slashing her dirty, exposed thigh.

Fu Liang Jian roared, knowing he had no choice but to fight with all his strength.

He thrust his spider-leg spear rapidly at the tentacle's base, finally defeating it—but the ground beneath their feet continued to tremble unnaturally.

Clearly, there was more than one tentacle below.

Xiong Gang transformed into a black bear; Pang Hu let out a furious roar; the bear and tiger attacked wildly, Pang Hu occasionally spewing flames to create light and drive back the assailants, while those unwilling to retreat were crushed by Xiong Gang's pounding fists.

But the number of advancing evils was simply too great.

Even when they killed one occasionally, it only made the others go even more frenzied.

Wu Xian was faring no better.

After the light vanished, the Fear Snail Demon's speed skyrocketed; Wu Xian swung his blade several times but failed to catch its shadow.

Now Wu Xian finally understood.

Why it could suddenly appear before him—because in darkness, its speed was more than twice as fast as when light was present! Whoosh! Swish! Wu Xian unleashed his killing intent, tangled with it using his saw-blade, but still failed to avoid a glancing blow—his arm lost a chunk of flesh.

Yet Wu Xian felt no pain; instead, he seized the moment to stab the Fear Snail Demon. The "Rong" character effect activated—the searing saw-blade dried the slime and burned its skin.

But Wu Xian knew well.

This couldn't continue—he hadn't enhanced his body; the Fear Snail Demon was merely hesitating under the weight of his killing intent. Once it adapted, he'd be dead in moments.

And the others…

The night before, Wu Xian had thought he'd already gained sufficient power.

But he hadn't expected.

That merely extinguishing the palace lantern would drive them all to the brink of annihilation.

He had to think of a solution quickly.

Even a ten-second delay would cause irreversible loss! Should he use the foxfire lantern again? No—he couldn't guarantee the Fear Snail Demon could only spit out one shell; using the foxfire incantation again might not work at all, and would waste his chance to activate the talisman.

Use the "Fire Spreads Across the Plain" incantation against the horde?

This was an area attack—it should be devastating against such a massive number of evils.

But everyone was now mixed in with the evils; using "Fire Spreads Across the Plain" would inevitably injure allies.

Unless…

Wu Xian suddenly turned his gaze backward, his eyes flashing with sudden insight.

There was only one way! As Wu Xian turned, the Fear Snail Demon seized its chance—its monstrous mouth lunged for the back of his neck.

"No!"

Wu Xian tried to defend, but it was too late. At that moment—

A brilliant pillar of flame forced the Fear Snail Demon back.

It was Pang Hu! Pang Hu abandoned its current foe, turned, and blasted a jet of flame at the Fear Snail Demon—it had been summoned by divine power, and protecting Wu Xian's life was its primary duty.

After this flame erupted, the "Huo" character effect was fully consumed.

Pang Hu's fur reverted to its original yellow, white, and black, and due to its distraction, a giant centipede seized the opportunity, coiling around its body!

Wu Xian's heart jolted.

But right now, his priority wasn't saving Pang Hu—he flicked his fingers, two playing cards pinched between them, and hurled them toward the far corner of the cave.

"Fire Spreads Across the Plain" + "Amplify Flame"! Whoosh! A slender flame, no thicker than a finger, shot from Wu Xian's hand, stretching ten meters before suddenly expanding outward.

Whoosh! In that instant, the fire unfurled like a folding fan, or a peacock's tail in full display.

A vast fan-shaped zone was engulfed in flame—the blinding light caused most evils to halt their attacks, staring dumbfounded at the flickering fire.

Few enemies were in this direction.

Only a few slow-moving corpses, some legged insects, wind-rolling corpses, and running-head creatures—minor threats to Wu Xian and the others.

But the supplies they'd gathered were all in this direction!

Whether the remaining oil, the pile of dry wood, rags, and straw—all these belongings had been painstakingly collected, but now, to survive, they had to burn them all! The flame lasted only two seconds.

Yet the blazing peacock tail that burst open in the despairing black cave was seared into every mind—the most beautiful sight any of them would ever see.

Though beautiful,

the "Fire Spreads Across the Plain" incantation was weak.

None of the corpses were burned to death, none of the wood ignited—only a few minor evils were scalded to death, and the oil and straw caught fire.

But even those ignited portions were enough to spread the flames.

The "Amplify Flame" effect made everything nearby extremely flammable—the wood ignited quickly, and the corpses became human torches.

They wouldn't die immediately, stumbling randomly and spreading fire to distant areas.

Just one incantation.

The entire cave was now brightly lit, with fire breaking out everywhere.

The evils, once ferocious, began to lose their aggression, instinctively fleeing from the light. The Fear Snail Demon, unwilling to retreat, glared hatefully at Wu Xian with its single eye before slowly retreating into the darkness.

That's it.

No living evils remained in the cave.

The crisis had been temporarily averted.

Everyone felt as if they had survived a near-death ordeal.

Wu Xian swiftly scanned the surroundings.

Xiong Gang reverted to his human form, swayed, then collapsed to the ground—he had been badly wounded already, and this battle had pushed him beyond his limits.

Pang Hu lay on the ground, groaning in pain; besides its injuries, it was also poisoned.

The Red-Lipped Demon clutched her thigh, pale-faced—though a demon, she retained a human body and could still feel pain.

Fu Liang Jian sat on the ground, drenched in cold sweat; he was the only one unharmed, yet the most severely shaken mentally—he would need long to recover.

"One more is missing… the crazy woman vanished!"

(End of Chapter)