Chapter 1409: The Little Monster Turning Against

Chapter 1394: The Little Monster That Turned Traitor

No wonder the Great Emperor Jiuyou had them walk straight into the blaze; it was the only way through.

Bao Xin and his men pursued cautiously, fearing being struck by falling burning timbers from above, so their pace was naturally slow. As He Lingchuan and his two companions were about to exit the blaze, they looked back and saw that Bao Xin's group had not even covered half the distance.

The divine bone necklace suddenly rattled a few times, as if something was trying to burst out. He Lingchuan seemed to realize something, probably understanding what was happening, so he said to the Weng brothers, "You two go outside."

In fact, he didn't need to tell them; the brothers quickly leaped out of the burning hall and onto the small path behind the mountain.

They couldn't help but take a deep breath of fresh, crisp air; the feeling of escaping the blaze was wonderful!

The brothers exchanged a smile, seeing that each other's faces were blackened with soot.

Looking back again, they saw the black-armored figure standing at the edge of the fire, letting out a long breath like a howling wind.

A wisp of white flame was also exhaled and released into the blaze.

With a whoosh, it was like adding fuel to the fire, and the incandescent flames spread rapidly!

Weng Xing couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! That's incredible! He actually put the white flame back into the hall."

The true fire cultivated by Xue Zongwu could actually be controlled at will by the Great Emperor Jiuyou.

How was this possible? Weng Xing couldn't understand it.

Previously, Bao Xin and his men were able to follow He Lingchuan and his companions into the blaze because the white flame had been withdrawn, and an ordinary fire posed no threat to his magical shield. Now that He Lingchuan and his companions had successfully passed through the burning hall, putting the white flame back into the fire meant...

"Let's go," He Lingchuan said, turning to walk up the mountain after releasing the white flame. "They won't be able to get through for a while."

Bao Xin was a new pursuer to Beishan and was still unaware of what had just happened there. He only caught a glimpse of the shadowy figure standing at the back door of the hall through the gaps in the falling timbers and raging fire.

"Quick, pursue!" he urged. At this distance, they could catch up!

But one of Xue Zongwu's personal guards who had escaped was also in the group. Seeing the white flame spreading towards them, he immediately shouted, "Oh no, run, run! General Xue's white flame spirit is coming; it burns everything!"

Just now, several of his comrades had died here, and only he had managed to escape the fire. Was he going to perish here again in a flash?

Bao Xin's expression changed upon hearing this, and he immediately decided, "Go back, retreat!"

They knew that Xue Zongwu possessed a white flame that was not entirely a magic artifact. Even with elemental energy protecting them, that little thing's burn was excruciating. Now, this burning hall had become its home ground, and the power of the white flame spirit would be magnified several times here. Even if he and Fu Wending could withstand it, what about Xiaotaoshan Manor and all these soldiers?

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned and ran back the way they came, not daring to linger.

At this moment, the Great Emperor Jiuyou at the back hall's entrance turned around and calmly walked away.

Between Bao Xin and him were the ferocious white flame spirit and crackling, falling burning timbers. Even though he was unwilling, he dared not pursue, only watching helplessly as the black figure disappeared from sight.

Zhao Guangzhi, who knows from where, crawled out, his tree body burned to half its size, but he still managed to knock down two people, terrifying the rest.

Everyone also heard his shrill laughter coming from the flames, which only gradually died down after more than ten breaths.

In the middle, a burning beam fell, crushing another person.

By the time everyone fought through myriad difficulties and rushed out of the fire, the white flame had already caught up to the last three people.

Two of them were Xue family soldiers, protected by elemental energy, but they were screaming in pain from the white flame's burns. After rushing out of the fire, they rolled on the ground a few times, barely managing to extinguish the flames. The third person was a manor servant; the white flame immediately turned him into a flaming figure, and he collapsed before even running out of the fire.

Under everyone's gaze, he was burned to a crisp on the spot.

Four people died in less than half a *zhancha* after entering the blaze.

They hadn't even engaged in battle with the Great Emperor Jiuyou.

Bao Xin's face changed color. "How did the white flame's power suddenly become so strong?"

It was originally just Xue Zongwu's shoulder-perching beast; he used to tease it.

"It might have absorbed enough power from this fire," Fu Wending said, examining the burn wounds of the injured. "If I'm not mistaken, did that black-armored figure swallow the white flame earlier?"

"Yes," Bao Xin also saw it. "Soon after we entered the main hall, the white flame reappeared. It seems the black-armored figure released it to block us."

The timing was perfectly precise. Those few people were truly malicious.

Fu Wending was puzzled: "How could this little thing help Xue Zongwu's enemy?"

"I don't know," Bao Xin said, troubled. "What do we do now?"

"Send word to master, and request aerial scouts again." The two of them did not hold official positions in the royal court, nor did they command troops, and they lacked elemental energy protection. Now, they dared not easily break into the main hall.

Bao Xin's fire-repelling artifact couldn't repel such ferocious true fire, but their movement techniques were nimble. "We'll climb up the side cliff."

The mountain path was inside the main hall, making it impassable for ordinary people.

But they were not ordinary people.

After forcing back the pursuers, the white flame circled once inside the hall, then chased after He Lingchuan and his two companions.

The Weng brothers heard the commotion and looked back, their faces changing color. "Benefactor, be careful, the fire monster is coming again!"

The black-armored leader stopped and turned around, and the Weng brothers immediately hid behind him.

They had a strong backing now; there was nothing to be ashamed of.

The white flame surged forward, its power immense, its heat waves oppressive; Weng Xing's beard was almost singed, yet the black-armored leader did not move.

Before they could react, the Great Emperor Jiuyou slightly turned his body, and the white flame plunged onto his shoulder.

In an instant, the fierce flames and light disappeared, and on the Great Emperor Jiuyou's battle armor appeared a pitch-black shoulder-perching beast.

Weng Xing exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, it changed color?"

When it was perched on Xue Zongwu's shoulder previously, this small beast was silver-gray, but now it had merged with the Great Emperor Jiuyou's battle armor and turned pure black.

Even the dullest person could see that this little ferocious beast had actually acknowledged its enemy as its master.

The Weng brothers exchanged glances; everything that happened tonight was unbelievable, and they wondered if they were dreaming.

Were they avenging Big Brother Tu in a dream?

"Keep up," the Great Emperor Jiuyou urged them. "Time is short."

They hadn't successfully escaped yet.

Others fleeing for their lives would descend the mountain, but He Lingchuan and his companions had to climb first to withdraw.

Fortunately, all three had scouted the area beforehand and knew that the high cliff was ahead.

Weng Xing suddenly said, "There's a bird demon chasing us in the sky."

With the burning hall blocking the way, people couldn't get through, but winged creatures could.

He Lingchuan already knew this; the Soul-Capturing Mirror had warned him several times. The three sped up and suddenly ducked under two camphor trees.

Both were old trees with dense foliage and thick canopies. On such a night, it would be pitch-black under the trees, not a speck of light able to penetrate.

The three vanished instantly.

The blue robin that had been tracking them in the sky circled a few times. Finding that the three had not reappeared and fearing it had lost them, it had no choice but to fly down to observe.

As soon as it descended into the shade, a cold glint flashed from below, slicing off a few leaves.