Chapter 332: Moving Mountains

Li Hongjiu showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he looked up at them, flashed his signature dazzling smile, and slowly retrieved a flask from his waist.

"Bastard!" The disciples of the Yanbao Sect were so anxious they wanted to curse.

Guang Haoyou glanced at the rapidly approaching swarm of massive fire bats and realized it was too late. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, "Go down! Drag him away!"

The five Wind Scales on his side immediately withdrew. Five figures drifted down together, forming a semicircle around Li Hongjiu.

Guang Haoyou's face contorted in a grimace. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Uncle-Master, forgive our rudeness." With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Take him away!"

The meaning was clear: when they respected him, he was Uncle-Master; when they didn't, they would show no courtesy.

The other four immediately moved to seize him.

Li Hongjiu tilted his head back, gulping down wine, a few drops trickling from the corners of his lips. He then leisurely raised two fingers together to his chest, catching the falling wine. The drops shattered upon impact with his fingertips, scattering but not dispersing, swirling like tiny shattered diamonds under the starlight.

His clothes billowed as if inflated, and the swirling wind rushed into his wide sleeves, causing his robes to puff out like balloons.

The hands reaching out to grab his shoulders and arms met only inflated fabric, unable to gain purchase or exert force.

The force they exerted through their forced cultivation seemed to be carried away or dissipated by the swirling currents within his puffed-up clothes.

At the same time, their eyes wide, they instinctively stopped their attempts to seize him, retracting their hands as if shocked by electricity, and subconsciously retreated a few steps.

They clearly saw the form of the whirlwind emanating from Uncle-Master Hongjiu's fingertips.

Wind is inherently formless, but those few drops of wine had turned into mist, making the small whirlwind's shape clearly visible.

As the mist rapidly swirled and gathered, flickering electrical arcs appeared within, resembling a miniature storm of rain, mist, and lightning.

It was then that these Yanbao Sect disciples realized it wasn't an illusion, but that they had genuinely been shocked.

Li Hongjiu turned his head left and right, grinning at them, then looked back at the approaching swarm of massive fire bats. The wide sleeves of his robes, which had been billowing like balloons, suddenly deflated rapidly, while the whirlwind emanating from his fingertips quickly expanded, clearly demonstrating a reciprocal growth and decline.

His wide sleeves hung normally again, but the swirling whirlwind continued to grow infinitely. The mist within had dissipated, and the electrical arcs vanished, leaving only a violently expanding, immense whirlwind whose growing power made the cultivators feel their own insignificance.

The dust beneath their feet was continuously peeling off the ground layer by layer, along with small stones, all being sucked into the whirlwind. Their clothes flapped wildly, and they had to exert a little magic to stabilize themselves, fearing they would be drawn into the powerful winds of the whirlwind.

The few Wind Scales in the air also had to retreat further.

As the massive fire bat swarm surged diagonally from the sky, Li Hongjiu shook his finger, causing the entire swirling tornado to sway. He then abruptly swung the wind column, pointing it directly at the approaching fire bats, like a demon opening its gaping maw.

Guang Haoyou and the others, who had just been clamoring to seize their Uncle-Master, could only gape in stunned disbelief amidst the immense display of power, filled with doubt and profound shock.

They hadn't sensed any powerful cultivation from their Uncle-Master, nor any immense display of magical power. They truly didn't know how he could conjure such a spectacle with just two fingers.

An even more spectacular sight appeared in an instant.

The fire bat swarm, rushing in with a whooshing sound, seemed to lack intelligence, as they blindly crashed into the funnel of the tornado. The moment they collided, their collective flying and diving formation instantly scattered, fluttering lightly like torn pieces of paper caught in the wind. The glowing swarm could be seen continuously pouring into the whirlwind and swirling with it.

Only then did the fire bats at the rear realize what was happening. They immediately fell into disarray, flying chaotically, even colliding with each other, and turning to flee.

Li Hongjiu, however, calmly uttered a single word, "Collect!"

He pushed forward the arm that was supporting the tornado, showing clear signs of exerting more force. The tornado rapidly elongated, its funnel expanding swiftly as if to swallow the starry sky. The sheer scale of the phenomenon was truly astonishing.

Fire bats that couldn't escape were instantly engulfed. Those that had flown further away desperately flapped their wings in the air but couldn't move, struggling against the powerful suction behind them.

Ultimately, all resistance against such overwhelming power proved futile.

As a result, none of the massive glowing swarm of fire bats managed to escape; all were consumed by the engulfing whirlwind.

The "fed" tornado then rapidly contracted, seemingly compressing with force, as indicated by the movements of the trapped glowing entities within.

Under the tornado's contraction and compression, combined with its increasingly rapid rotation, the fire bats inside continually collided with each other, quickly being pulverized in the high-speed motion.

The tornado then became magnificent and dazzling due to the countless bursting blue liquids.

Guang Haoyou and the others exchanged stunned glances as if in a dream. Those strange bats that had forced hundreds of sects to flee in defeat — had they just been collected and destroyed by Uncle-Master Hongjiu with a mere flick of his fingers and a few drops of wine?

At that moment, their gazes towards this unreliable Uncle-Master were entirely different.

They had heard rumors of their Uncle-Master's prowess. He was said to be somewhat unconventional, yet the most formidable among his peers. It was rumored that he rarely acted, but when he did, he left other disciples utterly subdued.

They had never witnessed his specific powerful techniques, nor did they know if it was due to Uncle-Master Hongjiu's unreliability or the sect's deliberate desire to keep a low profile. What they heard most often was that this Uncle-Master was constantly being punished.

The most common saying was that if he weren't the Sect Leader's direct disciple, he would have been expelled long ago.

He was practically a legendary figure within the sect.

They hadn't seen Uncle-Master Hongjiu in action, and it seemed few within the sect had. Those who had seen him didn't speak much of it.

Now they probably understood why it wasn't widely spoken of: the sect likely intended to keep it low-key.

Now they finally understood why those who had witnessed Uncle-Master Hongjiu's moves often quietly made their way to the back mountain where he resided. They had even tried to observe the cultivation method he had created. Its name was peculiar, chosen by Uncle-Master Hongjiu himself: "Borrowing the Environment."

It wasn't much of a secret within the sect; though highly regarded, the sect had made it available for other disciples to learn. One could study it after applying and receiving approval.

Disciples within the sect went to learn it because of its legend, but then abandoned it because they couldn't master it.

Over time, the legend had become merely a saying. People had to be practical and face real life; what should be forgotten was forgotten, and what didn't concern them was inevitably cast aside.

Today, they had finally glimpsed the true nature of that legend.

Only now did they realize how absurd their earlier attempt to stop their Uncle-Master had been. Mere pests, easily vanquished by a raise of his hand – what was there to fear?

In the air behind them, the disciples inside the few Wind Scales were also utterly astonished by the spectacle.

Li Hongjiu, who had completely collected and destroyed the fire bats, did not stop there. He turned to look at the disciples of the sect, pondered with a slight frown, then looked around, spotting a large mountain nearby, and instantly made up his mind.

After stabilizing the tornado he held at his fingertips, Li Hongjiu channeled his magic and uttered, "Move mountain!"

Then, with a casual flick, he threw out the tornado he had been holding, guiding it with a hand seal.

The tornado, now airborne, shifted horizontally and descended directly onto a nearby mountaintop, expanding as it moved downwards until it swelled to engulf the entire mountain.

At this point, the immense power stirred up by the enlarging tornado truly seemed to brew a storm, causing the very heavens and earth to change color.

The disciples within the Wind Scales could no longer maintain their levitation and had to retract their artifacts, descending to land behind Li Hongjiu.

Clearly, the winds around Li Hongjiu were much weaker.

Li Hongjiu, casting spells from a distance, occasionally changed his hand gestures, but always directed them at the mountain-devouring tornado. Though fierce winds howled around him, obscuring the stars, he remained casual and composed, even finding time to raise his flask and drink.

Guang Haoyou and the others now looked at him drinking, their expressions having changed from their previous helplessness and aversion to one of admiration.

A light began to gleam in their eyes as they looked at Uncle-Master Hongjiu.

The tornado, which had been narrow at the top and wide at the base, gradually transformed, becoming narrow at the base and wide at the top. The glowing blue light within it was completely obscured.

The large mountain gradually vanished from the ground, seemingly transported entirely into the air and spinning rapidly.

The group of disciples actually understood: the mountain was being ground into pieces layer by layer, rising into the air with the rotating force.

To make such a colossal mountain float in the air, this immense power was far beyond what someone at the peak of martial arts cultivation could achieve. Yet, this Uncle-Master possessed precisely that cultivation level, and it couldn't be faked. A higher cultivation level would be unbearable for a mortal body, and an immortal body could not evade inspection before entering the Divine Fire Domain.

The inspectors certainly wouldn't fail to discern the difference between a mortal body and an immortal body.

Suddenly, Li Hongjiu put away his wine gourd and flew off, descending to the narrow base of the furiously swirling tornado.

The moment he left, as if a windbreak had disappeared, the suction intensified abruptly. The Yanbao Sect disciples immediately linked hands, collectively casting spells to huddle together, preventing themselves from being swept away.

Li Hongjiu waved his hand, and the massive tornado retracted its base. He extended his palm, scooping it up, and the entire colossal tornado settled steadily in his palm.

He pushed up with one arm, and the colossal tornado immediately rose into the air, with him ascending and floating along with it.

It was unclear whether the tornado carried him aloft or if he was lifting the entire tornado into the sky.

To move a mountain, and such a majestic and enormous one, at the peak of martial arts cultivation, utterly astounded the disciples. Amidst the howling wind, they looked up as if gazing at a deity.

Li Hongjiu, carrying the mountain aloft, did not fly far. Instead, he flew to the fire bats' lair, to the giant sinkhole that resembled an abyss.

"Suppress!" Li Hongjiu commanded, releasing what he was holding in his hand.

The enormous tornado, wide at the top and narrow at the base, immediately plunged into the sinkhole like a massive drill.

Boom! The earth trembled, and dust exploded upwards.

Li Hongjiu, descending to the ground, shook his arm and flung his sleeve. The residual force of the swirling wind immediately spread outwards like a shockwave in all directions.

As the strong winds receded, the dust instantly settled. He drifted lightly to the edge of the sinkhole and looked down, realizing that even with an entire mountain filling it, it still wasn't completely full, which showed just how vast the sinkhole was.

However, it was sufficient; it was enough to block the strange bats' lair.

He didn't know if the monster lair below had other exits. He glanced back at the Yanbao Sect disciples flying towards him, feeling rather helpless.

The reason he had caused such a massive commotion was his fear that these strange bats might emerge and harm the disciples. He himself was not afraid; in fact, he had originally intended to observe them up close. His purpose in entering this forbidden area was curiosity and seeking novelty.

Even though he hadn't wanted them to come, they insisted on following, which left him feeling quite helpless.