Great Demon Sun Wukong-Chapter 780 - 693 Sacrifice

What does it mean to go from the wolf’s den into the tiger’s den? At this very moment, Yue Huangquan and his companions are the perfect example, and what they’ve encountered is a massive pack of ferocious and starving wolves. This Fallen Tomb was originally an outpost in the ancient war of Ancient Times. After the war ended, this place became an isolated space, filled everywhere with the skeletons and souls of mighty warriors from the war. Except for those whose souls were shattered and bodies destroyed in the war, the remains and spirits of almost everyone who fought in the battle were trapped in this space, unable to move on or leave. Hence, as time passed and through some deliberate arrangements, the Fallen Tomb turned into what it is now, inhabited by immensely powerful wandering spirits and Soul Beasts. What Yue Huangquan and his team stumbled upon was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Before the war of Ancient Times, this part of the universe was unharmed, and at that time, reaching the level of Heavenly Venerates wasn’t so unattainable, although they weren’t exactly omnipresent. It could be said that anyone who could participate in the ancient war was at least of the Domain Lord Level, the main force, while those at the Heavenly Venerate Realm were the elite forces. Among the Heavenly Venerates who took part in the entire ancient war, there were no fewer than seventy to eighty thousand, and there was no lack of Domain Lord Level warriors like the Storm Clan Leader, Bao Tianfeng, at the peak of the Heavenly Venerates. Therefore, the number of remnant souls of the Heavenly Venerate Realm that were left in the Fallen Tomb numbered in the tens of thousands. These remnant souls were collected, nurtured, and merged through special means to become the immensely powerful Soul Beasts.

As soon as Chaos Spiritless spoke, everyone also became aware of the even larger group of Soul Beasts in the distance and were horrified. Outside, each of them was a significant figure who could summon wind and rain with a wave of their hand, where a single decision of theirs could mean life or death for countless people. However, here, they were no different from ordinary people, facing the threat of life and death, their fame and status worthless. They all had to give their all to survive, or else they would remain here forever, either as a wandering spirit or devoured by those Soul Beasts. Naturally, this was an outcome nobody wanted.

So everyone, including Xiao Heyue and Yue Huangquan, immediately turned and ran without hesitation. Although they had said that relentless fleeing might make them prey for Myriad Demons and eradication, if they didn’t flee, they’d all die here before long. Given the choice between dying later or dying immediately, it is likely that everyone would choose the former. But just as everyone was retreating in a panic, the Fire Phoenix, an incarnation of the Flame God, after retracting the fiery wings that had enclosed everyone, did not flee with them. Instead, it lowered its head with its hands on its chin, seemingly pondering something, while the flames on its body kept pulsating.

The anomaly of the Flame God was quickly noticed, with the Rogue Heart Sword Hero being the first to do so. He was startled to see the Flame God not running, thinking it had been injured, but when he turned around, he saw that the flames on the Flame God’s body had formed a special pattern, a Phoenix reborn from flames, made entirely of fire. When the Rogue Heart Sword Hero recognized the pattern, he was shocked and immediately stopped moving to shout back, "Brother Flame God, no, you must not do this! Run now, there’s still time. Brother Flame God!"

The nearly frenzied shouts of the Rogue Heart Sword Hero immediately caught everyone’s attention. Soon after, Hei Kui’s expression changed as well; he, too, stopped in his tracks and called out to the Flame God with a dire voice. However, the Flame God remained unmoved by the calls of the Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui, as if he heard them not. Above him, the Phoenix reborn from the flames became even more lifelike. "What’s happened to the Sword Hero? Is something wrong with the Flame God? Quick, follow me back to save him!" Yue Huangquan, seeing that the Flame God had not fled, was also startled and wanted to turn back to rescue him. But the Rogue Heart Sword Hero suddenly stopped Yue Huangquan with his hand, speaking in a deeply melancholic tone, "No need, it’s no use. Let’s go, just go, leave him be!"

"How can we abandon him? Those Soul Beasts are about to rush out. If we don’t save him, he will surely die. Sword Hero, when did you become so afraid of death?" The Flame God wanted to argue but couldn’t say anything, just holding onto Yue Huangquan tightly and dragging him along as they continued to flee. At that moment, Hei Kui also took hold of Yue Huangquan from the other side, whispering something in his ear. Yue Huangquan’s face then flashed with a hint of sorrow and heartache. Nevertheless, he eventually nodded, pulled away from the grip of the Sword Hero and Hei Kui, and quickened his pace to leave. It was at this time that a voice suddenly resounded in everyone’s ears, "I, the Flame God, always keep my word. I said I would handle these Soul Beasts, and I certainly will take care of them. You all just go on without worry. With me, the Flame God here, you brothers need not lift a finger!"

This voice was transmitted directly into everyone’s minds in a special way. As the voice faded, tears filled the eyes of the Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui, while the rest displayed clenched fists, yet no one stopped their retreat. They knew that the Flame God intended to sacrifice himself to buy them time. Who could have imagined that as soon as the Fallen Tomb opened, it would come to a point where someone needed to make a heroic sacrifice to buy time for others? If it was like this now, what about later? Could they really make it back? At this moment, everyone had their doubts.

Although the Rogue Heart Sword Hero was in tremendous pain, he still held back his tears. In this cruel world, there wasn’t even time to grieve. If you truly let yourself be consumed by sorrow, you’d soon become the subject of someone else’s mourning. Glancing back one last time at the flame-formed pattern, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero couldn’t help but recall when he, the Flame God, Hei Kui, and the rest first reached that world of yellow sands, where they initially believed it to be a deserted world. Yet, unexpectedly, they discovered an ancient city, and while exploring it, they found hundreds of living puppet corpses underground in the city, indistinguishable from real people except for lacking their own consciousness.

Flame God unknowingly triggered a mechanism while blocking the water, causing over a hundred living puppets to suddenly come to life. At that moment, the three discovered that all these living puppets possessed the strength of the half-step Heavenly Venerate realm, and they fought with a frenzy that immediately plunged the trio into a perilous situation. Just then, a crimson Tongtian pillar of fire erupted from Flame God’s body, piercing through the ceiling above. Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui were then wrapped in two strands of flame and ejected from the basement. As they were sent out, the two glimpsed the phoenix pattern reborn from the fire.

Later on, Flame God did eliminate all the puppets, and after Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui found Flame God, he eventually told them that the pattern was the totem of the Storm Clan, symbolizing the readiness to sacrifice one’s life for a person or a cause. At that time, Flame God had been prepared to sacrifice himself to allow Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui to escape, since he had been the one to activate the puppets. But to his surprise, the living puppets, despite their formidable appearance, were all defeated by him.

Thus, seeing the pattern once again, Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui understood all too well that Flame God was once again planning to sacrifice himself to halt the Soul Beasts, simply because he had declared that he would handle them. Sometimes Flame God could be childish and prone to mischief, but deep down, he still bore the pride of the Storm Clan, a man of his word, valuing promises above all else. Therefore, Rogue Heart Sword Hero and Hei Kui did not try to stop him; instead, they fled with all their might. They could not let Flame God’s sacrifice be in vain.

Flame God did not break his word. As countless Soul Beasts surged forth, he turned into a ten-thousand-meter Fire Phoenix once more, truly holding back all the Soul Beasts with his own strength. It astonished everyone; no one knew how Flame God managed to hold back so many Soul Beasts on his own, among which were even Heavenly Venerate’s Peak level beasts. Although they could not figure out how Flame God accomplished this feat, they successfully escaped without any further pursuit from the Soul Beasts. When they stopped in a concealed spot, everyone was still shaken. The Fallen Tomb proved to be exceedingly dangerous, with even the top-tier powerhouses from the Divine Kingdom being chased like stray dogs.

After resting for a short while, everyone gradually recovered. They waited approximately fifteen more minutes, and since no Soul Beasts followed, they knew that Flame God had indeed succeeded in holding back the nearly thousand Soul Beasts. "I need to go back and check on Brother Flame God, although it is likely that he is in a dire situation," Rogue Heart Sword Hero said, looking at Hei Kui. Among those present, probably only Rogue Heart Sword Hero had the deepest feelings for Flame God; they had fought side by side for their lives in the Patrolling Celestial World. Hei Kui didn’t say much, merely nodding in agreement.

Yue Huangquan thought for a moment and said, "We definitely need to go back and check, but not everyone can go. If we are short of people for our next plan, it won’t work. So, you and Hei Kui take a detour to go back. If Flame God is still alive, try to find a safe place to heal him. If the worst has happened, make sure to bring his body back. I came in with a certain number of people, and I will leave with that same number!" Just now, Rogue Heart Sword Hero had explained to Yue Huangquan the meaning of Flame God’s pattern, and everyone was aware that Flame God had sacrificed himself.

Rogue Heart Sword Hero nodded and, without further hesitation, entrusted his Heavenly Patrol Order to Yue Huangquan and then carefully surveyed the surroundings with Hei Kui before taking a detour back. Meanwhile, the expressions on the faces of the remaining few did not look good. It’s never pleasant to be saved in such a way. "Alright, now is not the time for sorrow. Collect your emotions; what comes next is the main event," he said.

With that, Yue Huangquan took out his own Heavenly Patrol Order. Together with Star Huangquan’s, there were four in total. "Alright, I’ll leave the Heavenly Patrol Orders here. Let’s go. This time we’ll also give them a mantis stalking the cicada scenario! (To be continued. If you like this work, I invite you to come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)