Chapter 593: Chapter 592: The Legend is True
"Run, those monsters are back!"
"Daddy, mom, where are you?"
"Don’t look back, everyone head to the mountains!"
Ma Shuijian was just an ordinary village, with men farming and women weaving, everyone living peacefully. But an unexpected disaster shattered their tranquility.
They were beings glowing red. The village men were grabbed by them and inexplicably burst into flames until they were burned alive.
Tiles, beams, and even the mud walls couldn’t escape their destruction. Half of Ma Shuijian was turned into ashes but fortunately a few martial arts masters happened to pass by and defeated the villains.
But before they had a chance to mourn the victims, an army of even more aggressive enemies arrived.
Hundreds of village residents, both old and young, fled to the dense forest under the guidance of the martial arts masters, followed closely by a red tide.
"Rising Sun Slash!"
A middle-aged man dressed in black was tasked with holding the rear. He launched a slashing attack forward. The blinding Sword Qi immediately sent three enemies flying. But it only provoked their aggression rather than countering it.
"Fire Stiffs, the legendary Fire Stiffs, they really exist?"
Sun Wei was shocked and scared, overwhelmed by numerous questions.
The aggressive beings all over in red, with even their eye sockets appearing blood-red, seemed to be burning from within, identical to the Fire Stiffs in the Devil Path.
The legend of Fire Stiffs was long-standing. The first Fire Stiff was said to be a mediocre furnace worker. By sheer coincidence, he somehow got hold of a cursed martial arts manual.
Afterward, he abandoned his wife, obsessed himself daily with his arts, until one day he laughed and willingly jumped into a lava pit, burning himself and dedicating his life to the path.
Unexpectedly, this leap helped him master the cursed martial arts. The world had now one more ugly-looking but extremely powerful Fire Stiff, known as the Ancestor of the Fire Stiffs.
It was said that at the peak of the Ancestor of the Fire Stiffs’ power, he brutally trained tens of thousands of Fire Stiffs, causing havoc in the martial world, making life unbearable. The disaster was only eradicated after collaborated efforts and great sacrifice from the righteous path.
But many people claimed that the Ancestor of the Fire Stiffs did not die but was just sleeping somewhere. One day, he would rule the world and bring back the old disaster.
So, seeing these villains who resembled Fire Stiffs, the martial arts masters were all uneasy, filled with forebodings.
"Roar!"
The Fire Stiffs were considerably resilient. Even with Sun Wei’s three-layer Dragon Gate Realm’s level of training, he only managed to kill three of them after a sustained assault.
What disheartened him was that the three Fire Stiffs he killed were of a lighter red, with a significant number of darker Fire Stiffs. They were also more well-built and obviously stronger.
There were even a few Fire Stiffs with crimson skin, teeth seemingly smeared with blood, and eyes that made Sun Wei tremble.
Clang, clang, clang ...
There were hundreds of Fire Stiffs. After a moment of resistance, Sun Wei couldn’t hold them back. Thankfully, his two companions arrived just in time to save him.
"We can’t hold them off. Let’s retreat."
Fire Stiffs moved swiftly and violently, making the trio’s palms numb from the direct clash. They also had to guard against attacks from other directions, It was a bitterly hard battle.
"What about the villagers if we leave?"
Sun Wei yelled back.
"If we can’t even protect ourselves, how can we protect others?"
One of his companions swung his sword to repel a Fire Stiff in front of him, immediately leaping to the side and flying away, not forgetting to shout to the others.
Seeing the villagers running in panic behind him, screaming in despair, Sun Wei went through a moment of struggle, which soon turned into resolve.
The martial artist’s practice could be for wealth and glory, or fame, or reaching the peak of martial arts, but couldn’t there be other meanings?
"Brother Li, you should leave."
Sun Wei cleaved several times, clearing a path for Li Changde.
But Li Changde didn’t take the opportunity. Instead, he chuckled, "You, Old Sun are my best friend. What’s the point of wandering the martial world alone?" He took the lead and charged forward with his sword.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The onslaught of the Fire Stiffs intensified. In a short while, Sun Wei and Li Changde had depleted more than half of their martial power. The defense line was finally broken by the Fire Stiffs, and they fiercely rushed toward the villagers.
Screams and cries echoed through the forest.
Sun Wei wanted to turn back and rescue them, but he was surrounded by several Fire Stiffs. He was immediately swept into the turmoil. Struggling left and right, he barely secured his own survival.
Seeing a deep-red Fire Stiff reaching for a child who had fallen to the ground unnoticed, the child’s innocent face turned a pallid white. Sun Wei shouted to the sky, feeling helpless.
Whoosh!
Just in the nick of time, a ray of sword light rushed from the distance, slicing the deep-red Fire Stiff into two halves as easily as cutting tofu. The child was also pulled up from the ground.
"Are you okay?"
Shi Xiaole patted the child’s head and gave him a soft smile.
The child blinked. It seemed like his fear was melted away by the smile. He whimpered and burst into tears.
"Young master, beware of those Fire Stiffs."
From a distance, Sun Wei’s loud shout echoed. Without even looking back, Shi Xiaole knew - nine Fire Stiffs were swooping towards the villagers not far from him, carrying with them a wave of scorching, bloody gusts.
However, it was all under control. The middle finger and index finger of his hand joined, making a light stroke backward.
Sizzle!
All nine Fire Stiffs fell simultaneously, their bodies dismembered. They were beyond dead.
"So strong!"
Li Changde involuntarily exclaimed.
"Dare to offend my Fire Stiff, you should be sent to hell!"
A red-hot Fire Stiff with even its teeth dyed blood red let out a metallic, hoarse voice. Its two legs pushed powerfully off the ground, hurling towards Shi Xiaole like a flame cloud, sparks neigh flickered as sword qi struck him.
With a swing of his right hand, Shi Xiaole unsheathed his sword and slashed out.
Clang!
The scarlet Fire Stiff screamed on impact and flew backward, a three-foot sword wound appearing on its body, but surprisingly, no fresh blood flowed out. It again pounced crazily.
"This is so hard to kill?"
Insiders knew their own circumstances best. The blow Shi Xiaole delivered was sufficient to exterminate a junior Lord, but it only injured the opponent. This demonstrated that even if an average martial artist of the Dragon Gate Realm fought fiercely hundreds of times, they might not penetrate its defense.
During his time in Peach Forest Town of Qingxue State, Shi Xiaole had previously experienced a chaos wrought by Poisonous Stiffs. Later, he discovered it was the scheme of the Sky Evil Sect.
Poisonous Stiffs and Fire Stiffs, both suffixed by "Stiff", were drastically different entities.
The so-called Poisonous Stiffs were merely Puppet corpses manufactured by terrifying means used by martial artists with poisonous skill. They could be destroyed instantly if one had the corresponding antidote.
On the other hand, the physiology of Fire Stiffs had completely transformed. They were impervious to swords and spears, immune to both water and fire, and invulnerable to all poisons. In the legends of the Martial World, they were one of the most terrifying catastrophes!
Raising his skill to seventy percent, Shi Xiaole this time severed the creature’s head with a single sword strike, then called out to Sun Wei, "Both of you jump clear quickly."
Although Sun Wei was unable to battle the Fire Stiff, it was still quite easy for him to escape. Upon hearing this, the pair reflexively leaped out of the way.
"Fierce Wind Hundred Turns!"
The swirling green sword qi appeared suddenly, akin to a tornado. After a few breaths, all Fire Stiffs at the scene had been reduced to dust.
"Powerful. Based on his performance, he must be a top-ranked Lord."
Sun Wei was left stunned.
The villagers sighed with relief as they saw all the Fire Stiffs were exterminated, each one collapsing exhausted to the ground. Suddenly, a man started crying loudly. His old father had scared to death and died from exhaustion during the escape.
The man wept, his cries unceasing, "Father! Your son lacks filial piety... I should have taken care of you and let you enjoy your old age... But instead, your life ended like this... I’m useless..."
He dove onto the old man’s body, his voice nearly hoarse.
The villagers around him wore expressions of grief, trying to console him in hushed tones.
Shi Xiaole came into the crowd with the child, walked forward, and placed his hand lightly on the old man’s body. He found that the old man wasn’t completely dead, which cheered him up. He instantly channeled the Undying Seven Illusions, guiding life force into the old man’s body.
Not long after, the old man woke up. Seeing his son wailing, he scolded, "I’m not dead yet! What are you crying for?"
"Dad, you... you’re not dead?"
The man was stunned at first, then burst into tears and laughter, dropping at his father’s feet to hug his legs.
"The young master is truly extraordinary!"
Sun Wei approached as Shi Xiaole turned to leave, their eyes filled with respect and admiration.
In calling him extraordinary, they referred not just to his miraculous resuscitation skill, but also his character in doing good deeds without clamoring for credit.
"Both of you willingly risked your lives to protect the villagers. That’s something I truly resonate with."
Shi Xiaole spoke earnestly.
The situation had been critical. If they were not in possession of chivalrous hearts, they would have been incapable of making the choice to stay.
After chatting for a while, fearful of another Fire Stiff attack, they volunteered to guide villagers into the mountain.
As it turns out, their worries were not unfounded.
Apart from Ma Shuijian, Fire Stiffs had also attacked nearby villages but with not as much luck. Every villager was devoured by the Fire Stiffs, reduced to ashes.
Even the closest small city had fallen. According to the refugees, that day a horde of Fire Stiffs rampaged into the city, slaughtering anyone they encountered. Corpses littered the streets, and the whole city went up in flames.
The entire Yundai domain was in an uproar!
The legendary Fire Stiffs, which were supposed to only exist in stories, had unexpectedly emerged in broad daylight, decimating an entire city and numerous villages.
Did this mean the historical Fire Stiff ancestor was not fictitious? That the horrifying monster had not died, recently resurrected to reenact the calamity of the Fire Stiff?
