The Shen Huo Talisman unleashed its searing aura, instantly engulfing the surrounding dozens of meters.
Above, nine balls of flame rapidly converged.
Witnessing this, I quickly retreated.
Once the nine balls of flame descended, the area within dozens of meters would become a sea of fire.
This was talismanic fire, capable of incinerating even ghosts; living beings caught within would be reduced to charcoal.
Having cast three talismans, my spiritual power was depleted. Gasping for breath, I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.
The corpse monsters and malevolent spirits, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, continued to charge forward recklessly.
With their "ao ao" cries, the dense hordes of corpses and spirits actually intended to charge through the inferno.
I glanced back, a cold smile gracing my lips as I saw the ferocious demons and specters:
"Come! For however many come, that many shall perish."
As the words left my mouth, three fireballs were the first to descend from the sky.
They appeared as mere small fireballs, only the size of washbasins.
But only those who had experienced it knew the true might of the Shen Huo Talisman.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
With three whistling sounds, the flames plummeted from ten meters high.
Patches of ground remained untouched by the flames, and the corpse monsters surged through these gaps.
But in the next instant, with three resounding "boom boom boom" explosions of fire,
The three fireballs struck the ground, instantly erupting with violent blasts and scattering flames.
The three balls of flame exploded, their horizontal and vertical reach spanning twenty meters, merging into a surging sea of fire.
All the malevolent spirits and corpse monsters in this area were instantly consumed by the flames.
"Ah!"
"Ao ao."
"..."
Piercing shrieks of agony arose. The malevolent spirits attempted to break free from the inferno, but they had no chance.
The power of the talismanic fire caused them to dissipate into nothingness in a very short time.
Even those on the fringes, if they touched the talismanic fire, could not extinguish it.
Their constant exhalations of chilling energy were useless.
The talismanic fire would simply follow their bodies, burning rapidly, and ultimately engulfing them.
"..."
Some malevolent spirits and demons on the verge of the fiery zone were thoroughly frightened and tried to retreat.
However, another three balls of intense fire descended from the sky.
With three "whirring" explosive sounds, the flames rolled, becoming even more ferocious.
The fiery shockwaves extended another seven to eight meters outwards.
This time, over a dozen corpse monsters and malevolent spirits were burnt to cinders.
Wu Kehang, Huang Jie, and even Old Mo watched in stunned silence.
Such talismanic arts were incredibly potent, with an astonishingly wide area of effect.
By the time all nine balls of intense fire, condensed from the three talismans, had fallen and erupted, a thirty-meter radius had become a sea of fire.
The bluestone at the heart of the flames had been scorched and cracked open.
The flames soared into the sky, igniting the surrounding mountain trees and forming an even vaster expanse of fire.
Elder Bai Daozi, who had fled in another direction, along with the Twelve Demon Souls, couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
It was hard to imagine that such talismanic arts could be performed by a mere young junior like myself.
The roaring flames illuminated the surroundings.
The entrance to the entire Black Demon Gorge was bathed in this fiery glow.
Although I cast the talismans, it was also my first time simultaneously using three Shen Huo Talismans.
In truth, I hadn't expected the combined power of these three talismans to be so immense.
It wasn't a simple one plus one plus one equals three; rather, it was one plus one plus one equals six.
It seemed I had discovered a new method: stacking Shen Huo Talismans together yielded even greater and more ferocious power.
Alas, like the third level of the Qian Kun True Method, the consumption was immense.
Essentially, I could only use it twice before my spiritual energy would be depleted.
At this moment, Old Mo grabbed me:
"Amazing, Old Qin! This Shen Huo Talisman is truly formidable."
"It's alright. Let's go quickly. This talismanic fire won't last long. We need to leave this place, find a safe spot to defend, and wait for the main forces to arrive."
I said quickly.
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Let's move!"
With that, we swiftly plunged into the dense mountain forest.
With the Gathering Yin Platform destroyed, these malevolent spirits and corpse monsters would gradually lose their energy and eventually their combat capabilities.
The three main forces of the Dao Alliance should also arrive soon and converge at the Black Demon Gorge.
That would be our time to counterattack.
With this thought in mind, I continued to rush forward.
After running for several hundred meters, a wave of Yin demonic energy appeared.
I knew it was the Twelve Demon Souls returning.
Turning to look, I saw the Twelve Demon Souls, transformed into animal forms, approaching from our left and right.
Sister Si Snake, a large black python, swiftly drew near, and then, with a surge of black mist, transformed back into human form.
"Young Master Qin, there's a cave ahead. We can hide in there. Even if we're discovered, we can defend from within."
Upon hearing this, I immediately nodded:
"Alright, please lead the way, Sister Si Snake."
Si Snake nodded and transformed back into her demon soul form, a large python leading the way ahead of us.
After we ran for a while, Elder Bai Daozi also rejoined us.
However, upon seeing Elder Bai Daozi again, I noticed he was injured, his chest clothes stained with blood.
"Elder!"
Everyone expressed concern.
Elder Bai Daozi waved his hand:
"It's nothing. Hurry along. Those demons and specters are already catching up."
Even if Elder Bai Daozi hadn't spoken, we could hear the "wuwu aoao" roars from behind us.
The hordes of malevolent spirits were even closing in above our heads.
We could only accelerate, running desperately forward.
Finally, several hundred meters ahead, we spotted a small cave.
The Twelve Demon Generals were already standing at the entrance, weapons in hand.
Seeing me approach, they all called out:
"Quickly, Young Master Qin!"
I grunted and, along with Old Mo, Xia Qiuxi, and others, swiftly entered the cave. Elder Bai Daozi and the others followed closely.
The cave was not large, perhaps only fifty meters deep, but the entrance was quite narrow, about four to five meters wide, making it ideal for defense.
At this moment, Elder Bai Daozi took out his long sword and began drawing talismans on the ground.
He then took out scrolls of thin red threads, pulling them taut left and right to form triangular areas.
He intended to set up a formation, utilizing it for defense.
"Elder, is there anything I can do to help?"
I asked.
Elder Bai Daozi cut straight to the point:
"The formation I'm setting up is called the Four Thunder Formation, with four thunder positions.
We will each guard a thunder position. If we hold our ground, we should be able to last two to three hours.
However, before that, I need everyone to buy me time.
Before the formation is complete, we cannot let the demons and specters charge in and disrupt it."
Upon hearing this, I immediately nodded:
"Understood, Elder."
With that, I gripped my peach wood sword and directly instructed the Twelve Demon Souls:
"Twelve Demon Souls, guard the cave entrance and buy Elder time to set up the formation."
"Understood!"
"..."
The Twelve Demon Generals responded in unison.
Old Mo and the others also moved to the cave entrance, ambushing from the sides.
If any demon or specter entered, they would be immediately struck down.
Thus, we lay in wait within the cave.
Because we had applied Breath-Holding Talismans, as long as the demons and specters didn't get too close, they couldn't detect our scent or aura.
At this moment, one by one, malevolent spirits drifted past the cave entrance without discovering us.
However, as their numbers increased.
Exposure was only a matter of time, and everyone was prepared for battle...