We bear people have power

There were probably twenty or thirty men, women, and children, all tied to wooden frames, with piles of firewood at their feet. Hundreds of men in black robes were lighting the firewood one by one. These people were clearly ordinary folks, the youngest no more than four or five years old, the oldest sixty or seventy, and several had already perished in the flames.

The black-robed figures, however, showed no pity for the screams; instead, they were filled with excitement, muttering incantations that were nothing but evil words.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this was a cult performing a human sacrifice.

Guan Bo had no time to spare; his halberd flew out of his hand, pinning a black-robed man who was about to light a fire to the ground.

Guan Bo burst out of the dense forest, knocking over the black-robed men he encountered on the road, sending several of them sprawling onto the fire and screaming in agony.

"Heretics! Arrest them and burn them!" A loud shout came from among the men in black robes, and the cultists drew their scimitars and charged towards Guan Bo.

Guan Bo showed no mercy to these inhuman cult members; his punches and kicks were so powerful that anyone hit would die instantly.

Seeing Guan Bo's bravery, another man in black robes exclaimed, "What great strength! He's a cultivator who has reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!"

What on earth is "Mastering Qi Refining"? Guan Bo had no idea.

At first glance, the person in the black robe was completely covered except for their eyes and hands, making it impossible to tell who was shouting.

When his plan to capture the leader first failed, Guan Bo simply launched a massive attack.

With his hands tearing a bloody path, Guan Bo rushed to the vicinity, picked up the halberd, and entered a state of unparalleled power once again.

Compared to the battle at Baolin Temple, Guan Bo was far more ferocious this time. His halberd unleashed a whirlwind of flesh and blood, tearing the black-robed figures to shreds. Seeing that they could not resist, the voice from before shouted again, "Quickly, summon the Bright Lord to descend!"

The surviving men in black robes tried to stay away from Guan Bo. A seductive melody began to play as these men in black robes started chanting evil and difficult incantations.

Guan Bo was in the middle of a fierce battle when he felt a chill in his heart. The still-burning fires suddenly flared up and transformed into a three-zhang-tall humanoid fire with all its features, but its appearance was not clearly visible.

The fiery humanoid figure demanded, "Why have you summoned me?"

Before the man in black could answer, Guan Bo threw the halberd at the fire-man, severing his head.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a real person; the head was cut off, but it quickly grew back.

"Are you a turtle? Can your head retract and stick out?" Guan Bo cursed.

For some reason, even though it was their first meeting, Guan Bo found the Fire God repulsive and wished he could slap him to death. But this guy seemed to be an illusory being, and he was afraid he couldn't defeat him with his strength alone.

Just as he was worrying, he saw the flame-shaped figure turn its head and glance at Guan Bo, then roar like a mouse seeing a cat: "It's you again?!"

Guan Bo was bewildered by his shout and was about to ask when he saw the fiery humanoid figure turn into a streak of sparks and disappear without hesitation, running away just like that.

"Is this guy crazy?" Guan Bo was confused, but he wouldn't let this opportunity pass and charged into the group of men in black robes again.

However, his hands weren't as long as the halberd, and Guan Bo didn't possess any extraordinary internal energy projection skills, which greatly reduced his killing efficiency. So Guan Bo single-handedly broke through the black-robed men's formation to retrieve his halberd.

The man in black robes was naturally no match for him, but he was frustrated when he took the halberd back into his hand. It turned out that his previous slash, while severing the head of the fire god, had also tainted it with the demonic fire.

The halberd was made of ordinary iron, but the flames, instead of extinguishing it, melted the blade into a solid mass. Guan Bo's halberd had become an ugly iron hammer, sparking as he swung it, like he was holding a pile of dying embers.

"Damn it, I just got a weapon and it's ruined before I even got to use it properly." Guan Bo was numb and didn't even bother to investigate why he said "again."

Although it has become an iron hammer, it can still be used to smash people. Moreover, after being tempered by this demonic fire, it seems to have become a little heavier, making it easier to use.

Guan Bo didn't care about anything else and swung the ugly hammer into the crowd. It was truly a case of one hit meant death, a graze meant injury; for a time, screams and howls filled the air, and soon the black-robed men were slaughtered, their blood flowing like a river. In truth, if it really came down to a fight to the death, these black-robed men possessed various magical abilities that would have been enough to inflict a heavy loss on Guan Bo.

However, once the Flame God fled, the black-robed men felt a sense of despair, as if the sky were falling and the earth were collapsing. Even their god had run away, so what was the point of fighting? Most of the hundreds of black-robed men were killed, and the rest scattered like birds and beasts.

Guan Bo sighed, realizing that while he appeared to be unstoppable, he wasn't truly invincible. At least, he lacked the ability to hunt down and kill each of these black-robed figures running around aimlessly.

However, these men in black robes ultimately failed to escape, and a chorus of shouts of battle erupted from the forest once more: "Don't let the cultists get away! Everyone, charge!"

Before long, the black-robed figures who had been running around were chased back one by one, and most of them were injured. Following closely behind these black-robed figures, some people dressed in white clothes with black patterns rushed out from the dense forest, each holding a weapon, all of which were already stained with blood.

Without Guan Bo needing to lift a finger, these people dressed in white clothes with black patterns swiftly killed all the black-robed cultists, and then skillfully dispatched men to rescue the surviving civilians.

Just when everyone thought the situation was settled, a wounded but still alive man in black robes quietly gathered his magical power, intending to use a secret technique to take everyone down with him. Guan Bo was too far away at the time; he probably wouldn't even have had time to throw a hammer. But unexpectedly, the man in black robes was killed instantly by several people using hidden weapons as soon as he made his move, without even a chance to retaliate.

Guan Bo watched with amazement. This group seemed to be very familiar with the men in black robes and knew how to deal with their counterattacks.

Only after all the men in black robes were confirmed dead were the surviving civilians rescued. A man dressed in white with black patterns approached Guan Bo and introduced himself, saying, "I am Zhang Yuanshan from the Demon Extermination Alliance. Thank you for your help, young hero, which saved these civilians."

Looking at the group of people panting heavily, they probably had been traveling the whole time, rather than waiting for Guan Bo to fight off the black-robed man before they came to reap the rewards.

They called themselves the Demon Extermination Alliance, which Guan Bo had never heard of before. But the clothes looked somewhat familiar to Guan Bo, though he couldn't remember where he had seen them before.

Guan Bo also cupped his hands and said, "I am Guan Bo, and I just happened to be there. Forgive my ignorance, but what kind of sect is this Demon Extermination Alliance?"

“Young hero, you are too modest. If it weren’t for your timely intervention, most of them probably wouldn’t have survived. It’s not surprising that you haven’t heard of the Demon Extermination Alliance, as this alliance is relatively new and is dedicated to fighting against the Fire Worship Cult and preventing them from using cruel methods to sacrifice their evil gods. It just so happens that Master Yideng of our Demon Extermination Alliance is nearby. Young hero, you are a man of great righteousness, why not join us?” Zhang Yuanshan explained.

"Master Yideng? Isn't that Wang Chongyang?" Guan Bo couldn't help but complain.

"Eh, young hero, do you know our alliance leader, Master Chongyang?" This time it was Zhang Yuanshan's turn to be surprised.

Guan Bo: "..."

This must be an absolute coincidence, right?