Chapter 121: There is Always Someone Better, and a Heaven Beyond Heavens

The fire grew larger and larger, yet those corpses hanging from the trees still did not turn into flying ash as Su Yan had predicted. Instead, they became clusters of fireballs, a sight so terrifying it made one's scalp tingle with dread.

"Su Yan, how can this be?"

Even Sun Mang could see the anomaly, his expression filled with horror.

Beneath the black cloth, Su Yan's gaze was dark and cold.

The expressions of the Ma Chulong siblings were even more horrified.

"Brother, what on earth are these things? Why can't even fire talismans burn them?" Ma Chulan said in disbelief.

Ma Chulong's face was grim; he actually increased the intensity of the fire once more.

*Crack.*

The raging flames began to spread across the entire forest.

Seeing this, Su Yan couldn't help but curse, "Idiot! Do you want to burn down the entire forest?"

Her voice was not low, and Ma Chulong naturally heard it clearly, his face turning even paler.

Realizing his mistake, he immediately tried to rectify it.

However, the sky was filled with rising flames, and they were no longer under his control.

Something eerie happened once again; because the branches were burning, the corpses hanging from the trees fell to the ground one after another.

The fireballs actually began to attack them.

Sun Mang was so frightened he nearly lost his soul. Before he could even react, Su Yan had already grabbed him by the collar and started running backward.

"What the hell kind of ghost thing is this?!"

The level of terror had surpassed even the malevolent spirits of the Blood Moon Night.

The key was that they had become fireballs; if even a tiny bit touched them, they would be the ones turning to ash.

Su Yan was extremely fast; seeing that Sun Mang had reacted, she immediately let go of him.

Sun Mang ran for his life. Previously, he had thought that if he encountered wild beasts in the mountains, he could climb a tree to save himself, but now there was fire everywhere—it was a complete dead end.

The situation for the Ma siblings was much worse. They had not chosen to flee immediately like Su Yan; instead, they had gone straight into a head-on fight with these flaming corpses.

The two siblings fought fiercely and quickly, but facing wave after wave of corpses, they soon showed signs of exhaustion.

In particular, Ma Chulan had already been bitten by a venomous snake and had not recovered; facing the headlong charge of these things, she quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Ma Chulong tried his best to protect her, but gradually, his strength began to fail him.

"Su Yan, should we help them?"

Su Yan and Sun Mang had already run dozens of meters away from the flaming corpses. Sun Mang didn't know if they were safe yet; he only stopped because he saw Su Yan suddenly halt.

Looking at Ma Chulan's critical situation, he could only cast a pleading gaze toward Su Yan.

Although they were strangers, he still could not stand by and watch the siblings be surrounded and killed.

Facing the direction of the siblings, Su Yan remained silent.

Sun Mang wasn't sure if she could judge the urgency of their situation, but there truly was no time left.

"Su Yan..."

"Shut up."

Su Yan barked a command.

Instead of getting angry, Sun Mang was filled with anticipation.

Su Yan then murmured, "So that's how it is."

"Su Yan, you have a way, don't you?" Sun Mang was absolutely full of confidence in her, waiting for her to make her move and save them.

But Su Yan still made no move. "Sun Mang, do you remember the path we took to get here?"

"Huh?" Sun Mang was stunned. The fire was already at their eyebrows, and she was still asking for directions?

"There is no path! It's all weeds; we just pushed our way up through the brush."

"Then what is the ground we are standing on right now?" Su Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it made Sun Mang shudder violently.

In his frantic flight for life, he hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings. Now, beneath their feet was actually a wide road. Although burning trees still stood all around, the area within a dozen meters was a very open clearing.

"How can this be? It wasn't like this when we came up!"

The corners of Su Yan's mouth curled into a cold arc, her frosty gaze falling upon the Ma siblings.

The fire was already spreading onto Ma Chulan, and Ma Chulong was surrounded by over a dozen corpses in the middle, watching helplessly as his younger sister was about to be swallowed by the flames.

Suddenly, a burst of light from a talisman flew into the ink-black night sky.

"Break!"

Accompanied by Su Yan's voice, it was as if something instantly shattered.

In the next second, the entire scene changed.

The forest fire was gone, the dead corpses were gone, and even the searing heat on Ma Chulan's body had vanished.

Feeling the silence around him, Sun Mang felt as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

He and Su Yan were still standing in the weed-filled mountains, and Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan, not far away, looked exactly as they had when he first saw them.

However, the terrifying corpses hanging from the nearby trees were gone; there was only a massive willow tree that looked exceptionally lush under the moonlight.

This scene was far too eerie; Sun Mang couldn't help but pinch his thigh hard.

*Hiss.*

It hurt.

"Su Yan, just now..."

"It was an illusion," Su Yan replied, returning to her usual indifference.

Sun Mang was dazed and couldn't process it. How could an illusion be so realistic? He had clearly felt the scorching heat of the fire.

"Huff! Huff!" Ma Chulong recovered his senses before Ma Chulan; he instantly lost his strength and crouched on the ground, gasping for air.

Even if it was an illusion, the exhaustion he felt within it was real.

"Sister, wake up!"

After a few breaths, he shook Ma Chulan forcefully.

"Ah!" The first thing Ma Chulan did upon regaining consciousness was try in terror to extinguish the flames on her body.

But there were no flames left.

"It was an illusion! We were caught in an illusion just now!"

Ma Chulong gripped her shoulders tightly, making her feel real pain so she could completely detach from the illusion.

A moment later, Ma Chulan collapsed to the ground, pale and exhausted.

"Brother, I really thought I was going to be burned to death just now."

Even after surviving the ordeal, she couldn't stop trembling.

"We were careless." Ma Chulong's words sounded more like a self-reproach. Before his voice even faded, he immediately began searching under the moonlight.

When he saw Su Yan and Sun Mang walking toward them through the night, his previous contempt and disgust were swept away completely.

Even though they were in an illusion, he had heard very clearly that it was this mysterious girl who had broken it.

"Hey, are you two alright?" Sun Mang walked a few steps forward and approached the siblings with a grin.

At this moment, he felt incredibly proud of himself.

"Thank you both for saving our lives!" As Ma Chulong spoke, he pulled Ma Chulan up and gave a deep bow.

Sun Mang was startled by the siblings' gesture and hurriedly reached out to stop them, grabbing one of them with each hand.

"If you want to say thanks, just say it. You really don't need to bow so deeply."

Ma Chulong's shifting gaze fell upon Su Yan once more, his emotions more complex than ever before.

Today, he truly experienced the phrase his father often repeated

There is always someone better, and there is always a heaven beyond heavens.

(End of Chapter)