The two exchanged puzzled glances, seemingly having heard this name before.
But now was not the time to think about that.
Before Li Wenli could speak, the wizard shook his head again, "No, impossible, the Fire-Swallowing Tribe aren’t like you, and they would never step out of their own territory."
"Cut the crap, if you want to know who I am, put your life on the line first."
As he spoke, Wenli tiptoed, his body soaring into the air.
The wizard, seeing Wenli coming at him, tensed up nervously, continuously waving his sleeves.
The villagers who had been lying quietly started standing up slowly with the wizard’s movements, looking almost like marionettes being pulled on strings.
Apparently, these people were controlled by the Gu insects inside them, which in turn were controlled by the wizard, hence they had become a protective wall for the wizard.
Li Wenli frowned at the sight of these people, indifferent to others, but the County Magistrate had to be saved—at all costs, or who would authorize his documents?
Just as Wenli was striving to avoid the villagers, many Vines suddenly grew around him. Seeming to have their own consciousness, they autonomously latched onto the rioting villagers and bound them in place.
With the help of the Vines, Wenli was no longer disturbed by anyone else, quickly reaching the high platform, and with one kick, sent the witch doctor flying.
The witch doctor was adept at the ways of Gu insects, but his physical skills were not necessarily formidable.
After being kicked to the ground by Wenli, he coughed for a long time and failed to get up.
Just as Wenli was leisurely about to step forward, the wizard suddenly shot him a vicious glare.
"Those who disdain Witch Ancestor Mountain must die."
"..." Li Wenli was somewhat at a loss for words; when had he ever disdained Witch Ancestor Mountain?
Just as he was about to argue back, he suddenly heard a disturbance behind him.
Wenli instinctively turned his head and saw the skull that had been floating in mid-air silently drifting towards him.
Turns out, the wizard lying on the ground playing weak was to divert his attention, creating an opportunity for the skull to mount a sneak attack.
Lucky for Wenli, his extraordinary vigilance allowed him to notice the abnormality behind him.
He slightly sidestepped the skull, and surprisingly, it turned out to be a smoke formation. As Wenli dodged it, the formation swiftly reconfigured and swept over his head.
In almost an instant, the youth in crimson clothes was engulfed by the skull formation.
The wizard in the black cloak coldly curled his lips: "You will pay the price for disturbing my treatment.
Wenli’s crimson clothes and even his facial features were completely submerged by the greyish-brown skeletons. On closer inspection, one would realize this wasn’t smoke at all—there were dense swarms of tiny insects.
They approached Wenli and frantically nibbled and devoured everything about him.
At that moment, Wenli seemed like a human cocoon enveloped by insects.
The wizard laughed ominously.
Unless fire was used, how else could these insects be scattered? However, the insects had enveloped him too tightly; once set ablaze, the youth would surely perish along with the insects.
He laughed arrogantly with an air of invincibility: "You were supposed to be so formidable! Aren’t you supposed to be able to set fires? Then burn yourself too, hahaha..."
Just as he was laughing, the youth wrapped in insects suddenly let out a chattering laugh of his own.
As that word fell, Wenli’s whole body lit up, emitting searing flames of intense heat.
The fire seemed to burst forth from within him, and in a flash, it consumed all the Gu insects clinging to his body.
The wizard, staring at the scene unfolding before him, had his smile frozen on his face.
He stared in disbelief, his eyes wide.
This... how was this possible!