Unraveling the Mystery

As the fuse burned down, Manhunter felt his scalp prickle. A sudden dread seized him, as though disaster were about to strike. He instinctively raised a hand to shield his face, but nothing happened.

Pop.

A moment later, the strange cylinder gave a hiss as faint as a mosquito's whine.

Manhunter stood stunned for a moment, then laughed at himself.

He was being far too suspicious. How could someone as dim as Xuan Yan set a trap?

With that thought, he reached for the strange cylinder attached to the tree trunk.

The cylinder felt odd. There seemed to be empty space inside its hard shell, and Manhunter pressed a finger into it.

It appeared to be some kind of firework used by Daoists, though he still had no idea what it did.

Unwilling to give up, Manhunter felt farther along it. When his finger touched something hard inside the gap, a mechanism clicked.

Click.

"Hm?" Manhunter raised an eyebrow and looked down curiously.

A blinding white light erupted, so bright that it briefly overwhelmed even the orange glow of the flames.

After all his persistent efforts to get himself killed, the improvised mine made from mining explosives finally went off.

Boom!

Manhunter, the formidable hunter of the Mind Fasting Sect, had no chance to resist. The mine's terrifying shock wave shredded his organs, while flying fragments riddled his body with holes.

Fifteen minutes later, Manhunter, who had been blasted into little more than minced flesh, revived. He opened his eyes again, bewildered.

The first thing he saw was the fire, now raging more fiercely than ever. What had once been confined to the temple had grown to terrifying proportions, staining half the night sky orange-red.

He turned his head and saw that the surrounding forest had caught fire too. Countless