"Boss..." Not expecting the most powerful Serpentine Dragon to plummet from the sky with those two notes, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix and the Seven-tailed Swordfang Tiger were startled.
"It"s the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon!"
"He"s a Pureblooded Dragon?"
As they swiftly came to a realization, they looked at Zhang Xuan with horror reflected in their eyes.
As the top immortal beasts of the Forsaken Continent, they knew quite a fair bit about the Dragon Tribe. The Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon was a language that could only be spoken by Pureblooded Dragons, but the middle-aged man was able to voice those notes as well.
Wouldn"t that mean that he was actually a Pureblooded Dragon?
One must know that the significance of a Pureblooded Dragon was no different from that of a true G.o.d... How could they possibly dare to pick a fight with a G.o.d?
With an incredulous look on their faces, they looked as the middle-aged man walked up to the Serpentine Dragon and patted its head, "Good boy. Just listen to my words obediently, and you"ll be fine..."
"If you want me to listen to your words, why don"t you remove your sword from my neck first..."
The Serpentine Dragon attempted to struggle, but its body was still convulsing from the earlier impact from the two notes.
With a sheepish smile, Zhang Xuan withdrew the Tongshang Sword and placed it back to his storage ring.
There was a brief moment of silence before the Serpentine Dragon remarked, "You aren"t a real Pureblooded Dragon..."
"Keen eyes. I don"t deny what you have just said. However, it doesn"t change the fact that I"m capable of voicing the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon," Zhang Xuan replied. "Furthermore, I am also able to refine the Dragon Bloodline in your body and increase your chances of achieving a breakthrough to higher realms.
He didn"t think that there was any point lying to the Serpentine Dragon. On the contrary, if he were to set up false expectations for the Serpentine Dragon, the latter might betray him in the future if it were to learn that it had been deceived.
There was another long moment of silence as the Serpentine Dragon tried to struggle free from the suppression of its bloodline, but it was to no avail. Eventually, it had no choice but to nod its head slightly, "I"ll submit..."
The Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon was an ability unique to the Pureblooded Dragon. It was a known fact that producing these sounds was fundamentally impossible for other beings other than the Pureblooded Dragons.
The Serpentine Dragon had no idea how Zhang Xuan was able to voice the Eight Note of the Heavenly Dragon, but this showed that even if he wasn"t a Pureblooded Dragon, it was likely that he possessed a significant relations.h.i.+p with the top echelons of the Dragon Tribe.
It viewed Zhang Xuan to be a superior being, and it didn"t think that it would be disgraceful for it to submit to a superior being.
Not to mention, the middle-aged man"s sword qi had already discreetly delved into the vitals of its body while it was immobilized. If it were to refuse the middle-aged man, it was likely that it would be torn apart from within.
While the middle-aged man before it appeared to be only at Heavenly True Immortal realm, the sheer power of his sword qi was really not to be underestimated. Even with the resilience of its superior physique, it wasn"t confident that it would be able to withstand the might of his sword qi.
"You have made a wise decision," Zhang Xuan replied as he proceeded on to seal a Soul Contract with the Serpentine Dragon.
To be honest, he wasn"t completely confident that the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon would work, especially considering that the Serpentine Dragon was a true member of the Dragon Tribe. He was prepared to resort to brute force if he needed to, but to his delight, it worked much better than he had thought.
From the looks of it, even if his opponent was a Pseudo Dragon, he would still be able to subdue the other party easily with the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon too.
"This... The Serpentine Dragon actually submitted to him just like that?"
"Who is that middle-aged man?"
"I don"t recognize him at all. He doesn"t seem to be from the Myriad Beasts Hall..."
The severely wounded elders of the Myriad Beasts Hall looked at one another in bewilderment.
They thought that they were doomed this time around. Not even in their wildest dream did they expect that a True Immortal realm cultivator would suddenly come to their rescue and tame the Serpentine Dragon within a single minute...
One must know that Elder Yuan had spent many years refining the Dragon Blood and looking for the Northern Sea Dragon Orb. All in all, he had devoted thirty years of his life to ensure the success of this mission, and the sheer amount of resources he had expended for this was mind-boggling... But it still ended in a miserable failure.
In contrast, all this True Immortal realm cultivator did was to scream two notes, and the Serpentine Dragon just submitted to him just like that!
What was with this difference in treatment? This was too much!
"It"s only normal for a member of the Dragon Tribe to submit to one who is capable of voicing the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon."
Even though the crowd was a little stifled by the abrupt twist in the situation, they weren"t too surprised by the outcome.
As elders of the Myriad Beasts Hall, they had also heard of the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon, and they knew that it signified the highest authority of the Dragon Tribe, the very will of the Pureblooded Dragons. There was no lesser being possessing the Dragon Bloodline that could oppose that innate suppression.
"You can rest for the time being. I"ll go and tame that Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix," Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand as he walked toward the two utterly shocked immortal beasts in the sky.
The fact that the Serpentine Dragon had moved along with those two meant that they had close relations with one another. He knew that he would be putting the Serpentine Dragon in a spot by forcing it to make a move on those two, so the best he could do was to ask the latter not to interfere.
He would just have to tame the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenixx by himself.
"Thank you, master," the Serpentine Dragon replied in grat.i.tude.
It was indeed apprehensive that its new master would order it to make a move on the other two. That would have really put it on a spot. As a subordinate tamed beast, it would have no right to disobey its master"s order. However, having spent many years with the other two, while their usual relations.h.i.+p was similar to that of rivals, it couldn"t bring itself to betray them in such a manner either...
It was clear that its master was taking its feelings into consideration when he said those words.
You wish to tame me? The Empyrean Phoenix Bloodline runs in my blood, so that Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon of yours wouldn"t work against me!" Hearing those words, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix sneered coldly.
The Dragon Tribe was known to be the Sovereign of the Beasts, but the Empyrean Phoenix Tribe wouldn"t pale in comparison either. The Empyrean Phoenix Tribe was well-respected even in the Firmament, the world of the G.o.ds!
The Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon had the effects of suppressing other beasts, but it was completely useless against it.
As such, even though the human standing before it was able to tame the Serpentine Dragon, his means would never work against it!
"I don"t need the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon to deal with you," Zhang Xuan replied calmly as he raised his hand upward.
The formation flags scattered all over the ground rose to the sky and floated in the surroundings.
"Activate!" Zhang Xuan bellowed as they rearranged themselves and plunged into the ground once more.
The ants had destroyed a huge portion of the flags, but there were still some of them that were undamaged. As they were plunged into the ground, a huge formation encompa.s.sing an area of more than twenty li immediately activated.
"It"s an Isolation Formation?"
Everyone was surprised.
Even the Serpentine Dragon and the other two immortal beasts were perplexed as to what Zhang Xuan was attempting to do as well.
They had fully expected the middle-aged man to activate a Slaughter Formation or Illusion Formation in order to deal with them, but who could have thought that it would just be a mere Isolation Formation.
Such a formation would prevent anyone outside from peering into what was happening within the formation, but it didn"t seem to be of much use in a battle!
"By aligning the formation together with the geography of the Ascendant Cloud Mountain, I should be able to maintain it for roughly thirty breaths..." Zhang Xuan muttered contemplatively before nodding with a smile. "That"s enough!"
"What"s enough? Do you mean to say that you are able to tame me within thirty breaths? Such blind arrogance!" the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix scoffed in fury.
Wasn"t this little thing a little too conceited?
The only reason why you are able to tame the Serpentine Dragon so easily is because you are able to voice the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon. That has nothing to do with your cultivation or your true capabilities!
Do you think that a mere True Immortal like you would really be able to withstand the might of a Heavenly High Immortal like me?
Taming me in thirty breaths?
Dream on!
Hu!
Just as the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix was about to explode from fury, the figure on the ground suddenly blurred. Before it knew it, the arrogant middle-aged man was already standing right before it.
You are capable of flight?"
The Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix was stupefied.
It wasn"t the only one who was surprised by that. Every single person and beast in the area were stunned by what they were witnessing. Not even the Serpentine Dragon had expected its master to be capable of flight!
While True Immortals were highly respected on the Forsaken Continent, such that they were even viewed as powerhouses in some of the more remote territories, the ones that wielded the decisive power on the continent was still the High Immortals.
This wasn"t just due to the difference in prowess but the ability of flight as well. Even if an army of True Immortals were gathered together, there was only so much they could do to deal with a High Immortal flying high in the sky.
This difference in mobility created a huge rift in their fighting prowess.
The middle-aged man before him was only a Heavenly True Immortal, so how was he able to fly as well? Furthermore, the speed of his flight was even faster than that of normal High Immortals!
"Make your move. I also want to see what you are capable of as well!" Zhang Xuan remarked as he drew the Tongshang Sword.
With a low growl, he slashed his sword toward the Nine-headed Fiery Pheonix.
Since the Dongxu Gourd had said that is needed this fellow"s blood essence, a battle was inevitable.
He could still tame the Serpentine Dragon using the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon, but against the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix, such a mean wouldn"t work. He could only resort to the good old Beast Pummeling Taming Method.
Besides, he had recently achieved a few breakthroughs, so this would be a good chance for him to test out his newfound strength!
The only issue with him fighting with his full strength was that he would risk exposing his true ident.i.ty. To circ.u.mvent that issue, he sealed off the surroundings with an Isolation Formation, thus preventing any outsiders from peering into the happenings within.
Hula!
With the slash of Zhang Xuan"s blade, a ma.s.sive sword qi, several dozen zhang[l] in length, surged toward the Nineheaded Fiery Phoenix.
The Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix clearly didn"t expect a mere True Immortal to dare make a move against it. On top of that, the might of the other party"s attack had already surpa.s.sed its expectations.
Realizing that the other party wouldn"t be an easy opponent, it chose to make a temporary retreat to evade the sword qi before opening its mouth once more to shower devastating flames upon its enemy.
In response to that, Zhang Xuan raised his blade to sever the flames into two. But before he could do so, the Dongxu Gourd suddenly rushed out from his dantian and declared valiantly, "Leave that bird to me!"
As it spoke, it dashed right toward the flames.
Hula!
The ma.s.sive expanse of flames abruptly vanished into the Dongxu Gourd just like that.
Zhang Xuan was stunned.
This fellow was not just able to swallow weapons, it could swallow flames as well?
Zhang Xuan was not the only one to have such an appearance on his face. On the opposing side, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix was indescribably horrified.
Those possessing the Empyrean Phoenix Bloodline possessed superior apt.i.tude toward the flame element. The flames that it produced couldn"t be compared to that of ordinary flames. Not even High Immortals would have been able to fend against its flames with their zhenqi!
It was through the unique attributes of its flames that it was able to defeat the elders of the Myriad Beasts Hall so easily.
Yet, the Dongxu Gourd actually swallowed its flames so easily, rendering its attack completely ineffective...
How could this be?
"Let me see how much you can swallow then!"
Fsshhh fsshhh!
With a piercing shriek, all nine heads of the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix spat flames simultaneously. The nine bursts of flames converged together to form a fiery dragon that surged right toward Zhang Xuan, tearing open a vacuum in the air.
"Hot!"
Feeling the temperature of the flames, even Zhang Xuan, who possessed exceptional resistance to heat, was forced to retreat. He could fend against it with his G.o.ds" Sword Intent and Tongshang Sword, but even he would sustain some damage in the midst of doing so.
Would the Dongxu Gourd be able to swallow such flames too?
The apprehensive Zhang Xuan began driving his Sword Intent, intending to charge forward to a.s.sist if the Dongxu Gourd failed to stand its ground. On the other hand, even though it was standing right before the raging flame breath, the Dongxu Gourd simply shook its bottom leisurely.
Hu!
The incoming flames simply vanished once again. It took only a mere instant for the flames to be devoured clean.
Zhang Xuan was flabbergasted. He didn"t think that the Dongxu Gourd whom he had looked down on for the longest of time would actually prove to be such an invaluable ally!
Perhaps, the talent of the Dongxu Gourd lay in its ability to devour energy. If that was the case, it was likely that even his strongest sword qi wouldn"t be able to do a thing against the Dongxu Gourd...
It was no wonder why that fellow was so arrogant, acting so lackadaisically around him. It turned out that it really wasn"t afraid of him at all.
"No way... W-what kind of monster are you?"
Seeing how its flames were so easily devoured, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix felt unprecedented fear. Not only was the other party able to voice the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon, he even had a gourd that could devour its flames easily...
In its mind, Zhang Xuan"s silhouette seemed to be becoming more and more enigmatic. Faced against a being that had surpa.s.sed its understanding, the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix trembled with terror.
No matter how powerful that gourd is, it"s no more than an artifact. It"s bound to be under the control of that middle- aged man. As long as I can defeat him, that gourd wouldn"t pose a threat to me anymore... the Nine-headed Fiery Phoenix thought.
In its view, the Dongxu Gourd was reminiscent of what the Northern Sea Dragon Orb was to the Serpentine Dragon. It was an artifact specially prepared to curb its flames.
But no matter how powerful an artifact was, it was still a lifeless being. As long as it was able to defeat its owner, the artifact would be of no threat to it at all.
With such thoughts in mind, it flapped its wings and glided down toward Zhang Xuan, swiping its sharp talons toward him.
Si la!
As if ripped curtains, the sharp talons tore huge lacerations through s.p.a.ce.
[1] A dozen zhang:〜40 meters