Library of Heaven’s Path

Chapter 1821: Ancient Sage Allfire’s Pride

Not only so, countless b.a.l.l.s of flames descended from the ceiling of the cavern, turning the entire area into a fiery inferno.

In the face of such intense heat, Ancient Sage Mo Ling was forced to retreat.

Even though he had received the guild leader’s cultivation technique, which boosted his fire resistance considerably, it was still impossible for him to withstand that sea of flames. It was fortunate that he was still in his physical body. If his soul had been out at that moment, he might have sustained severe injuries!

Is the guild leader fine? Ancient Sage Mo Ling thought worriedly.

Following which, he heard a loud peal of laughter before spotting the silhouette of the guild leader floating calmly in the air. Instead of evading the descending b.a.l.l.s of flame, he took a sharp intake of breath instead.

“Not bad!”

Hula!

Following which, a powerful suction force suddenly came from the young man’s body. As if a whale taking in water, the flames all around the area began gus.h.i.+ng furiously in his direction.

The sudden influx of searing energy caused the young man’s body to expand swiftly. In an instant, he had already grown to a height of roughly ten meters. He stood powerfully on the lava with a crimson body, reminiscent of a flame giant.

“You…”

Ancient Sage Allfire did not expect Zhang Xuan to be so powerful. He was taken aback for a moment before swiftly recovering to launch his ultimate move. However, at that moment, the flames in the young man’s body suddenly spurted out.

Xiong xiong xiong!

The crimson flame that spurted out of the young man’s body burned intensely as soon as it came into contact with the surrounding air. The crimson flame slowly took on a darker shade, gradually making the transition to black.

“This is… Empyrean Heavenly Flame?”

Sensing the temperature emanated from the black flame, Ancient Sage Allfire felt gooseb.u.mps rising all over his ma.s.sive body as he hurriedly backed away.

As a being that thrived in flames, the Inferno Behemoth feared not the Heavenly Flame Ordeal, which struck deep fear in the hearts of other cultivators.

But… that was only taking normal heavenly flame into account. For something on the caliber of Empyrean Heavenly Flame, not even Inferno Behemoths could withstand something like that!

Tzzzzzzzzz!

It was just a simple touch, but Ancient Sage Allfire felt as if his body was burning. A charred smell wafted from him as he hurriedly retreated once more.

To his astonishment, he was actually frightened the young man’s move!

He had thought that given his natural advantage against the yin attribute soul oracles, he would be able to defeat the other party easily. This was also why he had invited Ancient Sage Mo Ling into his lair without fear.

Who could have known that even the flames that he specialized in would end up being used against him?

Empyrean Heavenly Flame was an ent.i.ty that could set anything in the world alight. Not even Blood Reincarnation realm experts would dare face it directly.

Seeing that Ancient Sage Allfire on the verge of hitting the other end of the lava pool, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he raised the Dragonbone Divine Spear and charged forth.

“Didn’t you say I was too naive for challenging you with what I have? If that’s the case, why don’t you stop cowering away?”

Wuuuuuuu!

The furious roar of a black dragon filled the cavern as the black flames all over the area billowed under its dance, threatening to annihilate everything in its path.

By that point, Ancient Sage Mo Ling had already fled out of the cavern, knowing that he might just lose his life if he got involved in the battle.

Given how he was unable to even withstand ordinary flames, getting into close contact with Empyrean Heavenly Flame would really cost him his life!

However, to use the flames that Ancient Sage Allfire specialized in to subdue him… how in the world did the guild leader manage to do it?

In truth, Zhang Xuan also did not expect such an outcome, and it had not been his intention to make such a move. However, when Ancient Sage Allfire summoned his flames, the physical body and soul that he had tempered through the Empyrean Heavenly Flame had suddenly begun trembling in agitation, seemingly craving to devour the other party’s flame.

Thus, he had drawn the flame into his body. To his shock, as soon as the other party’s flame came into contact with his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, it had actually swiftly transformed into the Empyrean Heavenly Flame.

The Heaven’s Path zhenqi was like oxygen fueling the flame, causing the flame to release heat of even greater intensity.

Peng peng peng peng!

Cornered by the black flame to the corner of the cavern, Ancient Sage Allfire’s hair had already been completely burned clean at this point in time. His flesh and blood were already beginning to evaporate, revealing parts of his golden bones here and there.

From the looks of it, it was only a matter of time before the old ancestor who was renowned for his expertise in flames would be reduced to cinders. Ironic.

“Do you submit or not?” Zhang Xuan asked calmly.

“Not over my dead body!” the obstinate Ancient Sage Allfire spat.

As the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe, a Blood Reincarnation realm expert, he had his own pride.

This was not just about his own dignity but the reputation of the entire Beast Tribe! If the leader of the otherworldly battlefield Beast Tribe submitted to a Sempiternal realm consummation minor figure, the entire tribe would become laughingstock!

“In other words, you aren’t going to abide by the rules of the wager,” Zhang Xuan uttered impa.s.sively.

“You are the one who one-sidedly decided on the wager. I never agreed to it!” Ancient Sage Allfire harrumphed coldly.

It was true that Zhang Xuan had proposed a wager, but he had never given his consent to the matter.

“Do you really wish to die?”

Under the relentless attack of the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the searing heat of the Empyrean Heavenly Flame, Ancient Sage Allfire’s wounds were worsening at an alarming rate. Yet, the latter showed no sign of submitting.

Zhang Xuan could not help but frown in response.

His Beast Pummeling Taming Method worked not just because his strength surpa.s.sed the beast itself but because the Heaven’s Path zhenqi was able to nourish the beast and refine its bloodline, thus removing its bottleneck.

To put it in simpler terms, it was like the carrot and the stick.

Through the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the Empyrean Heavenly Flame, he was indeed able to corner Ancient Sage Allfire. However, due to his limited cultivation, the effect of his Heaven’s Path zhenqi was extremely limited on the latter.

Without that, it meant that he was simply relying on threats to make the other party submit. Naturally, the effectiveness of the technique was greatly reduced.

Not to mention, the other party was the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe and was already used to freedom. He would rather die than relinquish his freedom and become the subordinate of a human.

“Show me your worst! However, my descendants have never offended you, and as the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild and an Ancient Sage, I hope that you won’t lower yourself to dealing with them too!” Ancient Sage Allfire gritted his teeth.

It was his own fault for being weak, and he was willing to accept his death, especially after having lived for so many years. However, his many descendants outside represented the future of the Beast Tribe. If this young man went on a ma.s.sacre, the otherworldly battlefield Beast Tribe might just go extinct.

However, even though the otherworldly battlefield obeyed the rule of survival of the fittest, the act of Ancient Sages slaughtering the weak was still an action deeply frowned upon among major powers. He believed that the other party would not cast aside his dignity to commit such shameless acts!

“Your descendants?” Those words brought a ray of hope to Zhang Xuan’s eyes.

“I think you’re mistaken. I am not an Ancient Sage but a Sempiternal realm cultivator, so I don’t really have much of a reputation to uphold. I advise you to think it through. Submit to me, and I’ll lead your Beast Tribe out of this wretched mountain range. Continue opposing me, and once you die, I believe you should know that even if I don’t make a move, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe will make use of this opportunity to get rid of your descendants once and for all!”

He would have been completely helpless if Ancient Sage Allfire had no desire in the world at all, but it seemed like there was still something that he could use to negotiate with the latter.

“Life and death are predestined. I might be able to protect them for the moment, but I can’t protect them forever… If that is the fate that awaits our Beast Tribe, there’s nothing I can say,” Ancient Sage Allfire replied in resignation.

Seeing that the other party’s att.i.tude was resolute, not yielding in the least, Zhang Xuan lowered his head to ponder for a moment before remarking, “You’re reluctant to submit to me because there’s an entire race looking up to you. As their old ancestor, there’s no way you could sully the reputation of your race by submitting to a human. However… what if all of your descendants are supportive of you becoming my tamed beast?”

Not expecting to hear such words, Ancient Sage Allfire scoffed in disdain. “My descendants are prideful individuals. They won’t even submit to me, so how could they possibly allow me to submit to you? You are dreaming!”

Did the young man’s head get hit by a boulder? No matter how foolish his descendants were, there was no way that they would watch as their old ancestor became another person’s tamed beast!

If so, what would it say about their entire race? They would be forced to lower their heads in shame!

“Oh? Shall we watch and see then?” The edges of Zhang Xuan’s lips edged upward as he flicked his wrist and retrieved the Dragonbone Divine Spear. He turned to the exit and instructed, “Ancient Sage Mo Ling, I’ll leave it to you to look after Ancient Sage Allfire here. Make sure that he doesn’t leave this cavern. I’ll be heading out for a moment…”

With that, he swiftly flitted out of the cavern.