Chapter 2008 Serpentine Dragon
There were several records regarding the White-eared Fox within the several million books in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion.
It was a powerful immortal beast that could reach High Immortal realm upon maturing. It was known to be particularly cunning, and as if reflecting that trait, it was skilled in constructing illusions, causing those who dared to approach it to lose sight of themselves. Even High Immortals were susceptible to its illusions.
There were many in history that had tried to tame a White-eared Fox, but to date, there had been no records of anyone who had succeeded in doing so.
Even the most formidable genius of the Myriad Beasts Hall had fallen in defeat before it.
For this reason, the White-eared Fox had been conventionally viewed by beast tamers to be ‘untamable’.
Considering that there was such a fellow on this mountain, it was no wonder why this region would end up being reigned by the beasts, such that major powers were unable to expand their influence into it.
“If you wish to tame any beast here, it would be best for you to steer clear from the territories of the four immortal beasts. Perhaps, you might still stand a chance at success like that. Otherwise, you will be putting yourself in a great deal of peril,” the old man advised kindly.
“Which areas are under the rule of the four immortal beasts?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“The Ascendant Cloud Mountain spans over several hundred li, and the four beasts rule over its four peaks…” As the old man spoke, he took out a map and began introducing the detailed locations of the four immortal beasts.
Zhang Xuan made sure to imprint the information on his mind.
He was able to gain a deep understanding of the various powers scattered across the entire Ascendant Cloud Mountain. Shortly after, a mountain shrouded amidst clouds came into sight.
The old man drove the aerial beast to land at the midpoint of the mountain as he said, “I can only send you up till here. Any deeper than this would be too dangerous…”
He couldn’t help but feel as if countless crimson eyes were staring at him from the veil of the clouds, and this left him feeling deeply frightened.
He wasn’t a particularly strong cultivator in the first place, and the aerial beast he was riding on wasn’t skilled in battle either. His life would be at risk if he proceeded any deeper in.
“This place is fine too. I promised you that I’ll tame a beast for you earlier, right? If you have some time to spare, it would be good if you can wait for me here,” Zhang Xuan said with a smile. ‘You are serious about that?” the old man asked.
He thought that Zhang Xuan was just mentioning it in pa.s.sing. Such a deal sounded too good to be true!
But even if Zhang Xuan did have the intent to help him, beast taming wasn’t that easy that one would be able to do it just by sheer will.
Zhang Xuan didn’t respond to the old man’s question. Instead, with a smile on his lips, he picked up a stone and threw it toward the forest ahead.
Roar! Roar!
Alarmed by the rock, the call of countless beasts echoed in the air. Those hidden crimson eyes stepped out from the veil of the clouds.
Shockingly, they were all Dimension Shatterer realm beasts! There was a huge variety to them; some were skilled at flight whereas others were skilled at offense… Their faces were warped in savagery, and the stench of blood could be smelled from them.
“What?”
The old man’s face paled. The aerial beast behind also used its wings to s.h.i.+eld its face, not daring to face what was standing before it.
With so many Dimension Shatterer realm beasts upon them, it would only take a blink of an eye for them to be torn into shreds. They wouldn’t even be able to escape!
If only he knew that this middle-aged man was so reckless, there was no way he would have accepted this job…
Just as the old man thought that certain death awaited him, the middle-aged man suddenly said, “There are many beasts for your picking here. Which one do you fancy?”
“Which one do I fancy?” the old man nearly fainted.
So what if I fancy any single one of them? Are you telling me to pick out the beast which I would become supper for? What a life I have lived! To think that I would meet my end like this…
“If you are going to give me a choice, I’d rather be eaten by that Fiery Eagle over there. The greatest dream of my life is to tame such a beast. Even if I am unable to do so, I guess it would be fine if my life comes to an end under its talons too…” the old man sighed deeply as he pointed toward one of the beasts.
“Fiery Eagle?” Zhang Xuan nodded, “Understood. It’ll be the one then.”
Hu!
In the next instant, Zhang Xuan vanished from the spot. While the old man was still wondering what was going on, a ma.s.sive Fiery Eagle suddenly crashed into the ground right before him, causing him to recoil in horror.
“Hurry up and acknowledge him as your master,” Zhang Xuan said from behind the Fiery Eagle.
Chirp!
The arrogant Fiery Eagle immediately lowered its head and bowed down to the old man.
The old man widened his eyes in utter bewilderment.
He might not be a true disciple of the Myriad Beasts Hall, but he had plenty of opportunities to witness full-fledged beast tamers moving to tame beasts before. The very act of the Fiery Eagle lowering its head meant that it was willing to pledge complete servitude to him… In other words, it was willing to become his tamed beast!
But how could this be?
Just by tossing the Fiery Eagle before him, the Fiery Eagle was already tamed?
When did beast taming become so easy?
“I have fulfilled my promise to you. Farewell!”
The old man was still wondering what kind of sorcery the middle-aged man had used in order to tame the Fiery Eagle when the latter’s voice suddenly sounded. Right after that, the latter warped into a streak of shadow as he charged right into the midst of the beasts.
Kacha! Kacha!
In just a few moments, the beasts, which were baring their fangs at them not too long ago, ended up lying subserviently like domesticated pets by the side. Their tongues were stretched out as if lapdogs trying to please their owners.
“I’ll choose you. Let’s go.”
Zhang Xuan casually picked a Greenspot Leopard and leaped onto its back. After which, the two of them charged toward the depths of the forest, disappearing amidst the clouds in a blink of an eye.
Watching as the middle-aged man’s silhouette vanished, the old man clutched his hair in frenzy. Even a long while later, he was still unable to regain his sanity.
That middle-aged man was actually able to make all of those Dimension Shatterer realm beasts submit to him willingly… Was that really humanly possible?
It didn’t seem like the hall master of the Myriad Beasts Hall would possess such incredible capabilities either!
“I heard that the Myriad Beasts Hall has recently released an incredibly difficult test for its members. Regardless of who he is, as long as a beast tamer is able to tame any one of the four immortal beasts, he would be placed under consideration to become the next hall master… Could that middle-aged man be an elder from the Myriad Beasts Hall who has come here to take on the test too?” the old man wondered as he recalled the news he had heard just a few days ago.
Similar to how the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion chose its sect leader through the mastery of swordsmans.h.i.+p, the Myriad Beasts Hall followed a similar system as well.
Its sect leader was on the grounds of one’s proficiency in beast taming and the strength of one’s tamed beast…
Without a doubt, the four immortal beasts of the Four Beast Mountain were incredibly powerful, and taming them was an extraordinarily difficult feat.
Succeeding in such an accomplishment would prove one’s capability in beast taming, and the sheer strength of any one of the four immortal beasts was enough to catapult one to the top of the Myriad Beasts Hall.
No one would question the sect leader chosen in such a manner.
“That must be the case…” the old man nodded affirmatively.
It was no wonder why the other party was so skilled in beast taming. Considering that he was an elder of the Myriad Beasts Hall which was one of the candidates to become the sect leader, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he displayed extraordinary capabilities.
The Greenspot Leopard was extremely swift, such that its movements seemed almost as if it was traversing across the wind. In the blink of an eye, it had already flown past a mountain peak, swiftly advancing toward the mountain where the Serpentine Dragon was located.
Since he was here to tame a beast, it went without saying that he should tame the strongest of them all!
Not to mention, he was capable of voicing the Eight Notes of the Heavenly Dragon too. This ability allowed him to curb those who possessed the Dragon Bloodline, making them much easier to tame than other immortal beasts.
The Greenspot Leopard was a beast native to the Ascendant Cloud Mountain, so there weren’t too many who stood in its way as it sprinted by. Occasionally though, there would be a foolish beast who tried to hinder its pa.s.sageway, but they would be cut down by a surge of sword qi.
It didn’t take long for the Greenspot Leopard to arrive in the vicinity of the peak where the Serpentine Dragon resided.
It was at this point that it suddenly came to a halt.
It looked at the path ahead with wariness, hesitant on whether it should proceed ahead or not.
Knowing that this was an instinctive fear toward immortal beasts, Zhang Xuan leaped down the Greenspot Leopard and said, “It’s fine, you don’t have to push yourself. Have a good rest here.”
He morphed his zhenqi into the form of a sharp sword and advanced toward the mountain peak.
Something is wrong…
After traveling for a while, Zhang Xuan suddenly came to a halt. A slight frown could be seen on his forehead.
The area around him was filled with trees, just like the areas he had pa.s.sed through previously. However, through the Eye of Insight, he was able to discern some signs of human interference. There were quite a few formations and traps laid around the area.
It was very likely that these formations and traps were to comer the immortal beasts in the area so as to tame them… Could it be that someone had already beat him to it?
“Let me head over to catch a closer look…”
Exploiting the flaws in the set-ups, Zhang Xuan was able to weave through the formations and traps discreetly while making his way closer to the mountain peak.
Soon, he saw seven men hiding behind a ma.s.sive boulder. One of them was holding onto a couple of formation flags as he swiftly set up a formation in the area discreetly.
“I’m done. All we have to do now is to lure the Serpentine Dragon over, and it’ll be trapped in our formation. Once we have it successfully trapped, it would be much easier for you to tame it. At the same time, this formation will protect us if anything were to go awry too,” the old man setting up the formation said with a sigh of relief.
You have my grat.i.tude, Elder Liao,” a middle-aged man amidst the group clasped his fist and said.
You’re too courteous. Of the two candidates within the sect, I believe that you are more suited to become the sect leader. I have no doubt that the Myriad Beasts Hall would be able to advance to new heights under your leaders.h.i.+p. We aren’t just helping you; it’s with the welfare of the entire sect in mind that we have chosen lend you a hand!” Elder Liao replied with a smile.
“I’ll have to work hard to meet up to your expectations then,” the middle-aged man chuckled softly before his expression turned serious once more. “Alright, I’ll lure it over right now.”
As he spoke, he took out a jade bottle and uncorked the cap.
A powerful smell immediately drifted into the surroundings.
Hiding not too far away from the group of seven, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up, “That is… Dragon Blood?”
He couldn’t catch a good glimpse of whatever was in the jade bottle, but he was still familiar with the unique scent and aura diffusing into the surroundings.
Back then, in order to recover from his injuries, Sovereign Chen Ling had refined Dragon Blood. This scent from back then was similar to that from the jade bottle.
Furthermore, it seemed to have a much deeper aroma to it, indicating that the Dragon Blood was of greater purity! “Elder Yuan, is that the blood of a Pureblooded Dragon?” Elder Liao asked in astonishment.
He didn’t think that the middle-aged man would have such a treasure in his possession.
One must know that there wasn’t even a single Pureblooded Dragon on the Forsaken Continent, so it should have been impossible to acquire its blood. As such, despite being the authority on beast taming on the Forsaken Continent, none of the members of the Myriad Beasts Hall had seen a Pureblooded Dragon before.
“It isn’t the blood of a true Pureblooded Dragon but the refined blood of a Serpentine Dragon. I forcefully refined a bucket of Serpentine Dragon down to just ten droplets… It is still no match for the blood of a Pureblooded Dragon, but at the very least, it’s not that far away from it anymore,” the middle-aged man, Elder Yuan, replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
Refining Dragon Blood was one of the matters which was far more difficult to put into practice than it sounded.
Dragon Blood was known to be extremely volatile and violent. If an ordinary human were to ingest even a droplet of it, his entire body would explode on the spot due to the rampaging energy. Given so, refining the Dragon Blood was even more so difficult…
It must have taken a great deal of effort and time for Elder Yuan to come this far.
“Formidable!” Elder Liao nodded. “With such a thing, the Serpentine Dragon would surely be lured over. Once it tries to make a move on you, it would fall into our trap… Once that happens, it would only be a matter of time before you tame it!”
The reason why no one had been able to tame the Serpentine Dragon to date was due to how wary it was. It had never allowed anyone to corner it before. Thus, as long as they could comer the Serpentine Dragon, the rest should be easy.
Given the means of the Myriad Beasts Hall, taming a cornered beast shouldn’t be too difficult.
Roar!
Just as they were talking to one another, a thunderous rumbling suddenly echoed from the sky. Raising their head, the crowd saw a ma.s.sive Serpentine Dragon floating right above them. Its ma.s.sive eyes that were reminiscent of glowing lanterns were fixed on the jade bottle Elder Yuan was holding.
The strongest Serpentine Dragon of Ascendant Cloud Mountain had indeed fallen for the allure of the Dragon Blood they had prepared!
“It’s here…” Elder Yuan’s body tensed in agitation as he gazed at the Serpentine Dragon.