Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huatian Palace hosted each Martial Arts Circle Convention in the main space. In order to encourage warriors to enter, Huatian Palace would give out large amounts of prizes. These prizes would often pique the interest of sects in the inner worlds.
The prizes given out by Huatian Palace had grown bigger and bigger in recent years. The competition between the sects of the inner worlds had become fiercer and fiercer.
The elders of Golden Dragon Sect were aware that Jin Ying’s links to the sect were not common knowledge. They were not afraid of any comeback if she was sent to the main space to attend the convention.
Mo Wen’s body floated down like a feather. He landed on a lake in which the water was very clear. The bottom of the lake was clearly visible and there were no signs of life in the water. It was very quiet, just like the ancient city in front of them.
An innumerable number of monstrous beasts had appeared in the ancient city by now. Under the command of the Dragon Beast King, they became more orderly. In the end, they stood on the streets of the ancient city like rows of soldiers.
Mo Wen realized that human warriors were also occasionally appearing in the air. These ancient martial arts practitioners were all very powerful. They had all come for the spiritual fire, and almost all of them were powerhouses from the various large inner worlds.
He also spotted the people from Gao Clan that he had met earlier. However, they were a certain distance from him and there was a large number of monstrous beasts between them. Mo Wen could not clearly see what was happening on the other side of the ancient city.
None of the humans and monstrous beasts that had passed through the door of space had actually appeared in the sky directly above the ancient city. They all arrived instead above the city’s outskirts. The monstrous beasts charged towards the ancient city the moment they appeared. As such, there were not many monstrous beasts on the outskirts and it was very safe there.
“You damned humans. You’ve invaded our fire domain and harmed the sacred fire. You all have to die.” The Dragon Beast King was flying through the air. Suddenly, he spoke. He swept his cold gaze across heaven and earth. His eyes were blood red and every human warrior who had come to this space felt cold. It was as if the Dragon Beast King was looking straight at them.
Mo Wen narrowed his eyes slightly. The Dragon Beast King was far more terrifying than the Giant Crocodile Beast King. He was probably among the seven major beast kings. Even if he were not the most powerful, he was probably one of the top three.
Even powerful human warriors would need to use profound level weapons to successfully fight such a beast.
The Dragon Beast King had noticed the human warriors who had arrived in the city. As soon as he had finished speaking, the monstrous beasts all moved together. The ancient city was the center of the group and from there they started to sweep out in all directions. Their targets were the human warriors.
The Dragon Beast King flew slowly back toward the ancient city. However, for some reason, when he reached the entrance of the city he descended from the sky. Instead of flying, the creature dragged his enormous body across the ground.
Mo Wen’s thoughts were focused on the ancient city. The monstrous beasts of the fire domain were here for a reason. The human warriors were also all drawn to this place. It could very much be something to do with the spiritual fire.
But not many people knew exactly what was happening. The group of ancient martial arts practitioners was still feeling confused about the situation when a human warrior’s voice reverberated throughout the ancient city.
“Human warriors, I am the Second grand elder of Ming Temple, Wang Changhan. Everyone here has the same goal, and I trust that everyone knows what that is. I shall not speak more about it. I can tell you for sure that the spiritual fire is in this city. Do you see the large square in the middle of the ancient city? There is a fallen tower there. The spiritual fire is in the tower.”
“The seven major beast kings of the fire domain have gathered to protect the spiritual fire. If we human warriors do not work together, then none of us will be able to get the spiritual fire. I suggest, that starting from now, we human warriors work together until we defeat the seven major beast kings. Then, we can discuss to whom the spiritual fire should belong. How about that?”
The voice came from the other side of the ancient city. Mo Wen could not see the people there. The voice had crossed the city and had clearly come from afar. It was probable that only martial arts grandmasters had the ability to magnify their voices to make them heard across the entire city.
The person claimed to be the second grand elder of the Ming Temple. Mo Wen noted that Bu Xingyi was probably not the only grandmaster to come from the Ming Temple. Judging by the current situation, there were at least two martial arts grandmasters.
“Elder Wang Changhan, I am Zhang Minyuan from Huajian Sect of the Zhenwu Mystery Dimension. I met you 20 years ago. How can we know whether what you’ve said is truthful? And how do you know that the spiritual fire is in the tall tower in the square?”
The voice came from Mo Wen’s far left. The voice spread throughout the entire ancient city. It was another martial arts grandmaster.
“I’ll be honest with you, grand elder Zhang Minyuan of Huajian Sect,” Wang Changhan said. “Yesterday, a group of us and another team worked together and, through secret means, found the whereabouts of the spiritual fire. However, the spiritual fire is protected by powerful beast kings and we could not easily or quickly fight them. Through pursuing the spiritual fire, we arrived at this mysterious space.”
“We thought that we would definitely be able to get the spiritual fire in this city. However, it’s a very odd place. Even with our abilities, we are limited in this ancient city. For some reason, the spiritual fire was sucked up by a ray of light the tower emitted after it fled to the square.”
Wang Changhan had clearly decided to explain exactly what had happened in order to gain the trust of everyone present.
The warriors in the ancient city all glanced at each other when they heard what he had to say. This was the first time they had heard of a secret method that could have helped Ming Temple to find the spiritual fire. Furthermore, everyone knew how powerful Ming Temple was amongst the various large inner worlds, easily ranking in the top three among the ancient martial arts sects in the inner worlds. Such a powerful sect had worked together with another team, so where was that mysterious team from?
“You mean that the spiritual fire is trapped in the high tower in the middle of the city?” Granny Jin’s voice rang out from several dozen miles away. Her voice also covered the entire ancient city.
“I guarantee, by the name of the Ming Temple, that the spiritual fire is in the tower in the middle of the ancient city. However, the seven major beast kings of the fire domain are gathered there. We will not have much chance of getting the spiritual fire unless we defeat them. You have all come here for the spiritual fire. I don’t need to say more about what you all should do.”
While the group of human martial arts grandmasters conversed, the seven major beast kings of the fire domain were not relaxing.
There was a large square in the middle of the ancient city. The enormous fire domain beast kings did not look as large as they usually did when they stood in the square. Six terrifying beasts had gathered there. The largest beast was none other than the Dragon Beast King. It was more than 300 meters long. The Giant Crocodile Beast King, the Fire Snake King, and the Fire Scorpion Beast King were also all present.
As for the other two beast kings, one was the enormous Fire Bull King which was more than 20 meters tall and 50 meters long. The last was a Fire Peacock, the smallest among the six beast kings.
The Peacock Beast King was only two meters tall and five meters wide. It was exquisite and elegant, its feathers bright and colorful. It exuded a noble aura.
Of the six beast kings, the one who had most authority was not the Dragon Beast King, but this Peacock Beast King. It stood in the middle of the square, surrounded by the other five beast kings.
“This mysterious space has always been a forbidden ground of our Fire Domain. I trust that everyone knows this. If nothing had happened to the spiritual fire, none of us would be willing to come here. However, the sacred fire is trapped in the tower. We cannot sit and do nothing no matter how dangerous it is. You all should know what the spiritual fire means to us.”
The Peacock Beast King’s voice was gentle. It sounded like a gentle woman. It did not speak very quickly or very slowly and was very elegant.
The Dragon Beast King curled up its claws tightly, looking furious. Its eyes were filled with hatred towards the human warriors. “We all know. Nothing can happen to the spiritual fire no matter what. If I had another century, I might be able to evolve completely. Damn. Those damned human beings.”
When monstrous beasts reached the level that the beast kings were at it meant that they were near the end of their cultivation journey. No matter how much longer they cultivated for, their cultivation levels would not change much. If they wanted to further their level now, they could only turn into demons and become the legendary Devil Clan.
However, for monstrous beasts to become demons was as hard as humans wanting to become immortals. This was especially so for monstrous beasts as their bloodline was important. It would be impossible for those of inferior blood to ever become demons.
There was only one monstrous beast among the seven major beast kings of the Fire Domain who had the ability to become a demon. The other six would never be able to reach that level in their entire lives.
However, the appearance of the spiritual fire changed all of that. That was because the spiritual fire could purify their blood, changing the bloodlines which had previously been unable to become a demon and allowing them to reach the stage where it was possible.
The seven major beast kings of the fire domain were not ordinary monstrous beasts. With the help of the spiritual fire, and as long as the class of their bloodline was increased by just a little, they would be able to break through the chains and possibly become demons.
As such, 300 years ago, when the spiritual fire was successfully nurtured, the seven major beast kings of the fire domain treated it as their treasure. It became the most sacred object of the Fire Domain.
The expectations of the seven major beast kings of the Fire Domain were that, with the aid of the spiritual fire, they would all be able to become demons after a few hundred years and become part of the Devil Clan. However, an accident had allowed the spiritual fire to charge out of the Fire Domain and it had appeared in the human realm. Many human warriors wanted to catch it for themselves.
“The tower used to be where they trained human immortal cultivators. It poses an enormous threat to us monstrous beasts,” said the Peacock Beast King slowly. “Once we enter, the difficulties we will face will be several times that of humans. Even with our abilities, we might die inside.”
“Furthermore, the spiritual fire is trapped in the tower. This must have something to do with the mystery of the tower. Even if we barge in, I’m afraid the spiritual fire would not be of much help. As such, the only thing we can do at the moment is block those human warriors. We must not let them enter the tower and threaten the sacred fire.”
