Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Mo Wen understood that the more powerful monstrous beasts were, the deeper their spiritual knowledge would be. The more talented monstrous beasts would be as smart as a human being when they reached a certain point of their growth.
That was especially true for monstrous beasts at the seventh-rank. Their cultivation levels were similar to those of a Golden Elixir realm cultivator. Beasts that could talk, however, were probably above the seventh rank.
According to what Mo Wen knew, monstrous beasts were devils in their pre-stages. Devils were concepts in the immortal cultivation world and true devils were as intelligent as people. They could speak and even take human form. In the immortal cultivation world, such monstrous beasts were known as the devil clan.
The devil clan was a common sight in the immortal cultivation world. Mo Wen had seen them many times and had even witnessed the devil clan defensive methods in Divine Pill Sect.
A monstrous beast that could speak was close to becoming a devil. Its cultivation levels were akin to those of martial arts grandmasters. It was obvious that the large snake was a pinnacle existence among monstrous beast, and was on the verge of becoming a devil.
The fire domain?
Was this place called the fire domain?
The snake devil had obviously meant that humans had taken over the area. But why would they have done so?
"Snake, we are here for the spiritual fire. This has nothing to do with you, so why are you hindering us?" the leader of the five asked coldly. He did not seem at all afraid of the scary monstrous beast.
"B*lls.h.i.+t. The sacred fire is the sacred spirit of the fire domain. If you dare to touch it, you will be going against all monstrous beasts in the fire domain." The person's words had obviously aggravated the snake demon. It roared into the sky and wriggled its large body, causing the sea of lava to roll violently.
Mo Wen was shocked. They were here for the spiritual fire. Could it be…
He immediately realized something. This place…could it be that he was still in the Tan Zi Beast Lair, but at a deeper level? According to what Yin Banshuang had told him, it got colder and colder as one traveled down the first five levels of the lair. However, it got hotter and hotter as one traveled down past that.
Could this fire domain be in the deeper levels of the Tan Zi Beast Lair? Could it be at least the seventh or eighth level?
Thinking back to the Ming Temple martial arts grandmaster who had appeared earlier, Mo Wen knew that his theory could well be correct. What else other than the spiritual fire could attract so many martial arts grandmasters?
The spiritual fire could increase the possibility of warriors becoming immortals. Martial arts grandmasters who had reached their peak would be especially keen to get their hands on the fire in order to become immortal. Anything that could increase the probability of them doing so would be extremely attractive to them.
"Snake, do you really think I can't kill you?" The old man standing at the front of the group seemed to be getting angry. A terrifying aura started to emerge from him, causing the sea of lava a few hundred meters around him to sink a few meters. His terrifying strength showed that he was indeed a formidable martial arts grandmaster.
"d.a.m.ned humans. If you didn't all have some amazing treasures, I, the snake king would never have reason to be afraid of you. If you have the guts, don't use any other items. We'll see who will be the one killed."
The snake demon had obviously lost to human warriors before. Its eyes reddened up as the old man spoke. These human warriors might not be powerful when just their own strength was considered, but with the help of some amazing treasures, they could increase and unleash a power several times greater. If they only fought based on their own strengths, the snake king of the fire domain would not be afraid of anyone.
"Since you know that I have the ability to kill you, then you should retreat immediately. Are you staying to seek death?" The old man standing at the front of the group laughed coldly. Even though the cultivation levels of the monstrous beast were high and it had good combat skills, it was simple-minded. It had asked him to give up the power of his treasures and fight him without. The snake obviously didn't understand reality.
This particular monstrous beast could be considered to be as smart as a human. However, it lived in the domain without any contact with the outside world and only knew how to fight brutally against other monstrous beasts. It was very naïve.
Mo Wen smiled bitterly as well. Even though monstrous beasts had a similar level of intelligence to humans, they were often not that smart. Most of them were very simple-minded. In the world of monstrous beasts, it had always been that the stronger one was, the more power they had. Status and power were all gained through blunt force. They did not operate like humans; there was no understanding of trickery or cunning and they lacked the ability to act in a sly manner.
However, one thing the snake had said was correct. Monstrous beasts were usually stronger than human warriors if they had the same cultivation levels. Even a martial arts grandmaster might not be able to match the snake demon if they were to face the beast without any treasures.
"Any living being that threatens the sacred fire is an enemy of I, the Snake King. Die, you d.a.m.ned human being!"
The snake's thick tail suddenly reached out from the sea of lava, It was as wide as a bucket and several hundred meters long. It swept at the martial arts grandmaster who was at the front of the group. The strength of the sweeping action caused the entire s.p.a.ce to twist and the atmospheric pressure to decrease. The air seemed to weigh down in the thousand-mile radius around them. Even a tower would collapse under the force of the snake demon's tail.
Hurmph! The martial arts grandmaster swept down with his palms and the sea of lava below them began to roll. Lava started to funnel out from the sea, forming an enormous dark red fist in mid-air. It collided forcefully with the snake demon's tail.
Cras.h.!.+ The lava fist disintegrated. Lava rained down from the sky.
The snake demon's tail paused for a moment. Then, it swept back with enormous force.
Mo Wen, hiding at a distance, was shocked by the scene in front of him The power of a martial arts grandmaster was indeed impressive. Furthermore, Mo Wen could sense that the martial arts powerhouse seemed to be stronger than the third grand elder of the Ming Temple. Even though they were both martial arts grandmasters, there was a slight difference between the two.
"Die!" The snake demon opened its enormous mouth and spat out a stream of fire. It sprayed downwards like a waterfall falling from a high mountain. Rumbling down, it crashed on the martial arts grandmaster.
"You stubborn mule! Since you don't want to live, I shall help you." The martial arts grandmaster withdrew a small square seal from his sleeves. The seal was jade-colored and topped with a dragon circling it. A qilin circled it below. It looked like an emperor's imperial jade seal from the past.
The seal unleashed a terrifying aura the moment it appeared. The oppressive heat in the surrounding area immediately disappeared. The old man pressed down on the top of the small squared seal. There was a flicker of light and an enormous jade-colored screen appeared in front of him. The large screen separated the five human warriors from the large snake king.
The snake's fire descended from above, colliding onto the jade-colored screen. It was as if the fire had encountered a flat mirror and was reflected straight back on to the fire snake king.
"Fold!" the old man shouted. The jade seal immediately flickered, releasing a wide jade belt that was more than 20 meters long and two meters wide. The belt rushed into the sky and turned into a large jade sword that rushed at the fire snake king.
"Profound level weapon!" Mo Wen's pupils shrank and his expression turned grave. The jade seal in the martial arts grandmaster's hands was a profound level weapon. The terrifying aura was not something a spiritual weapon could have.
This was the second profound level weapon he had seen in this world. It was the only other profound level weapon than the Cries of Hades Bell.
The power of profound level weapons could usually only be completely unleashed by immortal cultivators who were above the Primordial Soul realm. Warriors could not unleash the true power of profound level weapons; indeed, they were unable to even completely unleash the power of spiritual weapons.
However, a profound level weapon was still a profound level weapon. Even if a warrior could only unleash one percent of the weapon's power, it was still something of immense power.
In this case, it was a martial arts grandmaster who was wielding the profound level weapon.
If the martial arts grandmaster bore ill intentions towards him, then Mo Wen would definitely not be able to use the same method to flee. A martial arts grandmaster with a profound level weapon was completely different from one without.
The terrifying jade sword fell from the sky. A trace of fear finally appeared in the fire snake king's eyes. Its enormous body trembled subconsciously. He had obviously been defeated by the jade seal on a previous occasion.
In the face of the attack of the jade seal, the snake king did not seem to hesitate at all. Its tail forcefully hit the ground and a wave of lava rushed into the sky, heading straight for the large jade sword. The enormous snake then turned around and dove into the sea of lava, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The wave of lava was not sufficient to stop the attack of a profound level weapon. It was as if it had torn through a sheet of paper. The sword cut through it and was not affected at all, even in terms of speed.
The large jade sword followed the snake king into the sea of lava and also disappeared. The pained cries of the fire snake king could be heard from the sea of lava. It seemed as if the creature was in extreme pain.
"Insignificant human beings! I won't let you all off easily." A resentful voice could be heard from the sea of lava. The voice faded off into the distance, its final words trailing off softly.
"Hurmph, it thought too highly of itself!" the martial arts grandmaster said with a cold expression. He stored the jade seal in his sleeves. This was not the first time the snake king had tried to stop him. However, it had always been defeated and fled. It never learned its lesson, continually coming back to challenge him again and again.
"Grandfather, the monstrous beasts in this fire domain are formidable. We would be in trouble if not for the Han Imperial Jade Seal." Jun Wulei, who was standing behind the martial arts grandmaster was clearly frightened. He had seen many terrifying monstrous beasts in the past few days. His grandfather might not even be a match for some of them.
It was said that there were seven beast kings in the fire domain. Each of them was a powerful being amongst monstrous beasts. In terms of cultivation, they were all stronger than human martial arts grandmasters.
The fire snake king was the weakest of the seven beast kings. Even the Han Imperial Jade Seal might not be able to defeat some of the stronger beast kings.
The martial arts grandmaster nodded gravely. "We have not met the strongest beast king in the fire domain. However, some people have and they say that the spiritual fire is by the side of that beast king who guards it. It will not be easy to get the spiritual fire."
The cultivation levels of the seven beast kings in the fire domain were all very high. Furthermore, the spiritual fire was not easy to handle either. The spiritual fire had spirit and had been nurtured for countless years. It might be even more terrifying than the beast king once it unleashed its powers.
"Hey lad, are you done peeking at us? Come out by yourself," the old man said lightly.
He turned around slowly to look at where Mo Wen was hiding.
