Chapter 1841: Fire Xugu Saint's Pride

Not only that, countless flames fell from the top of the cave, transforming the surrounding space into an inferno.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling retreated repeatedly.

Although he had gained some ability to defend against flames after learning the Guild Master's cultivation technique, he still couldn't withstand the overwhelming sea of fire. He was fortunate that his physical body was still intact; if his soul had emerged, he would likely have been injured!

"Guild Master... are you alright?" Mo Ling's face fluctuated with worry. Just then, he heard a burst of laughter and saw the Guild Master's figure calmly suspended in the air. Instead of dodging, he took a deep breath.

"Excellent!"

*Whoosh!* As he spoke, a massive suction force emanated from him, like a whale drawing in water or an inverted galaxy. The sky-filling flames surged towards him. His torso suddenly swelled, reaching over ten meters tall. With his feet planted in the lava and his entire body crimson, he resembled a colossal fire giant.

"You..." Ancient Sage Huo Xu was clearly surprised by his immense power. He froze for a moment, and just as he was about to unleash a decisive move, he saw the flames that had surged into the young man's body fly back out.

*Roar, roar, roar!* Fiery red flames erupted from his body. Upon contact with the air, they burned fiercely, rapidly increasing in temperature, turning dark, and gradually becoming an inky black.

"Is that... Supreme Heavenly Flame?" Feeling the heat radiating from the black flames, Ancient Sage Huo Xu's scalp tingled. His massive body involuntarily retreated.

As a fire beast that lived by fire, it had naturally experienced heavenly flame tribulations before. While terrifying for other cultivators, they were nothing significant to it. But... those were merely ordinary heavenly flames. This kind of Supreme Heavenly Flame was something even a fire beast couldn't withstand!

*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!* Its fur, brushing against the flames, seemed to burn, emitting a scorching smell. Ancient Sage Huo Xu retreated again. Faced with this technique, it... was afraid!

It had initially thought the opponent was a Witchcraft Soul Master, inherently cold and fearful of pure Yang energy, someone it could easily handle with flames. It had never dreamed that its own specialty, flames, upon entering the opponent's body, would transform into something so terrifying! Supreme Heavenly Flame burned everything. Even as a powerhouse capable of rebirth from a drop of blood, it dared not face it directly.

"Didn't you say these methods were too simple to deal with you? Then don't retreat!" Seeing Ancient Sage Huo Xu about to hit the cave wall, Zhang Xuan smiled again, and the long spear in his hand pierced through the air.

*Wuwu!* A black dragon roared, and amidst the dancing of the spear, the sky-filling black flames continuously surged, like dark clouds pressing down on a city, threatening to crush it.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling had already fled outside the cave. He couldn't withstand ordinary flames, let alone the Supreme Heavenly Flame.

Using Ancient Sage Huo Xu's own strongest flames to drive it to near madness—how did the Guild Master manage that?

Actually, Zhang Xuan hadn't anticipated this either. But after his opponent unleashed the flames, his physical body and soul, tempered by the Supreme Heavenly Flame, suddenly trembled, seemingly yearning for them. So, he absorbed the flames into his body, and combined with Heaven's Path True Qi, he directly transformed them into Supreme Heavenly Flame! If the opponent had unleashed ordinary flames, the Heaven's Path True Qi would have acted like oxygen, causing them to immediately boil and erupt with even greater heat.

*Boom, boom, boom, boom!* Pinned firmly against the wall by the black flames, Ancient Sage Huo Xu's entire body of fur was scorched, and its blood began to evaporate, revealing golden bones in some places. It appeared that if this continued, the revered ancestor of sacred beasts, who specialized in fire, would be reduced to ashes by flames.

"Will you submit or not?" Zhang Xuan glanced over with a faint smile.

"Unless you kill me..." Ancient Sage Huo Xu gritted its teeth.

As an ancestor of sacred beasts and a super-powerhouse capable of rebirth from a drop of blood, it possessed its own pride. If it were to truly submit to a mere Great Perfection of Immortal Realm practitioner, what face would it have left to lead its tribe and live peacefully as a beast?

"So, you're not going to honor the wager?" Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"The wager was yours; I didn't agree to it..." Ancient Sage Huo Xu's body trembled. The opponent had indeed mentioned a wager, but it had started fighting before it could agree. In other words, the so-called bet didn't count for anything.

"You really want to die?" The long spear continuously attacked, and under the scorching heavenly flames, Ancient Sage Huo Xu's injuries grew heavier, yet it showed no sign of submission. Zhang Xuan frowned. His Beast Taming method relied not just on overpowering the sacred beasts, but more importantly, on the Heaven's Path True Qi, which had a nourishing effect, improving their bloodlines and allowing them to advance. It was the so-called "carrot and stick" approach. Now, trying to tame an Ancient Sage with just the Dragonbone Divine Spear and Heavenly Flame, while certainly making it difficult for the opponent to resist, meant the effect of the Heaven's Path True Qi was almost negligible. Without that, relying solely on threats significantly reduced effectiveness. Moreover, the opponent was an ancient ancestor of sacred beasts, long accustomed to freedom, preferring death over becoming a human's subordinate.

"Go ahead and act! However, my disciples and descendants haven't offended you. As the esteemed Guild Master of the Witchcraft Soul Master Guild, a powerhouse with Ancient Sage combat strength, you surely wouldn't stoop to dealing with them!" Ancient Sage Huo Xu gritted its teeth. If its skills were inferior, then death was death, but its numerous disciples and descendants outside were the future of the sacred beast race. If this fellow were to slaughter them indiscriminately, there would truly be no one left to resist. However, Ancient Sages fought Ancient Sages, and ordinary cultivators fought ordinary cultivators. Surely, this one wouldn't abandon his dignity to do such a shameless thing.

"Disciples and descendants?" It would have been better if he hadn't heard that. Upon hearing it, Zhang Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "I am not an Ancient Sage; I'm merely at the Great Perfection of Immortal Realm, so I don't have much 'dignity' to uphold... You should consider this carefully: submit to me, and I can lead your sacred beast race away from here, freeing you from your predicament. If you refuse... once you die, even if I don't act, your sacred beast race will inevitably be besieged by the Spirit Race!"

"Life and death are fated; wealth and honor depend on heaven! I can protect them for a while, but I cannot protect them forever... If that's truly how it is, then I have nothing more to say!" Ancient Sage Huo Xu gritted its teeth.

Seeing the opponent's resolute attitude, making submission seem impossible, Zhang Xuan frowned. A moment later, recalling something, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled faintly: "You won't submit to me because you have a race behind you, and as their ancestor, you cannot become someone else's pet. But what if... your tribesmen are all willing for you to be my pet?"

"Every single one of my tribesmen is proud; they wouldn't even submit to humans themselves. Let them agree to my submission? Dream on..." Ancient Sage Huo Xu scoffed, not expecting such a remark from the other party. "Is your brain broken? No matter how foolish my tribesmen are, it's impossible for them to agree to their ancestor becoming a pet! If that were to happen, where would their dignity be?"

"That's not necessarily true!" With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan shook his hand, and the Dragonbone Divine Spear appeared in his palm. He turned to instruct, "Ancient Sage Mo Ling, guard Huo Xu here and don't let it leave. I'm going out for a bit and will be back soon..." After speaking, he shot forward and vanished from the spot.