Chapter 2033: I Call You, Do You Dare to Answer?

“You beast, how dare you!”

The other elders, erupting in rage, attacked one after another.

The Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast let out a sharp cry, its wings flapping, and flames rained down like a storm. One elder, who had just taken flight, was struck in the chest and fell to the ground with a massive hole in his chest. The Seven-Tailed Saber-toothed Tiger likewise charged into the crowd, its hooves and claws striking furiously. In moments, two elders had their bellies ripped open, blood gushing forth.

Although both sides were at the peak of the Immortal Monarch realm, as Sacred Beasts, their lifespans were longer and their combat prowess far superior. The elders of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, whose individual strength was not exceptional, were no match. Within a few breaths, all of them lay wounded on the ground.

“Formation!”

Knowing they couldn't last much longer, Elder Liao gritted his teeth and, with an angry shout, fled straight towards the formation they had just deployed, stomping his foot. With a *buzz*, the formation activated.

When taming beasts, one must consider the possibility of a backlash and being killed by the beast, especially when intending to subdue a powerful opponent. Thus, this formation was designed to both trap the opponents and allow them to unite their forces to resist the Immortal Beasts' attacks, ensuring a safe retreat.

All the other wounded elders retreated into the formation in unison.

“We clearly saw you setting up the formation and yet let you live. Do you truly believe this formation will be effective?” the Flood Dragon snorted coldly and let out a mighty roar.

The ground seemed to respond to a command with a rustling sound. The next moment, the formation where Elder Liao and his group were hidden shook violently and disintegrated, its array flags swaying before falling to the ground.

Ants! A swarm of them, long hidden beneath the ground where the array flags stood, had forcibly devoured them!

With the array flags destroyed, the formation became useless, and Elder Liao and his group reappeared before the three Immortal Beasts.

“We were so focused on taming beasts,” Elder Liao murmured, “and never imagined being outmaneuvered by them…” Seeing the three great Immortal Beasts and numerous Sacred Beasts completely encircling them, and their previously deployed formations utterly destroyed, Elder Liao’s face turned pale with a hint of despair.

They had come to tame beasts, originally intending to escape safely even if unsuccessful. They never dreamed they would fall into the beasts’ trap. The White-Eared Fox used its abilities to transform into a Flood Dragon, luring away the North Sea Dragon Pearl. Meanwhile, the true Flood Dragon, in alliance with the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast and the Seven-Tailed Saber-toothed Tiger, launched a surprise attack on the other human group. After succeeding, they easily overwhelmed their group… What was supposed to be a grand beast-taming spectacle had abruptly turned into a slaughter! They had planned various methods to tame the beasts, only to find their own strategies turned against them.

“White-Ear told me that humans are greedy!” the Flood Dragon sneered. “I was a bit skeptical before, but now it seems she was right! If you hadn’t split into two groups, and had used that devastating weapon directly against me instead of the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast… the victor would still be unknown!”

The weapon used against the Flood Dragon was the North Sea Dragon Pearl, while the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast faced a powerful killing device. If the humans hadn’t divided their forces, even the three beasts combined could have been easily defeated, and even if not tamed, they might not have escaped harm. But the humans foolishly divided their forces. The White-Eared Fox saw through their strategy and quietly scattered its own group, first eliminating one human contingent before easily attacking the second.

“We were too greedy…” Elder Liao smiled bitterly. Even one of the four Immortal Beasts was incredibly difficult to tame, yet Elder Liu and Elder Yuan were competing to see who could tame one first. This itself was a clear sign of their arrogance. “Arrogant troops are bound to lose.” The moment such a thought emerged, their defeat was already sealed. Not to mention, Elder Yuan, the strongest among them, was still using the North Sea Dragon Pearl to toy with the White-Eared Fox, completely unaware that his own group was in grave danger. It was clear who was truly being toyed with.

“Let’s fight with all we’ve got,” Elder Liao said, “Although they are formidable, they won’t be able to kill us without sustaining any damage themselves…” Knowing that escape was futile and they could only fight fiercely, Elder Liao exhaled, a resolute look in his eyes.

“Yes!” the other elders responded. They nodded simultaneously, and with a flick of their wrists, each produced a palm-sized bag.

“This is… a beast pet pouch?” Hidden not far away, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows. The servant boy had mentioned upon his arrival that powerful disciples and elders of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect possessed special beast pet pouches, similar to the folding space of the Master Teacher Continent. These pouches allowed them to store and carry their beast pets, summoning them during battle. Now, it seemed, these were precisely what they held. To be able to store such large Immortal Beasts within them without any harm was truly extraordinary.

*Roar! Roar! Roar!*

As the elders released their beast pets, their combat power instantly surged. Although they were still no match for the Flood Dragon and the other beasts, it would no longer be so easy for the beasts to kill them.

“Block them…” Having released their beast pets, Elder Liao and the others shouted in unison.

Although most of the beast pets were only at the early Immortal Monarch realm, their combat power was not to be underestimated. They all flew into the air in unison, preventing the Flood Dragon and the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast from breaching their defenses for a short while.

“As fellow Immortal Beasts, you willingly serve as human pawns and obey their commands? It’s utterly disgraceful…” Seeing the beasts block their path, the Flood Dragon did not attack. Instead, it snorted coldly, opened its mouth, and swallowed the pure dragon blood from a jade bottle. Immediately, an incredibly powerful pressure spread outwards.

Enveloped by this pressure, the Immortal Beasts just released by the elders trembled uncontrollably. Not a single one dared to move for a short time, as if they had instantly lost their combat power.

“It’s the Dragon Clan’s bloodline power…” Zhang Xuan’s expression grew solemn.

The Dragon Clan is the king of all beasts. Its bloodline power creates an insurmountable gap even within its own kind and poses a tremendous threat to all other Immortal Beasts and Sacred Beasts. A pure-blooded Dragon is a born sovereign; once it appears, no beast dares to disobey. Although the Flood Dragon was still some distance from being a true dragon, after consuming the pure dragon blood from the jade bottle, its aura was no less than that of a pseudo-dragon. At this moment, the elders’ beast pets could not muster any strength to fight in its presence. In essence, once this formidable aura was unleashed, these beast pets became mere ornaments.

*Boom!* The Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast and the Seven-Tailed Saber-toothed Tiger charged down simultaneously.

A few breaths later, Elder Liao and the others lay on the ground, covered in blood and severely wounded.

“Bring them back to the cave,” the Flood Dragon commanded. “We’ll exchange them for that guy’s method of purifying dragon blood!” That Elder Yuan, whom they had just dealt with, possessed the method for purifying dragon blood. Thus, there was no hurry to kill these captured elders; they could be used as leverage for an exchange. Presumably, the other party wouldn’t disregard the lives of their fellow sect members.

“Truly clever…” Witnessing all this, Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. No wonder no one had successfully tamed these Immortal Beasts; they were simply too cunning! They were no less cunning than humans. If so many elders from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect could be outmaneuvered, then success for just one or two individuals would be almost impossible!

“I’m probably no match for them,” he thought. “Forget it… I’ll just casually tame a flying Immortal Beast instead!” A thought of retreat arose in his mind. He had come not specifically to tame these four king beasts; taming an ordinary Immortal Beast would serve his purpose just as well, after all, they were merely for traveling. His peak True Immortal realm combat power, combined with the Sword Intent of the Gods and Heavenly Dao cultivation methods, should be enough to defeat the Flood Dragon without much difficulty. However, using his full power would likely alert the experts from the Temple. Rather than risking exposure of his identity, it was better to simply let it be.

Just as he was about to hide without a word, letting the Flood Dragon and other beasts take Elder Liao and his group, an anxious voice suddenly rang in his ear: “Master, if you can capture that Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast and I consume its essence blood, I can break open the gourd and reveal my true form…”

“Break open the gourd?” Zhang Xuan lowered his head and saw the gourd in his Dantian, which was filled with an unprecedented urgency.

“Yes,” the gourd replied. “This gourd is merely an outer seal. My true form is a supreme divine beast that roams the nine heavens. Once I recover, there will be no need to fear the Temple or anything like it…”

The gourd shook continuously.

“Are you sure?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and his heart burned with eagerness. While the gourd was often unreliable, its strength was undeniably terrifying. This was evident from its ability to easily swallow an Immortal Monarch-level longsword. If, as it claimed, it could truly break the gourd’s seal and reveal its true form, then it would indeed be incredibly powerful—perhaps not quite able to contend with Temple experts, but certainly far surpassing an Immortal Monarch! Otherwise, the Immortal Monarch expert from the Temple wouldn’t have been so wary of it before, standing rooted to the spot and getting literally smashed to death by a book.

“Confirmed!” the gourd affirmed.

“Alright then…” Hearing the confirmation, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief. Gritting his teeth, he stopped hiding, swayed his body, and leaped out, shouting, “Wait!”

As his voice rang out, the Flood Dragon, the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast, and even Elder Liao and his group all looked over in unison, completely stunned. Clearly, none of them had expected another person to be hidden there.

“Peak True Immortal realm… coming out to court death as well?” the Flood Dragon sneered. “In that case, capture him along with the rest…” After a moment of stunned silence, the Flood Dragon narrowed its massive eyes and snorted coldly. It had initially thought that since even it hadn’t discovered him, he must be extremely powerful or possess some special means. But to its surprise, he was just an ordinary True Immortal realm brat. At this level, it could crush several such individuals with a single claw; he was nothing to worry about.

Hearing the command, the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast immediately flew over, its entire body ablaze with roaring flames.

Seeing it fly over, Zhang Xuan did not rush to attack. Instead, he looked at the Flood Dragon hovering above and smiled slightly. “Flood Dragon, if I call your name, do you dare to answer?”

“Huh?” Not understanding his intent, the Flood Dragon froze. *Is this guy out of his mind? I’m about to capture you, so why are you calling out to me?*

“Moo, Hong…” While it was pondering, the Eight Sounds of Heavenly Dragon suddenly resounded. The ground instantly seemed to explode, and the massive sound stirred up a storm, surging straight upwards. As the sound entered its ears, the Flood Dragon’s body stiffened, its entire bloodline seemed to instantly freeze, and it could no longer hold itself up.

*Thud!* Its body twitched like a frozen snake, and it fell to the ground.