Chapter 301: Master Hall, Here I Come

In a moment of distraction, the Lava Beast charged again, its scorching aura threatening to tear him apart.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Mu's longsword twitched in his hand as he prepared to defend again, but then the other voice sounded once more.

"Don't resist, put your sword back in your storage ring!"

"Don't resist?"

Hearing this and seeing the Lava Beast charging fiercely before him, Gu Mu almost fainted.

With such a ferocious attack, if he didn't resist, wouldn't he be instantly killed?

"Quick!" the voice urged again as he hesitated.

"Yes!"

Although filled with doubt, he reasoned that if Grand-Uncle Master truly wanted to kill him, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths. So, he gritted his teeth, put his longsword back into his storage ring, and stood defenceless.

"Put your head out!"

No sooner had he put away his sword than Grand-Uncle Master's next command came.

Gu Mu swayed, almost toppling from the stone slab into the lava.

He could follow orders to put away his sword and not resist, but what was this about putting his head out?

Grand-Uncle Master, are you saying I'm not dying fast enough?

If he really put his head out, seeing the creature's ferocious appearance, wouldn't his head be bitten off instantly, and he'd die on the spot?

This wasn't taming a beast; it was suicide!

"No time to hesitate, move quickly!"

The urging voice sounded in his ear again.

The two were communicating via spiritual transmission, and although much was said, only two breaths of time had actually passed. The incredibly fierce Lava Beast was already less than three meters away, ready to bite down at any moment. There was no more time.

"I'll risk it!"

He remembered that if Grand-Uncle Master truly wanted to kill him, he could have done so when he was unconscious. Why would he use this creature to kill him now? Gritting his teeth, he stopped agonizing; he braced himself and thrust his head forward, aiming directly for the creature's gaping, ferocious mouth.

"This..."

Liao Xun, standing to the side, was unaware of the spiritual transmission between the two. Seeing the Special Envoy actively invite death, he trembled with fright, almost fainting.

When taming beasts, people usually prepared delicious food and treasures to attract their attention. This was the first time he'd ever seen someone offer their own head...

If the Lava Beast bit down, let alone a Supreme-tier pinnacle expert, even someone stronger would have their brains splattered and die instantly!

If the Special Envoy died here, he, the newly appointed Hall Master, would be out of a job. He would likely be immediately summoned to headquarters, interrogated for ten days to half a month, and then poisoned to death.

He hastily turned his head to look at "Grand-Uncle Master," only to see him standing quietly nearby, expressionless, showing no signs of anxiety whatsoever.

"Grand-Uncle Master..."

He couldn't help but call out, but after only three words, he saw the other party point forward.

He quickly turned to look, and upon seeing it, his eyes widened instantly.

Gu Mu had already thrust his head into the Lava Beast's mouth. The beast only needed to close its mouth to kill him instantly. But to his utter surprise... at the crucial moment, the Lava Beast not only didn't bite down, but actually turned and fled.

A moment ago, it had been so fierce, as if it wanted to tear Gu Mu into a thousand pieces. Why did it retreat when Gu Mu offered his head?

"This... what's happening?"

Not only was he stunned, but Gu Mu, floating above the lava, also had an incredulous expression.

He had prepared himself for certain death, never expecting such a scene to unfold.

"Don't just stand there, rush over and grab its tail!"

As he was still filled with doubt, Grand-Uncle Master's voice sounded in his ear again.

He had hesitated before, but hearing this, he no longer hesitated. He pushed off the stone slab with his foot, and like a swallow soaring from the water, he launched into the air, reaching the beast in the blink of an eye.

He wrapped his arms around the Lava Beast's thick tail, immediately hugging it.

With its tail grabbed, the Lava Beast panicked, thrashing violently. Lava immediately churned, and sparks flew everywhere, landing on Gu Mu and burning holes in his clothes.

"What do I do now?"

Feeling his True Qi barely able to withstand the lava's heat, Gu Mu hastily asked.

"Hold on tight, ignore its movements!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

"Alright!"

A resolute determination rose within him. Gu Mu wrapped all his limbs around the beast's tail, refusing to let go no matter how much it struggled. As for his body, he couldn't bother with it at the moment, so he continuously circulated his True Qi to resist the surging heat.

Roar! Roar!

With its tail grabbed, the Lava Beast roared in anger, trying to shake Gu Mu off. But its movements became increasingly sluggish, and in less than a minute, it collapsed, limp as a dead snake.

"This..."

Seeing the beast in this state, Gu Mu breathed a sigh of relief, unable to believe his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming.

He had personally witnessed how ferocious this Lava Beast was when he fought it earlier, as if it wanted to tear him to shreds. How could it be that when he offered his head, it didn't bite but retreated, and when he grabbed its tail, it became like this?

"Alright, bring it ashore!"

Still pondering internally, he heard the command in his ear.

"Yes!"

This time, he had no doubt. With a large grab, True Qi surged, and he lifted the now limp Lava Beast, striding swiftly towards the shore.

It didn't take long for the man and the beast to reach the shore.

As soon as the Lava Beast arrived, Zhang Xuan took two steps forward, flicked his wrist, and several silver needles appeared, shooting straight towards it.

"Tell it to surrender. If it agrees, I will help it break through its current cultivation. If it doesn't, it dies!"

After doing this, Zhang Xuan stopped speaking and stood quietly in place.

"Yes!"

Gu Mu approached the Lava Beast and relayed Zhang Xuan's words. A moment later, the beast rubbed its huge head against him, indicating submission.

The contract was quickly signed, and the Lava Beast was completely subdued.

Liao Xun, off to the side, was dumbfounded.

He had seen beast taming before, but never this fast!

This was a Supreme-tier pinnacle beast, yet it surrendered to a human instantly. Wasn't that... too easy?!

If beast taming was this easy, could he also become a beast tamer?

Not only was he feeling this way, but Gu Mu also felt like he was dreaming.

If the huge Lava Beast wasn't continuously rubbing against him, he would have doubted if any of it was real.

"Grand-Uncle Master..."

Knowing that the Grand-Uncle Master nearby was responsible for this miracle, both men involuntarily looked over.

"This Lava Beast lives in the lava, with no kin or companions, and has never interacted with other life forms. Therefore, it is naturally suspicious and fearful of new things!"

Knowing what they wanted to ask, Zhang Xuan explained.

Anyone living alone for a long time would become withdrawn, let alone a beast.

A Supreme-tier pinnacle beast already possessed intelligence not inferior to a human's. Living alone deep underground, having never even seen another living creature, it would naturally be filled with both curiosity and fear towards anything new.

"When you fought it head-on, trying to kill it, it naturally resisted without much thought," Zhang Xuan continued. "Although Lava Beasts in the lava don't have much combat experience, they have the home ground advantage, making them unbeatable!"

Gu Mu nodded.

In a real fight, he would only be taking a beating; he was no match at all.

If he had continued, it would have been a dead end.

"I told you to put away your sword and offer your head, an act clearly inviting death. This made the already suspicious Lava Beast wary and fearful! Because... it completely defied logic!"

Zhang Xuan smiled. "And most importantly, the Lava Beast has a major weakness in its mouth. Seeing your abnormal action, it suspected you had discovered its problem and feared being subdued, which is why it turned and fled."

"So that's how it is!"

Hearing the explanation, Gu Mu and Liao Xun suddenly understood.

Gu Mu, especially, secretly rejoiced that he had listened to Grand-Uncle Master. Otherwise, if he had continued fighting, he would probably be dead by now.

"Then... why did it go limp and lose all combat ability when I grabbed its tail?"

"Do savage beasts need to breathe?" Zhang Xuan asked, looking at him.

"Of course, they do..." Gu Mu was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded.

Savage beasts, like humans, naturally need to breathe.

"The Lava Beast lives in the lava. When we first arrived, we didn't see it. Don't you find that strange?"

Gu Mu paused.

Fish can breathe in water because they have gills that filter out air. Lava, simply put, is molten rock, unbearably hot, and there can't be gas inside it. When the three of them arrived earlier, they hadn't seen the Lava Beast's head outside; it only jumped out after Liao Xun threw a rock.

Could it be... that this creature doesn't need to breathe?

That's impossible!

He had never heard of a savage beast that could live without breathing!

"The place where the Lava Beast breathes, what we would call its nose, isn't on its head, but on its... tail!" Zhang Xuan explained.

"On its tail?"

Both men quickly looked at the Lava Beast and indeed saw two rows of small holes on its tail.

"Normally, this creature hides in the lava, needing only to expose its tail to breathe easily," Zhang Xuan continued. "And the color of its tail is almost identical to the lava, so even when we first arrived, we didn't notice it!"

Zhang Xuan chuckled. "When I told you to grab its tail, it was to use your body to block its breathing passage. Without breathing, a martial artist with True Qi can last for a long time, but it's different for savage beasts. Especially in such scorching lava, it won't be long before its strength is exhausted! Naturally, it would then be unable to resist! I didn't notice these characteristics at first; I only deduced them after observing you fight it."

"So that's how it is!"

Gu Mu finally understood why Grand-Uncle Master hadn't spoken at first. It wasn't to trick him, but to observe the Lava Beast's characteristics and then devise a taming strategy.

How foolish of him to have misunderstood like that... truly embarrassing!

Knowing all this, he was once again utterly impressed by the Grand-Uncle Master before him.

To determine the characteristics and personality of this Lava Beast and devise a taming method simply by observing a fight, and within such a short time, this level of insight was likely beyond even a Four-Star Beast Tamer!

Especially after coming ashore, the few needles he inserted into the Lava Beast were likely the means to restrict its movements. Otherwise, it couldn't have surrendered so quickly.

"The Lava Beast is tamed. Go fetch the lotus seeds!" Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand after explaining.

"Yes!"

Gu Mu nodded, saying no more. He leaped back into the lava, striding swiftly towards the Blazing Lotus.

Seeing him successfully tame the Lava Beast, Zhang Xuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Savage beast combat, like human combat, could also form books in the Library of Heaven's Path. Letting Gu Mu fight it was precisely so that a book would appear, revealing its flaws.

Once the flaws were known, the rest was simple.

Without the Lava Beast's obstruction, it didn't take long for a lotus pod to be harvested. It contained nine golden lotus seeds. Even before they were taken out, their fragrance was overwhelming; a single sniff was enough to refresh one's spirit.

"Grand-Uncle Master, these are the Blazing Lotus Seeds..."

He carefully placed the lotus seeds into a jade box and handed them over.

"Mm!" Taking the lotus seeds, Zhang Xuan took out two and handed them over. "One is for you, and the other is for this Lava Beast!"

It had been agreed upon earlier that Gu Mu would keep one Blazing Lotus Seed, and the rest would belong to Zhang Xuan. Now that the Lava Beast was his, capable of breaking through at any time, he added an extra one for it.

After all, without this Special Envoy, let alone getting such a good item, he might not even have known about it and would have missed it entirely.

"Many thanks, Grand-Uncle Master!"

Gu Mu was filled with excitement.

"This one, leave it for your branch," Zhang Xuan continued. "Only when someone's strength reaches Supreme-tier pinnacle can they consume it!"

He took out another one and handed it to Liao Xun.

The latter, too, offered endless thanks.

Although the Blazing Lotus Seeds were incredibly precious, they weren't of much use to Zhang Xuan currently.

To break through to Supreme-tier pinnacle, he only needed to find enough cultivation techniques and martial arts manuals. The so-called cultivation barrier simply didn't exist for him.

Since they weren't very useful and he obtained them in the Red Lotus Poison Hall, it wouldn't be right not to give one to them.

Of the nine lotus seeds, three were given away. Six remained, which Zhang Xuan confidently put into his storage ring.

"Things here are settled; I should be going!"

With the Blazing Lotus Seeds acquired and the Poison Hall's books read, his objectives for this trip were perfectly accomplished. Zhang Xuan helped Gu Mu resolve the last hidden danger, then waved goodbye.

"Grand-Uncle Master... if I wish to visit you in the future, where should I look for you?"

Knowing he would surely leave, Gu Mu felt a pang of reluctance and couldn't help but ask.

Although their time together was brief, the person before him had completely cured the hidden danger in his body and helped him tame a savage beast. The immense kindness was beyond description.

Even though he suspected the other party might not be the so-called Grand-Uncle Master, he was still immensely impressed, not daring to harbor any thought of resistance, and instead, felt a hint of reverence.

"My home is wherever I go. If fate allows, we will meet again!" Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head.

He was an impostor; it was better not to meet again if possible.

"Grand-Uncle Master, this is a token representing my identity," Gu Mu said. "I know it might be useless to you, but if by chance any of your descendants or students encounter difficulties, they can bring this to the Xuanyuan Kingdom Poison Hall to find me. As long as it's something I can accomplish, I will spare no effort!"

He flipped his wrist and took out a jade token, handing it over.

"Very well, thank you!"

Knowing the other party's good intentions and desire to repay his kindness, Zhang Xuan didn't decline, casually took it, and put it into his storage ring.

"Farewell!"

Having said all that needed to be said, Zhang Xuan no longer delayed. He strode out of the Poison Hall.

He had walked the path once when he arrived and remembered all the routes. Even without the Great Medicine King leading the way, he could easily leave.

He traveled on, and five days later, he left the confines of the Red Lotus Mountain Range.

With a soft call and a brief wait, the massive figure of the Iron-toothed Howling Celestial Beast appeared in the sky.

He leaped, jumping onto the Howling Celestial Beast's back. Its wings flapped, and it flew straight towards Tianwu Kingdom City.

Master Teacher Pavilion, Zhang Xuan has arrived!