Chapter 905: Today, I'll Use You To Consecrate My Sword

In the cultivation world of the Flame Empire, the Spirit Beast Valley and the Heavenly Southern Sect were still at the forefront, even though the latter had declined over the years. Whatever it was, it was hard to change their perspective of the leading powers.

Not long after the cultivators from both sides arrived at Tianheng Pass, over one thousand cultivators from various factions had gathered, each one well known in the Flame Empire. Even the least among them was at least at the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

Anyone weaker than that didn't need to flee the Flame Empire, nor were they the targets of the royal family.

Daoist Ya nodded toward the sword-bearing figure. Eyes flickering, he looked at the peasant woman and Jin Nan. "Elder Jin Nan, Elder Su, the person now blocking our path clearly doesn't plan to leave us any way out."

The crowd wore grave expressions. They hadn't even seen the sword-bearer before, but they knew he was a royal ancestor of the Flame Empire and that he was at the peak of the Foundation Building Realm, with one foot in the Golden Core Realm.

Without someone of equal strength to oppose this powerful figure, their chances of escaping through Tianheng Pass today were slim.

The old ancestor of the Heavenly Southern Sect had been missing for years, so everyone's gaze inevitably fell on the peasant woman.

The peasant woman gently stroked the feathers of the old hen in her arms while looking toward the distant figure, looking thoughtful.

After a moment, she said softly, "Immortal Fire Cloud has some connections with Grand Xia; maybe we don't need to act ourselves."

The crowd stirred, remembering that the Flame Empire had indeed sent Immortal Fire Cloud as an envoy to Grand Xia some time ago.

However, the situation now clearly indicated that the negotiations had failed; Grand Xia had no intention of letting the Flame Empire off.

Could it be that Immortal Fire Cloud could still bring Grand Xia's experts to help them through today's crisis?

As they pondered, more and more cultivators appeared nearby. They were all from the royal family, and they looked at the crowd with cold and scornful eyes.

The figure guarding the pass slowly turned around, looking down at the crowd. "Everyone, the Flame Empire has lasted through countless springs and autumns. You have searched for spirit mountains, spirit fields, and spirit springs within the Flame Empire to establish your sects and hermitages. Now that we're facing great calamity, isn't it time to return some of the things you've taken without compensation?"

Only then did everyone see that Flame Empire's royal ancestor looked surprisingly young, appearing to be only in his thirties.

The peasant woman slowly said, "Elder, what you say makes sense. We are willing to return some of our cultivation resources to you, but what you ask for is too much. It concerns the rise and fall of our sects."

Daoist Ya immediately supported her. "Exactly! Elder Su is right. We're not ungrateful, but you can't just come and take all we have!"

Elder Jin Nan spoke up gravely. "Elder, Foundation Building Pills are rare, yet when you asked for them, we handed over the only one we obtained recently. But you still want more. If we give any more, how can the Heavenly Southern Sect stand firm in the future? It's better to leave the Flame Empire entirely. But you're blocking our way, which is too much."

"Everything I do is reasonable. It's you who are too greedy, unwilling to give up what easily came into your hands, without thinking about how you got them," the royal ancestor of the Flame Empire said calmly. "If I hadn't given you my approval back then, how would you have gotten your hands on those spirit mountains, springs, and fields? Where do you think the spirit stones you mined come from? They're all found within the borders of the Flame Empire, and they don't belong to you."

The formidable Foundation Building Realm expert shot everyone present a cold glare. "Everything under heaven is the emperor's land, and all within its borders are his subjects. If you don't understand this, you may face a life-and-death crisis today."

The crowd's expressions changed slightly.

This person, dressed in a python robe, was known as the Snake Killing King within the Flame Empire's royal family. Known for his exploits during his travels in his youth, he had killed a serpent-like monster. He was a late-stage Foundation Building Realm cultivator, not only ferocious when fighting but also overseeing a temple of worship.

The crowd of cultivators was all gathered by the Snake Killing King, who had rarely been seen in recent years but still had a hand in every major conflict in the cultivation world.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator retorted angrily, "Snake Killing King, that's for ordinary people. We cultivators have broader horizons. If we hadn't been in the Flame Empire all these years, it would have been swallowed up long ago.

"If you want to fight to the death against Grand Xia, we will stand by you, shoulder to shoulder.

"But you choose to flee, and on top of that, you strike at us. How is that justified?"

The person, also at the late-stage of the Foundation Building Realm, was a sect founder in the Flame Empire. He didn't back down in the face of the Snake Killing King!

"I don't want to waste words with you. Just make a decision today. If it weren't for my advice, would the ancestor have the leisure to wait for you here?" the Snake Killing King said indifferently. "Don't be ungrateful now."

The people felt the killing intent in the Snake Killing King's words.

Seeing this, the peasant woman patted the old hen in her arms. "Sect Master, it's time for you to speak."

Sect Master?!

Everyone was stunned.

Daoist Ya and Jin Nan were also shocked; the long-secluded sect master of Beast Spirit Valley... was the old hen?

Even the cultivators from Spirit Beast Valley were astonished.

Only Zhang Xiaoke and Yan Ruyue had witnessed the old hen's prowess during the great conflict in Grand Qian, so they knew the truth and thus appeared quite calm.

"Who would have thought... the sect master of Spirit Beast Valley would be the old hen Elder Su has always held..." a senior nun murmured, her eyes full of astonishment.

As the woman finished speaking, the hen suddenly stood up and flapped its wings vigorously. In an instant, it transformed into a fiery phoenix, ablaze with flames.

Its emerald eyes calmly watched the ancestor of the Flame Empire. "Give me some face, and let's call it even. We had some connections in our youth, and I don't want to fight you, but I'm not afraid to."

The royal ancestor chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't."

A surge of power far stronger than that of the phoenix radiated from him.

Suddenly, all the cultivators within Tianheng Pass felt suffocated by his aura.

The Golden Core Realm!

The crowd was horrified.

The ancestor of the Flame Empire has reached the Golden Core Realm?!

Their hearts sank.

If the ancestor had advanced to the Golden Core Realm, why was he still fleeing? Was there an even more dangerous figure in Grand Xia?

"Today, I'll use you to consecrate my sword," the ancestor of the Flame Empire said with a light laugh.

The next moment, he slashed his sword at the phoenix, the terrifying force nearly tearing the void.

Fear took over the phoenix's face.

It couldn't dodge the strike.

At that moment, a light exclamation reached everyone's ears. "A sword cultivator?"

An Immortal Boat appeared out of nowhere between the ancestor and the phoenix.

The sword strike fell on the immortal boat, but it didn't leave even a mark.