The central volcanic region.
The intense heat caused a shimmering haze, and almost everything in sight was bathed in a dazzling crimson glow.
King Wu Ming, along with the other two kings, traveled upstream along the river of lava. The unbearable heat that would challenge ordinary humans had no effect on them whatsoever.
“Is this… Fire Orchid Jade?”
The East Sea King casually plucked a fiery-red, orchid-shaped spiritual plant with a gem-like luster beside him, expressing some surprise: “This is the top-grade ingredient for high-level fire-attribute illusion beasts. Regular consumption can even enhance the power of fire-based combat techniques… It’s extremely precious. I never expected to see it growing everywhere here…”
Wu Ming looked ahead, observing the lowlands along the river where clusters of Fire Orchid Jade grew densely, shimmering with radiant colors.
Normally, one might see numerous fire elementals dancing and feeding among them, but now all those illusion beasts had vanished without a trace.
“The fire element here is exceptionally dense…”
The King of Chaos frowned, as if recalling something. In a flash of red light, he summoned the Flame Spirit King in its ordinary human-like form.
Looking at the surroundings, it wore an expression of delight mixed with a hint of fear.
“My companion has conveyed a fearful emotion to me. It vaguely sensed an extremely terrifying presence…”
The King of Chaos’s expression turned grim, yet his eyes burned with excitement: “The rumors about divine illusion beasts… may actually be true!”
“Each continent has its own divine illusion beast; this has never been a fabrication…”
The King of the East Sea suddenly wore a mysterious expression: “Although I live in seclusion in the East Sea, I have excellent intelligence about other continents. Do you know about the fall of the Star-Moon Empire three years ago?”
“That was because the Star-Moon Emperor rashly led the empire’s King-class Illusion Tamer and astrologers to violate the seal of the Creator God… Hehe, three years ago, the seal had not yet been completely lifted, how could they possibly interfere?”
“I see!”
The Raging King laughed heartily, “Then it seems we might actually get to see the divine illusion beast this time. Haha… This journey was definitely worth it!”
“I just hope we don’t run into anything and can successfully subdue the King illusion beast peacefully and leave!”
Upon hearing this, the King of the East Sea smiled bitterly, appearing indifferent to the rumor, but Wu Ming noticed a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
“Even if there are traces of a divine-level illusion beast, it must be near the Immortal Holy Mountain at the center. It’s still too early to think about that!”
Wu Ming shook his head: “What we should be discussing now is how to pass through the fire elemental tribe ahead!”
I’ve already scouted this tribe. It has over ten thousand fire elementals, and no fewer than five Flame Great Lords at the peak of the Duke level…
Generally speaking, even King-class Illusion Tamers could only have one Golden Seed illusion beast that had managed to ascend.
Other illusion beasts were mostly at the Duke level.
Five Silver Seed Duke-level peak illusion beasts would already be a significant challenge for a King.
Of course, for these three Kings, it was merely a minor inconvenience.
“Leave it to me!”
After a moment’s thought, the King of Chaos decisively stepped forward: “Although my Flame Spirit King may not have an advantage against fire-type opponents, it won’t be at a disadvantage either. Combined with the dominance of the Golden Seed level, it should be sufficient to handle the situation…”
“My original intention was to go around, but since the Chaos King has set his sights on those five Silver Seed peak Blaze Cores, you may proceed as you wish…”
The East Sea King chuckled.
Elemental illusion beasts were generally superior to living-type illusion beasts, but once injured, they were very difficult to heal and mostly relied on absorbing elemental particles from the natural environment to recover slowly.
The energy cores of these Silver Seed and Duke-level peak Flame Great Lords would naturally be highly beneficial to the Flame Spirit King.
“In that case, I’ll lend a hand as well…”
Wu Ming smiled slightly: “I happen to have a fire-type illusion beast that needs some training!”
He was, of course, referring to his own Silver Seed, Duke-level peak illusion beast, the Lava Tyrant.
This illusion beast had both fire and rock attributes and was somewhat at home in this place, making it the perfect opportunity for cultivation.
“Roar!”
“Chirp!”
Shortly afterward, Wu Ming and the other two stood leisurely on a high platform, watching the Lava Tyrant and Flame Spirit King wreak havoc.
Clearly, although the Silver Seed Lava Tyrant was initially very excited, upon seeing the Flame Spirit King, it instinctively became more subdued, staying to one corner and not daring to compete with the Flame Spirit King.
“The Lava Tyrant…”
The East Sea King watched as the Lava Tyrant slammed a Flaming Great Lord to the ground, tearing through the flames and devouring its energy core, then remarked: “The Wolfhawk King’s Lava Tyrant is quite well-trained. It seems to be half a level stronger than the average Duke-level peak illusion beast…”
“Pity, no matter how well it’s trained, it’s still just a Silver Seed. Advancement is still far away…”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered, feigning a sigh as if deeply troubled.
“Haha… Normally, a Silver Seed would be sufficient for us, but in these turbulent times, it’s indeed somewhat lacking…”
The East Sea King laughed heartily: “How about giving up and forming a pact with a Golden King illusion beast instead?”
“That’s a good idea, but how powerful are King-level illusion beasts? Even if we can team up to defeat one, subduing it afterward would still be extremely difficult…”
Wu Ming shook his head.
Upon hearing this, the East Sea King’s expression also turned somewhat grim.
Although they were confident in their ability to defeat a King-level illusion beast together, forcing it into submission was simply a pipe dream.
Wild illusion beasts also had their own temperaments. If defeated one-on-one, it might still be possible to reason with them, but if defeated through an ambush, they would almost certainly refuse to submit.
If an illusion beast refused to submit, forcing it to accept a pact was nothing but a dream! As for forcibly forming a pact with a King-level illusion beast? Probably no King-class Illusion Tamer possessed such terrifying soul power.
Even if one had a Celestial Immortal soul, at level five, it was theoretically equal to a King, but still…
“Whether we can subdue a King-level illusion beast this time mostly depends on luck… but if we can capture several Golden Seed juveniles, this trip would definitely be worth it!”
Wu Ming realistically stated their true purpose.
Of course, under the premise of capturing juveniles, pressuring the various tribes’ King-level illusion beasts might result in one of them taking a liking to them and agreeing to submit. That would be a real windfall.
“Chirp!”
Just then, the Flame Spirit King high in the sky let out a sharp cry. Its crimson shadow suddenly split into four, instantly enveloping the remaining four Duke-level illusion beasts.
Whoosh!
The flames unique to a King surged, tinged with blue, incinerating the four Duke-level illusion beasts and revealing their golden flame cores.
Seeing this, the Flame Spirit King immediately rushed forward joyfully, swallowing the four cores. Its aura instantly grew stronger, its spirit visibly lifted, clearly gaining significant benefits, and its previous injuries also recovered somewhat.
With all five commanders eliminated, the remaining fire elementals immediately scattered in all directions, while dozens of fire elemental elders knelt on one knee, indicating their submission.
“Haha… This place is indeed a holy land for fire-type Illusion Tamers!”
The face of the King of Disorder flushed red with excitement. The recovery of his King-level illusion beast was also greatly beneficial to him, at least completely dispelling his previous gloom: “With this tribe cleared out, the path to the center of the Immortal Holy Mountain should be smooth sailing…”
“At least eight King-level illusion beasts… With such a large number, there must be Golden Seed juveniles!”
The eyes of the King of Chaos gleamed with an intense light.
“Just if we are surrounded and attacked, we might have to flee in defeat…”
Wu Ming looked at the ruined fire elemental tribe, secretly estimating their strength.
For an ordinary King, traveling alone, it was already extremely difficult to reach this place, not to mention the King tribes that lay ahead.
To subdue an elemental King, at least two King-class Illusion Tamers needed to work together.
And if discovered by other tribes, to leave the Holy Mountain unscathed, it was conservatively estimated that the strength of three Kings would be required!
No wonder the East Sea King, even with the Rebel King as his partner, still wanted to recruit me—because he had no confidence at all himself…
Wu Ming’s heart stirred, already understanding the other’s true thoughts:
“And obviously… even Jun Xuanming’s side previously, without the support of the Star Destiny King and the Green Serpent King, merely relying on the Righteous Hero King and the Jun Family Patriarch’s power, they couldn’t breach the Holy Mountain and obtain the Golden Seed juveniles. No wonder he had to target the Xiancheng Dragon King… Not to mention, in comparison, the Xiancheng Dragon King’s potential was countless times greater than that of fire-type Golden Seeds such as the Flame Spirit King…”
…
“Roar!”
At that moment, on the other side of the Holy Mountain, high in the sky ten thousand miles away.
The Wanzai Sky Dragon roared, confronting a multitude of floating flame sprites, its countless tendrils thrusting forward like spears.
“Chirp!”
The illusion beasts attacking it were wrapped in orange-red and golden flames, a flock of fire flamingos, their numbers astonishing, as if several massive clouds of fire.
Especially at the center of the clouds, there was a giant bird entirely engulfed in azure flames, exuding a king’s majesty, coldly scanning Jun Xuanming’s side.
The Sky Dragon of Wanzai roared, clearly showing signs of apprehension.
“Damn… The Sky Dragon already has injuries, and is also at a disadvantage in terms of elemental attributes!”
Jun Xuanming furrowed his brow and released another illusion beast.
This illusion beast was covered in golden fur, about the size of a lion, resembling a dog but not quite, with long pointed ears and eyes that shone with the majesty of a king.
This was the Golden Seed illusion beast—the Golden Howler, originally the trump card of the Jun Family Patriarch, which had already reached the King level!
“Roar!”
The Golden Howler roared, shooting golden beams from its eyes. Any fire flamingos caught in the beams immediately froze in place, turning into metal statues before plummeting straight down.
“We can descend now!”
At this moment, the Star-Destiny King spoke coldly: “The largest fire flamingo tribe resides on the Immortal Holy Mountain, and they will attack any living being approaching from the sky. From this point on, we can only proceed on foot…”
“Alright!”
Jun Xuanming cast one last glance at the giant bird with azure flames in its eyes, a clear expression of apprehension in his own, and directed the Wanzai Sky Dragon to descend slowly.
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