Apotheosis

The members of the Collapsing Mountain began working at daybreak and retired at sunset.

By now, most of the adult males had gone out hunting while the rest and some of the elders stayed within the village.

The Collapsing Mountain child called over an elder.

This elder was tall and bony, a white beard hanging down from his mouth that fell to ten feet long—he looked like a bamboo pole.

Despite his looks, he could walk fast and vigorously amidst the powerful gravitational force. It was virtually impossible to see any signs of aging from him.

Although Zen was absorbing the preternatural flames, he was still clear-headed. When he saw the elder walk over, he silently put up his guard.

There didn't seem to be any logic in the Collapsing Mountain race. It didn't seem like a good idea to offend them.

When the elder saw the flames, he was left stunned. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, as though the flames awakened genuine fear in him. When he saw Zen frantically absorbing the flames, a strange expression surfaced in his old eyes.

"Oh, my God!"

With that, the elder rushed away.

In no time, a large group of Collapsing Mountain elders appeared.

Previously, Zen hadn't noticed there were so many of them, but now, over fifty had already gathered before him.

All of them were as tall as bamboo poles and were chattering away about something.

Some naughty kids kept their eyes on Zen and figured that the flames on his body weren't as dangerous as they first thought. So they took their sticks and moved in to play with the flames, but they were quickly stopped by the elders.

They were talking

in their own language.

So Zen didn't understand what they wanted to do.

As the chatter went on, their voices grew louder and louder. When the Collapsing Mountain members roared, it was as though the mountains were truly collapsing and the earth was cracking.

The Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists that were lying on the ground heard a buzzing sound in their ears. If the elders were to roar at the mountain like this, they would probably cause a landslide.

Within the flames, Laquisha and Zen looked at each other puzzlingly as they lay on the ground with their hands holding each other. Neither of them could understand the language of the Collapsing Mountain race, so they had no clue why the people were bickering.

"…"

Just then, the old man taking the lead suddenly brandished a walking stick in his hand.

By the dignified expression he wore

f the dragon scales, the time to get up was just around the corner.

When night fell, everything just got more difficult.

As the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance permeated the air, the grilled meat of the Collapsing Mountain members also began emanating a fragrant aroma.

Just when Zen was prepared to strain his nerves and face this cruel test, two of the clansmen walked up to him.

After muttering to themselves, they pulled Zen up from the ground.

"What are you guys doing?" Zen asked in concern.

The two didn't answer but continued to lift him up and walk him to the huge square.

As he was pulled along, Zen swayed left and right. When his eyes swept across the area, he realized that many of the clansmen were looking at him with a peculiar expression.

Zen couldn't help but swallow—as he got closer and closer to the huge bonfires, he could feel his heart resist it. Would the Collapsing Mountain members dismember and eat his flesh?

They ate a variety of creatures, after all—all sorts of fierce beasts as strong as world lords and all kinds of rare and poisonous bugs. It wouldn't be strange for them to eat him.

Just as the thought plagued his mind, the two young men carried him to the front of a bonfire.

The flames ignited from the Calamity Dispelling Wood were fierce—ordinary flames couldn't cook vicious beasts as strong as world lords. There was still about a hundred feet between Zen and the bonfire, but he could already feel the scorching heat.

The two young men stopped right in front of the bonfire and threw Zen into it.

'Are they really going to barbecue me?!' And that was Zen's last thought as he fell into the flames.