The First Venerable of All Paths

Fengming Mountain.

The mountaintop was stained with the stench of blood.

Countless monster corpses were piled up into a mountain.

A few corpses of martial artists could still be vaguely seen mixed in among them.

Whether they were demonic beasts or martial artists, their deaths were all incredibly tragic.

It felt like it had been torn apart by something.

The once bustling Beasts Guild stronghold is now filled with a oppressive, heavy atmosphere that makes it hard to breathe.

More than a dozen members of the Hundred Beasts Gang stared at the black-clad youth in the main seat, their faces pale with fear.

To be precise, it was the tiger lying next to the boy.

The tiger's fur was jet black, like thick satin.

Although the tiger was fast asleep, it exuded a chilling aura.

Because this is a demon king!

It was this creature that, upon its appearance, wiped out all the demonic beasts that the Hundred Beasts Guild had painstakingly hunted.

Several martial artists responsible for guarding and feeding the demonic beasts also perished under the claws of this ferocious tiger demon king.

"Boohoo!"

The young man in black lightly tapped the table with his fingers, while his narrow eyes swept over the crowd below.

Immediately, a cold smile curved the thin corners of the black-clad youth's lips as he said, "What? Was my question difficult to answer?"

His voice was slightly effeminate.

It left a very deep impression on people.

"thump!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the martial artists could no longer hold on, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh?"

The boy in black raised an eyebrow and said, "Then you tell me."

"Young...Young Master, I really don't know anything."

The man said with a sob in his voice, "I've never even heard of those Phoenix Cry relics you're talking about."

"This answer does not satisfy me."

The boy in black raised his hand.

An old man standing beside him suddenly opened his eyes and spat out a cold glint.

"Pfft!"

The cold light hurtled toward the person on the ground with lightning speed.

The latter didn't even have time to scream before his body went limp on the ground.

A touch of crimson gradually appeared between his brows.

The cold light flew towards the old man, who opened his mouth and swallowed it. He then closed his eyes again and stood quietly beside the boy.

Killing someone casually was like doing a trivial thing to him.

"Since no one is answering voluntarily, I'll have to call on someone."

The boy in black rested his chin on his hand, his gaze sweeping over the crowd one by one.

Finally, his gaze fell on one of the teenagers.

This boy was only twelve or thirteen years old.

He was held tightly in a woman's arms, tears of fear welling up in his eyes.

"Young master, spare my life!"

Seeing the boy looking over, the woman knelt down on the ground, touching her head to the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

"He's just a child, please let him go."

The woman sobbed, "We've never even heard of the things you're looking for."

"Young Master!"

At this moment, a burly man, suppressing his fear, stepped forward.

"What you just said, we really don't know."

He bowed deeply to the boy in black and said in a deep voice, "Everything we said is true, and there is absolutely nothing we have concealed."

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The young man in black said, "I never said I didn't trust you."

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the boy, their faces filled with astonishment and confusion.

"Young master, what do you mean by this?"

The young man in black didn't let the big man continue, but said to himself, "Speaking of which, this Hundred Beasts Guild has some connection with me."

"Could it be...?"

The burly man was taken aback. As the boy's eyes widened, a horrifying thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Could it be that you, young master, are a member of the Beast Taming Hall?"

"Snapped!"

The boy in black snapped his fingers, then burst into laughter as if he had thought of something particularly funny.

"You got it right! You got it right!"

He laughed louder and louder, slapping his thighs wildly.

Everyone held their breath, startled by the boy's laughter.

The boy almost burst into tears, but the woman covered his mouth tightly.

Only the old man behind the boy remained with his eyes closed, resting.

Meng Hu, who was at his feet, shifted his position and continued to sleep soundly.

It seems that this is already commonplace for some neurotic teenagers.

The boy stopped laughing, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, his voice still carrying a hint of amusement.

"This young master is indeed from the Beast Taming Hall."

Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing confirmation from the boy.

That's good, that's good.

In that case, we're all on the same side.

"So it is the esteemed guests from the Beast Taming Hall. We apologize for our negligence, young master."

The burly man said respectfully, "It's just that the commander has already been killed, otherwise he should know some information about Fengming's relics."

"Oh?"

The boy in black stroked his chin and said, "That good-for-nothing Huang Long is dead? No wonder he hasn't come to see me for so long."

"I dare not conceal this from you, young master."

The burly man quickly said, "The commander is because..."

Before he could finish speaking, the boy in black interrupted him.

"I have no interest in your nonsense."

The young man in black said, "From now on, you will work for me for the time being."

"Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man and the others repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude.

"Remember, if you do things well, you'll naturally reap the rewards."

A strange glint flashed in the black-clad youth's eyes as he said in a sinister tone, "If you mess this up, I'll chop you all up and feed you to Big Black."

The sleeping tiger suddenly opened its eyes and let out a terrifying roar.

"Get out of here, all of you."

With a wave of his hand, the young man in black dismissed everyone from the hall as if they had been granted a pardon.

After a long silence, the young man in black finally spoke softly, "Elder Zeng, do you really think there's a vein of fire hidden beneath this?"

Upon hearing this, the old man opened his eyes, a dark glint flashing within them.

"Replying to Young Master."

The old man said, "I have read through many ancient books and personally walked through Phoenix Cry Mountain. I can confirm that there is indeed a fire vein in the earth's core here, but I cannot guarantee whether it is a legacy left by that divine beast."

What are the chances of it giving rise to subterranean fire?

The young man in black said, "I don't want to have come all this way for nothing."

"Please rest assured, young master."

The old man said, "This underground fire vein is quite large, and the probability of it producing earth fire is not small. Otherwise, the hall master would not have planted the Hundred Beasts Gang here as a spies."

"But Huang Long, that good-for-nothing, couldn't even handle such a small matter."

A cold glint flashed in the black-clad youth's eyes as he said, "It's only because he's dead that I wouldn't mind letting him experience a fate worse than death."

"These are minor matters, nothing serious."

The old man laughed and said, "Our most urgent task is to find the entrance to the fire vein as soon as possible and collect the earth fire."

"good."

The young man in black said, "But this matter will require some trouble from Elder Zeng."

"This is my duty, nothing to do with hardship."

The old man said, "However, young master, I must remind you that subduing the earth fire is not an easy task. You should be prepared."

"I know what I'm doing."

The young man in black stretched and said, "The reason I've been suppressing the borders for two years is precisely to wait for this day. How could I be unprepared?"

"That's good."

The old man said, "Then I will take people to find the entrance to the fire vein. News should arrive in two hours at most."

"Go."

The old man walked out of the hall and summoned all the members of the Hundred Beasts Guild.

"Now, I have a task for you."

The old man said, "If you do well, you will be richly rewarded, and you may even have the opportunity to join the Beast Taming Hall. I wonder if you are willing?"

It appeared to be a discussion, but in reality, it didn't give anyone any choice.

"Please give your orders, senior; we will obey even at the cost of our lives!"

Of course, some people were extremely excited and agreed without hesitation.

Huanglong is dead.

The Beasts Guild is now a disorganized mess.

If the master and servant hadn't suddenly come up the mountain, they would have run away long ago.

"very good."

The old man nodded and said, "Come with me."

Leading the group to the mountain of corpses, the old man took out a talisman.

The old man's eyes flashed with a ghostly light as he poured the energy into the talisman.

"call!"

The talisman suddenly burst into flames.

The flames, however, had an eerie, dark color and exuded a chilling aura.

The old man casually tossed the burning talisman onto the mountain of corpses.

"boom!"

The eerie flames, as if encountering hot oil, rose several meters high, engulfing the mountain of corpses.

A crackling sound rang out.

Soon, blood-red beads slowly emerged from the flames.

The old man swept his hand over and grabbed all the thumb-sized beads.

"Now, each of you take one bead and swallow it."

The old man said, "This bead is formed from the essence of blood. It can temporarily enhance your cultivation so that you can better serve the young master."

"this......"

Upon hearing this, many people hesitated, instinctively wanting to refuse.

But the burly man was the first to take a bead and swallow it.

He knew very well that refusing would only result in death.

"Boom!"

As soon as the bead was swallowed, a violent aura surged from the burly man's body.

Originally at the peak of the Body Refinement Realm, he broke through to the Qi Gathering Realm in the blink of an eye.

"You broke through just like that?"

Upon seeing this, the others immediately showed expressions of shock.

"Brother Quan, what do you think?"

Someone asked in a low voice.

"Excellent, it couldn't be better."

The burly man clenched his fists, feeling the power within his body, and said with a smile, "Everyone, hurry up. As long as we get things done, we'll go to the Beast Taming Hall and enjoy a feast."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly took the beads handed to them by the old man and eagerly swallowed them.

Immediately afterwards, many people broke through to a higher realm.

Even the lowest-ranking among them improved by three or four minor realms.

Only the teenager and the woman, being neither martial artists, did not consume the blood-red bead.

"Senior, what should we do next?"

The burly man looked at the old man with a fanatical gaze.

"You don't need to do anything, just follow my orders."

The old man gave a strange smile.

Then, amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, he formed a hand seal.

"Sacrifice your soul, forge your blood into slavery!"

As the old man gave a cold shout, all the martial artists who had consumed the blood beads immediately let out heart-wrenching screams.

As they were seen, streaks of crimson lines slowly appeared on their bodies, spreading from their dantian to their faces.

Finally, it penetrated deeply into the eyes.

It looks incredibly eerie.

Some of them died on the spot from the unbearable pain of the soul sacrifice.

But those who persevered had eyes that turned completely blood red.

His body remained frozen in place, like a walking corpse.

The woman and the teenager who witnessed this scene were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, their bodies trembling.

"Master Zeng's secret method for refining blood slaves is becoming more and more consummate."

At this moment, the young man in black slowly walked over, looked at the dozen or so blood slaves in front of him, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Please excuse my poor appearance, young master."

The old man said, "With these fearless blood slaves, finding the entrance to the fire vein will be much easier."

Having said that, the old man formed a hand seal again and gave a soft shout.

The next moment, all the blood slaves turned around mechanically and staggered toward the back mountain.

At first, the blood slaves were slow, but then they got faster and faster.

The old man said, "Young master, follow them and you will find the entrance to the fire vein."

"Walk!"

The boy in black laughed loudly, flipped himself onto the black tiger's back, and chased after the blood slave.

The old man was about to leave when he involuntarily looked down the mountain, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The array's restrictions have been triggered? Could it be that a demonic beast has accidentally intruded?"

Seeing that the blood slaves had already rushed into the deep mountains, the old man no longer cared about anything else.

"Never mind, let's find the subterranean fire first."

As he left, he lashed out with two arrows, piercing the foreheads of the woman and the teenager.

At this moment.

Halfway up the mountain.

Fang Xuan looked at the thick fog that suddenly rose in front of him, a look of surprise on his face.

"Array formation or restriction?"