Hu!
The Inferno Qilin picked up the golden pill and squeezed it lightly. The longer it stared at the pill for, the more perplexed it became.
No matter how he looked at it, the pill was just an ordinary Energy Replenishment Pill; there was nothing unique about it at all! While it was true that it harnessed quite a substantial amount of spiritual energy within it, to a beast of its caliber, it was not even worth a mention. Yet, the young man said that this pill would help it achieve a breakthrough?
Was the young man taking it for a fool?
“You’ll be able to make a breakthrough just by consuming it. Don’t hesitate anymore, such an opportunity doesn’t come every day!” Noting the skeptical look on the Inferno Qilin’s face, Zhang Xuan urged.
The Inferno Qilin hesitated for a moment before tossing the pill back to Zhang Xuan and harrumphing, “I’ll never eat a pill of dubious origin. Who knows whether it has been poisoned or not?”
Even the Zhang Clan was unable to make it achieve a breakthrough, so how could a mere twenty-year-old brat possibly do any better than that?
Besides, it had already taken a close look at the pill, and other than the spiritual energy within it being a bit more concentrated than usual, there was nothing unique to it. It would still be fine if it failed to achieve a breakthrough after consuming the pill, but if some kind of formidable poison that was undetectable to it were to be concealed in the pill, it would be in for a tragedy.
This was a risk that the Inferno Qilin wasn’t willing to take.
“Poison?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock upon hearing those words, and he exclaimed with a deeply aggrieved voice, “Are you doubting my integrity? There’s no way I would do something as despicable as that! Besides, I am only at Grand Dominion realm! Do you think that I would be able to use any poison that would be capable of fazing you in the least? Not to mention, there’s nothing I would gain from harming you!”
The Inferno Qilin fell silent after hearing those words.
Indeed, the young man didn’t have the ability nor motive to poison it.
But humans were known to be a particularly scheming and devious race. Who could tell what kind of deeper plots that fellow could be hatching in the shadows? In any case, it seemed like an utter foolish act as to consume something of unknown origin.
Thus, it decided not to pay the young man any more heed, and it lay back down on the ground lazily, preparing to drift off to sleep.
Seeing such a sight, Zhang Xuan harrumphed indignantly, “Since you don’t believe me, I’ll just have to prove it to you then!”
As he said those words, he flicked his wrist.
Hu la!
A massive Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast materialized on the spot.
“Master!” the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast lowered its head and greeted Zhang Xuan humbly.
“Eat this pill. I’ll help you achieve a breakthrough!” Zhang Xuan said as he flicked the golden pill in his hand over.
“Yes, master!” the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast nodded its head. Without any hesitation, it opened its mouth and swallowed the golden pill.
Gu gu gu!
As rich spiritual energy burst out from the pill, a look of pleasure surfaced on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast’s face. However, contrary to its expectation, the long-awaited surge of energy that would take him on a ride toward a breakthrough didn’t appear.
The pill didn’t seem to be as effective as it thought it would be.
“Master…” the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast turned a perplexed gaze at Zhang Xuan.
“Calm down, everything is under control.” Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he flicked his wrist once more.
Hualala!
More than a hundred swords materialized in the air. After a swift shuffling in the air, they formed a bridge by connecting their ends to one another.
“Lie down on my swords,” Zhang Xuan instructed.
Even though the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was perplexed by the intention behind Zhang Xuan’s action, it still obediently flew over and lay down flatly on the bridge of swords.
Due to the long and slender body frame of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, the scene of it lying flat on the bridge of swords somehow bore a striking resemblance to a skewered sausage.
“Good,” Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
With a wave of his hand, he formed numerous threads of zhenqi to secure the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast in place, ensuring that it wouldn’t fall from the bridge of swords. After which, he turned to the Inferno Qilin and said, “This medicine of mine is particularly difficult to assimilate. I’ll require your Qilin Flames as a medium in order to fully break down the contents of the pill. Since you don’t trust me, why don’t you allow me to prove you wrong by lending me your flames?”
Even though the Inferno Qilin appeared as if it was sleeping, it was actually sneaking curious glances over to see what the young man was up to. Succumbing to its intrigue to find out what would happen to the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, it eventually gave a nod of agreement.
While it dared not to casually eat the young man’s pills, lending the latter its flames wasn’t much of a deal. And if the pill really harnessed the miraculous effects of allowing it to achieve a breakthrough, perhaps it might not be that bad of an idea to ally with the young man.
After giving a nod of agreement, the Inferno Qilin opened its mouth, and crimson flames burst forth from it. In the blink of an eye, its flames had already swept across the entire cage.
“This side, this side! Direct it straight toward the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast!” Zhang Xuan instructed.
Tzzzzzzzzzzz!
Those flames were at a temperature which warped even the surroundings out of shape. As soon as they fell on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast’s back, a resounding sizzle echoed in the air.
At the same time, Zhang Xuan also began to rotate the sword, as if barbecuing a meat skewer.
“…”
Outside the cage, Zhang Wuchen and the others glanced at one another with stupefied looks on their faces.
Even the genius beast tamer, Zhang Jiang, wasn’t able to make sense of the situation at all.
It was apparent to everyone that the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was Zhang Xuan’s tamed beast. As a mere Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivator, that fellow really should be counting his blessing for being able to tame a Dimension Sundering realm pinnacle saint beast… So, why was he roasting it right now then?
The flames of the Inferno Qilin was more intense than the hottest earth flames; even Saint high-tier artifacts would melt swiftly under its searing heat! No matter how powerful the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was, there was no way it would be able to survive for too long when exposed to such overwhelming heat. At this rate, it might just really die!
Is this what he means by displaying his swordsmanship? Jian Qinsheng muttered in utter disbelief.
It was just a moment ago that the young man said that he would bring glory to the Sanctum of Sages’ swordsmanship, so Jian Qinsheng simply assumed that the young man was going to use his sword to clash with the Inferno Qilin face on. Yet, it turned out that he was only using it as a skewer stick for his tamed beast so as to give it a good roasting…
Can you get any more misleading than that?
Tzzzzzzz!
Under the blazing heat, oil began to seep out on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast’s skin, and a peculiarly appetizing meat aroma wafted in the air.
“Master…”
The Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was beginning to reach its limits. It tried to thrash its body around, but the zhenqi threads had bound it in a way that prevented it from effectively exerting its strength, thus rendering its efforts futile.
Seeing that its life was hanging by a thread, despair surfaced in the depths of its eyes.
“Grit your teeth and endure it! If you wish to make a breakthrough, this is pain that you must overcome!” Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over. “Netherworld Azure Dragon Beasts harness the coldness of the netherworld in their bodies, thus their cultivation are also leaning toward the cold attribute too. While the Qilin Flames are at odds with your primary attribute, it can help to neutralize any blockages in your meridians and cleanse your bloodline, allowing you to push right for a breakthrough!”
The pill which Zhang Xuan took out previously was infused with his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, so naturally, it had the effect of cleansing bloodlines too. Unfortunately, its effectiveness was extremely limited on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, whose cultivation was much higher than him.
In other words, from the very start, his promise of allowing the Inferno Qilin to achieve a breakthrough just by eating the golden pill had been a big fat lie. His true purpose was to make use of the intense heat of the Qilin Flames to refine the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast’s bloodline and grant it the momentum to overcome its Saint 8-dan pinnacle bottleneck!
“I understand!” Realizing that its master was doing all of this for it, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast gritted its teeth tenaciously and endured the excruciating pain.
When the flames dived into its body, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast felt the blood coursing through its body bubbling furiously, threatening to evaporate dry at any moment. A feeling of frailty gradually rippled through its body, and its consciousness was beginning to slip away from it.
Just when it was on the verge of caving in, the pill that it had swallowed previously suddenly released a burst of soothing energy which maneuvered the flames in its body to knock open all of the bottlenecks within its body.
As a result of that, its turbid blood began to turn clearer as well.
It’s working! The eyes of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast twinkled in excitement.
Even though it had absolute trust in its master, relief and exhilaration still gushed in upon seeing the changes occurring within its body. From the looks of it, it should be able to achieve a breakthrough very soon.
Thus, it gathered all of its grit and forced itself to persevere on. Eventually, its suffering paid off.
Three minutes later, it felt the invisible ceiling that had capped its cultivation at Saint 8-dan pinnacle was beginning to loosen, and cracks were gradually creeping all over it.
“Now!” All of a sudden, its master’s voice echoed loudly in its ear.
Without any hesitation, it gathered all of its remaining energy together as it released a majestic roar.
Boom!
Even the sturdy metal cage rattled under the deafening roar!
Kacha! Kacha!
The power that the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast harnessed within its body began to surge to a new peak, and eventually, as if its body couldn’t contain that power anymore, a tremendous burst of energy shot upward into the clouds.
“It managed to pull off a breakthrough… The golden pill could actually allow one to achieve a breakthrough?” Retracting its flames, the Inferno Qilin couldn’t help but freeze on the spot.
It was still deeply skeptical when the young man said that the golden pill would allow it to achieve a breakthrough within ten minutes, but from the looks of it now, it was apparent that the young man wasn’t lying…
The golden pill was truly a miraculous pill!
It hurriedly turned its gaze over to the young man, only to see that the latter completely preoccupied with controlling the hundred of swords he had brought out. The jade bottle that he had taken the golden pill out from previously was currently placed on the ground not too far away from the young man, open for anyone to take.
“Hehe, it’s all mine!” A glint flashed across the Inferno Qilin’s eyes as it flicked its paw.
Hu!
In the blink of an eye, the jade bottle was already in its grasp. Taking a look inside, he saw that there were seven golden pills inside. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, it swallowed all of them down.