Chapter 509: Fire Elemental Flame Demon VS Red Dragon Flame Demon

Zuo Fan’s meeting with the five major sects to form an alliance went very smoothly.

The two missing sects, naturally, had been annihilated.

However, Xu Ziyang wasn’t the only one responsible. Mu Can, whom Zuo Fan had believed to be dead, had also made a move.

His previous crushing defeat had driven Mu Can even more insane. He had cut a bloody path, not only recovering from his injuries but also growing much stronger.

During this time, he had even fought Xu Ziyang again. This time, he wasn’t completely powerless to resist; he managed to escape successfully, which meant he had become even stronger.

Fortunately, Zuo Fan had also been cultivating the Undying Fire Element True Technique during this period, and his strength had begun to advance by leaps and bounds. All four of his Spiritual Techniques had broken through to the minor completion stage, and he was now rapidly charging toward major completion.

If he were to encounter Xu Ziyang now, he could at least protect most of the Yanghuang Sect’s survivors.

“Your sect’s former leader… what exactly is going on with him?” the Grand Elder of Phoenix Dance Pavilion asked, her first words after the alliance meeting began a direct question for Zuo Fan.

“Something went wrong with his cultivation. He practiced a Spiritual Technique that drove him insane and turned him into an extremely powerful Flame Demon,” Zuo Fan stated bluntly. He had originally planned on making a show of force, but thanks to Xu Ziyang’s recent annihilations, he could skip that step entirely.

“So you’re saying the entire world must bear the consequences of the Yanghuang Sect’s mistake?” the Chief of Profound Nether Valley sneered, his tone hostile.

The Profound Nether Valley, whose Spiritual Techniques were based on the attributes of yin and water, had always been at odds with the Yanghuang Sect.

“You’re free not to participate. You can just gamble on whether the Profound Nether Valley will be the next sect to be annihilated.” Zuo Fan completely dismissed the other’s appeal to the greater good. “This alliance is purely for self-preservation.”

“If anyone here still fancies themselves a savior of the world, I won’t stop them from throwing their life away.”

As Zuo Fan spoke, a terrifying killing intent erupted from his body. It seemed to grind against the very air, creating a shower of sparks.

These sparks radiated a terrifying heat, causing the expressions of everyone present to change.

He hadn’t even made a move. Just by sitting there and releasing his aura, he created a suffocating pressure that made it hard for them to breathe.

If he were to truly attack, not a single person in the room would survive.

After saying this, Zuo Fan’s gaze fell upon the Chief of Profound Nether Valley. “Especially your Profound Nether Valley. If you’ve grown tired of living, just say the word.”

“I can annihilate your entire sect as well.”

“Anything Xu Ziyang and Mu Can can do, I can do.”

“I came here to negotiate with you to save you. Otherwise, protecting the survivors of my Yanghuang Sect on my own wouldn’t be difficult at all.”

As Zuo Fan spoke the word “survivors,” he withdrew his oppressive aura.

“Sect Leader Zuo speaks the truth. In this matter, we will indeed have to rely on you,” a Hall Master from the True Martial Association hurriedly interjected with a flattering tone.

Anyone with eyes could see that Zuo Fan’s strength was truly immense. He could probably kill the sect leaders of all five represented sects if they attacked him together.

Yet Zuo Fan wasn’t even the strongest one out there. When speaking of facing Xu Ziyang, the former Sect Leader of the Yanghuang Sect, he had used the word “protect” rather than “repel.”

With someone taking the lead, the others naturally followed suit and voiced their agreement.

Even the Chief of Profound Nether Valley merely kept a grim expression and said nothing more.

Things having come to this, he didn’t dare say anything further.

Otherwise, if Zuo Fan were to kill him right here and now, no one would speak up for him.

Strength was the ultimate backing.

“Therefore, I want all the sects in the world to work together to fight Xu Ziyang and the Seven Kills Disciples. To that end, I propose we form an alliance, and we will call it the Celestial Spirit Alliance.”

“I will serve as the Alliance Leader. Do any of you have any objections?” Zuo Fan only used the greater good as his reason for forming the alliance, not directly mentioning rights and obligations.

“And what might be the rules and regulations of this Celestial Spirit Alliance?” the Hall Master from the True Martial Association asked, following up on the topic.

He had to ask. Otherwise, what if they joined just because he said so, only to be treated like beasts of burden later on?

Zuo Fan had anticipated this, so he laid out all the rights and obligations.

“This… I’m afraid this is somewhat inappropriate,” the Grand Elder of Phoenix Dance Pavilion was the first to speak up.

Based on what Zuo Fan described, it was tantamount to merging all the sects into one, with no distinction between them anymore.

It was essentially an indirect unification.

Combined with Zuo Fan’s personal strength, it was almost certain that once they joined the Celestial Spirit Alliance, they would never be able to leave.

Over time, the distinction between sects would cease to exist.

“This matter is of grave importance. I must return and discuss it with my Sect Leader,” the Chief of Profound Nether Valley added.

If it weren’t for Zuo Fan’s overwhelming power, he would have cursed him for his monstrous ambition.

This wasn’t a defensive alliance at all; it was blatant opportunism.

“And you? You can’t make the decision either?” Zuo Fan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

The answers he received to his question were all similar.

If they actually agreed, it would be no different from selling out their sects. Even if the alliance succeeded, they would have no standing in the future and would surely be condemned by everyone.

Of course, the most important thing was that they weren’t the Sect Leaders. Even if they agreed, it would be useless.

They weren’t the ones in power.

“The way I see it, not enough people have died yet,” a hoarse and impactful voice emerged.

It was immediately followed by a wave of scorching heat.

Zuo Fan’s expression hardened as his gaze fell upon the newcomer. “I never expected you to find this place. It seems we have a traitor in our midst.”

Xu Ziyang’s appearance had changed once again. Nine Red Dragons were now connected to his back.

Apparently, in the process of his slaughter, he had cultivated the Yanghuang Sect’s ultimate Spiritual Technique, the Nine Fire True Yang Red Dragon Skill, to perfection, and its power had manifested in his body.

Even his head had begun to vaguely resemble that of a dragon.

This distinguished him from a normal Flame Demon, making him a Red Dragon Flame Demon.

If Zuo Fan were to succeed in his own cultivation, he would one day become a Fire Elemental Flame Demon.

“You’re overthinking it. There was no traitor. I learned this from the mouth of a disciple from the annihilated Glazed Island.”

“After I found out, I even spared the Profound Nether Valley and made a special trip here just to ruin your plans.” Xu Ziyang’s mocking expression was visible even on his draconic face.

“You seem to have gotten stronger. Let me see…” As Xu Ziyang spoke, his Li Huo Giant Sword was already hurtling toward Zuo Fan’s face. “Was it the owner of that Tang’s Candy Shop? Did he give you another one of his secret Spiritual Techniques?”

Zuo Fan instantly unleashed his true Flame Demon form. This time, it was no ordinary Flame Demon. Empowered by the Undying Fire Element True Technique, he had become a Fire Elemental Flame Demon—though because he had yet to master the technique, he was not yet a complete one.

His body still bore many features of a regular Flame Demon.

But his strength had grown immensely. He methodically blocked Xu Ziyang’s attack and protected everyone present.

However, Xu Ziyang’s attack was simply too powerful, forcing Zuo Fan back several steps before he could stabilize himself.

“Myriad…”

When Zuo Fan heard that word, a grave look appeared in his eyes. He never would have imagined that Xu Ziyang would use the strongest move from the Innate Li Fire Sword Technique right from the start.

If he failed to block it, no one here, aside from himself, would survive.

“Hahaha, just kidding,” Xu Ziyang said maliciously. As Zuo Fan was focused and tense, the Li Huo Giant Sword pierced through his chest.

He didn’t need to use a move like “Myriad Household Lights” to kill this bunch.

Zuo Fan didn’t fly into a rage from the humiliation. For him, this was actually good news.

Nevertheless, the battle raged on. The clash between the two Flame Demons tore apart everything around them.

With him buying time, the members of the other sects began to flee rapidly, clearing the area for the two Flame Demons to fight.

But they soon discovered that they had still greatly underestimated the range of a Flame Demon’s battle.

As their fight intensified, the battlefield expanded at an incredible rate.

“Retreat!” the Chief of Profound Nether Valley shouted, horrified by the scene. After uttering that single word, he fled directly toward the Profound Nether Valley.

If Zuo Fan won, it would be one thing. But if Zuo Fan lost, none of them would survive.

They weren’t blind. They could clearly see that Zuo Fan was at a disadvantage. It didn’t look like he could win at all.

So what was the point of staying? If Zuo Fan died, watching from the sidelines would be a death sentence anyway.

Escaping with their lives was the most important thing.

With someone taking the lead, the rest felt no psychological burden and all fled toward their respective sects.

As for what would happen afterward? They could worry about that when they had time to think. Besides, when the sky falls, the tallest people hold it up. They weren’t the tallest; they still had their Sect Leaders above them.

—————–

“Alright, time is up. Meeting adjourned,” Celestial Dao, the leader of the Celestial Pavilion, said, right on schedule.

The members of the Celestial Pavilion reluctantly ceased their discussions. Then, their spiritual consciousnesses were separated from their fixed vessels and sent back through the channels.

After all the members had departed, Leader Celestial Dao finally activated the Celestial Pavilion’s physical transport function, intending to pull Yaksha out of Red Meteor.

But in the next moment, his expression darkened. The physical transport function had failed to locate the target.

This meant that Yaksha had died the instant his soul returned to his physical body.

He had died so quickly that there wasn’t even time to initiate the transport. At the same time, the projection representing Yaksha in the Celestial Pavilion shattered.

‘Was the anomaly detected, leading to his immediate execution?’ Leader Celestial Dao felt that this was becoming troublesome.

What on earth had happened on Red Meteor to produce such a powerful Spirit Master?

Given the size and resources of Red Meteor, it should have been completely impossible to cultivate someone of that level.

The Celestial Pavilion hadn’t even made many arrangements on Red Meteor.

This was not only because it lacked value, but also because Red Meteor was so small and resource-poor that any significant deployment could have caused the entire planet’s ecosystem to collapse.

That would have created problems for Leader Celestial Dao’s plans, which was why the planet had been ignored for all these years.

“I’ll set this aside for now and deal with it later.” After speaking, Leader Celestial Dao’s own vast spiritual consciousness also detached from its fixed vessel.

The man was already dead. There was no point in going now. It was better to focus on the matters at hand.

And after everyone had left, a slightly distorted figure slipped into the Celestial Pavilion.