The Nine-Headed Fire Lion moved with incredible speed. Even with Chen Nan summoning the Somersault Cloud, he couldn't catch up. A distance of over two thousand meters was maintained between the man and the beast.
"Why are you chasing me!" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion's voice was tinged with a hint of tears.
Chen Nan, riding the cloud and with one hand behind his back, wore a faint smile. "Be my mount, and I'll spare your life!"
"You bully beasts too much!"
The Nine-Headed Fire Lion roared in fury. It opened its nine gaping mouths simultaneously, spewing out streams of flame that wove into a fiery net in the void, engulfing Chen Nan like a sky-obscuring veil. Though the temperature of the flames wasn't comparable to the Samadhi True Fire, it was still terrifying, capable of easily melting divine weapons.
"I admit you have some tricks up your sleeve."
"But not enough."
Chen Nan's face was filled with disdain. He vanished instantly from within the net, reappearing outside the fiery web the next moment.
"Brothers, lend me your strength! I must kill him!" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion roared, its eyes turning crimson as a powerful aura surged within it.
Simultaneously, Chen Nan, still airborne, felt his expression change drastically. A searing pain swept over him, causing him to lose balance and fall uncontrollably into the mountain forest below. The agony, though not as intense as when his soul was split in two, caught him completely off guard.
"This Soul-Suppressing Bracelet is quite effective. Pity it failed to split my secondary soul!" Chen Nan's face was ashen. His intention in chasing the Nine-Headed Fire Lion was precisely to borrow the Soul-Suppressing Bracelet to split his secondary soul.
"What goes around comes around."
"With the Nine-Headed Fire Lion's current strength,"
"it's insufficient to split my secondary soul."
"However, if it were to break through..."
"Perhaps then it could split my secondary soul?"
Chen Nan's primary soul was currently stronger than his secondary soul, but the gap wasn't substantial. Even eliminating his secondary soul would be a difficult task. But if his secondary soul could be split, he would be free from the backlash of the Demonic Sacred Artifact. Therefore, the Nine-Headed Fire Lion was exceptionally important to him.
A moment later, Chen Nan felt a lightness in his head. He looked in the direction the Nine-Headed Fire Lion had gone and ascended again, resuming his pursuit. Although the Nine-Headed Fire Lion had long since vanished, its aura still lingered in the air.
"Master, save me!"
As he flew over a desolate area, a cry for help from the Nine-Headed Fire Lion echoed from below. Chen Nan focused his gaze and saw a large group of human cultivators had captured the Nine-Headed Fire Lion in a specially made iron cage. There were over fifty of them, all middle-aged or young adults, and their strength was not weak. Most of them possessed the realm of Upper Divine Generals, and one even held the rank of Lower Divine King.
"Master, save me!" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion cried out, tears streaming down its face, as it desperately called out to Chen Nan. It had managed to shake off Chen Nan earlier, only to be ambushed by these humans. Normally, it wouldn't fear these humans, but times were different. It had already been injured while fighting other great demons for medicinal herbs to help Chen Nan break through, and then further injured in their earlier battle. It was no match for these humans. Fortunately, Chen Nan appeared just in time. It knew that Chen Nan only wanted it as a mount, while these humans intended to eat its flesh and drink its blood. Therefore, its choice was clear.
"Fellow cultivators, this Nine-Headed Fire Lion is my mount. I hope you will release it!" Chen Nan addressed the group of human cultivators.
"Does it become your mount just because you say so?" a burly, middle-aged man in his thirties, carrying a long saber over two meters long, sneered. "I tell you, we had our eyes on this Fire Lion long before you appeared!"
"That's right. This Fire Lion is the prey captured by our tribe. Why should we give it to you? If you want us to release it, it's simple: you must defeat us." The leader of the middle-aged men raised his hand, and the clamoring crowd behind him fell silent. The middle-aged man spoke courteously, "Fellow Daoist, the Nine-Headed Fire Lion is prey our tribe captured with great difficulty, and it holds significant importance to our tribe. We regret we cannot agree to your terms." He continued with a cold smile, "If you want us to release it, you'll have to ask our blades." With that, he turned and walked eastward, "Brothers, let's go!"
"Master, save me!" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion wailed incessantly. If it had known these humans were laying an ambush, it would never have refused Chen Nan earlier. Otherwise, it wouldn't be in this predicament.
"Go!"
Chen Nan unleashed a strand of Samadhi True Fire with a flick of his hand. The Samadhi True Fire silently landed on the iron cage.
"Young man, I advise you to save your energy," the middle-aged man said dismissively. "Our tribe's iron cage is forged from rare Extreme Cold Iron. No flame in this world, except for Samadhi True Fire, can dissolve it." He added, "Regrettably, Samadhi True Fire disappeared ten thousand years ago..." Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man's pupils dilated sharply. He felt an invisible hand choke his throat, creating a sense of near suffocation. The others were also stunned, a speechless shock rising in their hearts. Because... their pride and joy, the iron cage, vanished before their eyes in an instant, melting like ice.
"You possess Samadhi True Fire?" the middle-aged man exclaimed in shock, recovering his senses. Samadhi True Fire was a legendary flame. It was said to have vanished from the Divine Realm when the Heavens shattered. To witness it firsthand, how could he not be astonished?
"I'm out!" The Nine-Headed Fire Lion let out an excited roar, transforming into a blur and appearing beside Chen Nan. It now behaved like a docile pet cat. "A bunch of foolish humans! You dare to oppose my master? Are you tired of living?" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion glared at the human cultivators, its anger undisguised. "I'm telling you, quickly apologize to my master, or my master will surely kill you."
Chen Nan rolled his eyes at it and said softly, "Are you trying to provoke a conflict between us, hoping to escape in the ensuing chaos?"
"Master, I have no such intention, absolutely not!" the Nine-Headed Fire Lion said guiltily, avoiding Chen Nan's gaze.
The leading middle-aged man's face contorted with hostility. "Young man, I don't know why you possess Samadhi True Fire, but you shouldn't have stolen our tribe's prey." He issued a final warning, "I'm giving you one last chance! Hand over the Samadhi True Fire and the Nine-Headed Fire Lion. Otherwise, don't blame me for not showing mercy due to our shared heritage!" The Samadhi True Fire was the most formidable flame in the Divine Realm. Who wouldn't covet such a treasure? Chen Nan hadn't expected them to covet his Samadhi True Fire, and a disdainful smile spread across his face. "Steal my treasure? Do you have the ability?"