Chapter 1239 The Spineless Venerable Skyfire_1

"Is it true?" "And this is from Soul Hall's Great Reverent? The Great Celestial Venerable should be a Dou Saint…"

At that moment, Venerable Skyfire was completely stupefied, standing there dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long time.

He couldn't understand. Why would a Sky Venerable from the Soul Hall die? Could these tokens be forgeries? But the material of that token wasn't ordinary by any means; it was precious, and nobody without a use for such a thing would go to the trouble of forging a token.

Moreover, the faint trace of the original owner's aura lingered on the token, not yet fully dissipated. He could also feel the formidable presence of the other party.

This… should not be a problem, by all accounts.

And what ordinary person would dare to counterfeit the identity token of a Sky Venerable of the Soul Hall, especially when the identity tokens of major forces were not so easily replicated?

So it follows that…

"You are a Dou Saint?" Although Venerable Skyfire was incredibly shocked, he quickly accepted the fact and his gaze towards Xu Ran became reverent, addressing Xu Ran with honorifics, a dramatic change from his previous attitude. The situation seemed different from what he had imagined.

Indeed.

The ability to arrive here so effortlessly seemed an even easier feat than what he himself had managed in the past. How could this individual be merely ordinary?

Musing that he once felt pride before such a high-caliber expert, even entertaining the notion of flaunting his own meager understanding, Venerable Skyfire suddenly felt that it wouldn't be so bad to die right then and there.

This was an embarrassment of epic proportions.

"Indeed, I killed those guys," Xu Ran nodded, putting away the tokens.

"I plead with you, Great One, save me! Help me repair my spirit; if you could also bestow upon me a new body, that would be even better," Venerable Skyfire immediately prostrated himself on the ground, without any semblance of dignity.

What is dignity? Perhaps he once had it, but after being in this godforsaken place for so long, he was almost driven mad. All he wanted now was to quickly leave and live a carefree life once more.

Besides, is it humiliating to kneel before a Dou Saint Expert? Not at all!

Was he kneeling to the other's power? Clearly, it was the other's audacity to oppose the Soul Hall that he respected.

In Zhongzhou, even forces such as the Pill Tower lacked the resolve to become outright enemies with the Soul Hall. Yet Xu Ran had killed three Sky Venerables from the Soul Hall, even slaying a Dou Saint and a Semi-Saint, solidifying a deep-seated feud; they were now mortal enemies.

He now coveted the three bodies that Xu Ran had in his possession.

A High-Level Dou Zun, a Semi-Saint, and a Dou Saint.

Any one of those bodies would be a tremendous gain for him.

If luck was on his side, to be resurrected in the body of a Dou Saint...

"I indeed can help you, but why should I help you?" Xu Ran teased. Venerable Skyfire, even in the original story, was very proud.

However, Xu Ran did not dislike him.

To be able to cultivate to such a degree on one's own talent, possessing Dou Techniques like the Five Rounds Li Fire Technique, Venerable Skyfire was quite formidable.

For such a person, Xu Ran had a great deal of respect. However, to think about getting something for nothing, that was impossible.

"Loyalty!"

"As long as the Venerable helps me, from this moment on, I shall be the Venerable's servant, dedicated for life and never betraying," Venerable Skyfire clenched his teeth as he spoke with conviction.

To stay alive, he was willing to go all out.

But he did not feel that this choice was shameful. Serving a Dou Saint Expert was a good thing. Following Xu Ran, there might even be a chance to receive guidance from him, and then he, too, might rapidly comprehend and advance—not necessarily to the level of Dou Sheng, but possibly to break through to a High-Level Dou Zun.

There were actually not a few Dou Sheng on the Continent, but most of them belonged to the Imperial Clans.

Apart from the Imperial Clans, there were very few who could break through to Dou Sheng. And since the Dou Sheng did not appear in the world, they would not casually impart their secret knowledge to outsiders. Thus, for scattered cultivators like Venerable Skyfire, the chance to serve a Dou Saint Expert was not too bad a choice.

What's more, now that he was in such a state, any further suffering might cause his soul to dissipate. As long as Xu Ran could save him, he was willing to do anything.

"Oh, loyalty? There was once a man named Han Feng who said the same thing. Unfortunately, he wasn't very loyal, and then he died by my hand. However, I believe you would not deceive me," Xu Ran said with a slight smile, aware that someone like Venerable Skyfire, who had advanced through his own cultivation, was naturally not comparable to Han Feng.

Besides, aside from creating puppets, he indeed needed some powerful individuals to help maintain order.

Especially with Ya Fei, these days, as those Seventh-Grade Elixirs were auctioned one after another, not to mention the Black Corner Region, a large group of experts from Zhongzhou also came to compete for the elixirs. Not for anything else, but the efficacy of Xu Ran's refined elixirs was genuinely potent. The same elixir had several times the effect of those refined by other alchemists.

A Seventh-Grade Elixir's actual efficacy even reached the peak of seventh grade, almost approaching the eighth grade.

And what was the concept of the eighth grade?

Of course, many alchemists from Zhongzhou had also run over, wanting to purchase several elixirs to analyze them. In Zhongzhou, Xu Ran had become quite famous, but the ones most interested in Xu Ran were still those alchemists.

The elixirs refined by Xu Ran seemed not to use Magical Beast cores, and the quality of the elixirs was supreme, without a single failure. Those alchemists nearly regarded Xu Ran as a deity.

However, most powers in Zhongzhou did not know that Xu Ran was the one refining the elixirs, and those who knew the truth had already sent their clan's disciples to enroll in Canaan Academy, trying to establish a good relationship with Xu Ran.

"Rest assured, my lord, my word is as good as gold," asserted Venerable Skyfire. Once he made a promise, he would see it through, never reneging. Even though he was no match for Xu Ran, he too had his own pride.

"I trust you. But you may have to wait a bit longer, as I still have some matters to attend to," said Xu Ran.

"Zi Yan, are you staying here or coming with me?" Xu Ran looked over at Zi Yan.

"Don't even think about leaving me behind. I'm not afraid of danger. Didn't you say it wouldn't be a problem to take me along?" Zi Yan held Xu Ran's hand tightly, afraid that he would leave her behind.

"Venerable, what is this about?" Venerable Skyfire asked, puzzled.

"I'm off to meet some things," Xu Ran said as he embraced Zi Yan and dove back into the magma, swimming towards an even more distant place.

"Xu Ran, is that place you mentioned inside this magma?" Zi Yan's heart tightened a little as, with the passage of time, the Flame Lizards that appeared around them grew increasingly powerful, all reaching the level of Dou Zun. However, these Flame Lizards did not attack them at all. Although Xu Ran was not Tuo She Ancient Emperor, he at least possessed his own Origin Divine Fire, and he wouldn't be too far behind Tuo She Ancient Emperor.