Chapter 284: Go Down and Beat It

Hearing this, Gu Mu and Liao Xun's eyes lit up at the same time: "Could it be that the Grandmaster wants to suppress it personally?"

The man before them was a super figure surpassing the pinnacle of the Supreme Realm. Even if this massive beast roamed in the lava, appearing invincible, as long as he acted, he could easily defeat it, even slay it.

"Just a mere brute beast—no need for me to act personally!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head, a look of disdain on his face, but inwardly he kept rolling his eyes.

Him act?

What a joke!

This was a Supreme pinnacle beast. Even if encountered on land, he would flee as far as possible. Suppress it...

If he actually went over, it wouldn't be slaying but becoming the beast's delicious lunch.

"Then..."

The two were puzzled.

"A beast cultivating to the Supreme pinnacle is no easy feat. Slaying it would harm the harmony of heaven!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head, a benevolent expression on his face: "Gu Mu, since you are my grand-disciple, I will grant you a fortune. Go down and tame this beast! Once it becomes your beast pet, plucking the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed will be simple!"

"I... tame it?"

Thinking it was some other plan, Gu Mu's body swayed upon hearing this, nearly fainting on the spot.

Even on land, this creature was hard to overcome; in the lava, it would be certain death!

Tame it? It would be good if he wasn't tamed by it...

"Grandmaster, I know nothing about the art of taming beasts..." Gu Mu's face reddened as he quickly shook his head.

He only knew how to use poison. As for taming beasts, though he had heard of it, it was a case of him knowing the term but not the practice.

Having him tame a creature of the same level as himself...

Forget it; he wanted to live a bit longer.

"Not knowing is fine; I can guide you!" Zhang Xuan raised his brows, exuding authority without anger: "What, you don't trust your Grandmaster?"

"This junior wouldn't dare..." Trembling, Gu Mu quickly bowed and couldn't help asking: "Grandmaster... could it be that you also understand the art of taming beasts?"

This Grandmaster didn't seem much older than him, yet he was such a high-level poison master, skilled in medicine—could he also be proficient in taming beasts?

If so, he would surely be famous in the Beast Hall. Why had he never heard of him?

"I know a little!"

Nodding, Zhang Xuan clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the crater. The lava beast before them coiled around the Crimson Flame Lotus like a giant serpent tumbling in flames, making it impossible to approach even if one wanted to pluck it.

Turning around, he fixed his gaze on the other: "This is a Supreme pinnacle beast. Countless people dream of taking it as a beast pet. Such an opportunity—do you truly not want it?"

"I..." Seeing his serious expression, Gu Mu hesitated, his face slightly red: "Can it... really be tamed?"

Taming a beast of equal strength would instantly double his power. To be honest, he was tempted.

A beast of this level, after consuming the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed, might also break through that shackle. Then, with man and beast united, his chances of revenge would be greater.

But... wasn't taming beasts a skill exclusive to beast tamers?

Guidance from him?

Even with guidance, he couldn't instantly become a beast tamer and tame such a powerful beast!

"Follow my instructions, and taming it won't be difficult!"

Seeing his interest, Zhang Xuan flicked his sleeve, his expression calm: "The choice is yours. If you're unwilling, forget it. It's just a Supreme beast. If you truly don't want it, I can slay it. But... once the opportunity is lost, there won't be a second chance."

"This..."

His face shifting between light and dark, after less than ten breaths, Gu Mu gritted his teeth: "Alright, Grandmaster, what should I do... Do I need to prepare anything?"

For him, this was indeed a great opportunity. Taming a beast of similar strength, one immune to poison, would greatly elevate his status in the Xuan Yuan Branch Hall.

Though he had never tamed a beast and knew little about it, he had seen others do it. He knew that before taming a beast, tamers needed to prepare many things to attract the beast's attention and gain its favor.

Only by increasing goodwill could they gradually approach until the beast submitted.

"No need, and there's no time!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head: "This creature has been guarding the Crimson Flame Lotus for who knows how long, showing it loves this thing dearly. Even if you prepared the best items, could they be more attractive than this? Besides, the lotus seed is ripe and ready to eat. If you go up to prepare items now, it will have eaten it before you come down."

"Then..." Gu Mu looked utterly puzzled.

Without preparing items, how could he attract its attention?

Just as he was wondering, he heard the "Grandmaster's" voice in his ear.

"Simple. Jump down now, give it a beating, and then I'll tell you how to tame it."

"A beating?"

Gu Mu's face turned green.

Others taming beasts tried to gain trust and then use various methods to win them over. Directly attacking...

Wouldn't that enrage the creature? Provoking conflict and displeasing it... how could it be tamed?

And most importantly... if he went down, he might never come back up...

Are you sure you're asking me to tame the beast, not to feed myself to it?

Seeing his hesitation, Zhang Xuan knew his concerns and comforted him: "Don't worry. With me here, even if it wants to kill you, it won't be easy."

"Yes!" Gu Mu gritted his teeth.

That made sense. The Grandmaster was a formidable figure surpassing the Supreme Realm. Watching over him, how could he let him suffer?

Of course, if he knew that this Grandmaster's true strength was only at the Half-Step Grandmaster level, which he could crush with a flick of his finger... he wouldn't think so and would probably burst into tears on the spot.

Having made his decision, Gu Mu took a deep breath. With a flip of his palm, a long sword appeared in his hand. Channeling his true qi, sword aura shimmered like light. He slashed the ground several times, and the hard rock surface was instantly cut into thin stone slabs of uniform size.

About seventy or eighty of them, each square, about a foot in length and width.

He grabbed a handful, piled them together, and placed them in front of Liao Xun.

"Hall Master Liao, I may need to trouble you later to help me set up a place to land!"

"Alright!" Liao Xun nodded.

Even a Supreme pinnacle cannot fly; to enter the scorching magma and fight the lava beasts, countless footholds need to be built.

These footholds are not fixed; one only needs to throw out the stone in hand, and by relying on the slight buoyancy where the rock touches the lava, one can walk on it without sinking.

This is also why Supreme experts are powerful; if it were a Grandmaster, they couldn't even resist the heat, let alone advance.

"Grandmaster Uncle, then... I'm going down!"

Having prepared everything, Gu Mu took a deep breath.

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Seeing his agreement, Gu Mu circulated his true qi to the extreme, flicked his wrist, and a stone slab flew out first, landing above the lava, while he himself shot straight after it.

He lightly tapped on top of the stone, using the counterforce to leap up again.

Supreme realm experts have all trained in light-body techniques; even on water, with some leverage, they can easily skim across, let alone on lava with greater buoyancy.

Whoosh!

Seeing that his strength was exhausted and he began to fall, Liao Xun calculated where he would land and threw out a stone slab in advance.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, he tapped the stone again, his body soaring into the air and continuing forward. With such consecutive leaps, after seven or eight bounds, he arrived before the lava beast.

"Let's begin!"

With a raise of his brows, he gathered all his strength. Gu Mu let out a loud shout and thrust his sword forward.

Since he had struck, he could not hold back; otherwise, he would only die.

Roar!

Seeing someone attack it, the lava beast flew into a rage. With a roar, it lashed out with its thick tail.

Clatter!

Lava splashed, and power burst forth.

Before the attack even reached him, Gu Mu felt a wave of heat rushing toward his face. He flicked his wrist, quickly changed his stance, and blocked with his longsword.

Ding!

The tail struck the sword blade. With no leverage, Gu Mu's body shot backward like a cannonball.

Whoosh!

Watching his landing spot, Liao Xun continued to throw out stones to give him a foothold, so there was no real danger.

Although they had never really coordinated before, Liao Xun was a peak Grandmaster, and throwing a stone was hardly something he could mess up.

"Grand-uncle, what should I do now?"

Not expecting the creature to be so powerful—it sent him flying with a single swipe of its tail—Gu Mu couldn't help asking.

"Wait a moment, I haven't figured it out yet. You keep going..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Haven't figured it out? Keep going..."

Gu Mu nearly missed the stone and plunged headfirst into the lava.

This grand-uncle was way too unreliable!

Earlier he had said that if Gu Mu fought this creature, he would guide him on how to tame it. Now the fight had already started, and he still hadn't figured it out...

Could he be any more of a letdown?

Whoosh!

While he was fuming, the enraged Lava Beast charged at him, its razor-sharp teeth snapping shut.

The attack came so fast that Gu Mu barely had time to react, thrusting his longsword forward.

Bang!

The sword tip clashed with the Lava Beast, numbing his arm and sending him flying backward again.

Below was scorching lava with no solid ground to stand on. Though he could move using the stones, his strength was severely hampered, allowing him to use only sixty to seventy percent of his full power.

At this level, he couldn't withstand the Lava Beast's frenzied assault.

"Grand-uncle, are you ready yet?"

After barely steadying himself, he looked at Zhang Xuan again, only to find him standing there, lost in thought, as if... spacing out.

His heart sank, and Gu Mu was on the verge of tears.

If he had known this grand-uncle was so unreliable, he would never have come down...

Now that this creature had him cornered, even if he wanted to escape, he couldn't. Was he really going to die here?

"I'll go all out!"

Knowing there was no escape, he gritted his teeth, raised his longsword again, and with his inner energy surging like the wind, he slashed straight down.

Bang!

The two clashed, and he was sent flying another ten meters.

Fortunately, Liao Xun was strong and accurate in predicting his landing, always tossing a stone just in time. Otherwise, forget about defeating the enemy, he would have fallen into the lava and been burned alive.

Clang, clang, clang!

After several more exchanges, just as Gu Mu was utterly distressed and about to give out, a voice sounded in his ear.

"Alright, now listen to my instructions!"

Turning his head, he saw the 'grand-uncle' looking at him with a calm expression.