Chapter 171: Would You Be Willing to Come With Me?

This is not right.

Lu Ren tasted the strangeness of the situation in almost an instant.

No matter how one looked at it, Long Tian'ao was fundamentally unsuited for the Wanzhen Liuli Fire, yet his body contained numerous Strange Fires; even though Strange Fires are generally incompatible with one another, there are exceptions.

That exception is advancement.

Cultivators seek advancement.

Demon Beasts and the Demon Race also seek advancement.

Strange Fires naturally seek advancement as well.

Otherwise, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire could not possibly have spent tens of thousands of years cultivating sentience.

Although Lu Ren has many Strange Fires in his body, the cultivation technique he practices gives the Strange Fires a chance for advancement.

As long as he can gather the necessary Strange Fires before he himself advances to the Heavenly Human Realm, he can rely on surviving the Heavenly Human Thunder Tribulation to shatter the mental shackles within his body, allowing all the Strange Fires and Lu Ren himself to complete their advancement and sublimation.

Under these circumstances, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire would never choose Long Tian'ao.

Unless...

Unless its sentience was being suppressed.

When Lu Ren realized this, he diverted a sliver of his consciousness to examine the sentience of the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

Sure enough.

Everything was just as he had thought.

Although the Wanzhen Liuli Fire still retained a sliver of sentience, its consciousness was being severely suppressed, only able to flicker weakly.

When Lu Ren probed with his divine sense, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire's fierce counterattack could only be held down firmly.

Lu Ren could even feel the sorrow of the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

His mind stirred slightly.

If he did not do something, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire would likely really be absorbed by Long Tian'ao.

But he absolutely could not sit by and watch!

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Ren opened the memory gap he had stored toward the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

This memory gap contained the memory of Long Tian'ao absorbing the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

The memory surged madly toward the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

After a brief resistance, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire realized what this was; half-doubting and puzzled, it tentatively accepted it.

But after briefly reading this memory, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire's counterattack suddenly became extremely intense!

The entire underground volcano crackled and popped, and even the opening on the surface was blasted even wider.

Jiufang keenly sensed that something was wrong at this moment.

He suddenly opened his eyes and stood up, looking at the opening below, and suddenly shouted, "Lu Ren, what are you doing!"

"Don't mess around!"

Lu Ren did not listen to what he was saying at all.

Within his divine sense, Lu Ren coaxed the Wanzhen Liuli Fire, "You should be able to understand what I am saying, Wanzhen Liuli Fire."

"Right now, the person above is your future master; are you willing?"

The Wanzhen Liuli Fire sent back an extremely strong resistance within the divine sense.

Resistance was only natural.

No sentient thing wishes to submit to a master and have its consciousness extinguished.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Lu Ren's lips.

He said calmly, "I am no different from that person; I also wish for you to acknowledge me as your master."

"But if you acknowledge me as your master, you will gain a chance for advancement."

"I can show you."

Show what? After a moment of confusion, the Wanzhen Liuli Fire was forced to accept the memories surging from Lu Ren's side.

In the underground volcano, the faintly flickering flame suddenly stiffened.

Then.

There was an even more explosive bombardment, crackling and popping.

Lu Ren could feel the excited mood of the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

But...

"I cannot form a contract with you," a voice that was somewhat soft, like that of a young girl, came through.

It was the Wanzhen Liuli Fire!

She actually already possessed her own voice! Lu Ren felt a moment of surprise in his heart.

This was something he had not anticipated.

Furthermore.

The Wanzhen Liuli Fire's voice was extremely inconsistent with its fierce appearance.

And then.

The Wanzhen Liuli Fire said with some sorrow, "If it were possible, I would naturally want to form a contract with you too."

"But something is hindering me."

"And I cannot suppress my own nature."

"I can only perform a brief suppression."

"However..."

She spoke in fits and starts.

Lu Ren was able to understand exactly what the Wanzhen Liuli Fire meant.

If the Wanzhen Liuli Fire suppressed its own nature, then Long Tian'ao would notice and quickly proceed with the contract.

It was impossible for the Wanzhen Liuli Fire to suppress itself solely for Lu Ren.

This was the nature of the flame.

And if it did not suppress itself, it would eventually lean toward Long Tian'ao's side.

"You need not worry." Lu Ren felt his heart settle after hearing the feedback from the Wanzhen Liuli Fire.

"I have a magical treasure; as long as you are willing, I can temporarily suppress your instinct to resist, and I can take you into my magical treasure to be refined at a later date."

"How about it?"

The Wanzhen Liuli Fire did not think too much about it.

Lu Ren's willingness to open his memories to share had already won its trust.

The Wanzhen Liuli Fire agreed without hesitation.

When Lu Ren sensed that the Wanzhen Liuli Fire had suppressed its own nature, he suddenly cooperated to collect it!

The originally towering flames vanished in that instant.

All the cultivators who had wanted to increase the intensity of their contract upon sensing the Wanzhen Liuli Fire slacken ended up empty-handed.

Long Tian'ao also suddenly opened his eyes.

He spat out a mist of blood with a puff.

As the one most deeply fused with the Wanzhen Liuli Fire, Long Tian'ao inevitably suffered backlash the moment the Wanzhen Liuli Fire disappeared.

"Lu Ren, what have you done?"

Long Tian'ao had been on the verge of contracting the Wanzhen Liuli Fire, so he could naturally sense its sudden disappearance.

Jiufang, as the person who had been suppressing the Wanzhen Liuli Fire for Long Tian'ao all along, could sense it even more clearly.

He stood up from the Flying Magical Artifact, stared at Lu Ren with vicious and venomous eyes, and slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Lu, isn't what you've done a bit excessive?"

"For no reason at all, you used some unknown method to take away the Wanzhen Liuli Fire; what does that make all the cultivators here?"

"By monopolizing a great treasure, could it be that you want to make an enemy of us all?"

Although his words were meant to incite, a large portion of the cultivators were still swayed by his provocation.

Someone immediately stepped forward.

"Lu Family Head, we address you as Lu Family Head out of respect, but you shouldn't be so ruthless as to cut off our opportunities; this Wanzhen Liuli Fire flame belongs to all of us."

"If you are willing to hand it over, then we can naturally live in harmony; if you are unwilling to hand it over, then we can only use our own methods. We hope you won't make things difficult for us!"

Lu Ren looked at these cultivators who couldn't even tell north from south, and the corners of his lips slowly curled into a deeply mocking smile.

If the Wanzhen Liuli Fire were still there, did they really think it could be theirs? They probably wouldn't even get a single offshoot.

But Lu Ren couldn't be bothered to explain.

Strength is the most powerful thing.

Lu Ren casually beckoned with his hand.

"If you are not convinced, you may come and take it yourselves."

(End of chapter)