Chapter 985 - Dragon Firebearer
Afterward, Han Wu destroyed the Fire Worship Cult.
Many of its followers didn’t escape in time, and Han Wu’s Bone Dragon killed them. Han Wu felt no pity for them. The cult had slaughtered other life forms for its own benefit, so slaughtering them for his own benefit was only natural.
After wiping out the cult, Han Wu collected a decent haul of equipment and materials. Most of the materials were low-grade, below Rank 6, with nothing above Rank 7.
This made Han Wu deeply realize why true powerhouses were so rare. Powerful equipment and materials were scarce to begin with. Thankfully, Han Wu possessed the Refiner and the Merge. He could merge the materials he refined and create powerful equipment from scratch.
Without the cult leader and Corpse Fiend Hennibal in the way, Han Wu raided the cult’s treasury and emptied it completely. Unfortunately, he didn’t find a second Divine Stone as precious as the first. He did find several powerful legacies, however, so the haul wasn’t bad.
Among them were three Eighth Form legacies that Han Wu needed. They were the Fire Worship Priest, the Firebearer, and the Flame Devourer Prince. All three were fire-related.
The Fire Worship Priest possessed exceptional spiritual attributes and could control multiple powerful fire-type skills. The Firebearer focused on stamina and endurance, and the wielder used themselves as fuel to burn and increase destructive power. The Flame Devourer Prince excelled at suppressing fire, preventing fire-type life forms from unleashing their full strength.
Han Wu evaluated all three options. The Fire Worship Priest focused entirely on fire skill output, which made it useless to him. He already had the Fire Dragon Spirit, and Esna would never lack fire-type skills.
The Firebearer, which increased strength by burning oneself, had some appeal. As for the Flame Devourer Prince, Han Wu dismissed it immediately. He had the Conversion Jurisdiction, which rendered the legacy meaningless. The Flame Devourer Prince could only suppress fire, while the Conversion Jurisdiction could suppress all elements. It wasn’t even a competition.
After careful consideration, Han Wu chose the Firebearer legacy as his Eighth Form. The treasury also contained enough materials to fulfill the legacy’s requirements.
As Han Wu merged the Eighth Form, something happened. His Sixth Form, Fire Dragon Knight, reacted, and Esquiem emerged on its own without being summoned. It was still asleep as it continued absorbing the Ancient God’s essence, but that didn’t prevent it from forming a link with the Eighth Form.
Esquiem’s flames flowed into the Firebearer, converting its ordinary fire into dragon fire. Under the burning dragon fire’s influence, the Firebearer evolved into a special Form known as the Dragon Firebearer. In that Form, Han Wu could pass dragon fire to other species, granting them the Firebearer state as well. The dragon fire also inflicted less damage on its wielder while significantly greater enhancements.
Once Han Wu entered the Dragon Firebearer Form, all his base attributes increased tenfold, and his attacks carried dragon fire damage. Even a casual strike could reach the Microcosm rank. Although it still fell short of his peak strength, it was enough to make Han Wu a dominant force within any region of the White Soul Civilization.
Satisfied with his newfound power, Han Wu turned his attention to the Ninth Form legacy he had found in the treasury. It was the Fire Fiend form that the cult leader had used.
Han Wu looked down on it from the bottom of his heart. Transforming into a pure elemental body could negate a lot of damage, but once it encountered something that countered, the transformation was a dead end.
Han Wu didn’t consider the cult leader’s Fire Fiend particularly powerful, so he had no intention of accepting this Ninth Form legacy.
After turning the Fire Worship Cult upside down, there was nothing left to gain. His strength had improved once more, so he decided it was time to visit the Golden Tree and break the final seal on the Golden Rune.
Esquiem was in a deep sleep and couldn’t be summoned. Esna was a soul entity and unsuitable as a mount. Left with no other choice, Han Wu rode the Bone Dragon he had summoned.
The Bone Dragon was imposing and constantly radiated scorching Dragon Fear. A single glance was enough to tell anyone that it wasn’t something to provoke. Along the way, it spared Han Wu plenty of trouble.
After two days of travel, Han Wu finally arrived near the Golden Tree’s territory.
The Golden Tree was the physical manifestation of the Golden Will within the White Soul Civilization. Naturally, Han Wu could sense its pressure from far away.
At first, he didn’t think much of it. However, as he rode the Bone Dragon closer, the Golden Will’s pressure erupted violently. Han Wu and the Bone Dragon suddenly felt a thousand times heavier and crashed to the ground.
After communicating with the Golden Will, the Desolation Manifestation explained to Han Wu that it forbade any living creature or undead from flying within its territory. Doing so was considered an act of disrespect.
Han Wu was immediately annoyed. It’s just a tree. What’s there to be arrogant about!
The Desolation Manifestation quickly talked him down, warning him not to insult the Golden Will. It was notoriously petty. If it overheard him, it would deliberately make things difficult.
Han Wu promptly shut his mouth and felt relieved that he hadn’t said those words aloud. At the same time, he grumbled to himself, The Golden Will is the will of an entire civilization. Being so petty is a flaw it really ought to fix.
With no other option, Han Wu continued his journey on the ground. Thankfully, the Golden Will didn’t forbid riding on the ground, so he rode on the Bone Dragon’s back. It was a bit hard on his backside, but at least he didn’t have to walk.
After another half day of travel, Han Wu finally saw the Golden Tree in its entirety. An enormous golden tree that would take over a hundred people to encircle with their arms stood before him.
Its grandeur immediately stunned Han Wu. Every leaf shimmered with a golden radiance. If he could sell them, how much would they be worth?
At that moment, the Desolation Manifestation suddenly warned him, “Don’t try to break off a branch of the Golden Tree yourself. A branch obtained that way is completely useless. Only a branch that the Golden Tree gives willingly can break the Golden Rune’s final seal.”
Han Wu nodded, though disappointment crept into his expression. He preferred to take matters into his own hands. The Desolation Manifestation’s warning had raised the difficulty considerably. His greatest concern was that the Golden Tree would refuse to give him a branch no matter what.
In that case, his journey over the past several days would have been for nothing. Since he had already come this far, however, Han Wu decided to try first. He fixed his gaze on the Golden Tree’s trunk and marched toward it.
At last, he climbed the towering staircase and saw the Golden Tree up close. Its entire trunk looked as though it had been forged from pure gold. It shimmered constantly with a golden glow, making it an exquisitely beautiful sight.
As he admired the Golden Tree, Han Wu noticed someone standing before it. When he drew closer and examined the figure carefully, he recognized the person immediately. It was none other than the once-famous king of the White Soul Civilization, the Final King Lingray, or rather, his corpse.
Han Wu knew that the true soul inhabiting this corpse belonged to the Undead King Daniel, who bore a grudge against the Final King Lingray.