The tribesmen of the Raging Volcano tribe were leaving as fast as they could. At the same time, they were also trying not to cause any disturbance. They were terrified that Cao Yun could decide to kill them. Death itself wasn't as frightening as being swallowed whole without being able to do anything. With the Sun-Severing Spear, Cao Yun could literally wipe them all out, and they could not do anything against him.
Even in the distance, the tribesmen were careful. Only after a few hours of running in fear did they stop. Then, it dawned on them. The most powerful leaders of their tribe had been slaughtered in a mere instant. Now, they had to come home to announce that, not only had they not been victorious, but they had lost everything because of one bad decision by Rong Shan. Soon, their tribe would be completely absorbed by the Ancient Obsidian tribe.
As they were all slowly realizing what had happened, an old Flameborn shook with fear and excitement. He finally said what was on his mind.
"That weapon... It should be a fragment of the Ash Bringer's calamity..."
Those words brought back old legends to the minds of everyone present.
"The Sun-Severing Spear?!"
According to legends, the Ash Bringer had killed Flameborns and demons alike with this spear. In a single battle, she had annihilated so many Flameborns that the Broken Fire World had known cold for an entire day. Her name had not come from this, but many people had mistakenly connected this legend with her name. Now, the Raging Volcano tribesmen knew better. The Ash Bringer had not caused anyone to turn to ash that day, she had simply erased them from existence. Their flames being extinguished all of a sudden had probably lowered the temperature of the entire world. Honestly, they could now believe the legends.
What truly terrified them was that, according to those same legends, only a descendant of the Ash Bringer could fully wield her Sun-Severing Spear. Considering that Cao Yun was clearly not a Flameborn, it could only mean one thing. This was too terrifying. If Cao Yun actually was the descendant of the Ash Bringer, Rong Shan had truly hurt his tribe. Right in front of them, they had the opportunity to become a major tribe, but not only had they failed to grab it, they had also rejected it and spat on it with violence.
Fully dejected, the tribesmen headed toward the Raging Volcano tribe. Not a single one of them would dare tell the events that had unfolded in any other way than how they had precisely occurred. The remaining leadership had to know the absolute truth to come to the right decision. Otherwise, their tribe would vanish without a trace. Of that, they were absolutely certain.
Now that the Raging Volcano tribesmen had left, Cao Yun diminished his aura. Although he kept the fragment of the Sun-Severing Spear in hand, he didn't pour any energy into it. Before the Ancient Obsidian tribe, he had no reason to be too antagonistic. He was waiting for Cangfeng's arrival, but he still talked to the three leaders through telepathy.
"I am sorry for my harshness, but there was no time for dialogue. The Raging Volcano tribe had to see a united front for once. They were clearly using your division to suppress your Ancient Obsidian tribe, my ancestor's tribe. Be assured that I have no interest in actually taking over. That being said, I will have need of your tribe for a while. However, I imagine that it's better to talk about this with your actual leader rather than you three.
"Let me just add that none of you is worthy of leading the tribe established by the Ash Bringer. She would be ashamed of you and would regret even founding your tribe if she saw you today. Even if I help the Ancient Obsidian tribe rise to the summit, your stupidity will simply make it come crashing down given enough time. Ponder over my words, or simply ignore them, this is your decision and your responsibility.
"I will only add one thing. I have no enmity toward you. I understand why you were ready to abandon me to death despite saving your fellow tribesmen. However, if you ever side with my enemies against me again, I will treat you like my enemies. And I don't have enemies. At least, never for long."
Cao Yun was reasonable and didn't even use any form of killing intent. Honestly, this would have been too much after they had noticed his ruthlessness and the terror of the Sun-Severing Spear. In his words, they could hear his sincerity. In fact, Cao Yun didn't care about them at all. Just like Rong Shan of the Raging Volcano tribe, the three leaders had also failed to seize the greatest opportunity of their lives. Hopefully, Jinyao and his daughters could convince Cao Yun. That might be enough to help their tribe rise higher and higher.
For the three leaders, Shaman Heiyan, and almost everyone present, Cao Yun was the prophesied return of the Ash Bringer. When she left, Ash Bringer had announced that her descendant would return when the time was right. For centuries, the shamans had tried to understand her words and to predict the date. Even Shaman Heiyan had tried and failed because he thought that the Ash Bringer's descendant would also be a woman who would appear two centuries in the future. To be fair with Shaman Heiyan, the Ash Bringer had never planned anything at all, she had just planted the seeds of a potential member of the Hongchen Kingdom coming back to the Broken Fire World.
Although Cao Yun had no blood lineage linking him to Emperor Nuwa, he was in a way her descendant. After all, she was the progenitor of the entire Hongchen Kingdom. Every human in the Hongchen Kingdom had been born thanks to her battle against Demon God Da Mo. Besides, Cao Yun had received her heritage directly from a piece of her soul. As such, he knew everything he needed to know about the Ash Bringer. So he had no problem assuming the role of her descendant. Soon, most people in the Ancient Obsidian tribe would refer to him as the return of the Ash Bringer. Others, especially other tribes, would soon call him the Deceiver. Even if Ash Bringer was a sacred figure for the Ancient Obsidian tribe, other tribes also considered her sacred or holy. Indeed, she had helped them push back Demon God Da Mo's campaigns of invasion.
On the ground, Jinyao and his daughters were still shocked. Jinyue and Jinyang had seen how ruthless and powerful Cao Yun was when he had killed Jin'ao. However, this had been nothing compared with how he had dealt with his son. In an instant, the most terrifying Flameborn they had ever seen in their lives simply ceased to exist. This was simply too surreal. Cao Yun had turned from a nice senior who could be stern to an actual old monster from the times of legends.
Among the other Flameborns was Yanzhen. Unfortunately, he had been busy dealing with Raging Volcano tribesmen and had been unable to even protect the girl he loved. If Cao Yun had not intervened, Jinyue would have most likely died. Of course, Yanzhen was grateful, but he was also shaking. Rong Shan had shattered his views, and Cao Yun had trampled them in an instant. Yanzhen realized that he was much weaker than he had thought. He wasn't an arrogant boy, but he was still young. Even though he knew that he had much to learn, he had not really internalized it. Now he had. Being called Cao Yun's teacher made his skin crawl. Cao Yun was probably much older than Yanzhen realized. He knew that Ash Bringer and the people of that time could practice strange methods allowing them to live for centuries. Cao Yun might even be close to a hundred years old.
If Cao Yun had heard all those thoughts, he would have found them disturbing. Thankfully, he didn't even try to pry into anyone's mind. Honestly, he would have preferred to stay anonymous in the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Of course, that would have forced him to kill everyone, or to put seals in their souls without being sure exactly how the souls of Flameborns would react. Since Cao Yun didn't want to simply kill indiscriminately, he was limited in his options. Moreover, for his current goal, he had to rely on something other than just his understanding of the Dao of Fire. Even proving his strength might not be enough. Now he could use the Ash Bringer's name and legends to obtain what he wanted from the Ancient Obsidian tribe. And it wasn't the Sun-Severing Spear.
Outside of the Broken Fire World, even the complete Sun-Severing Spear wasn't very useful. Otherwise, Emperor Nuwa would have taken it with her, obviously.
Finally, Cao Yun felt Cangfeng's presence. He felt something observe him, and Cao Yun let it happen without trying to hide anything. It only took an instant for the presence to disappear from around Cao Yun. Shaman Heiyan was jolted back to reality. Surprised, he bowed toward Cao Yun and started to talk.
"Revered Ash Bringer, our ancestor Patriarch Cangfeng invites you to his humble abode. Please, let me guide your way."
"Fine. I will follow you." Cao Yun turned to Yanzhen. "Make sure that the twins and their father make it home safely. I don't imagine that the Raging Volcano tribe will cause any more trouble, but she will still accompany you."
As he spoke, Cao Yun's words became clear. In the sky, a huge shadow appeared. Hongyu was finally here. Because she couldn't arrive in time for the fight anyway, Cao Yun had told her to slow down in order to spare her strength. Hongyu was in perfect condition. If anyone attacked the group on the way home, Hongyu would be an extremely powerful bodyguard indeed.
Yanzhen acknowledged Cao Yun's request and cupped his fists while bowing.
"Yes, noble one."
Cao Yun wanted to tell him not to stand on ceremony with him. But it would have been awkward.
At last, Shaman Heiyan flew toward Cao Yun and guided him back toward the Ancient Obsidian tribe. To be precise, they went to a place very close to the actual Ancient Obsidian tribe. Decades ago, it had been the heart of the tribe, but because they had lost several territories, the tribe wasn't living in the exact same place. Cao Yun had already explored all the territory, present and past, of the Ancient Obsidian tribe. And yet, he had never felt any strange presence here. However, he could feel Cangfeng down here today. Either Cangfeng could expertly hide his presence here, or he had been away most of the time.
There was nothing but old buildings in ruins. However, Cao Yun could definitely feel a powerful presence underground. For a while, Cao Yun thought that Shaman Heiyan would take him through tunnels to meet this presence. But his expectations were shattered when a voice erupted from the very ground.
"Do you know Ash Bringer's actual name?"
With his senses, Cao Yun knew for a fact that this voice was echoing from the ground below. Cangfeng wasn't in any tunnel, he was quite literally buried under their feet at this very moment. The surprise didn't last long. If Cangfeng wanted to test Cao Yun, he would never succeed.
"I know her as Emperor Nuwa."
"So she did become Emperor? What did she name her empire?"
"My nation is called Hongchen Kingdom. Senior, you seem to speak as if you've actually met Emperor Nuwa. Throughout all her journals, I've never heard of anyone named Cangfeng. Besides, you do seem to be a Flameborn. Flameborns shouldn't be able to live that long..."
Shaman Heiyan was intently listening to everything. In a sense, it was as if he were hearing his god talk to his most holy man. Obviously, he didn't want to miss anything. Besides, neither Cao Yun nor Cangfeng had asked him to leave. Despite being the tribe's shaman, Shaman Heiyan had never even been told Ash Bringer's real name, only her title. He understood that such a secret had to be kept in order to know who would lie about being her descendant.
"This is indeed a long and bizarre story. When Maiden Nuwa was among us, I was but a child who barely spoke. From that time, I don't remember much. Maiden Nuwa left our tribe before I even turned ten. She probably never knew I even existed. However, I could never forget her. Since that time, our Ancient Obsidian tribe has fallen from grace. We have been going through bad leaders one after the other. Many simply relied on our past glory and didn't seek to renew it. Those who did were either incompetent or met misfortune. Sadly, I could not prevent anything.
"As you've said, I should have died a long time ago. My own generation has been erased from all memories, only the Ash Bringer's name remains in the minds. And even that name is whispered as a legendary character who probably didn't exist. Without our shamans, her memory would probably be lost. Even so, it's barely alive.
"During the wars against the demons, I discovered a deep secret of the Broken Fire World. It allowed me to perceive beyond the veil of our meager world. I found a way to preserve my strength and my life fire. Unfortunately, I had to bury myself in order to be preserved. For generations, I remained an attentive guardian of our Ancient Obsidian tribe. But as I got older and older, I could communicate less and less. Only the shaman communes with me anymore. I even fear that leaving my burial place will mean death in a matter of seconds. If my tribe is in danger, I will obliterate the enemy. But I don't think I could survive it..."
"And then, the Ancient Obsidian tribe would be ripe for the taking by any other tribe."
Cao Yun could tell that someone had probably used the Raging Volcano tribe to test Cangfeng. If Cangfeng had wiped them out, then the instigators could have gauged his strength. Of course, Cao Yun had no proof, but he could tell that Cangfeng had the same thought.