Chapter 197: Kunwu Divine Tree

　　“What are you doing, Lord Clan Chief? I was just saying! Why did you really kneel?”

　　Duan Yue was taken aback, and he quickly avoided doing that. Although the clan chief was old, he was a Martial Emperor after all, and Duan Yue did not think he deserved that.

　　Yunxiao was shocked as well. “Lord Clan Chief, what are you doing? Even if you admire me very much, you are old and don’t have to offer me such great courtesy.”

　　“My lord!”

　　“Dad!”

　　It was then that Tie Fan, Tie Ling, and Tie Fei came to their senses. They hurried over to help the clan chief up, but he pushed them away and shouted, “Get down on your knees, all three of you!”

　　The trio was struck dumb instantly. ‘What is this? It is shameful enough for you to kneel on your own, and now you want us to kneel too?’ Even Yunxiao was dumbfounded.

　　While trembling, the Firefish clan chief said agitatedly, “Holy Herald! Lord Holy Herald! You are Lord Hold Herald!”

　　“Holy Herald?” Yunxiao did not understand.

　　“Dad, what nonsense are you talking about? Get up quickly!” Tie Ling hurried over to help his father up, but was knocked in the head with a punch by the clan chief, making him jump away in pain.

　　The clan chief bellowed at the few of them, “Quickly pay homage to the Lord Holy Herald, all three of you!”

　　Tie Ling, “…”

　　“Old fish-head, get up quickly and make yourself clear. Look at the three of them, their eyes are burning as if they want to devour me now.” Yunxiao hurried over to help the clan chief up.

　　The clan chief glanced at the fuming trio and gave a cold snort, only then did he grab at Yunxiao’s hand tightly and said in an almost sobbing voice, “Your Excellency, I never thought I would see you in my lifetime!”

　　“This…” Yunxiao said lamely, “We can exchange our addresses and contact information later, and there will be plenty of opportunities for us to meet each other in the future.”

　　The Firefish clan chief was thrilled for a while before he said, “Your Excellency may not know why yet,” he turned to the other three and said, “and you too. Do you know the origin of the Firefish clan?”

　　“Origin? What origin could we have?” Tie Ling froze.

　　The clan chief said in a deep voice, “Hmph! Although we, the Firefish clan, are not comparable to those descendants of the True Spirits, we are not nameless people either. Do you know the origin of the Kunwu Divine Tree?”

　　Everyone looked blank, but Yunxiao’s eyes gleamed as he said thoughtfully, “A Kunwu Divine Tree was the dwelling place of a True Spirit Phoenix in ancient times, which was burned by the phoenix’s nirvana fire, reborn together with the phoenix, and eventually became a Kunwu Divine Tree.” He seemed to have understood something; he did have the Phoenix True Flame in his body.

　　“Exactly! Your Excellency is indeed the Lord Holy Herald!” The clan chief’s eyes shone with excitement as he said, “In the ancient times, the Firefish clan was just an ordinary sea school. It was in this sea area that a True Spirit Phoenix entered Nirvana on a Kunwu Divine Tree, and the nirvana fire accidentally burned one of our ancestors. The ancestor thought he would die, but instead of dying, his body transformed significantly under the burning of the divine fire. From then on, he not only had an extremely keen perception and desire for fire, but his body structure also became very suitable for cultivation. Later on, the ancestor even stepped into the realm of Martial Sovereigns and turned our clan into an overlord in this region!”

　　“Did that really happen? Then why is it that none of the Firefish people could step into the Nine Heavens realm over the last ten thousand years? Even the Eight Desolation realm is unheard of. Only some thousands of years ago did one of our Patriarchs manage to reach the peak of the Seven Constellations realm, but he also stopped at that realm,” Tie Fan paused for a moment before he asked.

　　The Firefish clan chief sighed and said, “I also thought about this question for a very long time, and finally I understood the reason. The nirvana fire of the True Spirit Phoenix had transformed our ancestor’s bloodline, but since then, the bloodline began to grow thinner through the later generations. Today, the power of the Firefish bloodline is no longer enough to let us break through to the Eight Desolation realm. Moreover, if this were to continue, it will get more difficult for us to break through to the Seven Constellations realm. I’m really worried that one day, the Firefish clan will be reduced to the level of sea schools again.”

　　Tie Fan and the others were startled, and they said in horror, “Then… what should we do?”

　　The clan chief’s eyes glowed as he stared at Yunxiao and said excitedly, “I’m not worried anymore now. The arrival of the Lord Holy Herald is the help that heaven has sent to us! Just now, I felt an extremely warm and desirable power from the illusory phoenix Your Excellency conjured, and the ancient power lying dormant in my bloodline seemed to have slightly awakened. Your Excellency must have the Phoenix Divine Flame, right?”

　　The others were all staring at Yunxiao while Duan Yue was extremely shocked. A True Spirit Phoenix was a legendary being that existed in ancient times, and whether it was real or not remained to be verified. But now, he actually met a group of fish people transformed by the Phoenix True Flame, and the divine fire, which according to the legends could burn off everything and make one reborn, was owned by a young man.

　　Yunxiao did not expect this to be the case. He paused for a moment, and then he nodded his head slightly.

　　Everyone gasped and stared at him in horror. The clan chief was the only one who cheered as he knelt once again and burst into tears, “Heaven saves my clan! Heaven saves my clan!”

　　While frowning, Yunxiao said, “Even though I have the Phoenix True Flame, how can I help you? I can’t just burn you all over again, can I?”

　　“This…”

　　That gave the clan chief a pause. He pondered for a moment and said, “Just now, when Your Excellency summoned the True Flame, I felt the revival and awakening in my bloodline. I think Your Excellency must have a way. Since heaven has sent you here, you must be here to help the Firefish clan!”

　　He said confidently while Tie Fan, Tie Ling, and Tie Fei looked at Yunxiao with respect. Tie Fei hurried forward and got down on one knee as he said, “I’ve offended Your Excellency just now, please punish me!”

　　Yunxiao felt a little dizzy and said hastily, “Don’t be too courteous, I don’t feel comfortable! I don’t know how to help you, but if we can get inside the Kunwu Divine Tree, there will be no problem for me to fulfill the two things I mentioned earlier.”

　　“Yes!” The Firefish clan chief said loudly, “It was inside the Kunwu Divine Tree that our ancestor was burned by the nirvana fire. The divine tree must be the key to the revival of our clan!”

　　His words soon struck a chord with Tie Fan and the others, and as they were already deeply convinced by Yunxiao’s fire controlling technique, they immediately believed with great certainty that he was the Holy Herald sent by heaven. After that, things became much simpler. Since everyone had the same goal, they set out directly toward the Kunwu Divine Tree.

　　The clan chief had planned to hold a reception ceremony and ask all his people to pay homage to the Lord Holy Herald, but Yunxiao hastily stopped him. After that, Yunxiao, Duan Yue, the clan chief, Tie Ling, Tie Fan, and the other two leaders, as well as Tie Fei, a total of eight people quietly set out from the Firefish’s territory, heading in the direction of the Kunwu Divine Tree.

　　Ten thousand years ago, the area where the Firefish people lived originally included the Kunwu Divine Tree, but it was later found that the vicinity of the divine tree was not suitable for living creatures. So, they gradually migrated out and only sent people to pick the leaves of the divine tree for their people to eat from time to time. It was not until the divine tree was occupied by the Razor Clam clan that they gave up completely.

　　With the Firefish people leading the way, they soon entered a sea area where Yunxiao perceived a faint, strange fluctuation. The water here was unusually quiet, with not even a small fish to be seen, as if it were a dead sea. Yet, the water was full of life force.

　　He finally understood why the Firefish people had migrated. This should be the sea area where Kunwu Divine Tree was located, and there was a strange power in the seawater that seemed to make underwater creatures uncomfortable.

　　“Who goes there? Stop right now!” A loud shout came from the distance, spreading through the waves. Meanwhile, several sea people swam up. They were nearly the same size from top to bottom, with very thin, mud-black limbs, and two bean-sized eyes that glowed fiercely at Yunxiao and the others.

　　“So, they are from the Razor Clam clan?” Stunned, Yunxiao thought for a moment and then said, “I seem to have some impression of them.”

　　That gave the Firefish clan chief a pause, and he asked in surprise, “Did Your Excellency meet the Razor Clam clan before?”

　　“Oh, no! I have seen similar sea schools.” Yunxiao gave a vague answer. At that time, he was on the run and had killed heaven-knows-how-many sea people and many experts of the Nine Heavens realm. So, even though the Razor Clam clan had sent a large number of their people to stop him, he did not remember them much, and just felt a little familiar when he saw them.

　　“I see!” said the clan chief. “Your Excellency, do we rush over or…”

　　“Of course, we rush over!” Yunxiao analyzed, “With our strength, we can get through even when we meet their nine-stars Martial Grandmaster, unless we meet two nine-stars Martial Grandmasters at the same time. But, this sea area is so huge, and I don’t think our luck wil be that bad. Kill these few people and speed up. Now that there are guards, I think the Kunwu Divine Tree is not far away from here.”

　　“Your Excellency is truly wise! The Kunwu Divine Tree is just some three hundred miles ahead.” Looking murderously at the few Razor Clam people swimming toward them, the clan chief said in a cold voice, “Tie Fan, kill them quickly. Don’t waste the Lord Holy Herald’s time!”

　　“Understood!”

　　Tie Fan suddenly bent his body and then catapulted himself out, his speed faster than a bird flying in the sky. Before the few approaching Razor Clam people knew what was happening, they saw their upper and lower bodies separate and then their consciousness vanish.

　　“Speed up and rush into Kunwu Divine Tree without a stop!” Yunxiao shouted lightly, and the eight people immediately turned into a sharp arrow, flying ahead at top speed.

　　The sea was really vast and boundless. Apart from the few Razor Clam people, they did not encounter any other marine creature. Soon, Yunxiao’s divine sense discovered a towering tree, which was coiled at the seabed like a huge ancient city and was shocking to look at.

　　“Since this Kunwu Divine Tree is the place where the True Spirit Phoenix was reborn, why is it on the seabed?” The question popped into his head, and he asked it unknowingly.

　　The clan chief said, “Your Excellency, this divine tree was indeed on an island in those days. Later on, the sea changed countless times and brought it down to the bottom.”