Xiao Yan's expression changed.
He had long suspected that the Tuo She Ancient Emperor wouldn't help him without a reason.
However, given his current situation, earning the Ancient Emperor's favor was still better than being killed directly by Xu Ran. Xu Ran would only torment him, while at least the Ancient Emperor saw potential in him.
This offered him a sliver of comfort.
"I accept all your demands, as long as I can torture Xu Ran to death, I am willing to do anything. Not just my life, even if it's my chastity, I am willing to give it up," Xiao Yan said with resolute determination. To a man, chastity must be the most important thing, but for him, if it meant he could kill Xu Ran, chastity was dispensable.
"I have absolutely no interest in your chastity," the Tuo She Ancient Emperor said, looking at Xiao Yan in surprise. Although he was completely uninterested in such matters, the fact that Xiao Yan was even willing to give up his chastity showed how strong his will to kill Xu Ran was.
A normal man couldn't bring himself to sacrifice his chastity, especially not Xiao Yan, whose talents were undoubtedly among the best in this world.
As Xiao Yan was making a deal with the Tuo She Ancient Emperor in his mind, powerful Strange Fires appeared all over his body, resembling a miniature sea of fire.
Xiao Yan's aura also skyrocketed in a short period of time, surpassing the previous Void-swallowing Flame, reaching a level that even Xu Ran found somewhat surprising.
Clearly, the Tuo She Ancient Emperor had taken over Xiao Yan's body.
"Interesting."
Seeing his own Sword Qi being dissolved by the Strange Fire surrounding Xiao Yan, Xu Ran finally showed a trace of a smile.
There were too few powerful beings on the Fighting Spirit Continent, and even fewer who could catch Xu Ran's attention. The Tuo She Ancient Emperor had broken through to the Dou Di level a thousand years ago, and a thousand years had passed since then, his strength had increased by no small margin.
Only such a person was worthy of his attention.
"Who exactly are you? The aura emanating from you is very strange," Xiao Yan finally spoke, clearly with an elder's voice. However, it did not have that half-buried feel that typically came with an old person's voice; instead, it was full of vigor, his gaze piercing like an eagle's as he looked straight at Xu Ran. Everyone looking at Xiao Yan felt a sharp pain in their eyes, forcing them to quickly divert their gaze before it got better.
Normally, a single Strange Fire could cause countless strong beings to fight over it, let alone a whole sea of it.
"I am here to kill you," Xu Ran said directly.
To him, the Tuo She Ancient Emperor was an excellent tonic.
"Kill me?" the Tuo She Ancient Emperor was clearly taken aback. He knew well why Xu Ran had lured him out, but Xu Ran's directness was a bit too blunt. After all, he was a Dou Di from a thousand years ago, and he was much stronger now than when he had first ascended to the Dou Di level. In fact, he could now defeat his newly ascended self with a single move.
If Xu Ran was measuring him by the standards of an ordinary Dou Di, that would be foolish.
However, there was much about Xu Ran that he couldn't see through. What was the source of Xu Ran's strength? What exactly was the Dou Qi Xu Ran was practicing, fire-type Dou Qi? It didn't seem like it.
Xu Ran had just made his move when the Finger Sword Intent appeared, causing his soul to tremble. That single sword seemed to contain far too much, far beyond what mere Flame could compare to.
Furthermore, observing the Fighting Spirit Continent had made it clear to him that there was no Yuan Qi here, making the birth of a Dou Di impossible. What then did Xu Ran's existence imply? Had he come from another Continent to the Fighting Spirit Continent?
"Killing me won't be so easy," Tuo She Ancient Emperor said with a dark expression, "You should know that my true body has not yet descended, only a projection of some power. Even so, with my methods, I can match a common Dou Di. And my true body is even stronger. If it weren't for the restrictions placed on us strong beings descending to lower planes, my true body would have arrived long ago."
The conversation between him and Xu Ran could only be heard by the two of them; otherwise, the content would be enough to shock the entire Continent and send its people into fear.
Based on the settings, Xu Ran estimated that Tuo She Ancient Emperor's "Cultivation Level" in the Great Thousand World had already reached that of a Heavenly Sovereign. Even in the Great Thousand World, such a Cultivation Level belonged to an absolutely powerful being.
Although the Fighting Spirit Continent wasn't considered particularly low-tier, it was, at most, a mid-tier Continent.
Such level Continents cannot host a being whose strength far exceeds the common strong ones of the Continent. Even if a strong being broke through to Dou Di and wanted to stay in the Fighting Spirit Continent, they wouldn't be allowed; they would be forcibly taken away.
This was a rule set by all the strong beings in the Great Thousand World based on righteousness. For the indigenous residents of a Continent, the arrival of someone too powerful was an absolute disaster—if they encountered a Hangman, the entire Continent could turn into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
However, how could Tuo She Ancient Emperor let go of an opportunity to devour Xu Ran?
All he needed to do was to deliver some nice things to other strong beings. As long as he didn't embark on a killing spree upon descending, no one would speak against him.
What surprised him was why Xu Ran was here. In the Great Thousand World, there have always been strong beings keeping an eye on these lower-level planes, ready to take away any emergent strong beings immediately.
But why hadn't the Great Thousand World discovered Xu Ran?
"Tsk tsk, so your power must be much higher than a normal Dou Di, huh. But the stronger you are, the happier I am, because I have also practiced the Burning Decision," Xu Ran said, half-jokingly.
However, the current Tuo She Ancient Emperor was just a Soul Body left in the Ancient Emperor's Cave House for the sake of heritage, and although some power was projected onto it, it was ultimately not the real Tuo She Ancient Emperor. Otherwise, he really would want to devour the Tuo She Ancient Emperor right now.
"Burning Decision? Indeed."
Tuo She Ancient Emperor wasn't afraid; upon closer inspection, he also detected that familiar aura emanating from Xu Ran. Only those who practiced the Burning Decision produced such an aura.
Now, the intentions between Xu Ran and him were clear as day. There were no conspiracies, only overt schemes.
"However, if you try to devour me, be careful not to play with fire and get burned." Tuo She Ancient Emperor had devoured who knows how many Strange Fires and Spiritual Fires in his lifetime, making him an absolute fire manipulation expert. Among the many strong beings in countless planes of the Great Thousand World, he could definitely be ranked in the top three.
What puzzled him was that Xu Ran, whose strength was clearly very mighty, could still remain on this plane without fearing Xu Ran's strength. After all, the Burning Decision was left behind on the Fighting Spirit Continent by him.
"I hope you will spare this man," Tuo She Ancient Emperor said, referring to Xiao Yan. "I have made a deal with him, and his Life is now mine."
"What if I say no?" Xu Ran didn't expect Tuo She Ancient Emperor to actually protect Xiao Yan. The Son of Destiny's life was indeed hard; almost all the Strange Fires liked to flock to Xiao Yan.
"You have no choice. If you kill him, I will spread your information across the Fighting Spirit Continent, and strong beings will take you away. Although I don't know your purpose for staying here, you don't want to leave this place for the time being, do you?"