Beneath the abyss, Lu Yuan saw the true appearance of the fierce beast.
When looking down from the edge of the cave, the fierce beast had seemed the size of a small hill, but upon truly standing before it, one realized it was even more gargantuan than a ten-thousand-meter giant peak.
Standing before it, Lu Yuan was more minuscule than a grain of rice.
The fierce beast's two scarlet eyes were like the sun and moon, and Demonic Qi surged all over its body, radiating an aura of brutality and bloodshed from head to toe.
"Human?"
"Tens of millions of years have passed, has someone finally come?"
The fierce beast spoke with a human voice, but its four limbs and head were pinned to the ground by the Sky-Piercing Giant Sword, unable to move.
Its eyes, resembling the sun and moon, were filled with madness and chaos. The fierce beast looked Lu Yuan up and down, speaking in a seductive tone:
"Human, lift my seal, and I shall grant you eternal life."
Lu Yuan wore a faint smile and gently shook his head.
"Not enough?"
The fierce beast was not angered, continuing to entice: "I shall grant you eternal wealth and allow you to become the lord of a dynasty."
Lu Yuan continued to shake his head.
The fierce beast said: "I shall grant you peerless martial might to ascend to the summit of the world."
Lu Yuan shook his head and remained silent.
The fierce beast grew somewhat angry. "Human! You are too greedy. Though I cannot sense your cultivation base, what I grant is the peak of the mortal world. What on earth do you want?"
Only then did Lu Yuan softly speak, "I want you to become my mount and my companion, accompanying me to conquer the heavens and earth."
"Impossible."
The fierce beast flatly refused, saying arrogantly: "I am a fierce beast born from the Tribulation Qi of the Great Dao. There is nothing in this world nobler than I; only others are fit to be mounts."
Lu Yuan calmly said: "You think too highly of yourself. You are merely the true fierce beast Taotie, nothing more than a projection of a mark across the Cosmic Heavens. Being able to become my mount is your honor."
"No, impossible, I am Taotie, and Taotie is me."
Hearing Lu Yuan's words, the fierce beast Taotie grew somewhat deranged.
Lu Yuan said indifferently: "If you were truly Taotie, you wouldn't have been sealed in this place. Of course, to a certain extent, you truly are Taotie—merely weakened countless times over."
"Hmph! Even if I am not the true Taotie, I am not something a human can enslave and drive. No one in this world can command me, unless you are the Primal Demonic Ancestor."
Taotie quickly accepted the fact that it was not the true Taotie, but remained as arrogant as ever.
Lu Yuan smiled inexplicably. "The Primal Demonic Ancestor? I am indeed not. However, I believe I am more than qualified to be your master."
While speaking, Lu Yuan actively mobilized the Three Demonic Physiques within his body.
The Primal Demonic Body, Supreme Demonic Heart, Eternal Demonic Pupils!
In an instant, Lu Yuan's entire body was entangled in Demonic Qi, his pupils turned purple, his hair became completely white, and his demeanor underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.
At this moment, Lu Yuan was no longer Lu Yuan, but—
The Supreme True Demon!
Lu Yuan extended two fingers. "Now you have two choices: submit, or die."
Taotie stared with those blood-red eyes the size of the sun and moon, stunned for quite a long time before speaking:
"Such primordial Demonic Qi... My noble master, residing within this weak human shell truly defiles your noble identity."
Clearly, Taotie did not believe that a being possessing such pure and noble Demonic Qi could be a human.
However, Lu Yuan did not mind. He restored his original appearance and smiled faintly: "It is fine, this seat has his own plans. Now I shall break the seal for you; follow me, and I will lead you to the summit of the cosmos."
Taotie lowered its noble head. "Understood, my noble master."
Lu Yuan's lips curved slightly, and with a gentle flick of his finger, he pulled out the five Sky-Piercing Giant Swords pinned into its body and stored them away into his Storage Space.
The grade of these five giant swords was not low, nearly reaching the quality of a Saint Artifact.
Although Lu Yuan looked down on them, they would make very fine rewards for his subordinates.
Lacking the restraint of the Sky-Piercing Giant Swords, Taotie struggled slightly and slowly stood up.
Tens of millions of years had passed, and Taotie had consumed nothing, its body weakened to the extreme.
Noticing this, Lu Yuan tossed out five hundred-thousand-year-old Saint Herbs, along with the corpse of a Saint Realm giant dragon.
"Eat them and recover quickly."
A look of joy clearly flashed across Taotie's ferocious and terrifying face. "Thank you for the reward, Master."
After consuming the Saint Herbs and the dragon's corpse, Taotie rapidly returned to its peak.
Its own realm was originally as high as the Peak Emperor Sealing. Tens of millions of years ago, in order to make a breakthrough, it had come to the Tianxiao Continent.
Yet upon arriving in the Tianxiao Continent, its strength was restricted to Peak Emperor Sealing, and then it encountered a freak of nature, leading to its being sealed here.
"Shrine your body down a bit so you can go out with me," Lu Yuan said.
Taotie's body was too large and conspicuous, and Lu Yuan did not wish to draw such high attention.
"Understood, Master."
In the end, Taotie shrank to the size of a fierce bull. Even so, Taotie's body was still roughly the size of three domestic cattle, and its deterrent presence remained fully intact.
Lu Yuan mounted Taotie and leisurely walked out of the cave.
Right at that moment.
The Purple-Robed Elder and a group of Martial Sect experts happened to arrive at the spot.
Upon seeing Lu Yuan riding Taotie, everyone was dumbfounded.
"This... which one is the fierce beast?"
Everyone was dumbfounded, utterly unable to tell whether Lu Yuan or Taotie was actually the legendary fierce beast.
"Who are you, Your Excellency, and why have you appeared in our Martial Sect Forbidden Ground?"
The Purple-Robed Elder was very calm, recognizing that Lu Yuan was of the Human Race, but he dared not guarantee whether the Taotie Lu Yuan sat upon was truly the legendary fierce beast.
Yet deep in his heart, he harbored an absurd guess.
"Martial Sect? The legacy left behind by that person?"
Lu Yuan murmured.
Then, ignoring the crowd, he rode Taotie and strolled forward leisurely.
"For the sake of Martial Venerable, do not block me, or else I will slaughter every last one of you."
The Purple-Robed Elder's expression sank. "Does Your Excellency know what kind of terrifying existence the beast you sit upon is? It once nearly destroyed the Tianxiao Continent. Releasing it is no different than releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Whether you have tamed it or it has bewitched you, today, you are not leaving."
Lu Yuan's expression was calm, devoid of joy or sorrow, and he gently stroked the Taotie beneath him. "Can you not see that it is very docile?"
"That could merely be a facade. Young man, you are still too green; you know nothing of the malice of the world, nor how cunning and despicable fierce beasts are. While it is weak, step aside and let me kill it, and I will let you leave this place safely."
The Purple-Robed Elder spoke.
"Old Ancestor, why talk so much with him? He is merely a wet-behind-the-ears brat. In my opinion, he has simply been bewitched by this fierce beast. We might as well strike directly; if this brat dares to block us, kill him along with it."
Behind the Purple-Robed Elder, a Martial Sect expert said aggressively.
The Purple-Robed Elder reached out to stop the others, turning once more to address Lu Yuan: "Young man, I shall advise you one last time. No matter how docile or kind this fierce beast appears now, it once nearly destroyed the Tianxiao Continent. Its sins cannot be washed away even after tens of millions of years. If you continue to obstruct us, you share its crime."
"What is wrong with the Old Ancestor? Why is he stopping us? He is just a stinking brat, we might as well just kill him and be done with it."
"Indeed, I cannot fathom it either. The Old Ancestor is famous for his domineering ways; why is he acting so out of character right now, being so amicable toward this kid?"
Hearing the soft murmurs of the people behind him, the Purple-Robed Elder inwardly smiled bitterly.
How he wished he could just kill Lu Yuan along with the beast to be done with it.
However, he could not see through Lu Yuan.
And the fact that Lu Yuan was able to enter the Martial Sect Forbidden Ground without obstruction, release the fierce beast, and have the beast behave so docilely—
All these signs pointed unmistakably to one thing: Lu Yuan was by no means ordinary.
Consequently, the Purple-Robed Elder dared not strike rashly.