Chapter 165: Bloodline of the Great Wizard

Just as Lu Xin had just dealt with one beast, another charged out immediately behind it, and he was already exhausted. Cao Fu only changed his expression slightly and did not rise from the ground. Both seemed to have prepared for the worst, deciding not to move until they clearly understood what they were facing.

Time ticked away slowly, and Lu Xin could distinctly hear the pounding of his own heart. Even though the entire land trembled and the incoming force roared like a raging flood, after about two minutes, the silhouette of the creature finally appeared on the horizon. It was a colossal elephant, a hundred zhang tall, with three massive heads, wings sprouting from its back, and a tail like a crocodile’s. Despite its tremendous size, it moved swiftly, like a flying mountain.

The giant elephant was roughly the same size as the bat demon they had encountered earlier. Lu Xin suspected there was a connection between the two. The elephant might not necessarily be coming toward them. After all, against such beings, humans were mere ants, and the distance was great enough that they should not have been noticed.

Sure enough, when the elephant was within five li of the Red Flame Heavenly Gate, it suddenly roared skyward, raising its three heads with long trunks and tusks bared in fury. At that moment, the bat demon stood upright.

“Looks like this one isn’t coming for us,” Lu Xin said.

“Heh, if it were coming for you and me, we’d be as good as dead,” Cao Fu responded.

Lu Xin shook his head with a wry smile, but before he could finish laughing, the stone pillar behind him began to tremble. Then the ground started to undulate with a booming roar. As the pillar’s shaking intensified, Lu Xin and Cao Fu had no choice but to run outward. After several hundred meters, Lu Xin looked back and saw the entire Red Flame Heavenly Gate seemingly sinking. The towering stone forest suddenly vanished underground, along with the fire-winged demon bats, swallowed by rising dust clouds.

“How could this be? The Red Flame Heavenly Gate—actually disappeared?” Cao Fu stared wide-eyed at countless stone pillars sinking into the earth, his gaze vacant in disbelief. Although equally shocked, Lu Xin knew that beneath the Red Flame Heavenly Gate lay a vast palace. The sinking of the pillars was certainly connected to the imprisoned incarnation of the Red Flame Heaven.

“The true form of the Red Flame Heaven must have long since perished. Otherwise, its flesh wouldn’t be nothing but a skeleton. But for these ancient powerful beings, as long as memory remains, whether it’s the true form or an incarnation doesn’t matter. That bat demon is most likely one it keeps under its control…”

“What are you thinking about, Dao brother?”

Cao Fu noticed the change in Lu Xin’s expression—a deep contemplation that seemed out of place in such a perilous situation. Lu Xin glanced at him and was about to speak when the elephant suddenly sprang from the ground, raised its forelimbs, and stamped down on the bat demon.

Boom!

The two massive beasts collided, unleashing a force like an overwhelming tidal wave that swept across tens of miles. Gusts of wind buffeted Lu Xin, making him stagger with hair disheveled. Squinting, he looked toward the battlefield where both creatures were furiously enraged, surrounded by swirling dust storms. Several figures seemed to be moving within the chaos but never emerged fully. Seeing how close the two were to the beasts and fearing they might get caught in the fray, Cao Fu finally suggested retreating along their original path.

At that moment, on the other side of the beasts, a great blaze erupted. The Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron rose and spun within the flames as if evading some force. Beneath the fire, dozens of magical energy waves indicated a large number of yin-yang masters were dueling. Cao Fu’s eyes sharpened, and he said to Lu Xin, “Follow me,” then charged toward the cauldron’s location.

Lu Xin hesitated for a moment but knew that without Cao Fu, he couldn’t cross the Three Talents Fiery Calamity Formation from before. The exit from Fengdu’s ghost realm lay just ahead of the Red Flame Heavenly Gate.

Without further thought, Lu Xin followed Cao Fu against the wind and sand, saving time by taking a nearly straight path forward. Fortunately, the two beasts fought while moving and hadn’t completely blocked their route. Since the strange phenomena caused by the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron had vanished, the spatial pressure on the body was reduced severalfold, allowing Lu Xin to move much faster. Still, it took them a full half-hour to pass through where the Red Flame Heavenly Gate once stood.

“Brother Cao, charging forward recklessly like this, aren’t you afraid it will be all for nothing?” Lu Xin asked, slowing his pace as the cauldron and the towering flames rose ahead. From this vantage, he could see a chaotic battlefield with more than a dozen factions and sixty or seventy people locked in combat. The previously vanished Five Elephant Sect, Hundred Flower Valley, and Shadow Dragon Guard were all present. While Cao Fu was formidable, Lu Xin doubted one man could seize the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron in such chaos.

“Brother Dao, you mean to say I am flying into the fire, fighting a losing battle?” Cao Fu stopped suddenly. After a moment of silence, he turned to look back the way they came. Lu Xin followed, seeing the two beasts fighting more fiercely, each covered in numerous wounds. The earth bore black and purplish-red blood stains everywhere. The beasts had already moved far from the Red Flame Heavenly Gate.

After a moment’s observation, Cao Fu turned back, his tone calm yet carrying a resolute conviction beneath that calmness.

“The difference between humans and beasts is that we are the wisest beings in the Three Realms. Zhang Zifang strategized from afar to secure victory; Zhuge Liang’s flawless plans helped Liu Bei divide the realm from his thatched hut. Many times, knowing the odds are against you and still pressing on is the path to victory, the way to defy fate and change destiny.”

“Defy fate and change destiny? Haha… Brother Cao, you mean if you seize the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron, you can alter your fate and fulfill great ambitions? But you forget, Zhuge Liang held the Seven-Star Life Extending Lamp and still died at Wuzhang Plains. Liu Bei gained the Shu kingdom but was eventually destroyed by Cao Wei in the next generation. Not everyone can rebel against destiny. Some things, once lost, can never be regained.”

Lu Xin squinted, watching Cao Fu’s back intently. When he heard the words “Cao Wei,” Cao Fu’s body trembled slightly. Everyone knew that Zhuge Liang set the Seven-Star Formation at Wuzhang Plains to extend his life, yet even his immense cultivation could not outrun fate. Many reasons lay behind it, but it showed how difficult it was to defy destiny. As a descendant of Cao Cao, Cao Fu must understand this well. Yet he insisted on reviving Cao Wei. Lu Xin wondered what gave him such confidence.

“Sigh,” Cao Fu suddenly sighed deeply, then looked up at the flaming cauldron spinning wildly in midair. It was an ancient artifact tossed about by numerous magical forces.

“Some say Zhuge Liang failed to defy destiny because the fate of Shu was exhausted—Cao Wei’s rise was heaven’s will. But to me, winners and losers are decided by strength. Shu had many fierce generals, but only Zhuge Liang was truly a master. Cao Wei had Left Ci, Guan Lu, Sima Yi—immortals among men. Shu didn’t fail because of its fate but because its people weakened over time. If Zhuge Liang could pacify the chaos alone, how could he not succeed? Alas, he was simply not strong enough!”

At that, Cao Fu clenched his fists tightly. Though Lu Xin only saw his back, he felt a surging, indomitable spirit. Many speak of “man can conquer heaven,” but few truly believe it and walk unshakably forward. Cao Fu was such a man—extremely confident and defiant of fate.

Perhaps such people can create miracles in some ways, but Cao Fu’s goal would bring suffering to the world, a scene Lu Xin did not wish to witness.

“Brother Cao, ruling a nation and cultivating oneself are two different matters. To try to bind the entire world with one person’s might—that’s madness, isn’t it?”

“Ha ha ha, madness? Brother Dao, if you don’t try, how will you know the world can’t be yours? Before becoming emperor, Han Gaozu Liu Bang was just a humble county chief, no different from a country bumpkin. Liu Bei sold straw sandals before striving for the realm. Even today’s Tang emperor wasn’t born of lofty status. As for me, Cao Fu, I possess the bloodline of the Great Shaman. From birth, I was destined for greatness.”

“Bloodline of the Great Shaman? What does that mean?”

Cao Fu’s long roar instantly changed Lu Xin’s expression. He only knew Cao Fu was a descendant of Cao Cao, the direct bloodline of Cao Wei. He had never heard of anything related to the Shaman tribe. The ancient Shaman tribe once ruled the entire realm, their physical bodies surpassing all beings in the Three Realms. But the ancient Shamans had long since been extinct.

Seeming to realize he had revealed too much, Cao Fu quickly calmed himself. After about ten seconds of silence, he slowly turned to face Lu Xin. Their eyes met, both young men bearing solemn expressions.

“Brother Dao, to be frank, I am a descendant of Chancellor Cao, carrying the blood of Emperor Cao Mao. Once I obtain the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron, I will establish my sect and contend for supremacy in the Central Plains. I tell you this hoping you will lend me your strength. Should we one day unify the realm, you will be the foremost contributor, enjoying endless honor and wealth.”

“What? You are a descendant of Cao Cao?” Lu Xin’s face changed abruptly, feigning ignorance before asking about the Shaman bloodline. Seeing his reaction, Cao Fu was pleased and lowered his voice to say two words: “Lü Bu.”