Mu Chen soaked in the newly discovered knowledge.

The black scroll detailed not just the cultivation method of internal arts but also some of the esoteric customs and traditions of the barbarian clan. From drawing totems to performing ritualistic magic, it was a plethora of strange and unknown techniques. After going through them, Mu Chen became privy to the secrets of the An Tribe.

One such entry caught Mu Chen's eye. It was a forbidden ritual, a taboo: self-sacrifice.
 
The barbarians believed in nature. The fire spirit was the embodiment of the fire element—the barbarians naturally worshiped it. The fire spirit benefited from the barbarian's faith, and by appeasing it, the barbarians could use its influence over the lava to train their bodies—a mutually beneficial relationship. But under the right circumstances, this delicate balance could be broken.

Self-sacrifice was one such means. Not everyone was qualified for it but once successful, the spirit would possess the body of the devotee. The life of the devotee would be extinguished, his soul consumed, but the spirit would become the guardian god.

A guardian god.

Mu Chen chewed on these words with relish.

As someone with a cultivation background, he naturally dissed these so-called gods. However, the title had the word 'god' in it, which made him ponder. If nothing else, it showed the grandiose aspirations of the ones behind naming it.

How powerful must the guardian be, for one to be confident enough to add the word 'god'?

Mu Chen didn't have any concrete idea. After all, no one had seen a real god and their existence was doubtful. The consensus was that there were no gods—it was a rumor spread by oppressed mortals aspiring to strike fear in the cultivators…

After he read about the sacrificial process, Mu Chen couldn't help but sigh. The process was said to be extremely painful. The pain was spiritual not just physical, so there was no escape. Such a degree of pain was enough to drive a person into madness.

But that wasn't the worst. The worst was the destruction of the soul. Those whose souls were consumed would not enter the reincarnation cycle, a complete death.

However, An Zhi did it. He did it willingly, without hesitation.

Only now did Mu Chen realize the depth of An Zhi's determination.

This was a person who would do anything for the sake of his tribe. His dedication to his tribe bordered on the level of fanaticism.

Facing such an enemy who would even destroy himself for the sake of his tribe, Mu Chen couldn't bring himself to hate him anymore. He had all but forgotten about the little scuffle they had.

However, admiration was one thing, becoming friends was another. Mu Chen had to guard against An Zhi.

Once An Zhi succeeded, what would happen?

Mu Chen frowned and looked down at the scroll. A sentence caught his eye: the guardian god would fulfill the last wish of the sacrificial devotee.

What would An Zhi's last wish be? To protect his tribe from other tribes? To get rid of the outsiders threatening their realm? Maybe something else?

Other than An Zhi, who could tell what his final wish was? This was assuming An Zhi managed to maintain his sanity till the end. What if he lost his sanity before becoming a guardian god? Would they be facing a crazed powerhouse?

Mu Chen broke into a cold sweat.

Escape. They must escape, or it might be too late once the guardian god appeared.

Perhaps the 'god' part in the title was an exaggeration, but Mu Chen didn't dare to belittle its strength. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be something a bunch of teenage cultivators could handle.

The scroll was antique, and cultivating internal qi had convinced him of its authenticity. Mu Chen would rather believe it and be wrong, than not believe it and regret it.

Once he made the decision, Mu Chen rolled up the scroll and put it away. He donned a new robe, picked up Xiao Xue and slipped her inside the robe as usual, then left the cave. Originally, he wanted to study more of the internal arts, but time didn't permit it.

Dawn had already arrived, but it didn't bring with it the joy of a new day. The volcanic ash covered the sky giving it a dark and grim appearance.

Mu Chen headed toward the volcano. Never did he think he would be returning to it so soon. He didn't know how long it would take for An Zhi to transform into a guardian god, but he had to find his friends and warn them before it happened.

The volcano's eruption likely attracted everyone's attention. The mountain was the best place to start looking for them. Even if couldn't find them, he could run into other cultivators who could help him relay a message.

Using tree branches like springboards, Mu Chen jumped from one tree to another. He was halfway to the volcano, when a golden streak galloped across the sky, heading for him at an incredible speed.

Mu Chen frowned. He was in mid-air and couldn't change his direction. Due to the golden halo, he couldn't see the appearance of the object, but from it, he felt a vague sense of threat. If it hit him, at best he would be heavily injured, at worst he might lose half his life.

"Hmph!" Mu Chen snorted and smacked the object with his hand. His strike looked like an ordinary slap, it was full of mystery as he applied one of the techniques of internal arts from the black scroll.

Iron skin.

It was one of the techniques Mu Chen had read in the scroll. Once used, a person's skin would become hard and impenetrable, like iron. Mu Chen hadn't had the time to master it and could only apply it to a small area such as his hand. Facing an unknown object, it was a good choice.

Mu Chen's palm collided with the golden object.

Bang!

The golden object was knocked away and crashed into the ground like a meteorite. It skidded for a hundred feet before coming to a stop, leaving behind a trail of broken trees and upturned earth.

Mu Chen was also knocked away a few feet, and he had to do a few turns in the air to relieve the force before he could land safely.

"What in the world was that?" Mu Chen rubbed his hand. His entire arm was trembling from the impact, and his palm was burning from pain. If not for the increased defense due to the iron skin technique, his palm might have burst to smithereens.

Curious, Mu Chen came to the pit at the end of the trail. At the bottom, covered in dirt was a small gold cauldron. Mu Chen bent down and picked it up. The cauldron was still trembling from the impact, giving out a low hum.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Streaks of silver flashed toward Mu Chen who was kneeling.

"Hmph!" Mu Chen sneered and deflected the swords with his handguard. He jumped out of the pit and looked up in the direction where the swords had come.

A dozen shadows had appeared in the sky.

After the cauldron escaped from the mountain, hundreds of cultivators chased after it but they lost its track after it dived into the forest. In the end, they could only divide into smaller groups and comb through each part of the forest to flush out the cauldron.

These were the cultivators who were lucky to encounter the cauldron. Everyone was in high spirits thinking they were about to bag a prize. When they saw Mu Chen pick up the cauldron, they became angry and launched their flying swords at him. Now that Mu Chen had the cauldron, they immediately surrounded him.

"Hand over the cauldron," one cultivator came forward and shouted.

"Did you forget the rules?" Mu Chen snorted and played with the cauldron in his hand.

"Rules?" Another cultivator snorted, his tone was full of mockery. "Are you stupid? You want to tout the rules in front of us?"

Several other cultivators snickered and looked at Mu Chen as if they were seeing a fool.

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes. "You are from the Central Continent?"

"So you know," one of the cultivators nodded. His face was full of pockmarks and he looked a bit ugly. "Hand over the cauldron and we won't make things difficult for you."

Mu Chen looked at the cauldron in his hands. The dirt had slid off revealing the dense and delicate inscriptions on its surface. Even a fool could see it was a precious treasure, much less him. It was no surprise these cultivators from the Central Continent coveted it.

As for making things difficult for him? Mu Chen was never afraid of trouble. Unfortunately, the number of people he was facing was too high. As much as he wanted the cauldron, he didn't have the leisure to play around.

"Since you want the cauldron, you can have it," Mu Chen sighed and tossed the cauldron towards the pockmarked guy. Then he turned without looking back.

Perhaps nobody thought Mu Chen would surrender the cauldron so easily. The pockmarked guy didn't even flinch as the cauldron landed on his face.

"Aargh—"

Mu Chen, who had already taken a few steps to leave, halted. The scream was too loud for someone who was smacked in the face and it was cut off abruptly. He turned around only to see a dismal sight.

The cauldron was hanging in the air with its lid open with a golden flame beating inside. The person to whom Mu Chen handed it, had disappeared. A pile of ash drifted in his place.

Under the shocked eyes of everyone, the lid of the cauldron closed and the dreadful flame was hidden.

"D-dead!" Several cultivators gulped and looked at Mu Chen in shock and horror.

"Y-you killed him," one cultivator stammered.

"The hell?" Mu Chen gawked. "When did I kill him? You wanted the cauldron and I gave it to you. That guy's death has nothing to do with me."

"Y-you used the cauldron to kill him," a woman cultivator shrieked at him with a pointed finger.

The cauldron floated down and hovered next to Mu Chen as if to confirm everyone's accusation.

"Look! The cauldron. It has recognized him as the master," one guy said.

"Ha! No wonder he handed it so willingly," another person roared, "he is playing with us."

"Everyone, this person is so sinister," the woman cultivator screamed. "Let's kill him and avenge Brother Shun."

The shock on everyone's faces faded away to be replaced with anger. But they were hesitant to make the move—no one wanted to end up like Brother Shun.

When nobody moved, the woman cultivator became restless. "Don't you see? It's better to kill him," she said. "Once he dies, the cauldron will be ownerless."

These words that fell in everyone's ears were like a bugle sounding at the start of a battle.

"Let's do it together," another cultivator said.

"Together," others nodded.

The woman glared at Mu Chen as if she was looking at a dead pig.

"Damn!" Mu Chen cursed as he sensed the spiritual qi around everyone surge—these guys were serious. Mu Chen didn't even think, he raised his hand and first slapped away the cauldron—this thing was too dangerous, if he kept it around he might become the next victim.

The cauldron disappeared into the forest. Unfortunately, none of the cultivators chased after it as Mu Chen hoped. Instead, they launched attacks at him intending to get rid of him in one move.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flying swords, talismans, and all types of spells and techniques flooded through the forest turning the area into a hodgepodge.

When the leaves settled, a large patch of the forest had been ruined. But there was no sign of Mu Chen. Like a drop of water sinking into the ocean, he had disappeared without a ripple.

"Is he dead?"

"Even if he was blown to pieces, there should be something left," another cultivator said coldly.

"The cauldron is missing," someone said.

"Where is he? Anyone got a lock on him?" One cultivator asked another and several of them shook their heads.

"He ran away!"

"Search for him, don't let him escape!"

The cultivators from the Southern Continent swooped around trying to find Mu Chen.

"Damn!" Someplace in the forest, not far away from the scene, Mu Chen cursed his bad luck. He was perched on a tree, using the thick leaves as a cover. Probes from a dozen divine senses swept over him, yet they failed to detect him. Unfortunately, he couldn't move or it would expose him.

Mu Chen was patient. When those cultivators couldn't find him, they expanded their search radius. The number of probes coming in Mu Chen's direction began to drop.

When no new probes swept past his location for a long time, Mu Chen came out of his hiding place.

"Finally gone," Mu Chen grumbled. Although he wasn't hurt, his mood wasn't any better. He was annoyed at the cultivators from the Central Continent, but he was even more annoyed at the gold cauldron.

"Those guys are so arrogant," Mu Chen frowned. "But what's the deal with that cauldron?" He felt that he had suffered a double loss in this matter. He didn't get the treasure, instead, he was framed for a murder he didn't commit.

Mu Chen was considering whether his current situation warranted a change in appearance, when the trees behind him rustled, startling him.

Expecting an enemy, Mu Chen didn't hesitate to draw his sword, but the next moment he was stunned as he saw a glint of gold through the thicket of leaves. When Mu Chen realized what it was, his face twitched.

It was the cauldron, it came back.