Chapter 2220 — An Unexpected Joy
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
As one of the few spirit beasts in the Wulong Haote Mountains possessed of high intelligence, the Great Fire Lion naturally knew the heads of the great powers at the foot of the mountain; it had seen these men appear from afar, out in the central range.
Yet though it knew Tagan Lon was the mastermind, the Great Fire Lion could not kill him! The Tagan family, after all, was not to be trifled with—a clan that boasted Heaven-rank masters. If Tagan Lon died, the Tagan family would never let the matter rest; they would come seeking savage vengeance even at the cost of grievous injury to their own foundations.
That was not something the Great Fire Lion wished to see. It could not stay at the little Fire Lion's side day and night, and their Fire Lion clan was not the sole ruler of these Wulong Haote Mountains—there was another clan of spirit beasts, long their sworn enemy—so it had no desire to draw human cultivators into the fray as well!
If the Tagan family then went so far as to assassinate the little Fire Lion, heedless of all consequences, the loss would far outweigh the gain!
But the Great Fire Lion was determined to teach them a lesson, to make them understand that its son was not so easily plotted against, to kill any such notion in their hearts and ensure they never came to make trouble again!
And so the Great Fire Lion advanced toward Tagan Lon, step by step...
The Fifth Protector, however, knew nothing of the Great Fire Lion's intentions. Having witnessed its ferocity mere moments before, he was startled out of his wits, believing it meant to do Tagan Lon harm, and hastily threw himself in front of the young master.
"Roar!" The Great Fire Lion swatted at him with one paw, and the Fifth Protector could only steel himself and charge forward to meet it. If he failed to protect Tagan Lon at such a moment, he would not escape execution even upon returning to the family; better to risk his life and earn merit!
Yet the Great Fire Lion seemed to have no mind to kill him—it merely sent him flying with a single swat, then gathered the little Fire Lion and turned to leave that place...
"Pff—" The Fifth Protector spat out a mouthful of black blood, plainly suffering no small internal injury. But such wounds meant little to him; he hastily tossed a Small Restoration Pill into his mouth, circulated his qi to dissolve it, and swiftly began to heal.
Seeing both the great and little Fire Lions depart, Tagan Lon at last let out a breath of relief. This time it was no pretense—he had truly been frightened half to death! He would never dare come try to make the little Fire Lion his contract spirit beast again; it was far too terrifying!
In his estimation, the Great Fire Lion had not known they were the masterminds; after punishing Wei Zhao and the other three, it had merely given the onlookers a good scare and then left. So he secretly counted himself fortunate that they had not raised a hand, but had let those four unlucky wretches deal with the little Fire Lion instead.
"Aah—" Wei Zhao let out a miserable scream. He had to put on a show of being injured, though inwardly he sneered. He had more or less figured out why the Fifth and Eighth Protectors, and Lazi too, possessed the strength to act yet held back—so it was fear of the Great Fire Lion's revenge!
Likewise, Sun Jingyan chimed in with a startled cry—only hers came truly from the heart!
For she felt the ground give way beneath her, as though she had stepped into empty air. Turning to look, she was astonished to find the turf under her feet had caved in, leaving a great pit beneath her!
Wei Zhao noticed Sun Jingyan's plight as well, and with a casual tug hauled her back up.
"How did this collapse?" Sun Jingyan asked, staring at the ground beneath her feet in some bewilderment.
"I don't know." Wei Zhao shook his head. It seemed the Wulong Haote Mountains truly were fraught with peril—even the grass could give way beneath you.