Divine Emperor of Death

*Whoosh!~*

Davis appeared in a dark world.

The space was empty and fully covered in darkness. The air was cold, and the surface was a dirt ground.

Davis wondered if he was in a cave within the mini-realm before he shrugged and moved ahead as he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But a few moments later, he realized the light didn't come from the end of the tunnel but came from the center of a vast space within the tunnel.

It was like he entered a dome, and the ceiling was populated by glittering stalactites, making it quite the starry oddity.

However, his gaze was on the crimson-white-robed middle-aged man who was seated on a stone by the campfire, throwing pieces of carved wood onto it like a mortal trying to keep a fire ablaze.

"You're here."

The middle-aged man turned to look at him.

He appeared quite similar to Great Ancestor Zenflame and even inherited his dashing looks. With a trimmed beard, he appeared to be quite the charmer, and his smile reeked of calmness that couldn't be faked.

"Aren't you quite the coward to not appear in your true body, Emperor of Death?"

Davis spread his hands.

"Now, now. Why would I make the cardinal mistake of entering here with my true body when you own the realm and could probably collapse or seal me here? But if that makes me a coward, then I'm a coward."

He arrived before the campfire and dropped his hands.

"Now then, will you surrender and get executed for pulling the strings behind the scenes or struggle like the pathetic power-hungry bird you are?"

Davis raised his chin and looked down on Ancestor Reselius Zenflame, causing the latter to chuckle lightly.

"Haha. Don't be in such a hurry. Take a seat."

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame gestured at the opposite end of the campfire where there was a stone.

Obviously, Davis had already seen it, but the thought of sharing a seat with Ancestor Reselius Zenflame didn't come across his mind until the other party offered. He inwardly shrugged at the strangeness of the situation, not caring what he had in store for him as he walked to the other side and sat.

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame took out a piece of a succulent piece of meat pierced by a skewer and used the campfire to roast it.

"I heard you liked Fire Phoenix Meat and was willing to offer you one cooked by myself, but it's certainly unfortunate that you're here with your soul body."

"Am I here for lunch?" Davis folded his hands, blinking.

"You could be." Ancestor Reselius Zenflame made a gesture as though no one would know what lies in the future, "The moment I saw you exterminate the other Ancestors and Grand Elders like they were ants, I knew for a fact that I was doomed, so I decisively thought of escaping to this realm where nobody could find me as it solely belongs to me. However, for you to be able to find me this easily… I guess I'm bound to die in this world."

"Well, who told you to allow Killian Zenflame to target Shirley? You should've been careful of who you're going up against."

"That's true. However, Killian was actually a smart child and proved himself by raking in many achievements in this warring zone. At least, that was until the beauty of the inheritors blinded his eyes and heart that he went as far as to deal with an Anarchic Divergent who was bound to be difficult to kill."

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame took a bite out of the piece of meat and chewed on it loudly before he heaved a sigh, "Your existence was huge and changed him a lot. It was a pity that you broke him."

"…"

Davis saw that the piece of meat Reselius Zenflame was eating really was Fire Phoenix Meat.

Of course, magical beasts eat their own as well, but for a fey, a half-human like Reselius Zenflame to eat his kin's blood and flesh and even relish it like he was eating a delicacy, Davis knew it wasn't a casual case of cannibalism or honoring by taking one's body inside oneself but a severe case of cannibalism as this person was said to consume the blood and flesh of his kin to strengthen himself back when Great Ancestor Zenflame was still the ruler of the Fire Phoenix Clan.

"Do you want power so much that you would resort to being this wicked?"

Davis asked in a calm voice.

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame looked as though he was asked something funny, but Davis continued.

"Furthermore, why did you send your descendants to the true immortal world to establish the Zenflame Clan again as the main family, essentially betraying the Auraflame Clan where your heart and soul should be since they're the ones who have bestowed your lineage with the Fire Phoenix Blood?"

"I wondered what you would ask, but you went ahead to ask about unrelated matters."

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame ripped a piece of meat from the bone and smirked at Davis.

"Would you leave your fate in the hands of others?"

"Most probably not." Davis's answer was quick.

"Exactly." Ancestor Reselius's smile turned wide, "Why should I leave my fate to the Auraflame Clan and be subjected to their commands? That's why I needed power, far more than what they have, to be able to ignore their commands and defend myself and my lineage. Unfortunately, my father and siblings were all fools, going on about how they're indebted to the inheritance masters and must use their whole lives to repay the debt."

"I see." Davis turned to look away and nodded before he returned his gaze, "Even though I can understand your thoughts, you're still quite the ungrateful person too, as you're still the second generation and not distant enough to ignore debts, but I'm not interested in your position on it. I heard you were planning on mutating into some other variant instead of the glorious Seven-Colored Phoenix. Is that true?"

Ancestor Reselius's Zenflame eyes flashed. He threw the bone to the side, using the flames to cleanse his hands as though it was water.

"What is the Seven-Colored Phoenix?"

"I have had many descendants fed King-Tier Blood and Emperor-Tier Blood and, but none of them managed to successfully mutate into a Seven-Colored Phoenix. But I wasn't disheartened as it was supposed to be very difficult, so I hoped they could achieve it in the true immortal world. Nonetheless, I still taught them what to do after ascending, which is to establish the Zenflame Clan and make it flourish far more than the Auraflame Clan using whatever means necessary."

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame's eyes further flashed, "I heard you also met with the Auraflame Clan in the secret realm that connected to the true immortal world. Otherwise, the fact that you know about this information wouldn't make sense. I'm interested to know what became of my direct descendants. If you would like to share what happened to them, then I'll tell you what I'm after."

"…"

Davis thought for a moment.

His soul sense finished sensing the surroundings, and he did find a lot of entrapment formations and even a killing formation, but with him entering as a soul body, none of it should have a true effect on him.

If there was anything to be wary about, it would be the two remaining Legacy Artifacts or the most powerful Divine Technique of the Fire Phoenix Clan that could also have a karmic attack in it.

With that being the case, he thought of amusing himself with this chat as he didn't want to use Fallen Heaven on a major character like Ancestor Reselius Zenflame, who might have a profound effect on the future of the Fire Phoenix Clan Lower Realm or even the Seven-Colored Phoenix Upper Realm slightly.

His lips curled in derision, "Your scum descendants ingrained by your teachings did manage to make the position of the Auraflame Clan precarious as they managed to produce two Seven-Colored Phoenixes and curry favor with the Seven-Colored Phoenix Upper Realm's Skytune Clan."

"…!"

Ancestor Reselius Zenflame stood up, his eyes looking shocked while his expression appeared prideful.