The words of the elder transformed into flames struck Ye Chen, Fairy Nishang, and the other Tomb Explorers like a bolt from the blue, completely dumbfounding them.
Could this elder transformed from flames really be Heavenly Saint Moya?!
How bizarre! It was just too bizarre!
The Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb, the buried Heavenly Saint, could actually come back to life? To speak after having been dead for thousands of years?
This was beyond anything Ye Chen and the others could have ever predicted!
Even their initial shock from learning that this ancient tomb did not belong to Heavenly Saint Linghua but to Moya of the Ten Great Demon Sects, was nothing compared to this overwhelming revelation.
It was truly unbelievable!
"Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb! Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb!"
"Could it be that Heavenly Saint Moya never died and has been hiding in this bronze coffin all along?"
"But if he isn't dead, why would he, with the cultivation of a Heavenly Saint, hide in this tomb and not leave?"
"Also, this cluster of flames doesn't have a human form; it doesn't look like the real Heavenly Saint Moya at all, yet he claims to be Moya. What in the world is going on?"
Ye Chen's mind was filled with countless questions.
It wasn't just Ye Chen; the other Tomb Explorers were completely bewildered as well.
This event had completely surpassed their understanding!
While Ye Chen and the others were shocked, the Eight Great Demon Towers, who had fallen to the ground in worship at the sight of the elder, cried out in excitement, "Master, Master, you've really awakened!"
The voice of the Eight Great Demon Towers made the last bit of disbelief among the Explorers vanish without a trace.
If even the Eight Great Guardians of Heavenly Saint Moya called this elder transformed into flames 'master', then he must truly be Heavenly Saint Moya!
Realizing that they had intruded into the tomb of a living Heavenly Saint and had been fighting against the Heavenly Saint's Eight Great Guardians, contemplating escape, and even previously attempting to seize the relics within, sent chills down everyone's spine.
They had fallen into the trap of the living Heavenly Saint Moya!
"Come, let me see what kind of young people the mechanisms I left behind in my tomb have brought me!"
Hearing the words of the Eight Great Demon Towers, the elder "Heavenly Saint Moya," transformed from blue-brown flames floating above the gigantic bronze coffin, sized up Ye Chen and the others while reaching out with his skeletal hand toward the Eight Great Demon Towers below.
"Sacrifice to the master."
"Master, come and investigate!"
Under the grasp of "Heavenly Saint Moya," the Eight Great Demon Towers flew toward him on their own volition.
In the end, the astonishingly powerful Eight Great Demon Towers all transformed into eight torrents of demon qi, flying into the elder's hands and ultimately merging into a black orb, fusing together.
And "Heavenly Saint Moya," with his skeletal hand holding the black orb, closed his eyes.
It appeared as though he was absorbing the memory from the demon orb!
The actions of "Heavenly Saint Moya" left the other Explorers too scared to move.
This was a Heavenly Saint, after all!
The Heavenly Saint Realm, the most powerful realm throughout the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, an existence that transcended the ordinary and achieved sainthood!
In front of such an entity, they had no means of resistance.
Forget the Tomb Explorers; even Ye Chen, who possessed the power of a Heavenly Saint, had to be extremely cautious in the presence of this "Heavenly Saint Moya"!
A Heavenly Saint and the power of a Heavenly Saint are two very different things.
Whether it was the Heavenly Saint power from the Heavenly Saint Law Bead that Ye Chen possessed, or the Heavenly Saint Killing Force on the Sacred Artifacts held by the Tiger Demon Tower, the Eagle Demon Tower, or the Python Demon Tower, they were all merely artifacts refined by a Heavenly Saint.
Such refined artifacts, though also possessing Heavenly Saint-level power, naturally could not compare with the mighty strength of the Heavenly Saint himself!
Just think about it, a Heavenly Saint could refine countless Heavenly Saint Law Beads, and the power of these refined beads could not possibly match the formidable power and ability of the Heavenly Saint himself!
A Heavenly Saint can use an endless stream of Heavenly Saint power, which is countless times more powerful than the Heavenly Saint power that Ye Chen and the others borrowed.
Seeing the actions of Heavenly Saint Moya, Ye Chen couldn't help but call the little monkey back to his side, ready to slip into the Azure Blue Mansion at the first sign of trouble!
The situation had now surpassed all previous predictions.
Only the Azure Blue Mansion, this contingency plan, might enable Ye Chen to survive in the presence of the resurrected "Heavenly Saint Moya."
"Heavenly Saint Moya's" skeletal hand grabbed the black sphere transformed by the Eight Great Demon Towers, while the others below dared not even move, let alone breathe.
Their hearts pounded wildly, having no idea how "Heavenly Saint Moya" would deal with them next.
Such waiting was the most torturous thing!
But when Heavenly Saint Moya's hand moved away from the black sphere and he looked at them again, they realized that not waiting was even more terrifying!
"Heavenly Saint Moya" opened his eyes in an instant and reached out with a large hand toward the crowd, immediately seizing a half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator from the air.
The half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator struggled frantically, but to no avail, and was directly dragged up into the sky.
In the end, the half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator fell right into "Heavenly Saint Moya's" palm!
"Heavenly Saint Moya" once again stretched out his skeletal hand towards the head of the half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator.
Then, everyone saw that the half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator's seven orifices started bleeding, and in just a moment, he was dead beyond doubt!
At this time, "Heavenly Saint Moya," as if having gained something great, stood up in the void.
He flung his big hand, casting down the corpse of the half-step Spin Dan loose cultivator, and then, his gaze turned directly to Ye Chen and the golden monkey on his shoulder.
The way "Heavenly Saint Moya" looked at Ye Chen was as if he was viewing an extraordinary treasure, revealing an exceedingly greedy expression, constantly sizing up his body.
This look sent a chill through Ye Chen's heart.
When "Heavenly Saint Moya" looked at the golden monkey, he showed a trace of an odd expression, and even a flash of sharp light passed through his eyes.
Then, "Heavenly Saint Moya's" gaze swept towards Liu Yan and Demon Sect disciple Xue Yue.
Being stared at by "Heavenly Saint Moya's" gaze, both Liu Yan and Xue Yue felt a numbness in their hearts, and even the hidden disciple of the Demon Sects, Xue Yue, felt a chill climbing up his body.
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect that this opening of the ancient tomb would bring such promising youngsters from the Spirit Sea of the thirteen countries of Tian Nan."
"Heavenly Saint Moya" spoke as his gaze swept across them.
"Your name is Ye Chen, right? Ye Chen, you, a mere boy, have managed to overpower my Demon Tower Guards and dared to take my treasure 'Azure Blue Mansion'. It seems you have had many miraculous encounters! And that monkey on your shoulder, if I'm not mistaken, it must be a kind of True Spirit most feared by practitioners of the Demon Path, known as the 'All-Heavens Monkey'!"
In the end, "Heavenly Saint Moya" directly addressed Ye Chen.
Upon hearing "Heavenly Saint Moya's" words, Ye Chen turned and glanced at the little monkey on his shoulder, who also showed a puzzled expression.
However, now was not the time to delve into the identity of the little monkey. Ye Chen had more doubts about this "Heavenly Saint Moya". He gently touched the monkey's fur and then looked straight at the old man transformed from flames, "Heavenly Saint Moya".
"Who are you? Are you truly the Heavenly Saint Moya from Defying Demon Sect? Why are you not in human form but transformed into flames?" Ye Chen directly asked "Heavenly Saint Moya".
Hearing Ye Chen's question and seeing the other Tomb Explorers who were dumbstruck, "Heavenly Saint Moya" revealed a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Well, I have been trapped in this ancient tomb for more than three thousand years. Since you are the descendants who have come to offer sacrifices, I suppose I can let you die with a little understanding."
"Yes, I am indeed 'Heavenly Saint Moya', but what you see before you is my divine soul—the 'True Soul Flame'. My physical body perished more than three thousand years ago in the battle with Heavenly Saint Linghua!"
Divine soul? True Soul Flame?
This cluster of blue-brown flames was Heavenly Saint Moya's divine soul?
Heavenly Saint Moya's physical body had already perished?
Ye Chen and the others were stunned by "Heavenly Saint Moya's" words. They had never heard of a cultivator whose physical body perished while the divine soul survived for thousands of years. Usually, when a cultivator's body died, their divine soul should also perish immediately!
Could it be that the divine soul of a Heavenly Saint was so powerful that it could survive after the death of the body and live for thousands of years?
"Heavenly Saint Moya" paid no attention to the shocked expressions of the crowd, and continued, "Back then, in the battle with Linghua, the sky shattered and the earth split, I was gravely injured, my body was completely shattered, and Linghua died by my hands!"
"At the time, I was on the battlefield of these thirteen countries of Tian Nan. If the other Heavenly Saints found out that my body was shattered, leaving only my True Soul, I would likely be obliterated by them before I could return to the Western Wilderness, and they would kill me completely!"
"I could only hide in this deep abyss that had been split open while everyone was unaware, down in a deep subterranean hole!"
As he spoke, "Heavenly Saint Moya" seemed to fall into his memories, his eyes starting to glint.
"I, 'Moya', among the ten great Heavenly Saints of the Western Wilderness Demon Sects, was also one of the distinguished ones. I even survived a journey to the Minor Spirit Realm; how could I die so easily?!"
"I cannot die, nor will I allow myself to die!"
"I must continue to live!"
"Unfortunately, when my body shattered, my True Soul was also injured, and this flame of my True Soul Flame was about to be extinguished. Once the True Soul Flame dies, I am done for! Luckily, luckily during my ventures in the Minor Spirit Realm, I obtained countless treasures, especially this 'Life Origin Coffin', which allowed me to nourish my 'True Soul Flame' and let it recover again!"
"So, I rested within this 'Life Origin Coffin' for thousands of years, and finally, now my 'True Soul Flame' has fully recovered!"
"Heavenly Saint Moya" grew more and more excited as he spoke until he burst into loud laughter in the end.