In the afternoon, Mu Yang followed several warriors from the Scions of the Canopy tribe to the back mountain.
Before even reaching the mountain top, Mu Yang had already sensed the aura of the abyss.
However, the aura was very weak.
Upon arriving at the mountain, he indeed saw remnants of the abyss.
"As expected, it's abyss corruption. I think the Mountain King's outburst is also related to them."
Trinidad frowned.
Mu Yang now connected the events.
It was probably when he drew his sword that he disturbed the nearby abyss corruption.
Their abnormal activity was the key to startling the Mountain King.
Although the trigger was still himself…
There was no helping it. He would just help them resolve the matter.
Trinidad had someone bring over torches. "These are secondary Sacred Flames retrieved from the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. They contain the power of the Pyro Archon."
"Although we cannot go to the Night Kingdom to retrieve the legendary Return Fire, the Sacred Flame is enough to burn away abyss filth. We can view it this way in the ritual."
Mu Yang knew that the power of these secondary Sacred Flames was limited.
Otherwise, they wouldn't need to hold so many rituals.
Mu Yang took the torch and listened to Trinidad explain the entire Return Fire process.
First, the Flame Bearer must take the Sacred Flame seed at the starting point, use the grappling hook to fly into the sky, and continuously light all the Sacred Flame pillars.
Then descend through the canyon, reach the cave where the Mountain King slumbers, and light the fire basins along the way and the final Sacred Flame altar.
"An outstanding Flame Bearer can complete the entire journey without landing once. Although I don't want to admit it, Kinich can do it."
"Oh?" Mu Yang looked at the torch in his hand.
Was this guy trying to provoke him?
Seeing Mu Yang's thoughtful expression, Trinidad immediately added,
"Please rest assured, this is not a requirement of the ritual. It's fine even if you land. The ritual has only one true requirement — you must not turn back."
It would have been fine if he hadn't added that. Once he did, Mu Yang felt even more strongly that this was a provocation.
In that case, he had to put on a good show and not lose face.
As for not turning back, that was even simpler.
The Scions of the Canopy had their own beliefs.
The Flame Bearer must always maintain a forward posture and could not pass one Sacred Flame pillar to light the next and then return.
That was considered a desecration of the ancestors.
However, even if one really turned back, it probably wouldn't be as terrifying as the legends of being burned by raging flames.
But since he had accepted the commission, he had to do it perfectly.
This was one of Mu Yang's principles of conduct.
If he was going to do something, he would do it to the best of his ability.
After listening to all the steps, Mu Yang took the torch and set off.
His movements were light and graceful, and clearing these abyss remnants was even less of a problem.
After lighting all the fire basins, Trinidad came forward to greet him.
His face was full of smiles, extremely — even ninety percent — satisfied with Mu Yang's performance.
"Truly magnificent. Your performance even surpasses that of Kinich. My judgment was indeed correct."
Afterward, he turned and said a few words to two juniors.
The juniors nodded and went to carry out the orders.
"Don't misunderstand. I simply had him notify the other candidates that they no longer need to prepare. You are the best choice."
"To put it without exaggeration, if you were a Natlan person, an Ancient Name like [Flame Bearer] would probably belong to you."
A single display of lightfoot technique had left this Scions of the Canopy elder completely speechless.
He kept praising Mu Yang nonstop.
"There are still a few days until Return Fire Night. I need to go back and notify the Chieftain and the other elders that I have successfully found a suitable Flame Bearer."
After saying this, Trinidad took his leave. Before leaving, he arranged the highest level of treatment for Mu Yang.
However, Mu Yang had also noticed some clues.
There was more than one candidate for this Return Fire Night.
In other words, there were two different voices within the Scions of the Canopy tribe.
The reason Trinidad had chosen him was definitely because of the power of Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers.
"He wants to use me to kill the Mountain King…"
The Mountain King should be the glory of the Scions of the Canopy, right?
Was it because his dragon partner had been injured that he had turned to extremes?
Still, his feelings were understandable.
The glory of the past had to be paid for by people in the present and even the future.
His worries were also reasonable. If the Mountain King, carrying the aura of the abyss, went on a rampage,
and the Pyro Archon could not arrive in time, the casualties would probably be disastrous.
But could the Scions of the Canopy accept the death of the Mountain King, who existed like a totem?
Trinidad was only one of the elders.
The Scions of the Canopy should at least be divided into two factions internally.
He wondered which side the Chieftain belonged to.
Mu Yang was pondering how to avoid offending either side.
After all, he only wanted to do business with the Scions of the Canopy.
He wasn't here to split their tribe.
That night, Kinich found Mu Yang.
"You accepted Elder Trinidad's conditions?"
Mu Yang nodded. "The price he offered was good."
Mu Yang didn't feel like he had stolen Kinich's job.
There were plenty of candidates. He was simply the strongest among them.
"Elder Trinidad may have concealed his true purpose. He wants to resolve the Mountain King's problem once and for all. You should have noticed it too, right?"
Through the past two days of interaction, Kinich had already learned that Mu Yang disliked beating around the bush.
Moreover, Mu Yang was very smart and should be able to analyze the interests involved.
Mu Yang nodded. "What he values should be that sword of mine — the one that cut open the Abyss Gate…"
"Correct. He hopes to borrow your hand to let the Mountain King return to the Night Kingdom."
"The Mountain King is the glory of the Scions of the Canopy, right?" Mu Yang said.
"All things have a price. Glory is no exception. Nanna will not be the last injured dragon."
Mu Yang asked, "You mean he concealed part of the truth?"
"That's right…"
According to Kinich,
After hundreds of years of corruption, the Mountain King's body had already been irreversibly eroded by evil power and abyssalized.
Abyss power would drive it mad, but it was also because of abyss power that it could maintain its life.
In other words, once the abyss was completely dispelled, the Mountain King would die.
The rituals of previous years only dispelled roughly half of the abyss power. This was the balance point that kept it from dying while also preventing it from waking up.
"I believe he did not tell you the details about the dispelling."
Trinidad indeed had not mentioned it.
It looked like he planned to use him as a weapon.
Mu Yang thought to himself.
This old man really knew how to act.
There were probably never any other candidates.
Letting an outsider bear the sin of personally killing the Mountain King was quite reasonable.
It all depended on the follow-up negotiations.
If this old man remained stubborn and insisted on making him take the blame, then…
"By the way, I've already discussed this matter with the Chieftain. He wants to meet you."
Kinich interrupted Mu Yang's thoughts.
"Lead the way."
It seemed the Chieftain hoped to preserve the Mountain King.
One was the calculating old man, the other was the tribe's Chieftain.
Mu Yang began calculating.
He would see what conditions the Chieftain could offer.
If he could find a way to save the Mountain King, he should gain more than what the elder had promised.
On one side, the benefactor who saved the Mountain King; on the other, the sinner who killed the Mountain King.
Even Paimon would know how to choose…