Departure

It must be said that Yue Qianchou's grilled fish skills were indeed quite good. Usually, people grill fish until the outside is charred black, but these hundred fish in front of him were golden brown and shiny, glistening with oil, and exuding a rich aroma. They were truly a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate. Actually, the fish were already cooked, but he deliberately lingered for a while, intentionally teasing He Li's appetite. Seeing that the charcoal fire on the ground was almost extinguished, he raised his hand and gestured, "Brother He, come, try it quickly, it won't taste good when it's cold."

"Good, good, good!" He Li unceremoniously pulled out a scalding hot sword with two fish skewered on it, opened his mouth and bit into it. Before even chewing the meat, he nodded repeatedly to Yue Qianchou, indicating that it was delicious. Yue Qianchou smiled, pulled out a sword, took a bite of fish, and nodded as well, feeling that his skills hadn't deteriorated. If an ordinary person were to hold this sword, it would definitely be scalding hot, but one of them had a high level of cultivation and wasn't bothered by the temperature, while the other had cultivated a fire technique and was impervious to fire and high temperatures.

Having already started eating the grilled fish, He Li didn't stand on ceremony. He tossed aside his sword and bones and picked up another skewer to devour. Yue Qianchou smiled, barely touching his own skewer. After He Li had eaten two skewers, he suddenly spoke up, "Brother He, did you go to Twilight Valley to forge weapons again today?"

"Mmm!" He Li replied absentmindedly, chewing on something, as he reached for the fourth skewer of grilled fish. Yue Qianchou laughed, "When will you take me to Twilight Valley to broaden my horizons and see what the Azure Flame, one of the Three Flavored True Fire, is really like?"

"Uh..." He Li's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He hesitated and withdrew it, shaking his head and saying, "Master instructed that I cannot bring outsiders." His eyes were still fixed on the other grilled fish, clearly he hadn't had enough yet, but it would be a bit unreasonable to refuse the other party's request and then eat their food.

"Silly bird, old habits die hard!" Yue Qianchou smiled slightly at his expression and said, "Brother Crane, please eat as much as you like. I can't finish all of this by myself." As he spoke, he picked up a skewer, handed it to him, and asked, "Do you think I'll be able to leave here in the future?"

He Li said without a doubt, "In the Demon Ghost Domain, no one dares to leave without Master's permission. Even if they can escape for a while, they will be found by Master sooner or later, without exception."

"That settles it then." Yue Qianchou said with a smile, "Since I can't leave, it'll just be you, me, and Senior Bi living together on this island from now on. After a while, do you think I'll still be considered an outsider? Besides, I don't have any other friends in the Demon Ghost Domain. I genuinely consider Brother He as one of my own. Does Brother He look down on me and intend to treat me as an outsider forever? Even taking me to see Qinghuo in Twilight Valley makes things so difficult for you?"

Upon hearing this, He Li looked at the grilled fish in his hand, truly conflicted. Yue Qianchou pressed his advantage, continuing, "Furthermore, if Senior Bi goes to the 'Eastern Pole Sacred Land,' then only the two of us will remain on 'Shuntian Island.' Can we brothers still be considered outsiders?"

After speaking, he stared intently at the changing expressions on He Li's face, smiling silently for a long time before chuckling, "To be honest, I just wanted to see what the difference was between this legendary Azure Flame and ordinary mortal flame. Well, since you've put Brother He in such a difficult position, I, Yue Qianchou, don't like to force people to do things against their will. Whether you see it or not doesn't really matter. Let's leave it at that, as if I never said anything. Brother He, please continue eating. If you're not full, I'll roast some more."

Yue Qianchou's words only made things worse, making it even harder for He Li to eat. Although he loved fish, especially when it was grilled to perfection—a rare treat that only came around once in a thousand years—he was no longer a mindless beast. He opened and closed his mouth, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't, and finally buried his head in his food without uttering a sound.

After making someone's heart pound, he still didn't get the words he wanted to hear. Yue Qianchou touched his nose and chuckled, "I see that Brother He really likes grilled fish. How about this? I'll pass on my Yue Family's Secret Method, which we never share with outsiders. Brother He can grill it whenever he wants to eat it. What do you think?"

"Ah!" He Li swallowed what was in his mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "How can this be? Since it is Secret Method passed down from Brother Yue's ancestors, how can it be passed on to outsiders so casually!"

"Brother He, you're being too polite," Yue Qianchou said seriously. "After Senior Bi leaves, it'll just be the two of us here. I truly consider you a brother, and as brothers, how can you call us outsiders? It's settled then. I'll pick a time to pass on this ancestral Secret Method for roasting food to you, Brother He. Besides, I trust your character; you would never teach this ancestral Secret Method to anyone else without my permission."

He Li had no idea that there were so many different ways to roast food in the mortal world, each with its own merits. Upon hearing this, he stood up abruptly and looked at Yue Qianchou, so moved that he didn't know what to say. Little did he know, Yue Qianchou was just making things up because he knew that He Li had never left the Demon Ghost Domain.

"Brother Yue treated me with sincerity, and I, He Li, will naturally repay you with sincerity as well." He Li took a big bite of the grilled fish, crunching along with the crispy fish bones before swallowing it, and said, "Tomorrow I will take Brother Yue to Twilight Valley to see the Azure Flame."

Ah! Hard work pays off! Yue Qianchou was overjoyed, but hesitated on the surface, saying, "This is not good! What if Senior Bi finds out? Forget it, no matter how much I want to see, I can't do anything that would implicate Brother He."

He Li hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "It's alright. Master usually won't be back for a while after he goes out. I'm also familiar with the restrictions in Twilight Valley, so they won't be triggered. As long as Brother Yue doesn't say anything, Master shouldn't know."

"Then I'll go take a look?" Yue Qianchou suggested.

"Okay!" He Li glanced at the pile of grilled fish stuck on the side and said, "I'll go after I finish this fish." Then he buried his head in his food and ate heartily.

"Damn it! What if you finish eating and then refuse to pay?" Yue Qianchou made a hand seal, and the grilled fish skewers stuck upside down on the ground soared into the air. At the same time, a flying sword carried him up, and he waved down from the air on the sword, saying, "Brother He, I really can't wait to see what the legendary Azure Flame looks like. Let's go, we can eat on the way."

He Li glanced at the grilled fish skewers that had already flown into the air and reluctantly followed. Thus, dozens of grilled fish skewers accompanied the two of them westward, a truly spectacular sight. Along the way, He Li finished one skewer and casually tossed it aside; Yue Qianchou automatically retrieved the flying sword.

When He Li finished eating all the grilled fish, Yue Qianchou stared strangely at his still-full stomach, thinking to himself that his stomach could indeed hold nearly a hundred grilled fish! It must weigh at least a hundred pounds. He Li smacked his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction and said, "The grilled fish got cold from the wind, so the taste is definitely much worse."

Yue Qianchou forced a smile and said, "No rush. When we get back, I will teach Brother He the Secret Method of grilling. There are plenty of fish in this lake, so Brother He can grill them whenever he wants to eat them hot."

Upon hearing this, He Li's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly. An hour or so later, the mountain scenery along the lake could be seen in the distance. Yue Qianchou looked up at the sky and then at the distance, and asked in confusion, "Brother He, why is the entire sky above the Demon Ghost Domain covered with dark clouds, but the area corresponding to this Thousand Mile Flat Lake is a clear blue sky?"

With He Li's cultivation level, he would have reached the west bank long ago. He only slowed down to accompany Yue Qianchou. He Li laughed and said, "I don't know either. My master said that there seems to be something in the deepest part of the water. My master has dived down several times, but after reaching a certain depth, even with his cultivation level, he could not go any further. Even his Divine Sense was blocked by something, so he could not find out what was down there. Actually, I have also dived down. I went down to a depth of about a thousand meters and then I could not go any further. It's very strange."

"What? Even with Senior Bi's cultivation level, he couldn't find the bottom?" Yue Qianchou looked down at the azure lake, utterly shocked. It should be known that Bi Changchun's cultivation had reached the pinnacle of the Cultivation World, making him almost a demigod. It was unbelievable that he couldn't even reach the bottom of a lake. There must be something strange about this lake; he needed to find an opportunity to go down and investigate.

"What's so strange about that? The Demon Ghost Domain is a special place. Although Master is in charge of this place, there are still many mysterious places whose details are unknown. For example, the Nine Nether Cave, Master also cannot go deep into it. Hmm..." He Li, looked ahead solemnly and said, "We are about to reach Twilight Valley. There are many restrictions in the valley. Brother Yue, stick close to me and don't wander around. Otherwise, if you trigger the restrictions, even I won't be able to save you."

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