Talking the Crow Daoist Around

In the eighth level of the Fire Domain, the flames filling the sky suddenly shuddered.

"Caw! Caw! Which bastard is shaking the Fire Domain?" The old crow Daoist felt like his lungs were about to explode from rage. This time, it truly wasn't his doing.

After rushing out of the flaming cavern, the old crow Daoist swept his gaze around and discovered that the disturbance was actually coming from the ninth level of the Fire Domain!

"Could it be that some supreme treasure has emerged in the ninth level of the Fire Domain?" The old crow Daoist's eyes struggled with indecision. Though he was a Fire Crow born from divine flame, the eighth level of the Fire Domain was already his limit. If he went any farther, he might turn to ash in an instant!

But with treasure right before his eyes, entering a treasure mountain only to return empty-handed was the greatest regret of a crow's life!

Just as the old crow Daoist was caught in a dilemma, he suddenly spotted a figure strolling out from the flames!

Seeing the little girl happily rush over to greet him, a bolt of lightning flashed through the old crow Daoist's mind. His bird eyes widened. "Could it be...?"

At the deepest reaches of the Fire Domain.

A little fireball floated in the air, circling Shen Ye as it flew, clearly brimming with excitement.

Shen Ye extended his right hand, and the little fireball obediently landed in his palm.

He could not feel any scorching flames—not even a trace of elevated heat. The Heart Fire phenomenon was completely absent!

Yet if anyone underestimated it because of that, even a Great Sage would be burned alive!

However, Shen Ye was not marveling at its absurd power right now. Instead, he studied it uncertainly. "Could the origin of its birth be traced back to the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands?"

Only after turning this immortal flame into the deity of his Heart Divine Treasury had Shen Ye truly seen through its essence.

This flame was indeed powerful, but it was not the immortal flame he had initially believed it to be. Rather, it was an imprint left in the River of Time and Space after a wisp of flame burned through the universe!

"With this kind of power, it can no longer simply be described as an immortal flame. At the very least, it is an Immortal King Flame..." Shen Ye had no interest in excavating the history of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, but he was somewhat curious about Little Flame's origins.

Though it was merely a flame imprint rather than a true immortal flame, it possessed immense potential. Perhaps it might even have a chance to ascend to a higher level in the future!

"It's just a pity that after I take this imprint away, the Fire Domain will vanish within a century at most!" Shen Ye shook his head with a sigh, but he had absolutely no intention of returning Little Flame. After changing into an intact set of priestly robes, he headed outside.

With one step, he crossed more than ten kilometers!

The Fire-Walking Art—a divine ability that came with subduing the immortal flame.

Ordinarily, his mana was nowhere near sufficient to support a distance of more than ten kilometers. But with the immortal flame serving as his source of mana, it was like carrying an enormous power bank on him. His mana was being consumed more slowly than it recovered!

In the blink of an eye, he had walked out of the ninth level of the Fire Domain and toward Hua Yue, whose face was filled with joy.

Four years had passed. His body had transformed, and the handsome, elegant youth of old had grown into a spirited Divine Lord. Yet the old crow Daoist recognized him at a single glance.

"He... he really came out alive!" The old crow Daoist was so shocked he nearly bit his tongue. He wanted to step forward and exchange a few words, but before he could approach, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes were fixed intently on the little fireball circling the young man!

Although the little fireball gave off no mana fluctuations and no surging divine power, looking utterly harmless, he felt a tremor rising from the depths of his soul!

The old crow Daoist asked breathlessly, "Th-this... what kind of flame is this?"

Seeing that the Crow Daoist had taken the bait, Shen Ye raised a brow. "You can actually tell that it's extraordinary. You have some insight!"

Naturally, this was only because he had slightly loosened his restraints on the little fireball. Otherwise, even though the Crow Daoist possessed a Fire Crow body, there was no way he could have detected Little Flame's extraordinary nature.

The Crow Daoist took a deep breath and said solemnly, "You were able to remain in the ninth level of the Fire Domain for four years—presumably because of it, right? If this old Daoist isn't mistaken, this is the legendary tenth flame of the Fire Domain—an immortal flame!"

Shen Ye lightly clapped his hands. "Correct!"

"It really is an immortal flame?" Hearing Shen Ye admit it personally, the Crow Daoist found it even harder to accept. He muttered to himself, "So many Ancient Emperors were unable to subdue this wisp of immortal flame. Why could a minor cultivator of the Dao Palace Secret Realm do it?"

Shen Ye knew that it was not that they could not, but that they did not wish to.

Those Ancient Emperors generally sought Immortal Medicine in hopes of living a second life, but divine medicine possessed spirit and was naturally incompatible with immortal flame.

As for using immortal flame in battle?

For one thing, immortal flame was not so easily captured. Shen Ye had used divine blood as bait, burned his fortune for its blessing, and patiently kept it company for four years before finally subduing this wisp of flame!

For another, Little Flame was not a true immortal flame and posed limited threat to Ancient Emperors. If it could be obtained casually, they naturally would not mind gaining another method. But if it took too much time, there was no need for it.

Of course, knowing the truth was one matter; how he chose to say it was another.

Shen Ye said calmly, "The Great Emperors standing at the peak of the human path are indeed formidable, beyond anything I can compare to. But the human path is ultimately only the human path. It is understandable that the immortal flame would be unwilling to follow them!"

"Then why can you..." The Crow Daoist's words halted. It was as if he had discovered some prehistoric terror. He kept swallowing, then asked with difficulty, "Could it be that you are the descendant of an immortal?"

"No!"

"That's what I thought. How could such a thing be possible?" The Crow Daoist let out a relieved breath, only to hear Shen Ye say faintly, "Why not think bigger?"

The Crow Daoist dropped onto the ground in fright. It was not that his Dao heart was weak, but that what he had seen today was simply too unbelievable.

If someone else had said such things, he would have dismissed them as absurd nonsense. But with the immortal flame as a prelude, he already believed three parts out of ten!

The Crow Daoist drew a deep breath and asked, "Could there be an existence even stronger than an immortal?"

Shen Ye said, "Among immortals, those who are kings may be called Immortal Kings!"

The Crow Daoist forcibly calmed himself and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

He considered himself extraordinary, but he did not believe that someone suspected of being an Immortal King's descendant would reveal the secrets of the immortal realm to him upon their second meeting.

Shen Ye answered frankly, "Though my bloodline is noble, I have yet to grow fully. The place I intend to go next is beyond the reach of my current mana, so I wish to hire you to take me there!"

"Hire?" The Crow Daoist's eyes shone brightly as he asked impatiently, "Could the payment be immortal flame instead? You only need to let me study it for a few days!"

Though he still harbored doubts about the claim of being "a descendant of an Immortal King," the benefits of immortal fire were undeniably real!

Hua Yue looked at Shen Ye with worship in her eyes. Worthy of the Young Master—just a few words, and he had recruited a mighty expert as a guard!

Though this mighty expert looked like there was something wrong with his brain!

Seeing the Crow Daoist's utterly ravenous expression, Shen Ye laughed inwardly. This demon has fallen into my net!

What he valued was naturally not merely the Crow Daoist himself, but the vast yet scattered forces of the Demon Race that this demon represented!

With his current strength, if he wished to stir up the winds and clouds of the world, he had to possess forces of his own!

But if he went around recruiting them one by one, never mind whether he would succeed—it would also damage his own "aura"!

That was why he intended to use the Crow Daoist as his "Shen Gongbao," having the Crow Daoist do the persuading for him!

More precisely, he would have the Crow Daoist voluntarily spread the word like a salesman!

As for whether the Crow Daoist would act according to his wishes, Shen Ye was not worried.

If he still could not subdue this old crow after one journey, then he might as well stop playing with people's hearts from now on!