"Hm? You know me, little fellow? I've been here for over a hundred years. There's no way you could have met me." The Heavenly Fire Venerable's wariness clearly rose another notch.
But after thinking it over, he sighed again. His soul body had already grown so weak. What more could he hope for?
As long as he could leave this accursed place, he could only agree, even if the other party had some selfish motives.
"Although I don't know you, that flame on your body should be the Fallen Heart Flame, right?
"As far as I know, you're the only senior who possesses the Fallen Heart Flame." Qin Yun had already concocted an explanation.
Naturally, he had chosen to come help the Heavenly Fire Venerable because the man had been a fairly decent person in the original story.
Although he had used Xiao Yan somewhat at first, after spending some time together, he had truly laid his heart bare.
If it had been some other scumbag from the Soul Hall, would Qin Yun have saved him?
"All right, all right. Whatever you say. I only have one request: can you take me out of this accursed place? As for whatever you want, we can negotiate a trade."
An old fox like the Heavenly Fire Venerable naturally could not believe those words.
But he had no choice. In his current weakened state, even walking a short distance was a struggle.
The fact that the other party had not immediately devoured his soul already counted as an act of goodwill. At least his character met the minimum standard for someone the venerable could consider.
"I can take you out, but what worthwhile things do you think you can offer me?"
Qin Yun smiled faintly. Although he had long since decided to take him out, he still had to put on a little act.
"I can give you this infant Fallen Heart Flame. Although it's still in its infancy, with proper nurturing, it will become a true heavenly flame.
"I'm not deceiving you. This really is the Fallen Heart Flame, of exactly the same origin as the heavenly flame in Jia Nan Academy's Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. If you don't believe me, you can examine it yourself."
The Heavenly Fire Venerable even took care to explain that the heavenly flame was genuine. After all, two heavenly flames sharing the same source and lineage were exceedingly rare.
Qin Yun accepted the infant Fallen Heart Flame he handed over and carefully sensed it.
He found that it was indeed genuine, and that the venerable had not planted any hidden tricks inside it.
The only issue was that this heavenly flame was still in its infancy. Its strength was far below that of the one in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Besides, a heavenly flame's evolution required vast amounts of time and resources.
Once all those costs were added up, it did not seem particularly worthwhile. But Qin Yun soon had an idea.
Since this heavenly flame did not quite catch his eye, why not use the little one to trade with Jia Nan Academy for the big one?
The heavenly flame in the Heaven-Connecting Qi Refining Tower already possessed power comparable to a Dou Zong. It harbored a deep hatred for Jia Nan Academy, one that could never be reconciled.
It frequently erupted for no apparent reason, forcing the academy's elders to reinforce the seal almost every month.
Moreover, because the heavenly flame itself held such intense resentment, students who cultivated for a little too long would be invaded by the fire poison within it.
It would even slowly damage their meridians, forcing cultivators to cleanse the fire poison from their bodies at regular intervals.
This weak little Fallen Star Flame, however, was different. They could raise it from infancy, just like a pet.
Once it grew attached to them, not only would it lack the larger flame's deep resentment, it could even help the entire Jia Nan Academy upgrade the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Not only would cultivation speed rise another level, they would no longer have to worry about fire poison invading their meridians.
More importantly, the heavenly flame would not damage the academy, so there would be no need to keep reinforcing a seal. At the very least, it could halve the burden on all the academy's elders.
As for the cost, it would merely be some resources. With two heavenly flames, one large and one small, placed before Jia Nan Academy, Qin Yun believed they would know which to choose.
Qin Yun quickly put away the Fallen Heart Flame in his hand, but made no further move, as though hinting at something.
The Heavenly Fire Venerable, whose age had honed him into a shrewd old fox, naturally knew what this meant. He could only give a helpless, bitter smile.
"This is the Five-Wheel Li Fire Technique I created myself! It allows you to control five flames of different attributes simultaneously, with astonishing power.
"Once mastered to its peak, its power is no less than that of a low-level Heaven Tier Dou Technique. I'll give you this as well."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yun finally nodded in satisfaction and quite naturally put the Dou Technique scroll into his Storage Ring.
Seeing that he was finally satisfied, the Heavenly Fire Venerable breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was not insatiably greedy. Otherwise, the venerable might very well have lost both the lady and his troops.
Qin Yun was not someone who broke his word, either. Before setting out this time, he had anticipated all sorts of emergencies, so he had packed plenty of medicinal ingredients for pill refinement, along with Han Feng's collection.
This time, he immediately took out five Soul-Nourishing Golden Flowers of roughly the fifth grade. These medicinal ingredients had no particularly great uses; their sole function was to nourish the soul.
After absorbing all five flowers in succession, the Heavenly Fire Venerable's soul body, which had previously seemed ready to vanish with a puff of wind, finally became translucent.
Although he was still far from his peak, at least he was no longer so fragile. His strength could also rival that of a Dou Wang for a short time.
"Thank you, young friend. I owe you a favor for this.
"By the way, I still don't know which faction you belong to. To reach Five-Star Dou Wang at your age,
"the faction behind you surely can't be some obscure power, can it?"
The Heavenly Fire Venerable offered a brief word of thanks. At last, he could leave this accursed place. After spending several hundred years in this wretched spot, he had nearly suffocated from confinement.
"My name is Qin Yun, and I'm from the Wind and Lightning Pavilion. The one beside me is Feng Qing'er, from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan."
Qin Yun briefly introduced the two of them. Even Feng Qing'er beside him gave a rare nod.
"The Wind and Lightning Pavilion! A Heavenly Demon Phoenix!" The Heavenly Fire Venerable was visibly startled.
Of course, it was not because of the Wind and Lightning Pavilion, but because the young woman beside Qin Yun belonged to the Heavenly Demon Phoenix race.
Although the Wind and Lightning Pavilion was one of the Four Pavilions, the title of the four great pavilions was essentially self-proclaimed. Before truly powerful factions, they amounted to nothing.
Before he had become stranded in this accursed place, the Wind and Lightning Pavilion had only just been founded, and its leader had merely been a low-level Dou Zun.
Even a rogue cultivator like him had thought nothing of the Wind and Lightning Pavilion.
The Heavenly Demon Phoenixes, however, were another matter entirely. They were a genuine ancient power, with several Dou Sheng at the very peak of their pyramid alone.
Never mind the insignificant Wind and Lightning Pavilion-even the Soul Hall and the Pill Tower, those titans of the Central Plains, treated them with considerable wariness.
What puzzled the Heavenly Fire Venerable, however, was that this young woman named Feng Qing'er clearly possessed a much nobler status.
So why did she seem to defer to Qin Yun in everything? He truly could not fathom it.
Still, the Heavenly Fire Venerable was easygoing enough. If he could not figure it out, so be it. In any case, this time he could finally return to the outside and see the dazzling world again.
Before you continue