Chapter 502: Golden Crow Inheritance

Yun Che fell silent. Although he had calmed down from the series of shocks, his heart remained turbulent. He had originally only regarded this as a completely unfamiliar world, where his sole objective was to grow stronger and find a way back to the Azure Cloud Continent. But now, everything had been turned upside down.

Not only was this not a distant and unfamiliar world, but it also had intricate ties to him.

"Yun Che, ask this person what 'Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley' is," Jasmine suddenly asked, her tone very serious. The "Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley" had been mentioned by both Tianxia Yi and Yun Xiao, who described it as an excellent place for trials and fortuitous encounters, though the Yun family was no longer permitted to enter.

"...Could it be that you suspect this 'Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley' is connected to the ancient divine beast, the Golden Crow?" Yun Che asked.

"I don't believe this is merely a coincidence in names," Jasmine replied indifferently. "If it truly is related to the Golden Crow, that would be interesting."

Yun Che pondered for a moment, then asked, "Yun Xiao, what kind of place is the 'Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley' that you mentioned earlier? The rapid decline of your Yun family's power is partly due to not being able to enter the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley... Is this place really that miraculous?"

"Uh... you don't even know about the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley?" Yun Xiao looked at him with extreme surprise.

"This is my first time coming here for training, and my master never told me about the Illusory Demon Realm, so this is the first time I've heard the name Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley."

Yun Che's words were quite truthful, but Yun Xiao naturally couldn't tell from them that he was from another world. He nodded and whispered, "Brother Yun is indeed incredibly powerful for a reason; it seems you truly don't get distracted at all while cultivating... Although I've never been able to enter the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, I'm very familiar with it. I grew up hearing its name, because it's the ancestral origin place of the Illusory Demon Royal Family."

"Origin place?" Yun Che was startled.

"Yes," Yun Xiao nodded. "Brother Yun, have you heard of the ancient divine beast, the Golden Crow?"

"I have. The Vermilion Bird, Phoenix, and Golden Crow are the three supreme fire-element divine beasts of ancient times," Yun Che nodded. And within him flowed the Phoenix bloodline.

"The Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley is named as such because it contains the power inheritance of the divine beast Golden Crow."

"Oh?" Yun Che suddenly turned his head. In his mind, Jasmine's soft voice echoed: "Just as I thought! But it's truly strange. Blue Pole Star is clearly a low-level planet, yet why does it contain so many divine power inheritances... Phoenix, Dragon God, Golden Crow, even the Evil God's divine power seed exists in this world... Did something extraordinary happen in this world during ancient times?"

"Is that... very strange?"

"It's not just strange, it's absolutely abnormal," Jasmine whispered. "Ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of divine power inheritances are concentrated in the God Realm. Among the trillions of planets in the Great Thousand World, it's rare for even one in a billion planets to contain a divine power inheritance. Even in higher-dimensional Star Realms, it's one in a hundred million. Yet a tiny Blue Pole Star now has four discovered, oh, and we must add Xia Yuanba, who inexplicably awakened a War God's profound veins! The Yun family's Profound Core might also be some form of ancient true god's power... If this matter were to get out, it would be enough to alarm even the God Realm!"

Yun Che was speechless.

Yun Xiao continued: "The ancestor of the Illusory Demon Royal Family was merely a demonized Rainbow Pheasant. Later, by chance, they activated the inheritance left by the Golden Crow divine beast within the Lightning Flame Valley, obtaining the Golden Crow bloodline and Golden Crow flame power, becoming invincible throughout the Illusory Demon Realm. Subsequently, all the clans acknowledged them as their sovereign, making them the first Demon Emperor of the Illusory Demon Realm. Thereafter, their continuously multiplying descendants, who are now the Illusory Demon Royal Family, claimed to be the descendants of the Golden Crow. Blessed by the divine beast Golden Crow, the Lightning Flame Valley was also renamed the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, becoming the Illusory Demon Realm's most sacred place."

"The elemental aura of the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley is extremely dense, filled everywhere with powerful flames and lightning cloud energy. It continuously gives rise to various powerful fire spirits, lightning spirits, and different fire and lightning element demonic beasts. Similarly, various rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, seldom seen elsewhere, are extremely prone to grow there. Therefore, entering the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley not only provides excellent training but also easily yields various fortuitous encounters. Almost everyone who enters the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley gains significant rewards, with some even soaring to great heights."

"Only the Illusory Demon Royal Family and the Twelve Guardian Families are qualified to enter the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, with entries fixed once every five years. However, ever since the incident a century ago... our Yun family has no longer been allowed to enter. Many young members of other Guardian Families undergo transformations or even sublimations in their strength after emerging from the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, while our Yun family can only watch longingly..."

Yun Xiao slowly exhaled, a look of sadness on his face. Even at his current age, as the young family head of the Yun family, he had never been able to enter the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley... not even once.

"I see," Yun Che nodded gently. "So, the Illusory Demon Royal Family all possess the Golden Crow's bloodline and its flame power. No wonder they became the revered imperial family of this world."

"Well... not exactly," Yun Xiao unexpectedly denied. "The members of the Illusory Demon Royal Family do indeed possess the Golden Crow bloodline, but it's been passed down through generations, making it very thin. Their profound flames, though much stronger than ordinary profound flames, are not truly the Golden Crow's power... The last one to truly possess the Golden Crow's power was the departed Demon Emperor."

"Why is that? Don't they clearly inherit the Golden Crow's bloodline?" Yun Che asked in surprise.

"Because only by obtaining the acknowledgment and bestowal of the Golden Crow Soul can one acquire the Golden Crow's flame profound art, the 'Golden Crow Record of the Burning World'. Otherwise, they can only rely on the Golden Crow bloodline to ignite profound flames with Golden Crow attributes. In the Illusory Demon Royal Family, apart from the Demon Emperor, everyone else cultivates other flame profound arts."

"'Golden Crow Record of the Burning World'... Does that mean this Golden Crow flame profound art cannot be passed on to others?" Yun Che frowned. This was not the first time Yun Che had heard the name "Golden Crow Record of the Burning World." Jasmine had mentioned it to him several years ago: the "Vermilion Bird Soul Requiem," the "Phoenix Ode to the World," and the "Golden Crow Record of the Burning World" were the three great "Heavenly Books of Burning the World" that had once shaken the Great Thousand World.

"Precisely! The Golden Crow Record of the Burning World can only be inherited from the Golden Crow Soul. The Golden Crow Soul resides at the very end of the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, a place known as the Golden Crow Sacred Land, accessible only once every millennium. And the only key to enter there... is the 'Demon Emperor Seal', which ended up on the Azure Cloud Continent because of my grandfather."

Yun Che was speechless.

Yun Xiao said helplessly: "The Golden Crow Sacred Land can be entered once every millennium, which is why Demon Emperors typically succeed the throne every thousand years. When His Majesty the Demon Emperor died at the hands of those villains a century ago, he was also just about to complete his millennium on the throne. After the Little Demon Emperor ascended, he could have used the Demon Emperor Seal to enter the Golden Crow Sacred Land and obtain a more powerful Golden Crow bloodline and the Golden Crow Record of the Burning World. However, with the Demon Emperor Seal lost, he could no longer enter the Golden Crow Sacred Land. Without obtaining the true Golden Crow inheritance, one cannot become a true Demon Emperor... A century ago, the Little Demon Emperor ascended out of necessity, but because he didn't receive the Golden Crow inheritance, he could only be called the 'Little Demon Emperor' and couldn't bear the title of true Demon Emperor. The Little Demon Empress is the same. Alas, if the Demon Emperor Seal cannot be found, the Golden Crow Record of the Burning World might vanish from the world forever."

"No wonder losing the Demon Emperor Seal brought such grave responsibility upon the Yun family," Yun Che said slowly.

"Grandfather certainly didn't lose it on purpose," Yun Xiao said, gritting his teeth slightly. "Father said that Grandfather and His Majesty the Demon Emperor were like brothers. Back then, he absolutely refused to acknowledge the Demon Emperor's death without seeing his body. And the Demon Emperor Seal was personally entrusted to him by the Demon Emperor for safekeeping. Unless the Demon Emperor was truly dead, he would not hand it over to anyone without the Demon Emperor's personal command, not even the Demon Emperor's son... Because of this, he always carried it with him and never entrusted it to anyone. Even when he went to the Azure Cloud Continent to search for the Demon Emperor, he refused to let the Demon Emperor Seal leave his person... This was an act of Grandfather's loyalty and righteousness; he certainly didn't want it lost more than anyone else. But some people in the Illusory Demon Royal Family, however..."

Yun Xiao's face showed indignation, but he did not continue speaking.

"Do you want to find an opportunity to visit the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley?" Jasmine said with interest. "Anyway, you just happen to have 'that thing'."

"Which is more powerful, the Golden Crow's flames or the Phoenix's flames?" Yun Che thought for a moment and asked.

"Among the three supreme fire-element divine beasts, the Vermilion Bird ranks first, the Phoenix second, and the Golden Crow last. However, if we speak solely of flame power, the Golden Crow's is the strongest!" Jasmine said indifferently.

"...Then why is the Golden Crow ranked last?"

"Because this isn't a ranking based on strength. The Vermilion Bird's flame possesses a sacred attribute; it was the flame most feared by the demon race that coexisted with the gods in ancient times, and was once known as the 'Flame of Salvation'. The Phoenix's flame carries an attribute of benevolence; it can not only incinerate but also purify, and was once called the 'Flame of Praising the World'. This is also why you had to pass the third trial, the Trial of the Heart, when undergoing the Phoenix trial."

"The Golden Crow's flame, however, is the purest, most extreme flame of destruction! The Golden Crow is also known as the 'Sunbird'; legend says it's an extreme divine being born in the heart of the sun. Its flames are as hot and violent as the sun, containing nothing but destruction. Legend says that at its most extreme, there's nothing in the entire Great Thousand World that the Golden Crow's fire cannot incinerate. The ranking of the three supreme flame divine beasts I just mentioned is merely a ranking of their acceptance in the hearts of the world's people. Although the Golden Crow is not an evil beast, its temperament is as fiery and violent as its flames, naturally making it less popular than the 'salvation' and 'praise-the-world' Vermilion Bird and Phoenix. However, given the Golden Crow's temperament, it would certainly never acknowledge this ranking."

"So, you want me to try to obtain the Golden Crow's inheritance?" Yun Che mused.

"Golden Crow inheritance? Heh..." Jasmine chuckled faintly. "You're thinking too much. If you didn't have the Phoenix bloodline, there might be a slim possibility, but since you already have Phoenix flames, it's absolutely impossible for you to obtain Golden Crow flames. I'm telling you to go there merely to confirm whether there truly is a Golden Crow inheritance!"

"Why?" Yun Che was slightly stunned.

"Hmph, is it that hard to understand? None of the three supreme fire-element divine beasts bows to another; each believes it possesses the strongest flames in the world. If a person possesses the bloodline of one, the other two will absolutely not allow their bloodline and power to coexist with it! Especially the Golden Crow! Its temperament is incredibly irritable and unyielding. For it to pass on its bloodline and power to someone who already possesses the Phoenix bloodline... that is utterly impossible."