Chapter 588: Golden Crow Soul Spirit

The person who arrived in front of the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley was none other than the Little Demon Empress.

Standing before the Golden Crow Profound Array, she gently flicked her grey sleeve, raised her arm, and slowly lifted the Demon Emperor Seal. Immediately, the light emanating from the Seal became deeper and more intense, and it began to pulse slowly. Its flickering frequency perfectly matched that of the Golden Crow image at the center of the profound array, as if a resonance had been established.

The Little Demon Empress extended her left hand, and with a light flick of her slender finger, a drop of crimson blood flew from her fingertip and landed on the Demon Emperor Seal. Instantly, the Seal flickered with fire, and a scarlet-gold flame shot up, burning fiercely around it and enduring for a long time.

She stretched her fingers and moved them gently. Immediately, another drop of blood flew from her fingertip, tracing a crimson arc directly towards the Golden Crow Profound Array and landing on the Golden Crow image at its center. A similar scarlet-gold flame then ignited there.

Holding the Demon Emperor Seal, the Little Demon Empress flew up and touched it to the center of the profound array. Immediately, the two flames, ignited by her Demon Emperor blood, merged. The Demon Emperor Seal let out a shriek, and the Golden Crow Profound Array shrieked in response. Then, the two merging flames extinguished simultaneously in an instant.

At that moment, the profound array sealing the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley rapidly faded, until it completely dissipated.

The sole entrance to the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley lay open, unhidden, before the Little Demon Empress.

Her gaze calm as water, the Little Demon Empress put away the Demon Emperor Seal. Her small body streaked forward as a grey shadow, imperceptible to the ordinary eye, silently disappearing into the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley.

In another half month, the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley would open. Over five years, a vast number of fire spirits and lightning spirits had been re-birthed within it. The ground here was scarlet, yet the sky was purple. Countless flames swayed in view, and countless lightning bolts shrieked. Occasionally, fire waves dozens of meters high would suddenly erupt from the ground, or roaring thunderbolts would strike down. Despite being separated from the outside world by only a single Golden Crow Profound Array, this place seemed like two entirely different worlds in terms of laws and composition.

The Little Demon Empress unleashed her full speed, heading straight north. She allowed the flames and lightning to strike and coil around her, yet no matter how fiercely they raged, they could not harm her in the slightest. Moreover, some fire spirits with moderate consciousness would quickly flee upon sensing her aura, not daring to approach.

The Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley was immensely vast. The Little Demon Empress concentrated all her power on speed, holding nothing back, moving as fast as a sudden flash of lightning. Even so, after more than an hour, the world of thunder and fire around her still stretched endlessly.

After a full two hours, a mountain wall completely enveloped in scarlet-gold flames appeared ahead. The Little Demon Empress shifted her body and landed before it. Before her was a Golden Crow Profound Array remarkably similar to the one sealing the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, though this one was a third smaller, and its Golden Crow image was even deeper.

The Little Demon Empress's always calm gaze finally showed a momentary flicker. This was not her first time here, but this time, her state of mind was entirely different. In the past, she had only helplessness and longing, but this time, she held the returned Demon Emperor Seal in her hand.

Holding the Demon Emperor Seal, the Little Demon Empress no longer hesitated and slowly walked forward. The moment her body touched the profound array, the Demon Emperor Seal flashed with fire, and a burst of explosive flames spread out, engulfing her and slowly drawing her body into the profound array...

The world before the Little Demon Empress instantly shifted, transitioning from a world of thunder and fire into an boundless realm completely filled with golden yellow.

Holding the Demon Emperor Seal, the Little Demon Empress knelt on one knee and respectfully said: "Huan Caiyi, the twelfth generation Emperor of the Illusionary Demon Royal Family and the eleventh generation inheritor of the Golden Crow bloodline, pays respects to the Golden Crow Saint God."

"Hahahahahahaha..." No sooner had the Little Demon Empress's voice fallen than a wild, unrestrained female laughter echoed through the golden-yellow world. The voice seemed to come from the sky, yet also to be right beside her ear; even the Little Demon Empress's powerful profound energy, reaching the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, trembled under its sound.

"Your Illusionary Demon Royal Family has been late by a century, finally arriving today, and yet it's a woman. It seems our destiny with your clan has ended. What are you here for?!"

The woman's voice was like a raging fire. Her words puzzled the Little Demon Empress, who looked up and said: "My father and imperial brother met their demise a century ago, and the Demon Emperor Seal was also lost for a hundred years, only recently recovered. That is why there has been a century-long delay. Though I am a woman, I am currently the sole direct descendant of my Demon Emperor clan, inheriting the purest Demon Emperor blood. I ask the Golden Crow Saint God to bestow upon me the Golden Crow Burning World Record and the ancestral bloodline, so that I may revitalize the Demon Emperor clan."

"Bestow upon you the Golden Crow Burning World Record and ancestral bloodline? Hahahaha! You are truly pathetic and naive. Did you not hear what I just said? The moment you entered, I knew our destiny with your clan had ended!"

"What do you mean, Golden Crow Saint?" The Little Demon Empress frowned, perplexed.

"What do I mean? You truly are naive! Your Demon Emperor clan has had ten generations of Demon Emperors over the past ten thousand years, and all ten were male! There has never been a female. Do you think this is merely a coincidence or a worldly bias towards men?! Hmph, it seems you’ve never known that among your mortal bodies, only males can bear the Golden Crow Ancestral Blood!"

The Little Demon Empress trembled as if struck by lightning: "Why?! Although I am a woman, I am also a direct inheritor of the Demon Emperor clan..."

"It has nothing to do with whether you are an inheritor of the Demon Emperor clan! It’s simply because you are a woman!" The fiery female voice said mercilessly: "Male bodies are Yang, female bodies are Yin. A mortal female body can indeed wield ordinary profound flames, even the flames of a Phoenix or Vermillion Bird. However, my Golden Crow flames are the most intense and purest Yang fire in the world! They tolerate not a single speck of Yin energy! You, who currently only inherit a diluted Golden Crow bloodline, are already suffering from your body and heart being burned day and night, in unbearable pain, and your lifespan is greatly reduced. If you were to bear the ancestral bloodline, your internal energy would fall into complete chaos, and you would be in agony day in and day out!"

"Furthermore, since you are still a virgin, with primordial Yin energy remaining within you, if you were to bear the ancestral blood, your bloodline’s flame energy would violently erupt within three days, burning your internal organs to ashes and killing you!"

The Little Demon Empress: "!!!!"

Indeed, all ten generations of Demon Emperors in the Illusionary Demon Realm had been male, but no one had ever found this strange. It was considered natural for men to be emperors, and abnormal for women. The fact that the Golden Crow bloodline harms female bodies was well known among the Illusionary Demon Royal Family, especially that empresses, particularly those with direct bloodlines, always perished before the Demon Emperors themselves, with none living longer than a thousand years — there were no exceptions.

The Little Demon Empress naturally knew all this, but she had never imagined that a female body, even that of a Demon Emperor’s daughter, would be utterly unable to bear the ancestral blood—and thus unable to cultivate the Golden Crow Burning World Record.

All her hopes were cruelly doused by icy cold spring water pouring over her heart and soul. She remained stunned for a long time, murmuring unwillingly as she thought of her clan’s current predicament: "Is there really no possibility at all… Golden Crow Saint God, you are clearly also a female…"

"Hahahaha!" The fiery voice laughed wildly: "How can a divine body be compared to your mortal bodies?! If you speak of possibility… Hmph, it’s not entirely impossible. That would be to receive nourishment from the primordial Yang of a man possessing Phoenix or Vermillion Bird bloodline! But in this Illusionary Demon Realm, there are no lingering powers of the Phoenix or Vermillion Bird, and such a man would certainly not exist. Give up and leave!"

The Golden Crow’s voice clearly showed deep disdain when mentioning “Phoenix” and “Vermillion Bird.”

The Little Demon Empress bowed her head and closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long time, unwilling to leave. The fiery female voice spoke again: "Do not harbor any more illusions, and do not hope for me to help you! I am a separated entity of the Golden Crow bloodline and soul, forbidden to leave this place for my entire life under the lingering will of the Golden Crow! Since the beginning of ten thousand years, I have bestowed upon your Illusionary Rainbow Sparrow clan ten thousand years of prosperity, making you the Demon Emperor clan for ten millennia! Our destiny with your clan has ended, and this is also the will of heaven! Go!"

"As for this Demon Emperor Seal, on the day you die, when the Demon Emperor bloodline is severed, it will also dissipate!"

As the Golden Crow Soul Spirit’s voice fell, the golden-yellow world instantly collapsed, and the surroundings once again became a world of thunder and fire. The Little Demon Empress remained kneeling there, motionless and silent for a long time, as if her soul had left her body.

The Mu Family welcomed what could be called its most lively day in over a hundred years.

The moment Yun Che agreed to return to the Mu Family with him, Mu Feiyan immediately sent a sound transmission to his home. The vast Mu clan immediately became a hive of activity from top to bottom, dozens of times more bustling than when the Little Demon Empress herself visited.

The Mu clan’s territory was half again as large as the Yun Family’s. Coupled with the Yun Family’s decline, the Mu Family also greatly surpassed the Yun Family in terms of prominence.

Old Man Mu, pulling Yun Che, led the way through the entrance, laughing heartily and looking utterly delighted. The Mu family disciples watched, dumbfounded, even suspecting that their patriarch, usually awe-inspiring without needing to get angry, might have been possessed.

Mu Feiyan personally gave Yun Che a tour of the Mu Family, talking non-stop, laughing ceaselessly, and spraying spittle, scaring the Mu family disciples as if they’d seen ghosts in broad daylight. After touring the Mu Family, it was almost evening. Mu Feiyan led the group to his own courtyard, then unhesitatingly brought out all of his treasured Jade Ginseng Tea, which he had kept for hundreds of years, too reluctant to drink. The three Mu Yubai brothers’ hands trembled as they held their teacups. This Jade Ginseng Tea cost tens of millions of gold per liang; normally, if they even secretly sniffed it, their old man would scold them. Today, thanks to their nephew, they were actually drinking it!

"Come! Che’er, this is a welcoming gift from your grandpa. See if you like it." Mu Feiyan laughed heartily as he placed a cold-emitting ice jade box into Yun Che’s hand.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Yun Che took it and immediately opened the ice jade box. Inside the palm-sized box lay a slender crystal, the size of a little finger. At first glance, it seemed no different from an ordinary icicle, yet the cold it emitted carried an indescribable sense of mystery.

Upon seeing this 'icicle,' the three Mu brothers’ eyes simultaneously widened, and the Jade Ginseng Tea in their mouths spluttered out, accompanied by hoarse, pig-like roars...

"Heavenly Profound Glacial Crystal!!!!"