Chapter 496 - 495: Dispute
The Immortal Fire was not something just anyone could absorb at will. Even for powerful experts with high cultivation, absorbing it was a struggle. Unless one’s own flames were formidable enough, it was extremely difficult to absorb and nearly impossible to assimilate as one’s own.
As a result, many seemingly powerful Cultivators of the Phoenix Race found that after absorbing the fire, it was not only unbeneficial but actually harmful. To be precise, absorbing a little was fine, but absorbing too much would become excruciating.
After they landed one after another, someone came up to greet them. Just as they were about to speak, their gaze fell on Yi Tianyun, and they asked with a frown, "Is this a human?"
"Yes. I have some business to attend to, so I had him wait here for a bit," Elder Luo explained.
"Elder Luo, what is the meaning of this? You took him to the Divine Hall before, and now you’ve brought him to the Phoenix Cave?" Elder Lei stepped forward, clearly displeased. ’Taking him to the Phoenix Divine Hall was one thing—that was for his reward.’
The situation here is critical. Bringing him here now is clearly unreasonable.
"Elder Lei, I know you’re prejudiced. You can be prejudiced against other humans, but please, put aside your prejudice against him! He’s not like other humans. More importantly, he’s the one who brought my granddaughter back!" Elder Luo was not happy. He was deeply grateful to Yi Tianyun from the bottom of his heart, so he was naturally displeased by Elder Lei’s words.
"Prejudice? I’m just speaking the truth. All humans are the same! For all we know, he might be trying to use your granddaughter to infiltrate our Phoenix Race!" Elder Lei clearly loathed humans and didn’t trust them one bit.
"Elder Lei, just as Elder Luo said, you can hate any human, you can even hate me. But for you to say I’m using Yan’Er to infiltrate the Phoenix Race... I’m not happy about that at all. Are you suggesting I’m using Yan’Er?" Yi Tianyun’s voice deepened. He could fully understand someone badmouthing humans, but he was extremely displeased to be accused of using a child to sneak in.
"What, am I wrong?" Elder Lei sneered. "Humans can’t be trusted. Every last one of them is insidious and goes back on their word!"
Elder Lei wasn’t entirely wrong. There were indeed many people who went back on their promises, whereas the Phoenix Race was more inclined to honor their commitments. Take the reward, for example. They gave what was owed. If it had been some other major power, they might have just killed him, let alone given him any reward.
"Enough!" Elder Luo’s expression was terrifyingly grim as he looked at Elder Lei and said, "I’ve said it before. Say what you will about other humans, but he is the exception. I will personally vouch for him. He is absolutely not like other humans!"
"Oh? You’re so certain, Elder Luo? On what grounds?" Elder Lei demanded with a sneer.
"On the grounds that my granddaughter likes him. Is that enough for you?" Elder Luo said in a low voice.
Elder Lei was taken aback. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fine. Since you vouch for him, keep a close eye on him. I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble!"
"Both of you, stop. What time do you think this is, still arguing?" A voice full of authority came from the side. An old man leaning on a cane walked over, his sharp gaze fixed on the two of them.
"Supreme Elder..." they both said hurriedly and respectfully.
"If you have time to greet me, you have time to deal with these flames!" the Supreme Elder snorted, slamming his cane down and carving a pit into the ground.
"Yes!"
The two of them glared at each other, then prepared to deal with the flames. Just as Elder Luo was about to say something, the Supreme Elder shot him a look. "Get to it!"
Elder Luo could only hurry off to deal with the flames, leaving Yi Tianyun behind alone.
Yi Tianyun actually wanted to say, ’I want to go too! For them, absorbing so much Immortal Fire is agonizing, but for me, it would be a pleasure!’
"Young man, I hear you’re the one who brought back Elder Luo’s granddaughter?" The Supreme Elder hadn’t gone up, mainly because he was old and his mobility was limited.
Although the outside world called them the Undying Phoenix, they weren’t truly immortal. They still had a limited lifespan; it was just that, compared to other races, theirs was exceptionally long.
"Replying to the Supreme Elder, I am indeed the one who brought back Elder Luo’s granddaughter." Yi Tianyun looked at the Supreme Elder, a glint in his eyes. ’This Supreme Elder’s cultivation has actually reached the peak of the Spirit King Stage! Even though he’s old, if he were to truly unleash his power, he would be absolutely terrifying.’
"To be honest, for you to bring her back is quite remarkable. It means you’re either truly kindhearted or incredibly cunning and trying to win our trust." The Supreme Elder smiled faintly. "However, I believe you are the former. Just as Elder Luo said, that little lass likes you. Our Phoenix Race is very sensitive in this regard. That little girl knows you are genuinely good to her, which is why she follows you so willingly."
Yi Tianyun was stunned for a moment. ’No wonder Elder Lei was silenced so quickly earlier. So that was the reason.’
He hadn’t treated Yan’Er exceptionally well; he just gave her whatever she wanted to eat and never harbored the slightest ill will toward her. The Phoenix Race was very sensitive to such things. If he had shown any malice, Yan’Er would have surely sensed it and stayed away from him.
Yi Tianyun had never once thought of things like drawing her Essence Blood, so Yan’Er had never sensed any malice from him.
"Thank you for your trust, Supreme Elder. By the way, what’s going on here?" Yi Tianyun was more concerned about the current situation.
"The Evil Souls inside the Phoenix Cave can no longer be suppressed, causing the flames that were holding them down to be repelled. Unless someone can go down and reseal these Evil Souls, this Immortal Fire will keep being pushed back out. Even for us, absorbing this Immortal Fire is a struggle. Unless our King..." The Supreme Elder shook his head and didn’t continue.
This was already a lot of information for Yi Tianyun, giving him a general understanding of the situation. ’Evil Souls!’ He thought of the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom. The Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom might have some ability in this area, which would explain why they claimed they could help suppress the problem.
"Supreme Elder, I wonder if I could help absorb that Immortal Fire? I’m quite skilled in that regard," Yi Tianyun boldly proposed.
"This Immortal Fire is a flame of Supreme Yang. A moment of carelessness could lead to you being immolated by it. Are you sure you can handle it?" the Supreme Elder asked with a frown.
"No problem. Because my flame is..." Yi Tianyun held out his hand, and the Immortal Fire flared to life. The Supreme Elder stared, completely stunned.
"Im-Immortal Fire?" the Supreme Elder stared at him in shock. ’What kind of person could a Cultivator who possesses the Immortal Fire possibly be?’
"That’s right. So, can I help now?" Yi Tianyun didn’t want to see so much Immortal Fire go to waste. If he hadn’t revealed his ability, the Supreme Elder certainly wouldn’t have let him go over.
"Y-You can..." The Supreme Elder was overcome with excitement, his gaze toward Yi Tianyun now filled with a glimmer of hope!
Having received permission, a glint flashed in Yi Tianyun’s eyes. ’Now I can finally absorb it to my heart’s content.’