Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 252 Blazing Sun True Skill, Fire Crystal Bed

"Now we have seven lives. With the remaining spiritual energy, it should be much safer to go to the Heavenly Palace."

Liu Sheng withdrew his gaze, glanced at the fire crow's corpse that looked as if it had lost its luster, and frowned slightly.

According to what the fire crow had said earlier, the fire valley in the distance was the place where it and its master had cultivated in seclusion.

A magic array was set up in the valley, isolating it from the outside world. It only managed to escape and gain its freedom by risking injury.

Unfortunately, he was targeted by Du Bingyan and eventually became a resource for his advancement.

However, the owner of the fire crow went out to visit friends more than ten years ago and has not returned since. Doesn't that mean he left a lot of things in the valley?

Leaving aside the value of cultivation techniques, spiritual weapons, spells, talismans, and other artifacts, the spiritual essence of some ancient artifacts alone is enough to make him want to go in.

"The fire in this valley is no ordinary fire; it is the Crimson Spirit Fire. Even a Qi Refiner, if careless and touched even a trace of it, will have their body melt and bones disintegrate..."

Upon learning of Liu Sheng's plan, Du Bingyan frowned and tried to dissuade him.

The flames in this Fire Valley are far more powerful than ordinary fire, with extremely high temperatures; even outside the valley, one can feel the scorching heat in the air.

The heatwave was relentless, wave after wave.

This is also the reason why the Sky-Splitter deliberately provoked and swore at the Fire Crow earlier, thus luring it away.

If the battle had taken place in the Valley of Fire, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

"It's alright, I have my own way of dealing with it and I won't be harmed by the spiritual fire in the valley."

Liu Sheng replied confidently that he didn't have high expectations for visiting Fire Valley; he only needed to harvest 20,000 to 30,000 spirit essences.

As for the Crimson Spirit Fire in the valley, with his innate "Fire Spirit" talent, he was not afraid at all.

Okay, let's try it at the entrance first. If there are no problems, then we can go in.

After sending Du Bingyan to the barbecue, Liu Sheng's feet created a mist that instantly transformed into a fire crow.

With a wingspan of eight zhang, fiery feathers and iron claws, eyes shooting crimson light, and flames swirling all over its body, it was exceptionally handsome.

The avatars refined by the [Seventy-Two Transformations Fruit] will basically reach the limit of this stage.

The fire crow that Liu Sheng had transformed into was far superior to the previous fire crow in both appearance and aura.

He circled the valley entrance several times before finally finding the opening in the magic array, hidden within a vast expanse of blazing crimson spiritual fire.

He stepped forward to try it, only to find that the volatile spirit fire became exceptionally docile in his presence.

So I went in a little further, and instead of feeling hot, I felt quite comfortable.

After trying several times and confirming that it was safe, he flapped his wings, transformed into flames, and entered the Fire Valley through the gap in the magic array.

The valley was spacious, with jagged rocks, flickering flames, and some unnamed fire trees with crimson trunks and leaves, gleaming in the firelight.

The ground was pitch black, seemingly made of piled-up ash, with one or two lava rivers passing by occasionally, shimmering with a dark red light, and smoke and fire churning above them, making a "gurgling" sound.

The valley wasn't large, but the temperature was frighteningly high.

In just a short time after entering, he witnessed firsthand how many rocks had melted and the rock walls had crumbled, revealing their dark interiors.

But Liu Sheng, being there, felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, warm and comfortable, so much so that he almost hummed out loud.

Fire crow, fire crow, a crow in the fire.

This is its home turf, where its combat power will increase by at least 20-30%.

Fortunately, the valley was safe and he wasn't afraid of being discovered. He found an open space and personally tested his newly acquired talents.

The results were outstanding, and I am very satisfied.

During this time, he even transformed back into his original form and found that he could still stand in the valley, but it would be extremely hot.

It can probably last for one or two hours.

Only after his talent was tested did he get down to business.

Before long, they found a wooden house in a forest of fire trees.

Built with firewood, it is dark red and black, with a unique style that is completely different from the architectural style of Shanyang County.

On the eaves of the wooden house, there was a birdcage. The cage was broken open, and there were two or three bird feathers at the bottom.

He transformed back into his original form, constantly touching the surrounding objects with both hands, hoping to harvest spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, he only received a few dozen points, scattered and insignificant. Compared to the tens of thousands of spiritual points he had accumulated, it was practically nothing.

However, even the smallest mosquito is still a good thing, and a few hundred or a thousand more mosquitoes are always a good thing.

"Hopefully, there are good things inside."

He paused at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed the door open and went inside.

Perhaps the owner of the fire crow was too careless, never expecting that more than ten years later, someone would be able to break into the Fire Valley. There were no restrictions set up inside the house, allowing Liu Sheng to pass through unimpeded.

A moment later, he came out of the house with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, which he couldn't suppress.

[Gained 5723 Spirit Points]

[Gained 73 Spirit Points]

[Gained 82 Spirit Points]

[Gained 1173 Spirit Points]

[Gained 12225 Spirit Points]

……

On the panel, a row of ink-wash text scrolled across the screen, reaping a total of over 20,000 spiritual essences.

Of course, more importantly, Liu Sheng found two minor treasures: a copy of "True Skill of Blazing Sun" and a bed made of fire crystal.

It provided him with a lot of spiritual points.

However, this "True Skill of Blazing Sun" is a pure Qi cultivation method and has no martial arts training component.

More importantly, the cultivation approach is quite different from the current Qi cultivation methods, belonging to two different systems, but there are still some connections in the underlying logic.

Liu Sheng guessed that this might be an ancient cultivation method that could be used as a reference.

After all, we can learn from others' experiences.

In comparison, this fire crystal bed is much more valuable.

It can accelerate the cultivation of fire-type techniques and subtly refine the muscles, bones, and body, improving physical fitness.

The spiritual energy points contained within it alone exceed ten thousand.

Liu Sheng put it into his storage bag, and will take it out again when he finds a suitable place later.

Having achieved his goal, Liu Sheng naturally wouldn't linger and quickly left Fire Valley.

When they found Du Bingyan, she had already prepared the fire crows, selecting the tenderest dozens of kilograms of meat to make roast meat. It was golden brown, fragrant, and looked very appetizing.

Liu Sheng didn't stand on ceremony with her; he greeted her and began to eat heartily.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, the two's relationship progressed very quickly, especially after Du Bingyan resolved her inner conflict, she became radiant.

She acted like a submissive wife, serving Liu Sheng food and drink.

There was no further mention of becoming a monk or in a secluded temple.

"You suspect that the owner of the Fire Crow has long been colluding with the Prince of Jin's mansion?"

Du Bingyan handed over a piece of grilled meat, her eyes instantly sharpening.

The Du family, to which she belonged, was a prominent clan in Bohai and held a pivotal position in Jizhou.

He belonged to the "royalist faction" in the court, and naturally he was at odds with the Prince of Jin's mansion, which had separatist ambitions.

After Liu Sheng mentioned it, she immediately realized what he meant.

"It's either the imperial court or the Prince of Jin's residence..."

Liu Sheng took a bite of roasted meat, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and said leisurely:

"Otherwise, they wouldn't be so familiar with these ruins and wouldn't have made so many preparations in advance."

As for whether this "collusion" was reciprocal or resulted in capture, imprisonment, and torture, only the parties involved know the truth.

However, the news leaked out during the process and was discovered by the other party. In the end, their forces entering the ruins were almost evenly matched.

"This...gives us an opportunity!"

(End of this chapter)