Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

"Go back?" The high priest was taken aback. "Go back to where?"

"Of course I'll go back to the Black Rock Tribe," Chen Fan said matter-of-factly. "My medicinal herb fields still need someone to take care of them, and no one else can feed those Netherworld Beasts."

"Black...Black Rock Clan?"

The high priest's eyes widened like copper bells, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

A peerless prodigy who obtained the highest inheritance of the Crimson Emperor and possessed an invincible physical body that could sweep away those of the same level, gave up the position of chief of the Heavenly Fire Tribe!

They actually want to go back to a small, dilapidated tribe in some remote corner of the wilderness... to farm and feed the Netherworld Beasts?

This is absolutely ridiculous!

"My lord, are you joking with me?" The high priest took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the absurdity in his heart. "That so-called Black Rock Tribe, the entire tribe adds up to no more than a few thousand people, not even as many as a single guard of my Holy City. How could a true dragon like you be trapped in such a quagmire?"

"So what?" Chen Fan shook his head. "I'm used to living there. High Priest, you don't need to persuade me anymore, my mind is made up."

The high priest remained silent.

Looking at the young man before him, whose eyes were deep and who seemed unyielding, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

According to the rules, he indeed cannot force the other party to stay.

But, is it really necessary to just leave a descendant of the crimson bloodline to wander outside like this?

If word gets out, where will the Skyfire Tribe put its face?

What if other rival tribes find out and secretly try to kill us?

The high priest was torn between his inner thoughts and his own mind for a full incense stick's time before he finally let out a long sigh.

"Very well... Since Your Excellency has made up your mind, I dare not force you." The High Priest's tone aged ten years in an instant, and his cloudy eyes flickered with complex light.

"However, since you have accepted the Red Emperor's legacy, you have formed an unbreakable bond with my Heavenly Fire Tribe."

As he spoke, the high priest took out an ancient bone fragment that emitted a warm, reddish light from his wide sleeves.

This bone fragment was made from the bones of some unknown demonic beast. Its surface was covered with densely packed tiny characters, which were not carved but rather seemed to flow and live within the bone fragment like flames.

"This is the cultivation method of the Crimson Emperor's Heaven-Burning Technique." The High Priest solemnly presented the bone fragment to Chen Fan, holding it in both hands. "Although you have reshaped your physical body and bloodline through inheritance, this power still needs a matching cultivation method to truly unleash its full potential. This bone fragment is a closely guarded secret of our Heavenly Fire Clan, and today, I entrust it to you."

Chen Fan's gaze sharpened as he looked at the bone fragment.

He knew that the old man wouldn't give him such a big benefit for no reason.

As expected, the high priest bowed deeply to the ground, his tone filled with pleading and desolation: "I have no other request. I only hope that if you, my lord, achieve great success in your cultivation and reach the pinnacle... if the Heavenly Fire Tribe faces the danger of extinction, I beg you, my lord, to consider the incense offerings of today's inheritance and bestowal of the Dharma, and protect my tribe."

Chen Fan did not immediately reach out to take it.

He quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Studying the "Crimson Emperor Burning Heaven Technique" must be the most advanced technique on the Ancient Demon Star. It has great reference value for him to deeply understand the power system of the Ancient Demon and even integrate it into his own path of immortal-demon fusion.

As for the promise to protect the Skyfire tribe.

Who can predict the future?

If I ever have the ability, I wouldn't mind lending a hand.

Those who cultivate immortality value cause and effect the most. Accepting this cultivation method is considered as repaying this cause and effect.

"Okay, I promise."

Chen Fan nodded, reached out and took the warm, reddish bone fragment, then casually placed it on his forehead.

Instantly, a vast and complex torrent of information surged into his mind through his divine sense. The profound mysteries of the fire elemental laws contained within it were so astonishing that even the well-informed Chen Fan couldn't help but marvel at them.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency." The High Priest breathed a sigh of relief and bowed again.

Although they couldn't keep the person in the Holy City, they could exchange a cultivation technique for a promise from a powerful individual with limitless potential and a crimson bloodline.

The Skyfire Tribe didn't lose out on this deal.

……

Half an hour later.

Chen Fan walked out of the majestic obsidian city gate of the Heavenly Fire Holy City alone.

The elite guards stationed in the city did not stop him, clearly having received a direct order from the High Priest. However, the way they looked at Chen Fan was filled with undisguised awe and curiosity.

Chen Fan ignored the stares. He determined the direction and strode off toward the southeast of the wasteland.

He traveled for half a month with Iron Bone's convoy when he arrived.

When he returned, he was all alone.

But Chen Fan's current speed is many times faster than those clumsy eight-legged iron-horned beasts.

The sandstorms in the wasteland were still raging, and the gray-yellow sky seemed like it would never clear up.

Chen Fan did not use any magic; he simply ran across the wasteland using his reconstructed ancient demon body.

With each step he took, he left a footprint several inches deep in the hard ground.

His powerful physical strength made him resemble a humanoid beast. Even when encountering groups of low-level wilderness monsters, he only needed to release a trace of the pressure of his crimson bloodline to make them flee in terror.

The wind whistled in my ears.

As Chen Fan traveled, he mentally organized the gains he had made over the past month.

"The Crimson Emperor's legacy is indeed domineering. But what surprised me the most was the trial of the Demon Heart. It seems that my refusal of the position of clan leader did not mean I had failed."

He recalled the moment he refused the high priest, and there was no warning of failure in his mind.

This shows that the so-called sense of identity that Rosa set up was not a requirement for him to become the leader of the ancient demon race and lead them to conquer the starry sky.

"Sense of belonging..."

Chen Fan looked up at the distant horizon, where he could vaguely see the familiar dark red mine near the Black Rock Tribe.

"Perhaps it's not about me endorsing the brutality and ambition of the ancient demon race. It's about me living like an ordinary ancient demon, experiencing life, and finding my place in a small tribe."

Thinking of that drafty stone house, the medicinal herb field he had cultivated with his own hands, the miner Shichi who brought him rock goat meat, and that Netherworld beast that only ate meat…

A rare hint of gentleness, which even he himself did not notice, appeared in Chen Fan's usually calm and composed eyes.

"No matter what, let's go back and water those bloodthorn vines first."

He chuckled softly, then suddenly exerted force with his feet, his figure transforming into a crimson afterimage before disappearing into the vast sandstorm.

……

The wind and sand howled outside the gate of the Black Rock tribe's stronghold, stirring up clouds of grayish-yellow dust.

Iron Bones, shirtless with a thick animal hide wrapped around his waist, stood before the gate built from the bones of a giant demon beast, pointing at several soldiers preparing to go hunting and cursing loudly:

"You little brats, haven't you eaten enough? Those bone spears were for you to use for picking your teeth?! If you still cower like last time when you encounter an 'Ironback Wolf,' I'll throw you all into the Netherworld Beast's mud pit!"

The soldiers nodded repeatedly, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Just then, a tall, slender figure slowly emerged from the raging sandstorm.

The newcomer was not wearing any heavy bone armor, only a simple blue coarse cloth robe. He walked slowly, but each step was unusually steady.

Tie Gu's voice abruptly stopped, and his dark red eyes widened suddenly, staring intently at the face that was gradually becoming clearer in the sandstorm.

"Chen...Chen Fan?"