Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

"What treasure?" Gou An was even more curious.

"As far as I know, the Demon King Huangku is the transformed form of an ancient tree that has existed for ten thousand years!" Shen Yu said slowly. "Trees belong to the element of wood, so to deal with him, we naturally need fire."

"So the treasure you went to get was of the fire element?" Gou An pressed.

Shen Yu nodded and continued, "There is something in this world called innate spiritual fire, and there are twelve of them."

Upon hearing this, Gou An's heart stirred slightly. He didn't interrupt but continued to listen.

"To deal with the Demon King Huangku, I need to obtain at least one of the top six spiritual flames," Shen Yu said slowly. "And the place I'm going to now can provide me with the fourth-ranked Earth Vein Flame."

"Oh?" Gou An was even more curious: "Where?"

"Divine Fire Valley!" Shen Yu said, "The Valley Master of Divine Fire Valley possesses five of the twelve spiritual fires in the world, including this Earth Vein Flowing Fire. We're going to borrow it this time."

"Is he also an old friend of yours?" Gou An frowned slightly and asked curiously.

Shen Yu shook his head.

Seeing this, Gou An couldn't help but retort, "Would others lend it to you?"

"Yes!" Shen Yu nodded readily.

"So confident?" Gou An was still somewhat skeptical.

Shen Yu gave a wry smile and explained, "He pursued my mother back then, although he ultimately lost to my father. But he only hated my father; he was still quite good to me when I was little."

Gou An felt even more unreliable after hearing this. After all, this was the son of his love rival. Would others give him a good face?

Although he thought this to himself, Gou An did not bring it up. Instead, he asked a crucial question: "Young Master Shen, aren't you afraid that I'll tell the Demon King when I get back? After all, I'm a demon too."

Shen Yu, however, did not seem worried. He simply smiled and said, "You won't, after all, you're not clean either."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gou An quickly retorted, "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Really?" Shen Yu turned to look at Gou An and chuckled, "Then what were you doing at the Wuxiang Black Market in the Blackwater Region back then?"

"Just browsing around!" Gou An shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

"Oh? Is that so?" Shen Yu smiled and said, "But the intelligence I've gathered shows that you've disposed of quite a few precious magical artifacts, most likely the treasures of Lord Jin Yang, the guardian of Ten Thousand Demon City? And almost all of that guardian's entire fortune?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk nonsense!" Gou An quickly retorted, "Without evidence, this is slander."

"Whether it's true or not, you know in your heart." Shen Yu looked away and continued, "Besides, as the Demon King's mortal enemy, you not only saved me but also concealed my whereabouts. You wouldn't be foolish enough to betray yourself."

Gou An opened his mouth as if to refute, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

While it's easier to communicate with smart people, being too smart can be a little intimidating.

I was so careful in handling those things, how could Shen Yu still find out?

The airship flew at high speed for another day.

It then stopped near a mountain range with extremely high temperatures and began to descend slowly.

What comes into view is a continuous volcanic landscape, with the most majestic main peak barren of vegetation, consisting only of bare, dark rocks.

Between the dense crevices of the rocks, crimson magma flowed slowly, with occasional bursts of flickering flames.

Gou An wrinkled his nose and sniffed. There was still a pungent and choking smell in the air, mixed with the smell of sulfur and burning, as if some kind of poison was hidden.

This kind of environment is not at all like a place where cultivators can live for a long time.

The airship finally landed on a wide platform on the mountainside of the volcano. The deck trembled slightly, and Shen Yu and Gou An stepped off the airship together.

Gou An followed Shen Yu as they walked forward on the scorching rocks. After a short while, they stopped in front of a roaring lava waterfall.

Scalding lava poured down the rock wall, crashing into the deep pool below and sending up a cloud of scorching white mist.

Shen Yu pressed hard on several key spots on his face, and his appearance returned to normal.

Then he raised his voice and shouted loudly at the roaring lava waterfall, "Senior Yan Yan, this junior, Shen Yu, has urgent business to discuss!"

The roaring lava waterfall drowned out most of his voice. He called out several times, but there was no response.

Gou An glanced at the surging lava and asked curiously, "Did they move away?"

Shen Yu did not respond, his brows furrowed, clearly unsure of what to do.

So he took another deep breath and shouted several times, but the result was the same; there was still no response from inside the waterfall.

Gou An couldn't help but ask again, "When was the last time you were here?"

"About forty years ago," Shen Yu replied in a low voice.

Gou An was speechless for a moment upon hearing this: "More than forty years ago? That's a long time. They might have moved away long ago, or something else might have happened."

Shen Yu sighed softly and said, "Let's wait a little longer. What if he's just temporarily away on a trip?"

Having said that, he sat cross-legged on the scorching hot rock and waited quietly.

Seeing this, Gou An had no choice but to sit down next to him and wait together.

They waited for three days.

Every day, Shen Yu would shout several times in front of the lava waterfall, but there was still no response.

Not only that, but in these three days, not only has no one returned, but not even a passing cultivator has come.

The entire volcanic mountain range was completely barren and lifeless.

"Could it be that they don't want to see you at all?" Gou An was getting impatient and complained to Shen Yu again.

Shen Yu frowned even more deeply after hearing this, and sat there pretending not to have heard.

"Look, you've been waiting here for three days already." Gou An continued to complain, regardless of whether Shen Yu heard him or not. "If someone wanted to see you at home, they probably would have seen you already. If they're not home, who knows how long it will take for them to come back. If they've moved, there's no point in waiting any longer."

Perhaps annoyed by Gou An's nagging, Shen Yu suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, and bowed to the lava waterfall, saying loudly, "Senior Yan Yan, if you do not wish to see me, I will take my leave now and will not bother you again."

After saying this, he turned around and said to Gou An, "Let's go."

Gou An then caught up and pinched his nose.

The place smells terrible; I've had a very unpleasant few days here.

Just as Shen Yu released the flying boat and prepared to board and leave, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind the lava waterfall.

"You little brat have no patience. You can't even sit still for three days when you need my help."

Upon hearing this, Gou An exclaimed in surprise, "He really is home!"

Shen Yu gave a wry smile before turning back to the lava waterfall and bowing respectfully, saying, "Senior Yan Yan, are you willing to see me?"

The next moment, a whirlwind suddenly swept out from behind the lava waterfall, opening a circular passage in the waterfall.

Gou An cast his gaze and discovered that behind the passage was a cave entrance.

"Let's go!" Shen Yu lightly touched the ground with his foot, and with Gou An in his arms, they took off and flew towards the cave.

After the two figures passed through the lava waterfall, the passage behind them disappeared and was once again covered by the lava falling from above.

Shen Yu walked in front, and Gou An followed behind, heading into the cave.

After passing through a passage, the space inside suddenly opened up.

It turned out to be a huge mountain cave, and unlike the outside world, the cave not only had trees and grass, but also some chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, making it look like a farm.

Moreover, upwind of the cave, there are many luminous stones that illuminate the entire underground cave as if it were daytime.

Upon closer inspection, Gou An had a strong feeling that the style of this place was somewhat similar to the place where he had gone to see his elderly wife with the Blackwater Domain Lord.

Once inside, Gou An saw a middle-aged man turning the soil in the vegetable garden with a hoe, dressed and looking quite like a real farmer.

Shen Yu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Yan Yan, it's been many years, and you are still as healthy as ever."

But the farmer with the hoe sneered and said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely outlive your father."

"Definitely!" Shen Yu nodded, quickly agreeing, "My father is nowhere near as good as you, senior."

"Heh!" The Valley Master of Divine Fire couldn't help but chuckle coldly twice after hearing this, then put down his hoe, stepped out of the field, and asked, "Speak, what do you want with me?"

"This junior would like to borrow something!" Shen Yu said directly.

"Borrow what?" The Valley Master of Divine Fire plopped down in a chair, picked up the tea on the stone table, took a sip, and looked slightly impatient.

"This junior would like to borrow your Solar Golden Fire for a moment!" Shen Yu immediately replied, cupping his hands in greeting.

Upon hearing this, Gou An, who was standing to the side, coughed twice in fright.

Didn't this guy say he was borrowing the earth's veins to generate fire when he came here? Why is he talking about solar metal and fire right off the bat?

Isn't the Sun's Golden Fire the number one innate spiritual fire?

This farmer actually has something like this?

Upon hearing this, the Valley Master of Divine Fire Valley nearly spat out the tea he had just drunk. He put down the teapot and cursed, "Get out of here right now, you brat! You haven't come to see me for over thirty years, and now you're trying to kill me?"

Shen Yu quickly cupped his hands again and said, "Senior, please forgive me. It's not that I didn't want to come, but I was poisoned by a demon for the past thirty years and was unable to travel far. I was only recently cured and regained my mobility."

"What kind of poison is so potent?" The Valley Master of Divine Fire clearly didn't believe it. "Even your father couldn't handle it?"

"Senior, everything I said is true, and I have not lied to you," Shen Yu quickly said. "I came to borrow fire this time to deal with my enemy."

The Valley Master of Divine Fire picked up the teapot again, took a sip, and said, "Deal with enemies? Do you know that this Solar Golden Fire is a small treasure I've accumulated over a thousand years of cultivation? Every bit used is a bit less; how can I use it recklessly?"

"And what kind of enemy could you possibly want to burn with the Sun's Golden Fire? Are you planning to go to the City of Ten Thousand Demons to deal with that Demon King?"

After saying this, he took another sip of tea.

"Senior is right, I really am going to deal with that demon king," Shen Yu replied immediately.

"Pfft!" The Valley Master of Divine Fire Valley spat out a mouthful of tea, staring wide-eyed at Shen Yu, and asked curiously, "Are you crazy, kid?"

"I'm not crazy, I'm serious," Shen Yu said, bowing.

The Valley Master of Divine Fire stared at Shen Yu for a long time, finally fixing his gaze on Gou An behind him, and asked as if changing the subject, "What does he do?"

Before Gou An could answer, Shen Yu replied first, "He's a follower I just took in, senior, you don't need to worry about him."

Then he added, "If you are unwilling to lend me the sun's golden fire, then you can lend me the earth's ley fire."