As he was getting back to Jinyao's residence, Cao Yun spotted Yanzhen. The poor man was trying to talk to Jinyang, but Jinyue was pestering him. The young lady certainly knew very fanciful words and used and abused them against the poor man. Unfortunately for him, he absolutely didn't know how to react. Of course, his first instinct was to get angry, but she was Jinyang's sister, and Jinyang was observing the scene. The onslaught of insults was too much, but he had to fight to keep his composure. Thankfully, Jinyue was acting like a child, so it was easy to discard her words. On the other hand, Jinyang was composed and calm. Although she was as old as her sister, since they were twins, Jinyue truly looked like a child.
Yanzhen was barely a year older than Jinyang and Jinyue. However, Jinyue somehow appeared four or five years younger, just by her attitude. Strangely enough, this scene caused by Jinyue served to make Yanzhen seem sympathetic to Jinyang, the opposite of what her sister wanted. In fact, Cao Yun also found Yanzhen sympathetic. Moreover, Cao Yun had really appreciated his help in sensing the Dao of Fire. The young man wasn't a bad choice for Jinyang. To be fair, it could have been argued that Jinyang was a bad choice for Yanzhen. In Cao Yun's eyes, though, Jinyang and Jinyue were very precious, simply because he had grown fond of the two girls as if they were his granddaughters. Still, he might help Yanzhen a little, so that he could at least have a chance of courting Jinyang properly.
Cao Yun went back into his room and took down the illusory array formation. Then, he walked out as if the noise outside had caught his attention. As soon as Jinyue saw Cao Yun, she gasped and stared at Yanzhen with hate in her eyes.
"You stupid moron, you've disturbed Senior!"
Everyone wanted to point out that it was precisely Jinyue's screams that had disturbed Cao Yun, but no one did. She kept on shouting insults right into Yanzhen's face. The poor man bowed toward Cao Yun.
"My apologies, Senior. I didn't intend to disturb your meditation."
It was pure politeness, but Jinyue took it as an admission of guilt. Before she could berate him some more, Cao Yun intervened.
"I wasn't disturbed at all. Incidentally, I had already finished my meditation when I heard this small commotion. Then I remembered my young friend's help. Would you take a cup of tea with me?"
Yanzhen could have cried on the spot. His savior had just walked in. Not only had Cao Yun saved him from Jinyue's accusations, but he had even invited the young man into the residence of the woman he fancied. Obviously, Yanzhen wanted to jump on the occasion. Sadly, Jinyue was faster.
"Senior, don't let this foolish pervert dupe you. He's a lecherous monster who's after my sister. I heard how many women he's tricked. Unfortunately, Senior is too naive and will fall into his trap. It's why I have to protect you and Jinyang. Jinyang is too innocent to sense the evil intent of this leech. And you, Senior... well, your head isn't very... I mean, you're very powerful but... your head isn't as good as your fists. People like this Yanzhen take advantage of simpletons for their devious ways."
Once again, everyone was too shocked to say anything. This Jinyue really spoke her mind. At least, she was honest. It was too bad that she wasn't able to discern the truth, though. Of course, Cao Yun simply found it amusing. Anyway, he didn't want to deal with this right now. As such, he simply gestured for Jinyue to stay silent.
"Jinyue, I think that you have misjudged Yanzhen's character. When we first met, he actually helped me perceive the Dao of Fire. As it turned out, it helped me a great deal to sense the Dao of Fire by myself, and I'd like to exchange some pointers with my young teacher."
"I'm sure he did it with ulterior motives!"
"It is admirable that you want to protect your sister, but you've been unfair to Yanzhen. If you keep insisting that he cannot share a cup of tea with me, then I'll be forced to leave this residence to have this cup with my young teacher."
Suddenly, Jinyue's rage disappeared, and she was just full of panic.
"No, no, no. Senior, don't leave! This ignorant one is sorry. I'll prepare the tea myself. Please, stay here."
Jinyue absolutely wanted Cao Yun to stay. Besides, she was worried about the upcoming trial. And she didn't know what the guards or the three leaders would do to Cao Yun if he left Jinyao's residence. They might even put him in some cell until the trial, just to make sure he didn't leave the Ancient Obsidian tribe.
Anyway, Jinyue suddenly forgot about Yanzhen and prepared tea for everyone. Yanzhen was extremely grateful to Cao Yun. Amusingly, Jinyue's antics were serving Cao Yun, as they turned him into Yanzhen's savior. Most likely, the young man would be more keen on sharing his secrets with Cao Yun. At the very least, Yanzhen was very anxious to finally get inside the residence of the woman he was desperately trying to court. Besides, he seemed to have the favor of the man who had saved their lives. Hopefully, Yanzhen could get Jinyang to hear him out.
Jinyang helped her sister make tea while Cao Yun and Yanzhen talked together.
"Thank you for your help, Senior."
"No need to be so formal with me. After all, you're my teacher. Age doesn't matter much."
Yanzhen started to sweat a little. Cao Yun could clearly see that he was embarrassed, but the young man overcame his feelings and spoke frankly.
"Senior, I fear that sister Jinyue will chastise me again if I dare to address you in any other way... Moreover, I don't think it would be wise for me to call you teacher in front of her. And, to be fair, I barely gave you any pointers, I just helped you see something you probably would have seen by yourself at some point. For a human, I must admit that your perception isn't bad at all."
Cao Yun laughed a little.
"You're probably right, young friend. Jinyue can be more terrifying than the worst fire beasts, especially when you want to garner her sister's favors. But do not worry too much over her. She's a good kid, like her sister. If you're sincere, I can assure you that Jinyang will give you an honest answer. But, no matter what it is, I hope you can accept it without causing any fuss."
Although it was subtle, Yanzhen clearly sensed a powerful killing intent. Clearly, Cao Yun wasn't trying to intimidate Yanzhen because the young man could tell that Cao Yun might have been able to scare him to death. However, he wanted to make his words absolute. Thankfully, Yanzhen had no bad intentions at all. If Jinyang sincerely rejected him, he would leave her alone. That being said, he wanted her to at least hear him out first, without Jinyue interfering all the time.
Honestly, Cao Yun was amused by these young people and their love affairs. However, he was more concerned with other matters.
"Young friend, thanks to your help, I've developed a new understanding of Fire. I have to admit that it's still nascent, but I can tell that my views have drastically changed. You opened my eyes to something new, and I'm grateful. As such, I'd like to share some pointers with you. Would you allow me to examine your cultivation?"
Yanzhen hesitated for an instant. He was probably among the only ones in the entire Ancient Obsidian tribe who had realized how terrifying and dangerous Cao Yun was. Thus, he decided that he could let him do as he pleased. If Cao Yun had bad intentions, Yanzhen could not resist in the first place. Apart from the Dao of Fire, Cao Yun had nothing to learn from Yanzhen. At least, Yanzhen was certain of that. After all, they had completely different cultivation systems.
Unlike humans, Flameborns only cultivated the Dao of Fire.
"Go ahead, Senior."
Cao Yun sent his senses throughout Yanzhen's body. He had already done so on Jinyue and Jinyang, but they were too weak, and he had not found anything too extraordinary. However, something had definitely piqued his interest. Now, he wanted to confirm his suspicions. Yanzhen was a very talented young man. And yet, Cao Yun was shocked by what he found within the young Flameborn.
Of course, Flameborns cultivated their internal fire, so their cultivation was drastically different from both humans and demons. However, there were some similarities with demons in that regard. That being said, Cao Yun didn't find anything that could be called cultivation per se. He could feel two powerful influences within Yanzhen. One of them was extremely familiar, as it was the Withering Fusang Tree. But the other one was from an even more powerful source that seemed completely mindless. Cao Yun could guess what this source was from Emperor Nuwa's diaries.
"This isn't normal. Something is interfering with your cultivation. Have you ever felt as if your very essence was being drained when you cultivated? You would be on the verge of a breakthrough, and suddenly, you would feel a shadow fall over you and sap all of your strength. This shadow cast over you would reduce your enlightenment and prevent your breakthrough as if it was being swallowed into nothingness."
It was now Yanzhen's turn to be shocked.
"How do you know?!"
Then Cao Yun was right. Or rather, Emperor Nuwa was right. The Broken Fire World had been consumed by the Withering Fusang Tree much more than even the Piaolu planet. It was specifically targeted at the link between the Flameborns and the Dao of Fire. The more they cultivated, the more they fed the Withering Fusang Tree. Of course, it had no reason to feed off the weaklings. Or, at least, its feeding on them was almost imperceptible. However, he took his share from the powerful and the geniuses.
"There's no reason for Flameborns to be unable to increase their lifespan and to cultivate to higher realms. Although your kind is not from the Three Jade Saints' lineage, you should be able to get very close to the Dao. I don't think even devas could match your perception of the Dao of Fire. And yet, you're stuck living less than a century. Something isn't right here. Some malevolent influence uses you as nourishment. As you grow stronger, it fattens up on you, only leaving you some miserable crumbs so that you don't cease to cultivate, but without allowing you to gain true power. This is a sad tale indeed."
Yanzhen was truly shocked by Cao Yun's words. The more the old man spoke, the more Yanzhen realized that there was wisdom, and maybe even truth, behind his words. Of course, it was difficult to accept. That meant that a conspiracy had kept his people down for centuries, if not millennia. Yanzhen didn't want to accept such a reality. This wasn't because he didn't give it credence, but because it would be too horrifying if it were true. Cao Yun sensed it very well.
"Don't mind my ramblings. But I'd like to talk to you about the Dao of Fire. In fact, I'd like to compare notes on that very topic."
For a moment, Yanzhen hesitated. In the end, he didn't try to come back to that horrifying topic. Although it might hold the key to an actual breakthrough, Yanzhen was still too afraid. Cao Yun could tell, however, that this would stick with him. Each time Yanzhen cultivated from now on, he would think about this presence. This might actually allow him to sense something. After all, Yanzhen truly was a young genius of the Ancient Obsidian tribe.
"Yanzhen, if I ask you what Fire is, what would be your answer?"
"Senior, it's very difficult to explain. It would be like explaining what life is, or what love or anger are. It's something that comes naturally to us Flameborns. I would say that Fire is breathing, Fire is change, Fire is life indeed. Fire is everywhere, even when it doesn't manifest, even when there appears to be nothing. But, deep down, Fire is movement. Yes, that would be the right word, Fire is movement. The more you try to control it, the more you limit its movement. Paradoxically, to control Fire, you must relinquish control. Imagine a wild animal you want to tame. If you exert too much restraint, you might actually destroy its instincts and kill it. But you can't let its instincts run too wild either. The best way to act is to make the animal want to please you. The same is true for Fire. If you turn your intent into Fire, it can influence the Fire around you and produce the effects you desire without exerting any control of your own. Through this, you preserve your own strength and simply have the Dao around you work for you instead."
The young man's words resonated with Cao Yun a lot. There was control in total submission to the Dao. However, one's will had to be strong and resilient enough to persist and not be devoured by the Dao. This was completely different from Red Calm's point of view. After all, Red Calm had not been living and breathing Fire like the Flameborns. That being said, Cao Yun produced 'Red Calm on a Sunny Day'. Yanzhen studied it.
"That's very interesting. I have to admit that his last ideas are even beyond me, especially Devouring Heaven and Earth and Eternal Flame. However, he's too rigid. For a Flameborn, this would cause more problems than it would solve. When it comes to a human, though, it might be genuinely the best treatise on the Dao of Fire. I understand why Senior is so knowledgeable for a human."
Cao Yun and Yanzhen talked some more and exchanged a few pointers until Jinyue and Jinyang came back with some tea. Cao Yun left the room and took Jinyue with him, despite her protests. After all, Yanzhen had helped him a lot, so he returned the favor.