Xu Qing took a deep breath. Eyes shining, he sat cross-legged and immersed his thoughts in the golden crow. This time, he didn’t focus on transforming the golden crow. Nor did he concern himself with the golden crow’s history or sun memories. He peeled away all such thoughts. Everything else faded away from his senses, until the only thing he perceived was the golden crow, glimmering brightly. The black body and resplendent flames became the only thing of concern to Xu Qing.3

If I’m being truly thorough, then I might as well ignore the flames. They’re essentially illusory and meaningless!0

As those thoughts took hold in Xu Qing, he could sense the exterior flames surrounding the golden crow dimming until they were gone. When the flames winked out, Xu Qing shivered. He had never done anything like this with the golden crow. As pain wracked his body, the damage being inflicted on the golden crow affected the associated nascent soul.0

In the past, Xu Qing would never have proceeded past this point. He could sense that he was in extreme danger. But with the advice from the Heir Apparent, he suppressed the uncomfortable feelings and focused on the black-colored golden crow, which...10