"I wonder if you have any connection with the royal family of my Feather Clan?"

After asking that question, Jin Yun stared intently at Lu Li, scrutinizing every change in his expression. Her gaze was incredibly direct.

Lu Li was quite unfazed by Jin Yun's scrutiny, and instead asked gently, "What do you think?"

Jin Yun thought Lu Li would deny it or change the subject, never expecting that Lu Li would throw the question back at her.

On second thought, at this point, not denying it is tantamount to indirectly admitting it.

Thinking of this, Jin Yun's eyes brightened considerably, and she looked at Lu Li again, asking with a deeper question: "Are you from the Phoenix Clan?"

As they said this, their eyes held a clear sense of anticipation and urgency.

Such a complex look made Lu Li freeze for a moment, but he quickly guessed what the other person was hoping for.

After thinking it over, he decided to stop hiding it and unleash the power of the phoenix decisively.

The moment the aura and pressure unique to the Phoenix Clan appeared, Jin Yun sensed it and was certain that he had not mistaken it for someone else. At the same time, a surge of joy filled his heart.

Without waiting for Lu Li to speak, it plopped down at Lu Li's feet with great reverence, saying in a respectful tone, "Jin Yun, the current Vulture King of the Jin Kan Vulture Clan, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

When Jin Yun uttered the word 'Emperor,' his voice trembled noticeably, revealing the same overwhelming turmoil within him.

Lu Li looked at Jin Yun, who was prostrate at his feet, and after examining it for a moment as if to confirm something, he said in a calm tone, "Get up."

Then, he heard Jin Yun's respectful and excited voice again: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Such excessive politeness reminded Lu Li of the monk Cheng Yuan from the Heavenly Silkworm Temple. To avoid having another Cheng Yuan in the future, he couldn't help but add, "No need for such formalities."

Then he asked the question he had previously guessed: "Do you need something from me?"

Seeing that Jin Yun wanted to perform the Feather Clan's etiquette after hearing his words, Lu Li quickly stopped him: "Just reply directly, there's no need for formalities."

So Jin Yun's outstretched wings froze in place for a few breaths before it awkwardly retracted them.

It instinctively wanted to say thank you, but as soon as the words left its mouth, it remembered what Lu Li had just said.

Guessing that this person probably didn't like excessive politeness, I quickly stopped talking. What I actually said was just two words: "Thank you...yes."

His words were so slurred that they made Lu Li and Shushu's lips twitch slightly.

However, neither the man nor the mouse seemed inclined to expose the truth, and they simply waited quietly for Jin Yun to continue.

Fortunately, this time Jin Yun didn't keep them waiting long before telling them that he wanted to ask Lu Li for help.

It turns out that Jin Yun wanted Lu Li to lead the entire Jinkan Vulture Clan away from the Bert Desert.

In return, the Jinkan Vulture Clan will henceforth recognize Lu Li as their master and will never have any other intentions.

To gain the submission of an entire clan so directly and for nothing—if it were any other phoenix, it might have agreed without hesitation.

But Lu Li was different. He felt that this was almost like a windfall, and there might be something else hidden behind it, so he asked a few more questions.

Only then did they realize that the Golden Vulture Clan of the Bert Desert had actually offended a powerful family on the Rainy Continent many years ago, and had been framed and tricked by that family, which led them to be stranded in the Bert Desert.

Back then, in order to avoid being wiped out by that aristocratic family and having their bloodline severed, the Jin Kanjiu clan was forced to abandon their lineage.

The surviving ancestor of the Jin Kanjiu clan then joined forces to create this barrier, providing everyone with a place to settle and survive, and also preventing them from being persecuted to extinction by that powerful family.

It can be said that the initial idea was very good, but unfortunately, their ancestors were not very skilled and accidentally made a mistake in the steps when setting up the barrier.

The barrier, originally intended to prevent them from being discovered and intruding, was transformed into one that prevents the Golden Vulture Clan's aura from being revealed, while also preventing the Golden Vulture Clan from entering or leaving.

Unless someone in the Golden Vulture Clan has a higher cultivation level than the ancestor who set up the formation and can break through this restriction, all the Golden Vultures will be trapped and die in the oasis.

To make matters worse, not long after the Golden Vulture's ancestor set up this barrier, the spiritual energy of the Rainy Continent declined, resulting in the highest level of cultivation on the Rainy Continent being the Nascent Soul stage.

The ancestor who set up this formation was at the Nascent Soul stage, spanning two super-great realms. This barrier completely isolated the Golden Vulture clan from the world.

If it weren't for this barrier's incredible protection of the Golden Vulture during the cataclysmic events on the Rainy Continent, allowing the younger generation of the clan to safely survive that calamity...

Otherwise, even if those ancestors who set up the formations had already perished, they would still have been beaten up.

Over the years, they've watched other races of spirit beasts come and go, and they've even tried to transform into other races to go out.

But this barrier is like it has a recognition device installed; no matter what they do, they just can't get out.

Seeing others soaring in the vast sky, it would be a lie to say I'm not envious.

They had originally considered choosing one of the spirit beasts or human cultivators who had accidentally wandered in as their master.

But as golden vultures, they have their pride, and over the years, they haven't taken a liking to any of them.

Either their cultivation level is too low, or the other party's class is below theirs, so why would they be willing to submit?

But Lu Li is different. He is the emperor of the entire Feather Clan. Jin Kanjiu was originally his subject. Recognizing him as his master is just a change from submitting to the entire royal family to submitting to him alone.

Moreover, among the thousands of feathered creatures, only a handful are truly capable of serving the Phoenix Clan. In truth, they have made a huge profit.

This is one of the main reasons why Jin Yun treated Lu Li as a VIP without hesitation after realizing that Lu Li might be a phoenix.

After all, with the Phoenix Fire, a super divine fire, even if Lu Li's cultivation level is not high, his Phoenix Fire Spirit can burn through the barrier and take them out.

Jin Yun spoke these words with complete candor, showing no concern whatsoever about whether Lu Li, as the person involved, would be angry upon hearing them.

Of course, it's impossible for Lu Li to get angry; he's not that petty.

But he was truly speechless at the bizarre things those ancestors of Jin Kanjiu did, who were so detrimental to their descendants.

However, despite being speechless, Lu Li did not immediately agree to Jin Yun's request after pondering for a while.

Instead, he first sent the little fire spirit to see if it could burn down the barrier. Only after confirming that there were no problems and that they could really be taken out did he nod in agreement.

He then officially gained a group of followers, each of whom swore an oath in front of everyone that they would never betray the Heavenly Dao.

It's not that Lu Li is harsh, but rather that he has a history of being betrayed, so he's more demanding of his underlings. After all, he still has enemies lurking in the vast world.

Only after dealing with the Jin Kanjiu clan's affairs did Lu Li call Jin Yun to his side and tell him the purpose of his trip: to find the Earthly Fiend Scale.

The Earthly Fiend Scales happen to grow on the island in the center of the oasis.