The little demons cheered, pouring out from their hiding places and swarming onto the plaza.
They surrounded Chen Zhou and Jian Huaishuang, chattering excitedly. Some even knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
“Thank you, Adult, for saving our lives!”
“Adult, you are too amazing!”
“We don't have to be sacrifices anymore!”
Chen Zhou waved his hand, signaling them to rise.
The little demons got up and gathered around the little gecko.
The little gecko was still nestled in the skeleton's arms, his entire body charred black. However, after taking Chen Zhou's pill, his breathing had stabilized significantly, and the charred wounds were slowly healing. In some places, new skin was even starting to grow.
“Little Gecko, are you okay?”
“Little Gecko, how are you feeling?”
“Does it hurt?”
The little demons asked questions all at once. Some reached out to touch him but dared not, pacing anxiously.
The little gecko grinned. Though his smile was a bit ugly, his eyes shone with pride.
“It's nothing, nothing. I have thick skin and flesh; I can handle it.”
He looked at Chen Zhou, then at the little demons who were concerned about him, and puffed out his chest.
“And let me tell you, I just helped Adult a lot!”
The little demons were startled: “You helped?”
The little gecko nodded, beaming proudly: “That's right! The red tail was spitting fire just now. I could have dodged it, but I didn't!”
“Why not?” a little demon asked.
The little gecko became even more smug: “Because I was afraid if I dodged, the fire would hit Adult!”
“Think about it, Adult was fighting the green tail. What if he got hit by fire and got distracted? What if he lost?”
“So I didn't dodge. I charged into the fire! Adult even praised my bravery just now, saying I was the most amazing gecko!”
As he spoke, he patted his chest, making himself wince.
The little demons listened, dumbfounded, then all gave him a thumbs-up.
“Little Gecko, you're really amazing!”
“You're so brave!”
“I wouldn't dare!”
The little gecko chuckled, his face practically overflowing with pride.
Chen Zhou looked at Tao Tuantuan: “Since Wan Xiu's messenger has been dealt with, it's not advisable to stay here long. Let's depart quickly.”
Tao Tuantuan nodded, then turned to the little demons and said, “Stop messing around, everyone. Pack up; we're leaving.”
Only then did the little demons quiet down and hurry to pack their belongings.
The little rabbit took the little gecko from the skeleton's arms and carried him on his back. The little gecko, perched on his back, was still boasting to the nearby little demons.
The other little demons also supported each other. Some had been affected by the flames in the recent battle and were injured, but not seriously, so they could walk by leaning on each other.
“Let's go, let's go! We can finally leave!”
Tao Tuantuan led everyone through the plaza and headed east.
The underground city was vast, much larger than Chen Zhou had imagined.
They passed through ruins, walked along broken streets. In some places, one could still discern the former prosperity: wide avenues, neat houses, and even some dilapidated shop signs.
But more often, there were collapsed buildings, rubble, and thick dust.
The little demons were not high-ranked and walked slowly, not to mention there were some injured among them. Just crossing this expanse of ruins took half a day.
As they walked, Chen Zhou felt something was amiss.
The temperature was rising.
At first, it was just slightly warm, then it grew hotter and hotter, like approaching a massive furnace.
The surrounding moss became scarcer, and the glowing mushrooms were nowhere to be seen.
Finally, only bare rock remained on the ground, its surface so hot it could fry an egg.
Yang Dingding wiped sweat from his brow, pointing ahead: “We're here, we're here! That's the exit of our underground city!”
Chen Zhou looked in the direction he pointed.
Ahead was a stone door.
It was roughly the same size as the stone door they had entered through before, and even the patterns on it were almost identical.
Around the stone door, not a blade of grass grew.
Tao Tuantuan walked to the door and softly said, “This is the seal our ancestors set up back then. There are two exits in total, and both are sealed.”
Jian Huaishuang stepped forward, drew his greatsword, and struck the door with a single slash.
Clang—!
Sparks flew.
The stone door remained completely still, not even a white mark left behind.
Jian Huaishuang frowned and struck again.
Clang—!
Still no response.
He furrowed his brows, gripping his sword with both hands. Death qi surged wildly, pouring into the blade. The greatsword instantly turned grayish-white, thick death qi swirling around its body.
He brought his sword down.
Clang—!
The stone door remained utterly motionless. Instead, the faint light within its patterns grew brighter, as if mocking his overestimation of his own strength.
Jian Huaishuang was about to try again, but Chen Zhou reached out and stopped him.
“No need to try.”
Jian Huaishuang sheathed his sword and looked at Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou walked to the stone door and reached out to touch it.
It was scorching hot to the touch, but it couldn't harm him. Chen Zhou could feel that the seal on this door was incredibly strong, ridiculously so.
This was a true seal; brute force would find it very difficult to break.
Chen Zhou frowned. This was strange.
The stone door he had entered through, its seal clearly wasn't strong; Jian Huaishuang had cut it to pieces with a few strikes.
If the seal had gradually weakened over a thousand years, it made no sense for one side to be easily shattered while the other remained impregnable.
It couldn't be that it was sturdy inside but fragile outside, allowing easy entry from the outside. In that case, was this a protective barrier or a prison?
Seeing Jian Huaishuang couldn't break the stone door, the little demons all wilted.
“Can't we get out?”
“Does this mean we can't move?”
“It's fine, it's fine. The underground city is pretty good too; we've lived here for over a thousand years.”
“Right, right, we're used to it anyway.”
The little demons comforted each other, but the disappointment in their eyes was impossible to hide.
The little rabbit comforted the little gecko on his back, whispering, “It's okay, if we can't get out, we can't get out. Anyway, Adult gave us pills to eat, so we can survive anywhere!”
Chen Zhou glanced at them and suddenly spoke: “Then let's go to the other side.”
Tao Tuantuan pondered, saying, “The other side? Adult, are you referring to the other exit?”
“Both exits are the same. If we can't break the seal, we still can't get out.”
Chen Zhou nodded: “But the seal on the other side has already been broken by us. It's just that there's a gatekeeper over there who's a bit troublesome.”
Yang Dingding swallowed: “Ah? There's still someone guarding the gate? Is that gatekeeper strong?”
Chen Zhou thought for a moment: “Around the fifth symbiosis contract.”
Yang Dingding gasped sharply.
Fifth symbiosis contract! That's a peak seventh-stage existence!
Among this group of little demons, the strongest was Tao Tuantuan, at the third transformation of Eerification, and she was a plant not particularly skilled in combat. Before a fifth symbiosis contract existence, they weren't even ants.
Yang Dingding hesitated, then looked at Chen Zhou: “Adult, then we…”
Chen Zhou waved his hand: “No need to worry.”
He glanced at the little gecko perched on the rabbit's back and smiled.
“Little Gecko just said he trusts this Venerable. Don't you all?”
The little demons exchanged glances, then nodded in unison.
“We believe!”
“We believe everything Adult says!”
The little gecko, perched on the rabbit's back, blushed, but puffed out his chest and cast a proud glance at the surrounding little demons.
Chen Zhou chuckled: “Then let's go.”
So, everyone turned back the way they came, heading towards the stone door on the other side.
After nearly another day of walking, they finally approached that door.
From a distance, Chen Zhou saw the half-rotted man.
He was still guarding there, dragging chains, circling near the stone door as if on patrol.
But after a few steps, he would stop and look inside the stone door.
Inside the door was the deep, dark passage. Faint specks of light could be seen deep within the passage. The man stared at those lights, his eyes hollow, as if in a daze.
He just stood there for a long time, then started circling again.
After a few circles, he would stop again, continuing to stare, his movements mechanical, completely unconscious.
The two horns on the man's head were very distinctive: one long, one short, with the longer one broken halfway.
Chen Zhou's heart stirred. He took out the jiao-shaped bone carving and compared it.
It was identical.
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow.
So you are Jiao Mu Jiao?
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