Prince Tianyou

The little gecko, perched on the rabbit's back, looked at the Wing-Fire Snake and suddenly said, "That bone snake is so beautiful."

The little rabbit glared at him. "Have you been scorched stupid?"

The little gecko shook his head. "No, look at how obedient it is. It's clearly raised by Milord. Anything Milord raises is bound to be good."

Yang Dingding swallowed hard, looking at Jiao Mu Jiao, then the Wing-Fire Snake, and finally at Chen Zhou. His eyes were filled with pure adoration.

"Milord, you're too incredible! Two monsters—one was subdued by you, and the other was immobilized. How on earth did you do it?"

Chen Zhou ignored him and looked at Jian Huaishuang. "Take them to the surface. Settle them in the Stone Forest first."

Jian Huaishuang nodded. "Understood."

He turned to the little demons. "Follow me."

The little demons looked at each other and quickly followed.

After walking a few steps, Yang Dingding turned back to look at Chen Zhou. "Milord, aren't you coming with us?"

Chen Zhou waved him off. "You go first."

Tao Tuantuan's eyes flickered. She grabbed Yang Dingding's sleeve and said, "Stop asking. We just need to follow orders."

Yang Dingding wanted to say more, but Tao Tuantuan dragged him forward.

Jian Huaishuang, walking at the very front without turning back, said, "If you stay, you'll only get in Milord's way. There's no need to worry; Milord has his own plans."

Only then did the little demons feel at ease as they followed Jian Huaishuang upward.

Even after they had gone quite far, Yang Dingding's voice could still be heard. "What do you think Milord is going to do? He'll be okay, right?"

Tao Tuantuan said softly, "He will. Milord probably wants to subdue the gatekeeper."

The voices gradually faded, finally disappearing at the end of the passage.

Chen Zhou watched them leave before unhurriedly tossing a few more handfuls of mushrooms into the fire.

The mushrooms burned more intensely, and the light grew so bright that it illuminated the entire underground space like daylight.

Jiao Mu Jiao remained standing in place, motionless.

Chen Zhou turned his gaze to the severed tail near the stone door, which looked like a piece of withered wood.

The severed giant tail was as dry as scorched wood, its surface covered in cracks. It hung from above the stone door, deeply embedded into the stone wall. The area around it was carved with complex patterns that pulsed with a ghostly blue light—clearly a powerful array.

Wugou had reported earlier that there was also a stone door in the underground prison. The severed tail coiled around that door was the true body of the Wing-Fire Snake, which had been embedded into an array.

By that logic, this should be Jiao Mu Jiao's true body.

Chen Zhou said to the Wing-Fire Snake, "Burn it."

The Wing-Fire Snake opened its mouth and spewed a blast of transparent flame.

The flames landed on the giant tail and ignited instantly.

However, ghostly blue light immediately surged from the tail. Wherever the light passed, the flames were suppressed, and the scorched surface began to slowly repair itself.

The Wing-Fire Snake increased its power, and the flames grew even fiercer.

The ghostly blue light also grew brighter, desperately resisting the searing heat.

The two forces were at a stalemate. After burning for a long time, only a thin layer of the giant tail had been consumed.

Chen Zhou frowned.

This was too slow.

He ignited a wisp of Hatred Fire and flicked his hand. The Hatred Fire flew toward the giant tail, merging with the Wing-Fire Snake's transparent flames to burn it together.

As soon as the Hatred Fire joined, the situation changed instantly.

The Hatred Fire possessed the property of ignoring defenses. Wherever the flames passed, the ghostly blue light on the giant tail began to flicker as if suppressed by some force.

Even so, the burning was still slow.

The giant tail was too massive and possessed an incredibly strong regenerative ability. As soon as one layer was burned away, a flash of blue light would cause it to grow back.

Not far away, Jiao Mu Jiao stared at the pile of burning mushrooms, motionless.

However, Chen Zhou noticed a slight flicker in his eyes.

It was very subtle, but it was definitely there.

The fire crackled. One mushroom, having burned for too long, had its moisture completely evaporated and suddenly exploded, popping out of the fire.

...

The mushroom rolled across the ground a few times before stopping at Jiao Mu Jiao's feet.

Jiao Mu Jiao looked down at the mushroom.

It was still burning, emitting a bright light.

He bent over and picked up the mushroom.

The moment his fingers touched the fire, the flames scorched his palm, turning it black. His brow furrowed slightly, but he did not pull his hand away.

He gripped the mushroom, extinguishing the flames.

As he held the mushroom in his hand without the fire, only a tiny, faint glimmer remained.

Jiao Mu Jiao looked around as if checking to see if anyone was watching. Then, he secretly tucked the dried mushroom into his armor, pressing it against his chest.

Having done this, he returned to his hollow state, staring at the fire, motionless.

Chen Zhou watched everything. After a moment's thought, he reached into his robe and pulled out a few porcelain shards he had picked up earlier in the ruins of the underground city.

Chen Zhou walked up to Jiao Mu Jiao with the shards and waved them before his eyes.

With great difficulty, Jiao Mu Jiao shifted his gaze from the fire to the porcelain shards.

Chen Zhou handed the shards to him. "Do you recognize this?"

Jiao Mu Jiao took the shards and looked down at them for a very long time.

He looked for so long that Chen Zhou thought he wouldn't answer, but then he suddenly spoke.

"Death."

Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you know how to say?"

But after Jiao Mu Jiao said that word, he didn't attack. He continued to look at the brilliant light blooming from the fire.

His brow furrowed. "What... is this?" he suddenly asked, speaking a third word.

It wasn't "withdraw," and it wasn't "death."

Chen Zhou looked at him. "You don't recognize it?"

Jiao Mu Jiao remained silent.

Watching his reaction and combining it with the history of the underground city Tao Tuantuan had told him, Chen Zhou had a rough guess in his mind.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Zhou pointed to the characters on the porcelain shard. "Jiao Mu Kingdom, a tribute from the seventh year of Tianyou. Jiao Mu Kingdom was your country."

"Jiao Mu Kingdom?" he repeated dryly.

"Yes."

"Who... am I?"

"You are a person of Jiao Mu Kingdom."

"I am... Jiao Mu? Who am I..."

"You are Prince Tianyou."

"I am Tian... I... Who am I?"

Jiao Mu Jiao's speech was confused. He looked at the fragment in his hand for a long, long time.

Then, he tucked the fragment into his armor as well, placing it together with the mushroom.

He hid them away.

"Who am I?"

"Who am I?"

"Who am I?"

He repeated the question over and over. The withered wood tail was still burning, the transparent flames of the Wing-Fire Snake and Chen Zhou's Hatred Fire intertwining in a mix of black and white, making the tail crackle as it burned.

Taking advantage of the fact that his mental defenses were completely down, transfixed by the light of the burning mushrooms and triggered by the porcelain shards, Chen Zhou immediately surged his death qi and condensed a Seed of Resentment in his palm.

The seed was only the size of a grain of rice and pitch black, but a faint light circulated on its surface.

Chen Zhou raised his hand, and the seed flew from his palm, silently sinking into Jiao Mu Jiao's forehead.

Jiao Mu Jiao didn't dodge; he didn't even react. He just stood there, still murmuring to himself.

But as soon as the seed entered, Chen Zhou felt a wave of intense rejection.

Within Jiao Mu Jiao's sea of consciousness, countless black threads were entangled.