"Are you really my father?" A hint of tears welled up in Zi Yan's dark, beautiful eyes.
Zhu Kun nodded heavily, his face displaying a mix of excitement and heartache.
Just as he was about to speak words of comfort, he heard Zi Yan say, "Alright, since you are my father, then why did you abandon me all alone? Where were you when I missed my mom and dad? Where were you when I was being bullied by other Demonic Beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range? No, you are not my father, I hate you. Wuwuwu, Big Bad Guy, let's go, take me away from here quickly, I never want to see him again. Wuwu."
As she spoke, Zi Yan threw herself into Xiao Se's arms and began to weep bitterly.
"Child, it's all my fault. If I hadn't coveted the Ancient Emperor Cave, I wouldn't have been schemed against by that guy, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, and trapped here for thousands of years. It's all my fault. You can hit me, you can scold me, I will have no complaints. Child, I owe you far too much."
Seeing Zi Yan crying so sorrowfully, Zhu Kun immediately became flustered and tongue-tied. He wanted to touch his daughter's shoulder, but Zi Yan brushed him off.
"Go away, Big Bad Guy, take me away quickly, I never want to see him again. Wuwu."
"I..." Zhu Kun cast a pleading look at Xiao Se.
Xiao Se smiled helplessly. Who would have thought that Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun, one of the strongest experts in the current Fighting Qi Continent and a Nine-Star Dou ShengPeak expert, would be so helpless in front of his own daughter.
Immediately after, Xiao Se gently patted Zi Yan's little head and said softly, "Alright, Zi Yan, your father didn't abandon you on purpose. One shouldn't preach about being kind without having experienced the suffering of others. I won't ask you to forgive him right away, but he is your father after all. Why don't you give him a chance?"
"I won't." Zi Yan sniffled.
"Two Seventh Grade Pills." Xiao Se directly unleashed his trump card.
"No." Zi Yan swallowed her saliva.
"Three." Xiao Se's lips curled slightly, and he began to raise the price.
"Still no." The sound of Zi Yan swallowing her saliva grew louder as she continued to haggle.
"Three Seventh Grade Pills, plus one Eighth Grade Pill. If you don't agree, I'll send you out directly. When you miss your father, I'll bring you back. Of course, by then, you won't be getting a single pill." Xiao Se let go of Zi Yan, turned around, and feigned an angry appearance.
"Don't, don't. I'll agree, okay?" Seeing that Xiao Se seemed to be 'angered', Zi Yan knew when to stop and quickly agreed.
Zhu Kun, standing to the side, watched his precious daughter, who a moment ago was full of resentment and acting like the world was ending because of him, compromise over a mere few Medicinal Pills. For a moment, his heart was filled with complicated emotions.
"Then go have a good talk with him." Xiao Se's face revealed a smile as he turned and rubbed Zi Yan's little head.
"Give me the pills first." Zi Yan extended her right hand.
"I'll give you the three Seventh Grade Pills first. I'll give you the Eighth Grade Pill once the medicinal ingredients are collected." Xiao Se casually took out the three Seventh Grade Pills he had searched from Mu Gu Old Man's ring.
"You're not allowed to go back on your word about the remaining Eighth Grade Pill." Zi Yan took the pills, then looked at Zhu Kun with satisfaction. Her gaze was similarly complex, containing resentment, longing, and relief, before finally turning into a hint of craftiness. She wiped away her tears and said in a mischievous manner, "If you want me to forgive you, it's possible, unless..."
"Unless what? Tell me?" Zhu Kun nodded heavily, looking exactly like a thousands-of-years-old child at this moment.
"As long as you promise to listen to everything I say from now on, I will forgive you." Zi Yan said confidently.
"I promise. As long as you forgive me, I will agree to everything you say from now on." Zhu Kun said excitedly.
"Alright, I want you to go inside and help me take out all the treasures, and then help this Big Bad Guy refine Medicinal Pills for me to eat." Zi Yan pointed excitedly at the Ancient Emperor Cave with her small face.
"This..." Zhu Kun was in a bit of a dilemma. If he could go in, he would have done so long ago; why would he have been trapped here for thousands of years?
"What, you aren't willing? Didn't you promise to listen to everything I say from now on?" Zi Yan puffed out her cheeks.
"No, no." Zhu Kun hurriedly waved his hands and explained, "Daughter, it's not that your father is unwilling, but that I can't do it. This Ancient Tomb was left behind by the last Dou Di of the Fighting Qi Continent ten thousand years ago, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor. Without gathering all eight pieces of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade, it is impossible to open. Back then, I coveted the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave and was designed against by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor in this way. Now, let alone going in, I can't even leave this tomb gate. Otherwise, I wouldn't have abandoned you for so many years."
"Ah, then what should we do?" Hearing that Zhu Kun was trapped here and couldn't get out, Zi Yan immediately became anxious. Although she complained about Zhu Kun, she actually deeply yearned for family, otherwise she wouldn't be so clingy to Xiao Se. She immediately held Xiao Se's hand and asked, "Hey, Big Bad Guy, do you have a way to take my father out?"
Zhu Kun, who was to the side, heard this and, before Xiao Se could answer, smiled helplessly, "It's useless. Although this little guy reached the Dou Zun level at such a young age and broke through the obstacles of numerous magma creatures to bring you here—I admit he has some means—this Restriction was set by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor himself. Unless the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade is gathered or a real Dou Di comes, it is impossible to help me escape."
Xiao Se patted Zi Yan's little head, gave her a reassuring look, and smiled, "Zhu Kun Senior, that may not necessarily be the case."
"You can take me away?" Zhu Kun looked incredulous.
"Zhu Kun Senior, aren't you curious how I was able to bring Zi Yan through layers of obstacles and suddenly appear here?" Xiao Se revealed a mysterious smile.
"Indeed, no wonder my Soul power didn't detect you until you appeared." Zhu Kun nodded in agreement, then said, "How about this: I see that you, kid, surely wouldn't bring my daughter to meet me for no reason; you must have some goal. As long as you can take this old man out, I am willing to agree to three conditions of yours, and I will also give you a Dragon Scale. With that Dragon Scale, no matter where you go, as long as you encounter danger, I can appear to save you immediately."
"Zhu Kun Senior is straightforward. To be honest, I do have something to ask of you." Xiao Se did not deny it.
"Alright, alright, just say it. If it's something I can do, I can satisfy you right now." Zhu Kun had a straightforward personality and didn't like so many twists and turns.
"No rush. I'll take you out first. Please place your hand on my shoulder, Zhu Kun Senior." Xiao Se held Zi Yan's hand and said to Zhu Kun.
"Aren't you afraid that I will go back on my word after I am freed?" Zhu Kun asked, somewhat surprised.
"If Senior goes back on your word, then I can only blame myself for misjudging you." Xiao Se shrugged slightly, then added, "At most, if this girl Zi Yan asks me to refine Medicinal Pills for her in the future, I won't do it."
"You dare." Zi Yan glared at Xiao Se in a cute, fierce manner, then said to Zhu Kun, "If you dare to go back on your word, I will never talk to you again."
"Uh, no, I was just saying that." Zhu Kun's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly denied it, thinking to himself that his daughter was truly completely controlled by Xiao Se!
Xiao Se withdrew his gaze, put on a show of forming some strange hand seals with his left hand, and shouted in his mind, "System, use the Point-to-Point Teleportation Talisman to teleport the three of us back to where I came from."
[Beep, System teleportation in progress.]
As the System prompt sounded in his mind, space twisted, and in the blink of an eye, the three of them disappeared from the tomb gate.
Reappearing, they had arrived at the location where Xiao Se had previously killed the Dou Zun level subterranean magma creature.
"Haha, I'm out! This Emperor is finally out!" Feeling the Restriction of the Ancient Emperor Cave disappear, Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun laughed towards the sky. His figure surged with light, instantly recovering his original form, and he soared wantonly through the endless magma. Some nearby magma creatures, whether they were Dou Zun or Ban Sheng, hadn't even reacted before they were rammed into powder by Zhu Kun's massive body.
After about half an hour, Zhu Kun finally finished venting, transformed back into human form, and said with a chuckle, "Sorry, little guy, I got a bit too excited."
Xiao Se didn't mind. "Senior, let's go out first. There is a force I created not far from here. Regarding the current situation of the Void Ancient Dragon Clan, I think we can have a good talk, and I can also mention the matter I need to trouble you with."
Void Ancient Dragon?
Zhu Kun frowned. He knew that since he had disappeared for so many years, there must have been some restless guys among his subordinates who had jumped out. Otherwise, with the power of the Void Ancient Dragon Clan, it would be impossible not to have found Zi Yan after so many years of disappearance, or perhaps, not many people were willing to look for her at all.
Tagor Desert, the former site of the Snake-People Tribe Saint City.
Under the arrangements of the Sea Alliance, the vast majority of Snake-People had already moved out of this area and headed to the eastern part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, with only a very small number of Snake-People still stationed here to guard the ruins of their tribal land.
Suddenly, a green streak of light flashed across the sky and landed above the Snake-People Tribe Saint City.
The green light dissipated, and a beautiful, dainty figure slowly appeared.
The woman was dressed in elegant, light green attire and appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her figure was of the petite type, but she was exceptionally maturely developed; where it should bulge, it bulged; where it should be concave, it was concave; where it should be full, it was full; and where it should be slender, it was slender, though she still looked slightly green.
She had an exquisitely cute, heart-shaped face, like a beautiful porcelain doll, giving people an impression of fragility, but from the determination revealed in her eyes, one could tell that this was a resolute girl.
"Strange, where did the Snake-People of the Snake-People Tribe go? Why are there so few Snake-People here? Could it be that some incident occurred?" The soft and beautiful voice asked three questions. Qing Lin's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she slowly descended to the ground.
"Who goes there? State your name quickly." As soon as Qing Lin landed, she was discovered by the Snake-People Tribe guards, who raised their weapons one after another and surrounded her.
Although the relationship between the Snake-People Tribe and humans had improved because of Xiao Se, many Snake-People still had not let go of their hatred for humans. But they also knew that the Snake-People Tribe's current situation was hard-won, so they volunteered to be stationed here, on one hand, to stay away from humans, and on the other, to guard the old site of the Snake-People Tribe.
Qing Lin had no intention of paying attention to the Snake-People guards. Her light green eyes swept gently, and instantly, a powerful wave of spirit power swept out, and all the Snake-People were instantly controlled, their bodies unable to move.
"Speak quickly, five years ago, where did that human youth who was threatened by your Snake-People Tribe Queen and forcibly brought to the Snake-People Tribe go?" Qing Lin's gaze was icy as she looked at the leading Snake-People Tribe leader, Mo Bas, and asked in an indifferent voice.
"The Snake-People Tribe will not submit to you. Queen will avenge us." As he spoke, Mo Bas closed his eyes and gave up resisting. The gap in strength between the two sides was too great; there was almost no room for resistance.
"Since you won't say, then I will grant your wish." Qing Lin raised her slender hand and was about to strike with her palm when, at that moment, an old, hoarse voice sounded from afar, "Your Excellency Dou Zun, please show mercy."
Hearing this, Qing Lin looked up and saw four old women stepping through the air from afar.
"Four low-level Dou Zong? They carry the aura of the Snake-People Tribe." A hint of surprise flashed in Qing Lin's eyes, but she didn't mind and waited quietly for the four to arrive.
A mere four low-level Dou Zong, and they were Snake-People Tribe Dou Zong at that, were simply not in her eyes.
"We are the four Elders of the Snake-People Tribe. May I ask what important matter Your Excellency has with that youth?" The four landed, and the leading old woman looked at Qing Lin with eyes full of wariness and asked with a nod.
"He is my only relative. Five years ago, in order to protect me, he was forcibly taken away by your Snake-People Tribe Queen Medusa. Now I want to take him away." Mentioning that youth, Qing Lin's icy, pretty face was instantly replaced by tenderness, and a faint look of longing flashed in her beautiful eyes.
Seeing Qing Lin's appearance, the four old women looked at each other. Well, they understood everything now; it was another romantic debt left behind by their son-in-law.
Immediately, the Snake-People Tribe old woman who spoke earlier said, "The youth you are talking about should be Alliance Master Xiao, that is, Xiao Se. Perhaps you don't know yet, but he has already married our Snake-People Tribe Queen Medusa and has become the son-in-law of our Snake-People Tribe. After Queen Majesty succeeded in her evolution back then, we did not make things difficult for him."
"The son-in-law of the Snake-People Tribe?" Qing Lin was slightly stunned, frowned, and asked, "Did you force him?" With her Big Brother's talent, this situation was not impossible.
"How would we dare to force him? I estimate that Your Excellency has been in seclusion for a long time and is not familiar with outside news. Nowadays, Xiao Se is the Sea Alliance Master. Our entire Snake-People Tribe, and even the forces of the entire Jia Ma Empire and several surrounding countries, all have to obey his orders. A while ago, I heard that he even refined a legendary Eighth Grade Pill. Who would dare to force such a strong expert? Regarding why Alliance Master Xiao and our Queen are together, it is not convenient for me to say much, but I can tell you that they are very loving now, and our Queen Majesty is already pregnant with Alliance Master Xiao's child."
"Is that so? So Big Brother has already become so powerful." Qing Lin murmured in a voice only she could hear, and then continued to ask, "Then where is he now?"
"You can go to the capital of the Jia Ma Empire to see. The Sea Alliance Headquarters is located there. Or you can go to the Cloud Mist Sect. Nowadays, Cloud Mist Sect Master Yun Yun has also become Alliance Master Xiao's wife and has given birth to a child for him." The Snake-People Tribe old woman said.
"Thanks for the information." After saying that, Qing Lin did not hesitate, turned, and sped off in the direction of the Jia Ma Empire.
(End of Chapter)
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