The Demon's Request

Speechless... utterly speechless. Old habits truly die hard. Xiao Chen had no idea what to say about this little creature. He wanted to grab one of its fuzzy ears and wake it up, but he held back in the end. After all, this poor little beast had only been alive for a short while. It was far too young, so this kind of behavior was only natural.

The Demon seemed to have vanished completely, never appearing again. Yet Xiao Chen knew it must be lurking nearby. The setting sun painted half the sky crimson with the glow of dusk. Xiao Chen wandered aimlessly through the mountain forest, listening to the distant roars of savage beasts. His heart gradually settled. With the Demon haunting his vicinity, he could not return to Liu Mu and the monk Yizhen for now.

After Xiao Chen left, the old crone, the chubby youth, the Lone Sword Demon, and the others immediately set to work. The Demon's words could not be taken at face value. They still needed to contact other experts while mobilizing everyone to search for the Companion Dragon Kings. If they could truly assemble nine Dragon Kings, then escaping Dragon Island would no longer be an empty fantasy. That night, many cultivators learned the news that moved them to tears of excitement. There was hope of fleeing Dragon Island. This truly roused their enthusiasm. Of course, they still harbored great fear toward the Demon's appearance, which only made them more desperate to escape this place as soon as possible.

It was a restless night. Everyone who received the news found it hard to sleep. All were urgently trying to find the Companion Dragon Kings. Without a doubt, the appearance of nine young Dragon Kings in the world at the same time had just begun.

At midnight, a campfire crackled and leaped. Xiao Chen sat before the flames, cultivating in silence. The snow-white little beast Keke maintained its cross-legged posture, the treasure-tree hat perched on its head, sitting on Xiao Chen's shoulder. It let out sweet, rhythmic snores, looking both adorable and amusing.

Yet Xiao Chen sensed that Keke might not simply be in deep slumber. He noticed that rainbow light rippled around it like water waves, constantly fluctuating. Moreover, the small tree on its head had regained a glimmer of luster after having been dim. There seemed to be a mysterious connection between them.

Could it really know some unique method of cultivation? Xiao Chen speculated silently. He had heard that rare races like the dragon clans inherited their clan's cultivation methods at birth. Keke must belong to such a race.

A chill wind stirred. The temperature in the forest plummeted sharply, as if winter's icy gale had blown through, carrying a bone-piercing cold. The campfire leaped violently, instantly turning a ghastly green. An eerie, oppressive feeling filled the air.

Soundlessly, the Demon sat down across the fire, separated from Xiao Chen by only the flames.

"A thousand years ago, when I first saw this Sacred Tree, it had only a single Ink-Jade Leaf. A thousand years later, it now has three divine leaves." The Demon's pale face looked even more pallid in the flickering firelight. If you didn't think it was a ghost, no one would believe otherwise.

Without a doubt, his words piqued Xiao Chen's interest. At this moment, he felt no fear. What was meant to come would come; avoidance was useless. He asked, "You saw it at the Cosmic Tree?"

"Yes. I discovered it on the severed surface of the Divine Wood. The little tree is an anomalous regeneration from that broken timber. However, it is no longer the original Divine Wood, for it has gained six more colors than the Cosmic Tree." The Demon's response confirmed Xiao Chen's earlier speculation.

"Though legend says the Cosmic Tree is the sacred tree of the dragon clan, in ages before that, it did not belong to them. The Divine Wood was transplanted to Dragon Island by the dragons." The ghostly voice narrated in slow, low tones. After speaking these words, the Demon revealed a look of deep thought, almost lost, and said, "I actually know so much..."

This display surprised Xiao Chen. At that moment, Keke also woke up. Seeing the Demon sitting across from them, the little beast nearly leaped to charge at it. Xiao Chen quickly stopped it and tested the Demon, "You seem to have forgotten many things..."

The Demon emerged from its brief daze, nodded, then shook its head, stirring waves of chilling yin energy. "Regarding the endless ancient epochs, my mind is blank. I only remember escaping from the City of the Dead."

Xiao Chen felt some regret; he could not learn the secret of the City of the Dead from it.

The mountain forest grew hazy with mist, mingling with the Demon's cold yin aura, making the area utterly sinister. After a long silence, the Demon broke the dead stillness. "I think you are a clever person. You know I am reluctant to use force, but that doesn't mean I truly dare not act. I wish to borrow the Sacred Tree from you. At most one year, I will certainly return it, with generous recompense."

"What are you wary of?" Xiao Chen still couldn't figure it out.

"Though my mind is blank about the distant past, I still know whom I can provoke and whom I cannot." The Demon spoke bluntly. "I dare not make enemies of the dragon clan, so I am unwilling to harm those two little Dragon Kings. Likewise, I hold concerns toward this little beast. I do not wish to provoke its parents."

Keke's large eyes immediately sparkled with hopeful light, as if it no longer loathed the Demon. Its long lashes trembled as it listened intently, seemingly eager to know where its parents were.

Xiao Chen understood the little beast's feelings. He said to the Demon, "Do you know Keke's origin?"

"I do not. But I am certain it is no less than the Companion Dragon Kings. Its parents should be beings who can sit as equals with a fully grown Dragon King; otherwise, they would not dare to covet the dragon clan's Sacred Tree. A thousand years ago, when I saw the Sacred Tree put forth an Ink-Jade Leaf, I also discovered a Seven-Colored Jade Eggshell lying beside the little sacred tree. They were sealed together by a mysterious power. I think that was Keke." The Demon cast a deep glance at the little beast as it spoke.

Keke blinked its large eyes in confusion. Xiao Chen, on the other hand, was shocked. Keke had existed in the form of a jade eggshell a thousand years ago. But he had already communicated with Keke — the little one had truly only been born recently. Did that mean the Seven-Colored Jade Eggshell had incubated it for a thousand years?

A veil of mystery always shrouded Keke.

"How long does it take for dragons to hatch from their eggs?" Xiao Chen wanted to compare Keke with those dragons.

"That is hard to say. Generally, it takes several hundred years. But when Dragon Island's seal loosens, that convention is completely broken. At such times, strange energies spill forth, and all dragon eggs on the island crack open, releasing young dragons in the shortest possible time. In essence, they need the nourishment of vast celestial and earthly essence. If given endless spiritual energy, they might hatch within days."

Comparing days to hundreds of years seemed somewhat exaggerated. But careful thought made it clear: measuring a thousand years against hundreds meant Keke was not truly defying the heavens.

"Ya-ya..." The little beast whimpered softly, looking rather despondent, as if thinking of its parents again. Its pitiful appearance was especially endearing.

"Now that you understand all this, you should trust me. I truly only wish to borrow it." The Demon stared fixedly at Xiao Chen. "I am wary of its parents, but I have no such concerns about you. Killing you would not bring any trouble."

Hearing this, Keke snapped out of its melancholy, baring its tiny claws fiercely at the Demon.

Xiao Chen was not afraid. "Want to kill me? Keke will remember you. One day, it will avenge me. I doubt you dare lay a hand on it now. Otherwise, with its parents' great divine power, you would find nowhere to run, neither in heaven nor on earth."

With a sigh, the Demon vanished into a swirl of yin mist. Its ghostly voice drifted from the distant forest: "Whether it truly has parents, or whether its parents still exist in this world, is hard to say. I was merely being overly cautious before. My patience has limits. I will not give you much time to consider. If... blood must be spilled, I will not be soft-hearted!"

The Sacred Mountain of the Dragon Clan loomed, majestic and oppressive, like a colossal divine pillar supporting heaven and earth.

Xiao Chen brought Keke to the area once more. Standing atop the severed trunk of the Cosmic Tree, over a thousand meters high, he looked up at the hazy, majestic Sacred Mountain from the correct vantage point.

The Demon's departing words last night made Xiao Chen understand that the entity would not turn hostile in the short term. He could ignore it for the next few days. He had come to this region hoping to find a powerful force to suppress the Demon. He placed his hopes on the strong among the dragon clan. But to his disappointment, even the high-tier dragons — Tyrant Dragons, Lion King Dragons, Sword Dragons, and others — had lost the great divine powers they displayed in the City of the Dead. They had reverted to a state where bestial nature outweighed divinity, making communication impossible.

Without a doubt, the Demon had followed him. Though its tracks were not visible, Xiao Chen could feel its presence nearby.

"Roooar!" A dragon cry rang out in the distance. By instinct, it was a young dragon. Gazing down at the swaying treetops, Xiao Chen spotted the silhouettes of several cultivators. They appeared to be chasing a golden little dragon. The word "Dragon King" immediately surfaced in Xiao Chen's mind. The practitioners must have learned that gathering nine Dragon Kings could summon a divine ship. They had already begun their operation. But coming to this region to capture a little Dragon King was far too reckless. This area seemed to be the dragon clan's sacred ground. Not only did powerful Tyrant Dragons, Lion King Dragons, and others gather here, but there were also mighty primeval beasts no weaker than the dragons. If they encountered them, the consequences would be unimaginable.