Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun

"Intruders... do you possess the Ancient Jade?"

Just as everyone rejoiced at having found the Ancient God Cave Abode, a voice that made even space tremble suddenly rang out.

As the voice sounded, a pair of incomparably enormous eyes slowly opened within the darkness, gazing coldly and indifferently at Huo Xuan and the others.

Those eyes were faintly red, with overlapping pupils. Just those two eyes alone were hundreds of times larger than Huo Xuan's entire group!

The instant those eyes opened, they locked onto Huo Xuan and the others. At the same time, a terrifying pressure directly descended upon them.

Enveloped by that terrifying pressure, everyone's expressions changed. Only then did they realize that there was another creature within this space—one so massive it defied description.

It was an unimaginably enormous creature, coiled motionlessly in the darkness. Everyone's gazes followed along its body, but even when their sight was blocked by the distant darkness, they still could not see its end...

This mysterious creature was entirely violet-gold in color, its body covered in icy scales that gave off an ancient, steel-like sense of strength.

"So strong..."

Feeling the aura emanating from this mysterious creature, Huo Shuo was startled. He could swear that this creature before him was absolutely stronger than the clan chief.

At that moment, Huo Shuo suddenly recalled what those Lizardmen had said. This mysterious creature had to be the guardian of the Ancient God Cave Abode. Moreover, the Lizardmen had said that whoever awakened the guardian would be buried here forever.

The thought made cold sweat stream down Huo Shuo's back.

"Ahem, Lord Guardian, my group has been presumptuous. We entered by accident and had no intention of intruding. I hope Lord Guardian will forgive us. We shall leave at once," Huo Shuo said.

"I asked whether you have the Ancient Jade," the mysterious creature said again.

"The Ancient Jade?" Huo Shuo was briefly stunned before realizing what the creature meant. "The Ancient Jade... no... we do not have it."

"You do not have the Ancient Jade?" the mysterious creature said with some disappointment. After a moment, its indifferent voice rang out once more. "Without the Ancient Jade, all of you shall remain here."

The creature's words frightened Zi Yan into hiding behind Huo Xuan. Then, somewhat afraid, she said to Huo Shuo, "Uncle, aren't you very powerful? Go fight him!"

If I could beat him, I'd have done it already, Huo Shuo muttered inwardly.

At that moment, the mysterious creature's gaze fell upon Zi Yan behind Huo Xuan. Instantly, the pair of pupils that had been filled with boundless ferocity and majesty softened. His heart, silent for countless years, suddenly began pounding violently. He stared fixedly at Zi Yan and murmured.

"Child..."

Other than Huo Xuan, no one understood what was happening.

"Senior, can you take human form? If you can, please transform first. Then we can talk slowly. You're frightening this little girl in your current form," Huo Xuan said.

"Take human form? Right, take human form!" As he spoke, a mass of intense light emerged from his body. Then, his incomparably massive form rapidly shrank. In the span of a few breaths, the enormous mysterious creature transformed into a middle-aged man with violet-gold hair.

"Huo Xuan, this man gives me a familiar feeling," Zi Yan said as she looked at the middle-aged man.

"Familiar! Of course he feels familiar! Child, I'm your father!"

Upon hearing that, everyone understood. This mysterious expert was actually Zi Yan's father. If that was the case, then with Zi Yan here, they ought to be safe.

"May I ask how Senior is addressed?" Huo Shuo asked.

The middle-aged man immediately perked up upon hearing the question. With a trace of pride in his voice, he said, "My name is Zhu Kun, and I am the Dragon Emperor of the Void Ancient Dragon clan."

"So you are the Dragon Emperor of the Void Ancient Dragon clan. I am Huo Shuo of the Flame Clan. Greetings, Dragon Emperor."

"The Flame Clan? It did not seem to have been much of a great clan back then," Zhu Kun said.

Huo Shuo did not refute him, because the Dragon Emperor was right. Ten thousand years ago, the Flame Clan truly had not counted as a major clan.

Then Zhu Kun looked at Zi Yan again and asked excitedly, "Child, you... what is your name?"

"My name is Zi Yan."

"Hm? Zi Yan? Zi Yan is a lovely name, a lovely name indeed! Child, you look so much like your mother!"

As he spoke, Zhu Kun wanted to step forward and touch his daughter.

"Stop! Y-You... don't come any closer!" Zi Yan said nervously.

Hearing this, Zhu Kun obediently stopped. He truly did not take another step forward.

"Child, what's wrong?"

"You say I'm your child. Do you have any proof?"

"Proof? Yes! I have proof!"

Upon hearing that, Zhu Kun immediately strode forward to Zi Yan. Stretching out his right hand, he directly grasped her little hand. As their hands joined, two dazzling golden lights surged from their bodies, flowing along their arms before perfectly merging where their palms met.

The moment their hands touched, dazzling golden light surged from both their bodies at the same time, finally merging perfectly where their palms met. Faintly, an extremely terrifying pressure spread outward.

"Child, this is bloodline resonance—the purest bloodline resonance. I truly am your father!" Zhu Kun said excitedly.

Zi Yan stared blankly at the perfectly merged golden light, her eyes churning violently. A moment later, she suddenly pulled her hand back as though shocked by electricity. She stared at Zhu Kun's gentle expression, but her own gaze had turned much colder.

"What's wrong, child?"

Seeing Zi Yan's expression suddenly turn cold, Zhu Kun was somewhat at a loss. He clearly had no experience with this sort of situation. All he could do was keep rubbing his hands together and stare at Zi Yan awkwardly, completely unsure of how to speak.

"I'm an orphan. I have no father and no mother."

Zi Yan's voice was cold, yet her words carried a trace of heartache. Looking at Zhu Kun before her and recalling her past experiences, she could not help but shed tears.

"Ah, child, don't cry." Seeing Zi Yan cry, Zhu Kun completely panicked.

"My fault, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have coveted the Ancient God Cave Abode. It was all that bastard Tou She Ancient God's fault—he set me up and trapped me here for so long!"

"Child, listen to your father's explanation. This is what happened. Several thousand years ago, after your father's cultivation reached the Nine Star Peak Dou Sheng, I was unable to advance any further and break through to the Dou Di realm. Later, I heard that the cave abode of Tou She Ancient God, the continent's last Dou Di, contained something that could allow one to break through to Dou Di, so I came here to investigate."

"At the time, you were still a dragon egg. Your father was worried about leaving you alone in the clan, so I kept you with me. Who would have thought that this Ancient God Cave Abode contained a trap set by that bastard Tou She Ancient God, trapping your father here?"

"And so, your father became that bastard Tou She Ancient God's guard beast. At the time, I knew I would be imprisoned here for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of years. I couldn't bear to let you be imprisoned here with me, so I found a way to send you out."

"Child, I know you must have suffered many grievances outside all these years, but I never wanted things to be this way either. I wanted to stay by your side and keep you company too!"

"Zi Yan, look, it wasn't that your father didn't want to stay with you back then. He simply had no way to. Now that he knows he was wrong, try to forgive him."

"Forgive him..."

"That's right, forgive him. Besides, I'm sure your father will never leave you again. Whatever you tell him to do in the future, he'll definitely listen to you, right?" After saying that, Huo Xuan shot Zhu Kun a meaningful look.

Zhu Kun immediately understood and said, "That's right, child. It was all your father's fault before. From now on, I will never leave you again. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll listen to you in everything. If you don't believe me, I can even swear an oath."

After everyone took turns persuading her, Zi Yan finally forgave Zhu Kun. Through their relationship with Zi Yan, they also managed to make Zhu Kun abandon his intention to kill them.

Everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. What they had just gone through was truly no different from taking a trip through the gates of hell!