Elsewhere, before the gates of the Nine Hells.
Gungun stood there, toying with the Fly-Whisk Tongtian had given him, flicking it every so often to while away the boredom.
As for what Ao Yue and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were discussing, his excellent manners forbade him from eavesdropping. Besides, he had no interest in listening, since he could more or less guess what they would talk about.
After all, the great god Gungun had yet to forget the secret he had discovered inside the Landscape, Rivers, State, and Earth Diagram-the sight of Taiyi and Dragon Empress Gengchen embracing.
Ah, the Ancestral Dragon was a fool for love, too... Gungun sighed inwardly, then continued playing with the Fly-Whisk.
Time trickled past. Inside the cage, Taiyi's fists clenched ever tighter under Ao Yue's questioning, yet he still refused to budge. Either he remained silent, or he said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
In short, he adamantly refused to admit that he had anything to do with it.
Who knew why?
Seeing him like this, Ao Yue trembled slightly. He understood now: his suspicions were apparently true. So that was it. That really was it. No wonder his imperial father had disliked him so much back then. He had foolishly believed it really had something to do with his destined fate, when in fact...
"Yue'er, whatever happens in the future, you... will always be the Son of the Ancestral Dragon. On your shoulders... rests the hope of the entire Dragon Race. You must remember that!" Just then, a hoarse voice echoed in Ao Yue's mind. It was Torch Dragon's voice.
Back then, before he had broken with the Heavenly Court, Meng Zhang had come to heaven to tell him that Torch Dragon was dying. Without another word, he had immediately hurried