Warning! Read with caution! There’s a little gore scene here…
After the gatekeeper had confessed everything, the chief and others began asking him about the entity behind the evil force. They asked if he knew who had created these array worlds and who had created the Evil Tree.
Originally, they didn’t expect the gatekeeper to know the answers to these questions, especially since even Elder Ou of the demon clan was completely unaware of these things. However, to their surprise, the gatekeeper did have some knowledge of the entity behind the evil force.
Even though he was under the control of the tools developed by the research department, which forced him to cooperate and reveal everything he knew, when the subject of the entity behind the evil force came up, his previously calm face suddenly became fanatical. His voice grew strangely excited as he said, “The entity behind is the highest god-demon from ancient times, possessing an immortal army. You’ve seen it. One day, my master will awaken from the darkness and bring eternal darkness and suffering to this world.”
Everyone fell silent. Though the gatekeeper appeared to have gone mad, his words planted a seed of fear in their hearts.
“The entity behind is called—” one of the handlers suddenly began to say, but before he could finish, the chief quickly covered his mouth.
However, it was already too late.
Upon hearing these words, the gatekeeper’s eyes filled with terror, but his mouth moved uncontrollably as he said, “My master is the Lord of Darkness. He will awaken from the darkness—”
Before he could finish, his head exploded like a watermelon, spraying everyone with blood and brain matter. The entire room stood frozen in shock, staring at the horrifying scene.
It took a while for them to react. They quickly stepped back, horrified at what had just occurred before their eyes.
“Chief…” the handler, whose mouth had been covered, finally felt a wave of fear wash over him. He now realized that all of this had happened because he had asked a question that should never have been asked. Regret and terror filled his heart.
The chief said sternly, “Your punishment will be handed down soon. I hope you learn from today’s lesson—never ask questions you shouldn’t.”
The handler nodded quickly, his expression bitter. “I’m willing to accept any punishment.”
Though the handler had made a grave mistake, they had still managed to learn one crucial piece of information from the gatekeeper—the entity behind the evil force was called the Lord of Darkness.
But no one knew if the gatekeeper’s head exploded because he had mentioned those four words. Everyone kept them hidden in their minds, too afraid to even think of them.
The chief didn’t need to remind them to stay silent; no one was willing to risk it.
After the incident, the chief immediately convened an emergency meeting, attended by all the demon clan elders. He played the surveillance footage from the interrogation, making sure to avoid mentioning those four words.
When they saw the scene where the gatekeeper’s head exploded after uttering the name, the meeting room once again fell into an eerie silence.
The general chief of the central office looked respectfully at a glowing ball of light and asked, “Elder Bai, do you have any information about this entity?”
The ball of light, representing Elder Bai, flickered slightly before responding slowly, “I don’t have information about this being, but its characteristics give me a very bad feeling. Perhaps the ancient Zhulong might know something. You can ask through Xu Dongyou.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and discussed the finer details. Finally, they sought out Xu Dongyou, entrusted him with the task, and informed him of the events that had transpired in the meeting. They also sent him the video of what had occurred in the meeting room.
Xu Dongyou didn’t watch the video immediately but instead went straight to the sealing array to find Zhulong. By this time, after many days of polishing, the dragon’s scales had become shiny again.
However, Zhulong still felt that his scales weren’t quite as shiny as they should be. Xu Dongyou, feeling it was a small favor in return for the great help Zhulong had provided, decided to continue polishing the scales daily.
After finishing the task, Xu Dongyou brought up the main topic, briefly explaining the task given to him by the Anomaly Handling Bureau. He then played the video for Zhulong. When the footage showed the gatekeeper’s head’s sudden explosion, the shock was too much for Xu Dongyou, who was completely unprepared and immediately reverted to his original form.
A round, dumpling-like sparrow crawled out from his clothes, trembling in terror as it fluffed its little crest, chirping, “Chirp chirp?”
Zhulong’s breath steadied instantly. Though it knew it should comfort Xu Dongyou, it couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of delight at the situation. Still, it restrained itself and calmly said, “Are you alright? If you’re scared, you can come to me.”
Zhulong’s tone was particularly composed, as if discussing something entirely ordinary. Xu Dongyou, embarrassed, lowered his head in shame—how could he have reverted to his original form out of fright?
He glanced at Zhulong, who remained perfectly calm as if nothing could faze him, even if the sky were falling.
This was the strength of a true powerhouse.
Comparing this to his own reaction, Xu Dongyou sank into a spiral of self-doubt.
