Chapter Fifty: Accepting the Mission

Ye Zihan smiled faintly and said, “Of course this grudge must be avenged, but not yet. Moyou, at the moment, you and I are not strong enough. If we go to the Dragon Clan now, it would only be courting death. Once we have honed our strength, we will return for vengeance.”

Moyou didn’t quite understand all these things, but he nodded his tiny dragon head, no bigger than a fingernail, and said, “Mm, we’ll work hard and cultivate together. One day, we’ll return to the Dragon Clan and avenge my mother!”

“This is madness, truly, the world has gone mad…” Yan Chen shook his head at the side, sighing.

After leaving Qinghe City, the two humans and one dragon found a lush forest and rested there. After the intense battles they had faced that day, Ye Zihan and Yan Chen sat cross-legged, meditating, while Moyou lay snoring on a leaf.

This place was relatively safe, free from wild beasts or demons. After a night’s rest, the trio set off again at dawn.

“Boss, where are we training today?” Moyou asked expectantly.

Ye Zihan replied with a question, “When you came looking for me, how did you train?”

“Uh… Every time I passed through a city, I’d stir up trouble in the largest mansion there, and then a whole group would chase me around.”

“Pfft…”

Ye Zihan and Yan Chen felt the urge to cough up blood. Was this Moyou’s way of training? It was savage, far beyond anything the two of them had done.

What if that mansion was the city lord’s? What if it belonged to one of the Five Clans or Four Sects, or a powerful force? Anyone from such places could easily kill Moyou, who was still in his juvenile stage, barely a late-stage fourth-tier demon beast.

“Don’t worry, boss. When they see I’m a Blood Phantom Dragon, they don’t even have the guts to touch me. They just chase from a distance, too scared to actually attack,” Moyou said, his voice childish yet peculiarly self-assured, which made the others laugh.

Ye Zihan and Yan Chen were both speechless. With such a mischievous creature, they knew they’d have to keep a close eye on him. If he accidentally provoked some major family or sect, they might not dare kill the Blood Phantom Dragon, but they’d have no qualms about killing the two of them.

Afterward, Ye Zihan set three ground rules for Moyou, mainly forbidding him from causing trouble. Moyou agreed solemnly, making no objection. In contrast, whenever Yan Chen opened his mouth, Moyou would retort with a sharp quip, and the two would bicker all along the way.

“Do you know of any secret arts that can bring the dead back to life?” Ye Zihan confided his heart’s desire.

“Secret arts to resurrect the dead?” Yan Chen echoed, frowning in deep thought.

Moyou shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.

“I once read about such things in an ancient book. It said that to revive someone, their soul must still exist.”

Ye Zihan asked urgently, “If only a wisp of soul remains, is that enough?”

Yan Chen nodded, “As long as the soul persists, it’s possible. But the account itself was vague, even the author seemed unsure whether it was true or just hearsay.”

“No matter if it’s true or not, tell me,” Ye Zihan pressed, unwilling to give up even the slightest hope.

“The book mentioned a method called the Blood Sacrifice—if the person still has a fragment of soul, they can be revived. This secret art is said to be inscribed in the Yin-Yang Chamber among the Thirteen Halls of the Demon Prison. Only by obtaining the secret art can one know what materials are needed.” After a pause, Yan Chen added, “But the story is so fanciful, the author only mentioned it in passing. It’s probably not credible at all.”

“The Yin-Yang Chamber of the Demon Prison?” Ye Zihan muttered, then his eyes lit up. “True or false, I must go there. If there’s even the faintest chance to resurrect my two teachers, I won’t let it slip by.”

“Oh yeah, let’s go to the Yin-Yang Chamber!” Moyou exclaimed, always eager for excitement, especially at the mention of the Demon Prison.

The human realm lay to the east of the continent, the beast domain to the north, and the Demon Prison to the southwest. The first two territories faced the Demon Prison across the sea, separated by the vast, seemingly endless River to the Heavens, more than a hundred thousand kilometers across. To reach the Demon Prison, one had to cross this boundless expanse.

There was, however, a place where the three realms met—the Ridge of Chaos. But few knew of it, not even the well-read Yan Chen had ever heard of it.

Ye Zihan and Moyou had already decided, whether the tale was true or not, they would seek out the Yin-Yang Chamber of the Demon Prison.

Yan Chen was silent for a moment before finally saying, “It’s all training anyway. Wherever we go, it’s the same. Let’s head to the Demon Prison together.”

With their goal set, the two humans and one dragon laughed heartily, changed direction, and set out for the southwest, not knowing how long this journey would be, but so long as hope burned in their hearts, they would reach their destination!

After crossing countless mountains and passing through several small towns, they finally arrived at a much larger city—Six Feathers City.

The streets bustled with crowds, the air filled with the cries of vendors, the stalls on either side overflowing with dazzling wares.

“This city is large enough, there should be maps to the Demon Prison for sale,” said Ye Zihan. In all the small towns they’d passed, not a single map could be found.

Yan Chen nodded. “Six Feathers City is a thousand-year-old settlement. There ought to be such maps here. Let’s check the Task Guild.”

Every city’s Task Guild was easy to spot—the tallest building on any street, with the words “Task Guild” emblazoned above the entrance.

Once there, after a few inquiries, the steward produced a map without even glancing up and said, “Three hundred silver taels for a map.”

“What? Three hundred?” Yan Chen cried out. The last time they’d completed a mission, they’d earned five hundred taels, but along the way, Moyou had devoured over two hundred taels’ worth of food alone.

The steward cast a disdainful glance at them, then withdrew the map. “If you can’t afford it, don’t bother coming out to train. Go home and stay there.”

Ye Zihan’s expression darkened, but before he could speak, Yan Chen stopped him. “There are plenty of snobs like this, don’t let it get to you. Let’s see what tasks are available—we can earn some silver first.”

At the task board in Area One, the pair surveyed the available missions. The rewards were meager, just two or three hundred taels—nothing like the big bounties in Tenfold City, nor the generosity.

Suddenly, Ye Zihan spotted a particular task—not because it offered a large silver reward, but because the reward was one hundred taels and a map of the Demon Prison.

For two people about to journey there, it was the perfect opportunity. He immediately called Yan Chen over.

“To the Branch Mountains. Rescue someone from the Flowing Light Bandits, and the reward is ours,” they murmured as they read the task.

Yan Chen frowned. “The Flowing Light Bandits aren’t to be trifled with. Rumor has it their chief has reached the Five Elements level. That lair hosts hundreds of cultivators, the weakest of whom are late-stage One Origin. There should be at least a dozen as strong as us.”

Ye Zihan nodded, but the reward was simply too tempting. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Fortune favors the bold. Let’s try our luck.”

“Alright. But we need to ask the task poster what the person we’re to rescue looks like. Let’s accept the mission and set out.”

Once they’d signed up, they went to the home of the man who posted the task and knocked on the door.

Even before entering, they could smell a strong medicinal scent and immediately guessed the family were doctors or owned a pharmacy.

An old man answered the door. Upon learning they were there about the task, he broke into a delighted grin and promptly pulled them inside.

“Heroes, I beg you, please save my son and daughter-in-law.” The old man tried to kneel, but Ye Zihan quickly stopped him.

“Elder, just tell us the details,” they said, getting straight to the point.

“It happened like this: My son, daughter-in-law, and I were out gathering herbs near the Branch Mountains when we encountered the bandits. The villains were taken by my daughter-in-law’s beauty and abducted her. My son tried to shield me and was beaten half to death…” The old man’s voice trembled with emotion, his clouded eyes burning with rage.

Though young and brash, Yan Chen and Ye Zihan were kind at heart. They despised such evil and, regardless of their own strength, promised, “Rest assured, elder, we will see justice done!”

“Thank you, heroes! If you can save them, I’ll give you both the hundred taels and the Demon Prison map with my own hands.”

Yan Chen, ever cautious even in anger, asked, “Elder, may I ask where you got this Demon Prison map?”

The old man nodded, knowing sincerity was needed to win their trust. He stepped into another room and returned after a moment with a piece of sheepskin. “To tell the truth, this map is an heirloom from my ancestors, who were once cultivators—an Eight Trigrams Source Master, so the story goes.”

“Eight Trigrams?” Ye Zihan and Yan Chen exchanged glances, feeling more confident in the map’s authenticity. Ordinary people would never know such ranks, let alone any stage above the Five Elements.

“Heroes, this is one quarter of the full map. Please take it. If you complete the task, I promise you’ll receive the other three parts as well,” the old man said sincerely, handing over the sheepskin.

A kind heart is good, but caution is always needed when traveling. Without hesitation, Ye Zihan took the map. After learning the son and daughter-in-law’s appearance and the route to the Branch Mountains, the two bid farewell and set out without delay.