Chapter 4

Panshi has written two books. Without commenting on their content, he has been diligent, never delayed updates, and always completed his works. He has never formally asked for votes or donations.

Now, with his third book, he humbly requests everyone to cast their valuable recommendation votes for the new book, *Chronicles of the Demon King*. For a new book, this is incredibly important! He also asks all readers, regardless of how they access the book, to support him on Qidian, as it is the best encouragement for an author to write well.

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Zhaoming sensed something amiss behind him and turned around. Just then, he saw Zhu Hong's fiery fist strike Acao, who was engulfed in flames. With a faint smile, the grass fox instantly disintegrated into countless pieces.

In the distance, it seemed as if a graceful fox demon woman rose into the air and flew northeast. In that direction lay a place she had longed for many years, called Qingqiu. It was the homeland of the fox clan, a place she had always wanted to return to but could not.

"Acao!" Zhaoming shouted, tears streaming down his face like a river breaking its banks.

Xiu Luo also turned around, his entire body stiffening as if he had been struck in the heart.

Everything seemed like a dream. Acao, who had just been scolding them, was gone in an instant.

At that moment, both of them wished it was just a dream. Unfortunately, the lingering flames and the continuous heat burning their bodies, reminding them that everything was real.

With a loud "Boom!" the flames Acao had gathered exploded, forming a massive pillar of fire that reached the heavens.

"Ah!" Zhu Hong screamed in pain, his massive body engulfed in flames as he fell to the ground, rolling continuously.

Zhaoming's heart trembled, his eyes bloodshot. He turned and dragged Xiu Luo, running as fast as they could. Acao's sacrifice could not be in vain; he had to get Xiu Luo to safety.

They ran for three to four hours before stopping in a small mountain hollow.

Exhausted, they collapsed on the ground and burst into tears.

"Acao is gone, Acao is gone!" Xiu Luo muttered, as if in a trance, tears streaming down his face endlessly.

The fox demon who had been like a mother to them was gone. Suddenly, they felt as if a large part of their lives had been cut away, the pain unbearable.

Zhaoming clutched the jade pendant at his chest, gasping for breath, as if that was the only way to find the strength to continue living.

Acao is gone, Acao is gone. These four words kept circling in his mind, making it hard to focus. His mind was a chaotic mess, as if he had lost his direction in life.

After a long while, a large rock fell from a nearby cliff, the loud noise jolting Zhaoming awake. Looking at Xiu Luo, he realized something was wrong. His eyes were vacant, as if he were about to die.

Zhaoming was shocked and immediately got up to support Xiu Luo. If Xiu Luo were to have any problems, he feared he would not be able to go on living.

"Acao is gone, Acao is gone!" Xiu Luo's eyes were vacant, repeating the same words over and over.

Zhaoming remembered that Acao had once said that some people, when their minds are severely impacted, might fall into a trance. In mild cases, they might go mad; in severe cases, they might die. The higher one's strength, the more likely and dangerous this was.

Zhaoming and Xiu Luo's strength was negligible, but Acao's death had been such a severe shock that Xiu Luo had fallen into this state.

Wake up, you must wake up! Zhaoming, not knowing how to treat him, bit his lip and slapped Xiu Luo's face several times.

At first, there was no reaction, but as the slaps grew heavier, after dozens of them, Xiu Luo finally cried out, his eyes regaining their light, and he burst into tears.

Zhaoming took a deep breath and slapped him again, shouting, "Why are you crying!"

"Acao is dead!" Xiu Luo shouted.

"So what if she's dead? Can crying bring her back?" Zhaoming shouted, pointing to his chest and head, "We can't cry. We have to remember this grudge, remember it in our hearts, remember it here."

"We have to become strong, very strong. We have to kill Zhu Hong to avenge Acao, and kill all the witch clan to avenge our demon clan!"

"But how can we become strong!" Xiu Luo cried, "We can't even defeat powerful beasts."

"So what?" Zhaoming shouted, "How many people are naturally strong? Acao once said she didn't even know what fighting was, but she became strong."

"Living, as long as we live, we can become strong, stronger than everyone! Acao is dead, but we can't die. If we die, no one will avenge her!"

"Before we avenge Acao, we must live. Even if the heavens want us to die, we must live. Do you understand!"

With a loud roar, a bolt of lightning struck from the dark sky, shattering a nearby tree into pieces, flames shooting into the sky, as if the heavens were angry at Zhaoming's words.

"Zhaoming..." Xiu Luo trembled his lips, trying hard not to cry.

Zhaoming was about to help him up when he saw a pattern on the ground, his heart sinking. He immediately dragged Xiu Luo down the hill.

"Boom!" Two flames shot from where they had been sitting, burning all the surrounding trees and even turning the soil and rocks into liquid.

Then a loud laugh echoed, "Interesting, you managed to dodge my attack again."

The voice stopped, and Zhu Hong appeared in the air above the hollow, a cold smile on his face as he looked at the two.

Zhaoming protected Xiu Luo behind him, his mind blank. Talking big was one thing, but facing the reality was another. This person, who even Acao couldn't defeat, would not have a different outcome even if Zhaoming and Xiu Luo gave their lives.

"How did you see my attack? Tell me, and I won't kill you!" Zhu Hong shouted at Zhaoming.

Zhaoming held his breath, not believing a word. In fact, he hadn't seen the attack but the flames.

Not knowing if it was a natural ability of the fire-swallowing demon or something unique to him, he could see strange patterns in the flames, something even Acao couldn't do.

Different people's flames had different patterns, so he could distinguish whose energy was being released by the patterns, thus avoiding Zhu Hong's attack.

However, this ability was limited to flames; everything else looked normal.

Seeing Zhaoming's reluctance to speak, Zhu Hong sneered, "Are you going to be as stubborn as that fox demon? The blood demon behind you seems to be close to you!"

As he spoke, Zhaoming felt a void behind him. Turning around, he saw that Xiu Luo was gone. Looking back at Zhu Hong, he saw Xiu Luo being held by the neck.

The strength gap was too great. Zhu Hong's speed far exceeded Zhaoming's. Even when he grabbed Xiu Luo from behind, it seemed as if he hadn't moved at all.

Held by Zhu Hong, Xiu Luo didn't shout, a look of panic flashing across his face, quickly turning to anger. Clenching his fists, he glared at the enemy who had killed Acao.

"Wow, wow, wow, quite stubborn, aren't you!" Zhu Hong sneered, his fingers turning red, flames appearing, scorching Xiu Luo's neck.

The skin and flesh burned, but Xiu Luo gritted his teeth, not making a sound, even as his eyes turned as red as blood.

"How long can you hold out?" Zhu Hong's face darkened, about to increase the flames' intensity.

He always considered himself superior. Among his peers, even those on par with him were nothing. His favorite thing to do was to give people false hope and then bring them despair, enjoying their pain.

He had discovered Zhaoming at the black bear demon's place but didn't act, letting Zhaoming leave and following him. When Zhaoming thought he was safe, he suddenly appeared. He hadn't expected the fox demon to be so powerful, costing him a lot of effort.

The same had happened earlier. He had been healed for a long time, following the two. When they thought they had escaped, he struck.

He had wanted to see their desperate expressions but was frustrated by Xiu Luo's stubbornness, making him angry.

"Wait!" Zhaoming shouted, swallowing hard, "I'll tell you!"

Zhu Hong smiled, a look of satisfaction on his face, waiting for Zhaoming's answer.

"If I tell you, you can kill me, but you must let my brother go!" Zhaoming shouted at Zhu Hong.

Zhu Hong sneered, not speaking, flames appearing on his fingers again, making Xiu Luo's body tense like a stone. He then shook his head, "I don't like bargaining."

"Fine, I'll tell you!" Zhaoming immediately shouted, "I'm a fire-swallowing demon, and I can naturally sense flames. When you attack with flames, I can feel it."

"Is that so?" Zhu Hong fixed his gaze on Zhaoming, his eyes flashing with interest. Suddenly, he paused, as if he had discovered something incredible, and in a flash, he had Zhaoming in his grasp.

Despite Zhaoming's utmost vigilance, he had no time to react, let alone dodge.

The strength gap made him feel a sense of helplessness. Falling into the hands of the witch clan, who knew what treatment he would receive. Zhaoming didn't dare to imagine, and at that moment, he even had thoughts of ending his life.

But thinking of Acao's death and his earlier words to Xiu Luo, he forced himself to endure, his mind blank, not thinking too much.

No matter what, he had to live, even if there was only a sliver of hope, he had to live.

Zhaoming kept encouraging himself, determined to avenge Acao and give Xiu Luo the motivation to live.

After examining Zhaoming carefully, Zhu Hong suddenly burst into laughter, "Interesting, you have two golden cores in your body. Is this common among fire-swallowing demons, or are you unique? The High Priest will be very interested."

Zhaoming didn't understand or care about the two golden cores, looking up at Zhu Hong, "You said you wouldn't kill us!"

This was his enemy, and he would not beg, but he still wanted to争取一线机会.

Zhu Hong grinned, a look of disdain in his eyes, "Of course, I won't kill you, but my witch island needs sacrifices, and you two will do!"

Zhaoming didn't have time to say anything else. The world went black, and he fainted.