After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

She was a girl in a purple dress, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin and delicate features, but her face was covered in tears and her lips were trembling.

She knelt down in front of Xu Ze with a thud, her forehead touching the ground, her hands on the ground, her whole body trembling.

"My lord, everything this lowly servant possesses belongs to you..."

Her voice was thin and weak, as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Xu Ze looked at her.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, shining upon her.

Tao Yaoyao's purple dress had several holes in it, revealing her fair skin underneath.

Her hair was disheveled, her shoulders were trembling slightly, and her breathing was rapid and disordered.

"Please, forgive this lowly slave..."

Just a moment ago, she was the high and mighty Twelfth Demon King, a being at the Integration Stage, a spider demon who struck fear into the hearts of countless cultivators.

At this moment, she knelt on the ground, like a tamed pet.

Meanwhile, in Xu Ze's mind...

The long-awaited system notification sound rang out.

[Congratulations, host, for subduing one of the 'Twelve Demon Kings'.]

[Dungeon completion progress increased by 5%, and the title 'Demon Slayer' is awarded.]

[Note: The system shop has been refreshed]

With a thought, Xu Ze temporarily shut down the light screen in front of him.

He inflicted immense pain and fear on Tao Yaoyao, and then forgave her.

The goal was to obtain accurate 'intelligence' for the future.

“Next,” Xu Ze began, his voice not loud, but it made Tao Yaoyao tremble even more violently, “I will ask questions, and you will answer.”

Tao Yaoyao nodded frantically.

"Yes, my lord."

She dared not refuse to answer.

The feeling of exploding from the inside out, the utter terror, was etched into her very bones.

She will never forget this in her life, no, she will never forget it in her next life.

This seemingly gentle young man is more terrifying than any demon king.

"The first question."

Xu Ze's voice drifted in the night wind, clear and cold.

"Where is that 'Empress' of the demon race you just mentioned?"

Tao Yaoyao's body suddenly stiffened.

She looked up at Xu Ze, her purple eyes filled with fear.

It's not the fear of the question itself, but the fear of the consequences of answering it.

"I..." Her lips trembled, "My lord, I..."

"explain."

Xu Ze's voice was still very soft, but that single, light word made Tao Yaoyao tremble all over.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if she had made a momentous decision.

Then, she opened her eyes, looked at Xu Ze, and said, word by word:

"The Empress...she is in the deepest part of the Demon Realm."

She paused, then lowered her voice even further.

“There is a mountain there called ‘Dragon Burial Abyss’.”

"The Empress... she lives there. She has lived there for a very, very long time since she ascended the throne."

Upon hearing this name, Xu Ze frowned slightly.

"Dragon Burial Abyss?"

He repeated it.

Tao Yaoyao nodded, her shoulders shaking even more violently.

"That's a forbidden area for the dragons."

"Legend has it that in ancient times, a real dragon died there, its blood staining the entire mountain red, and its resentment turned into an everlasting mist."

"Apart from the dragon race, no other race of demonic beasts dares to approach that place."

She looked up at Xu Ze, her eyes filled with pleading.

"My lord, that's all I know."

"We demon kings dare not ask too many questions about the current empress."

"We did whatever she told us to do, without ever asking why."

Xu Ze remained silent for a moment, gazing at the dark night sky in the distance and at the silent mountains.

The night wind blew by, carrying the smell of burnt food and blood.

"Come on, take me there."

He said softly.

Tao Yaoyao was stunned for a moment, not hearing clearly.

Xu Ze lowered his head and looked at her.

"I'll have you lead the way."

Tao Yaoyao's pupils suddenly contracted.

She wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

In the end, Tao Yaoyao's fear of Xu Ze overcame her original loyalty.

In the end, she simply lowered her head, her forehead touching the ground:

"Yes, my lord."

In the distance, a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.

……

The two left the valley soaked in blood.

The morning mist rises from the mountain valley like a thin veil, blurring the outlines of the distant mountains into indistinct silhouettes.

Tao Yaoyao walked ahead, her long purple dress trailing on the ground, covered in mud and grass clippings.

She dared not fly, nor dared to walk fast; she simply lowered her head and measured the path beneath her feet step by step.

Xu Ze walked behind her, the Zhan Yan Sword wrapped in white cloth again and carried on his back.

He didn't speak, but occasionally glanced back at the mountains receding into the distance.

The corpses in the village, the charred roof beams, and the ashes scattered in the night wind were all left behind.

But the burnt smell and the lingering stench of blood still clung to my clothes, and I couldn't shake them off.

“My lord,” Tao Yaoyao’s voice came from ahead, as thin as a thread, “Black Wind Ridge is ahead.”

Xu Ze hummed in agreement.

Black Wind Ridge.

After he subdued the pig demon, he left it in the village to help the villagers farm.

But its chieftain still occupies that mountain, still steals its wife, and still acts as the mountain king.

Is there a Nascent Soul stage pig demon there?

He suddenly asked.

Tao Yaoyao paused in her steps.

"Is the Lord referring to the Blackmane King of Blackwind Ridge?"

She cautiously glanced back. "Yes, that one is a black boar demon in the late Nascent Soul stage, who probably governs all the demons within a radius of three hundred miles."

"But he's such a nobody, he's not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the demon kings..."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

It's as if they've realized that their current situation isn't exactly respectable.

Xu Ze didn't reply; he continued walking.

Black Wind Ridge is not far; you'll arrive after crossing two mountain ridges.

The mountain is not high, but it is strangely rugged, with jagged rocks and gnarled old trees.

There was a huge cave halfway up the mountain, its entrance piled high with bones, some from wild animals, others from humans, all white and gleaming coldly in the morning light.

Tao Yaoyao stopped at the cave entrance and looked back at Xu Ze.

"My lord, this is the place."

Xu Ze nodded and stepped towards the cave entrance.

The cave was dark, and the air was filled with a strong stench, mixed with the smell of decay, making it hard to open one's eyes.

Xu Ze's divine sense swept across the entire cave and quickly located the pig demon.

It was snoring loudly in the deepest part of the cave, the snoring so loud that the cave walls trembled slightly.

He went inside and stood in front of that enormous creature.

The Black Mane King was a whole size bigger than the previous boar demon. Its mane was shiny and its two tusks protruded from its mouth, each about half a zhang long.

Xu Ze reached out and gently pressed his hand on its head.