After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

Xu Ze guessed that this was at least a powerful demon in the Tribulation Transcending stage.

It's probably comparable to the legendary 'Yama'.

"No, this isn't the Demon King, it's the Devouring Toad..."

Tao Yaoyao's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, her eight legs curled up in a ball.

"Even the 'Wrestling King,' ranked first among the twelve demon kings, wouldn't dare to trespass on the territory of this Devouring Toad!"

Her tears slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the purple liquid with a hissing sound.

“This is truly the end, my lord,” she murmured, “we will all be digested…”

Xu Ze looked puzzled after listening:

"The Sky-Swallowing Toad?"

"Yes."

Before us, the trembling little spider was tearfully explaining:

"This is a colossal demon that existed in the ancient wilderness of the demon realm. It was stripped of its mind for rebelling against the 'upper realm' and now wanders around the outskirts of the demon realm all day long."

“In the past, we would avoid it when we came in and out, but now my cultivation is even lower than that of an ordinary person, so I can no longer resonate with the demonic mist, and naturally I can't sense it anymore…”

Tao Yaoyao looked aggrieved.

But soon she realized that her words were inappropriate and wisely shut her mouth.

I am nothing but a plaything now, how can I blame my lord?

All of this is my own fault for being useless.

I couldn't help at all.

"...Did the demon race also collectively rebel against the Heavenly Court in ancient times?"

Xu Ze calmly considered the situation and began to organize the relevant information in his mind.

As Dan Sheng Zhenjun once said, this purple mist was formed from the countless demon corpses that emerged during the great war between humans and demons.

In that battle, countless powerful demons perished.

First, there are the 'Four Ferocious Beasts' that Tao Yaoyao mentioned earlier.

Among them, after the 'Nether Dragon' was slain, it transformed into the Dragon Burial Abyss, from which the current Dragon Empress was born.

This 'Heaven-Devouring Toad' was stripped of its consciousness and transformed into a terrifying wanderer on the outskirts of the Demon Realm.

According to the timeline, his previous life, Hunyuan Tianzun, also killed Yama, one of the four great ferocious beasts, when he ascended to heaven ten thousand years ago.

"One more is needed."

Xu Ze didn't know what the last one was.

However, he felt that he was very likely used as a pawn back then.

Then they discovered the true nature of the Heavenly Court, fought back fiercely, and have now entered reincarnation again to seek a chance to win.

That's really heavy.

Xu Ze reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword behind him.

"Old buddy, what do you remember?"

"Om-"

The Flame-Slaying Sword glowed faintly, as if in response to something.

The young man smiled faintly and said, "Then let's break open a hole and get out of here."

Tao Yaoyao, who was standing to the side, was somewhat shocked and quickly added:

“My lord, the skin of this Devouring Toad is even harder than the Nine Heavens Profound Iron. Back then, even the people of the Upper Realm were helpless against it, so they could only strip it of its consciousness.”

"Even if you can damage the inner wall, you absolutely cannot break through the outer skin; on the contrary, you will only provoke it."

At that time, the people in the Heavenly Court above the Ascension Realm tried all sorts of methods.

There was nothing I could do; the toad was just too tough and too meaty.

"Is that so?" Xu Ze became interested. "Then I'm even more determined to give it a try."

Just as he was about to draw his sword.

"Don't waste your energy, kid."

A sigh came from the shadows not far away.

Xu Ze glanced sideways; he hadn't even noticed that there was another person there.

"Who?!"

Tao Yaoyao's tears hadn't even dried when she was startled by the voice beside her and immediately shrank behind Xu Ze.

The voice was soft, with a tired hoarseness:

"Save your spiritual power, protect your soul, and you can live here a little longer."

But Xu Ze already had his sword in his hand.

The light patterns of the Flame-Slaying Sword flowed in the darkness, illuminating the surroundings with a dark red halo.

Wherever the halo reached, the sticky ground was exposed to this bleak light.

Just three zhang away, a man sat against the fleshy wall.

It's called a "person," but it's more like a talking corpse.

His hair was disheveled and unkempt, like a clump of withered grass, gray and unrecognizable of its original color.

His face was covered in grime, and his beard was so long that it almost covered his entire face, leaving only his eyes visible.

Those eyes were very bright, not the radiant brightness of a cultivator, but the bright light of a dying person's last burst of energy.

Xu Ze's divine sense swept over the man, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Mahayana period?"

This person was actually a Mahayana cultivator.

Tao Yaoyao was so frightened that she couldn't speak.

She clung tightly to Xu Ze's boots, pressing her entire body against his ankles, revealing only her pair of purple eyes as she timidly looked at the man.

Even cultivators at the Mahayana stage were trapped here and turned into this state.

Then wouldn't she, this little demon king, be doomed?

Xu Ze sheathed his sword, walked over, and squatted down in front of the man.

"who are you?"

Upon hearing this, the man fell silent.

He leaned against the fleshy wall, his eyes half-open, looking at the light spot above that had completely closed.

That place used to be the entrance, but now only darkness remains, as black as ink and as thick as blood.

"A person who is nearing the end of his life."

He finally spoke, "A person who died because of his own stupidity."

Xu Ze sat down next to him, not minding that the ground was dirty.

"How long have you been here?"

The man remained silent for a long time, so long that Tao Yaoyao thought he had fallen asleep.

Then, he held up three fingers.

Those three fingers were so thin they looked like chicken claws, with prominent knuckles and skin so thin you could see the blood vessels inside.

"Yes, I counted, it's been three hundred years."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"Three hundred years ago, I was thrown in here and have never left since."

Tao Yaoyao gasped, "Three hundred years."

Inside the dark, sunless belly of this toad, corroded by acid and devoured by loneliness... for a full three hundred years?

Xu Ze looked at his withered skin and at the still-burning fire deep in his eyes.

Do you hate the person who threw you in here?

Upon hearing the question, the man paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

The smile was unsightly; the grime on his face was smudged, revealing his yellowed teeth.

"Hate? Hate whom?"

"Hate her? Hate yourself?... Or hate this damn toad?"

He shook his head. "I hated it for decades, but then I stopped hating it."

"why?"

"Because hatred is too tiring."

He closed his eyes, leaning against the fleshy wall, as if recalling something, "More tiring than death."

Tao Yaoyao peeked out from behind Xu Ze's boots, cautiously observing the man.

She suddenly felt sorry for this person.

It wasn't because he had been trapped here for three hundred years, but because he couldn't even muster the strength to hate anymore.

Xu Ze was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"What's your name?"

The man lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at him.

That glance was indifferent, like looking at a stone or a withered blade of grass.

"Name?" he murmured. "It's been so long since anyone asked me my name..."