After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

The screen flashed, and the points were reset to zero.

Xu Ze's palm sank, and a fist-sized fragment appeared in his hand.

The fragments were dark gold in color, and their surfaces were covered with fine lines, like cracks on a tortoise shell, or some kind of ancient runes.

It feels heavy in your hand, like holding a mountain, yet it is also warm and smooth like jade, without a single sharp edge.

Something was flowing inside the fragment, like some kind of dormant life.

Cheng Hao's eyes lit up as he looked at him.

He grabbed the fragment and examined it from all angles, his fingers gently tracing the patterns as if caressing something precious.

"This is it!"

Cheng Hao's voice trembled slightly, "This treasure is no less than the cauldron you had back then!"

"With this, even if we reach the Upper Realm, we won't be afraid of those bastards plotting against us..."

Xu Ze looked at him, and at the system's description.

at the moment.

There is a very crucial question.

How can I obtain the carapace of the 'Ancient Black Tortoise'?

Cheng Hao carefully collected the fragments, looked up, and smiled:

"That's easy."

"The ancient Xuanwu is extinct, but its descendants still exist..."

His gaze shifted away from Xu Ze's face.

It landed on Xu Ze's feet, on the trembling little spider demon.

Chapter 178 Using His Shell

Tao Yaoyao's body suddenly stiffened.

She had just peeked out from behind Xu Ze's heels when Cheng Hao's gaze froze her in place.

That gaze wasn't fierce or ruthless; in fact, it could be described as gentle.

But that gentleness frightened her more than its ferocity.

"I... I'm just a spider..."

Her eight legs were trembling, and at that moment she wished she could shrink herself into a ball.

"Of course I know what kind of breed you are."

Cheng Hao's voice suddenly became very soft, as soft as if he were coaxing a child:

"But you should know where your 'Second King' is, right?"

"Um……"

Tao Yaoyao's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and there was a hint of hesitation in it: "Indeed, I don't know the positions of the other supreme demon kings."

“But the Xuanwu King… I actually know the Xuanwu King.”

Cheng Hao's eyes lit up immediately:

"where?"

Tao Yaoyao raised her head and looked timidly at Xu Ze, as if seeking his consent, since this was not a direct order from their master.

Xu Ze nodded, and only then did she muster the courage to speak:

"At the easternmost edge of the Demon Realm, there is a swamp called 'Xuanwu Swamp,' which is the territory of the Xuanwu King."

"Within a radius of a thousand miles, apart from its few subordinates, no other demon beasts dare to approach."

"It is said that he is looking for an opportunity that can help him awaken the bloodline of the ancient demon race."

"Among the demon kings, the top three are called the 'Supreme Demon Kings,' and they all have the opportunity to compete for the throne, as they all possess noble bloodlines."

Tao Yaoyao explained it in great detail, which made Xu Ze a little curious:

"So, you're quite familiar with this Xuanwu King?"

In response, the woman in the purple dress immediately offered an explanation:

“It wasn’t me. He wanted me to be his servant, but I didn’t agree…”

The little spider remained silent, terrified of angering its current owner.

But Xu Ze clearly didn't care about any of that; he was more concerned about how to get his hands on the other party's 'shell'.

"I wonder which is harder, this guy's shell or the 'Sky-Swallowing Toad's' skin?"

He touched his chin.

"The Sky-Swallowing Toad?"

Beside him, Cheng Hao, who clearly knew the origin of this monster, muttered to himself:

"The 'turtle spirit' we just mentioned only wanted to awaken its ancient Xuanwu bloodline throughout its life, but the Devouring Toad is itself one of the four ancient evil spirits."

“Even those ‘Ascension Realm’ cultivators in the Upper Realm can’t do anything about it; the two are simply incomparable.”

Tao Yaoyao muttered to herself in response:

"But the Devouring Toad has already been gutted from the inside out by our master..."

"what?!"

Beside him, Cheng Hao slapped his thigh and suddenly stood up:

"You're only at the Void Refinement stage, and you've already killed that toad?!"

He turned around, looked at Xu Ze, his eyes filled with excitement:

"Second brother, do you still remember what you said back then?"

"You said that if someone could possess the combat power of a True Immortal even before reaching the Ascension Realm, then Ascension would be meaningless and a complete scam!"

"You've already proven that!!"

Xu Ze looked at the excited, strong man in front of him, nodded, and seemed to understand but not quite.

Did you say that back then so that you wouldn't join the forces of the upper realm or the Heavenly Court again after reincarnation?

Besides that, what other information do you want to convey to yourself...?

Suddenly, Cheng Hao patted him on the shoulder:

"Second brother, don't overthink it."

He smiled, a sly smile, like a fox that had stolen a chicken.

"The most important thing is for you to go and kill that turtle spirit now and get its shell."

"I can't leave this Fire Domain, so I can only rely on you."

"Also, this is something you asked me to keep for you back then, and it's also a key material for the 'recasting' later."

He took something out of his pocket and tossed it to Xu Ze.

It was a palm-sized scale, completely black, with fine lines on its surface, like tree rings.

The scales felt heavy and icy cold to the touch, like holding a piece of ice.

[Azure Dragon's Reverse Scale: The natal scale of one of the Four Fiendish Beasts, and one of the hardest forging materials in the world.]

"These are scales shed by the real dragon back then."

Cheng Hao looked at the scale and said, "With this, plus the turtle's shell, you can make the 'Chaos Bell'."

"From then on, we were no longer spied on by the upper realms, and we also escaped the so-called cause and effect."

Xu Ze carefully put away the scales, stood up, and gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Tao Yaoyao quickly climbed onto his shoulder, her eight legs gripping him tightly.

"Second brother," Cheng Hao's voice came from behind, "be careful."

Xu Ze turned around and looked at Cheng Hao, at that face that had been scorched by flames for who knows how many years, at those eyes that were shining with excitement.

"Do not worry."

"This time, I must win."

That's all.

His figure transformed into a streak of light and once again vanished into the mist-shrouded demon realm.

Behind us, the lava lake was still churning, golden waves crashing against the rock walls with a thunderous roar.

The sparks rained down like a storm, creating countless craters on the ground.

Cheng Hao sat by the lava lake, watching the figure in the green robe disappear outside the crater, something churning deep within his eyes.

It's been ten thousand years.

This promise is finally going to be kept.

……

Outside the volcano, the heatwave gradually subsided.

The purple mist surged up again, sticking thickly to the skin.

Tao Yaoyao squatted on Xu Ze's shoulder and let out a long breath.

"My lord," she asked cautiously, "who exactly was that Tribulation Transcending cultivator just now?"

Xu Ze looked at the gray sky in the distance.

"My friend."

Tao Yaoyao didn't ask any more questions. She just huddled on Xu Ze's shoulder, her eight legs curled up, watching the swamp getting closer and closer.