"Whew...... ......

The golden sycamore leaves rustled in the breeze, and under the hazy sky, a teenager stood silently under the huge sycamore tree with his head down, his body trembling slightly.

…… Why...... Why is this happening......

"Click"......

A shotgun slipped from the boy's feeble hand and fell into the blood-soaked grass. In front of the blurred vision, there was a middle-aged man prostrate on the ground, blood gushing from the man's chest, soaking the man's heartless chest.

Father...... Wake up...... Please......

The boy staggered as he approached the man and fell to his knees with a "poof". The sticky touch of blood passed through the cold grass into the young man's palm, and he raised his hand tremblingly, wanting to reach out to the man in front of him, but the place touched by his fingertips suddenly dissipated like a puff of green smoke, and with the sudden darkness, the young man found that the scene in front of him began to distort and fade, and at the same time, bursts of questioning came from all directions, filling the young man's ears.

"Say, you didn't kill your stepfather!"

No, it's not me, I don't have ......

"You are the only one at the scene, who are you and not you?"

I...... I do not know......

The boy covered his ears and buried his head between his knees, but he couldn't stop the gossip that poured into his mind.

"Heh, that one named Jiang Yao, it's a broom star, he didn't know where he was pregnant with this wild seed, and he was kicked out by his family, if it wasn't for his stepfather to take him in, their mother and son would not have been able to live in this world at all. 」

"It's a pity that such a good person as his stepfather was killed by him, alas...... Wild seeds are wild seeds after all......

Shut up!

The boy yelled, and the whispers in his ears suddenly became silent. He slowly raised his head, and in front of him was his mother's face distorted with hatred.

"Why...... Why is it that person who died, not you?"

Cold fingertips attached to the boy's neck, and the pain of the nails digging into the skin came up with a feeling of suffocation.

…… Mom...... No...... No...... Ahem......

The boy struggled, but the hands around his neck became tighter and tighter.

"I shouldn't have given birth to you back then, if it weren't for you...... If it weren't for you......!!"

The boy's consciousness began to be in a trance, and the struggle became more and more weak, and just when he was on the verge of losing consciousness, the hands that were holding his neck suddenly let go, and the suffocation also faded.

"Smack...... Bang ......

The warm touch dripped down the boy's cheeks, and the boy gasped and opened his eyes, only to see his mother's teary eyes.

「…… From today onwards, in my heart, you are dead. 」

The woman stood abruptly, her contorted face a deathly hollow.

"I...... Never want to see you again. 」

Mom, don't leave me...... Don't leave me alone——!!

The boy cried and rushed forward, but he still couldn't stop the woman's distant figure, and the darkness shrouded from all directions like a mist, completely covering the woman's figure, but the boy could only watch all this, and fell to the ground weakly.

[If you can remember the 'truth' of the year, she may forgive you and return to you......]

Once again, a familiar voice wafted through the darkness.

Mom will ...... Forgive me......?

[And to retrieve the memories of the year, 'they' are indispensable......]

...... 'they'?

[I feel that the 'new one' has awakened, and ...... You've already met ......]

You...... Who the hell is it?

[Hehe, you'll find out soon...... Go, find them, and as help, I will give you ...... new strength. 】

Not......!!

In a trance, the young man felt that there seemed to be a fire fluctuating in his chest, and for a while, the swarming noises and pictures poured into his mind again like a slideshow.

Dead friends, demons in the tomb, netherworld skies, and a red-haired man with a mocking face...... Fueled by the surging energy in his body, the broken memories gathered one after another, and the boy's body shape began to change, and finally changed into what he looked like ten years later, and at this time, he finally remembered the situation before he fell unconscious, and the pair of gold and silver eyes he saw last when he lost consciousness.

"Woo ......!"

Jiang Yao opened his eyes suddenly, and the moment he regained consciousness, he was accompanied by a stinging pain like a burning fire.

"Good...... It's so uncomfortable......!!"

The dark purple demonic qi mixed with a faint red light permeated Jiang Yao's body, and there was a tendency to intensify, Jiang Yao, who felt bad, forcibly suppressed the emotional fluctuations in his heart, and while trying to maintain his consciousness, he began to try to drive the energy pulse in his body to calm the sea of energy surging in his chest.

"Puff...... Puff ......

The sound of a violent heartbeat filled his ears, Jiang Yao closed his eyes, and the icy qi that had been watered by the cold lake began to flow to all corners of his body with his thoughts, and with the flash of aqua blue on his chest, he felt that the ocean of energy in his body that was on the verge of getting out of control seemed to gradually flatten under the harmony of a gentle breath.

A moment later, the surging waves of energy finally differentiated into streams under the drive of that breath, and the chaotic demonic qi surrounding Jiang Yao's body was also gradually incorporated into a controllable orbit under the drive of the energy stream, and finally transformed into the dark purple electric light that he was familiar with.

Jiang Yao reopened his eyes, clutching his chest and panting. Although he was already in a cold sweat after completing all this, he unexpectedly found that his body was much lighter, and the veins of the demonic power in his body had become much smoother, as if the previous violent energy baptism had promoted his cultivation level, making his control of demonic power unconsciously raise a level.

Is this a 'lost horse'...... But...... It's still dangerous......

Jiang Yao took a deep breath, and while his heart was palpitating, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and quickly got up and looked around.

"Where am I?"

The cold, damp narrow stone chamber was filled with a musty smell, and in the dim light, he saw a familiar iron door standing in front of him.

This is...... Dungeon!?

Jiang Yao recognized that this was the place where he and Lu Xingyue had been imprisoned, and at the same time, the scenes before he fell unconscious began to come to mind.

"Lu Xingyue...... You're in the same league as that Si You......"

As soon as he thought of the man with yin and yang eyes, Jiang Yao's face suddenly sank again, he held his swollen and aching head, briefly checked his physical condition, and found that he was not injured, but the aqua blue glimmer in his arms still seemed to be faintly flickering.

Jiang Yao stretched out his hand and took out the crystal 'Xuanwu Pearl', and suddenly found that the aqua blue surface was shrouded in a faint pale yellow light, and as this pale yellow light gradually faded, the excited aqua blue shimmer slowly faded, and finally regained calm.

This yellow light, I remember, seems to be......

Jiang Yao recalled that he seemed to have a sign of going berserk before he fell unconscious, and then thought of the punch that Lu Xingyue deliberately hit in his arms, and immediately understood something, and his expression became a little complicated.

"Lu Xingyue, Lu Xingyue, how much of your words are true and how much are false......" Jiang Yao shook his head, put the 'Xuanwu Bead' back into his arms, and looked up at the only iron door on the side.

【…… Find them, and as a help, I will give you ...... new strength. 】

"New ...... Strength?"

Jiang Yao remembered the mysterious voice he had heard in his dream before, although he couldn't fully understand what the other party meant, but since this voice appeared in his mind again and again, even if it was incredible, Jiang Yao couldn't ignore it.

Jiang Yao hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind. He carefully mobilized the demonic energy in his body, trying to slowly gather towards his palm. After a while, the dark purple electric light covered Jiang Yao's entire right hand, but in that electric light, there seemed to be a faint flash of strange red light, and under the traction of those red lights, the demonic energy on the whole hand began to expand rapidly, and extended towards Jiang Yao's five fingers, and a phantom of sharp claws loomed in front of Jiang Yao's eyes.

This...... What is it!?

Jiang Yao was shocked, but at this time, he suddenly heard a clear sound of footsteps outside the cell, which seemed to be coming towards this cell. Jiang Yao's face changed, and he hurriedly dispelled the demonic energy, and lay down on the spot, pretending to continue to be unconscious.

"Well, is that kid awake?"

A voice came through the cell door, and it seemed to be a guard patrolling the place.

"No, being frozen like this by Lord Si You, it is possible to be in a coma for ten days or eight days...... Anyway, what is the origin of this kid, Lord Si You actually went to such great lengths to arrest him?"

"You don't know, not only Lord Si You wants to arrest him, even the king of Hades is staring at him, the 'living dead' who has lived to the present ten years ago is him!"

"Oh, this kid is not ordinary, so if you eat this 'living dead', will your power increase dramatically?"

"Think beautiful, you! He is Lord Si You's 'exclusive tribute', Lord Si You wants to open the [New Ghost Gate] this time to lead our Walled City back to the realm, it must be very mana...... I've heard that Master Si You's 'experiment' has been completed, and soon we will be able to leave this dark netherworld!"

…… Take me as a tribute?open a new ghost door?return to the realm??

Hearing the conversation between the two guards, Jiang Yao was secretly frightened, but what shocked him even more was still behind.

"Then again, the yin-yang-eyed living person who was with this kid before...... It seems to be called Lu Xingyue, right? hehe...... He shouldn't be Lord Si You's 'exclusive tribute', right?"

The guard's voice was filled with some kind of ill-will.

"Oh~ you said that guy...... Of course, he will be useless after being used by Lord Si You, but if you want to eat him, don't think about it, it won't be your turn at all. I heard that the kid has been dragged into the underground "execution ground" by Lord Ma Belly, and it is estimated that he has already been ...... by this time Hehe......"

What, what!Lu Xingyue, he ......!?

Hearing this, Jiang Yao couldn't calm down anymore, and at this time, the conversation between the two guards seemed to be over, and with a rustling sound, the door of the cell opened.

"Okay, okay, let's not bother, Lord Si You ordered us to take this 'living dead' to the altar, let's do it quickly......"

The footsteps of the two guards slowly approached Jiang Yao, but what they didn't notice was that under the cover of darkness, a humanoid charm made of demonic energy floated out from behind them, and after a quick visit in the uninhabited dungeon corridor, they flew straight back to the cell, and stuck to the neck of one of the guards with a "click".

"Hmm, what's it?" the guard stopped, reaching out and pulling the charm from his neck, but before he could figure out what it was, the charm suddenly flew into the guard's face, covering the guard's eyes.

"What is this!!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you!?"

Another guard also noticed his companion's predicament, and hurriedly stepped forward to help tear down the charm, but in a hurry, they didn't even notice that the man who was supposed to be lying unconscious on the ground was standing quietly behind them.

"Hmph, since you know I'm not an 'ordinary person', you should be more careful. ”

A low whisper echoed in the ears of the two guards, only to be too late when they noticed something was wrong.

"You just said that the man named Lu Xingyue was thrown into the underground 'execution ground'?"

Jiang Yao crouched in the guard's ear and said coldly, the dark purple ominous electric light climbed up the necks of the two guards along Jiang Yao's hands, and the cold chill with an invisible pressure permeated the guard's body, firmly blocking their movements.

"Say, the 'execution ground'...... Where the hell is it?"