While wandering through the forest, Kei spotted a white rabbit, caught it, skinned it, and roasted it.
"So good! Rabbit meat naturally carries a refreshing, herbal fragrance. Just a light roast and golden oil bubbles out—rich with a perfect blend of floral and meaty aroma!"
"Now dice up some spicy herbs I found in the woods, and sprinkle them while the oil's hot. Let the meat soak up all that flavor…"
"And then, when you bite into it—the spicy kick fills your mouth, cutting the grease and leaving nothing but pure deliciousness!"
Kei feasted in the forest and casually shared his tasting notes in the chat group.
[Hardworking Slacker]: "It smells so good!"
[Second Lady of Ao Lai Nation]: "I froze for a second, then realized my clothes were soaked—looked down and saw I was drooling!"
[Water Goddess of Wisdom]: "Aaaah! Why does a goddess like me only get to eat cheap black bread?! I want grilled meat too! I demand fancy bubble wine!"
Just reading that made people picture Aqua lying on the ground, bawling like a spoiled brat—absolutely hilarious.
[Hardworking Slacker]: "Aqua's hopeless. But Six Ears, you've got free time, right? Follow my grill recipe, catch a rabbit, and try it out."
[Second Lady of Ao Lai Nation]: "I wish! But I'm really busy right now. Later, send me some leftovers—I'll trade you peaches!"
[Hardworking Slacker]: "No need to trade. Once I'm done eating, I'll give everyone a piece."
[Hardworking Slacker]: "But if you don't have poison resistance, don't blame me if something goes wrong, alright?"
[Second Lady of Ao Lai Nation]: "Relax, relax. I've got iron teeth and bronze guts—there's nothing I can't eat!"
Fox Spirit Matchmaker World – Tushan Inner Kingdom · Luxury Hotel
"Ugh, now there are black foxes roaming outside, and the outer clans are stirring again… But little bro says I don't need to worry…"
Six Ears was miserable—not about the turmoil, but because her streaming subscription was about to expire! Without it, she couldn't watch her dramas.
She stood up and walked to the window to redeem some Penguin Coins for her membership, but when she opened it, she saw Tushan Honghong still sitting beneath the Tree of Sorrow.
"She's still waiting? That human must've been dead for ages. What's she thinking?"
Six Ears shook her head. Her annoying little brother had once asked her to listen to all the voices of the world. She tried multiple times but couldn't find the special voice he described.
Heaven, earth, and the underworld are all within my hearing! And yet—I couldn't find him…
She brushed off the thought and left to recharge her account. On her way out, she overheard something interesting.
Inside the Tree of Sorrow—
Tushan Honghong was speaking with Fengqi.
"Fengqi, you're still scheming even while sealed. Those outer foxes—you sent them, didn't you?"
"You noticed, huh? But so what? Gonna kill me?"
Fengqi's lips didn't move—her body was immobilized by the seal—but her spirit had regained some freedom.
Tushan Honghong crushed the few black foxes in front of her—right in Fengqi's face.
"Words won't bait me. I won't fall for it. I'll guard this place forever."
"No matter what tricks you pull—I'll crush them all."
Honghong didn't show a hint of anger. In this place, any emotional opening could be exploited. Joy, rage—none were allowed. She had to maintain complete inner calm.
"You're confident. But how do you know the one standing before you is really me? I'm not just a fox anymore."
"If I can escape with even a sliver of power—I can regenerate fully from that fragment. What if I'm just a clone?"
Fengqi tried to sow seeds of doubt. If Honghong wavered even slightly, she could exploit it.
"You can't break the seal he left."
Honghong's gaze remained firm. To her, Kei was still the strongest being alive—none could surpass him.
"He was strong. But if he were still alive, I wouldn't be able to think—let alone speak."
"It's been centuries. He must be dead. My seal loosening is proof. I couldn't even think before. Now, we're chatting."
Fengqi mixed truth with lies. Her mind had loosened a bit, yes—but she hadn't escaped. Kei's acupuncture points had sealed her body, soul, and even consciousness.
Now, centuries later, a tiny bit of spiritual numbness had worn off, allowing her to stir trouble outside.
"If that's all you came to say, we're done."
Honghong turned, not wanting to stay a moment longer—any delay could mean danger.
"Stop lying to yourself, Honghong! That man is dead! No amount of hope will bring him back!"
Fengqi's voice echoed as Honghong vanished.
"…Is he really dead?"
Even Fengqi began to doubt it. Kei had left such a deep mark on her spirit—even the memory of him haunted her.
She remembered the moment he barged into the Tree of Sorrow, severed her ties with Honghong and Kongqing with one sword strike, and completely overwhelmed her.
Would someone like that really die of old age?
"But… didn't the Third Prince of Ao Lai once find the method of resurrection? Could Kei have learned it too?!"
Fear crept in. She couldn't help but feel like Kei was watching from the shadows, waiting to strike once she lowered her guard.
Just like that time when she was about to fully consume Honghong—
"Hot gossip alert!"
Six Ears took out her phone and quickly drafted a juicy post. Then she paused, deleted it, switched to an alt account, and reposted:
[Shocking! Tushan Honghong, matriarch of the fox clan, is secretly in love! Still reminiscing about that man! Who is her mysterious lover?!]
Despite being called Six Ears, her favorite pastime was gossip. No drama? She created it. No fun? She made her own.
Corpse Brother World · Gate of Hell
Kei looked at the last remaining piece of rabbit meat. After some thought, he split it into perfect slices using his master sword skills and shared ten pieces with everyone.
"Well then… time to move on."
Kei cleaned out the forest and continued forward. Eventually, he reached a cave—and immediately ran into a strange green creature.
"Don't attack! I'm a neutral, friendly merchant!"
The green guy smiled warmly and introduced his high-quality goods.
"This here's a Life Noodle! Eat one and your vitality will surge—instant power-up!"
"No 999 credits, no 998, no 98! Just hand over anything valuable and it's yours!"
Every word screamed scam artist. It was clear he was no good.
"I may be a glutton, but I still have morals. Eating people? Pass."
Kei casually chopped the creature's head off.
The Life Noodles were indeed powerful—but made from real people or other intelligent lifeforms. Eating one meant eating people.
"You savage! I offered a fair trade and you tried to kill me—typical of a primitive brute!"
Even beheaded, the creature didn't die. He was a genetically engineered boar-man from an advanced civilization—specializing in life modification.
His body had long since been altered into a plant-like form, and it rapidly regenerated.
"Why is everyone in the Gate of Hell so freakishly hard to kill? Is peak evolution just being a damage sponge?"
Kei thought about it. High health, high attack, rapid regen—yep, sounds invincible.
The ultimate hexagon build!
He sealed the creature's recovery with acupuncture and began researching its power system.
"What did you do?! I can't move!"
Panic set in. The creature realized he was dealing with a true powerhouse.
"Big bro, I was wrong! I've got a secret garden full of good stuff! I'll give you everything if you spare me!"
But in the Gate of Hell, the rules were simple: eat or be eaten.
Even con artists like him were always scheming, never daring to fight head-on.
"Genetic modifications to fuse your body with foreign substances… not bad. Where's your core?"
When Kei roasted those rabbits, he found a seed in their brains—that was their energy core.
He split open the green con artist and found a small tree fused to his brain.
"Big bro please! I've got a set of Tier-2 Civilization armor! I'll give it to you!"
But Kei just sighed. "If I kill you, I get it anyway."
One sword slash—done.
Now he fully understood the guy's power system: fusion symbiosis.
"So far, I've seen two universal growth paths:"
"One—innate powerhouses who grow by absorbing energy without needing breakthroughs."
"Two—those born weaker but able to fuse other genes to raise their limits."
Neither was what Kei wanted.
He longed for Flame Nation's divine path—a way to break the limits of life through personal effort.
"I think there's a Sword Immortal named Wuyou on the third level. He might know how to go beyond divine."
Kei looted the surroundings, then followed life signatures to the secret gardens.
"Knew it. That guy wouldn't give up so easily. Everyone in the Gate of Hell is a grizzled old scumbag."
After slaying the plant guardians (and eating them), he finally triggered a system alert:
[Consumed large quantities of high-energy flora. Physical attributes increased. Slight boost in Plant Affinity.]
"Protect the environment—waste not, want not!"
Oddly, eating plants increased his affinity with them. No complaints—if eating solved the issue, it wasn't really a problem.
He stayed three days on the first floor, eating anything edible—down to chewing bark like gum.
[Consumed large quantities of high-energy plants. Plant Affinity upgraded to Nature Aura. You can now absorb ambient plant energy!]
It was a nice new ability—but only worked when plants were around.
After eating his fill, Kei tried to find a way up, but there was none. So he simply dug a hole through the ceiling and broke into the next layer.
Second Layer: The Wasteland Zone.
It was full of wreckage—broken machines, shattered spaceships, and craters from ancient battles.
"Three lords here: Mech Devil, Hell Boar King, and Three-Headed Hellhound. Wuyou should be near the Boar King."
Kei decided to find Wuyou first, then clean up the other bosses for loot.
After wandering the ruins for a bit, he encountered humanoid pigmen in high-tech armor—Porkarians.
They rushed up, speaking perfect Flame Nation dialect.
"You must be from the Flame Nation, sir! Our King welcomes you!"
"There's actually a senior from Flame Nation visiting our territory too. Would you like to join us?"
"Wow, Flame Nation dialect really is universal, huh?"
Kei chuckled at its widespread use, then nodded. "Sure. Lead the way."
The Porkarians led him to their cliffside base. The outside was rugged—but inside, it was pure gold and luxury.
At the center was a golden throne, upon which sat a richly dressed Boar King.
He stood up, speaking warmly in Flame Nation tongue:
"A friend from afar—is that not cause for celebration? Feast! Welcome the guest!"
He strode toward Kei—but the moment he stepped forward, he felt something wrong.
Sword aura. Pressure. Dragon-like presence. Hunger to devour.
He froze, back drenched in cold sweat.
This guy's dangerous… maybe even stronger than Wuyou?!
The Boar King had planned to challenge Kei to a friendly duel—but now, he didn't dare.
But Kei seemed very interested.
"I heard you trained in swordsmanship with one of our Flame Nation elders. I practice too. Shall we spar?"
The Boar King instantly refused.
"N-No need! Fighting a guest is quite rude. How about some wine? I've got some great homebrew…"
But he choked on his words as Kei's sword aura flared.
This guest… was absolutely not friendly.
(End of Chapter)
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