"You don't want anything in return?"
Upon hearing Xiang Mantang's words, the shadowy figure began to explain, "I just want to know if the gods' promise still holds, whether my progeny is still being protected…"
Xiang Mantang heard this and kept silent.
If the shadow was truly as he said, appointed by the gods to guard this place and imprison endless demons, a hero, then his descendants deserved to be taken care of.
Yet, in the outside world, he had heard of no such family.
Or perhaps, they were staying in Kunlun Ruins?!
He was uncertain and could only wait quietly for the shadow to continue.
The shadow went on, "I would very much like to send a wisp of my spirit to reside within you, so I could venture out and see the world outside, as well as check on the well-being of my progeny, but I am not certain whether I would still be able to confine these demons if I did so. Therefore, once you leave, all you need to do is write a letter for me, and deliver it to my child…"
"Is that all?" asked Xiang Mantang doubtfully.
If the shadow had said he wanted to send a wisp of his spirit to reside within him and have him go out to see the new world's scenery, he definitely would have refused, for who knew whether he was a hero or a demon?
If he were let loose, who could imagine the trouble it would cause? Without even thinking, Xiang Mantang knew he couldn't possibly let him out.
And if he had said to take a letter written by himself to the outside, Xiang Mantang would have been reluctant to do so either.
After all, who knew whether anything from here was tainted with bad omens.
But if the task was merely to go out and help him write a letter… perhaps there wouldn't be any problems, right?
After hesitating for a moment, Xiang Mantang finally nodded in agreement.
Seeing Xiang Mantang's consent, the shadow said, "Good, I will tell you how to awaken your friend. He is only severely injured and not truly dead. All you need to do is this and that, such and so…"
"Mhm…"
Xiang Mantang listened intently, taking note of every detail, and, whenever the shadow asked if he remembered, would nod his head and acknowledge.
"Alright, that's all. If nothing unexpected happens, your friend will certainly awaken. Now, let me tell you the contents of the family letter, which you can write for me once you leave, and then pass it on to my descendants."
After finishing, the shadow began to dictate the contents of the letter to Xiang Mantang.
Having memorized it, Xiang Mantang asked, "How will I find your family members?"
The shadow said, "If I let you take an object as a token, you would be too afraid to carry it. So, here's the thing: my bloodline is quite special. If my descendants still exist in the world, their blood will surely be golden-red…"
The shadow detailed the unique characteristics of his progeny to Xiang Mantang.
"Understood, if I can find your descendants, I will deliver the letter to them," Xiang Mantang nodded and said.
"Then now, it's time for you to leave this place. Let me send you out…"
Without further ado, after having made everything clear, the shadow intended to send Xiang Mantang out.
And as his voice fell,
the Sea of Fire in front of them automatically parted, revealing the two rivers that Xiang Mantang had traveled upon when he had come.
"Go now, I can't maintain this for too long, and they're coming too, I need to hold them back…"
As the rivers appeared, the shadow warned Xiang Mantang in an urgent tone.
Xiang Mantang then noticed that with the parting of the Sea of Fire, the azure-black haze that had previously dispersed was showing signs of encroaching again.
At the same time, he heard the sounds of wings flapping; it seemed that the two Fallen Angels were also approaching.
Xiang Mantang wasn't certain whether letting this azure-black haze into the Sea of Fire would cause any change to the Bone Tree. After a moment of hesitation, he still decided to run toward the rivers!
Xiang Mantang moved swiftly, soon escaping the boundaries of the Sea of Fire, and then he stood on the riverbank, looking back just once. The Sea of Fire that had parted to create a path had closed again, confronting the azure-black haze.
The haze, seeing no opportunity to exploit, after a standoff, finally slowly dispersed and faded into the darkness.
Xiang Mantang eased up a lot upon seeing this.
"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"
Xiang Mantang muttered to himself, uncertain.
He actually knew that the shadow might not be any hero, but more likely the only demon that had escaped, and the deal he made with it could very well be a deal with the devil.
But there was no choice; under those circumstances, he couldn't leave this damned place and could only try to trust that shadow.
Adding to that, since he hadn't taken anything from this place, the possibility of something going wrong had greatly diminished.
"Huff... huff..."
While Xiang Mantang was deep in thought, he faintly heard the sound of wings flapping.
"Hm?"
Xiang Mantang guessed it might be those two fallen angels coming over, wondering if they were intent on finishing him off, or forcing him again to lead the way so they could take advantage of the opportunity to enter the Sea of Fire and deal with the endless demons on the Bone Tree?!
Xiang Mantang let out a light sigh, thought no more of it, and instantly turned around to leap from the riverbank into the river, running atop the waves.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
As Xiang Mantang skimmed over the waves, he sprinted for hundreds of meters before looking back towards the riverbank.
He saw the two fallen angels standing by the bank, their six bone wings flapping while pulling the tendons of their bone bows at their wrists, attempting to shoot arrows at him.
However, they were too far away, and eventually, they gave up, slowly retreating backward, their pale figures gradually disappearing into the darkness.
It seemed that they indeed could not leave this place.
"It seems I can trust a few things that shadow said."
Xiang Mantang retracted his gaze and continued to run forward on the waves, muttering softly to himself.
Of course, he still wouldn't fully trust the words of the shadow, and he was also uncertain whether the shadow had surreptitiously placed something on him.
Xiang Mantang planned to destroy all his clothes, along with all his hair when he left the river, just to be safe.
He intended not to bring anything from that Paradise Lost with him.
Soon, Xiang Mantang left the lost rivers, and upon his departure, he had burnt all his clothes and hair before going ashore.
As he returned, Xiang Mantang looked back again to find that the rivers that were once there had gradually faded from view.
It was as though they vanished into the long river of time.
"It's better if this cursed thing never appears again!"
Xiang Mantang cursed, and then took advantage of the darkness where no one could see him, and hurried to find a set of clothes nearby to put on.
Otherwise, if people found out that he, the Azure Dragon Guard of the Dragon King Hall, was in such a shabby state without a stitch on, and if word got out, he would become a laughingstock.
Quickly, Xiang Mantang made use of the dark, windy night to find a set of ordinary clothes to put on.
After that, he began to sort out his thoughts on what to do after coming out of that hellish place.
Firstly, the method to wake Mu Jinyu and to pass a message to the possible descendants of that shadow.
"Hm?!"
Xiang Mantang suddenly realized that his memory of the words spoken by that shadow in Paradise Lost was gradually feeling forgotten.
"This... could it be that some power does not allow me to know everything within? So it's erasing my memory?"
Xiang Mantang's face became grave as he spoke to himself, not quite sure.
Then, while his memory was still intact, he hurriedly found some paper and pen nearby to record those words!