Chapter 164: Leaving the Forbidden Zone

With a deep sigh, Ye Qiu led Cao He, the monkey, and Xingtian out of the forbidden zone. He had no desire to push further inward, for he did not know how many more threats lay in wait for him within those depths.

"Alas, the home-court advantage is real!"

The forbidden zone was the domain of that supreme calamity lord. If Ye Qiu were to venture too deep, he could easily become trapped there. He could not afford to take such a risk.

"Boss, are we really leaving? What about your younger brother..."

Along the way, Cao He asked with a worried expression. He had never expected that Ye Qiu's long-lost younger brother would actually be inside this forbidden zone of death.

What shocked him the most was that this brother had even become the son of that supreme, dark calamity lord.

He had witnessed Ye Dong's strength firsthand—it was formidable. Of course, that was only relative to people like them.

Two Supremes from a single family! A sharp intake of breath... How terrifying was that? Ye Qiu alone was already terrifying enough, yet there was also a Ye Dong, who happened to be one-in-a-million as a naturally born Supreme.

What kind of family was the Ye clan, which had once been devoured by turmoil and calamity?

"What can we do?"

Ye Qiu remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "What else can we do? Look at him now. Does he look like someone in trouble?"

"Uh... I suppose that's true."

Does he?

Like hell he does! The guy is doing far better than you are! He has a supreme Heavenly Emperor for a father standing behind him, and a swarm of dark overlords at his command, calling the wind and summoning the rain.

No matter how you look at it, he's doing much better than you, a mere tavern keeper, right?

How did your life turn out like this?

Are you two really biological brothers?

"Boss, is that Young Emperor, the Son of Heaven, truly your younger brother?"

At that moment, Xingtian asked, thoroughly puzzled. He could not understand why Ye Qiu's younger brother was the Young Emperor of the dark forbidden zone—a figure second only to one and above all others.

Ye Qiu nodded and began to recount that past chapter of his life.

"I originally hail from an ancient clan in the Heavenly Realm, the third son of the Ye family, Ye Qiu. Above me were two elder brothers, but unfortunately... they both died in the turmoil of those years.

Below me is a younger brother—the fellow you saw just now who calls himself the Son of Heaven. His name is Ye Dong.

Back when the Heavenly Realm was thrown into chaos and our parents were killed, I fled with him into the Great Wilderness, journeying across a hundred thousand miles of plains. I was still very young back then...

We walked all the way from the north to the south, thinking we could escape the disaster. But who could have foreseen... that another upheaval would break out in the Divine Capital.

At that time... I set a fire in the city, preparing to take him away. But suddenly... a wisp of black fog appeared out nowhere and enshrouded the entire city.

When I rushed back, my younger brother was already gone! I saw it with my own eyes—it was that very black fog that took him away.

Later on, I settled down in the barren plains and accidentally dug this fellow out from a pile of corpses. While raising him to adulthood, I would often leave the tavern and travel across the Great Wilderness to search for my brother's whereabouts."

Glancing at Cao He, Ye Qiu continued, "Unfortunately, no matter how hard I looked, he seemed to have vanished into thin air, as if he had never existed in this world at all.

For more than twenty years, I had even given up looking for him. Yet I never imagined... that because of this damn monkey, I would see him once again."

"Damn it, didn't I just perform a meritorious service? Why are you still looking at me like that?"

A pang of anxiety stirred within the monkey. The story sounded very sorrowful, but... wasn't he the greatest contributor in all of this?

If not for his ruckus, would Ye Qiu have been able to find his younger brother? Why was Ye Qiu still blaming him?

After listening to Ye Qiu's account, Xingtian was silent for a moment before offering his analysis: "I understand! So there was such a backstory to all this. The dignified Young Emperor of the forbidden zone turns out not to be his biological son after all.

Hmm... I suspect it has something to do with his Innate Dao Physique. Such a holy physique is rarely seen in tens of millions of years. Perhaps the Lord of the Forbidden Zone coveted this constitution.

Boss, if that is truly the case, then you can completely rest easy! At the very least, he will not harm your brother. Moreover... during my years of service in the forbidden zone, I had some contact with this Young Emperor.

He is very easygoing, unostentatious, possesses great charisma, and has extremely warm relationships with his subordinates.

Furthermore, he wields heavy authority and is second only to one and above all others. Aside from the Lord of the Forbidden Zone, no one dares to harm him."

There were very few people who could earn Xingtian's high regard. Since he praised Ye Dong to this extent, it was clear just how brilliantly Ye Dong was thriving over there.

Ye Qiu nodded silently as a bizarre thought suddenly popped into his head.

"Huh... My previous speculations seem to have all come true! My brother really is doing better than me? Damn it, does that mean I don't have to do anything at all, and can just lie back and let him carry me to success?"

Uh, that didn't sound very realistic! Ye Qiu had beaten him up so terribly just now. If the two of them met again, it would be a miracle if they didn't curse each other out—let alone having him carry you. Keep dreaming.

Alas, that had been too rash!

"Forget it! No need to rush with this matter. I still have plenty of grand spectacles waiting for me down the road anyway, hehe... Just you wait and see."

At the thought of that Husky he had raised, Ye Qiu instantly wore a wicked smile that grew increasingly uninhibited.

Knowing the creature as he did, that troublemaker would never settle down. It was definitely plotting a massive show in secret right now.

He just wondered who would be unlucky enough to suffer its wrath this time?

That Husky had no other hobbies; it simply loved tearing houses apart, digging up ancient tombs, and hunting for treasures. It was a miraculous species whose four limbs and brain each seemed to have thoughts of their own.

Its train of thought was beyond comprehension, and what it wanted to do next was entirely unpredictable.

"Right, you dead monkey! Do you know where that dead dog ran off to?"

Ye Qiu asked out of the blue, curiosity piqued.

The monkey startled, searching his memory carefully. "Uh, not quite sure! But I do know it seemed to be heading south."

"South?"

Ye Qiu paused for a second, then suddenly smiled. "If I remember correctly, isn't there a place called the Death Swamp in the south?"

Ye Qiu had ventured in there years ago. It was filled with ancient tombs and... bore striking similarities to the Netherworld Sea.

Ye Qiu made a preliminary estimation that this swamp was likely one of the bases for these dark overlords.

"Boss, your smile looks so evil!"

Cao He felt a chill run down his spine as he watched. That smile was too terrifying! Knowing all too well how black-hearted Ye Qiu could be, Cao He could already picture the scenes that were about to unfold.

Someone was definitely about to have terrible luck.

"Stop wasting breath, let's go!"

Ye Qiu snapped at him, then stepped out of the forbidden zone and returned to the East Sea realm.

The moment he emerged, he saw a boundless sea of people ahead. Densely packed experts from every faction had all gathered here.

"Aish... Damn it, what happened? Why are there so many people?"

Cao He was startled right out of his wits, while the monkey was so anxious it wanted to slip away.

Good grief, practically every powerhouse in the Great Wilderness had shown up. Aside from Daoist Wumu, who was holding down the imperial city, virtually everyone of any renown in the Great Wilderness was waiting outside.

Seeing Ye Qiu emerge alive from the forbidden zone, everyone felt a surge of joy and shouted with ecstatic excitement: "Respectful greetings to senior on your triumphant return!"

"Huh? Triumphant?"

Ye Qiu blinked in bewilderment before immediately understanding. They must have assumed he had gone in to wage war on the forbidden zone and had specially come to cheer him on!

And to be fair, that was pretty much what it looked like! Mainly because Ye Qiu's current status was far too special. The moment everyone learned he had entered the forbidden zone, panic had gripped them all.

They had instantly dropped whatever they were holding and rushed to the East Sea, desperate to see what on earth was transpiring.