The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

The dragon stopped in front of a huge cave. The entrance to the cave was surrounded by a ring of large stones, arranged neatly, not naturally, but moved there piece by piece by the dragon. It had made this another lair for it.

The dragon swam over the stone railing, turned back to look at the women, and gestured for them to follow.

The girls climbed over the stone fence and entered the cave. The cave was large, but not as spacious as the previous caves—its floor was sloping, like a large funnel, getting lower towards the center, with a dark opening at the very center. The cave went straight down, its bottom unseen.

The heat was coming up from that hole.

Chen Siyao stood at the edge of the cave entrance and looked down—she couldn't see anything but darkness. But she could feel the wind blowing up from below; it was very hot, like standing in front of a giant heater vent.

"Brother, what is this?" She took a step back, her heart beating a little fast.

Chen Hao walked to the edge of the cave entrance, closed his eyes, and probed downwards with his divine sense. That mysterious aura was emanating from below.

It wasn't spiritual energy, but it was denser and more ancient than spiritual energy, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

He opened his eyes and looked at the dragon.

The dragon huddled in a corner of the cave, staring at the dark hole with fear in its eyes. Its body trembled slightly, its scales stood on end, making a soft rustling sound.

Chen Hao glanced at it, then at the girls. He walked up to Chen Siyao, took out the paulownia wood sword from his storage bag, and handed it to her. It was the very sword he had given to Yao Yao to sever her soul.

"Yaoyao, take this. If you encounter danger, press the button on the hilt."

Chen Siyao took the sword and gripped it tightly: "Brother, are you going down?"

Chen Hao nodded.

What's down there?

"I don't know." Chen Hao glanced at the black hole. "We'll only know if we go down and take a look."

The women exchanged glances, all seeing worry in each other's eyes. Yang Wanqing held Yuehen in her arms, who squirmed restlessly, staring at the black hole, letting out a low whimper.

"Brother..." Chen Siyao opened her mouth, wanting to say "Don't go," but swallowed the words back.

Chen Hao looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Wait for me here."

Chen Siyao gripped the peach wood sword tightly in her hand and nodded, saying, "Brother, don't worry, we'll wait for you here obediently. Be careful."

Chen Hao nodded slightly, then looked at the dragon in front of him, his eyes flashing, signaling it to lead the way down.

The dragon stared at the bottomless vertical cave, its massive body trembling, its eyes filled with extreme fear. It shook its head like a rattle drum, retreating desperately, not daring to move even half a step further. Clearly, what lay below the cave terrified it.

"Hmm?" Chen Hao frowned slightly, his eyes turned cold, and then he stared at him.

The dragon trembled at the sharp gaze, its eyes filled with despair. Yet it dared not disobey Chen Hao's orders and could only resign itself to its fate, lowering its head and slowly moving its body downwards into the vertical cave.

Chen Hao jumped into the cave entrance, and the dragon followed. Darkness swallowed their figures, and their footsteps grew farther and farther away, lighter and lighter, until finally nothing could be heard at all.

Chen Siyao stood at the edge of the cave entrance, clutching a peach wood sword in her hand, her knuckles turning white.

"Yaoyao." Cai Jingwen walked over and gently took her hand. "Your brother will be alright."

Chen Siyao nodded without saying anything.

The girls found a flat rock in the cave and sat down in silence. Yuehen lay down beside Chen Siyao's feet, resting her head on her shoe and closing her eyes.

The darkness at the cave entrance was still radiating heat.

Darkness surged in from all directions, like a thick quilt, enveloping Chen Hao. With light steps, he plummeted down the cave wall like a startled swan, his clothes fluttering in the wind as he fell at high speed.

The dragon's claws gripped the rock wall, and it darted down like a gecko, its speed so great that it sparked a trail of fire as it scraped against the rock.

Chen Hao activated his protective shield, a layer of pale golden spiritual energy surrounding him, isolating him from the intense heat. If it weren't for this shield, his clothes would likely have been reduced to ashes long ago.

Half an hour passed.

The passage still seemed endless.

The rock face had changed from a damp, grayish-black to a dry, dark red, and was burning hot to the touch. A pungent smell of sulfur filled the air, making one's throat tighten. The dragon slowed down, not because it didn't want to go faster, but because the temperature was too high; the skin beneath its scales was beginning to redden.

"Continue," Chen Hao said calmly.

The dragon gritted its teeth and continued downwards.

Another half hour passed.

The surrounding rock walls had turned completely dark red, and in some places, faint flames could even be seen—not the light of fluorite, but real flames, gushing out from the cracks in the rock and licking at the rock walls.

The dragon's scales began to curl, and the edges emitted a burnt smell. It roared in pain, but continued to crawl downwards.

Chen Hao reached out and added another layer of protection to the dragon. The dragon immediately felt much cooler, glanced back at him gratefully, and continued downwards.

Turning past a massive stone wall, a breathtaking view suddenly opened up before us. Beneath a platform lay a sea of ​​fire.

An endless sea of ​​fire.

A boundless sea of ​​fire. Dark red magma surged below, like a pot of boiling iron, occasionally bubbling up a huge bubble, which would burst open and send sparks flying several meters high.

A wave of heat surged up from below, distorting the air. Rows of stalactite-like lava hung from the rock walls overhead, glowing slightly red from the hot wind.

Chen Hao's gaze swept across this world of lava.

It wasn't spiritual energy. The aura that intrigued him didn't emanate from the magma; it came from beneath it. Deeper, more profound, like something pulsating deep within the earth's core.

He closed his eyes and probed downwards with his consciousness.

Through magma, through deeper layers of rock, through layer after layer of the earth's crust. Ten kilometers, twenty kilometers, fifty kilometers. Consciousness began to dull, as if moving through a viscous liquid.

One hundred kilometers. His divine sense could barely extend any further, but he still managed to detect something—below the magma, there were creatures.

Live.

More than one.

Chen Hao opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly. The auras of those creatures were stronger than those of the dragon. Not just slightly stronger, but much stronger. Even he found the strongest of them somewhat interesting.

But he had never seen such an aura before. It wasn't from demons, spirit beasts, or any species he remembered. It was like a pure, primal force born from the depths of the earth, untouched by any civilization.