INHA Chapter 86

The ship has already sailed; we can only take things one step at a time now.

This was the first thought that crossed the mind of the awakened Elder Chen. His second thought was to immediately get up and go back to the top floor to inform all the demons about this matter—something so serious that even the usually calm old turtle would be blown away.

As expected, when the old demons received Elder Chen’s message, their first reaction was disbelief that Elder Chen, at his age, would make such a joke. They immediately scolded him harshly.

Now, the demon race is in a critical situation. Elder Chen, being a highly respected old demon, had earned the primary task of guarding the sealing array through his extensive knowledge and flexibility.

Meanwhile, Elder Bai must remain at the most crucial position and cannot leave.

Elder Chen’s actions now were undoubtedly excessive. Seeing this, Elder Chen quickly gave a wry smile and explained to everyone that this was no joke but real news!

However, even this did not help.

As a Zhulong that had lost its ability to think and had fallen into madness, it probably couldn’t even speak, let alone possess the knowledge of how to form a pact, and it would be highly improbable for it to form a pact with the demons so rashly.

Even if the pact was with a young demon, which would be a great boon for both the young and the demon race, the demon race has a deep-rooted fear of Zhulong from their very souls. Given that the demon race needs to rely on the ancient Zhulong, they were horrified at the mere news, their hairs standing on end.

Not to mention the demon dragon turtle, which was so enraged it nearly came out of its shell to confront Elder Chen. It was only through the efforts of other demons that the dragon turtle was persuaded to abandon the idea.

Elder Chen felt very wronged. Heaven knows he was speaking the truth. Helpless, he could only have these demons contact the headquarters, where they would surely receive the news immediately.

It wasn’t that the headquarters failed to inform all the demons except Elder Chen; rather, they assumed that Elder Chen had already informed all the demons about the matter. They didn’t expect that the demons’ first reaction would be disbelief.

So, when the old demons asked the headquarters whether this was true, the headquarters immediately swore that it was indeed true.

Just a few minutes ago, the ancient Zhulong had learned to speak and had forcibly formed a pact with Xu Dongyou, even giving him a piece of its dragon bone.

The old demons were jolted, almost fainting like Elder Chen, their minds reeling with the impossible notion.

After asking the headquarters once more and receiving confirmation again, they fell into silence. They then quietly held another meeting, and this time, no one scolded Elder Chen.

Each of their expressions was exceptionally complex, especially Elder Bai, who took a while to calm down before addressing Elder Chen, saying, “Please recount the entire process in detail.”

Elder Chen nodded and immediately recounted everything in detail.

The demons still found it hard to believe.

Zhulong had been mad for several thousand years; how could it suddenly start speaking and form a pact with a young demon while still insane?

This wasn’t about the likelihood of it happening; it was more about the feeling that such an event seemed fundamentally impossible.

However, all the demons soon shuddered, each of them coming to the same realization.

Since Zhulong had learned to speak, even though they didn’t know how it had learned the method of forming a pact, it meant that the time when Zhulong might regain its sanity was likely approaching.

So, when Zhulong regained its clarity of mind and realized that it had formed a pact with a young demon while it was still mad, would it be enraged enough to wipe out all the demons?

Although they knew Zhulong wasn’t a tyrant, they couldn’t help but think that if it were them, forming a pact with another demon while not in their right mind, they would surely be angry upon waking up.

Not only that, but the demon race was also even more afraid of another issue: since the pact was made with a young demon, Zhulong might think it was a plot by the demon race and deliberately orchestrated.

The old demons became increasingly anxious, to the point of wanting to flee Earth.

It was Elder Bai who spoke up, his voice somewhat unsettled, “Don’t panic. I trust Zhulong, but after all, we demons gained a significant advantage. Once Zhulong awakens, I will go to apologize and accept punishment.”

“Elder Bai!

“Let me take the blame instead. I’m not as important to the demon race. I’ll offer my life as an apology, not seeking forgiveness from Zhulong, but ensuring that the young demon is not held accountable. It is the hope of our demon race.”

“Let me take the blame. If I had managed to stop it in time, maybe none of this would have happened.” Elder Chen felt even more guilty, though he knew well he had no way to prevent it.

He couldn’t even get close to Zhulong.

Elder Bai understood this as well. He cleared his throat again, stopping the demons from arguing over who should apologize, and made a final decision: “It’s still too early to talk about when Zhulong will awaken. We’ll deal with everything once Zhulong is awake.”

The monsters fell silent and eventually agreed.

After the meeting, Elder Chen walked out of the small dark room with a face full of complex emotions. He was both relieved at the possible turnaround for the demon race and anxious about their future fate. The swirling emotions made it hard for him to calm down, and he had to drink several cups of tea to steady himself.

Aside from the shock experienced by the demon race over Zhulong’s pact, the headquarters was equally stunned. They even questioned the Fengnian branch’s director, who happened to be on-site, three times to confirm the situation.

The branch director understood how astonishing this matter was and patiently confirmed its authenticity. He then summarized the situation: “This might be a good thing. As you know, Xu Dongyou, although a demon, is fundamentally not much different from a human.”

In fact, the headquarters could see that Xu Dongyou regarded himself more as a human than a demon, but that didn’t mean he was entirely aligned with humans.

Fortunately, the demon race and humans currently have a very good relationship, characterized by mutual benefit and cooperation, making it almost impossible for their relationship to deteriorate into mutual hatred.

Therefore, Xu Dongyou actually acts as a bridge, strengthening the connection between the demon race and humans, making him extremely important.

As for the ancient Zhulong.

Although there are few records about the ancient Zhulong, from the information leaked by Elder Bai and gathered so far, the ancient Zhulong is far more mysterious and powerful than they currently know.

Who were the mysterious entities that fought the ancient Zhulong in the past? Why did it want to destroy humanity, and why did Zhulong willingly protect humanity and the world by consenting to be sealed?

All of these questions suggest that the truth will be incredibly shocking. Moreover, the evil ghosts and monsters, as it stands, seem to be the work of another mysterious entity, aimed at disrupting and destroying human fortune.

This mysterious entity played a role in the previous war. Since evil ghosts only appeared after humanity began to rise, could they be the remnants of those who survived?

Thus, Zhulong is crucial to humanity and the world. Although the demon race is friendly, they cannot fully trust that Zhulong will remain on the side of humans once it regains its sanity.

To be honest, for the past few centuries, humanity has been like a malignant tumor continuously destroying the Earth.

Thus, the headquarters has been contemplating how to ensure Zhulong would fully align with humanity to jointly resist the entity behind the evil ghosts.

However…

They cannot fathom the true nature of Zhulong.

But now, the headquarters felt a slight sense of relief and a glimmer of hope.

A turning point has arrived.

According to the Fengnian branch director, once a pact is successfully made with Xu Dongyou, even the formidable ancient Zhulong would be unable to form another pact!

This means that when a crisis arises in the world, Xu Dongyou will undoubtedly stand with humanity and the demon race. As the other half of the pact, Zhulong might consider Xu Dongyou’s safety and offer aid to humanity.

They do not expect Zhulong to give its all, but as long as it does not aid the entity behind the evil ghosts, that would be sufficient. The rest can be managed by humanity and the demon race together.

After three full days of analysis and consideration, the headquarters finally felt relieved and elevated Xu Dongyou’s importance to the highest level.

Although Xu Dongyou is now likely beyond any harm, humanity must still show its stance.

However, based on their current analysis of Xu Dongyou, he would probably be very resistant to the idea of the headquarters sending rewards to his parents, as he has not yet informed them about his true identity.

So, the rewards must be temporarily set aside, and only points will be given as a reward. It is believed that Xu Dongyou will still be very pleased to receive these points.

Currently, Xu Dongyou, after confirming with Zhulong that the pact could not be undone, sat there feeling both ashamed and anxious, constantly reminding himself to be cautious and avoid getting hurt again.

Otherwise, the injuries he sustained would transfer to Zhulong.

Just thinking about it, his guilt deepened, nearly consuming all his thoughts.

However, Zhulong was quite pleased. Although it was unable to leave the sealing array and did not know why it was trapped there, it instinctively felt that no one could imprison it forever. It even sensed that it would soon be able to leave the sealing array.

Thus, Zhulong no longer exhibited its previous restlessness and anger. Instead, it became unusually calm, carefully coiling its tail around Xu Dongyou and speaking in as gentle a tone as possible, “Don’t be sad.”

Xu Dongyou sniffled, looked up, and said somberly, “I know, but I can’t control it.”

Zhulong pondered for a moment, unable to understand the reason for Xu Dongyou’s distress. It humbly asked Xu Dongyou why he was upset, noting that he no longer needed to worry about getting hurt. Isn’t that a good thing?

Its ability to express itself was improving rapidly.

Xu Dongyou seriously explained to Zhulong, “It is indeed a good thing, but you’ve already suffered so much. You willingly sealed yourself here to protect this world. How can I allow you to get hurt again?”

The ancient Zhulong, despite being an immensely powerful being, was also a truly great and admirable existence.

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