"I promise you! I will never step foot into the ancient city in this lifetime!" the Ghost King vowed solemnly.

Having said that, the Ghost King immediately showed a pained expression on his face, feeling the four waves of Nether King's Power seeping into the flesh of his entire body. The oath he had just made in front of the strawman began to take effect instantly; if he ever broke this oath, those four waves of the Nether King's Power would turn him to ashes in a moment.

And these four waves of Nether King's Power were the very same he had obtained after defeating the incarnations of the four Demon-Sealing Scrolls he had previously entered, along with the four fragments of the map that led to the ancient city.

"Foster father, I've already made my oath, now you must tell me about my father!" the Ghost King's voice also contained a trace of pain.

"This matter dates back to when King Nanlin and I were forced to seek refuge in the Polar Ice Land..."

Over sixty thousand years ago.

The Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin, leading the Hell Legion, were attacking the primeval regions when they suddenly came under a surprise attack from the rear by the Crow Tribe. Ultimately, under the relentless pursuit of the Crow Tribe, the two of them had no choice but to lead the few thousand soldiers left into the Polar Ice Land.

At that time, the ancient beasts in the Polar Ice Land were extremely active. Even on the southern edge of the Polar Ice Land, many enormous beasts roamed freely. Therefore, seeing the two men escaping into the Polar Ice Land, the Crow Tribe did not pursue further.

Although they had shaken off their pursuers, the two soon faced attacks from dozens of ancient beasts. In a state of panic, they had to lead their soldiers northwards. Along the way, their thousands of soldiers survived by drinking melted ice for water and eating leaves and grass for sustenance. At times, out of dire hunger and cold, they were even forced to eat the raw flesh of the giant beasts.

After a year of fleeing in the Polar Ice Land, what was originally a force of five thousand was reduced to just two thousand, every one of them having changed from their robust figures to gaunt and skeletal forms.

The survivors stopped in an ironwood forest surrounded by fierce giant beasts, and moreover, they had lost their way.

Even more despairingly, at the time, dozens of ice crystal behemoths and polar bears were engaged in a fierce battle for territory in the ironwood forest, fighting relentless battles on the surrounding snow mountains every night. Entire snow mountains collapsed daily, and the thick snow poured into the forest. They narrowly escaped being buried alive in the snow.

It wasn't until half a month later that the ice crystal behemoths defeated the polar bears and claimed the ironwood forest. Watching the behemoths swarm into the forest, both the Great Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin, having eaten almost nothing for nearly half a month, were prepared to die.

But just then, strands of bright red flames emerged within the ironwood forest, promptly followed by the howling of dogs echoing around them.

Next, a massive Tibetan mastiff charged into the forest, spitting flames so hot and bright from its mouth that it turned ice crystal behemoths into steam.

Subsequently, the Tibetan mastiff shapeshifted and shrank, eventually turning into a person. This person, named Lie, was the leader of the Dog Tribe, and it was he who rescued the Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin in their moment of crisis.

Later on, Lie brought the Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin to the tribe of the Dog Tribe, located by a river in the southwest corner of the Polar Ice Land. Being close to the sea and the grasslands, the Dog Tribe's village had access to fresh fish, sea vegetables, Leaf Spirits from the grassland, and Soulbinding Fruits.

After staying in the Dog Tribe's village for half a year, the Ancestor of the Nether King had grown quite familiar with the Dog Tribe people. Although they resided in the Polar Ice Land, they worshipped the Volcano King. On every house and cave of the Dog Tribe's village, one could see the totems of the Volcano King or his steed, the Netherworld Azure Bird.

Through Lie, the Ancestor of the Nether King learned that, in the Polar Ice Land, aside from ancient beasts and exotic creatures, there were also many tribes that worshiped the Ice Glacier Prince. Among them, the Snow Mountain Tribe was the most formidable.

In the legends of the Dog Tribe, half of the area of the Polar Ice Land was once a high mountain plain, and at that time, the ruler of the plain was the Volcano King.

Late,r the Ice Glacier Prince led the Snow Mountain tribesmen to invade from the south, engaging in fierce battles with the believers led by the Volcano King. In the end, the Ice Glacier Prince defeated the Volcano King, turning the volcanic plains into a world of ice and snow, with thick layers of ice and snow covering the body of the Volcano King.

Although killed by the Ice Glacier Prince, the heart of the Volcano King did not cool and continued to erupt flames. In order to seal the heart of the Volcano King, the Snow Mountain tribesmen relocated above his heart, establishing a city, and generation after generation used Spiritual Power and ancient spells to freeze the heart of the Volcano King.

And that city was the Ancient City.

As a devout believer in the Volcano King and the leader of the Dog Tribe, Lie was born with immense power of flames and had been entrusted with great expectations since childhood. His mission was to lead his tribesmen in breaching the Ancient City, unseal the heart of the Volcano King, and restore the land to its former state of high mountain plains.

Almost a year after arriving at the Dog Tribe's territory, to repay the Dog Tribe for saving his life, the Ancestor of the Nether King decided to help Lie attack the Ancient City.

Eight years later, after a long and arduous journey, the Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin, following the Dog Tribesmen, finally found the Ancient City, also the resting place of the heart of the Volcano King.

Contrary to their expectations, due to the heat emanating from the heart of the Volcano King below, the inside of the Ancient City was blooming with flowers and was filled with the air of spring, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding icy windswept world of ice and snow.

Besides, due to its difficult accessibility and the protection of ancient beasts, the surroundings of the Ancient City were hardly defended, and the city walls were only sparsely guarded by a few soldiers.

Therefore, when they saw the Dog Tribesmen attacking from the north, the inhabitants of the Ancient City, the Snow Mountain tribesmen, panicked, and in a haste, they dispatched all hands to reinforce the walls.

Not long after, the Ancestor of the Nether King and King Nanlin led the Netherworld army to attack from the south. Since most of the forces had been sent to the north for reinforcement, the southern gates were quickly breached.

After entering the Ancient City, King Nanlin led a contingent of soldiers to begin a massacre of the inhabitants of the high mountain tribe within, while the Ancestor of the Nether King led another troop to take control of the sacred temple.

Inside the sacred temple, the elders of the Snow Mountain Tribe were chanting the ancient spells used to seal the heart of the Volcano King, alongside the maidens.

Just when the Ancestor of the Nether King was about to order a massacre, the elder of the Snow Mountain Tribe suddenly opened his eyes, ran to the Ancestor of the Nether King, and said, "General, you bear the Nether Soul on you, which must come from the southern mainland, not a believer in the Volcano King. If that's the case, why don't we make a deal?"

"I indeed do not worship the Volcano King, but I have no interest in making any deal with you."

"What if I offer the Glacier Heart as a bargaining chip?" The elder of the Snow Mountain Tribe suddenly took out a crystal-clear heart from his bosom, "This is the highest sacred artifact of our Snow Mountain Tribe, said to be left behind by the Ice Glacier Prince. It is with it that we have been able to seal the heart of the Volcano King. Have you not thought, General, about what it would mean for you to possess it?"

"If this thing is as powerful as you say, why don't you have your people wear it to confront us?" the Ancestor of the Nether King questioned, skeptical.

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