The moment the fire persimmon shattered, it immediately exploded!
Yuan Dasheng's attention was entirely focused on Yuan Er, the thousand-year-old fire persimmon, and the surrounding mechanism's Explosive Flame Monkeys.
He never thought he would make a mistake!
It was simply impossible.
He had been picking fire persimmons for so many years that it had become second nature, leaving no room for error.
But the reality was, he had indeed made a mistake!
At this moment, the monkey's eyes widened in anger as he watched the fire persimmon explode in his hand. The explosion triggered other blasts, and a chain reaction was about to engulf the entire fire persimmon forest.
This was the Thousand-Year Fire Persimmon Forest!
At the critical juncture between life and death, Yuan Dasheng thought of Yuan Er, who was still in the forest.
Without a second thought, he rushed back to protect Yuan Er.
He grabbed Yuan Er and tried to escape the fire persimmon forest.
But Fei Si wouldn't allow it!
This forest was the most important industry of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and it was his duty as well, and a significant achievement of the City Lord's term.
Each small patch of the fire persimmon forest was isolated with formations, to prevent chain reactions of explosions from destroying the entire forest during the picking process.
At the moment of the explosion, the defensive formations were activated, isolating this patch of the Thousand-Year Fire Persimmon Forest to contain the blast.
Yuan Dasheng and Yuan Er were trapped inside.
Boom, boom, boom...
The chain explosions began.
Yuan Er trembled violently, his body shaking like a leaf, eyes tightly shut as he clung to Yuan Dasheng's fur, screaming, "Uncle Monkey, Uncle Monkey! I'm going to die, we're going to die!!"
Yuan Dasheng held him in his arms, turning his back against the exploding fire persimmon forest.
The entire forest blew up!
In an instant, flames shot up into the sky, a raging inferno resembling a giant red lotus blooming in the world, scorching and molten hot.
The terrifying flames and shockwaves engulfed the entire formation space.
The immense pressure at the edge of life and death made Yuan Dasheng's face contort with rage, and he instinctively wanted to use the Demon-infused Bloodline Technique!
But suddenly, he realized something and hesitated!
On the mountainside.
Ning Zhuo's face was full of astonishment as the explosion's flames turned his young and tender face red, but couldn't erase the glimmer in his eyes.
"Success!" His heart raced, filled with ecstatic joy at this moment.
This was the trap he had painstakingly designed to kill Yuan Dasheng.
Such a terrifying explosion, Yuan Dasheng's life was in grave danger! He had to use all his strength for a slim chance of survival.
But could he use his full strength? Could he expose the Demon-infused Bloodline Technique?
Once exposed, he would inevitably face a purge and capture!
Because this was a demonic technique; privately, there might be room for leniency. But exposed in broad daylight, which Righteous Path figure would dare to shield him?
At this time, the Four Great Powers did not know the astounding value Yuan Dasheng had discovered in the Magma Fairy Palace.
The Four Great Powers were jointly hunting down the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator.
If a demon technique user suddenly appeared, what would their reaction be?
Time seemed to slow down at this moment.
The terrifying explosion and crimson flames gradually devoured Yuan Dasheng and Yuan Er.
Yuan Dasheng tightly held Yuan Er in his arms, and in a trance, he saw Yuan Yi again.
Yuan Yi excitedly held Yuan Er and ran to Yuan Dasheng.
"Look, Dasheng, this is my child, he is my child!" Yuan Yi was overjoyed, "I have a child now, I have a descendant in this world."
Yuan Dasheng grinned from ear to ear, genuinely happy for Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi handed the child directly to Yuan Dasheng.
Yuan Dasheng quickly took him, feeling a bit clumsy.
The infant was so small that he carefully cradled him in his palm, feeling the warmth and fragility from the tiny swaddle.
All of this touched his heart.
Yuan Yi smiled at Yuan Dasheng, "You like him too, don't you? That's great, cough, cough, cough!"
As he spoke, Yuan Yi spat out blood.
Yuan Dasheng immediately looked up at Yuan Yi, calling out with concern in his eyes.
Yuan Yi waved his hand dismissively, "It's the old problem, you know that."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva. Despite the severe pain from his body, he still grinned, "Climbing step by step from the bottom to the top, how could I not pay a price?"
"Isn't that right, Dasheng?"
The monkey chuckled a few times, its scars the best response.
Yuan Yi stretched his arms and took a few deep breaths, "Damn it, I've lived my life to the fullest."
Then, in a calm voice, he said, "I've taken action. This child no longer has a mother. Hmph, that woman wanted to leverage her child. Without her, her family's manpower and assets are ours!"
"I said I would make her regret it."
"I said I would make them pay back the humiliation I suffered tenfold. I keep my promises, Dasheng."
The monkey nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at the infant.
Yuan Yi also looked at the infant and said, "I've named him Yuan Er. Dasheng, my life isn't as long as yours."
"If I'm not here one day, let Yuan Er take my place and stay with you."
...
Yuan Er was hungry and started crying. Yuan Dasheng squeezed the juice from a peach as big as a basin and fed it to him, drenching Yuan Er like a soaked chicken.
Yuan Er fell ill. Yuan Dasheng ran through the Immortal City at night like the wind, barged into the pharmacy, and grabbed the pharmacist by the throat, dragging him along in leaps and bounds. The pharmacist's screams shattered the moonlit night.
Yuan Er started climbing, grabbing hold of Yuan Dasheng's thick fur, challenging heights. Every time he fell, Yuan Dasheng's paw would catch him precisely.
Yuan Er gradually grew up while Yuan Yi weakened day by day, bedridden for a long time.
Finally.
In his last moments, Yuan Yi told Yuan Er, "Brat, rely on your Uncle Monkey to uphold the family business."
Young Yuan Er sobbed uncontrollably.
Yuan Yi looked at the monkey, his final burst of energy, and shouted, "Dasheng! I, I..."
Yuan Dasheng also let out a cry but could no longer hear Yuan Yi's follow-up words as usual.
Yuan Yi lay on the bed, eyes wide open, mouth agape, lifeless.
The monkey stood silently, like a statue, expressionless, yet his ears rang with the sound of thunder, an endless roar.
Boom, boom, boom--!
The explosion was deafening, a terrifying blast resembling a prehistoric beast instantly swallowing Yuan Dasheng and Yuan Er.
The explosion was contained by the formation, the crimson glare blinding, filling the entire space within the formation.
In just a few breaths, the flames dissipated.
People could once again see the inside of the formation.
Charred ground and desolation, the once-dense fire persimmon forest almost entirely vanished, with only a few persimmon trees remaining, their trunks turned black as charcoal, stubbornly standing upright.
The next moment, as the hot wind scattered, the charred trunks crumbled and fell apart.
Yuan Dasheng knelt half on the ground, like a statue.
Yuan Er in his arms moved, and Yuan Dasheng fell to the ground with a thud.
His skin was split open, his back blown to reveal the white bones of his spine, his fur entirely gone, and his skin charred black.
His eyes were tightly shut, his teeth bared. The fierce pain and full-force effort were frozen on his face.
Yuan Er's face was blank, slowly turning his head to look around, then shuddered, startled awake.
He quickly checked himself and found only minor injuries.
This was nothing short of a miracle!
Yuan Er couldn't believe it. At the moment of the explosion, he thought he was doomed! He didn't expect to still be alive, and so well.