Possessed by my father, I was reborn and became the supreme ruler.

Ye Yunjian's expression changed slightly, but he already understood: "You are the Fire Dragon Ancestor of the Fire Dragon Clan who mysteriously disappeared three thousand years ago?" The old dragon smiled: "A mere title, not ancestor."

Ye Yunjian asked doubtfully, "According to the legends of the Xuanhuo Sect, three thousand years ago you betrayed the Dragon Clan, the Xuan Sect, and the righteous path of humanity. After going mad, you killed more than ten thousand members of your own clan. Was that you?"

Upon hearing this, Elder Long's face was filled with tears. "What they said is all false. Alas, it's all my fault. I was blind back then and made the mistake of getting to know the old ancestor of the Xuanhuo Sect! My clan was wiped out and I was suppressed here."

The Ancestor of the Xuanhuo Sect? Ye Yunjian gasped. The Ancestor of Xuanhuo was the founder of the Xuanhuo Sect five hundred years ago.

"The ancestor you mentioned, is he the founding ancestor of the Xuanhuo Sect?" Ye Yunjian asked tentatively.

"Exactly." Elder Long nodded.

“Ancestor Xuanhuo is a saint who has attained the Dao. What you’re saying is too unbelievable!” Ye Yunjian didn’t believe it at all.

“You don’t seem like a teenager at all. It seems the rumors outside have become true. I was misled by scoundrels. Can this be considered reaping what I sowed?” Looking at the slippery Ye Yunjian, the old man was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.

"Back then, the Xuanhuo Sect was the ancestral lineage of my Fire Dragon Clan's Dragon Lord lineage. It was only because my clan was wealthy and I was generous that your ancestor took a liking to me and devised a thousand-year-long scheme to seize my clan's land."

This place is the Land of Creation, the battlefield where the Primordial God of Creation and the Spirit King of Annihilation fought, and also the barrier separating the two realms. Ever since I followed the Primordial God of Creation to suppress the Spirit King of Annihilation ten thousand years ago, this place has been the fiefdom of my Fire Dragon Clan.

I was living a carefree life here, but the creator god from nine thousand years ago suddenly disappeared, and I lost my control and began to act willfully and recklessly.

"Your ancestor somehow found connections. He came to me to pay his respects, saying he'd long admired my name and wanted to become my disciple and cultivate under my guidance. At that time, I didn't think much of him, but seeing his cautious nature, I gave him a cluster of Spirit Fire Cave Flame for him to cultivate with. Little did I expect that this would lead to such karmic entanglement!!!"

At this point, he kept pounding his thigh: "I hate it so much! I hate this ungrateful wretch!!!"

Looking at Elder Long's dejected and heartbroken state, Ye Yunjian was moved by the scene and recalled how he had been framed by Situ Jiuxiao in his previous life, and how he had suffered a similar fate.

"After the Old Ancestor Xuanhuo gained my trust, he brought a boy to stay with me. He often visited the elderly and orphans in my clan, taught everyone some medical skills, and often gave some money to the poor clansmen. Gradually, everyone trusted him."

But my Fire Dragon Clan is a sacred clan guarding the World-Destroying Spirit King, and certain important matters and clan affairs cannot be opened to him. So he tried every means to win the favor of my clan's elders. At that time, I was also full of pride and looked down on him, until one day he brought me something.

Suddenly, a glint of light appeared in Elder Long's eyes: "Nine Nether Profound Fire, that's one of the nine great heavenly and earthly profound fires! He offered it to me, saying that only I am worthy to cultivate this fire. From then on, I thought about how to cultivate it every day. I lost my appetite and tea-drinking habits because of the Nine Nether Profound Fire. I treated him as my confidant and gave him the management power of the surrounding races."

Finally, one day, while I was cultivating in this Spirit Fire Cave, I discovered that all the races had been instigated by him. He was using my name to levy exorbitant taxes everywhere, and then leading those people to attack me, calling it a holy war to slay dragons. Our Fire Dragon Clan actually also includes the Black Dragon and White Dragon clans, both of which are under his control.

So I watched as he led his former subordinates from the Fire Dragon Clan to slaughter my entire clan, young and old, and finally surrounded this place. He intended to reclaim the Nine Netherworld Profound Fire, but unexpectedly, I refined and sealed it myself with the World-Destroying Spirit King's World-Shattering Fire. Therefore, he used the Profound Venerable Jade Key to imprison me in this Earth Fire Cave.”

"I didn't expect the Xuanhuo Sect to be full of such people!" Ye Yunjian said with skepticism, then asked, "What is the meaning of your summoning me here tonight?"

"Do you still have the Xuanzun Jade Key?" A light suddenly appeared in Elder Long's eyes.

"Yes, you want to use it?" Ye Yunjian was slightly wary and took a half step back.

Elder Long smiled and said, "After that Ancestor Xuanhuo imprisoned me here, he suddenly died not long after, and the Xuanzun Jade Key that imprisoned me has been missing ever since. Later, the Xuanhuo Sect encountered several calamities, and in all these years, the first time I saw this thing was in your hands."

Ye Yunjian took out the Xuanzun Jade Key, unfolded it, and placed it in his palm: "I can show it to you, but you can't touch it."

Old Man Long looked at it and tears welled up in his eyes: "I thought I would never be able to get out of the Earth Fire Cave in this lifetime. This key has locked me in the Spirit Fire Cave for so many years, alas!"

Seeing his pitiful state, Ye Yunjian suddenly handed the Xuanzun Jade Key to Elder Long.

"What do you mean by this?" Elder Long was taken aback. "Didn't you say I couldn't touch it?"

Ye Yunjian looked at his old and increasingly cloudy eyes, his wrinkled face, and his slightly graying beard: "You can't move, but you can hold it. From today onwards, this key belongs to you. You are free."

"I...I...I'm free?" Old Man Long was in tears, tears streaming down his face. He stammered as he rubbed the cold jade key in his hand.

"Yes, you should be free." Only then did Ye Yunjian get a good look at Elder Long's clothes and appearance. He was an old man wearing a red robe with black patterns. The robe on his body should be a treasure of the Fire Dragon Clan. It had not been damaged for many years, but it had become somewhat old after being in the Earth Fire Cave for so many years.

The old man placed the Xuan Key on his head, and an invisible light emanated from it. A black talisman shackle appeared on his body, resembling the faceless, world-destroying spirit king, with its tongue sticking out, looking extremely ferocious and terrifying.

The shackles were slowly opened and disintegrated in the air by the jade key, and then gradually dissipated. The whole atmosphere was somber and desolate, as if it were the process of a serious criminal being released after many years of imprisonment.

Seeing the old man's appearance, Ye Yunjian was about to turn and leave, but before he had taken two steps, the old man called out to him in a trembling voice: "Wait, you, did you encounter the soul of the World-Destroying Spirit King before?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Yunjian was startled: "You, how did you know?"

"Because its mark on you has been engraved on it." Elder Long raised the Xuan Key, and there it was, a human face that had been engraved on it at some unknown time—it was Ye Yunjian's face.

“Now that the Xuan Key has recognized you as its master, I still cannot gain freedom. Even if I can break the shackles of this talisman, I will be forever bound by the master of this Xuan Key.”

Elder Long sighed, returned the Xuan Key to Ye Yunjian, and looked dejected.

"I...I had no idea..." Ye Yunjian murmured.