Chapter 017: The Temple of the Demon God

The three of them walked under the tree for a while before circling around to the other side. There, they saw a huge stone door embedded in the trunk of the tree, seemingly built as one with it. A long path led to the door, but most of the steps had rotted over time.
Du Fan frowned as he stared at the stone door, which was covered in various intricate patterns—most of them solemn and ancient, likely carrying some special symbolic meaning, though he couldn’t figure out what it meant. After observing for a while, he couldn’t help but ask, “Is this the Gate of the Abyss?”
Gannon shook his head slowly. “No… Didn’t I say? This place is the Temple of the Demon God—once the palace of the Demon God in the Heavenly Realm. But the gods of the Heavenly Realm sealed him here, bringing down both the temple and the World Tree. Without these two providing constant magical energy, the seal would have been broken ages ago.”
Du Fan pursed his lips. “So what should we do?”
Gannon replied calmly, “What to do? Naturally, we enter the Temple of the Demon God to break the seal. Is there another choice?” With that, he began walking upward slowly.
Du Fan sighed and exchanged a glance with Ringtone. They had no choice but to follow quickly.
The stairs were extremely difficult to climb, and the three of them moved carefully before reaching the top.
Near the stone door, Du Fan examined it closely and realized it seemed to be embedded in the tree trunk—likely, the main part of the temple was inside the trunk.
In front of the huge stone door was a platform, on which a simple magic circle was drawn. Right in the center of the door was a statue of an angel, perfectly blocking the door’s lock.
The statue was intricately carved, about human height, with smooth wings behind it. Its facial features were gentle, and its physique was strong—perfect from any angle. The robe it wore was carved so vividly that it seemed ready to flutter in the wind. Its face was holy, with eyes slightly closed, and a dot resembling an eye on its forehead, giving the illusion that the statue had three eyes from a distance.
Gannon frowned as he studied the angel statue for a moment before saying slowly, “This is the place.”
Du Fan nodded. “What is this?”

Gannon seemed reluctant to answer, but after a moment, he slowly shook his head and said, “It’s nothing much—just an angel that’s been petrified. But don’t worry; even if it wakes up, it’s by no means my match.”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “So what do you mean…”
“Young Master Du Fan…” Gannon said coldly, “Go there now and smear a drop of your blood on the statue’s eyes. Remember, if you’re not willing to do it, don’t go… Otherwise… hehehe…”
Du Fan touched his nose and whispered, “What will happen otherwise?”
Gannon smirked coldly and said, “Why not give it a try and see what happens?”
Du Fan pouted and said, “I guess not… I’m not interested in doing such things. I can just smear the blood on its central eye, right?”
“Yes,” Gannon replied. “Smart of you. You know better than to test such things. I’m not particularly interested in helping you clean up the mess. So, Young Master Du Fan, whether for the Lord of Demons or for yourself, do it properly.”
Du Fan nodded and stretched out his right hand. After hesitating for a moment, he was about to pull out a small knife.
But at that moment, Ringtone suddenly appeared in front of Du Fan and whispered, “Young Master Du Fan, you can’t do this. If this really is a Gate to the Abyss, neither of us can bear the consequences of opening it. Do you really trust this guy?”
She pointed at Gannon.
Gannon gave Ringtone a cold glance and said, “Ringtone… If it weren’t for the slight bond we’ve had over the years, I would have killed you long ago… What’s the point of you doing this? Or do you think you can stop me?”
Ringtone’s expression changed slightly. It seemed she had suddenly made up her mind. Gritting her teeth, she quickly formed a hand seal, then turned around and struck at the angel statue behind her.
Du Fan couldn’t stop her in time and couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.
It seemed Gannon had already predicted Ringtone’s move. He simply watched coldly, not moving a muscle.
A red light shot out from Ringtone’s fingertips and struck the angel statue instantly. But in less than a second, a red flash appeared on the statue, and the magic blade was reflected back.

Ringtone let out a cry and hurriedly stepped back. The demon flew past her side. She managed to calm down somewhat, but her gaze remained filled with suspicion.
Gannon glanced at her and said indifferently, “This is a seal placed by the gods of the heavens. Even I can’t deal with it. Do you, a mere shaman priest, really think you’re invincible? All those skills of yours were taught by me… Do you really think I don’t know your strength? It’s better not to force it… I see Young Master Du Fan is quite interested in you. Why not just be a good girl? Trying to stop me at a time like this—can you really do it with just your words?”
Ringtone slowly got up. She stepped in front of Du Fan again and gritted her teeth, saying, “Our people of Kara’s mission is to guard the Gate of the Abyss. Unless you kill me… I will never let you pass.”
Gannon smiled faintly and said, “You people of Kara are so stubborn. I really hate that. Just like that high priest back then—if he had been willing to tell me everything the Kara knew, I wouldn’t have taken his life… But never mind. Just another member of Kara. No matter how stubborn, they’re just a joke… I haven’t killed many people in my life, but not a few either. Will one more make a difference?”
As he spoke, Gannon waved his hand slightly. Du Fan felt a gust of wind, and Ringtone’s body, like a puppet with its strings cut, fell into Gannon’s hands.
Gannon pressed his right hand around Ringtone’s neck, his thumb’s nail slowly sliding along her throat. A smile appeared on his lips, “Ringtone… I’ll send you on your way now… How about that?”
“By the way…” Gannon glanced at Du Fan. “It seems this guy is also your woman… Young Master Du Fan, what do you say? If you think it’s a pity, I might spare her life.”
Du Fan stared coldly at Gannon. After a moment, he couldn’t help but frown slightly and said, “Lord Gannon, stop pretending. If you wanted to kill her, you would have done it long ago. Let her go first before we continue.”
Gannon exclaimed, “Huh? How did you figure that out?”
Du Fan smirked and said, “If you really wanted her life, you had plenty of chances along the way. At this point, still wanting to kill her— isn’t that a bit ridiculous?”
Gannon replied coldly, “You’re not wrong. This woman still has some use. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought her here… Alright… Go ahead and do it.”

As he spoke, Gannon casually threw the bell to the ground and crossed his arms again.
Ringin, drawing strength from somewhere, let out a bitter laugh and said, “Young Master Du Fan, listen to me—you must not do this!”
Du Fan remained unmoved. He glanced at Gannon, then at Ringin, and suddenly sighed softly. “Miss Ringin, if you hadn’t captured me back then, perhaps none of this would have happened… You should know that I don’t want to die, let alone die for some mission of your barbarians… So in this situation, I have no other choice. If I want to survive, I must do as Gannon says… If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to be a sinner either… But if given a choice between the lives of people on this continent and my own life, I would choose myself without hesitation… I remember there’s a saying from the distant Eastern Continent: ‘If one doesn’t act for oneself, heaven and earth will punish them’… I’m not a true believer, not a complete saint. You should understand—I’m just a hypocrite who can’t be trusted… So do you think… in such a situation, would I do this willingly? Or not?”
As he spoke, Du Fan smirked coldly. He stretched out his right hand, his fingernail sliding slightly, and a drop of blood rolled out. Then, with a slight flick of his finger, the drop of blood landed right on the forehead of the angel statue.
The entire space seemed to tremble. The eye-like mark on the angel statue’s forehead turned violently red, like cinnabar. Cracks appeared all over its body, emitting a rustling sound. Then it seemed to twist its shoulders, and a thin layer of stone fell off it as if shedding skin. The figure originally fixed to the doorknob slowly descended, and then its wings flared suddenly, emitting a dazzling light that made the three of them squint.
At that moment, a voice like a sigh sounded—low and faint: “Sigh… After hundreds of years, has someone finally come to die?”