The last to leave was an old man carrying a golden ant egg. He came over and took ten teleportation scrolls from Eddie.
"Ah Hao, you must come back. Without you, our family will fall apart. Remember this!" The old man, apparently a relative of the mercenary captain, handed him a teleportation scroll before leaving.
"I'll be fine, you go, hurry!"
The mercenary captain named Ah Hao accepted the scroll and tucked it into his chest before rushing to Eddie's side. Without Eddie's protection, his chances of survival were slim.
Eddie watched as the mercenaries scrambled into the tunnel in disarray. Some who were slower cried out for help, while most were solely focused on their own escape. Only a few went back to lend a hand, creating complete chaos. Eddie unleashed another fiery slash, igniting the antennae of several fire ants trailing behind and killing a fire ant soldier about to reach the tunnel entrance. He then turned back to face the mercenary captain, who pointed to a deep hole teeming with countless fire ants, his lips trembling as he confirmed, "That's where we need to go!"
Eddie had no intention of bringing along a burden. He pulled the mercenary captain back to the platform and handed him a map: "Mark it on the map, then you can go."
"Really?"
Ah Hao was initially stunned, then overwhelmed with gratitude. He quickly marked the route they had taken on the map.
Before using his teleportation scroll to leave, Ah Hao looked up at Eddie and asked, "Can I know your honorable name?"
Eddie wasn't interested in this man seeking revenge or gratitude.
Ah Hao handed Eddie a small object the deputy leader had given him: "This helped us obtain the Fire Dragon Fruit. We hid it from you earlier, fearing you might renege on saving us after obtaining the fruit. Please forgive our mistrust. If I, Zhong Hao, survive and we meet again, you can count on the Kuangsha Mercenary Group to serve you!"
"Double Dragon Scissors? I've always wondered how you managed to obtain the Fire Dragon Fruit. With this, I won't need to use the Golden Dragon Slaying Dagger... How many more Fire Dragon Fruits are down there?" Eddie caught the gleaming object and put it away.
"We don't know. There's a dragon down there! We didn't dare get too close. After taking one fruit and hearing the dragon's roar, we were terrified and fled!" Ah Hao shuddered at the memory and quickly used his teleportation scroll to leave.
"A real dragon? A giant dragon or a flying dragon?" Eddie pondered, considering the prospect of slaying a dragon for an even greater reward.
After traversing the underground ant tunnels for half a day, Eddie had yet to reach the area marked with a volcano on the map.
The maze-like complexity of the tunnels left him feeling dizzy and disoriented. What frustrated him the most were the many misleading and erroneous markers left by the mercenaries along the way, leading him down several wrong paths.
Eddie wasn't particularly concerned about time; his main worry was that Yue Bing might become anxious waiting outside and take the risk of entering the tunnels to find him, which would be dangerous.
Eventually, upon hearing the sound of flowing water, Eddie came across a dark underground river. Following the river upstream for about half an hour, he finally found marks left by the mercenaries on the cave walls.
Leaving the river, he entered a small cave and walked several hundred meters.
As the heat increased and the air filled with the smell of sulfur, Eddie quickened his pace and emerged into a vast underground world.
In the distance was a low, smoldering lava volcano, still emitting intense heat.
Below the volcano was a steaming hot spring lake dotted with several small islands, covered in bizarre vegetation.
Eddie was surprised to find such thriving life in this underground world. He knew from his reading that the Fire Dragon Fruit was not like the ordinary desert variant; its leaves were finer and harder, dark green, and steel-like.
They grew from the shore into the bottom of the hot spring, absorbing the earth's energy to nourish the fruit over a thousand years before it surfaced and detached for new propagation.
Normally, harvesting the Fire Dragon Fruit was impossible.
The only opportunity was when it matured and could be clipped with special scissors, like the Double Dragon Scissors—a signature creation of the Jiang family, a renowned blacksmithing dynasty.
Many plants in the world, such as Black Obsidian Bamboo and Iron Bone Scales Grass, are impervious to swords.
But the Double Dragon Scissors could easily cut through them. Although the Jiang family designed these scissors, the first pair was actually made by the genius Eddie Yew of the Yue family as an engagement gift for Olivia Jones.
Their original purpose wasn't for harvesting herbs but for needlework. Both Eddie Yew and Olivia Jones were exceptionally talented but died young, never marrying. However, their poignant love story has been celebrated for centuries.
The Jiang family, renowned as master blacksmiths, inscribed each pair of Double Dragon Scissors with the phrase "Ingenious Craftsmanship" in honor of their ancestors.
"Eddie mused, "No wonder it's so exquisitely delicate; it's designed for female use!" Holding the small scissors in his large hands, he realized that the ghostly genius Eddie Yew had specifically designed them for Olivia Jones's petite hands. He wondered why the Jiang family hadn't modified them to be slightly larger.
After scouring the entire hot spring lake, Eddie found two more Fire Dragon Fruits at the bottom, but they hadn't matured yet.
He frowned slightly, noticing two different cut marks, suggesting someone had beaten him to the fruits.
These cuts differed from animal bites and the marks made by the Double Dragon Scissors, indicating that someone else had been there, unknown to the mercenaries.
Eddie sensed a greater mystery.
The mercenaries had heard dragon roars, but after searching the entire lake and volcano, he found no trace of a dragon.
The only clue was an energy dissipating in the water, detected by his Golden Mouse. Had there been a great battle here in the water?
Who knew about the Fire Dragon Fruits in the ant tunnels and had arrived just as they ripened to harvest them? And where had the 'dragon' guarding the fruits gone?
Filled with questions, Eddie tried to piece together the clues. As he pondered, a shadow silently appeared behind him.
A magnetic voice asked, "Are you looking for me?"
Startled, Eddie realized he hadn't sensed anyone approaching within five meters behind him. Who could it be?
As he suppressed his shock and turned to look, he found nothing but empty space, as if the voice had been an illusion.
Frozen, Eddie sensed his unseen enemy close behind, a hand nearly touching his nape, ready to strike at any movement.
Sweat trickled down his forehead. This was the first time he had encountered such a formidable foe in his life.
Eddie was taken aback by the imposing figure of the middle-aged man in front of him. With a demeanor that exuded arrogance and a gaze sharp as spears, the man demanded recognition.
Eddie, sweating profusely, wondered if this could be the father of the tragic figure from the legends, Yue Qiu. Yet, the resemblance didn't match the descriptions he had heard.
"Everyone calls me the Purple Gold Marquis," the middle-aged man declared.
Eddie's shock intensified upon hearing the name.
In the Dragon Rise Continent, the Purple Gold Marquis was renowned as one of the most formidable figures, even surpassing the emperors of the three great nations in strength.
Thirty years prior, the Purple Gold Marquis, known as the sixth prince of the Purple Gold Nation, had challenged his brother, Emperor Chu Tianxiao, for the throne. His audacity had caused a stir across the continent.
However, before the duel, he had been gravely injured by the 'Night Empress,' one of the three great protectors of the Tianluo Nation, after offending Emperor Hua Xuri of Tianluo.
Despite his injuries, the Purple Gold Marquis valiantly fought his brother for three days and nights, ultimately suffering defeat.
This battle cemented his reputation as a legendary figure, and even Emperor Chu Tianxiao honored him by creating a special seat for him below the Dragon Throne.
The world acknowledged that while Chu Tianxiao might be the more suitable emperor, the Purple Gold Marquis was the stronger warrior.
Facing the Purple Gold Marquis, Eddie felt a deep sense of foreboding. He realized that this encounter could be the most challenging and dangerous he had ever faced.
Meanwhile, the story of Eddie Yew and Olivia Jones, the ancestors of the Double Dragon Scissors, remained a poignant reminder of their ingenious craftsmanship and tragic love story.
Their legacy continued to be revered by the Jones family, who inscribed "Ingenious Craftsmanship" on every pair of scissors they produced.
Confronted by the formidable Purple Gold Marquis, Eddie was on high alert. He couldn't fathom why such a prominent figure would appear before him, especially near the hot spring lake where the Shell Dragon Fruits grew.
Was the Marquis following him, or had he been lying in wait?
If he was after the Shell Dragon Fruits, why hadn't he left after obtaining them?
"Upon hearing my name, shouldn't you show some respect? Even if I weren't a marquis, as a senior and a stronger fighter, you should display proper reverence," the Purple Gold Marquis said with a tone of arrogance, his gaze sharp and penetrating.
"You're expecting me to bow and offer you a chance to crush my skull, aren't you?" Eddie tried to maintain a composed demeanor, knowing it was crucial not to reveal his full strength to this formidable adversary.
"Indeed, I had such thoughts. I don't like the idea of a young man whose strength I can't fully gauge growing stronger," the Purple Gold Marquis admitted nonchalantly.
"Before I kill you, I'll offer you three choices for your death. You can resist and be brutally killed by me, die instantly without pain if you don't resist, or try to escape and be hunted down and tortured to death in this hot spring. Choose wisely."
Eddie was astounded by the Marquis's brazen attitude.
He had always thought of himself as audacious, but compared to the Purple Gold Marquis, he seemed almost tame.
"Can I choose to take my own life?" he asked.
The Purple Gold Marquis coldly refused, "Without my permission, you cannot even choose to die."
"I don't care if you're the Purple Gold Marquis or Purple Gold Monkey; all this talk is nonsensical. You think just because you've lived a few more years, you have the right to dictate others' lives and deaths?"
Eddie retorted, boldly raising his middle finger to the Marquis. "Being arrogant is one thing, but don't make it into idiocy."
"It seems you've made your choice," the Purple Gold Marquis responded calmly. "Are you ready to die now?"
"And you? Are you prepared to die?" Eddie countered, unfazed by the Marquis's menacing presence.