“Whatever you do, don’t lose focus — the old demon hasn’t been destroyed yet!” the Black Emperor warned.
The “All” secret of the Nine Mysteries showed its might, granting Ye Fan’s spiritual thought the vastness of an ocean. He transformed himself into a three-legged, two-eared round cauldron — as if merged with heaven and earth, bearing the imprint of the Great Dao.
“You cannot maintain this state indefinitely. Seal him within my golden divine bell — I guarantee he’ll be permanently imprisoned!” the Great Black Dog suggested.
Ye Fan and the Black Emperor joined forces and sealed the gravely wounded old demon within the divine bell, suppressing him inside.
“Just the divine bell alone feels somewhat insufficient. Add another weapon refined by a great power to reinforce the suppression — only then can he be firmly and stably sealed.”
Ye Fan returned to his true form and took the verdant lotus in hand. His spiritual thought rushed forth like a golden river, washing over the weapon — which appeared delicate yet was not — again and again, thoroughly erasing the imprint left by its original owner.
“This divine lotus was refined by a great power — it is the true body of a descendant of the Demon Emperor. This is a weapon of extraordinary rarity,” the Black Emperor said, light shimmering in its eyes.
“Do you dare take it out and use it? You’d likely be hunted across all of heaven and earth by the demon race,” Ye Fan warned, lest the Great Black Dog be consumed by greed.
Swish!
Ye Fan held the verdant lotus and swept it gently, placing it upon the great golden bell. The divine bell shook and let out a soft, resonant tone.
Only at this point did Ye Fan let out a long breath. “Good. Two weapons are sufficient to suppress him. We’ll rescue Pang Bo and then decide what to do with the old demon.”
“Pang Bo — where are you?”
“Over here…” Pang Bo’s voice came from the depths of the sea of consciousness.
After searching for a moment, a glowing cage appeared ahead — formed entirely from spiritual thought-force. Pang Bo’s foundational spiritual consciousness was shackled by silver chains.
“Ye Fan…” Pang Bo laughed out loud, tears streaming down his face.
A bittersweet feeling rose in Ye Fan’s heart as well. For these past several years, Pang Bo had been imprisoned without ceasing, living a life devoid of light and day.
“All of this is over now. I’ll get you out!” Ye Fan acted, severing the cage and tearing apart the silver spiritual thought chains.
Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Fan and the Black Emperor burst out from the physical body. Pang Bo regained control of his own form.
The forest here was ancient and tall, though not densely packed. Several pavilions were scattered among the trees, a stream burbled gently, and old vines hung down — all naturally vivid and alive.
“These past several years have truly been a dismal and lightless existence. Most of the time I was passively cultivating, and the only pleasure I had was cursing that old demon without restraint…”
Pang Bo was a naturally optimistic person who rarely dwelt in sorrow, and he adjusted quickly.
From his conversation with Pang Bo, Ye Fan learned that the old demon had initially co-existed within Pang Bo’s body and found it difficult to overpower him. But everything changed upon arriving at this place and discovering the Ageless Hall.
In particular, with the assistance of two great powers — the Green Serpent King and the Peacock King — the old demon, whose life span had originally been nearly exhausted, gained a chance for renewed life.
Half a year ago, the old demon had taken full dominion over this physical body, and his spiritual thought grew ever more powerful.
“The fact that we come from the other end of the starry void — the old demon came to know of this secret.”
Ye Fan was immediately startled. “What…”
“And it is precisely because of this that I was able to stay alive,” Pang Bo said with a sigh.
The old demon attached extreme importance to the other end of the starry void, and was especially attentive to all matters relating to ancient China.
These past several years had been for Pang Bo both a torment and a form of tempering.
In the beginning, when he and the old demon coexisted, they were being pressured by a great power — and his cultivation progress was, it had to be said, astonishing. Later, when the old demon seized control of the body, his cultivation pace could only be described as frightening.
After all, this was a figure of great power from the demon race. Having gained possession of a powerful physical body, he once again set upon the path of cultivation — and his advancement was nothing short of explosive.
“Damn that old thing — I don’t even know whether to call myself human or demon anymore. That old wretch has put my physical body through all manner of suffering.”
Tinkle, tinkle!
The Great Black Dog trotted over, his bald tail held upright. He was as powerfully built as a bull, with a small golden bell hanging at his neck that chimed with a pleasant sound.
Ye Fan stared at that little bell and felt the urge to laugh. He rubbed his chin and pondered — this big dog seemed to have quite an impressive background.
“What a truly enormous dog!” Pang Bo exclaimed in wonder.
Seeing both of them staring at it, the Great Black Dog bared his teeth. “What are you looking at? Seeing this Emperor so heroic and powerfully built — are you two jealous?”
“That big dog is several times larger than the Tibetan Mastiff you used to keep.”
“Damn it, I’m not his pet. I’m actually thinking of taking him in as a human companion,” the Great Black Dog said, his face immediately darkening.
Ye Fan’s brow twitched. “Go find somewhere cool to sit!”
“Brat, you’re burning the bridge after crossing the river,” the Great Black Dog said with displeasure. The great battle with the old demon had cost it dearly — without several months of recovery, it would be unable to fully restore itself.
“This isn’t a place for conversation. Let’s leave quickly,” Ye Fan said, rising to his feet.
“I cannot go with you,” Pang Bo said, shaking his head.
“Is it because you’re worried?” Ye Fan asked.
“If I were to leave, the demon race would hunt you to the ends of the earth. Your situation would become extremely precarious,” Pang Bo explained.
His life was no longer in danger and he could leave of his own accord in the future — but for now, it was not the right time.
“As for all the matters concerning the old demon, I know them all. They won’t detect anything amiss. From here on, I will be a member of the demon race,” Pang Bo insisted on staying.
Ye Fan sent the Great Black Dog away and began a private conversation with Pang Bo.
A long time passed, and the sound of two people’s laughter rang out from within the forest.
“This arrangement is actually good — one of us among the human race, one among the demon race, able to support each other in the future.”
“In a few more months, I’ll be able to move about freely and openly, and I’ll help you take down one or two holy sons.”
“Sooner or later, we’ll find a way home.”
Not far away, the Great Black Dog curled his lip. “Damn it — neither of those two brats is anything decent. In the future, they’ll absolutely be a pair of disasters.”
It was indeed unsuitable for Pang Bo to leave — his departure would surely send this place into upheaval. But from this day forth, he was a free man, possessing the Demon Emperor’s ancient scripture. The vast sea and sky lay before him to explore at will.
“Have you two finished plotting? If you don’t leave soon, others might be alerted,” the Great Black Dog said impatiently.
“Leave the verdant lotus here.” Ye Fan took the weapon and handed it to Pang Bo. In a flash of green light, it entered his body.
The Great Black Dog’s gaze lingered with reluctance. “Such a rare and precious treasure… this Emperor’s heart aches!”
Ye Fan said, “We should join forces to dissolve the old demon — otherwise he’ll be a serious problem in the future.”
“No need to reduce him to ash — suppression is sufficient,” the Great Black Dog objected.
In the end, the three of them worked together to suppress the old demon within the golden divine bell.
In truth, even without a seal, the old demon would no longer be able to stir up any trouble. The Soul Wound slash of the Nine Demon Emperor Slashes had struck him instead, leaving him gravely injured.
Ye Fan and the Black Emperor withdrew from the Ageless Hall, passed through the meteorite forest without incident, and erased every trace and aura of their presence.
The Great Black Dog’s origins were mysterious — even the Dao inscriptions laid down by great powers could be broken through. Naturally, he would leave no traces upon their departure.
The constellation stone, the divine-blood earth, and several other things had all been nearly exhausted, and that half-piece of origin stone had also been largely used up — a lavish expenditure.
The night was deep and all was still.
At the mountain peak, ancient pines stood verdant and upright, their elegance striking. A spring trickled through the forest below.
Ye Fan returned to his room without a sound. That night he slept deeply — with the great worry in his heart resolved, his entire body had finally relaxed.
At dawn, the great fireball rose slowly, and morning light spilled in through the window. After washing up, Ye Fan was full of vigor and began to think about leaving.
The Great Black Dog trudged in, listless and weary, cursing without pause. He had toiled through the whole night yet still failed to obtain the Demon Emperor’s ancient scripture.
After breakfast, Ye Fan went to find Tu Fei and discussed with him leaving within the next few days to attend the Jasper Pool Grand Gathering.
“I say, Little Ye — what’s the rush?” Tu Fei was reluctant to leave, having grown rather fond of the place and having grown quite close to a certain female demon. He had no desire to go.
“Do you really want to miss the Jasper Pool Grand Gathering? The holy sons and holy daughters of the great Holy Lands will all be there, and demon race figures like the Golden-Winged Little Peng King will appear as well — it shouldn’t be missed.”
“What’s the hurry? We can travel together with Princess Yan when the time comes. There’s still plenty of time — the gathering has been postponed for certain reasons,” Tu Fei said, unwilling to leave.
Ye Fan felt slightly ill at ease. The old demon he had suppressed last night was undoubtedly a member of Yan Ruyu’s clan — but he’d had no choice. To rescue Pang Bo, it had to be done.
“Black Emperor, don’t refine that old demon into ash. When my strength is sufficient in the future, I’ll decide what to do with him,” Ye Fan transmitted privately.
“Damn it, this Emperor would love to — but that damned old demon has fused himself with this Emperor’s divine bell!” the Black Emperor grumbled and cursed.
“Little Ye, want to stroll around the demon city together?” Tu Fei proposed.
“You’re going to keep a date with a demon lady — if I come along, I’d just be in the way, wouldn’t I?” Ye Fan laughed and shook his head.
“It seems your mind is made up to leave. How about this — give it two more days and we’ll leave together. I want to find Li Heishui, Liu Kou, and Jiang Huairen first.”
“Very well, I’ll wait two more days for you.” Ye Fan also had no wish to leave abruptly, lest the demon race grow suspicious.
Before departing, he took the Black Emperor’s advice and decided to go into the demon city to collect some materials for inscribing Dao patterns — they might prove very useful in the future.
The demon city was covered in ancient traces, having been established eight hundred years ago. Though not large in scale, it housed many long-standing old shops.
Ye Fan collected many precious materials, though at no small cost. Tu Fei walked ahead with a female demon, the two of them intimate and unconcerned about the observers.
“I say, you two — take it easy, would you? Stop treating us like we’re invisible,” the Black Emperor said.
The female demon laughed lightly. “Such a hot-tempered dog. You can already speak — why haven’t you taken on a human form yet?”
Ye Fan noticed that some among the demon race were looking at him with peculiar expressions. He felt it was truly time to leave.
Before long, Qin Yao appeared, her figure graceful and willowy as she approached — her body supple, like an immortal willow swaying in the breeze.
“Why have you come to the demon city again? Many eyes are watching you,” Qin Yao glanced at Ye Fan with a sideward look, rippling waves of light in her gaze, carrying a hint of allure.
“Sister Qin Yao…” A young female demon called out sweetly, her looks lovely and charming, dressed in golden feathered robes, walking over with a light and graceful step.
“Don’t walk alongside Sister Qin Yao!” Ye Fan heard this warning transmitted secretly to him — it came from the young girl, a flash of cold light in her eyes as she addressed him.
Yet when facing Qin Yao, she smiled sweetly, without betraying any of this hostility.
Ye Fan smiled and transmitted back in secret: “Why?”
“Have you ever heard what it means for a toad to dream of eating swan meat?” the girl replied dismissively, her chin held high.
Ye Fan was somewhat baffled as to how he had offended this girl, and transmitted: “Little girl, aren’t you minding a bit too much of other people’s business?”
The young female demon replied coldly: “If you truly wish well for Sister Qin Yao, stay far away from her — don’t grow too close. You are a natural disabled vessel, destined to be halted forever at the Dao Palace Secret Realm, never able to become a truly powerful figure. You are not worthy of Sister Qin Yao.”
Ye Fan was at a loss for words. He rubbed his chin and transmitted: “What exactly is this all about?”
“Golden Feather, Bitter Bamboo, White Phoenix — they are all geniuses of the Dao Palace Fifth Level. They are the ones worthy of Sister Qin Yao. It was one thing when you were in the Southern Region — but now that you’re in the Northern Region, do you still dream your impossible dream of a toad eating swan meat? Stop deluding yourself!” This young demon girl spoke without the slightest mercy.
“So you’re stepping up for those three toads — but little girl, you’re sticking your nose far too deep into others’ affairs!” Ye Fan said in a low voice.
None of this was said aloud — all of it was private transmission, so those around them remained unaware.
“You will be blocked at the Dao Palace Secret Realm your entire life. Though you may be unmatched among your peers, to geniuses of the Four Extremes Secret Realm and beyond, a disabled vessel like you is utterly useless. So I’m telling you — stop entangling yourself with Sister Qin Yao. If you truly wish her well, leave now and never come back to burden her.”