“Could it truly be a dragon?”

“True dragons are like immortals — they do not descend to the mortal world. How could there be such a thing?!”

The scene erupted. Many people cried out in astonishment. The fact that a living creature dwelled within the Divine Source was truly shocking.

The stone sphere — half the size of a human head — had its thin outer skin peeled away. Now it blazed like a golden sun suspended in midair, its radiance so piercing it was difficult to look upon. Divine beams shot outward like golden needles, one after another.

Those of weaker cultivation had only one option: close their eyes. Looking directly at it was nearly impossible. The divine radiance would injure their sight.

Those of deeper cultivation pressed forward, many with mouths hanging open in astonishment, all desperate to see what manner of creature had been born and grown within.

Ye Fan’s heart could not settle. Cutting out a Divine Source with a living creature inside had surpassed his expectations entirely.

The Divine Source pulsed and leaped like a frightened child, straining to flee — yet it was suppressed by the senior figures’ curtain of light and forced to remain in place.

Many people had completely surrounded it. Even Ye Fan couldn’t press his way through to the center. The emergence of something more precious than Divine Source had caused an enormous stir, and the scene was in complete chaos.

Not a single person present could keep their emotions from running high. Every one of them was electrified to the utmost degree. The noise was overwhelming.

“Young friend Gufeng, you must sell this rare treasure to us!”

“Young friend, might we discuss this? Our Yin-Yang Sect intends to purchase both this Divine Source and the creature inside.”

“First come, first served — I said it first, you old Wang-surnamed fellow get to the back!”

“The highest bidder wins — this old one is willing to pay a sky-high price!”

…

Without even confirming what the Divine Source contained, a group of old masters were already red-faced and thick-necked with argument, shouting and jostling.

Each of them was an elder of a major order, their individual backgrounds so formidable as to be intimidating.

“There’s no use arguing — let young friend Gufeng make the decision. Whoever he says he’ll sell to, that’s who gets it.”

“Young friend Gufeng…”

“Wait — young friend Gufeng, where have you gone?”

It wasn’t until this moment that the group of old masters realized the very person they were negotiating over had been lost in the press of bodies, shoved off to who knows where.

“Honored seniors, I’m outside — I can’t get through. Could someone perhaps make room for me so I might see for myself what has been cut out?”

Ye Fan genuinely could not push his way in. This group of old masters, every single one of them, was as energized as though they’d been injected with something invigorating — each full of robust vitality. They were like iron bars, having shoved nearly all the younger generation out of the circle. Many people were grimacing through gritted teeth.

Only the Great Xia Prince, Yao Yuekong, Jin Chixiao, and a handful of others had managed to stay inside — and even they were disheveled, able to hold their ground only by great effort. The little white-robed nun wrinkled her nose and hid behind her older brother’s back.

“Quickly — let young friend Gufeng through. Make way for the one who started all this.”

“Old fellow, move aside — don’t block the person who matters!”

Everyone stopped jostling. Ye Fan finally pushed through, arriving at the center of it all. Without question, he had become the focal point.

“Don’t forget me!”

Li Heishui’s shoes had been shoved clean off his feet by the press of old masters. His clothes were in disarray, but he had finally managed to squeeze his way in as well.

He couldn’t help but complain, “Honored seniors — please, there’s no need to act like you’ve just laid eyes on the most beautiful woman in the world. My clothes are practically being ripped off my body.”

Ye Fan had finally made it inside. The Divine Source blazed before him. This group of old masters had been arguing for quite some time, yet still hadn’t determined what was actually inside.

“Honored seniors, set aside the arguments for now — can anyone tell what it actually is?”

Ye Fan observed it himself. The divine radiance was too overwhelming, and he could only make out a rough impression rather than study it with any precision.

A significant part of the difficulty lay with the creature inside the Divine Source. It was emitting its own misty golden light, wrapping itself within a haze that obscured it further.

Through the blurred brilliance, he could make out a gold-colored form — resembling either a golden serpent or a small golden dragon — utterly still and motionless.

“There are no true dragons in this world. It’s probably a flood dragon, or a holy serpent that has grown horns.”

“Most likely a golden serpent, or something of the flood dragon type.”

“Who says there are no true dragons? It might just be a primordial infant dragon that was sealed inside this Divine Source in ancient times.”

…

The opinions of the senior figures were far from unified, each holding a different view.

The Divine Source blazed so intensely it lit up the entire island, turning the surrounding lake to a shimmering sheet of gold.

As for the ancient trees on the island — they were all suffused with golden radiance, their flowers growing sacred in that light, glowing and translucent, cascading with streams of brilliance.

Ye Fan said nothing. He activated his Source Heaven Divine Perception and began observing carefully. Two beams of violet light instantly shot from his eyes, piercing into the depths of the Divine Source.

“It is…”

This was a rare technique from the Source Heaven Scripture — capable of piercing through illusions and revealing the true nature of what lay beneath. Ye Fan saw the creature inside clearly, and he was utterly astonished.

A tiny being, completely immobilized and sealed within — yet undeniably still alive. Its bodily functions were slowly awakening, and little by little, the sound of a heartbeat began to emerge.

“This truly looks like a dragon!”

Ye Fan’s heart pounded. He could barely contain his excitement. The small creature was barely half a foot in length, curled up inside — a golden dragon-like body with a pair of dragon horns growing from its head.

“No — it has no dragon scales.”

Ye Fan looked carefully and discovered its body was entirely smooth. Its golden surface gleamed like jade, without a single scale.

He steadied himself and pondered carefully. Then he noticed another anomaly: the so-called golden dragon horns were actually made of flesh — soft and gleaming with a gentle light.

“A strange little dragon? A little flood dragon? A little golden serpent?” He couldn’t determine what it was.

What astonished him most of all, however, were the creature’s eyes — they were extraordinarily large, and they were open. They were gazing back at him as though looking at him with innocent, wide-eyed curiosity.

“Its eyes are far larger than a dragon’s would be. These are remarkably limpid.” Ye Fan was left momentarily speechless. This tiny creature seemed almost uncannily humanlike in its expression.

Boom!

At that moment, the Divine Source pulsed again, lurching as it attempted to flee. It clearly hadn’t the strength to break free — it could only strain against its confinement without success.

“So adorable,” the little white-robed young nun said. Her large eyes were clear and bright as she stared at the Divine Source. She didn’t seem to be harmed by the divine radiance at all — as though she could see everything inside perfectly.

“Little brother Gufeng, Miaoyi truly hopes you’ll sell this source to me.” An Miaoyi had also drawn close, her voice soft as silk, her body exuding a fragrance like orchid and musk.

“Young friend Gufeng, you were observing it with your source techniques — can you tell what it is?” One of the old masters asked.

Ye Fan shook his head. By this point, all he could confirm was that this small creature had no killing intent — it didn’t seem like it would harm anyone.

He extended his right hand and held the Divine Source in his palm. In that instant, every pore across his entire body opened wide. The most primal vital energy of heaven and earth flowed into him, suffusing him with ease and wellbeing.

This was Divine Source — and without even having refined it, simply holding it allowed him to sense how different it was from ordinary source material.

Crack!

Suddenly, the Divine Source split open. The small golden creature strained with all its might against the confinement that had bound it, fighting to break free.

“Quickly — lay down restrictions! Seal this area tightly!”

“Block it — don’t let it escape under any circumstances!”

…

Everyone was startled. The group of old masters moved swiftly, one layer of curtain of light after another descending in rapid succession. No one could have counted how many layers were laid down.

In the distance, the other cultivators erupted into a frenzy. Some were bleeding from cracked skulls in their desperation to push forward, the clamor immense — all straining to see it clearly.

Yet others recoiled as from a venomous snake, falling back swiftly in terror, afraid of being touched by whatever this thing might be.

“You fools — what are you rushing forward for? Among primordial creatures, there is not a single gentle soul. If this thing truly emerges, blood will flow in rivers.”

“Have you forgotten? Every ancient creature cut out in the past was ferociously powerful beyond measure. Many people lost their lives.”

Once these words were spoken, panic swept through the crowd in an instant. Those who had been rushing forward froze completely and fell back at once.

In the Ji Family’s sacred grounds, flight was strictly forbidden — yet now, people could no longer care about the rules. Many leaped into the air, soaring to a safe distance.

Of course, a large portion of people remained and didn’t retreat. Instead, they pressed closer — for they had seen that none of the senior elders were pulling back.

Crack!

The Divine Source split open. A flash of golden light — and the small creature burst free. No one was anything but tense, for the ancient primordial creatures had left behind an overwhelming legacy of terrifying power through the ages.

Only Ye Fan remained relatively composed. His Source Heaven Divine Perception had sensed that this small creature harbored no killing intent.

Whoosh!

A golden blur — and before anyone could react, it was already gone. Even the spatial-sealing technique Ye Fan had thrown out from his source arts couldn’t hold it. Its speed was beyond comprehension.

Fortunately, the entire area had been sealed. It couldn’t escape. It hovered in midair, emanating a hazy golden glow.

“Heavens — is it truly a dragon?!”

At this moment, everyone could see it clearly. It bore a close resemblance to a true dragon — only it had no dragon scales. Its entire body was like golden jade, crystalline and gleaming.

Of course, there was one unmistakable difference: those eyes were far too large — extraordinarily limpid and expressive, enough to make many women burn with envy.

At this moment, its expression was almost hauntingly humanlike — it seemed somewhat afraid, yet also confused, and carried a vaguely innocent air.

Whoosh!

A flash of golden light — and it had returned to land on Ye Fan’s outstretched fingers. Many people cried out in astonishment. It was simply too fast — even some of the senior elders hadn’t managed to react in time.

Crack!

The small creature was tiny — barely half a foot long — yet in a single bite, it tore off a chunk of Divine Source the size of a fist.

“I…” Ye Fan’s expression changed immediately. He went to snatch it back, but the little creature swallowed it in one gulp before he could do a thing.

Its small body wasn’t bloated in the slightest. It showed no change at all, remaining just as delicate as before, still glowing softly with golden light.

“I’m devastated — it just swallowed fifty thousand jin of source stones in one bite!” Li Heishui wailed, mouth agape.

Ye Fan shook his hand quickly, trying to fling the small creature off. But its reactions were extraordinary — with another bite, another fist-sized piece of Divine Source was gone.

“A hundred thousand jin of source stones — gone!”

The corners of Ye Fan’s mouth were twitching. This time he finally managed to throw the little creature off and tucked the Divine Source away.

“This is too much — it ate a hundred thousand jin of source stones in the blink of an eye!” Li Heishui’s heart was bleeding. He let out a howl of genuine anguish, wave after wave of pain washing over him.

In the distance, everyone else was equally dumbfounded. This little thing was outrageously extravagant — the moment it emerged, two bites had devoured a hundred thousand jin of source stones.

Two-fifths of the Divine Source had been consumed by it — one could only say it was as wasteful as wasteful could be.

Ye Fan flipped his hand and reached out to grab the small creature, intending to pin it down and seize it in his palm.

However, this tiny thing was far too quick. A flash of golden light — and it was up in midair in an instant.

“You little prodigal wretch — that is Divine Source! How can you just do that?!” Li Heishui shouted at the sky.

In the distance, a wave of noise erupted as everyone debated and exclaimed. All were astonished.

Ye Fan too had dark lines forming across his forehead. This was truly too costly — having this little creature swallow so much Divine Source in one go made even him ache with the loss.

And yet, in that moment, the small thing hovering in midair revealed an utterly humanlike expression. It looked genuinely aggrieved, its large eyes brimming with tears as it stared pitifully at Ye Fan’s hands, seemingly searching for the piece of Divine Source.

The way it looked practically said aloud: that Divine Source is mine.

Its appearance in that moment was such that no one could bring themselves to feel anything but pity and sympathy. Any urge to harm it vanished completely. Especially those large eyes — they had an enormous devastating effect on every woman present.

“You ate a hundred thousand jin of source stones worth of my Divine Source, and now you’re looking at me like that?” Ye Fan said, holding up a pea-sized piece of Divine Source and calling to it with a beckoning gesture, trying to lure it down so he could catch it.

But the little creature puffed up with indignation. Its luminous large eyes went perfectly round with outrage. One tiny claw balled into a small fist that it shook vigorously downward.

Everyone gaped. This small creature truly was almost human in its behavior — it could understand what people were saying.

Ye Fan reached up swiftly, grabbing toward the sky, trying to snatch it.

Whoosh!

A flash of golden light — it took flight and darted to a distant corner.

At the same time, the senior elders also made their move, reaching out to capture it alive.

What exactly was this creature? Everyone wanted to know, wanted to understand — and the only way to find out was to catch it.

With so many moving at once, even at that small creature’s extraordinary speed, it couldn’t possibly dodge them all. It seemed to panic completely, its large eyes filled with terror. In its desperate flight to escape, it fled blindly — and with a whoosh, it plunged downward.

“Ah…”

The little white-robed young nun let out a startled cry, for in its frantic confusion, the small creature had collided right into her shoulder.

It was a remarkable sight: the golden small creature had landed on the little white-robed nun’s shoulder. One tiny claw gripped a strand of her hair. It wore a timid, frightened expression.

And the little white-robed nun herself had been startled — she too looked afraid and unsettled.

Two pairs of large eyes — nearly identical in their quality: one gleaming and crystalline, shy and fearful; the other blinking rapidly, scared and wary. Both of them wore the same pitiful, delicate air.

“Quickly — grab it!”

“Don’t let it escape!”

“Little sister, reach out and catch it!”

Everyone around them shouted these things.

But the little white-robed nun stared at the tiny creature perched on her shoulder, her large eyes blinking steadily. Gradually, she stopped being afraid. She made no move to reach out.

The small creature, sensing no danger, grew a little bolder, shifting slightly on its perch. It looked around at all the people surrounding it with an expression of wronged helplessness.

“Don’t reach out. This little one is not dangerous — it has no killing intent. It’s different from ordinary primordial creatures.” Ye Fan said.

Yet even though he had said this, the golden small creature showed no gratitude. When it looked at Ye Fan, it was clearly huffing with indignation. It raised one tiny claw and pointed it at him, making a silent, aggrieved accusation, its large eyes glistening with the threat of tears.

By all appearances, it seemed as though Ye Fan had committed some terrible atrocity that had left it deeply and unbearably wronged.

Ye Fan was at a loss for words. He watched it for a moment before saying, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m the one who freed you from that stone.”

“Brother Gufeng, this little creature and my little sister are fated to meet. You must sell it to us.” The Great Xia Prince spoke earnestly, sincerity filling his tone.

Ye Fan said nothing. He couldn’t respond just yet — for in this very moment, countless mental transmissions were flooding into him from all directions, all of them stating their desire to purchase the golden small creature.

“Keep an eye on the surrounding stones — check if anything unusual is happening.” Ye Fan transmitted privately to Li Heishui.

“What are you trying to do?” Li Heishui was puzzled.

“I suspect the true Stone King still hasn’t been found.” Ye Fan replied.

At this moment, everyone was pressing forward, all of them wanting to observe this small creature up close — all of them urgently wanting to know what it was.

“What kind of creature is this?” Many people voiced the question.

“Indeed — it doesn’t look like a true dragon, nor like a flood dragon. Even its horns are made of flesh. And those enormous eyes are just too remarkably limpid.”

The stone garden’s guardian — the elder with skin like white jade — walked forward. His expression was solemn and grave. “Could this be…”