“These are the sacred caches left behind by a Source Celestial Master?”

Tu Fei was utterly stunned — he never would have imagined that the ordinary-looking stone grinder and millstone on the ground could have such extraordinary origins.

This was not merely a treasure trove — it was something that could truly be called a sacred cache without exaggeration!

The Big Black Dog was behaving like a complete rascal, lying sprawled there with its big paws pinning down a pile of stone instruments, refusing to budge no matter what.

Ye Fan made a threat: “Don’t get in the way here. In the Sacred City I once encountered a Stone King — who’s to say there isn’t one here as well? If something really strange gets cut out, you’ll be the first to suffer, lying right there.”

“A king from within stone — what’s that compared to anything? I’ve even encountered kings from among the ancient races,” the Big Black Dog said indifferently.

“Stop boasting!” Tu Fei didn’t believe it.

Ye Fan, however, felt a stirring in his heart. The Big Black Dog had undoubtedly come from within the Purple Mountain, and as to its origins, he had already pieced together a thing or two.

He thought of the Sacred Grounds across the Eastern Wastelands and the hundred schools of the Central Province, all of whom were on the verge of launching their largest-scale offensive — wielding extreme Dao sacred artifacts to attack the Purple Mountain. He couldn’t help but ask, “Black Emperor, are you certain the Purple Mountain is unharmed?”

“Rest easy. No one can get anything from it. Even if they manage to get inside, I dare say they’ll suffer heavy losses and retreat in disgrace.”

“Do you think it’s possible to rescue Divine King Jiang Taixu, who is within the Purple Mountain?” he continued. This was the question he cared about most.

“How would I know? I’ve never been inside the Purple Mountain. Just hurry up and cut the sacred cache.” The Big Black Dog changed the subject and refused to say anything more.

In the end, Ye Fan moved all the dozens of stone instruments into the room and began examining them by firelight.

Old Zhang the Fifth was inwardly unsettled, watching from the side. Wang Shu and Er Lengzi were even more excited, constantly rubbing their hands together, itching to try.

Ye Fan activated the Source Celestial Divine Perception. Two streaks of violet light shot out from his eyes as he checked each piece one by one.

The stone instruments appeared plain and unremarkable, but when viewed through the Source Celestial Divine Perception, every single one of them became extraordinary.

“Stone materials from the Primordial Forbidden Zone!”

Ye Fan was astonished. On an ordinary day these stones revealed nothing, but once examined closely with the Source Celestial Divine Perception, one could sense the thick, overwhelming aura of the primordial age.

He examined two stones in succession and felt both were empty, but when he lifted the third millstone, his eyes flashed with light. “There is divine ore inside this one!”

The Big Black Dog could no longer sit still. “Let me take a look!”

“If I let you look, it’ll be like a meat bun thrown to a dog — gone and never coming back.”

“Young one, your words are far too harsh!” The Big Black Dog was fuming.

“Isn’t that exactly how it is?” Ye Fan smiled. “I’ll give you a look — but you’d better not set your sights on the stone instruments beneath.”

“Fine, no problem.” The Big Black Dog readily agreed, then pushed Er Lengzi beside it. “Disciple, help me cut it open.” It had once given Wang Shu and Er Lengzi some pointers on cultivation and now, with complete shamelessness, was ordering them about.

“Crack!”

Er Lengzi was rather direct — a single slap of the palm split it open. He had no patience for carefully cutting stone.

The Big Black Dog winced, its heart aching. In a rage it snarled, “Go easy! There’s divine ore inside — break it and I’ll throw you into the Primordial Ancient Mine.”

It hurriedly pawed through the shattered stone, searching for the divine ore.

A burst of blazing divine radiance shot out — dazzling and brilliant, its sacred aura washing over them — but the Big Black Dog was deeply unhappy.

“Young one, you’re trying to cheat me. This divine ore is far too small — it’s not even as big as a bean.”

This was merely a divine ore seed. Though certainly precious, everyone present had already seen a divine ore block as large as a fist, and so this one was not particularly shocking by comparison.

Suddenly, the Big Black Dog’s expression stiffened. It pocketed the divine ore and pawed through the shattered stone, pulling out a tuft of red fur — shockingly vivid in color, as though soaked in blood, exuding a somewhat eerie and frightening aura.

Old Zhang the Fifth was greatly startled. He stumbled several steps backward, nearly toppling to the ground, his face draining of color.

Wang Shu and Er Lengzi rushed forward immediately to support him. “Old Fifth, what’s wrong?”

Ye Fan was also startled. He stepped forward and helped steady the old man. “Is something the matter, Elder?”

At the same time, he caught sight of that tuft of red fur. He took it from the Big Black Dog’s paw, and immediately furrowed his brow.

How could something like this end up inside a stone?

He had heard some legends at the stone squares — in ancient mines, there could be source spirits, source ghosts, and source demons, occasionally leaving traces inside the most precious of stone materials.

“Don’t cut any more. These things must not be touched!” Old Zhang the Fifth’s lips trembled, and his face was ashen.

“Old man, what on earth is going on?” Tu Fei asked.

“Wait here — I’ll go and retrieve something passed down by my ancestors, to compare with this red fur.” Supported by Wang Shu and Er Lengzi, Old Zhang the Fifth walked into the inner room.

A very long time passed before he returned, carrying a jade box in his hands — clearly ancient jade, its color dimmed and somewhat dark with age.

“What is this?” Tu Fei didn’t understand.

With a grave expression, Old Zhang the Fifth opened the jade box. Inside were no precious objects — only a few tufts of red hair, deeply unsettling to look at.

These tufts of hair were almost identical to the one cut from the stone instrument; only they had dimmed somewhat with the passage of an enormous length of time, as though stained with tainted blood.

“These…” Tu Fei was puzzled, looking at Old Zhang the Fifth questioningly.

“These are the only things left behind on the night my ancestor the Source Celestial Master vanished.” Old Zhang the Fifth said in a trembling voice.

Ye Fan had heard some of the Source Celestial Master’s story before — in his later years, the man had been deeply ill-omened, seeing all manner of inexplicable things that no one else could perceive, deeply unnerving to all around him.

On the night he disappeared, a whirlwind of red fur had blown up outside, and an unknown and terrifying creature had howled without cease, shrieking throughout the entire night.

The sound had been piercing and dreadful, carrying for dozens of miles, frightening both humans and animals alike, making everyone’s hair stand on end.

That night, a four-year-old child from the Zhang Family had been keeping company with the Source Celestial Master. The child had been so terrified that he lost his mind, and it took more than half a year before he recovered.

According to the child’s account, that night he had seen the Source Celestial Master’s hand covered in red fur, and had caught sight of human-shaped creatures moving outside the window. He had only turned his head away for a moment — and the forefather had vanished forever.

“That eerie?” Tu Fei was greatly taken aback.

He knew well how formidable the Source Celestial Masters were — they could be called extraordinary figures of the world. After their source arts reached the ultimate pinnacle and approached the Great Dao, they possessed the power to shake heaven and earth. Even the Sacred Lords of every great Sacred Ground could not subdue them.

Yet their final years had been so ill-omened, their fate no longer their own. What exactly had happened?

The Big Black Dog’s eyes flickered too, as it quietly contemplated something. After a long while it murmured, “The Source Celestial Masters’ ill-omened later years…”

Ye Fan crouched down and began to reconstruct the original form of the stone instrument. To his astonishment, the stone was hollow — the divine ore inside should have been as large as a human head.

“Something ate it — without breaking the stone skin, it extracted the divine ore from within!”

When this conclusion was reached, not only was Ye Fan astonished — everyone present changed color.

“Just as I thought — anything left behind by a Source Celestial Master couldn’t possibly be ordinary. And yet it was destroyed by some inexplicable creature.” Wang Shu was incensed.

Ye Fan’s expression was grave. He said nothing more, crouched down, and forcefully split open the two stone instruments he had already determined to be empty inside.

The stone grinder truly had nothing in it, but the millstone was quite extraordinary — at its very center, there was a stone fruit.

“This…”

It was obvious that its vital essence had been fully drained, after which it had completely petrified, reverting to an ordinary object.

“What kind of fruit is this? It is certainly no common thing — but sadly its essence has been extracted.”

Everyone present felt the weight of the situation. The rare treasures left behind by the Source Celestial Master had been gotten to first.

“Child, don’t cut any more. These stone instruments are tainted with a demonic power. I’m afraid that what happened to the forefather will happen to you as well — that some ill omen will befall you.” Old Zhang the Fifth urged him. His complexion was very poor.

“It’s all right. Whatever happened must have occurred tens of thousands of years ago. That much time has passed — even if something remained, it would have long since faded away.” Ye Fan shook his head.

“You haven’t understood what I mean. I’m afraid you’ll become tainted with this aura, and that it will cause you trouble in the future — just like the forefather…” Old Zhang the Fifth said in a trembling voice.

“What exactly were the Source Celestial Masters’ terrifying final years — did they themselves undergo some transformation, or did they invite something upon themselves? And where did they ultimately go?” Tu Fei murmured to himself, then said, “Little Leaf, you should truly be careful. The Source Celestial Masters were all extraordinary beings — yet they still couldn’t escape their dreadful fate.”

“I’m not afraid. In the future I’ll see for myself just what terrible thing might befall me.”

Barely had his words fallen when a cold draft appeared within the room, and those red tufts of hair, as though drawn by some terrifying force, drifted onto his body.

Seeing this, even the Big Black Dog’s eyes went wide, and it swept its gaze around the room in sharp alertness.

“That can’t be — it’s already coming for you now?!” Tu Fei exclaimed in shock.

Old Zhang the Fifth’s lips quivered uncontrollably. “The forefather’s fate… is that terrible calamity about to befall someone again?”

Ye Fan’s body let out a great boom. Brilliant divine light erupted from him — he was like an eternal immortal furnace, blazing with ferocious intensity, his blood and vital energy surging like an ocean, as though a true dragon had awakened within him.

All of the red fur shattered, reduced to ash, and shook free of him. Ye Fan was utterly pristine, not a single speck upon him. “I simply refuse to believe in such things. I’ll see in the future just what comes of it!”

He had just felt some unknown force attempting to invade his body — but it had been repelled by the Holy Body, thoroughly purged and destroyed.

“Step back a little. These stones should still have some strangeness lurking within them, but it cannot prevail against me.” Ye Fan said.

Ye Fan cut open several stone grinders in succession — all empty, nothing inside.

“The Source Celestial Master left behind something that can truly be called a sacred cache. The interiors of these stones haven’t all had their essence extracted — so why are they all empty?” Tu Fei was baffled.

Old Zhang the Fifth said, “All the stone instruments in the stronghold are here — but they’re not all mine. Let me pick them out.”

Going by memory, Old Zhang the Fifth selected over a dozen stone instruments — millstones, stone locks, stone platforms, and the like, all everyday objects.

Ye Fan split open the other stones; just as expected, they were all empty with nothing inside — those belonged to other families in the stronghold.

“Crack!”

He cut open four stone instruments in a row, all belonging to Old Zhang the Fifth’s family. His heart was shaken, though he also furrowed his brow — they had clearly all contained rare treasures, but the vital essence had all vanished.

Among them, one stone platform was hollow inside, with a cavity as large as a washbasin, and only a few remnant shards of divine ore remained within it.

“Heavens — a piece of divine ore as big as a washbasin! That would be an earth-shaking treasure beyond all measure — and damn it all, something took it away?!” Tu Fei cried out in alarm.

The Big Black Dog’s eyes went completely rigid, then it let out a howl of anguish. “Is there any justice left in the world?! This Emperor wants to bite someone!”

“Still that same thing — with red fur left behind.” Ye Fan’s expression was grave.

Inside another stone instrument, though not hollow, a strange plant had completely petrified.

At the sight of this, even Ye Fan could no longer remain calm. This was very possibly an ancient divine herb — in the sacred cache left behind by the Source Celestial Master, there was not a single mundane object.

“Damn it all — a divine herb! This is an ancient divine herb!” The Big Black Dog was nearly going mad. Its bell-sized eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “There was a Great Emperor who used this kind of divine herb to refine an immortal elixir, and with it managed to revive a dear friend who had already died!”

The Big Black Dog was behaving like someone possessed, leaping and bounding, circling endlessly around the stone instruments with continuous wolf-like howling.

“Damn it all, a divine herb…” It had truly lost its composure.

When Ye Fan saw the condition of the interior of the third stone instrument, he also wanted to curse — also felt the impulse to lose his composure.

“This is absolutely a petrified Life Destiny Fruit!”

Inside this stone instrument was a stone sphere as large as a bowl — resembling a Human Prime Fruit, also somewhat like a dragon pearl — unmistakably the Life Destiny Fruit, also called the False Dragon Pearl.

“What? The Life Destiny Fruit?! This is absolutely no inferior to an ancient divine herb! Woof—” The Big Black Dog, upon hearing this, was so incensed it could only bark.

Tu Fei’s face was also a mask of shock and regret as he murmured, “The Source Celestial Master truly was heaven-defying. A few stone instruments casually left behind contained things like this — it truly deserves to be called a sacred cache. But… damn it all, what terrifying thing got to it first?”

Old Zhang the Fifth, Wang Shu, and Er Lengzi did not truly understand these rare objects, but they could sense the emotions of Ye Fan and the others, and knew these must be supreme divine artifacts.

Both the ancient divine herb and the Life Destiny Fruit were things Ye Fan desperately desired — they could save little Tingting’s life — yet both had had their vital essences drained away, leaving him with a profound sense of loss.

The sacred cache left behind by the Source Celestial Master had turned out to be an empty gain — and it filled him with deep regret. All of this was simply too much of a shame.

Inside the fourth piece of stone material was a small petrified tree. Everyone wore an expression of complete numbness — without even thinking, they knew it had to be a heaven-defying divine object.

“This Emperor’s heart is bleeding!”

Given the Big Black Dog’s notoriously greedy nature, this was truly an accurate depiction of its feelings.

“Is there any justice at all? The Source Celestial Master’s sacred cache — what on earth was it that stole all of it?!” Tu Fei also felt overwhelmed by regret.

If all these things had appeared in the world together, they would have shaken heaven and earth. Not only the Sacred Lords of every Sacred Ground — even the several Great Emperors of the Central Province would have come to bow in supplication.

Every generation’s elder Sacred Lords and elder Great Emperors, ruling over hundreds of millions of miles of territory, could not obtain even a single ancient divine herb to prolong their lives in their final years, and could only venture into the great wilds themselves to search.

In truth, there had never been any record of anyone succeeding.

Yet the sacred cache that the Source Celestial Master of old had left behind was filled with such heaven-defying divine objects — merely thinking about it was enough to stagger anyone with shock.

Cutting open one stone instrument after another, all of them containing peerless treasures of this kind — it was impossible for anyone to remain calm. One could only feel unbearable frustration.

“Things like these — if they all appeared in the world at once, I’m afraid even heaven would not permit it. Because each one of them can reverse fate and defy the natural order,” Ye Fan said as he gradually regained his composure.

If he had truly obtained all those ancient divine herbs, he would have felt it was unreal — completely unrealistic.

“This Emperor now believes it — there truly is some scoundrel lurking in the shadows, squandering precious gifts beyond all measure!” The Big Black Dog was consumed with indignation.

Such a result — not a single person could help but sigh.

Old Zhang the Fifth suddenly spoke up: “Didn’t we cut out a Human Prime Fruit last time? Perhaps there are still some that were overlooked — not everything was destroyed.”

Of the stone instruments belonging to Old Zhang the Fifth’s family — and thus to the Source Celestial Master — only eight remained. Could cutting open these remaining pieces truly yield world-shaking rare treasures? No one felt certain.

“Cut them open — cut them all open! This Emperor has an intuition that something supremely important may have been overlooked — perhaps even an ancient divine herb!”

The Big Black Dog urged Ye Fan to act, urging him to move immediately, barely able to wait for some earth-shaking rare treasure to emerge at once.