The sky was overcast, with howling ice and snow.

Firewood crackled in the furnace, firelight dancing, and the room was warm. Several people sat surrounding eight stone instruments, preparing to cut them open.

“Step back a little.”

Ye Fan gestured for everyone to move back. Though more than ten thousand years had passed, these stones still harbored some uncanny power within them.

“Crack!”

The first stone instrument was cut open. A gray powder flowed from the stone’s core, like sand, scattering across the ground.

“What is this?”

Everyone gathered closer, glancing at one another in puzzlement, unable to identify what it was.

“This was certainly something valuable — but its vital essence was extracted and only the powder remains. Otherwise it would most likely have been a divine object capable of raising the dead and restoring flesh to bone.”

Not even Ye Fan could determine exactly what it was — though there was no real need to investigate further, since it held no value any longer.

Four stone instruments were cut open in succession. The stone cores were either hollow or petrified — in every case, the essence of the rare treasures had ceased to exist.

When the fifth stone instrument was split open along a crack, a cold and gloomy aura burst forth — more bone-piercingly frigid than the icy world outside the window, sending wave after wave of shivers through everyone’s hearts.

“Something good has finally come out — it’s not empty this time,” Tu Fei exclaimed in astonishment.

The Big Black Dog’s eyes flashed with light. Its body lowered slightly — the posture of something preparing to pounce and snatch.

Ye Fan glanced sideways at it. “Behave yourself. Don’t try to grab everything.”

“Rest assured — This Emperor has never done anything so lacking in virtue.” The Big Black Dog wore a look of complete harmlessness.

“Crack!”

The second cut fell, widening the gap further. The bone-piercing cold aura grew even sharper, and at the same time, faint points of sacred light began to emanate from within.

“There really is something good in there!” Tu Fei cried out.

Old Zhang the Fifth, Wang Shu, and Er Lengzi were also shocked, all staring wide-eyed at the stone instrument in Ye Fan’s hands.

The Big Black Dog was practically drooling, its body inching forward another few steps in that crouching posture, one pair of large paws nearly already reaching out.

Tu Fei said with irritation, “Just look at you — everyone can see you’re up to no good. Are you really thinking of snatching it?”

The Big Black Dog put on an expression of disdain. “Am I that kind of creature? I have never done such things. I have always conducted myself by virtue and moral standing.”

“You, of all creatures, conducting yourself by moral standing?” Ye Fan couldn’t even be bothered to take the jab at it.

“Rest easy — This Emperor is not that kind of creature. This Emperor would never do such things.” The Big Black Dog wore a look of honest simplicity.

Ye Fan said no more. The third cut fell. Sacred golden light flowed and swirled, spilling out from the stone instrument and giving it a faint golden luminescence. The room became piercingly cold — everyone felt as though they had fallen into an icy cellar.

“Something’s off — there’s something strange here. Don’t move!” The Big Black Dog suddenly said.

Everyone in the room was startled by it. Tu Fei and the others all stepped back.

“What did you find?” Old Zhang the Fifth asked.

The Big Black Dog did not answer. Its broad head and large ears, its expression deeply grave, its bell-sized eyes wide and round, it leaned its head forward and inched its paws forward.

“Damn — the dead dog is completely lacking in virtue! It really is trying to snatch the treasure?!” Tu Fei exclaimed aloud from the side.

The Big Black Dog was thoroughly unprincipled. Under the pretense of danger, it lunged, snatched up the stone instrument in its mouth, and bolted for the outside — its movements incredibly fast.

Tu Fei was furious. Old Zhang the Fifth, Wang Shu, and Er Lengzi were all left slack-jawed, wishing they could beat it senseless — but the Big Black Dog was slippery as an eel, and vanished in a streak before anyone could stop it.

“After it! That shameless dog — it even snatches from its own people!” Tu Fei shouted.

“Don’t bother chasing. There’s nothing good inside,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

“Awoo—”

Almost simultaneously, the Black Emperor let out a shriek — as though someone had stepped on its bald tail — so piercing that it frightened away all the wolves within dozens of miles.

Everyone stepped outside and saw the Big Black Dog foaming at the mouth, every hair on its body standing straight up, bristling like a hedgehog — clearly it had suffered a terrible fright.

“Young one, did you see this coming from the start?!” The Big Black Dog barked in exasperation.

“See what coming?” Ye Fan smiled.

“You tricked me!” The Big Black Dog’s face had gone green, retching uncontrollably.

Everyone came over, and Er Lengzi pried open the shattered stone instrument. With a rolling tumble, a skull came bowling out.

Everyone leapt backward. Only the Black Emperor lay prostrate in the snow, gagging violently — it had nearly swallowed the skull whole after biting through the stone.

“Heavens — how could there be something like this inside a stone instrument?!” Wang Shu cried out.

Old Zhang the Fifth and Er Lengzi stumbled back, nearly collapsing to the ground.

“Is this some ancient creature?” Tu Fei was deeply unsettled.

It was a shriveled skull — nothing but a layer of dried skin clinging to the bone. Atop it were a few wisps of wild-grass-like withered yellow hair, extremely sparse. The bone-chilling aura of cold emanated precisely from this. Amid the shattered stone in the snow, remnant shards of divine ore glinted, making the skull appear all the more ghastly.

“Young one, did you do that on purpose?” The Big Black Dog glared at Ye Fan with a murderous look in its eyes.

“I hadn’t even cut it open yet — you grabbed it yourself,” Ye Fan said.

“Serves you right. Who told you to be so greedy, snatching at every treasure you see? You brought it entirely on yourself.” Tu Fei drove the point home.

“Woof—” “Woof—” “Woof—”

The dog barked furiously, throwing the stone stronghold into an uproar of chickens and dogs scattering in all directions.

“All right, stop that noise — you’ll bring the she-wolves running.”

“Serves you right — that’s what you get for being greedy!”

Not a single person had any sympathy for it. Everyone began to laugh, including Old Zhang the Fifth, who was shaking his head.

The Big Black Dog was deeply sullen, knowing it had brought this on itself. Crestfallen and deflated, it chewed snow to rinse its mouth and grumbled, “Damn it all — This Emperor, so magnificently wise and mighty, why does misfortune always find me?!”

“This old and crafty dog is truly one of a kind. There’s nothing more to be said.” Everyone shook their heads, suppressing their laughter.

After careful examination, it could be determined that the skull had apparently been sealed within a piece of divine ore. Unfortunately, whatever terrifying thing had been here before had consumed the ore and left only the dried skull behind — it held no value. In the end, Er Lengzi found a spot and buried it.

Ye Fan and the others returned to the room.

The Big Black Dog was thoroughly sulky, dragging its feet, hanging its head low as it also trudged inside.

Seeing it in that state, no one could hold back — everyone burst into laughter.

“What are you all laughing at?!” The Big Black Dog rolled its eyes, bald tail raised high. Then it crouched down, fixed its bell-sized eyes wide open, and stared at the sixth stone instrument.

“Crack!”

Ye Fan cut open the sixth stone instrument. A faint fragrance drifted out, and a few drops of liquid seeped through.

“Could something good finally have come out this time? At least it’s not empty.” The Big Black Dog’s eyes went wide again — though this time it didn’t dare make a rash grab.

“Bring a jade vessel!” Ye Fan said.

Tu Fei handed him a white jade bottle — crystalline and translucent, refined through repeated consecration into an ideal vessel for preserving rare objects.

Ye Fan carefully opened the stone instrument. At its center was just a small pool of liquid, exuding faint traces of a clear fragrance — impossible to identify at a glance.

“Could this be some kind of divine fruit that dissolved away?” Tu Fei guessed.

Ye Fan poured the liquid carefully into the jade vessel and observed it closely, unable to determine what it was. “Judging by the shape of the cavity at the stone’s core, it does look like a fruit was there. Now it’s become liquid — hard to say what medicinal properties might still remain.”

“It might be some kind of divine fluid!” The Big Black Dog’s eyes gleamed with light, and one glance was enough to know it was up to no good again.

“Don’t get any ideas — want me to let you taste it?” Ye Fan said with a smile.

The Big Black Dog was tempted, but thinking back to the time it had snatched the Human Prime Fruit and been poisoned to the verge of death, it absolutely refused to eat anything recklessly. It shook its head firmly. “No tasting for me — better just let me keep it safe for you.”

“Don’t even dream of it!” Ye Fan gave it no chance to make a grab, a flash of light, and the liquid was absorbed directly into his body.

Though this liquid’s nature was still unknown, it could be taken to the Sacred City and asked about — those old relics there would certainly know. It might even turn out to be a world-shaking rare object.

Two stone instruments remained. Ye Fan raised his blade and cut one open — but nothing came out. The interior was hollow, the rare treasure long gone.

Though everyone had mentally prepared themselves, a few people still felt a pang of disappointment. The sacred cache left behind by the Source Celestial Master was truly extraordinary, all of it heaven-defying divine objects.

Yet they had been gotten to first by something terrifying, and almost nothing had been left behind.

Thinking about it carefully — whether the Human Prime Fruit they had cut out last time or this violet stone gall, neither had fully ripened. In the tens of thousands of years before, they would have been even more undeveloped. It was for precisely that reason that they had been left behind.

“What a shame — a sacred cache like this, and it was destroyed!” Tu Fei was filled with regret.

Of everything gained this time, aside from the stone gall, there was only that bottle of unknown liquid — its value impossible to estimate now, though Ye Fan’s heart was filled with quiet anticipation. It might yet be a world-shaking rare object.

In the early evening, when the wind and snow finally ceased, a tall and powerful figure appeared in the stone stronghold. Pang Bo had arrived.

He looked every bit the part of his name — carrying a sense of vast and surging might about him. His brows were thick, his eyes large, his bone frame broad and massive, extraordinarily robust. His arms were as thick as another man’s thighs.

Having now cultivated the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Scripture, his entire bearing had taken on a uniquely special quality — powerful and razor-sharp, his eyes bright and piercing, like a divine being of the demon race descended to the mortal world.

His black hair was loose and flowing, his posture heroic and upright, his gaze incisive — utterly martial and mighty, with an aura of tremendous power about him.

Ye Fan’s divine sense was exceptionally sharp, and between the two of them there was no one he knew better. He detected Pang Bo’s aura at the very first moment, and covered several hundred meters in a few strides, meeting him in front of the stone stronghold.

“Pang Bo!”

“Ye Zi!”

Meeting again, both men broke into laughter. In this world, to have a dear friend from one’s homeland as a companion — perhaps that was heaven’s greatest gift of all.

There were no pleasantries between them. They greeted each other with a few good-natured punches first. Ye Fan asked, “How did you find your way here?”

“Two days ago, when I was hunting down one of Yao Guang’s candidate holy sons, I ran into that dog you keep. It told me the location,” Pang Bo said with a grin.

Though he had taken on a demon-god-like bearing, he was still the same Pang Bo as before — his character unchanged, only having become incredibly martial and formidable. His bronze-toned flesh gleamed with precious radiance.

“Woof — who does that mutt belong to?!” The Big Black Dog was incensed. It raised its bald tail and came running out of the room.

Ye Fan said, “This dead dog only told me it had run into you — it never said you were coming. It must have had its eye on the Demon Emperor’s Ancient Scripture.”

“Brother, you are truly ferocious — hunting down disciples of the Sacred Grounds all by yourself. You are a model for people like us to admire. My respect is boundless!” Tu Fei laughed heartily, stepping out of the room to greet him. “It’s rare to meet someone like you. Today we must drink our fill!” He grinned.

Though Ye Fan and Pang Bo had not seen each other for a long time, there was not a trace of unfamiliarity between them. In this world, they were absolutely the people closest to each other.

“Ha ha ha—” Pang Bo also laughed heartily. He could see that Tu Fei and Ye Fan had an unusually close bond, and naturally gave him a great deal of face. “Tonight — we don’t stop until we’re completely drunk!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear. I’ll have someone prepare the black dog meat!” Tu Fei laughed, feeling that Pang Bo was very much to his taste.

“Woof!”

“Damn it — dead dog, don’t bite me! I’ll get donkey meat and mutton — will that do?!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Before long, steaming hot food and drink were brought out. There were golden roasted leg of lamb, fragrant crispy chicken wings, large bowls of wine raised in toast, great mouthfuls of meat — the atmosphere was lively and warm.

“Brother Pang, you went to hunt down Yao Guang’s candidate holy son — did you get him?” Tu Fei asked.

“I struck him down with heavy injuries. Whether he lives or dies, he’ll at minimum have shed a layer of skin. Unfortunately he was quick enough to get away — his ability to flee for his life was remarkably strong.” Pang Bo said with regret.

Tu Fei clicked his tongue — this person before him was truly ferocious beyond all measure. To go hunting a holy son was something no ordinary person would dare to do, let alone actually do.

“He fled into Ice Snow Palace and hid inside, sheltered by that great sect and unwilling to come out. If not for that, he would have died without a doubt.” Pang Bo explained.

“Brother Pang, you even dare to hunt holy sons from every Sacred Ground. Let’s join forces and do something big — go together, kill a few holy sons, capture a few holy maidens back.” Tu Fei made this suggestion.

“Good — let’s vent some anger for Ye Zi.” Pang Bo set down his wine bowl. “I’ve learned the whereabouts of one holy son and two holy maidens. Perfect opportunity to go hunt them down.”

“Ha ha ha — now we’re talking!” Tu Fei, who loved nothing more than stirring up chaos, was elated. “Kill the holy son, capture the holy maidens!”

The Big Black Dog had also been drinking, its eyes bleary, and it bellowed out, “Collect human pets!”