Chapter 311: Black Emperor Goes Mad

"Grandpa..." Xu Yuan was startled, then ecstatic, shouting, "Grandpa, kill them!"

"Xu Tianxiong..." Tu Fei was greatly alarmed and stumbled backward.

"Can you spare my grandson?" Xu Tianxiong asked expressionlessly. He was only a wisp of divine consciousness, but standing there, he seemed to be in harmony with the Great Dao.

"I don't want to make an enemy of your grandson, but he doesn't want to spare me. You also heard him; he wants you to kill us. With his temperament, he will surely harm me in the future." Ye Fan stood with the Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron above his head and the God-Striking Whip in his hand.

"Do you truly intend to kill my grandson?" the old man asked, still expressionless, radiating an oppressive aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

Suddenly, Ye Fan struck directly, unafraid even when facing Xu Tianxiong, who surpassed the mighty Azure Dragon King.

The God-Striking Whip spun out. This wisp of Xu Tianxiong's divine consciousness had been dormant all day, only waking when Xu Yuan's life was in danger. However, despite his immense power, he was merely a wisp of divine consciousness. How could he know the marvel of the God-Striking Whip? He formed a seal and pressed forward.

The God-Striking Whip collided with him head-on in a fierce impact, sending the golden ancient pagoda flying.

Tu Fei hastily protected himself with the Heaven-Swallowing Pot, while Xu Yuan screamed, flung away by the energy surge like a tattered leaf falling in the distance.

"What kind of secret treasure is this?!" Xu Tianxiong, the Third Bandit Lord, whose body was cracking, still managed to utter these words.

Ye Fan did not answer, continuing to wield the God-Striking Whip, shattering it into a burst of light.

Then he unleashed a third strike, and the light collapsed, vanishing completely into the sky, turning into ashes.

"You attacked Xu Tianxiong's divine consciousness?!" Tu Fei was astonished, not expecting Ye Fan to be so audacious.

"Strike first to gain the upper hand. I saw how protective he was of his grandson and feared he might use some secret technique," Ye Fan said, meticulously examining the ancient pagoda for anything unusual. "Besides, since we've offended their lineage, we might as well do it cleanly—eliminate them all so he has no one to trace."

"Don't kill me..." Xu Yuan's heart turned utterly cold. He hadn't known his grandfather's divine consciousness was in the ancient pagoda. He had stumbled upon it, thinking he could escape danger, but this was the outcome.

Tu Fei sighed, "Xu Tianxiong is indeed terrifying. This was just a wisp of his divine consciousness. If it were his true body, just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end."

After careful inspection, the golden ancient pagoda contained nothing else. Ye Fan tossed it to Tu Fei, saying, "This golden ancient pagoda is quite good. You can keep it."

Tu Fei shook his head like a rattle-drum, saying, "Who would dare use this? If Xu Tianxiong found out, he'd hunt them across the entire world."

Ye Fan chuckled, "Leave it to that dog. I bet if it sees it, it'll snatch it itself."

"Are you really going to kill him?" Tu Fei frowned, thinking that killing Xu Yuan would be very troublesome.

"Do I have any other choice? Should I let him go? You know with his temperament, he'll definitely stir up endless trouble to harm me," Ye Fan said.

"Don't kill me, please let me go! I promise I won't cause you any trouble!" Xu Yuan cried out. At this moment, he was filled with terror; his life hung on the other's whim.

Tu Fei thought for a moment and said, "Why not seal him for now, and spare his life? I'm afraid Xu Tianxiong will find out about this sooner or later, and then it would truly be irreversible. Going to war with him would be a headache for all the Holy Lords."

"Alright," Ye Fan nodded. Unfortunately, he didn't have a suitable artifact for sealing. He couldn't open the Li Fire Divine Furnace; without being in a chaotic force field, if he recklessly opened it, the Golden-Winged Little Peng King, Yi Shengzi, and Yao Xi could definitely break out. And he was hesitant to use the golden ancient pagoda, as it was, after all, the opponent's weapon.

"Why not let me seal him?" Tu Fei said, putting Xu Yuan into the Heaven-Swallowing Pot.

"Is that... Woof!" The Black Emperor happened to run over, and upon seeing this, its large, bell-like eyes almost popped out.

It transformed into a black lightning bolt, lunging fiercely at Tu Fei.

"Damn, this dog's gone crazy!" Tu Fei yelled, realizing the Black Emperor was furious and astonished, intending to fight him to the death.

Ye Fan quickly stepped between them, using the God-Striking Whip to block the Black Emperor, saying, "What's wrong with you? Why are you going crazy?"

The Black Emperor panted heavily, its eyes glaring angrily, "Where did you get that pot from?"

"You greedy dog! This is a replica, not the real thing. What's there to steal?" Tu Fei scoffed.

"Of course I know it's a replica, but without the original, how could you replicate it?" The Black Emperor's emotions surged, its massive body trembling slightly.

Tu Fei eyed it askance, "You didn't crawl out of a grave, did you? Who in the Northern Region doesn't know my grandfather possesses the incomplete ancient Heaven-Swallowing Pot? Of course he helped me replicate it."

"Awoo..." The Black Emperor let out a wolf-like howl, utterly furious and deeply sorrowful, cursing, "Damn it, that's my cherished treasure! How did your old-timer grandfather steal it?!"

"How dare you speak like that, you wretched dog?" Tu Fei was displeased. "What nonsense are you spouting? My grandfather has had the ancient Heaven-Swallowing Pot for hundreds of years! What's it to you?!"

"Awoo... Woof!" The Black Emperor howled like a wolf and barked like a dog, its emotions extremely agitated. It ran around the mountaintop for over a dozen laps, unable to calm down.

"It's over, this wretched dog has been triggered." Ye Fan knew that the treasure the Black Emperor was obsessed with, left by the Ruthless Emperor, must be this ancient Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Pot. He briefly explained the situation to Tu Fei to avoid further agitating the Black Emperor.

"How did your grandfather get it?" After a full half-hour, the Black Emperor slowly calmed down and asked fiercely.

"He picked it up," Tu Fei answered truthfully.

"Damn it, picked it up?!" The Black Emperor was nearly frantic. "Back then, I risked my life to unearth it, trapped for years in the Ruthless Emperor's Daoist field, and your grandfather just casually picked it up? Are you trying to infuriate me to death?!"

"Everyone in the Northern Region knows this story. My grandfather was indeed very lucky. He found a pot by a dried-up ancient riverbed, never imagining it would be the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Pot that shook the ancient era."

"Woof, woof, woof..." The Black Emperor couldn't bear it anymore and started sprinting around the mountaintop again, barking incessantly.

The Black Emperor couldn't withstand such a shock. It had risked its life but never even laid eyes on the Demonic Pot, while someone else just easily picked it up.

"Where did your grandfather pick it up?" the Black Emperor asked unwillingly.

"Last time you came looking for me, didn't you cause a big commotion in the Cloud-Severing Mountain Range? Years ago, my grandfather picked it up by a riverbed outside those mountains."

The Black Emperor truly felt like spitting blood. Not only was its heart wounded, but its liver and lungs were also hurting; its entire body ached. It fiercely roared to the sky, "This is utterly unfair! How can this Emperor bear it?!"

In ancient times, the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Pot awe-inspired the world, and many legends surrounded it.

One account states that an Emperor from before the ancient era, whose lifespan was ending and who was about to perish, used his primordial spirit as fire and his peerless flesh as clay, supplemented by endless divine materials from the legends of the Eastern Wasteland, to forge his own body into the ceramic pot, leaving behind an ultimate weapon for his descendants.

Others say that this Emperor cultivated the Undying Heavenly Art. Within his dying old body, he gave birth to a divine embryo, breaking through decay to establish new life, and refined his old body into an ultimate weapon—the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Pot.

"Whether it was his old body or his true body, it was still his body in the end. What a ruthless figure, refining himself!" the Black Emperor exclaimed.

This also indirectly illustrates how precious sacred artifacts like Phoenix Blood Vermilion Gold and Myriad Things Mother Qi are—rarely seen for thousands of generations. Not even Great Emperors are guaranteed to obtain them; otherwise, who would refine their own body into an ultimate sacred weapon?

The Black Emperor asked, "You mean your old-timer grandfather only picked up the Demonic Pot hundreds of years ago, but didn't get the lid?"

"How dare you speak like that, you wretched dog?" Tu Fei glared at it.

"Alright, let's say this Emperor misspoke. Has the lid not appeared?" the Black Emperor asked nervously.

Tu Fei replied, "No, in this world today, there's only the Demonic Pot; the lid hasn't been seen. My grandfather searched in many places too, but found nothing."

"The lid is the most essential part. Legend says it was refined from the Emperor's skull, supplemented with immortal materials, and bears his primordial spirit's imprint. The 'Demonic' character of the ancient Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Pot is fully embodied by it, making it the source of its terrifying power."

The Black Emperor finally wasn't so despairing. It vowed to obtain the lid. Then it glared fiercely at Tu Fei and said, "Tell your grandfather to be careful. This Emperor will come looking for him later!"

"Damn it..." Tu Fei cursed.

Finally, after the Black Emperor had completely calmed down, it noticed the golden ancient pagoda not far away, just as Ye Fan had expected.

It pounced forward, snatched it, and held it down with a large paw, saying, "This golden pagoda is just mediocre, barely usable for this Emperor for a while."

"This is the treasure of Xu Tianxiong, the Third Bandit Lord. We sealed his grandson. Do you dare use it?" Ye Fan stated.

"Who's Xu Tianxiong? Never heard of him," the Black Emperor said dismissively.

"He's above the Azure Dragon King. You can weigh that yourself," Tu Fei said.

"Damn it..." the Black Emperor cursed, but still didn't give up. "This Emperor will keep it for now and worry about it later!" It preferred to snatch good things rather than let them go, even if it was a mistake.

Ye Fan and his companions did not stay long in Anzhou. As Xu Yuan had indicated, they traveled to Kunzhou and began a frantic search for sources.

Xu Yuan's ambition was considerable. He secretly cultivated his forces, laying out plans for the future without even his grandfather or elder brother knowing. Unfortunately, upon encountering two men and a dog, all his efforts came to naught.

Over the past half-month, Ye Fan had plundered all the roving bandits in Kunzhou, seizing twenty-eight thousand catties of Source, significantly more than anticipated.

Kunzhou was a beautiful place, with evergreen trees covering the mountains and plains, including green pines, immortal maples, purple bamboo, and frost vines.

Even in late autumn, the land was full of vitality. Immortal maples swayed, their leaves crystalline, like jade trees of emerald, shimmering with green light, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Additionally, some maple trees bore snow-white flowers. As the breeze swept by, the petals danced and scattered, releasing a refreshing fragrance that invigorated the mind.

Ahead, spiritual springs flowed in bubbling streams, winding through the immortal maple forest.

"Oh, there's someone ahead, a stunning maiden!" Tu Fei nearly howled. "She's incredibly captivating, a peerless beauty. Have you noticed her uniquely pure aura, like a crystal heart, like a celestial flower on an iceberg?"

A maiden capable of catching Tu Fei's eye and eliciting such admiration was naturally extraordinary. His lifelong ambition was to take a saintess as his wife, so his standards were very high.

In the green-glowing immortal maple forest, a blue-clad maiden was untouched by worldly dust, possessing an ethereal beauty, like a pure white lotus rolling with dew, or a fresh snow lotus on a snowy mountain.

Every immortal maple tree resembled green agate, dripping with verdant color, while white petals drifted down, dancing around the maiden, sparkling brightly and exuding a rich fragrance, making her appear like an otherworldly sprite, elegant and captivating.

"It's her..." Ye Fan was startled.