Chapter 354: Cutting Open Master Yuan's Divine Treasury

"Is this a divine treasure left by the Origin Heaven Master?" Tu Fei was astonished. He had never imagined that the seemingly ordinary stone roller and stone pier on the ground would have such a profound origin. This wasn't merely a treasure; it was truly a divine hoard!

The large black dog, almost like a scoundrel, lay sprawled on the ground, its large paws pressing down on a pile of stone tools, stubbornly refusing to move.

Ye Fan threatened, "Don't lie around here causing trouble. I've encountered Stone Kings in Divine City; who knows, there might be one here too. If something bizarre is cut from these stones, you'll be the first to suffer."

"What's a Stone King?" the large black dog scoffed nonchalantly. "I've even seen kings among the ancient races."

"You're full of hot air!" Tu Fei scoffed, disbelieving.

Ye Fan, however, felt a stir within him. He was certain the black dog had come from Purple Mountain, and he had already pieced together some of its origins. Recalling that the great holy lands of the Eastern Wasteland and the Hundred Schools of Thought from the Central Plains were about to launch their largest ever assault on Purple Mountain, wielding ultimate holy weapons, he couldn't help but ask, "Black Sovereign, are you certain Purple Mountain is unharmed?"

"Don't worry," replied the dog. "No one will get anything. Even if they manage to enter, I guarantee they will suffer heavy casualties and retreat in disarray."

"Divine King Jiang Taixu is inside Purple Mountain. Do you think he can be rescued?" he pressed on, this being his most critical question.

"How would I know? I've never been inside Purple Mountain. Hurry up and cut into the divine hoard!" The black dog dodged the question, unwilling to elaborate.

Eventually, Ye Fan moved dozens of stone tools into the house and began examining them by the fireplace.

Old Man Zhang was visibly restless, watching from the side. Wang Shu and Er Lengzi were even more excited, constantly rubbing their hands together, eager to participate.

Ye Fan activated his Origin Heaven Divine Sense, and two purple beams shot from his eyes as he meticulously examined each item.

These stone tools appeared unremarkable, but when viewed through his Origin Heaven Divine Sense, each one revealed something extraordinary.

"Stone material from the Primeval Restricted Zone!"

Ye Fan was astonished. While these stones typically appeared unremarkable, a strong primeval aura could be sensed once they were meticulously examined with his Origin Heaven Divine Sense. He successively checked two stones, finding them empty. But as he lifted the third stone pier, his eyes flashed, and he declared, "There's divine source in here!"

The large black dog couldn't sit still. "Let me see!" it demanded.

"If I let you see it, it'll be like throwing a meat bun to a dog – gone forever."

"Kid, you speak too harshly!" the black dog said indignantly.

"Isn't it?" Ye Fan chuckled. "You can have it, but don't even think about touching the other stone tools below."

"Alright, no problem," the black dog readily agreed. It nudged Er Lengzi beside it. "Apprentice," it commanded shamelessly, "help me cut it open." It had once given pointers to both Wang Shu and Er Lengzi on cultivation, and now it was boldly ordering them around.

"Crack!"

Er Lengzi, being quite direct, simply slapped it open with one hand, having no patience for a proper cut.

The black dog grimaced, heartbroken, and roared furiously, "Be careful! There's divine source inside. If you ruin it, I'll throw you into the Primeval Ancient Mine!"

It quickly pawed through the crushed stones, searching for the divine source.

A brilliant divine light shot out, dazzling and splendid, emanating a sacred aura. However, the black dog was clearly displeased.

"This is a scam, kid! This piece of divine source is far too tiny; it's not even the size of a bean!"

This was merely a divine source "bean." While precious, the others present had already seen fist-sized chunks of divine source, so this discovery was less astonishing.

Suddenly, the black dog's expression froze. It put away the divine source and, from the pile of crushed stones, pulled out a tuft of red hair. It was eerily vibrant, as if stained with blood, and emanated a chilling, tragic aura.

Old Man Zhang was greatly alarmed, stumbling back several steps and nearly falling, his face deathly pale.

Wang Shu and Er Lengzi rushed forward, supporting him. "Old Man Zhang, what's wrong?" they asked.

Ye Fan was also startled. He stepped forward to support the elder. "Old man, is something amiss?" he inquired.

At the same time, he saw the tuft of red hair. Taking it from the black dog's paw, he immediately frowned.

How could something like this be inside a stone?

He had heard legends in the stone gambling dens about "source gods," "source ghosts," and "source devils" residing in ancient mines, occasionally leaving traces in the most precious stone materials.

"Don't cut any more! These things must not be touched!" Old Man Zhang's lips trembled, his face pale.

"Old Man, what exactly is going on?" Tu Fei asked.

"Wait here," Old Man Zhang said, "I'll fetch something left by our ancestors to compare with this red hair." Supported by Wang Shu and Er Lengzi, he walked into the inner room.

After a considerable wait, he reappeared, carrying an antique jade box. Its color was faded and dull, clearly ancient.

"What is this?" Tu Fei asked, bewildered.

Old Man Zhang gravely opened the jade box. Inside, there was nothing valuable, only a few tufts of red hair, which were quite unsettling.

These tufts of hair were almost identical to the one cut from the stone tool, merely faded by time, as if stained with foul blood.

"These..." Tu Fei looked at Old Man Zhang, his expression puzzled.

"This is the only thing my ancestor, the Origin Heaven Master, left behind on the night he disappeared," Old Man Zhang said, his voice trembling.

Ye Fan had heard stories about the Origin Heaven Master's later years, which were plagued by ill omens. He would see many strange things that others could not, which was truly unsettling.

On the night he vanished, outside, red-haired whirlwinds formed, and unknown, terrifying creatures howled ceaselessly, shrieking throughout the entire night.

The sounds were shrill and tragic, echoing for dozens of miles, terrifying both humans and animals, and sending shivers down one's spine.

On that same night, a four-year-old child from the Zhang family, who had been with the Origin Heaven Master, was so terrified that he became imbecilic and was only cured more than half a year later.

According to the child, that night, he saw his great-grandfather's hand covered in red hair and also witnessed humanoid creatures moving outside the window. He only glanced away for a moment, and his great-grandfather vanished forever.

"That ominous?" Tu Fei was taken aback.

He knew well the Origin Heaven Master's immense power; he was considered a truly remarkable figure. After mastering Origin Techniques to their peak, he neared the Great Dao, possessing abilities that could traverse heaven and earth, powers that even the various Holy Lords could not match.

Yet, their later years were so ill-fated, beyond their control. What exactly transpired?

The black dog's eyes also flickered as it pondered deeply. After a long silence, it finally spoke: "The Origin Heaven Master's later years were indeed ominous..."

Ye Fan squatted on the ground and began to reassemble the stone tool. To his surprise, he found the stone was hollow, indicating the divine source should have been the size of a human head.

"Something consumed it, taking the divine source without even damaging the stone's surface!"

Upon learning this, not only was he surprised, but everyone present changed expression.

"I knew it!" Wang Shu exclaimed indignantly. "How could anything left by the Origin Heaven Master be ordinary? But it was ruined by some unknown creature."

Ye Fan's expression turned grave. Without another word, he squatted down and forcefully split open the two stone tools he had previously determined to contain no rare treasures.

The stone roller indeed contained nothing, but the stone pier was quite extraordinary. At its very center, there was actually a stone fruit.

"This..."

Clearly, its essence had completely drained, and it had then entirely petrified, becoming an ordinary object.

"What kind of fruit is this? It's certainly not ordinary, but unfortunately, its essence has been drained away."

Everyone felt the gravity of the situation. The rare treasures left by the Origin Heaven Master had been claimed by someone else first.

"Child, stop cutting," Old Man Zhang urged, his face etched with worry. "These stone tools are tainted with demonic power. I fear something ominous might happen to you, just as it did to our ancestor."

"It's fine," Ye Fan replied, shaking his head. "Whatever happened that night ten thousand years ago, so much time has passed that anything remaining would have long since vanished."

"You don't understand what I mean," Old Man Zhang said, his voice trembling. "I'm afraid you'll become tainted by this aura and bring about something in the future, just like our ancestor..."

"As for the Origin Heaven Master's terrifying later years, did he undergo a mutation himself, or did he attract something? Where did they ultimately go?" Tu Fei mused aloud, then added, "Little Ye, you really must be cautious. Origin Heaven Masters were extraordinary individuals, yet they couldn't escape a dreadful fate."

"I'm not afraid. I'll see what terrible things might happen to me in the future."

No sooner had he spoken than a chilling gust of wind swept through the room. The red hairs, seemingly pulled by a terrible force, landed on his body.

Witnessing this, even the black dog's eyes widened, and it cautiously scanned its surroundings.

"No way, it's coming for you already?!" Tu Fei exclaimed, shocked.

Old Man Zhang's lips quivered. "Our ancestor's fate... Is that calamity about to recur?"

Ye Fan's body boomed, emitting brilliant divine light. He resembled an eternal immortal furnace, intensely hot, his vital energy surging like a vast sea, like a true dragon awakening.

All the red hairs shattered into dust and fell to the ground. Ye Fan, his body perfectly clean, declared, "I truly don't believe in evil. I'll see what happens in the future!"

He had just felt an unknown force attempting to invade his body, but it was repelled and completely purified by his Saint Body.

"Step back a bit," Ye Fan instructed. "These stones likely still contain some residual oddities, but they can't harm me."

Ye Fan successively cut open several stone grinders, all of which were empty.

"What the Origin Heaven Master left behind must be a divine hoard. The essence within these stones hasn't been absorbed, so why are they empty?" Tu Fei wondered, puzzled.

Old Man Zhang said, "All the stone tools from the stone village are here, and not all of them belong to my family. Let me select some."

Relying on his memory, Old Man Zhang selected over ten stone tools, including stone piers, stone locks, and stone tables—all everyday items.

Ye Fan then cut open the remaining stones, and as expected, they were all empty. These were stone tools belonging to other families in the stone village.

"Crack!"

He consecutively cut open four more stone tools, all from Old Man Zhang's family. He was deeply shaken, yet also frowned, for while they undoubtedly contained rare treasures, their essences had all vanished.

One of these, a stone table, was hollow inside, with a cavity as large as a washbasin, containing only a few remaining fragments of divine source.

"Oh my gods, a divine source chunk the size of a washbasin! This is an astounding treasure! Damn it, what took it?!" Tu Fei cried out in alarm.

The black dog's eyes went wide, then it let out a miserable howl. "Is there any justice in this world? This Emperor wants to bite someone!"

"It's still that same thing; red hair remnants are left behind," Ye Fan stated, his expression grave.

While the interior of another stone tool wasn't hollow, a strange plant inside it had petrified.

Witnessing this, even Ye Fan could not remain calm. This was highly likely a primeval divine medicine. The divine treasures left by the Origin Heaven Master truly contained no mundane items.

"Damn it, a divine medicine! This is a primeval divine medicine!" The black dog was practically going mad, its large, bell-like eyes nearly bulging. "A great emperor once refined an immortal elixir from this very kind of divine medicine and actually resurrected a deceased friend!"

The black dog, as if possessed, leaped and bounded, continuously circling the stone tools and howling without stop.

"Damn it, a divine medicine..." It truly was going mad.

When Ye Fan clearly saw what was inside the third stone tool, he too felt like cursing and had an urge to go mad.

"This is definitely a petrified Earth Life Fruit!"

Inside this stone tool was a bowl-sized stone bead, strongly resembling a Human Origin Fruit, and also somewhat like a dragon's pearl. It was undoubtedly an Earth Life Fruit, also known as the "False Dragon Pearl."

"What? An Earth Life Fruit? This is absolutely no less valuable than a primeval divine medicine! Woof..." The black dog, upon hearing this, was so enraged it yelped loudly.

Tu Fei, his face full of shock and regret, murmured, "The Origin Heaven Master truly defied the heavens. He casually left a few stone tools, and they're all things like this. It truly deserves to be called a divine hoard, but... damn it, what terrifying entity got here first?"

Although Old Man Zhang, Wang Shu, and Er Lengzi didn't fully comprehend these rare treasures, they could sense Ye Fan and the others' emotions, knowing that these must be peerless divine objects.

Primeval divine medicine and Earth Life Fruits were precisely what Ye Fan desperately sought, as they could save Little Tingting's life. However, their essences had all been drained, leaving him profoundly disappointed.

The divine hoard left by the Origin Heaven Master turned out to be empty, filling him with regret. It was all truly a great pity.

Inside the fourth stone, there was a petrified small tree. Everyone's faces were blank; they knew without a doubt that it was a heaven-defying divine object.

"This Emperor's heart is bleeding!"

Given the black dog's greedy nature, this was truly an accurate depiction of its feelings.

"Is there any justice left in this world? The Origin Heaven Master's divine hoard, what stole it?!" Tu Fei was also filled with regret.

If all these items were to appear in the world, they would undoubtedly shock everyone. Not only would the Holy Lords of the various Holy Lands be stunned, but even the great Imperial Sovereigns of the Central Plains would humbly beg for them.

Throughout history, even ancient Holy Lords and Imperial Sovereigns, who commanded immense territories, could not obtain a single primeval divine medicine to prolong their lives in their old age, often having to venture into the vast wilderness themselves.

In fact, no one had ever been known to successfully find one.

Yet, the divine hoard left by the former Origin Heaven Master consisted entirely of such heaven-defying divine objects. The mere thought was astonishing.

After successively cutting open several more stone tools, each revealing peerless rare treasures, no one could remain calm; they were filled with immense frustration.

"If all these items were to appear at once, perhaps even the heavens would not permit it, for each one has the power to defy fate and alter destiny," Ye Fan gradually calmed himself.

If he were to actually obtain these primeval divine medicines, he would find it unbelievable, utterly unrealistic.

"This Emperor now believes it; there truly is a scoundrel in the shadows, wasting these divine treasures!" The black dog grumbled bitterly.

Such a result left no one without a sigh.

Old Man Zhang suddenly spoke, "Didn't we cut out a Human Origin Fruit last time? Perhaps some were overlooked and not all were destroyed."

Only eight stone tools belonged to Old Man Zhang's family, meaning they were left by the Origin Heaven Master. Could truly astonishing rare treasures be cut from these few remaining stones? None of them felt confident.

"Cut them open, cut all of them open! This Emperor has a hunch that some incredibly important divine object might have been missed, perhaps even a primeval divine medicine!"

The black dog urged Ye Fan to act, eager for him to immediately cut out some astonishing rare treasure.