The giant phantom dog paw stood horizontally between heaven and earth making it a truly majestic sight to behold. Gradually, it disappeared with the wind and the world regained its tranquility.
Taoist Junjun and others stood behind Blackie, staring at his back. There was never a moment in their lives, unlike this moment, where they truly felt a dog’s back could paint such an imposing picture.
Blackie was as powerful as ever and they did not think that would ever change in the future. Though it was a pity he was still bald for the picture was lacking something without his fur dancing in the wind.
“Thank you, Lord Dog, for saving us!”
“Lord Dog saved us again.”
“Lord Dog is truly mighty.”
“I knew from the moment when I saw Lord Dog taking that step that victory would be ours!”
Qin Chongshan and the others immediately smoothly and courteously piled on the praises.
Blackie coldly waved his hand. “Save your flattery. It’s only natural for me to kill each and every Ministry person I see.”
Qin Zhongshan looked into the distance and said, “The Left Messenger is quickly escaping. She must have a lot of experience in running away.”
“As if.” The corners of Blackie’s smile curved up in a sneer. “Did you really think she would be able to run away if I didn’t decide to let her live? She looked so pitiful. Besides, I have other plans for her.”
“Whatever do you mean, Lord Dog?” The Taoist Junjun asked curiously.
“What do you think would go through the Ministry’s Lord mind if every time she went back from a group mission as the sole survivor?”
Elder Yun’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “We cannot keep a person such as this in the organisation! I would rather kill her to be on the safe side of caution!”
The Jade Emperor nodded. “Meaning to say she would be eliminated without us having to lift a finger! What a splendid plan!”
Blackie rolled his eyes and said with contempt, “A splendid plan, my *ss! She is just a scum, not worth me coming up with such an elaborate plan!”
Shame washed over all of them. No matter what, the Left Messenger was a high-level member of the Heavenly Realm after all. Some would even say she was cream of the crop! If according to Blackie, she was really a scum, then what was to say about the rest of them?
Lesser than scum?
“Your analysis capabilities are narrow, too narrow,” Blackie said with a shake of his head. “The Left Messenger will definitely want to redeem herself to the Minister and the only thing she can present to him is the Pond of Spirits!”
After considering for some moment, all of them let out a collective gasp as their pupils widened. They were all frightened by Blackie’s capability of analysis.
The Left Messenger would have no choice — even with the knowledge of the pee mixed in — but to give the Minister the water from the Pond of Spirits for that was what he desired. Only by doing that would she be able to save herself.
Doing so would mean the Minister would be…
Gasp! Just thinking about what would happen next made them excited.
‘You’ve gotta hand it to the Lord Dog! Not only is he powerful but he’s smart as well. Although we’ve never seen the Minister before, it doesn’t take much to guess he’s a very powerful figure. And to think he’s being tricked by the Lord Dog into drinking everyone’s pee. It’s a pity we cannot spread the news. If not it would have been the biggest news in the century!’ The group thought.
Taoist Junjun and others were struck with awe. “We’re really nothing compared to the Lord Dog!”
Blackie basked in their admiration with a smile on his face. “I might be lazy under most circumstances but would come at you with everything I have if anyone dares to provoke me. Let’s quickly return now, I must present the cocoa tree to the master.”
“Yes, same goes with the sword,” the Food God said.
The Jade Emperor and the others looked at the Food God with envy for he was free to visit the expert as he pleased. What a great honor it must be. Not to mention the guidance he received from his training with the expert meant he was able to progress at an infinitely fast speed.
“We won’t be joining you two as we don’t want to disturb the expert,” the rest of the group said.
They had already obtained so much from his mission and it was all due to Blackie’s effort. They did not want to seem greedy by visiting the expert’s place and so they parted ways.
In the Heavenly Palace, numerous Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Guards looked at Yang Jian who was turning away from the scene below, and immediately gathered around him to get some answers from their questions.
“Lord Erlang, what’s the result of the battle? Is Jade Emperor and the rest of the group ok?”
“It seems to be quiet down there. Is the battle already over?
“Was the fight exciting to watch?”
Erlang Shen glanced at the crowd, a sense of self-satisfaction arose spontaneously. This was the beauty of having three eyes.
He smiled and said, “Need you all ask? How can anything bad happen when Lord Dog is there?”
Then he gave a sigh of admiration. “I wished you all could see the moment the dog paw came down on the ground. It was absolutely shocking! Even an Elite Being would cower before it. Let me tell you all the details!”
Meanwhile, Blackie and the Food God were already back in the four-part architecture.
Li Nianfan was not in the inner yard. Blackie asked for his whereabouts from the chicken who was trying to lay eggs, and received the answer that he was in the backyard, so he rushed toward the backyard happily.
Li Nianfan, Daji and Fire Phoenix were picking fruits. It was a good activity meant to strengthen their bonds without the use of magic. They portrayed a picture of ordinary people playing in the mountains.
“Just a little bit more, master! Just hold me up a little higher!”
Li Nianfan was holding Da Ji’ by the waist and lifting her up high to pick the apples on the tree.,
It was a truly beautiful scene only to be destroyed by a bald dog suddenly rushing in.
“Master, master!” Blackiei ran over happily, still dragging a tree in his mouth, hoping to receive some praise. “Master, check out what I’ve brought back for you!”
“Oh, what do you have there?” Li Nianfan smiled and his eyes lit up as they fell on the tree brought back by Blackie. “This is…the cocoa bean tree!”
He carefully looked over the tree, his eyes brightening all the while. Then, he smiled and said, “You’re the best tree-hunter in the world for even being able to find a cocoa bean tree! You deserve much praise!”
Technically speaking the cocoa bean could not bear fruit, it could however bear cocoa beans which could be used to make chocolate!
Chocolate is the ultimate snack! Especially the good ones, which can be crowned king of all snacks, especially good chocolate. He had given up hope of ever eating chocolate in the Immortal Realm but thanks to Blackie’s effort, had his hope fulfilled!
“I shouldn’t waste anymore time. I need to immediately plant it on the ground.” Li Nianfan said impatiently and immediately began to choose a location for the tree.
After the cocoa tree was planted he immediately went to the storage room to bring out the ripening agent. He squeezed out a few drops of the ripening agent on the cocoa bean tree.
Immediately, little cocoa beans started to grow on the previously bare cocoa bean tree. The number of fruits began to increase until the whole tree was covered with cocoa beans.
The Food God watched all of this happening right in front of his eyes and he was filled with mixed emotions. He thought back to the time at the secret border where they were fighting with themselves over who would get the few cocoa beans on the tree. His past behavior made him blush with the foolishness of it all.
“These are some good quality cocoa beans!” Li Nianfan said with a smile. Then he turned to Daji. “Little Daji, I can make a new snack for you with this. A snack that tastes better than candy!”
Daji and Fire Phoenix’s eyes brimmed with happiness. “Thank you, master.”
They picked some cocoa beans from the tree and went back into the inner courtyard.
The Food God took out the black longsword and presented it to Li Nianfan. “Lord Saint, I was given this sword at the secret border which contained the heritage of swordsmanship.”
“Are you giving it to me?” Li Nianfan was taken aback. He shook his head and said, “This thing is useless to me since I can’t use magic.”
He glanced at the Food God with a trace of suspicion in his eyes. He had guessed correctly that the Food God and Blackie had entered the secret border together and that was how they had managed to obtain the cocoa bean tree and this longsword.
The Food God must have wanted to give him this longsword as a sign of gratitude for his tutelage.
The secret border was probably one of the more ordinary ones which meant both the cocoa bean tree and this longsword were ordinary as well.
After all, Li Nianfan had a good grasp of what Blackie was capable of. He was a low-level demon dog after all. As for Food God, the name itself did not exactly lend an image of a powerful warrior, did it?
Since the longsword contained some heritage, it must be a priceless treasure for mere mortals. He decided to pass on the longsword to a suitable candidate in the future so that person would owe him a favor. Besides, knowing the candidate could end up as a famous swordsman made him excited.
Li Nianfan reorganized his thoughts and said, “Well, since you’ve already brought it, I might as well accept it. Thank you.”
“Oh no, the pleasure is all mine,” the Food God gushed with a satisfied smile on his face.
“By the way, there was a big commotion in the Area of the Gods. Is something about to happen?” asked Li Nianfan suddenly.
A few days ago, a secret border galaxy smashed down on the world, causing a huge shock. Then not long ago, a golden flame soared magnificently through the sky.
Li Nianfan felt his senses tingling and was curious to know what was going on. He, being the expert, knew something big was about to happen.
The Food God was not surprised by the question. He nodded and said gravely, “There’s a rumor about an impending catastrophe befalling the Chaos soon!”
“A catastrophe?” Li Nianfan was taken aback. He felt an imminent sense of doom and wondered whether his fragile body would be able to withstand all of this.
It was a truly devastating news.
He quickly estimated how many protective amulets and networks he had. Then he composed himself slightly and asked, “Would it be very terrifying?”
“Yes! Very!” The Food God said with a nod.
Li Nianfan waved his hand. “It’s not my place to worry about these things for someone would always step up to the plate in situations like this. It’s my only hope that the strong would not hide from this.”
Upon hearing Li Nianfan’s words, Blackie immediately turned around and went straight to the backyard with a wiggle of his butt.
As soon as he came to the pond in the middle of the backyard, he jumped directly into the water without saying a word. Then, seeing the Golden Dragon, he grabbed hold of its neck.
“Don’t think you can run away from this! You should get out of here now!” Blackie shouted, bubbles coming out of his mouth.
“Calm down, calm down. I’m not running away. Can’t you see I’m training. I’ll come out once I’ve become invincible!” The Golden Dragon corrected.
“Bullsh*t!” Blackie shook the Golden Dragon’s head. “You’ve been here long enough. Haven’t you heard what the master said? Don’t pretend he wasn’t talking about you!” His tone became angrier and angrier. “I was tortured and had all my fur shaved off! And you still want to run away? Not on my watch! So I’m asking this one last time — Are you coming out or not?!”
“I am, I will!” Golden Dragon had also heard what Li Nianfan said, so naturally he did not dare to disobey. “I will do something now.”
A golden light flashed from the pool and disappeared above the sky.
Meanwhile, the Left Messenger was advancing on the red star at a breakneck speed, not daring to look back. She had used every spell at her arsenal, even went as far as vomiting out blood, to increase her speed. She only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure she was safe.
She had survived an unimaginable horror! She wanted to burst out in tears at the realization of how precious one’s life could be after so many near-death experiences.
That dog is too terrifying and his owner even more terrifying. It was as if death became inevitable for any of their enemies. She really wanted to quit the whole thing and just lived out the rest of her life not caring about anything.
However, she knew that now was not the time to think about such things, because there was a more serious problem waiting for her — how should she explain all that had happened to the Minister?
The Left Messenger walked slowly to the palace entrance with her heart in a state of panic.
“Why don’t you come in?” A deep voice said from inside the hall.
The Left Messenger’s body trembled slightly and she nervously entered the place. She did not dare to look up, but faintly felt that in this hall, besides the Minister, there seemed to be another person.
The Minister’s eyes darkened. “You came back alone again? Where are the rest of the group?” He asked in a hoarse voice.
“They have all been… annihilated,” the Left Messenger answered in a shaky voice and with a deep frown.
“What?!” Although the Minister had mentally prepared himself to expect the worst, he was still shocked. He narrowed his eyes at the Left Messenger and the aura he exuded was akin to those of a wild tiger. His mouth was left hanging open.
They had been defeated one battle after another to the extent that he had lost count of the number of defeats.
Each loss was painful to take and each time Left Messenger alone survived. It seemed like she could be blamed for single-handedly and unwittingly bringing the downfall of the Ministry’s combat power.
The Left Messenger started to panic even more. She decided to use the Pond of Spirits to appease the Minister. “O Lord, we ran into the bald dog in the secret border. But! I didn’t come back empty-handed. I’ve managed to bring the Pond of Spirits back!”
The leader’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Show me!”
The Left Messenger waved her hand and the jade bottle containing the water from the Pond of Spirits flew out. Her hands were shaky and fine beads of sweat started to appear.
Only she knew what was in this bottle.
Only now, she had no choice.
The Minister raised his hand and the jade bottle flew to him. He opened the lid, looked at the liquid inside, and suddenly smiled.
“Judging by the aura, it’s indeed water from the Pond of Spirits. But shouldn’t the water be pure and clear? Why is the water in the bottle so yellow?” The Minister asked, visibly confused.
The Left Messenger pursed her mouth to keep herself from crying. She forced down the panic she was feeling and said, “There was a Pond of Spirits in the secret border and we think the golden holy water is the essence of the pond so we specially collected as much of the essence as we could.”
‘Golden holy water my *ss! It’s nothing but p*ss! But do I say it out loud?’ The Left Messenger said. ‘I’ll definitely die for lying to the Minister!’
“I see. You’ve done well.” The Minister nodded. He then proceeded to tip out the content into his mouth and swallowed.
The Left Messenger watched all this happen and suddenly her mind went blank. She felt her faith crumbling to nothing.
The thought of the Minister drinking p*ss repeatedly played in her mind.
