Volume One, Chapter Four: Even Doghouses and Dog Food Must Be Top-Notch
The overwhelming aura capable of crushing eternity arrived swiftly and vanished just as quickly.
The Chaotic Sky Devouring Beast, having broken through, retracted all its fierce energy that once surrounded it. Its entire body was pitch black, as if it could swallow all light itself.
It trotted over in small, quick steps to Gu Changsheng’s rocking chair, then nuzzled affectionately against his pant leg with its enormous dragon head, emitting a low, satisfied rumble from its throat.
Each rumble caused the very fabric of the surrounding space to ripple.
Gu Changsheng glanced down at it.
Its entire body gleamed with a deep, lustrous black.
“A bit too black,” he remarked casually.
“I’ll just call you Little Black from now on.”
Simple and easy to remember.
No sooner had the words fallen than Elder Fu’s body trembled violently, his aged face lighting up with a sudden, enlightening frenzy.
Little Black!
The young master’s act was not merely naming!
The character “Little” embodies the supreme truth of the Dao—using the small to govern the great, the essence of ultimate simplicity!
The character “Black” signifies the primordial chaos to which all things return, the ultimate terminus of all heavens and myriad paths!
In just two characters, the beginning and end of the universe were encompassed! The young master’s casual words were the most profound exposition of the Dao itself!
Little Black seemed delighted with its new name, promptly lying down right in the middle of the courtyard path, its massive body blocking the way.
Gu Changsheng frowned.
A nuisance.
“Elder Fu, it takes up too much space. Make a nest for it.”
“As you command,” Elder Fu bowed deeply, understanding perfectly.
The pet’s residence was also a reflection of the young master’s dignity and could not be handled carelessly.
Elder Fu disappeared briefly.
When he returned, he was accompanied by several clan elders whose presences were as heavy and eternal as ancient divine mountains.
Together, they carried several divine artifacts that twisted even the void itself.
A massive tablet, cracked and steeped in the weariness of ages, was placed in a corner of the courtyard. It was the “Epoch Tombstone,” excavated from the battlefield of the era, serving as the foundation.
Several pieces of metal flowing with immortal divine radiance were erected as walls—“Immortal Divine Gold.”
Finally, several enormous leaves, emitting endless vitality, were laid on top as a roof—the “Leaves of the World Tree.”
Within the brief span of an incense stick’s burn, an outrageously luxurious “doghouse” was completed.
Nearby, Ji Ruxue, ordered to observe and learn, witnessed it all.
An Epoch Tombstone as a foundation?
Immortal Divine Gold for walls?
Leaves of the World Tree as a roof?
Any one of these items in the mortal world would provoke a great emperor to unleash true fire, stirring a violent storm that would sweep through the nine heavens and ten lands.
Yet here, they were simply used to... build a shelter for a newly acknowledged pet?
Her Dao heart, already riddled with cracks, was utterly shattered at this moment.
Shock, unwillingness, humiliation—all turned into a numb silence.
This world was far too unreal.
At that moment, Little Black’s belly rumbled like distant thunder.
It was hungry.
Elder Fu hurriedly presented a jade basin filled with luminous, fragrant flesh and blood.
“Young master, this is the essence blood refined from a freshly slain Immortal King, highly nourishing.”
Little Black sniffed it and then turned away in disgust.
It climbed out of its overly luxurious nest and strode directly to another corner of the courtyard.
There lay a pile of “trash” Gu Changsheng had casually discarded.
A broken imperial sword, several ineffective divine pills, a damaged formation plate.
Little Black’s eyes instantly lit up.
It drooled over the pile, the saliva corroding the ground with a sizzling sound.
Gu Changsheng’s eyes brightened as well.
“Oh? You like to eat these?”
That solved the feeding problem!
“Good. From now on, all the trash in the courtyard is yours to handle, so I don’t have to be bothered.”
Little Black let out a joyful cry.
It opened its mouth and bit down on the broken imperial sword with a crisp snap.
Then it swallowed one of the discarded divine pills.
Ye Qingsian and Ji Ruxue watched in astonishment.
Those were remnants of imperial weapons! Those pills contained traces of the Dao of Alchemy!
And now they were treated as snacks?
As Little Black ate, its chaotic aura condensed further.
After finishing a small pile of “trash,” Little Black contentedly belched.
“Burp—!”
A pure, refined Geng Metal sword qi suddenly shot out from its mouth, the remnant energy from the imperial sword fragment.
The sword qi sliced through the long sky, striking a simple wooden fence beside the courtyard.
“Buzz—!”
The struck section of the fence emitted a clear, resonant sword clang.
Mysterious sword patterns began to emerge on its surface, the entire fence glowing, and a towering sword intent rose from the ground, gradually transforming toward an unsurpassable sword artifact.
[System Notification: Detected host feeding chaotic fierce beast with “trash,” inadvertently creating “Sword Dao Divine Fence.” Extreme causal disturbance detected. Reward: “Relaxation Points” x1000 unlocked. New exchange item unlocked: “Aura of Universal Enlightenment (Passive).”]
Gu Changsheng stared at the glowing fence, his brow tightly furrowed.
“Why does even a fence have to be such a show-off?”
The glowing fence in the courtyard was glaringly out of place in Gu’s eyes.
What was once a simple, elegant yard now looked like a nouveau riche’s gaudy backyard, unbearably tacky.
He felt the light disturbed his peaceful sleeping environment and was quite displeased.
Ye Qingsian stood silently nearby, not daring to breathe heavily.
But through her “Great Luo Heavenly Eye” vision, the fence was far from a mere glowing object.
It was a sea of laws woven from sword intent.
Every wood grain was a complete supreme sword scripture, so profound that a mere glance caused a piercing pain in her soul.
An unprecedented yearning surged within her, wishing to immediately immerse herself and grasp even a fragment of its meaning.
Yet she dared not.
Without the young master’s permission, she would never act rashly.
Elsewhere, Ji Ruxue finally abandoned the last shred of her former empress dignity.
Holding a basin of clear water, she approached Ye Qingsian and humbly inquired in a soft voice, “Sister Ye, would you kindly offer some guidance on how to better serve the young master?”
She had come to understand.
All the might of an empress, all the supremacy of the nine heavens—within this courtyard, they were but fleeting illusions.
To remain here, to do small tasks for the young master like Ye Qingsian, might truly be the path to enlightenment.
At that moment.
Outside the vast domain where the Gu family resided, an elderly figure clad in a green robe, carrying an ancient sword on his back, rode the wind.
His name was Li Chungang, a primeval sword immortal who had lived tens of thousands of years, a lifetime spent in pursuit of the sword, with strength already at the pinnacle reachable by any living being in this realm.
Suddenly, he halted mid-flight, sharply raising his head toward the Gu family estate.
A terrifying sword intent, nascent yet transcending all myriad paths, surged skyward, causing even this man, half a step into the Dao’s ultimate end, to feel a shudder of fear.
“The peerless divine sword has appeared!”