No one knew how long they had been running when the Big Black Dog suddenly stopped in front of a peculiar mountain. The mountain resembled a fork, with sharp prongs piercing the clouds, as if it could tear through Heaven and Earth.
On the stone wall of the mountain were engraved three Innate Divine Texts. Zhang Chen recognized their meaning at a glance: Shuangcha Ridge.
"Does this ridge have a name?" Zhang Chen mused with some curiosity. He couldn’t help but think of the scene from his past life’s Journey to the West, where Tang Monk faced his first hardship at Shuangcha Ridge, encountering Liu Bowen.
But Journey to the West was ultimately just a novel, not reality. What puzzled Zhang Chen was that the ridges in the Spiritual World also had names.
The Big Black Dog stared fixedly at Shuangcha Ridge, with a trace of sorrow in its eyes, whimpered, and then turned to continue sprinting through the forest.
After running like the wind again, they returned to the Thatched Cottage. This time, the Big Black Dog led Zhang Chen into the yard. As soon as Zhang Chen stepped inside, he saw clusters of brilliant and dripping Golden Wind Flowers.
"Ah, my damn greed." At this moment, Zhang Chen suddenly wished he could slap himself. His greed had flared again, taking root when he saw something good.
The Big Black Dog threw Zhang Chen to the ground and circled him. The sight left Zhang Chen a bit uneasy, fearing he might be devoured. While he was silently praying, the Big Black Dog suddenly stopped, raised a front paw, and, to Zhang Chen’s bafflement, a stream of yellow liquid sprayed down.
"Damn it, this dog doesn’t act like a human!" Zhang Chen cursed in anger. In the next moment, he jumped up, furious, avoiding the yellow urine—but ultimately too late, as the Big Black Dog’s spray hit his wings.
"A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated! I’ll fight you to the death!" Zhang Chen shouted angrily, his voice dripping with rage, his eyes blazing with fury.
Then Zhang Chen flapped his wings, splashing urine onto the Big Black Dog’s face and nose, making the dog retch loudly in disgust.
Zhang Chen tried to seize the opportunity to escape, but who would’ve thought the Big Black Dog’s paw could extend limitlessly, reaching into the clouds and pulling Zhang Chen back in one swipe.
"This Big Black Dog is too uncanny," Zhang Chen thought, pinned under the dog’s paw, and obediently stayed still.
The Big Black Dog pawed at Zhang Chen again and then headed to the door, bursting it open and dragging Zhang Chen inside the house.
The furnishings inside were simplistic, with only a fork glimmering with a cold light hanging on the bedroom wall. The fork’s sharp edges glinted coldly, capturing Zhang Chen’s attention and making it hard for him to look away.
"This fork is remarkable; it must be a powerful weapon," Zhang Chen thought, surprised after spotting the fork, then shifted his gaze to other items around the house: just a bed, a kettle, a bow and arrow, and some toiletries.
On the table was also a silver-white slingshot and seven or eight cold-glinting marbles, scattered casually on the desk.
"If this Big Black Dog is so extraordinary, just what kind of incredible power does the master of this house possess?" Zhang Chen wondered silently.
Then the Big Black Dog lazily wandered the room, jumped onto the bed, lay down with a face full of nostalgia, as if remembering something.
Zhang Chen carefully shrank into a corner, watching the Big Black Dog with eyes full of disdain. Luckily, the urine on his wings had already been shaken off, or else Zhang Chen would have gone mad. Imagine being peed on by a dog—how could Zhang Chen show his face if word got out?
But at this moment, Zhang Chen seemed to sense something amiss. Although the urine was shaken off, an aura seemed to linger subconsciously on him.
"Could it be that the Big Black Dog marked me?" Zhang Chen speculated silently.
Now, the most crucial thing for him was to think of a way to escape; otherwise, he would be tormented to death in the hands of this insidious Big Black Dog.
After a long silence, Zhang Chen came up with two solutions: the first was to exhaust his Spiritual Power, which would naturally allow him to return to the Material Realm.
But returning that way had a drawback: the next time he came back, it would still be this house, this place, and he still couldn’t escape the clutches of this puppy.
The second solution involved using the Jade Dew Petals to sedate the dog. The petals had the characteristic of making creatures sleep, allowing him a chance to escape.
Zhang Chen also eyed the fork on the wall; it looked extraordinary. If he could take it with him...?
What theft?
It’s compensation for himself!
The owner hadn’t kept their pet in check and let the Big Black Dog offend him—surely he deserved a bit of compensation?
Zhang Chen grumbled internally, filled with anger towards the Big Black Dog. This dog was just too terrifying to provoke, but he could avoid it, couldn’t he?
When he hid in the Material Realm, so long as he didn’t come to the Spiritual World before improving his strength, he wouldn’t have to deal with this creature.
Once his strength increased, he would make this beast pay.
Thinking it over, Zhang Chen decided it was best to use the Jade Dew to make the black dog faint, then search and leave.
Soon, the sound of snoring filled the house. Zhang Chen transformed back into human form, took out the Jade Dew Petals, tossed them to the ground, and swiftly turned into a bat, stealthily hiding in a corner.
Although the Big Black Dog had restricted his Divine Power, it couldn’t prevent him from switching his original form.
As expected, when the Jade Dew Petals fell to the ground, the Big Black Dog subconsciously twitched its nose in its sleep, then abruptly opened its eyes, looking at the petals with bewilderment, like it was dreaming. The dog pawed at its eyes in disbelief, then cautiously approached and circled the petals, sniffing the scent intently.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Chen panicked: "Oh no, I forgot! This guy’s dog nose is very sensitive. The petals have my scent; it surely won’t fool this vile Big Black Dog..."
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen pounced over. He needed to create the illusion that the petals had accidentally fallen, not thrown deliberately.
Just as Zhang Chen leaped forward, the Big Black Dog moved faster, its paw gently pressing down, pinning Zhang Chen to the ground. With a smirk, it watched Zhang Chen, then extended its tongue, licking the petals into its mouth, and released Zhang Chen. The dog even shook its head in a show of triumph and lay back on the bed. Soon, the sound of snoring filled the room once more.
"Haha, stupid dog! No matter how powerful you are, you still end up drinking Grandpa’s bathwater." Zhang Chen felt smug. Seeing the snores coming from the bed, he transformed back into human form, stood up, and glanced at the fork glinting coldly on the bed.
In his human form, Zhang Chen—thanks to the True God Golden Light—could perceive the unusual qualities of this fork. In his Eye of Devouring, the fork pulsated with a rainbow glow invisible to the naked eye, like an Immortal Weapon, causing his Devouring Skill to stir, making him want to pounce and feast.
In that fork, complex Qi Mechanisms flowed, with countless Order Chains operating, making Zhang Chen’s eyes fixate in disbelief. He had only seen such extensive Law Chains in the Golden Scissors.
The fork before his eyes was no match for the Golden Scissors but was definitely more than an ordinary mundane item.
"Interesting!" Zhang Chen felt a surge of excitement, glancing again at the Big Black Dog, thinking that all the grievances he had suffered were worth it.
Without a second thought, Zhang Chen eagerly ran forward, intending to take the fork. But as soon as his fingers approached it, a sharp, needle-like pain forced him to withdraw his hand.
"This treasure has a master," Zhang Chen mused.
After pondering, Zhang Chen withdrew his hand. Instead of wasting effort on this fork, it was better to loot other things.
After all, the Big Black Dog had only consumed one petal—who knew when it would wake up?
His time was too valuable to waste even a moment.
With this in mind, Zhang Chen turned and rushed towards the table.