Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

A fierce wind whipped up sand and gravel, howling across the rugged Gobi Desert, rustling against Yang Guo and Zhang Wuji's robes.

The two walked side by side, their divine senses constantly scanning their surroundings, alert to any potential dangers.

"This place is too desolate, there isn't even a blade of grass or a tree, it seems unlikely that there will be any opportunities."

Zhang Wuji frowned slightly as he gazed at the deathly still scene before him.

Yang Guo gripped the heavy black iron sword on his back, his sharp gaze sweeping across the distance:

"The secret realm is vast and full of wonders."

"The more desolate a place seems, the more secrets it may hold."

"Let's walk a little further and see if we can find something."

Just then, Yang Guo suddenly stopped, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He turned to look at Zhang Wuji and said in a deep voice:

"Brother Zhang, did you feel it?"

Zhang Wuji's heart stirred, and he quickly focused his mind to sense it. After a moment, he nodded and said:

"Hmm, there seems to be a faint ray of light flashing ahead, carrying a strange aura... Although it's very faint, it's definitely not an ordinary thing."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of expectation in each other's eyes.

"It might be some kind of priceless treasure!" A hint of excitement flashed in Zhang Wuji's eyes. "Let's go take a look!"

Before they finished speaking, the two figures blurred, like two streaks of light, and sped off towards the direction where the light had appeared.

The sand beneath our feet was whipped up by the strong wind, leaving two long trails.

A moment later, a stone cave covered with dense vines appeared before the two of them.

That ray of light and imposing aura emanated from deep within the cave.

"Looks like this is it." Yang Guo stopped and looked at the entrance of the stone cave.

The vines, like spider webs, entwined around the cave entrance, making it difficult to discover the place were it not for the ray of light and its imposing presence.

Zhang Wuji stepped forward, reached out and pushed aside a few thick vines, revealing the stone wall behind him.

Some blurry patterns could be vaguely seen on the stone wall, which was obviously an array. However, the light of the array was extremely weak at this moment, as if it would dissipate at any time.

"This formation... seems to be quite old." Zhang Wuji carefully observed the patterns.

"The energy is almost depleted; it appears to be an ancient sealing formation."

Yang Guo nodded: "No wonder the light and aura were so weak. It must have been suppressed by the formation for so many years before it could barely reveal a trace."

"We've broken this formation together; we'll know once we go inside."

"good!"

Without further hesitation, the two simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy, striking the array on the stone wall with both palms.

Two gentle yet domineering forces surged into the formation, and the already shattered formation patterns instantly lit up with a faint light before finally breaking apart with a "crack".

Once the formation was broken, the vines at the entrance of the stone cave were freed from their restraints, withered away, and the dark cave entrance was revealed.

A smell mixed with dust and decay emanated from the cave.

"Let's go in and take a look." Yang Guo stepped in first, followed closely by Zhang Wuji.

The cave was not spacious, and the two searched carefully using the dim light coming in from the entrance.

The cave walls were bare, without any murals or writings, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, indicating that no one had been here for a long time.

"Strange, why is there nothing there?" Zhang Wuji looked around with some disappointment. "Could that light and aura have been an illusion?"

Yang Guo frowned as well. He could sense that the aura from earlier did indeed come from here, but apart from dust, there wasn't even a decent stone in the cave.

"No, look more carefully," Yang Guo said in a deep voice. "Although that aura is faint, it is definitely not an ordinary thing; it couldn't have disappeared into thin air."

The two searched carefully again, even looking through the cracks in the cave walls, but still found nothing.

Just as the two were about to give up, Yang Guo's gaze fell on a high platform at the deepest part of the stone cave.

The platform was about three zhang high, and it was also covered in dust, but you could vaguely see something on it.

"There's something there!" Yang Guo called out, leaping onto the high platform. Zhang Wuji quickly followed.

On the high platform, a dark, huddled-up thing was revealed to be a dog upon closer inspection.

The dog was completely black, with messy fur, and was curled up asleep, breathing evenly, looking no different from an ordinary stray dog.

"This..." Zhang Wuji was stunned. "Just a sleeping black dog?"

He walked over and poked the puppy, but the puppy just twitched its ears and continued sleeping soundly.

"What a disappointment." Zhang Wuji shook his head helplessly.

"I thought it was some kind of priceless treasure, but it turned out to be just an ordinary dog."

Yang Guo was also somewhat surprised. He carefully examined the black dog, his brows furrowed.

"Strange, how come there are ordinary dogs in this secret realm?"

The secret realm is an ancient relic. Although there may be demonic beasts or spiritual plants inside, it is absolutely impossible for such ordinary dogs to appear everywhere.

"This dog is probably no ordinary creature; otherwise, where did that ray of light and imposing aura come from?"

Zhang Wuji then carefully observed the black dog, even examining its ears and paws, but still found nothing unusual.

"But it really does look... no different from a regular dog."

Yang Guo also approached and observed carefully for a while, then sighed.

"Sigh, it's definitely just an ordinary black dog. Fortunately, the secret realm still has a few days before it closes, so we have plenty of time. Let's go check out other places."

"Alright then, it just means we've both worked for nothing." Zhang Wuji stood up, dusting himself off.

"After searching for so long, this is all we found?"

He glanced at the still-sleeping black dog in his hand and said with some disdain, "This little black dog is useless to me. Let it fend for itself here."

After saying that, Zhang Wuji picked up the black dog and turned around to put it back on the high platform.

To his surprise, just as he was about to put it down, the black dog in his arms suddenly opened its eyes.

Those eyes weren't the typical brown of a dog; they had a golden hue and shone with a spiritual light.

"You're the black dog! Your whole family are black dogs!"

A clear, yet slightly arrogant voice suddenly rang out, and it actually came from the black dog's mouth!

Zhang Wuji was startled and instinctively flung the black dog away.

"Holy crap, what is this thing? It can even talk?"

Zhang Wuji quickly took a step back, looking warily at the black dog that had been thrown to the ground.

Yang Guo was also taken aback and quickly stepped forward:

"As expected, this black dog is no ordinary dog; it can speak human language. It seems to be a demonic beast."

"Ouch! Human! Who gave you the right to throw me out?"

The black dog was thrown to the ground, rolled over, quickly stood up, shook off the dust, and bared its teeth at Zhang Wuji, growling, "That hurt like hell!"

"My emperor?"

Zhang Wuji was stunned, then found himself both amused and exasperated.

"Hahaha, Brother Yang, look at this little black dog, it's like a heifer sitting on a warm kang—so arrogant, it even calls itself 'Emperor'!"