Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

The human and the demon walked back to the cave dejectedly, piling their meager supplies in a dry corner of the cave.

Gou An glanced at them, then at the roasted rabbit leg in his hand, feeling a pang of bitterness.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't take offense!" Liu Dayong stepped forward, his smile somewhat awkward. "Although the supplies are a bit scarce, we won't starve if we eat less."

Unlike Liu Dayong's easygoing nature, Zhu Laojiu was full of dissatisfaction and resentment.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He was furious. "When there's no more food, just kill me with one knife. I still have two or three hundred pounds, enough for you to eat for months."

"How can you talk like that!" Liu Dayong quickly said seriously, "We're good brothers! How could I eat you?"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy squatted down in anger, muttering to himself, "They're just bullying us, deliberately giving us less than we need."

Seeing this, Liu Dayong stepped forward, patted Zhu Laojiu on the shoulder, and comforted him, "We just had bad luck last month. This month, let's try a different approach to gathering herbs. We're sure to find a lot more."

Gou An watched from the side, when suddenly something occurred to him.

Among the three great treasures he obtained from the ancient pagoda's secret manual, there was also the Palm Heaven Diagram.

So he opened his mouth and spat it into his hand, then unfolded it to take a look.

The scroll depicts a beautiful landscape painting.

In addition to mountains and water, one can also vaguely see birds and beasts in the picture.

And most importantly, the picture is actually moving; everything in it looks like it's alive.

"Don't be so discouraged!" Gou An said to the two of them, holding up the Palm Heaven Map. "I have a treasure here that can solve your predicament."

Upon hearing the sound, Liu Dayong and Zhu Laojiu both turned to look at Gou An, their faces full of confusion.

"I wonder what your solution is?" Liu Dayong asked cautiously.

"I have a blessed land here, where you'll find everything you need!" Gou An opened the Heavenly Map for the two to admire: "I can let you in!"

"An animated image?" Liu Dayong was somewhat surprised.

Piglet Nine's eyes widened, but he asked curiously, "Can we go inside the map?"

"That's right!" Gou An nodded. "This map contains its own little world, which we haven't explored yet. Would you two like to take a look first?"

"So amazing?" Liu Dayong exclaimed excitedly, "I'm willing to go!"

"Me too!" Pig Ninth nodded in agreement.

"Since that's the case!" Gou An tossed the painting into the air, and the scroll automatically unfurled and floated in the air. "I'll send you in then."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gou An immediately formed hand seals and activated the Palm Heaven Diagram.

Then, two beams of white light shot out from the Palm Heaven Diagram, enveloping Liu Dayong and Pig Lao Jiu.

The next second, the white light dissipated, and the two of them had vanished.

Gou An looked at the Palm Heaven Map, where two ant-sized figures appeared in the middle of the scroll, namely Liu Dayong and Zhu Laojiu.

Gou An could directly understand the real-time situation of the two people in the painting by looking at it.

As the remnant soul said, the flow of time within can be regulated by infusing spiritual power.

Gou An tried it out and sped up the flow of time inside, causing the movement speed of the flowing water, flying birds, and wild beasts inside to increase significantly.

However, Gou An only persisted for a short while before giving up on accelerating, as it was too taxing on his body.

Gou An has only just recovered and cannot withstand a prolonged period of accelerated time, so he can only wait quietly.

After entering the Heavenly Palm Diagram, Liu Dayong and Zhu Laojiu hesitated for a moment, clearly worried about potential dangers around them.

They then ventured deeper into the mountains and forests. When they discovered that the place only contained ordinary wild animals and there were no other dangers, the two became bolder and began to split up.

Hunting and gathering herbs kept them very busy and happy.

Because the temperature in the map was just right, they even happily jumped into the river and took a good bath.

They spent most of the day inside before finally returning to their original position in the painting to wait.

Seeing this, Gou An knew they were about to come out, so he once again made a hand seal and activated the Heavenly Palm Diagram, sending them back into the cave.

They gained a lot from this trip.

In addition to a large quantity of spiritual herbs, they also hunted several plump and strong prey.

Pig Ninth was overjoyed and came out grinning, "There's such a blessed place in this world! I don't want to come out after I went in."

"Yes!" Liu Dayong nodded in agreement, "The spiritual energy inside is abundant; it's practically a paradise on earth."

"Actually, if you want!" Gou An continued, "I can let you live there indefinitely."

Upon hearing this, Liu Dayong and Zhu Laojiu were slightly shaken.

"I'm willing!" Pig Ninth immediately raised his hand in agreement: "Everything there is great except for the lack of people and monsters. It's a thousand times better than this broken snowfield."

Unlike Zhu Lao Jiu's directness, Liu Dayong asked worriedly, "If we go in, what will you do, fellow Daoist? Won't you be trapped here forever?"

"I can think of other ways!" Gou An pinched his chin, frowning as he pondered.

There are only two ways to get out of here.

One is to find a new flying boat, and the other is to improve one's cultivation level as soon as possible.

Once you break through to the Demon Transformation Realm and condense your Demon Core, you'll gain the ability to fly for extended periods, making it much easier to leave the Snow Region.

"I know where there are flying boats!" Pig Ninth suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Gou An immediately turned around and asked, "Where?"

"Great Snow Peak!" Pig Ninth immediately replied.

Upon hearing this, Liu Dayong immediately stopped him: "Are you crazy? That's where the Demon King lives."

"But in our snowy region, this is the only place that has it!" Pig Ninth said with a wronged expression.

After hearing this, Gou An comforted him, saying, "It's alright, please continue."

Pig Ninth then spoke again: "In our area, there are many wild demons and cultivators like us, scattered all over the place."

"The Demon King has many demon guards who collect goods, just like that stupid bird that came here today."

"However, not every demon guard can fly. Those who cannot fly will use flying boats to travel to various snow-capped mountains to collect goods."

"Ultimately, all these airships will fly back to Daxue Peak, so if you want to get an airship, you can only go here."

After hearing what Pigsy said, Gou An hurriedly asked, "Where is this Great Snow Peak?"

Pig Old Nine immediately replied, "It's not far from here. Once the snow stops, we can get there in three to five days if we walk fast."

As he spoke, he drew a simple map on the ground with his finger.

"However, fellow Daoist, I do not recommend you go here!" Liu Dayong added at this moment.

"Why?" Gou An asked.

"The Great Snow Peak is where the Snow Demon King lives!" Liu Dayong replied, "It's heavily guarded, and the demon soldiers stationed there are all incredibly powerful."

"Fellow Daoist, going alone is likely to be fraught with danger."

"What do you mean by 'alone'?" Pig Ninth suddenly shouted. "If you include the two of us, then there are three of us!"