Duan De

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Duan De (段德)
Alias(es)	Plump Daoist; Wicked Daoist; self-styled “archaeologist”
Gender	Male
Occupation / Role	Tomb raider and explorer of ancient ruins; claims to preserve and uncover lost history through “archaeology” 13
Status	Alive; escapes after Qin Sheng seizes several of his treasures and tears away part of his mysterious rag 43
First Appearance	Chapter 12

Appearance

Duan De is a plump, fat Daoist whose round build is repeatedly emphasized during his encounters with Qin Sheng and Ye Fan. 12 27

• Usually addressed as a Daoist or Daoist priest.
• His expressions frequently shift between self-righteous confidence, greed, outrage, and alarm. 13 28 42
• Carries a mysterious tattered rag marked by bloodstains and possessing immense yin-aligned power. 42 43

Personality

Duan De is greedy, shameless, theatrical, and exceptionally suspicious. He seeks treasures in every ruin he enters, yet frames tomb raiding as a scholarly effort to uncover history. 13 28 He repeatedly attempts to bargain from a position of advantage, charge fees for his knowledge, or reclaim items after an agreement has been made. 28 42

Despite his greed, Duan De is not reckless around Emperor-level dangers. He recognizes the terrible karma attached to disturbing an Emperor’s resting place and refuses to excavate Ruthless’s suspected cenotaph after being warned. 28 His survival instincts are formidable: he escapes the Demon Emperor’s Yin Grave, survives dangerous routes into the Emperor’s Daoist Arena, and retreats when Qin Sheng’s Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy proves overwhelming. 14 27 43

Abilities & Skills

Tomb Exploration and Survival

Duan De can enter and escape ancient ruins that ordinary cultivators find lethal.

• Escapes the Demon Emperor’s Yin Grave despite the deaths of powerful cultivators within it. 14 28
• Reaches the Emperor’s Daoist Arena by surviving tombs, ghostly entities, corpses, and Dao-Mark Killing Formations. 27
• Knows that the arena drifts through time and space and can guide Qin Sheng and Ye Fan out when it overlaps with the Eastern Wilderness. 29

Ancient Knowledge

Duan De possesses extensive knowledge of ancient tombs, Emperor-level sites, Dao patterns, and rare materials.

• Identifies the red earth and gray clouds of the Emperor’s Daoist Arena as remnants of an ancient Great Emperor’s bodily and Primordial Spirit Dao resonance. 28
• Explains the properties and dangers of Chaotic Ruin Dust, including its tendency to turn a vessel into a death-aligned Netherworld Treasure. 29
• Identifies Dao-Life Mother Stone as a life-aligned material suitable for balancing Chaotic Ruin Dust in artifact refinement. 29
• Possesses an Origin Emperor-derived Origin Technique, which Qin Sheng memorizes during their trade. 42

Furnace Dao Pattern

Duan De knows a Dao pattern that temporarily turns the body into a furnace for refining special substances.

• Inscribes the pattern on himself, Qin Sheng, and Ye Fan in the Emperor’s Daoist Arena. 28
• Enables the trio to refine body- and Primordial Spirit-enhancing essences that cannot be collected through ordinary artifacts. 28
• Warns that the human body has limits and cannot absorb unlimited quantities without harmful effects. 28

Artifact Use

Duan De wields unusual and dangerous treasures, though Qin Sheng repeatedly forces him to surrender or damage them.

• Jade bottle — Can dissolve anyone trapped inside into pus and blood within three quarters of an hour; can also contain the waters of the five lakes and four seas. Qin Sheng takes it from him. 43
• Bloodstained rag — Produces overwhelming yin energy, resentful spirits, zombie phantoms, and an image of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. It is suppressed by the Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy; Qin Sheng tears off a palm-sized piece. 42 43
• Origin Technique bone fragment — A black bone fragment carrying an Origin Emperor technique. Duan De lends it to Qin Sheng for memorization, then later hands it over under threat. 42 43

Relationships

• Qin Sheng — Recurring rival, bargaining partner, and source of Duan De’s repeated “bloody calamities.” Qin Sheng routinely manipulates, robs, and outmaneuvers him, while Duan De continually tries to reclaim an advantage. 12 13 28 42 43
• Ye Fan — Fellow treasure seeker and Qin Sheng’s ally. Duan De initially takes Ye Fan’s dagger by calling it dangerous, but Ye Fan helps Qin Sheng turn the same tactic against him. 12 13
• Qin Sheng and Ye Fan — Duan De regards the pair as black-hearted opportunists who repeatedly obtain treasures with little effort after he endures enormous danger to reach the same places. 27 29
• Ruthless Emperor — Duan De is implied to be wary of her legacy and her graves. Qin Sheng suspects that Duan De may previously have disturbed a site connected to Ruthless. 28

Story Role / Major Arcs

Qing Emperor’s Tomb

Duan De first encounters Qin Sheng amid the opening of Qing Emperor’s Tomb. Qin Sheng repeatedly convinces him to hand over treasures by calling them cursed “vicious weapons” and warning him of a “bloody calamity.” 12 Duan De attempts the same scheme on Ye Fan, only for Qin Sheng and Ye Fan to cooperate against him. 12 13

He remains near the Demon Emperor’s Yin Grave after Qin Sheng and Ye Fan withdraw. The five Great Powers later force him into the grave after he insults them, though Qin Sheng predicts that he will survive. 14

Emperor’s Daoist Arena

Duan De enters the mysterious gray space through a perilous route and is horrified to find Qin Sheng and Ye Fan already inside. He assumes they have concealed the arena’s treasures, especially after learning they entered accidentally while he nearly died reaching it. 27

He identifies the arena’s special earth and mist, then reluctantly shares his Furnace Dao pattern after Qin Sheng and Ye Fan pressure him into a three-way refinement arrangement. The group ultimately divides the resulting essences equally. 28 Duan De knows how to leave the arena, but attempts to charge a travel fee until Qin Sheng and Ye Fan threaten to keep him trapped. 28 29

Chaotic Ruin Dust Bargain

After leaving the arena, Duan De bargains with Qin Sheng and Ye Fan over Chaotic Ruin Dust. He proposes Dao-Life Mother Stone as the ideal life-aligned counterpart for the death-aligned material, but becomes enraged when the pair demand additional Emperor Scriptures and secret arts. 29

Qin Sheng later trusts Duan De’s ability to locate Dao-Life Mother Stone specifically because of his unusual skill at entering Emperor tombs and ancient Daoist sites. 30

Holy City Trade and Fallout

Duan De arranges to trade Dao-Life Mother Stone and an Origin Emperor technique for Chaotic Ruin Dust, but neither side trusts the other enough to meet on familiar ground. 41 42 Immediately after completing the exchange, both attack.

Duan De’s jade bottle and bloodstained rag fail against Qin Sheng’s Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy. He is forced to surrender the jade bottle and black bone fragment, loses a piece of his rag, and escapes while swearing revenge. 42 43

Notable Quotes

“What nonsense are you talking about? Archaeology. It is archaeology. This Daoist Lord is no thief.” 13

“Meeting you two bastards has truly brought me eight lifetimes of bad luck!” 28

“Only this Dao Master has ever cheated others.” 42

Trivia

• Duan De repeatedly invokes lofty ideals—history, scholarship, brotherhood, fairness—while attempting to obtain other people’s treasures. 13 28 42
• He is one of the few characters Qin Sheng considers uniquely capable of locating imperial sacred items such as Dao-Life Mother Stone. 30
• Qin Sheng concludes that dealing with Duan De requires constant vigilance and returning his tricks in kind; otherwise, Duan De would exploit any sign of weakness. 43