As a voice rang out, Duan De's body abruptly stiffened. He instinctively turned to look behind him and saw a figure.
The youth stood behind him with a smile on his face. There was no telling when he had arrived.
He seemed utterly ordinary, merely a little more handsome than most, yet in Duan De's eyes, he carried an inexplicable presence that threatened to freeze his entire body.
"You..."
Duan De's expression shifted slightly. Looking at Chen Yu before him, he instinctively grew wary. "Who are you?"
He was deeply on guard. With his spiritual perception, no ordinary person could possibly have slipped up beside him without his noticing.
Yet now, that very thing had happened, making it seem inconceivable.
"I'm a friend of that young fellow from just now."
Chen Yu smiled, looking warm and approachable. "Daoist, weren't you going a little too far just now?"
"Bullying the young with your seniority is hardly proper conduct."
"Exactly!"
At the sight of Chen Yu, Ye Fan's eyes lit up. He immediately stepped forward and pointed at the unscrupulous Daoist. "You bullied a junior and repeatedly stole my divine weapons! Have you no shame?"
Earlier, he had had chances to collect several spiritually awakened divine weapons, only for this fat Daoist to snatch them away one after another.
He had been nursing that grievance ever since.
"You misunderstand, benefactor."
Duan De wore a genial expression and was very courteous toward Chen Yu. "Those weren't divine weapons, but demonic weapons transformed from fiends! This humble Daoist was subduing demons and vanquishing evil, warding off calamity for the young fellow!"
"So that was it. It seems this was a misunderstanding."
Unexpectedly, Chen Yu actually seemed to accept his explanation. He merely smiled and let him go.
From the looks of it, he seemed willing to let him leave.
"Please, go ahead, fellow Daoist."
He continued, "But it would be best not to make a habit of bullying juniors like this. Otherwise, I fear retribution will catch up with you sooner or later."
"You're absolutely right, fellow Daoist. This humble Daoist will engrave your words upon his heart."
Duan De smiled genially, looking as though he had taken Chen Yu's words to heart. He nodded repeatedly, then swiftly departed.
"Teacher Chen?"
Watching Duan De's retreating figure in the distance, Ye Fan was somewhat surprised.
"His strength is far from ordinary. In a place like this, it's best not to let fresh branches grow from the trunk."
Chen Yu shook his head. "They're only a few spiritually awakened divine weapons, nothing particularly valuable. If he wants them, let him have them."
Those few spiritually awakened divine weapons were unremarkable in both material and grade. In Chen Yu's eyes, they were beneath notice, no different from scrap.
And there would certainly be no benefit in actually fighting Duan De here.
After all, the man was by no means weak and had a wealth of trump cards. Facing him would be troublesome indeed.
Leaving aside his own reserves for the moment, that half of the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar, which he might already have found, would alone be a major problem.
Of course, most importantly, Chen Yu had already achieved his objective.
[Check-in successful. Obtained the Source Emperor Scripture.] [Source Emperor Scripture: an imperial inheritance created by a Source Emperor through the collected efforts and insights of his lifetime, bringing together the ultimate methods of all Source Arts beneath heaven...]
Not bad. Another good find.
Looking at the notification before him, Chen Yu's mood immediately brightened.
The Source Emperor Scripture should have been a scripture Duan De created as the Source Emperor in one of his past lives. Though it contained no specific cultivation methods, it recorded the cultivation of the entire Source Arts system in detail.
This was unquestionably precious. In a certain sense, it was even more valuable than an imperial scripture.
Though imperial scriptures were exceedingly rare, quite a few powers beneath heaven still possessed them.
But an imperial scripture of Source Arts was one of a kind.
The Source Heaven Book that Ye Fan later obtained immediately paled into insignificance beside this Source Emperor inheritance.
After all, the lineage of the Source Heaven Book had, at its highest, only produced Source Heavenly Masters, whose strength was merely equivalent to that of Saints.
This Source Emperor Scripture, however, had been created by a genuine Source Emperor.
It was only after seeing Duan De that Chen Yu had thought of this.
This man was also a veritable treasure trove, with an abundant variety of things that could be obtained by checking in on him.
What Chen Yu had gained so far was nowhere near the man's limit.
"Why are you alone?"
After settling the matter with Duan De, Chen Yu turned his attention back to Ye Fan. "Where's Pang Bo?"
"An old demon set his sights on him. Things are probably looking grim for him now!"
Ye Fan spoke with anxiety on his face. "Teacher Chen, please hurry and save him."
He recounted everything about their earlier encounter with the great demon, leaving nothing out.
Standing there, Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.
He had not expected that, despite all the things he had changed, Pang Bo would still catch that old demon's eye.
Perhaps this, too, was destined.
After all, Pang Bo possessed the bloodline of a demon god and had swallowed a divine fruit. The demon god blood within him had awakened, making him the most suitable vessel for that old demon.
Had Ye Fan not possessed the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, he could have rivaled Pang Bo as a candidate. Unfortunately, his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body was impervious to all evil, leaving the demon no way to possess him.
"It's all right."
He said, "I'll find a way to resolve this later."
"Oh, and there's this."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Ye Fan secretly took the golden page out of his Bitter Sea and handed it to Chen Yu. "Pang Bo gave me this earlier. I suspect it contains the Dao Scripture."
Chen Yu's gaze shifted to it, settling on the page in his hand.
This golden page was quite remarkable. Its material was unusual, and though it did not look large, it contained a considerable amount of exceedingly complex and profound information.
Upon close inspection, mysterious, wondrous characters could be seen rising and falling within it. Only with focused attention could one barely make them out.
Without question, this was a true treasure: a page recording the complete Wheel Sea Scroll of the Dao Scripture. If word got out, even the Desolate Ancient Families would likely be tempted to fight over it.
Yet Ye Fan had still taken it out without the slightest hesitation.
In his heart, Chen Yu had done far too much for them. This single golden page was nothing in comparison.
"It is indeed the Sea of Bitterness Chapter of the Dao Scripture."
Chen Yu nodded. "This scripture needs to be read with divine sense. Reading it with the naked eye is far too slow."
Without a sound, he took out the Bodhi Heart and held it in his palm.
With the Bodhi Heart in hand, the world immediately became clear, as though even the view before his eyes had changed.
With its aid, Chen Yu read all the characters on the golden page in one go, obtaining this scripture.
Of course, during the process, he did not forget to check in.
[Check-in successful. Obtained one Human Origin Fruit.] [Human Origin Fruit: a rare treasure formed from the gathered essence of heaven and earth. Can extend lifespan by a hundred years...]
Chen Yu gave it a brief glance, then returned the golden page to Ye Fan.
Since its contents had already been read, the characters that had floated upon the golden page had vanished, leaving only the pure divine material.