Here it came, the overblown theatrics unique to the people of Shrouding the Heavens.
Watching Elder Qing and the others' exaggerated display before him, Chen Yu stood to one side, the corner of his mouth twitching, somewhat at a loss for words.
Chen Yu had grown rather used to this sort of reaction from those around him.
The people of Shrouding the Heavens were good in every way, save for a few minor flaws. For one, they were far too bullheaded. Every last one had an invincible foe, and whenever they met someone, they wanted to fight first.
Their other flaw was being too overblown. Show the slightest distinction, and you had the makings of a Great Emperor; have somewhat favorable circumstances, and becoming an emperor in the future seemed as easy as lifting a finger.
It was the same now.
Elder Qing and the others were not flattering her. They genuinely believed it.
In their eyes, with the Azure Emperor Weapon in hand, she could practically walk sideways across the Big Dipper in the future, except when facing Desolate Ancient Families with Emperor Weapons, such as the Jiang Family and Ji Family. It was more than enough to protect her cultivation path.
And Qing Emperor's Heart could lay a supreme foundation for Yan Ruyu, even cause the imperial blood within her to revert to its ancestral state. It was not impossible that she might one day rival an emperor's child.
With such advantages, coupled with Yan Ruyu's own exceptional talent and aptitude, she naturally had the capital to contend for the imperial path of an era and become an emperor.
Of course, Yan Ruyu herself did not think so.
She merely glanced at Elder Qing and the others before her, then shook her head. "There's no need for this. The future belongs to the future. Who can say what it holds?"
"The most important thing right now is still to bring the Emperor Weapon and the Saint's Heart back successfully."
She turned to look into the distance. "Many of this era's Desolate Ancient Families and holy land forces have gathered here. Once they learn that we obtained the Emperor Weapon, they will spare no cost to intercept us."
"Until we return to our stronghold, we cannot consider ourselves safe."
"Indeed!"
A deep voice came from nearby.
Looking up, they saw a tall, burly figure appear in the distance.
It was Pang Bo.
No, although he still looked like Pang Bo, he had already changed greatly from before.
Dense Dao patterns appeared across his face, with faint traces of demon script visible within them. Even his body was now filled with Demon Qi. He looked vastly different from his former self, and exceedingly eerie.
This was no longer Pang Bo, but the old demon who had possessed him.
He had seized Pang Bo's body, reestablished contact with Yan Ruyu and the others, and found this place.
"Granduncle."
Yan Ruyu looked at Pang Bo before her, inwardly frowning. "Your condition?"
"I can still barely keep it suppressed."
The old demon spoke, but his gaze turned toward Chen Yu at the side.
His gaze carried an intense pressure, as though scrutinizing him, provoking instinctive aversion.
Chen Yu frowned, then spoke. "Pang Bo?"
As his words fell, the old demon before him suddenly stiffened and began to react.
The Dao patterns on his face, which had already stabilized, fell into disorder once more. His entire body grew somewhat unsteady.
It looked as though Pang Bo's consciousness within him had begun to awaken and, sensing Chen Yu's presence, had begun resisting of its own accord.
This was a contest between consciousnesses, but in the end, the old demon still had the upper hand.
He snorted coldly and looked at Chen Yu before him, a hint of hostility between his brows. "You're from an Imperial Clan on the Other Shore of the starry sky?"
"That's right."
Chen Yu nodded calmly.
"What a joke."
The old demon sneered. "According to this person's memories, there have long been no traces of cultivators on the Other Shore of that stretch of starry sky. The ones living there are merely mortals."
He seemed to have seized some of Pang Bo's memories and now knew where they came from.
"Spare me the needless probing."
Chen Yu spoke coolly. "Since you seized his memories, you should know I'm not someone you can afford to provoke."
"Are you showing such blatant hostility because you want a fight?"
Boom!
As Chen Yu's words fell, a terrifying majesty emerged.
In an instant, Chen Yu activated the Saint's forbidden artifact. A wisp of saintly might immediately emerged, as though it could crush the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers and shatter this heaven and earth. It felt utterly terrifying.
A Saint could not be affronted. Their mere presence was like a mountain, enough to crush a person's spine. If they truly attacked, they could shatter the land of the Eastern Wasteland.
At that moment, everyone's expression changed, including Yan Ruyu's and Elder Qing's.
Without question, this wisp of saintly might was far too astonishing for anyone present to withstand. Had it carried any killing intent, everyone present would probably have died, except Yan Ruyu, who had the Emperor Weapon's protection.
No, even Yan Ruyu's survival would have been far from certain.
After all, unless an Emperor Weapon revived of its own accord, the power it could normally unleash still depended on its wielder.
With Yan Ruyu's cultivation as it was now, even if she roused the Azure Emperor Weapon, she would never be able to contend with a living Saint.
Any mighty figure would be enough to give her a bitter cup to drink.
That was exactly how it had been in the original story. Even with an Emperor Weapon in hand, she had been hunted everywhere by the Ji Family, and had ultimately been forced to seek refuge with the Mighty Figure Peacock King before she could find peace.
The old demon trembled. Facing the saintly might head-on at that moment, he truly felt that immense terror.
Damn it, he can actually still attack!
He felt somewhat panicked, all manner of thoughts flashing through his mind.
After possessing Pang Bo, he had glimpsed the scene of Chen Yu and the Crocodile Ancestor fighting in Pang Bo's memories, and had therefore spoken up to probe him.
He had never expected the other party to be even more terrifying than he had imagined, unleashing saintly might at the slightest disagreement.
How was he supposed to play this now?
Against a Saint's strike, never mind his current state-even at his former peak, he would have been helpless, easily crushed like an ant.
And with reserves like these, allowing him to unleash such power at the mere Divine Bridge Realm, the depth of the other party's foundation was plain to see. He was by no means comparable to an ordinary person.
Probably only a true emperor's child could possess such reserves.
"Please calm down, fellow Daoist."
Yan Ruyu stepped forward and took the initiative to persuade him. "This granduncle of mine was sealed near our ancestor's tomb for many years and only escaped with great difficulty. His disposition may have grown somewhat extreme. Please forgive his unintentional offense, fellow Daoist."
Before her, the Azure Emperor Weapon submitted, helping her block the omnipresent saintly might so that she could barely remain unaffected.
Chen Yu gave the old demon before him a long, searching look. Only after quite a while did he nod, and the saintly might around him dissipated.
"Since he is also of the Azure Emperor Lineage, we are all on the same side. It's no matter."
He spoke coolly. "However, the person you have possessed is a good friend of mine from the Other Shore of the starry sky. If possible, might I ask you to show mercy?"
"You want me to change bodies?"
The old demon's voice was hoarse. "Do you know how rare this body is?"
"Not only has this body consumed divine fruit from the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, it also possesses the bloodline of a demon god. To us demons, it is a precious physique that is exceedingly hard to come by."