As Dugu Ba Chen's voice faded, the surrounding blue mist slowly dissipated, and then a figure materialized directly in front of Ye Jing Yu...
He wore a faded grey robe, his frame slightly stooped, his face a tapestry of wrinkles, and his hair entirely white, suggesting an age of at least seventy or eighty. His eyebrows were incredibly long, dangling down to his chest. A smile, fleeting and ambiguous, played on his lips, giving him an air that was at once approachable, benevolent, and deeply enigmatic...
Could this be Zhuo Long? Was Zhuo Long actually a person?
Such a question flickered through Ye Jing Yu’s mind...
“Long time no see, Little Chen Chen...” Upon seeing Dugu Ba Chen, the old man chuckled and uttered this phrase...
Little Chen Chen? Ye Jing Yu instantly felt a massive headache coming on. This fellow actually dared to address Dugu Ba Chen this way? The last time he’d heard that term was back in the Tiangang Mountain Range! Could it be that, apart from that old immortal, there was genuinely someone else in this world audacious enough to call Dugu Ba Chen that?
“Enough nonsense. Why aren't you staying in your own territory and running here?” Dugu Ba Chen completely disregarded the man’s familiarity, letting out a sharp snort...
“The Dragon Clan has grown weaker and fewer over the years. This Jiaolong is the most promising one in ages to potentially transform into a true dragon. I don't want anything to happen to it!” the old man sighed softly to himself...
“So, you’re here to save it, then?” Dugu Ba Chen said coolly...
“Little Chen Chen, can’t you spare it, just for the sake of this old relic?” the old man continued to sigh...
“Fine, I'll spare it, but you must give me one Tian Pian Fruit!” Dugu Ba Chen remained impassive, showing no change in demeanor despite the other party's evident power...
“Alas, the world knows Zhuo Long feeds on Tian Pian Fruit, but who knows that the Tian Pian Fruit is actually the sacred medicine of the Heavenly Dragon Clan? Now that the Heavenly Dragon Clan has vanished into the river of history, where in this world can one find a Tian Pian Fruit?” the elder sighed faintly...
“Since you won’t give it, I’ll just take it myself!” Dugu Ba Chen stated coldly, and a surge of blade energy shot skyward, manifesting behind him into a colossal blade gleam that stretched up into the clouds...
“Ah, so many years have passed, yet you remain just as domineering and unreasonable. This is the last Tian Pian Fruit; take it,” seeing Dugu Ba Chen prepared to act immediately, the old man sighed again, and a golden fruit shaped vaguely like a long sword appeared in his hand, drifting immediately toward Dugu Ba Chen...
Dugu Ba Chen caught the Tian Pian Fruit with a single hand...
“This is the Tian Pian Fruit?” Dugu Ba Chen frowned and asked. He had only heard of such a thing but was seeing it for the first time...
“Indeed, this is the Tian Pian Fruit. The legends among you humans claim this fruit can absorb all poisons, but that’s not entirely true. Its greatest function is to open a person's meridians and improve their constitution—it performs a marrow-cleansing. Detoxification is merely its most minor effect... If someone consumes the Tian Pian Fruit first, and then the Blue Demon's Tear, they can easily break through to the Martial Saint realm without needing anyone to guard them—and they will be immune to all poisons,” the old man spoke softly, though his eyes were filled with reluctance...
Upon hearing this, Ye Jing Yu’s eyes immediately lit up. He had always wondered: the Blue Demon's Tear, such a supreme spiritual medicine, grew on the edges of the Blue Dream Marsh, yet this Tian Pian Fruit, which supposedly only detoxified, grew in the very center...
It turned out it possessed the effect of cleansing the marrow! This was far more significant than the effect of the Blue Demon's Tear...
The Blue Demon’s Tear could greatly enhance one's strength, much like polishing a stone, immensely increasing its value. But no matter how much you polish or carve it, it remains fundamentally a stone.
The effect of the Tian Pian Fruit, however, was to transform that stone into a piece of fine jade, fundamentally altering the stone's essence. The two were utterly incomparable...
In other words, even a pig, provided it consumed the Tian Pian Fruit, could be transformed into a martial arts prodigy...
Furthermore, being immune to all poisons after consumption was akin to possessing his own Chaos Body.
If Luo Ling’er were to consume this Tian Pian Fruit, she would never again have to fear being poisoned...
Every expression on Ye Jing Yu’s face was noted by Dugu Ba Chen, who then tossed the Tian Pian Fruit directly to Ye Jing Yu...
“Thank you, Master!” Holding the golden Tian Pian Fruit in his hands, Ye Jing Yu’s face broke into a wide smile. He had originally thought searching for the Tian Pian Fruit would be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, but he never expected to obtain it so easily...
“Take this as well!” Dugu Ba Chen reached out, snatched the Blue Demon's Tear, and threw it to Ye Jing Yu along with the fruit...
Ye Jing Yu was naturally overflowing with gratitude and quickly stored these two items, capable of inciting intense covetousness in anyone, into his Qian Kun Bracelet...
Seeing that Dugu Ba Chen hadn't taken the leaves of the Blue Demon's Tear as well, a smile touched the old man's lips, and he reached out toward the lotus-like leaves, but Dugu Ba Chen’s figure instantly materialized before him...
“I know you want these things to boost the strength of that earthworm, but the Blue Demon's Tear is mine. Even the things I discard, you cannot take...”
Hearing Dugu Ba Chen’s impossibly overbearing statement, the elder nearly choked, spitting blood. When did the Blue Demon's Tear become his property? He had already taken the most valuable part; was he not even allowed to take a few leaves? One needed to have some decency!
“Little Chen Chen, you...”
“Enough, enough. Considering your age, I won’t make things difficult for you. Since I don't want them anyway, you can have them. However, you must give my disciple a gift!” Before Zhuo Long could finish speaking, Dugu Ba Chen interrupted again...
“Uh...” This time, Zhuo Long was dumbfounded. His ancient eyes gazed upon Ye Jing Yu, this young man whose beauty surpassed that of many women, before he finally let out a heavy sigh...
“Forget it, forget it. You are a junior after all; why should I argue with you? This is a treasure I found on an island in the South Sea three thousand years ago. It resists both water and fire, and no matter what means I use, I cannot refine it. I will now pass it on to you!” Zhuo Long reluctantly pulled a fist-sized antique bell—no, it looked more like a dark green small bell—from his robes and handed it to Ye Jing Yu...
“Hey, hey! Old Zhuo Long, are you trying to pawn off a beggar’s trinket or something? Just handing out some rusty old bell and calling it a treasure? How can you claim the title of senior acting like this?” Upon seeing the old Zhuo Long present what looked like a tarnished, worn-out bell, Dugu Ba Chen immediately bellowed...