Du Yu and his Demon Pets strode forward, heads down, darting into the dense forest to the northeast.
As he ran, Du Yu couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Who could possibly keep up with that speed? Maybe a Dust Spirit Deer could."
From beginning to end, Du Yu felt like a kid being toyed with.
You still think you can catch the other party?
What a joke! You can't even touch it, okay?
Du Yu had reason to believe that even the three guys on those Round Wood Flowing Horses earlier wouldn't be able to catch this weird fruit.
This stretch of forest was totally the Demon Fruit Tree Heart's home field—there was basically no such thing as terrain obstacles for it.
First of all, it could fly.
Secondly, whenever it ran into dense bushes or giant trees blocking the way, the Demon Fruit Tree Heart just blurred its figure and phased right through everything.
Meanwhile, Du Yu had to push aside the flourishing plants, trudging forward with difficulty.
Luckily, he had the Demon Breath Battle Robe to protect his body, or else his clothes would have been shredded by now, and his face would be covered in scratches for sure.
Seeing a patch of low-lying bushes ahead, Du Yu got an idea: "Ghost Firefly, make me a bridge, straight ahead!"
"Mmm!" Little You Ying blinked, and from the slowly swirling rune ring in front of Du Yu, one rune shot out, rapidly expanding!
In front of the bushes, a Rune Shield appeared quietly, sloping up like a ramp.
Soon after, one Flame Rune after another quickly enlarged, orderly flowing together, constructing a floating bridge for Du Yu above the bushes.
"Thanks!" Du Yu stepped onto the giant shield, immediately finding a clear path ahead.
It's just... this kind of bridge uses up quite a bit of energy.
When Little You Ying steps on a rune, it's normally a little flame symbol in its usual form.
These symbols are illusory too, like torches—they're basically a part of Ghost Firefly's body.
But for Du Yu to have a stable footing, Ghost Firefly had to keep using Demon Skill·Ghost Fire Talisman·Guard, turning each little flame symbol into a big shield.
Keep in mind, this super defensive Flame Shield is meant to withstand enemy attacks, so it needs a ton of Demon Breath pumped into it, and using it is pretty exhausting too.
And Du Yu's just using it as a stepping-stone bridge... what a waste...
Well, if necessary, using it to save himself actually makes total sense.
For example, back inside the Shadow Gu Tower, at the Bottomless Pit—when they fell off that cliff. If Little You Ying wasn't in torch form but in doll form back then, Du Yu and Lin Shiwei wouldn't have looked so miserable.
"Alright, alright, that should... hm?" Du Yu landed steadily. In the forested hillside ahead, a strange red apple floated beside a tree.
This was the closest Du Yu had ever been to the Demon Fruit Tree Heart, and for once, the other party didn't plan to fly away.
Du Yu crept forward, trying not to startle the Demon Fruit Tree Heart.
The Demon Fruit Tree Heart suddenly turned around, blinked at Du Yu, then blurred and shot sideways, merging into another big tree.
Du Yu immediately looked up, identifying the tree.
Surprisingly, this little grove was all ordinary trees—not Demonic Plants.
Du Yu was puzzled, glancing all around, when his attention was suddenly caught by a splash of gold off in the distance.
He looked out farther, past layers of shadowy trees, and spotted a golden glow in the distance!
Not only were golden vines and leaves twining all around the trees, but even the ground was carpeted in leaves—it was like a golden rug.
This scene should have been gorgeous beyond words.
But, alas, this golden carpet had been absolutely ravaged—leaves torn to bits, roots shredded and scattered everywhere.
The whole place looked like a disaster—was this deliberate vandalism?
"There's a Demon Beast." Du Yu instinctively crouched down, moving lightly and pulling out his phone.
"Golden Leaf, Fire and Earth dual-type Demonic Plant.
Depending on the season, its vines and leaves take on varying shades of gold. Golden Leaf has short, highly branched tendrils, suction cups at the ends, and is great at latching on and climbing.
Its beautiful and flexible leaves are beloved for fabric and other uses—great versatility. It's an Earth-Level Demon Spirit Material.
Evaluating power level...
Earth Level·Great Success Stage to Earth Level·Peak Stage. Exact strength may vary; dictionary scan for reference only."
Du Yu shifted his phone's camera, wanting another scan, but the huge shape in the distance suddenly got up!
Du Yu froze, instantly recalling his two beloved pets and hiding behind a nearby sapling.
No need to scan anymore—he recognized that Demon Beast right away—Earth Bear!
Back when he stayed at Aunt Su's house, Du Yu had used the Earth Bear as a bed for who-knows-how-many nights—he knew this creature well.
Judging by its size, there's no way it's only Heavenly Level!
Holy crap, this is a Spirit Level beast—way above the Ten Thousand Plants Garden's power level!
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The Earth Bear was as heavy as a mountain. Each step landed with a muffled boom.
"Sss~whack-crash~" Soon, a weird noise rang out.
Du Yu carefully peeked his head out, staring into the distance.
He saw the gigantic Earth Bear, rolling its back against a tree, rubbing up and down—clearly scratching an itch.
Poor tree... well, at least it's just a regular plant, not sentient.
But the Golden Leaves twining around that regular tree weren't so lucky.
The golden leaves coiling up the tree trunk were getting ruthlessly scraped and crushed by the bear's broad, furry back—shredded into pieces.
Du Yu's eyes widened as he watched the Golden Leaf stretch out its vines as much as it could, like it was trying to escape.
"Ooo!" The Earth Bear let out a muffled roar.
It turned nimbly, two massive paws grabbing the fleeing golden vine, yanking up a tangle of leaves from the ground and rubbing them right back onto the tree.
"Shasha~" The tree shook, and golden leaves drifted down.
The Earth Bear pressed its shoulder down onto the dense leaves, rubbing up and down for a nice, cozy scratch.
The bear was loving it, but the Golden Leaf was getting steamrolled...
"Du Yu, Du Yu~"
"Hmm?"
"Red Apple's in front of us now."
"Huh?" Du Yu, back pressed to the tree, pulled his gaze back and straightened up.
And floating right in front of him was that elusive Red Apple.
One man, one apple, staring each other down!
What a weird scene...
After a long silence, Du Yu softly said, "Little Fen Yang, ask it what it wants."
"Mmm." Little Fen Yang poked her head out from Du Yu's chest.
The Red Apple was clearly startled, instantly floating back a couple meters!
"Heehee~" Little Fen Yang grinned cheekily, waving at the Red Apple, "Come here, little thing, lemme see you."
The Demon Fruit Tree Heart stared warily at Little Fen Yang, unmoving.
Little Fen Yang's hazy figure slowly floated forward.
The Demon Fruit Tree Heart retreated decisively, full of suspicion.
Suddenly, Little Fen Yang's petite silhouette shot out, her blurry little hands wrapped with Demon Breath as she hugged the Red Apple!
And the moment they touched, the Red Apple suddenly froze.
"Wow!" Little Fen Yang's orangey eyes sparkled. She licked her lips, looking hungry: "I really wanna take a bite~"
Du Yu: "..."
Instantly blowing her cover...
Swish~
The Red Apple abruptly transformed.
Du Yu felt a blur before his eyes, and then—another hazy Little Fen Yang appeared in front of him.
Little Fen Yang: ???
She was holding an apple, but now she was... holding her own face?
Demon Fruit Tree Heart·Little Fen Yang blinked pitifully at the real Little Fen Yang.
"You can't!" Little Fen Yang urgently communicated, "Change back, quick! Don't turn into me—they'll find out who I am!"
The Demon Fruit Tree Heart sensed her anxiety, and obediently turned back, becoming a Red Apple again.
Only then did Little Fen Yang breathe a sigh of relief, puffing out her cheeks in frustration at the Tree Heart, and then...
And then she took a big bite!
Du Yu: "..."
This didn't actually do any real damage, but the Demon Fruit Tree Heart was still totally freaked out!
When it realized it wasn't hurt and saw the mischievous grin on Little Fen Yang's face, the Tree Heart finally relaxed.
What happened next totally blindsided Du Yu.
The little loli and the Red Apple actually started playing together...
The Demon Soul really is the ultimate Magical Treasure linking all living things.
The ultra-paranoid Red Apple could actually ease up a bit around Little Fen Yang.
"Du Yu, Du Yu—it wants us to chase off the big bear and save Golden Leaf! That bear's really tough. Tree Heart's tried to get help, but nobody could handle the bear."
Du Yu: "Ah..."
So, the Demon Fruit Tree Heart really was lured here by the Fox Cry.
It thinks Xiaoyan is awesome—could she really take on this Spirit Level Earth Bear?
Well... honestly, you really did find the right people!