In the following month or so, Du Yu spent all his time in the Great Xia Capital · Xiadu City.

This was Du Yu's first visit to Xiadu City, but unfortunately, he didn't get to experience the charm of the city.

Du Yu was holed up in the headquarters of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, busy cooperating with the Bureau's work, exploring the Mountain and Sea World together with his colleagues.

As the new "Lord of Mountains and Seas," Du Yu really had zero presence!

He always felt like he was just the neighborhood's security guard grandpa.

People and cars came and went every day, and all he did was man the gate and help lift the electronic barrier.

Security Guard Xiaodu, that was him...

But then again, even if the job was the same, the neighborhood we're guarding is on a whole different level!

This is the Mountain and Sea Realm after all. As a security guard here, my status naturally shoots up—at the very least, I'm the top-tier version!

Hmm… Security Grandpa pro+ version?

Luckily, Du Yu wasn't always playing security guard—because of his special status, he also got to take part in the exploration of the two realms of Mountains and Seas.

It's worth mentioning that the Yan Race's home yielded a bumper harvest!

Inside the ancestral home in the mountain, the Twenty-Ninth Bureau worked with professional archaeologists to collect a ton of ancient artifacts.

The most valuable, though, had to be those twenty-something ancient books.

Not only was there children's enlightenment material, but all sorts of technical manuals and miscellaneous writings—the discoveries made everyone exceedingly happy!

"Character Rhyme," "Three Thousand Words," "Celestial Book," "Immortal Herb Annotation," "Spirit Control Miscellaneous Discussion"...

These still reasonably well-preserved books will no doubt help Great Xia fill in its cultural gaps.

The one that caught Du Yu's attention most was a book called "Record of Ten Thousand Demons."

Daring to give it a name like that—now that was bold to the point of overbearing!

And as for the book's contents, that "Ten Thousand" in the title really lived up to the hype.

It chronicled a vast array of Demon Beast races—from habitat and appearance to types of Demon Skills. Even though the language was obscure and hard to follow, Du Yu was absolutely blown away!

People always said that, over the centuries, Demon Beasts came and went, changing constantly, sometimes even becoming extinct and vanishing without a trace.

As for how Demon Beasts have evolved in the present day, how they differ from their ancestors, or how many Beast Races have died out over the course of history—no one really has concrete answers to any of these questions.

The emergence of this "Record of Ten Thousand Demons" was definitely of immense reference value!

It could certainly corroborate the other ancient books still in existence.

In modern Great Xia, Demon Tamers and Demon Beasts are without question superstars among superstars.

Expanding the concept of Great Xia's Twin Tree Civilization to mean "Demon Beast Civilization" wouldn't be off base, either.

And uncovering Demon Beast races from ancient times is exactly the process of "seeking one's roots!"

The books preserved by the Yan Family still need further research and verification by professionals. Du Yu truly looked forward to the day when those ancient tomes would be released to the public…

Some explore the Mountains and Seas, and others hunt through surviving historical records.

What Du Yu couldn't wrap his head around was: how could a talent as great as Yan Jiang not have left any name in the history of Great Xia?!

Even the Mountain and Sea Bell itself, such a powerful Spiritual Artifact, didn't have a single written record.

That era, ravaged by war and poison, has left just way too many blanks for Great Xia…

...

After nearly a month of hustling, Du Yu finally got a break.

Led by Master Qing, he and his fellow disciples hopped on the high-speed train back to Ancient Pine Tower City.

Xiadu City is super close to the Ancient Pine Tower—only about 350 kilometers in a straight line—so it only took a few hours.

Standing at the doorstep of home again, Du Yu couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

It's been nearly a month… I wonder how Firethorn Tree and Golden Leaf are getting on…

"You could be summoned away at any time." Behind him, Yang Qingqing's voice called out.

Du Yu turned to look back, glancing down the long corridor, and saw the left half of Master Qing in front of the elevator.

Yang Qingqing: "Although the Yan Race's home has been thoroughly excavated, the Bureau could send us back at any moment.

Plus, the Mountain and Sea Bell itself is extremely potent—you might be called for other assignments."

"Understood."

Yang Qingqing considered this for a moment, then reminded him, "Remember what Director Shu said: absolutely do not provoke the Ancient Demon Saints in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The Bureau has its own arrangements regarding that type of mission—that's for the Seven Saints of Great Xia only. When the time is right, we'll explore the Celestial Sea."

Du Yu nodded seriously, "Understood."

"Good." Yang Qingqing nodded as well, retracted the rest of her body into the elevator, and said, "Get some rest."

"Master Qing, I'll come cook for you tonight… uh." Before Du Yu could finish, the apartment door behind him suddenly swung open and a bundle of tree branches wound themselves around his body.

"Brother Tree, long time no see! Wait, no—don't…"

"Ow ow ow! Why are you acting like a woman, pinching people like that? Are these branches or chopsticks?"

"Hey~ okay okay, my bad! Oh right, I found you a new friend!"

At those words, the shaking Firethorn Tree suddenly paused.

Beneath the lush mass of leaves, Du Yu struggled out and plopped down on the leafy carpet.

"Whew~" He let out a sigh of relief, summoned a Demon Soul in his palm, and patted the leafy floor beneath him.

Du Yu: "I've got myself a Spiritual Artifact. With it, I can enter the Otherworld—and from now on, I can bring you everywhere with me!"

Firethorn Tree: "Oh?"

"Do you wanna see it?"

The Firethorn Branches swayed up and down, giving a nod.

Looking at the vast sea of branches, Du Yu said, "Gather up your trunk and branches—just bunch yourself into a ball first."

As he spoke, Du Yu summoned the Mountain and Sea Bell.

The palm-sized Ancient Bell floated in his hand, appearing in an illusory form.

The Firethorn Tree curiously sensed the Ancient Bell, and drew in its four overhead branches and lush canopy into a tight ball.

"To the Sea Realm—let's go~"

With a thought, the Illusory Mountain and Sea Bell in Du Yu's palm suddenly enlarged, enveloping both man and tree inside.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.