“Ying~” Lu Qian awoke from her coma.
If Zhao Xing were here, he would surely praise her; as a practitioner of enchanting spells, even her murmurs upon waking were so alluring.
Lu Qian discovered that the deceitful man had vanished without a trace.
She calculated the time and realized she had been unconscious for an hour.
First, she checked her body and found no signs of violation, letting out a sigh of relief.
Then, she became furious again: “Damn that stinking man! He took my Zhu Fruit, snatched my robe, yet he goes back on his word and leaves me to fend for myself. Truly, there isn’t a single trustworthy man!”
“Ha.” A mocking voice echoed through the dark forest.
“Who?!” Lu Qian immediately became alert, glancing toward a thicket.
There, she saw a straw man, but after making a sound, it lost its luster.
“Is it him? He does keep his word.” Lu Qian came to her senses and muttered to herself, “Next time you fall into my hands, I’ll take your things too, and then let you off…”
Zhao Xing had left a quarter of an hour ago. The reason he left a straw man behind, rather than allowing Lu Qian to fend for herself, was not out of sympathy or a rigid adherence to promises.
The main reason was that East Lake Mountain had Yin Gods monitoring, and every action of the officials was being watched.
If he promised to spare Lu Qian and then allowed her to be taken away by wild beasts in the forest, it would not bode well for Zhao Xing’s subsequent ascent.
For on the mountain, there was a Temple of Divinity, and if he wished to gain benefits, he could not offend the guardian deity of the mountain; otherwise, it would be a loss outweighing the gain.
“Let’s settle here.”
After walking for half an hour, Zhao Xing found a cave.
First, he sent the Da Li Jin Gang to scout the path, discovering nothing unusual before entering.
Then he had the straw man ambush around the cave entrance, standing guard for him.
He moved several large stones to block the entrance.
Only then did he settle in with peace of mind.
It was no wonder Zhao Xing was so cautious; he was preparing to consume the Zhu Fruit.
“Low-grade Spirit Fruit, known as the Longevity Spirit Fruit, increases lifespan and vital Qi.”
“To me, this Zhu Fruit is even more important than high-grade Fortune Spirit Fruits.”
What Zhao Xing desired most was a treasure that could extend his lifespan.
Because enduring until the future revival period was quite difficult, and there was a limit to how much lifespan could be increased; the sooner he obtained it, the better.
If he waited until his lifespan was nearly up, a treasure that could extend life by 800 years would only grant him an additional ten years.
“I hope this Zhu Fruit can bring me some surprises.”
Zhao Xing first consumed the smallest one.
Strangely, this Zhu Fruit melted into his body after just three bites, requiring no chewing at all.
“Classic melt-in-your-mouth.” Zhao Xing smiled.
Then he opened the panel to check the records.
[You have consumed a low-grade Spirit Fruit, Longevity Zhu Fruit. Your lifespan has increased by fifteen years, and your vital Qi has increased by 20 points.]
“Fifteen years? Indeed, the earlier you consume it, the better.” Zhao Xing was overjoyed.
Although he could not see his lifespan on the panel, he only needed to remember the total additional lifespan.
“During the normal operation of the Fortune Dynasty system, the theoretical limit for the first-grade realm is eight hundred years, and that’s still a theoretical limit based on the Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty.”
“Even the emperor only has a lifespan of a thousand years, unable to truly achieve ‘ten thousand years’.”
The increase of only 20 points in vital Qi was negligible; if others consumed it, they would probably spit out the fruit and curse it as garbage.
But with Zhao Xing’s panel recording, he could see the growth directly, and what he wanted was lifespan, not vital Qi.
So he was very satisfied with this result.
“Second one.”
Zhao Xing eagerly ate the second Zhu Fruit.
[You have consumed a low-grade Spirit Fruit, Longevity Zhu Fruit. Your lifespan has increased by eighteen years, and your vital Qi has increased by 10 points.]
This one was slightly larger than the previous, granting an additional eighteen years of lifespan, with only a 10-point increase in vital Qi.
In the early stages, the lifespan treasures showed no obvious diminishing returns, and the increases remained strong even with consecutive consumption.
A new data record appeared on the panel: [Additional Lifespan: 33 years]
“Directly living an extra thirty years, what a huge gain! Thank you, nature, for this gift.” Zhao Xing was overjoyed.
Because this was not something he fought for; it was a gift from the heavens, essentially free, how could he not be happy?
“Third one, also a medium-grade Yuan Law Spirit Fruit.”
Zhao Xing looked at the Zhu Fruit the size of a head, bright red and very plump.
“Crunch.” The flesh was very crisp; compared to the previous two, the medium-grade Zhu Fruit burst with vital Qi upon a single bite.
Zhao Xing’s face turned red, a feeling of extreme fullness surged from his abdomen; he had overindulged.
“Truly a good thing!”
“Much better than the Tian Yuan Pear.”
“The fruits born from the essence of nature are indeed different.”
With a thought, Zhao Xing began to concentrate and operate the Gathered Essence Method, guiding the fierce vital Qi to circulate within his body.
The rotation speed of the Qi whirlpool in his dantian reached its maximum, grinding and absorbing the vital Qi brought by the Zhu Fruit like a millstone.
He waited a full quarter of an hour before he could digest the first bite.
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 2512 points.]
[Gathered Essence Fourth Level: 2831/10000]
“One bite increases by 2500 points? The Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit should purely increase vital Qi.” Zhao Xing thought to himself. If it were a Yuan Law Zhu Fruit, then during the consumption, he could also gain insights into spells.
That is to say, it would increase both vital Qi and spell proficiency.
“It seems today I can not only reach Gathered Essence Fifth Level, but perhaps even Sixth Level.”
Breaking through to Gathered Essence Fourth Level was just a few days before the autumn equinox; now, with such a significant increase in vital Qi, it was simply delightful.
“Fifth Level is certain, Sixth Level is hopeful!”
Zhao Xing digested most of it and took another bite.
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 2542 points.]
[Gathered Essence Fourth Level: 5373/10000]
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 2642 points.]
[Gathered Essence Fourth Level: 8015/10000]
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 2588 points.]
[You have broken through to Gathered Essence Fifth Level!]
[Gathered Essence Fifth Level: 291/10000]
Having broken through to Gathered Essence Fifth Level, the upper limit remained at 10,000 points; the vital Qi gained from the Zhu Fruit correspondingly decreased, but it was still considered strong.
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 1728 points.]
[Gathered Essence Fifth Level: 2019/10000]
[You have consumed a medium-grade Spirit Fruit, Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit. Your vital Qi has increased by 1611 points.]
[Gathered Essence Fifth Level: 3630/10000]
Thus, he repeatedly devoured, digested, and consumed.
Zhao Xing surprisingly ate the head-sized Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit throughout the night.
After finishing the last bite, Zhao Xing looked at the panel.
[Gathered Essence Sixth Level: 156/10000]
“I’ve reached Gathered Essence Sixth Level.” Zhao Xing revealed a satisfied smile.
The Pure Yuan Zhu Fruit was not a plant, had no pit, and could not be cultivated, so after finishing the last bite, it completely vanished.
However, there was no need to worry about a lack of records; the deities three feet above would keep track of the officials’ gains from the spirit fruits in the mountain.
Ordering the Da Li Jin Gang to move the large stones, Zhao Xing stepped out of the cave, looking at the dimly lit sky, and called out:
“Let’s go, my little ones, follow your king to patrol the mountain!”
(End of Chapter)