Nameless Fruit

When Qin Fengming woke again, a huge python already lay sprawled limply beside him.

Focusing his eyes, he saw a knife tip protruding from the top of its head. Qin Fengming's final strike had actually pierced through the python's mouth, boring out through its head from within.

Only after relaxing did Qin Fengming feel waves of pain from his arm. Looking down, he saw a bloodstain half a foot long across it. His arm had scraped against the python's sharp teeth during that final thrust. Fortunately, the python was not venomous, or he would already have breathed his last.

After steadying himself, Qin Fengming slowly rose to his feet and forcefully pulled the knife from the python's mouth.

After spending more than half an hour, Qin Fengming skinned the python and found its gallbladder, storing it carefully in a cloth pouch. He knew it was an extremely precious item.

The most pressing matter now was finding a way out.

As he wandered around, he came to the stream and suddenly spotted an emerald-green plant growing amid a pile of moss-covered rubble.

The plant stood over a foot tall and bore nine leaves, each one resembling a child's palm with lifelike detail. Even their veins looked remarkably like human meridians. At the top of the plant grew two Vermillion Fruits, each about the size of a cat's eye, giving off an enticing fragrance.

By the light, Qin Fengming saw that red light flowed across the surface of one fruit, as though blood were coursing within it. The other was glossy black, like a black pearl.

He carefully plucked the two Vermillion Fruits and examined them closely in his hand. The instant Qin Fengming removed them, the emerald-green plant swiftly withered. In the blink of an eye, it turned to flying ash and vanished into the air.

Such a bizarre sight unfolding before his eyes left Qin Fengming stunned. Yet he did not take this strange occurrence to heart. After all, he was only ten years old.

Bringing the two Vermillion Fruits close, Qin Fengming found their fragrance incomparably refreshing. Strength immediately returned to his body, and even his wound no longer hurt in the slightest.

Holding the Vermillion Fruits and inhaling their scent, Qin Fengming could not resist the temptation. He picked up the red fruit and casually placed it in his mouth. Before he could chew it, the fruit had already dissolved into liquid and flowed down his throat into his stomach.

Qin Fengming felt a warm current pass through his intestines and reach his lower abdomen, then spread from there through his limbs and bones. It seemed as if something were moving through his body. His meridians tingled pleasantly, and warmth suffused his entire body, making him feel incomparably comfortable.

After a while, that sensation gradually calmed. Unable to resist the lure of the changes in his body, Qin Fengming picked up the remaining Vermillion Fruit and raised it to his mouth.

The moment the black Vermillion Fruit entered his mouth, Qin Fengming felt an extremely pungent liquid rush straight down his throat and into his body. Realizing this, he hastily opened his mouth, wanting to spit it out, but it was already too late.

At the same time, Qin Fengming felt his entire body grow scorching hot. His limbs swelled enormously, and agonizing pain coursed through him, as though countless small knives were stabbing wildly through his organs. The pain made Qin Fengming suddenly topple into the water, where he rolled about without stop.

Not long afterward, Qin Fengming felt an unbearably fishy, foul-smelling liquid surge violently upward. Opening his mouth, he spewed out a pool of black sludge. Then his head boomed, his mind went blank, and after crying out, he fainted.

No one knew how much time had passed before Qin Fengming finally woke. Sitting up, he discovered that his clothes were already tattered and covered in bloodstains. A mass of filth lay on his chest, and a reeking stench rushed straight into his nose and mouth.

Though his body was covered in blood, Qin Fengming found that he felt no pain whatsoever. Even his old wounds had vanished without a trace.

By the light, he saw that the exposed skin of his body was smooth and tender, like that of a newborn infant. At the same time, the cave seemed much brighter. Everything in sight was incomparably clear, and even the sounds of flowing water and insects had become exceptionally distinct.

Qin Fengming stood blankly in the stream, having no idea what had happened.

Qin Fengming did not yet know that he had undergone Meridian Renewal and Marrow Purification, as well as Meridian Broadening and Bone Fortification—something every cultivator dreamed of.

If he had not suddenly stumbled in, the python would have eaten those two Vermillion Fruits and transformed into a Level 1 demon beast. With the gifts of its bloodline, it could then have cultivated its way into the Dao.

For a wild beast to advance into a demon beast was no easier than for an ordinary person to cultivate immortality. Those two Vermillion Fruits still needed more than an hour to ripen fully, but just then Qin Fengming fell into the cave, and everything that followed changed accordingly.

After washing himself thoroughly in the water, Qin Fengming climbed ashore and searched the cave. At last, he found an exit. Only after coming out did he discover that an entire day was nearly over, forcing him to find another cave to sleep in.

This trip into the cave had taken a full day.

In the middle of the night, when Qin Fengming was half-asleep, he inadvertently glanced outside the cave. Suddenly, he saw a luminous object more than ten zhang away, flickering with a soft glow. Had his eyesight not improved this time, he certainly would not have noticed this strange light.

The moment he looked carefully, all sleepiness vanished from Qin Fengming. After close observation, he discovered that the light did not come from a wild beast. Driven by curiosity, he took his knife and cautiously crept toward the glowing object.

Only upon drawing near did he discover that the object lay amid rubble near the mountainside. He forcefully pried the stones aside, and a glittering object appeared before him.

The object was the size of a child's fist and shaped like a gourd. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, yet exceptionally warm and smooth to the touch, making it wonderfully comfortable to hold.

Qin Fengming did not dare inspect it closely. After scraping around the area with his knife and finding nothing else, he returned to the cave and continued sleeping.

At dawn, Qin Fengming took out the gourd he had picked up the previous night and examined it carefully. The entire gourd was jade-green. At first glance, it looked very much like jade, yet it was not as hard as jade. It felt warm and smooth in his hand, with an excellent feel, and its surface was covered in patterns.

The patterns resembled clouds. Counting them, he found no fewer than five. One of them bore a faint hint of yellow and looked light and graceful, as if it might float away at any moment.

At the top of the gourd was a small cap that seemed to be part of the gourd itself. Qin Fengming twisted it with all his strength, but it did not budge. After trying several times, he had no choice but to take it home and let his father try. He tore a strip of cloth from his ragged clothes and hung the small gourd around his neck.

After drinking some stream water, Qin Fengming continued onward in search of a way out.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from ahead. At once, Qin Fengming darted behind a huge tree, guarding against a wild beast suddenly rushing out from the front.

After quite some time, the shrubs before him parted, and three people emerged. They were Qin Fengming's Third Uncle and two Elder Brothers from the family.

"Third Uncle, it's Fengming!"

The moment he saw his relatives before him, Qin Fengming cried out and collapsed onto the rocky ground.