Red Fruits, Sweet Spring Water

Shi Jue relied on his senses to lead Ye Fan and Pang Bo to that miraculous spring, with the Nine Marvels Undying Medicine growing beside it.

"We're finally here. Ye, I've got wrinkles on my face already. This place is seriously creepy."

Pang Bo wiped away his sweat, panting heavily. When he had first entered the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, he had still been a strapping young man. Now, not only had wrinkles appeared on his face, but several strands of his hair had already turned white.

"Yeah. In less than half a day, it can make someone age this much." Thanks to his Ancient Desolate Saint Body, Ye Fan possessed abundant Life Essence even before it had awakened, so only a few faint wrinkles had appeared on his face.

"Hey, little brother, why haven't you aged at all?" Pang Bo noticed that Shi Jue's face was still so youthful, full of collagen, aside from being somewhat pale.

"It's nothing. I'm a cultivator, and my blood vitality is abundant. That stretch of road merely exhausted my blood vitality; only now has it begun absorbing my Life Essence." Shi Jue gave a simple explanation.

But that was because he had followed alongside Ye Fan. If he had walked alone, even at the perfected Blood Moving Realm, he would not have been enough for the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land to drain. In an extremely short time, he might not have had even a drop left.

"A cultivator? Like in those TV dramas, flying through the sky, burrowing through the earth, splitting mountains, and cleaving seas?" Pang Bo's eyes lit up as he asked excitedly.

"Uh... I can't do that kind of thing yet." Shi Jue's mouth twitched. Splitting a small mountain would be manageable, but as for flying, he had never tried it. He would think about it after breaking through to the Heavenly Passage Realm. For now, he could jump quite high.

"Then can I take you as my master?"

Pang Bo greatly yearned to become that kind of cultivator. Even if Shi Jue looked younger than him, the accomplished were teachers. If he could learn some real skills, becoming his disciple would not be a problem.

"Better not. I can't teach you anything."

Shi Jue refused decisively. The cultivation method of this era was the Seed of Oneself created by Shi Hao, which differed from the system he cultivated now. He had no way to teach them. If he opened a Heavenly Passage, it would probably cause a tremendous upheaval.

The Laws of Heaven and Earth here were more complete than even those of Stone Village in the Lower Realm. It was likely due to the great battle back then. Seed of Oneself was instead exceptionally suited to this environment.

"Pang Bo, we've come to this world of cultivation. Are you really worried we won't find a path to cultivate?" Ye Fan patted Pang Bo on the shoulder, his outlook remarkably open-minded.

If I gain it, I am fortunate; if I lose it, it is fate.

There was no need to force things. What suited others might not suit oneself.

"Hurry up and eat. Otherwise, your bodies will be drained dry by the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land soon. Besides, they'll bring you boundless benefits in the future."

Shi Jue stared heatedly at the Nine Marvels Undying Medicine. Though it was incomplete, it still contained terrifying divine essence. The Great Emperors of this era were equivalent to Supreme Beings of the Chaotic Ancient Era. An Immortal Medicine that could move even a Great Emperor could allow one to live a second life.

The Nine Marvels Undying Medicine had been divided into nine portions by Empress Ruthless and was no longer complete, but it remained an exceedingly rare treasure. If it had not been located within the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, even Great Sage-level experts would have come to fight over it.

"It looks delicious!" Pang Bo wiped away his drool.

Beside the divine spring, as sweet as nectar, grew more than a dozen plants bearing bright red fruits the size of eggs. They gave off an incredibly rich fruity fragrance that made saliva well up uncontrollably.

Not to mention that after traveling through the stars in a bronze coffin for so long, their stomachs had long been empty. Neither of them cared whether the fruits were poisonous.

"Damn, it's so sweet! It's fucking delicious!" Pang Bo plucked one and took a bite. Bright red juice flowed out as he blurted out a curse.

"Mm, so sweet. I've never eaten a fruit like this before." Ye Fan also took a bite, and his eyes immediately lit up.

It was not merely delicious. When they swallowed the fruit, a stream of Life Essence flowed from their abdomens throughout their bodies. They could feel their depleted energy slowly recovering. The rich, sweet fragrance surged through their organs, giving them the sensation of ascending into immortality.

"I'll try one too."

Seeing the way Ye Fan and Pang Bo were eating, Shi Jue could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth. The incomparably precious fruits of the Immortal Medicine were Spiritual Essences of exceptional value even across the entire Shrouding the Heavens era, yet these two were eating them like ordinary apples. It was truly painful to watch.

Buzz!

After eating the first red fruit, Shi Jue's body trembled slightly. His depleted blood vitality instantly filled up, even overflowing from the surface of his body. Strands of rosy light, almost tangible, flowed in and out of Shi Jue's mouth and nose like tiny golden dragons.

"What terrifying divine essence. What would a complete Immortal Medicine be like?" Shi Jue sighed.

Shi Jue ate only one. Otherwise, when the medicinal effects erupted later, it would be extremely painful.

"Desolate Ancient Divine Spring Water—Liu Shen should be able to use this!"

Shi Jue took out two Pottery Jars and filled them to the brim. This was no ordinary spring water. A faint fragrance could be smelled from it. The fact that it could nourish an Immortal Medicine was enough to show that it would be greatly beneficial to most plants.

"The water is sweet too. It really quenches your thirst." After eating four red fruits, Pang Bo sprawled there and drank like an animal, saying so in surprise.

"Let's take some back later. They haven't had water in a long time either." Using his palm as a container, Ye Fan scooped up the spring water and began drinking. It was refreshingly cool and sweet, far beyond even the most expensive bottled water.

Shi Jue looked at the dozen or so plants, wondering whether he could take one back. There were so many of them; Empress Ruthless probably would not mind.

"Let's do it!"

Gritting his teeth, Shi Jue thought that he did not know when he would return next. He carefully dug out one plant with his hands and packed it away, only then letting out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Ruthless Person had not acted.

"Ah!"

Two screams rang out beside him. When Shi Jue turned around, Ye Fan and Pang Bo were already lying on the ground, their bodies blood-red. Threads of blood seeped from their flesh, while a layer of blood vitality swirled over their bodies like flames. Several strands of faint golden blood vitality appeared on Ye Fan's body, brimming with a masculine aura. As expected of the Ancient Desolate Saint Body.

"The absorption rate has increased." Shi Jue's expression hardened. The Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land was accelerating its absorption of their Life Essence. Had digging up that plant just now triggered some kind of formation?

He was not worried about Ye Fan and Pang Bo. They had both eaten Sacred Fruits and drunk the spring water. Once they woke up, the benefits would be immeasurable.

"This is the only way!"

Enduring the pain of his Life Essence being drawn from his body, Shi Jue sat cross-legged beside the spring.

When he emptied his mind, all stray thoughts vanished, and his entire being seemed to merge with the surrounding environment.

At that moment, dazzling rosy light flowed across his precious body, as though it had been forged from Immortal Gold and precious jade. As its lustrous glow flickered, rune after rune emerged. His body itself was like a Furnace of Creation that devoured everything, while the surrounding spiritual energy crazily gathered toward him, drawing in the power of creation between Heaven and Earth.