A Cliff Cleaved by a Single Sword

Chu Youwei's originally gloomy mood was lifted by Lin Xiaowan's excited words, and a hint of delight appeared on her face.

The spirit chef world likewise had all manner of rankings, one of which was the "Spirit Fish Ranking," which recorded all kinds of rare and delicious spirit fish in the world.

To spirit chefs, being fortunate enough to eat any fish listed on it was already something they could boast about for a lifetime.

And the Ink Breath Fish that might exist before them was an exceptional creature ranked among the top ten of the Spirit Fish Ranking!

It was something countless spirit chefs dreamed of obtaining.

To Chu Youwei and Lin Xiaowan, both of whom had cultivated at Heavenly Cuisine Villa, such a creature was far more tempting than any heaven-grade Treasure Item or Sword Blade.

"Let's head farther east."

There was a trace of urgency in Chu Youwei's gentle voice. After observing the growth of the Iron Breath Bamboo roots, she had already roughly determined that the source of the underground spring was most likely to the east.

Ink Breath Fish loved spirit springs rich in spiritual energy. If they truly existed, they had to be near the source of the underground spring.

Led by Chu Youwei, the group hurried eastward for nearly half an hour.

Along the way, Chu Youwei and Lin Xiaowan repeatedly dug meter-deep holes into the hard earth, using the moisture in the underground soil to determine the precise direction.

As the soil they surveyed grew increasingly damp and began to faintly emanate spiritual energy, the joy on their faces became ever more apparent.

By evening, the sky gradually darkened.

Along the way, they still saw no trace of any other teams, which made Lu Feng marvel at just how vast the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins truly was.

"Look, fruit trees!"

Lin Xiaowan's excited, jubilant cry suddenly rang out.

Lu Feng looked over and saw several strange fruit trees resembling pear trees scattered not far ahead. Yet the fruits growing upon them were not pears, but golden oval fruits with peculiar rippling patterns flowing across their skins. Under the lingering glow of dusk, they appeared exceptionally dazzling.

"Be careful. There seems to be a huge fissure in front of the fruit trees. Don't fall in."

Seeing Lin Xiaowan happily run forward, Chu Youwei hurried after her and called out a warning.

"Sister Weiwei, come quickly."

Lin Xiaowan was the first to reach a fruit tree. She suddenly stopped, staring in shock at the fissure not far to its side, then stumbled several steps backward in fright.

"That was close." Lin Xiaowan patted her chest, her face still pale with lingering fear. "This huge fissure is far too terrifying. It stretches for nearly a hundred meters, and you can't even see the bottom at a glance. If someone fell in, wouldn't they be smashed to pulp?"

Everyone was startled by her words, their expressions carrying a measure of horror.

This fissure was so perilous that calling it a suddenly appearing "cliff" would not be an exaggeration.

Such unusual terrain abruptly appearing amid otherwise level ground could not help but feel deeply out of place.

In her panic, Lin Xiaowan walked to the edge of the "cliff." After bending down to listen carefully, she exclaimed in delight, "Sister Weiwei, come quickly! It sounds like there's flowing water below. There really is an underground spring here! Wonderful—we might truly get to see the legendary Ink Breath Fish!"

Lu Feng had also arrived beside Lin Xiaowan by then. Looking at the traces around the cliff's edge and the path along which it extended, his heart gave a jolt.

What an overbearing sword strike!

Though the fissure had been weathered by time and retained little trace of human intervention, Lu Feng could still tell at a glance.

The gigantic fissure before them had been artificially created, and the person who made it had acted with extreme decisiveness and precision. Judging from the faint remnants of sword intent still lingering upon it...

This fissure had most likely been cleaved open by a single sword strike!

It was an artificial fissure!

Based on what they had discovered along the way, the existence of this fissure was undoubtedly meant to nourish the underground spring below, creating an environment suitable for the growth of Iron Breath Bamboo.

Thinking of how the Iron Breath Bamboo Forest was several li away from this place, if all this had truly been done by human hands...

Lu Feng did not dare think any further. Creating a fissure to nourish an underground spirit spring was one thing, but the terrifying part was diverting that underground spring several li away to the Iron Breath Bamboo area. Such means could already be called the power to move mountains, fill seas, and remake heaven and earth.

"Don't move!"

Chu Youwei's alarmed voice suddenly rang out in rebuke.

Everyone came back to their senses and looked toward her, only to discover that Chu Youren had somehow already arrived beneath one of the fruit trees. He was greedily reaching for one of the gleaming golden fruits.

Startled by Chu Youwei's shout, Chu Youren froze where he stood. Perhaps it was the innate pressure of their sibling bloodline that made him instinctively obey his elder sister's words.

But once he came to himself, he felt he had lost face.

Chu Youwei reprimanded him, "This is the legendary Benefit Gold Fruit. Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Benefit Gold Fruit?" Chu Youren looked confused.

Though Lu Feng had considerable experience, he had never heard of this kind of fruit before. Still, he would never foolishly pick one like Chu Youren. Anyone with experience in wilderness exploration understood that when encountering something beyond their knowledge, the best choice, if its danger was uncertain, was to stay away. Otherwise, they would most likely meet a violent death.

"So this is the Benefit Gold Fruit?" Since Lin Xiaowan had also cultivated at Heavenly Cuisine Villa, she knew something about such obscure and rare "ingredients." Secretly relieved, she said, "I didn't recognize it just now. Good thing I was only thinking about eating fish, or I might have fallen for this devil fruit too."

Seeing the caution and gravity on the two women's faces, Chu Youren realized there was danger. He promptly asked curiously, "What exactly is this Benefit Gold Fruit you're talking about? It doesn't look dangerous to me."

Chu Youwei said sternly, "There is a 'Spirit Fruit Ranking' in the spirit chef world that records the ten most peculiar types of fruit in the world. The Benefit Gold Fruit is ranked seventh."

Chu Youren was puzzled. "If that's the case, shouldn't it be a rare ingredient? Why stop me?"

Lin Xiaowan rolled her eyes and interjected, "The Benefit Gold Fruit truly is one of the most delicious spirit fruits in the world, but with the way you were acting just now, you wouldn't get to eat it even if you had ten lives."

Chu Youren said unhappily, "Then how are you supposed to pick it?"

Lin Xiaowan said regretfully, "You can't pick it! Special pills and tools are needed to harvest this fruit."

Chu Youren said skeptically, "Is it really as mystical as you say? Why does it sound so fake? Isn't it just a fruit meant for eating?"

Still unwilling to believe it, he took a Small Flying Knife from one of the guards and, without another word, hurled it at a Benefit Gold Fruit nearby. The knife embedded itself precisely into the fruit, but did not knock it to the ground. Instead, fruit and knife remained suspended together upon the branch.

"Chu Youren!"

Chu Youwei's face turned deathly pale with fury. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Hold your breath and get away from here!"

Seeing this, Lu Feng vaguely sensed something was wrong. Following Chu Youwei's warning, he quickly retreated with Ghost Performer and Lin Xiaowan.

Chu Youren still stood there in a daze. Only when he caught a whiff of foul stench did his expression drastically change.

Fortunately, Chu Youwei still retained some sibling affection. At the critical moment, she grabbed Chu Youren, dragged him away, and threw him toward a guard at the side.

After the group had withdrawn several hundred meters from the fruit trees, Chu Youwei was just about to reprimand Chu Youren for his reckless behavior when she discovered that he was already unconscious. His entire body had collapsed against the guard, trembling without cease. His pale face was covered in cold sweat, and he convulsed like an epileptic, with foam faintly spilling from his mouth.

"He's been poisoned!"

Chu Youwei's expression turned cold, and her face grew even more solemn.

The guard asked in confusion, "How could Young Master have been poisoned?"

Since everyone had obeyed Chu Youwei's instruction and held their breath, none of them had smelled that strange fishy stench.

Lu Feng was also baffled by Chu Youren's sudden poisoning, while becoming even more wary and concerned about the peculiar golden fruit.

With a cold expression, Chu Youwei explained, "He was too arrogant and brought this upon himself! How could the Benefit Gold Fruit be damaged through brute force? The strange ripples flowing over its surface are like formation patterns, except they are naturally formed by heaven and earth. Once damaged, they release the potential energy accumulated within their core like a formation unleashing its force. The poison he suffered came from the highly toxic core of the Benefit Gold Fruit. At best, it makes one convulse like an epileptic until death; at worst, it damages the soul sea and causes immediate unconsciousness and death."

The guard exclaimed, "Such a tiny fruit is actually this terrifying?"

Lin Xiaowan took over irritably. "No one knows how many years these fruit trees have grown here. Just thinking about the poisonous energy accumulated within every Benefit Gold Fruit is frightening. The fact that he still has a breath left means he is already incredibly lucky. If we had run even half an hour slower just now, he might have gotten us all killed."

Lu Feng listened thoughtfully to their conversation. Remembering the power the Benefit Gold Fruit had displayed in that instant, he could not help feeling tempted. If such a strange object could be incorporated into a formation, its force would surely not be much weaker than Nether Void Liquid.

Judging solely by how quickly that toxin had spread just now, even an ordinary Heaven Soul Realm soul master would likely struggle to escape disaster if caught unprepared!

Because of this, Lu Feng could not help viewing Chu Youwei more highly. He had initially believed her to be nothing more than an ordinary Young Miss from a great family, but from everything he had seen along the way, Chu Youwei was clearly far more outstanding than he had expected, especially in wilderness survival and exploration.

Though her accomplishments were certainly related to her cultivation at Heavenly Cuisine Villa, even more important was her cautious and steady temperament.

If it had been someone like Chu Youren, even if he had been sent to a force like Heavenly Cuisine Villa from childhood, he would likely still have lost his mind to greed and desire.

Lin Xiaowan was the same.

Lu Feng finally understood why Lin Xiaowan had once possessed the confidence to travel alone to the Eastern Saint Territory, so far from home, for experience. It turned out to be founded upon such extensive knowledge of exploration.

"Young Miss, please think of a way to save Young Master."

The guards pleaded with Chu Youwei.

It was not because they were loyal to Chu Youren. They merely feared that if Chu Youren truly died here, once they returned to the Chu Family, the five of them would inevitably face harsh punishment from the family head.

Chu Youwei sighed. "Ink Breath Fish bile can neutralize the poison of the Benefit Gold Fruit. We can only hope there are Ink Breath Fish beneath the fissure."

Lin Xiaowan said firmly, "All things restrain and generate one another. Since there are Benefit Gold Fruit trees here, there will definitely be Ink Breath Fish too!"

Upon hearing this, the five guards immediately scattered, searching along the cliff's edge for a suitable place to descend.