Green Fruit

Lu Xiaotian shivered uncontrollably from the cold on the rock, feeling that time was passing unbearably slowly. Yet a wolf howl still rang out from above the cliff from time to time. Lu Xiaotian was unsure whether they were still the same pack of wolves from the day before. Besides, it was night now, and the mountain wind was too strong. If he forcibly climbed up, one wrong move might send him tumbling beneath the cliff. By then, he truly might not have even the slightest chance of survival.

During winter, people always ate far more than in ordinary seasons because they needed the extra nourishment to ward off the cold. Not long after midnight, Lu Xiaotian's stomach began to growl again.

Starving and freezing, with nowhere else to find food, he was having an agonizing time. He got up and decided to tear down a few more dead vines. Even roasting them over the fire to drive away some of the cold would be better than nothing.

Fortunately, the green vines on the cliff wall had never been gathered by anyone, and there were still plenty of them. They would be enough to last for some time.

After lighting a small bonfire and feeling the warmth coming from its flames, much of the chill in his body was immediately dispelled. However, fanned by the wind, sparks spun through the air and occasionally drifted away, while the vines burned up quickly.

Lu Xiaotian had no choice but to gather more. After cutting through another vine with his sword, he gave it a hard tug, only to discover that it did not budge.

Curious, he leaned closer and found that beneath the vine were quite a few rootlets extending into the cliff wall. Moreover, the hard rock wall had bulged slightly, covered in countless fine cracks. Through one of the cracks, Lu Xiaotian used the scant firelight to discover something inside that looked rather like a mountain yam. Since it was growing within the rock, he could not see how large it was.

This unexpected discovery delighted him greatly. He hurriedly used his short sword to carefully pry at the rock on the surface. The stone seemed to have been loosened by the fruit inside pushing against it. Without using much strength, Lu Xiaotian pried away the cracked stone beside it, revealing a pale-green fruit with an incredibly smooth surface, only as large as a goose egg.

It was much smaller than a mountain yam, and Lu Xiaotian could not help feeling disappointed. If it had been the size of a mountain yam, it would have at least filled his stomach somewhat, giving him confidence that he could outlast the wolves on the cliff. But a fruit no larger than a goose egg probably would not last him long. Still, it was better than nothing. The fruit was not hard to the touch, yet it had actually pushed apart the solid rock. After his disappointment, Lu Xiaotian could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

With the experience he had just gained, Lu Xiaotian searched among the vines for a while longer, but still found nothing. He then retreated. Using his short sword, he made a small cut in the green fruit. Under the dancing firelight, a few drops of green juice seeped from the opening. Just by smelling it, he felt an invigorating freshness permeate his heart and lungs.

The green fruit had a delightful fragrance. Lu Xiaotian hurriedly set down his short sword and, unwilling to waste a drop, licked the juice that had seeped out. A sweet flavor melted across the tip of his tongue. It was the first time he had ever eaten such a delicious fruit. Starving and freezing, he swallowed the fruit, skin and flesh alike, in a few quick bites.

It was delicious, but it did not fill him up. Lu Xiaotian licked his lips, still savoring the taste. Yet just as he was reminiscing over the green fruit's flavor, he failed to notice that the fruit flesh and juice he had swallowed had dissolved into a mass of azure light, gathering together in his stomach. As the azure light flickered, it seemed vast, mysterious, and illusory.

The azure light spun rapidly. As azure radiance appeared and vanished, it rapidly expanded into a magnificent, primeval, bizarre space. Yet this strange and incomparably vast space was hidden within Lu Xiaotian's abdomen.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out. It seemed as though a bolt of lightning had exploded inside his mind, shaking his consciousness into a daze.

Lu Xiaotian felt as though tens of millions of enormous waves were rampaging through his body. Boundless spiritual power, vast and majestic, seemed liable to burst his body apart at any moment. In his daze, he could even see an azure halo flickering across his skin. Fine cracks began to spread across it, like a porcelain vessel that had not been completely shattered.

The cracks spread in every direction like a spiderweb. Blood seeped from them at intervals, and in just a short while, Lu Xiaotian had become a man of blood.

What exactly is going on? Could this green fruit be poisonous? Lu Xiaotian was seized by terror. This poison is far too fierce!

The currents of energy colliding within his body still showed no sign of stopping.

Am I going to die?

As Lu Xiaotian suffered in agony, the immense current within his body rushed straight into his sea of consciousness.

With a buzzing sound, darkness fell before Lu Xiaotian's eyes. He lost consciousness and sank into a complete coma.

Yet everything did not calm down because of that. Blood continued to seep from Lu Xiaotian's body at intervals. However, the blood did not get absorbed by the rocks at all. Instead, it spread into a thin blood mist that lingered around his body. Illuminated by the azure halo, it looked extraordinarily eerie. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Centered on Lu Xiaotian's body, a huge vortex formed, and the white mist around it surged madly toward the vortex's center.

"How did we end up here again?" The Blood Dwarf, dressed in black, looked extraordinarily grim when he saw the little thatched cottage before him.

A figure blurred, and three more people arrived one after another: the black-robed old man, the bearded man, and the young woman in the green dress. The young woman in the green dress spoke anxiously, "We've circled the nearby area seven or eight times already, yet we still haven't found an exit. The maze formation here is truly formidable. If this continues, I'm afraid we really will be trapped to death here. Old Geng, think of something quickly!"

"The maze formation here is so powerful. What can I do? For now, we can only take things one step at a time."

The black-robed old man's face was gloomy as water. Anyone would be in a bad mood after being trapped in this place for nearly two months. If they could not occasionally find something to eat within the grand formation, they would probably have starved to death already. After all, only Golden Core experts could abstain from food and no longer need to eat ordinary grains.

Oink, oink.

A series of pig squeals rang out.

"Not good, demon wild boars! There are so many of them!" The bearded man saw one demon wild boar after another burst from the weeds in the mist and cried out in alarm. Although these demon wild boars were only First-Order Demon Beasts, equivalent to the strength of the Third Layer of Qi Refining, they had thick hides and tough flesh and were even more difficult to beat than some Second-Order Demon Beasts. First-Order Demon Beasts referred to those with strength equivalent to the first to third layers of Qi Refining. The second order was the Qi Refining Middle Stage, equivalent to the fourth to sixth layers of Qi Refining. The demon wild boars' charging power was a tremendous headache.

"Why are you wasting your breath? Just kill them." The Blood Dwarf had long since grown impatient. He reached into his storage pouch and took out two silver-colored discs. With a forceful throw of both hands, the silver discs gave off a low hum and spun through the air toward the demon wild boars opposite them.

A shrill scream rang out. Shhk—

The demon wild boar was sliced in half by the blades along the silver disc.

The young woman in the green dress thrust both hands forward. Two purple silk ribbons flew from her sleeves, stretching several yards and wrapping around two demon wild boars at once, binding them tightly. The young woman flicked her wrists, and the purple ribbons swung the boars hard against the ground. With a bang, they smashed two deep pits into the earth. When the purple ribbons retracted, the demon wild boars lay on the ground, blood streaming from their snouts, mouths, and eyes. After twitching a few times, they stopped moving.

Oink, oink.

A demon wild boar nearly a yard long burst from the mist. Its two tusks jutted from its mouth, smeared with blood, and vicious light blazed in its eyes. After this giant demon wild boar appeared, swish, swish, swish—dozens of demon wild boars of varying sizes appeared around them one after another, their black bodies covered in fur that stood stiffly like needles.