The Marvelous Uses of the Saint Breaking Tree, the Red-haired Ganoderma!

Chen Yan didn't go all out in the end.

It wasn't that he was worried about what Hu Yuan would do, but he was afraid he might actually kill the person with one punch.

The gains today were simply too great. After eating one [Strength] Character Saint Breaking Fruit, he ate another [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit. Chen Yan's strength had improved a bit too much.

Hu Yuan's wails came from behind him. Chen Yan left without looking back. The other classmates looked at Chen Yan's lean back, their eyes filled with a trace of fear.

Chen Yan practiced until nightfall. When the school was empty, Wang Yang called him home.

As he walked onto the street, Chen Yan realized his family's noodle shop was already closed.

The clothing store next to the noodle shop was being dismantled. The shopkeeper's wife was moving clothes out of the store with red eyes.

Chen Yan's heart stirred. He thought of what Hu Yuan had said to him earlier and quickly asked:

"Auntie, is your shop closing?"

The shopkeeper's wife looked at Chen Yan, her eyes filled with a trace of grievance and anger. She spoke in a muffled voice:

"We are all poor people, without power or influence. Losing our shop is just a matter of a few words from others."

Chen Yan frowned. Shops in the town required applications to the Town Martial Hall, and there were contracts involved.

The shopkeeper's wife seemed to see what Chen Yan was thinking and snorted coldly:

"Contracts and such are important to us, but they have no binding effect on the big shots. It's like this everywhere.

That Zhang Ge has money and power. He runs a martial arts school in the county, and his son has awakened Qi and Blood. It's not easy for him to get a piece of land?"

Chen Yan pursed his lips. It seemed his family's noodle shop was really going to be repossessed by the Town Martial Hall and leased to Zhang Qingsi's father.

The key was that his family only had three mu of land. The land was always cultivated, but the annual wheat harvest was only a little over two thousand yuan, not including labor costs and fertilizer.

Without the noodle shop, his family would only become more destitute in the future.

His heart felt heavy.

Although he and Zhang Qingsi were classmates, the other person's father only needed a word or a smile to easily cut off his family's lifeline.

Suddenly, a series of piercing sounds echoed in his mind. He looked at the street, at the town residents passing by, and a sense of indignation began to condense and accumulate.

"I heard there was someone at Majia Cliff who went into the inner area of Qingshan yesterday to pick a Red-haired Ganoderma."

"It is indeed the season for Red-haired Ganoderma to mature these few days. One Red-haired Ganoderma is at least ten thousand yuan."

"It's too dangerous. Are you trying to die? If you have some spare money, don't take the risk. Don't you know Zhang Yu from Zhang Village died a couple of days ago when he went into Qingshan?"

"Yeah, it's too dangerous. If it weren't for being so short of money, it's better to prioritize survival."

... Several people walked by, discussing something. Chen Yan's gaze flickered, and he ran home.

Upon arriving home, Chen Yuxu was reading a book, and the table was already set with food.

"Dad, the Town Martial Bonus selection is next Monday. I feel like it should be fine."

Chen Yan spoke as he entered.

"Town Martial Bonus?" Chen Yuxu was startled and quickly put away the book in his hand.

"Is that the selection where one person is chosen from each class?"

"Mm?"

Chen Yuxu nodded and smiled.

"My son is naturally amazing."

Chen Yan pursed his lips. Chen Yuxu was clearly just placating him.

"Dad, our shop's facade..." Chen Yan continued.

"Oh, you heard about it. It's fine. Dad and the director of the Town Martial Hall were high school classmates. Others will move, but we don't have to."

Chen Yan was a bit surprised, but Chen Yuxu's words clearly dispelled the anger in his heart.

Is that so?

He had been worried earlier that his father would be forced to venture into the inner regions of Qingshan.

There were many treasures in the inner regions of Qingshan. His neighbor, Li Ming and his son, could basically find a treasure worth ten to twenty thousand yuan a year.

But venturing into the inner regions of Qingshan was also very dangerous.

Hearing that their shop's facade didn't need to be reclaimed, Chen Yan felt much more at ease. He continued practicing that punching move in the yard.

Although he wasn't at school at the moment, after a day of practice, he was already very familiar with the move.

As the dawn broke, a faint orange-red light crept over the wall.

Listening to the leisurely cicada chirps echoing, Chen Yan walked out of his room and stood in the yard, stretching.

On the front courtyard wall, locust flowers, peeking over from outside the yard, swayed their branches.

"We can eat Locust Flower Cake these few days."

Breathing in the refreshing Locust Flower Fragrance, Chen Yan smiled. After pacing around, he realized Chen Yuxu wasn't home.

Chen Yan frowned. His sister attended County High School and usually returned around noon on Saturdays. By rights, Chen Yuxu shouldn't be absent at this hour.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked. Chen Yan opened the wooden door to find a Mediterranean man, around forty years old, standing outside the courtyard gate.

"Is Chen Yuxu home?"

The man's voice was stern, carrying an air of irrefutable authority.

Chen Yan's heart skipped a beat. This person must be from the Town Martial Hall's Martial Division. He should have seen him before.

"No, he's not. Is there something you need?" Chen Yan asked.

"Not here?" The Mediterranean man frowned, then looked at Chen Yan and said indifferently:

"Tell Chen Yuxu when he gets back that your family's Noodle Shop's goods must be cleared out by next Tuesday at the latest. If they aren't cleared out before next Tuesday, our Town Martial Hall will do it for you."

With that, the man left directly.

Chen Yan's brow furrowed. Chen Yuxu had lied to him yesterday.

Walking to the backyard, Chen Yan's eyes narrowed. The brand-new cleaver that had been placed in the backyard was gone.

Chen Yan frowned and entered Chen Yuxu's room. Chen Yuxu's cotton coat was missing.

Chen Yan's heart grew cold. Many Mountain Runners wore cotton coats even in the height of summer. His gaze swept over and spotted a book at the bottom of the wardrobe.

Judging by the cover, it was the novel Chen Yuxu had been reading. Chen Yan picked it up, his expression worsening.

[Green Mountain Mountain Running Diary]

Chen Yan stood frozen, a flicker of anger appearing in his eyes. This anger wasn't just directed at himself, but also at Chen Yuxu.

And at those who forced his father to become a Mountain Runner!

His son had been bedridden for a year and was about to take the College Entrance Exam, having not undergone the Medicinal Bath. His daughter was still studying at County High School. The tuition and living expenses for his two children weighed him down so much he couldn't straighten up.

Stepping out of the courtyard, Chen Yan saw an old man sitting by the entrance of the neighbor's house, watching him with a wistful gaze.

Compared to the mud walls and wooden door of Chen Yan's house, the newly pasted tiles outside the neighbor's yard gleamed. A large iron door painted with red paint looked shiny and new.

"Your dad probably went to Green Mountain. I saw him leave very early this morning," the old man said with a light chuckle, his cloudy eyes rolling around.

"The Red-haired Ganoderma is ripe these few days. Maybe your family is about to strike it rich."

In response to the requests of many readers, we are now launching the VIP Member Ad-Free Function.

Click to view.

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes. His family and the neighbors weren't exactly friendly; they had a lot of conflicts in the past.

Chen Yan returned to the courtyard and stood there blankly for a long time.

The sky seemed to have turned gloomy.

Outside the courtyard, the sound of laughter from the old man next door talking with someone could be heard.

He threw out a punch, and a crisp sound of an air explosion echoed from Chen Yan's fist.

Chen Yan retracted his fist, his entire face cold and stern.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (1/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit: Strength: (73/100) Blood: (9/100) Skill: (27/100)]

"I really have been living too comfortably."

He muttered, picking up a schoolbag, then half a schoolbag of pebbles from the corner, and finally grabbed a fire poker from the kitchen.

He went out.

"What's that Chen family kid doing with a stick?"

Next door, the man who was still chatting with Old Master Li saw Chen Yan's retreating figure and exclaimed in surprise.

"He's poor, looking for death. Not everyone has the ability of my Li Xuan."

Old Master Li's cloudy eyes looked at Chen Yan's back, but he just smiled strangely.

Along the way, Chen Yan asked the villagers if they had seen Chen Yuxu.

The conclusion he got was that Chen Yuxu had indeed headed towards Green Mountain.

At the foot of Green Mountain, there was a lake, and Hu Zeyuan was fishing.

"Old Hu, this is bad. I just saw your nephew heading towards Green Mountain. You should go and persuade him."

A person walked over and quickly spoke.

"Chen Yan?" Hu Zeyuan was startled.

"Yes, that kid clearly went to Green Mountain. It seems Chen Yuxu has already gone in." The person frowned.

Hu Zeyuan's brow furrowed slightly, then he raised it:

"What does that have to do with me?"

"He's your nephew." The person was taken aback.

"What nephew," Hu Zeyuan said irritably, continuing to fish.

"Having such poor relatives is really bad luck for eight lifetimes."

"Chen Yan isn't worse than your son, but he passed the Strength test."

"My son was just a little bit short!" Hu Zeyuan was even more displeased.

Chen Yan ran all the way to the foot of the mountain and was stopped by a two-layered, giant iron net enclosing the entire back mountain. This iron net was ten meters high and was set up by the Town Martial Division.

This net was electrified. If a normal adult touched it, they would immediately pass out. If they touched it from the other side of the mountain, they would be directly electrocuted.

Chen Yan looked at the ground. There was no road here anymore, but the unevenly grown grass had been trampled into a path, clearly made by people.

Following the path trampled by people, Chen Yan walked along the iron net for about fifty meters and saw, in a hidden corner, a large hole that had been deliberately broken in the iron net.

It was made by people from the village. Chen Yuxu had said that this large hole had been there for a long time.

Chen Yan squeezed inside the inner perimeter and quickly followed the relatively clear footprints up the mountain.

Clenching the firewood stick in his hand, Chen Yan dared not be careless in the slightest.

The air gradually became moist, and the oppressive feeling of summer gradually dissipated. The trees around Chen Yan grew taller and thicker.

Some were even as thick as ten people could embrace.

Suddenly, Chen Yan stopped and frowned, looking at the trunk of a stout Spruce tree beside him. The trunk was covered in yellow-green moss, and coexisting with these large patches of moss were dense clusters of Purple Hazel Mushrooms.

This...

Chen Yan's brow furrowed. This was how herb gathering was; sometimes, even in places others had already searched, you could still find treasures.

Purple Hazel Mushrooms were good stuff. In Green Mountain Town, one jin of Purple Hazel Mushrooms could sell for 150, which was more expensive than beef.

This large patch was at least three jin.

Chen Yan gritted his teeth. After memorizing his surroundings, he prepared to run up the mountain.

Where did Chen Yuxu go?

He couldn't imagine how long Chen Yuxu, a person without the strength to even truss a chicken, could last in Qingshan.

But the moment he tried to move, he froze again.

A strange sensation arose in Chen Yan's heart, because this time the change came from the Saint Breaking Realm.

He saw, in the endless starry sky, orange light flowing from the boundless darkness, slowly seeping into the roots of the Saint Breaking Tree.

The orange light, which acted on the [Strength] Character Saint Breaking Fruit, appeared whenever Chen Yan was moving or working.

But besides this orange light, there was also an almost imperceptible red light.

That red light acted on the [Blood] Character Saint Breaking Fruit.

This change gave him a sudden feeling. Chen Yan frowned. He hadn't broken through his limit yet, which meant this red light wasn't caused by him.

It was from the outside...

A gust of eerie cold forest wind blew, giving a biting chill even in the height of summer.

Chen Yan looked around. Amidst the overlapping, dark tree trunks, he always felt something was watching him. They were breathing deeply, scrutinizing the prey that had fallen into the forest.

The forest was like an endless ocean, with towering trees piercing the heavens. Being within it felt like a fish unable to breathe.

A sudden sense of dread welled up in his heart. Thinking of his father still in the dangerous depths of the forest, Chen Yan no longer paid attention to the changes in the Saint Breaking Realm and quietly and quickly ran towards the mountaintop.

However, as he ran, the red light in the Saint Breaking Realm became more and more obvious. At a certain moment, when it was at its most intense, Chen Yan stopped and looked around.

About fifty meters to his upper left, Chen Yan glimpsed a splash of blood amidst a patch of weeds.

Chen Yan hesitated. The surrounding scenery grew more gloomy, and the fear in his heart intensified.

"What am I hesitating about?"

Didn't Chen Yuxu enter despite the danger just for the treasure medicine?

He walked over quickly and pushed aside the weeds. It was a red-brown umbrella-shaped creature, about the size of a hand. Its cap was layered like a lotus, and it was covered in fine red threads, like hair.

This was what had caused the Saint Breaking Realm to react.

The Red-haired Ganoderma!