A herb gatherer stared blankly, muttering, "We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich, Brother Jin! We're going to make a fortune!"
"Good heavens, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"I've never seen so many medicinal herbs in my life."
Even Brother Jin, usually so composed, looked utterly stunned!
He happily patted A Liang on the shoulder and praised him. "You've done a great service, kid!"
A Liang grinned.
"Everyone, don't start digging just yet. This is a naturally formed medicinal field. In my many years of gathering herbs, I've learned that there's bound to be something valuable here!"
Brother Jin declared with absolute certainty.
At his words, greed glimmered in everyone's eyes.
Just how much would something Brother Jin called valuable be worth?
"Everyone, follow me."
Brother Jin waved his hand.
The group carefully made their way through the medicinal field, afraid to trample the treasure Heaven had bestowed upon them.
After walking several hundred meters, they reached a vast natural cavern. A remarkable fruit tree grew atop the enormous remains of some creature.
Its branches were lush with leaves, each one seeming carved from green jade and giving off a faint glow, as if every leaf held endless vitality and spiritual energy.
On its branches hung blood-red fruits, translucent and gleaming like gemstones, their dazzling crimson light flashing brightly.
It seemed to have gathered all the essence of Heaven and Earth.
A strange fragrance wafted from it. Whenever the breeze blew, the scent drifted over, intoxicating anyone who breathed it in.
"Th-this... this is a Blood Spirit Fruit!"
Brother Jin could hardly believe his eyes. He nearly bit off his own tongue.
"A Blood Spirit Fruit? What is that? How come we've never heard of it?"
An older herb gatherer asked, puzzled.
He had spent half his life gathering herbs, yet this was the first time he had heard of the Blood Spirit Fruit—and the first time he had seen one.
"Because it's no ordinary medicinal herb anymore. It's a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure!"
Brother Jin's eyes burned with excitement.
"Hiss!"
"A Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure!"
"I never thought that I'd live to see one! I can die without regrets now!"
Everyone cried out in amazement.
"Brother Jin really is well-informed. You even recognized a treasure like this!"
Brother Jin shook his head and modestly replied, "If I hadn't happened to read an ancient text once, I wouldn't have recognized it either."
"The Blood Spirit Fruit Tree has extremely stringent growing conditions."
"It has to grow on the bones of a great demon, drawing nourishment from its flesh and blood."
"After five hundred years, the tree finally matures. It blossoms once every ten years, bears fruit once every ten years, and the fruit ripens once every ten years."
"Qi and Blood Realm Cultivators can improve their cultivation by consuming a Blood Spirit Fruit, while Body Realm Cultivators can increase their chances of breaking through."
The herb gatherers were all dumbstruck after hearing Brother Jin's description of the Blood Spirit Fruit Tree.
"So you must keep this under your hats. If word gets out about the Blood Spirit Fruit Tree, we'll likely face utter ruin."
Brother Jin cautioned them, still uneasy.
"Don't worry, Brother Jin. We've followed you for so many years. You know what kind of people we are."
The herb gatherers all thumped their chests, assuring him.
"Brother Jin, what if we eat the Blood Spirit Fruit?"
The young herb gatherer A Liang gazed at the scarlet fruits, practically drooling.
Brother Jin sneered and smacked him on the head. "With our Body Forging Realm cultivation, eating a Blood Spirit Fruit would make us explode on the spot."
A Liang shuddered at the thought.
"I won't eat it, I won't!"
"Enough wasting time. Hurry up and pick the fruit!"
"According to the ancient text, treasures like this are usually guarded by powerful demonic beasts! If one comes back, we're done for."
Everyone nodded and swarmed into the cavern.
As soon as they approached, they saw an enormous skeleton as large as a small mountain.
They all felt an overwhelming pressure that made it difficult to even move forward.
"Though the tiger is dead, its might remains. No wonder it was a great demon of legend. Even after all these years, it still has such power. When it was alive, it could probably have killed us with a single breath."
Brother Jin was aghast.
"Don't come in. Wait here. I'll go pick them."
With that, he gritted his teeth and went inside.
Every step felt unbearably heavy.
Just as he was about to touch the Blood Spirit Fruit...
"Hiss!"
A piercing, bone-chilling shriek rang out from deep within the cavern, and a cold, dangerous presence filled the air.
Brother Jin froze.
He turned stiffly toward the depths of the cavern. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
Deep inside, a pair of blood-red eyes as large as copper bells stared right at him.
Cold sweat ran down his cheeks, and a terrible premonition welled up inside him.
Suddenly, the cavern began to tremble, as if an earth dragon were turning over beneath the ground.
No—not an earth dragon!
Brother Jin was terrified. The mysterious creature hiding within the cavern had moved.
Brother Jin staggered backward, and the mysterious creature pursued him.
When the creature emerged fully from the darkness, everyone gaped. It was a gigantic serpent, dozens of zhang long.
Its entire body was dark red, covered in scales as hard as armor. Its scarlet eyes gleamed with chilling bloodlust.
"These lowly monkeys dared to steal its things."
The red serpent, possessed of considerable intelligence, flicked its tongue and instantly fixed its gaze on the herb gatherers.
"It's a demonic beast! Run!"
Brother Jin shouted in terror.
The stunned group snapped out of it and ran faster than they ever had in their lives.
The serpent launched itself into the air like a bolt of red lightning, lunging at the herb gatherers.
Two herb gatherers failed to dodge in time and were knocked unconscious on the spot. The serpent then swallowed them whole.
After devouring the two men, the serpent grew even more ferocious!
"Hiss!"
It launched into pursuit again.
In his panic, one herb gatherer tripped over a withered vine and fell to the ground. He cried out in terror, "Save me!"
But who could spare a thought for him now?
The serpent was right behind him.
In his pupils, the serpent's silhouette grew without end.
Hearing the cries for help behind him, A Liang instinctively turned around—and saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
The fallen herb gatherer had already been swallowed by the serpent. Only his two legs, still kicking desperately, stuck out.
A Liang's scalp prickled.
In that instant, the serpent, having devoured three people, caught up again.
A few breaths later, two more herb gatherers were swallowed.
Brother Jin and A Liang finally reached the mountain valley passage.
The serpent came after them just as they entered the passage.
Its enormous body slammed hard into the cliff wall. The ground shook violently, rocks tumbled down, and trees rustled.
Its body was simply too huge to fit through the passage.
Watching the two monkeys escape, the serpent's blood-red eyes brimmed with resentment.
It slowly retreated.
The fruit that could make it stronger was almost ripe. It had to protect it well.