Bizarre Fruit

"It worked!"

Chen Lin looked at the ten gleaming, perfectly rounded pills in the Iron Cauldron Pill Cauldron, and a smile finally appeared on his face after days without a trace of joy.

Whatever else happened, he had finally escaped that bizarre place, and his talent ability still worked as well as ever.

Although the Melanin Insect remained inside him, and the threat of the Enlightenment Pill's aftereffects still hung over him, those problems could be resolved in time.

He had already thought of a way to deal with the Melanin Insect: kill it with the Nameless Sword Qi. In its current weakened state, even if it exploded when he killed it, the blast might not be enough to take his life.

Of course, another solution would be even better. He still had eight Blood Qi Pills from Yu Yuehai, enough to feed the Melanin Insect for eighty days. During that time, he would not need to worry about it turning on him.

After taking out the pills and storing them, Chen Lin swallowed one immediately and began cultivating.

Half a day passed in a flash. His eyes gleamed, and he nodded in satisfaction.

The medicinal effect was indeed weaker than it had been in the early Qi refinement realm, but he could still feel his cultivation increasing. At this rate, his cultivation would advance considerably after he used all ten pills.

Without pills, his cultivation was as immovable as if it had been welded in place. Never mind cultivating for half a day-even half a year would not produce the slightest perceptible change.

Otherwise, he would not have been stuck at the second layer of Qi refining for twenty years.

After that, Chen Lin cultivated while searching for a way out, only occasionally gathering Heaven and Earth treasures.

Along the way, he encountered low-tier monster beasts several times. He gave them a wide berth whenever possible, and when he could not avoid them, he unleashed every means at his disposal to kill them.

Over the next half month, his combat experience improved considerably.

One evening, Chen Lin discovered a cave with a faint light flickering inside.

This immediately caught his interest.

He did not dare enter rashly, however. Instead, he hid at a distance and observed it. Only after waiting a full two hours and confirming that the light had not moved did he cautiously approach.

If it were a monster beast, it could not have remained motionless for so long. It was most likely a treasure.

Was my luck finally taking a turn for the better?

Any Heaven and Earth treasure that glowed could not be too low-grade, and the thought excited Chen Lin.

The cave wound inward, growing damper the farther he went. There were even puddles on the ground.

This puzzled Chen Lin. Could there be a river nearby?

If there was a river, following it should lead him to a human settlement. Then he could finally get out!

He grew even more excited. After wandering through this deep, ancient forest for so long, he had finally glimpsed a hope of escape!

But a moment later, the sight before him seized his attention, and even his breathing grew heavy.

Rounding a bend, he found the space suddenly opening up before him. A pool more than ten meters across lay ahead, and in its center stood something resembling a withered branch, crooked and as thick as an arm.

The branch rose more than a meter above the water. At its tip hung a bright red, apple-like fruit that gave off a flickering glow.

Chen Lin searched his memory for a while but could not identify it. Judging by its appearance alone, however, it was certainly extraordinary.

In an instant, the fruit became a great heap of spirit stones in his eyes.

He was practically penniless now and had been worrying about how to earn cultivation resources once he got out. This thing should resolve his most pressing need.

But according to the stories, all high-grade Heaven and Earth treasures had spirit beasts guarding them, so he did not dare act recklessly.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly took out an ordinary Thunderbolt Bead, activated it, and tossed it at the edge of the pool, retreating swiftly himself.

Bang!

The Thunderbolt Bead blasted a deep crater there.

The splashing water made the withered branch sway twice, but the fruit did not fall.

Chen Lin had expected this. An ordinary Thunderbolt Bead was not especially powerful, and the spot he had chosen was fairly far from the fruit.

He watched the pool intently, gripping his Flying Sword in one hand and three Fireball Talismans in the other.

Then the water churned, and a Dark Green Large Snake emerged from the pool. He swam angrily to the bank and raised his head, flicking his long tongue in and out.

At the sight of the snake, Chen Lin could not help frowning.

Judging by the aura he gave off, he was still a first-rank monster beast, but an exceptionally powerful one. At the very least, he was comparable to the Qi Condensation late stage, perhaps even the Qi Condensation great completion stage.

With his cultivation, Chen Lin certainly could not handle a monster beast like this. He had encountered two such beasts before and had gone around both.

Yet he was reluctant to leave now.

The fruit was clearly no ordinary thing. If he missed this opportunity, his chances of finding another Heaven and Earth treasure of the same grade would be slim. Besides, although the snake was formidable, he had not yet reached the second rank. With the right approach, killing him was not impossible.

He checked his Storage Bag. Inside were one Thunderbolt No. 3, two Thunderbolt No. 2s, and a dozen or so ordinary ones. These were the source of his confidence.

Serpentine monster beasts had weak defenses, and the space here was cramped. If he handled things properly, he might not even need the Thunderbolt No. 3.

Unfortunately, Thunderbolt Beads required mana to activate. If only they could work like land mines. He would have to study that later and see whether he could fit them with a triggering device.

As he thought, Chen Lin took out a Thunderbolt No. 2 and an ordinary Thunderbolt Bead.

The snake looked around for a while but did not approach the cave entrance. Instead, he turned to return to the water.

Without hesitation, Chen Lin hurled the ordinary Thunderbolt Bead at him, then retreated again.

The space around the pool was too cramped. Using a Thunderbolt No. 2 directly might blast the fruit to pieces, so his aim was to lure the snake toward the entrance before blanketing him in firepower.

His throw went slightly wide, landing in front of the snake, and the explosion did not injure him.

It did, however, drive him into a towering rage.

With a hiss, the snake sensed Chen Lin's presence and hurled his enormous body forward.

Chen Lin smiled in satisfaction and retreated again. The moment he saw the snake enter the passage, he threw a Thunderbolt No. 2 at him!

Then, without even checking the result, he hurled another five ordinary Thunderbolt Beads in succession, blasting the entire passage into collapse as deafening rumbles rolled on without end.

When the dust cleared, Chen Lin, who had already cast Vajra Cover on himself, stood outside the cave entrance to inspect the damage. Through a gap in the collapsed rubble, he happened to glimpse a section of the snake's body.

It was already a mangled mass of flesh and blood, its shape unrecognizable.

Chen Lin was delighted. A monster beast was still a monster beast-all strength and no intelligence. Had his opponent been a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, never mind laying an ambush; he probably could not even have escaped.

After observing for a while longer and confirming that the snake was dead, Chen Lin used a Vigor Talisman on himself and began clearing the shattered rocks blocking the passage.

Whenever he encountered a large piece, he hacked it apart with his Flying Sword. Before long, he reached the snake's corpse.

The snake had been blasted into two halves. What he had seen from outside was the upper half.

The flesh of serpentine monster beasts was highly nourishing and could also improve cultivation. Chen Lin stowed it away without hesitation, then continued clearing the rubble.

Only after a long while did he clear a passage barely wide enough for one person to crawl through and make his way back to the pool.