Comprehension Fruit in Hand

"Is that... a Mystic Scorching Iceflame Seed?"

Seeing what Li Lin had taken out, a particularly knowledgeable Rogue Cultivator immediately cried out in alarm.

Though the Mystic Scorching Iceflame Seed was merely a second-rank spiritual item, once absorbed by a cultivator, it could gradually cultivate Mystic Scorching Iceflame—a third-rank cold flame of immense power!

Although this item was not among the things Liu Xuanyi had specifically requested for exchange, its exceptionally high potential for growth meant that, in the eyes of the Rogue Cultivators, it was far more valuable than the Comprehension Fruit.

"I'm determined to get that Comprehension Fruit!"

Li Lin folded his arms across his chest, looking utterly determined to win.

Liu Xuanyi's eyes lit up as he said:

"This item, I—"

"Hold on!"

Just then, He Sheng let out a loud shout.

He then took out two items. One was a spiritual item refined from the reverse scale of a Black Jade Blood Python. Its spiritual pressure was extraordinarily astonishing, nearly reaching the level of a third-rank treasure material. Once placed in the Treasure Light Basin, the treasure light it displayed was no weaker than that of the Comprehension Fruit.

Since Liu Xuanyi had asked for two rare second-rank high-grade spiritual materials, He Sheng also took out a spiritual material refined from a Black Jade Blood Python's venom fang. Its spiritual pressure was likewise astonishing, only slightly inferior to the item refined from the reverse scale.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, these two items are both among the things you specified for exchange, and both carry a distinct primordial wilderness aura. Would you be willing to exchange the Comprehension Fruit for them?"

He Sheng got straight to the point.

Liu Xuanyi hesitated. By the rules, he really ought to exchange the item with He Sheng. After all, he himself had set the scope of acceptable trades from the start.

The item Li Lin had brought out was certainly good, but it was not within the exchange range Liu Xuanyi had designated at all.

Yet wealth was hard to part with. He dealt in reselling goods to begin with, and if he traded the Comprehension Fruit for the Mystic Scorching Iceflame Seed, he reckoned he could make a direct profit of tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Li Lin had originally thought that bringing out the Mystic Scorching Iceflame Seed meant victory was already in the bag. He never expected He Sheng to appear out of nowhere halfway through. Instantly shocked and furious, he glared at He Sheng with blazing eyes.

Seeing Liu Xuanyi hesitate, he hastily sent him a voice transmission, preparing to raise his offer in private.

But before he could speak, He Sheng turned decisively to the Heavenly Talisman Elder and said:

"Society Leader, since I have brought out the items Fellow Daoist Liu requested and meet the exchange requirements, may I invoke my priority exchange right and directly obtain the Comprehension Fruit?"

"Granted!"

The Heavenly Talisman Elder settled the matter with a single word. Without waiting for Liu Xuanyi's response, he directly drew in the Comprehension Fruit and handed it to He Sheng.

This sight left Liu Xuanyi utterly dumbfounded.

"Society Leader..."

Li Lin panicked, his eyes seeming ready to spit fire.

But before he could finish, the Heavenly Talisman Elder said mildly:

"Everyone, do not forget the original intention behind my personally organizing this exchange gathering."

Other society leaders held such benefit-sharing events to strengthen cohesion, not to truly provide a place for people to buy low and sell high.

After saying that, the Heavenly Talisman Elder looked at He Sheng again. "Fellow Daoist Xiang, I look forward to the exchange item you bring out later."

This was also a small warning to He Sheng: he was not to focus solely on taking advantage. Later, he had to show some spirit.

He Sheng understood full well that what was in one's hand was secure. Before everyone, he swallowed the Comprehension Fruit in a single gulp, just like Zhu Bajie swallowing a ginseng fruit. Once it had gone into his stomach, he did not bother to sense any effects, merely cupping his hands in salute as he said:

"I will not disappoint Society Leader."

Liu Xuanyi sighed, helplessly put away the two demonic beast spiritual materials He Sheng had brought out, and cast He Sheng a resentful glance. Still, he did not say much.

Li Lin, meanwhile, watched He Sheng swallow the Comprehension Fruit outright and looked as though he were about to split apart.

"These wild cultivators are truly wasting Heaven's gifts!

They stole my spiritual item and blocked my path of cultivation.

Damn it! They all deserve to die!"

Li Lin's fury surged. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and no matter how he tried, he could not conceal the murderous look in them.

Even from a distance, He Sheng sensed a trace of killing intent and could not help turning back to look at the man.

Their eyes met, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

He Sheng did not care what background this man had. At worst, they would fight it out later. Even if he could not win, with Subtle Ripple Water Escape, could he not still flee?

He refused to believe the Southern Mountain Society was so full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers that another monster like Ye Shaochen would emerge.

The others around them all sensed that something was off and turned their gazes toward the pair.

"Li Lin, know when to stop."

Zhang Tuo spoke.

Li Lin ultimately did not dare erupt into violence and kill someone in public. With a cold snort, he resentfully withdrew his gaze.

He Sheng naturally withdrew his gaze as well, then took out his own item for exchange.

What he brought out was simple enough: the other sharp, barbed antenna of the Thousand-Legged Centipede. He also set a range of spiritual materials he wished to exchange for, all auxiliary materials he would need to refine the embryonic form of a magic treasure with the Cold Soul Mystic Crystal Stone as the primary material.

In the end, a cultivator produced a fist-sized chunk of Silver-Seen Stone and a finger-length, three-hundred-year-old Azurewood Root in exchange for the spiked tentacle.

Both parties were quite satisfied with the trade.

After that came the turn of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators. These fellows clearly only wanted to take advantage of others without being taken advantage of themselves, and the items they brought out were worse than the last.

Li Lin in particular. Still bitter over He Sheng having snatched the Comprehension Fruit, the man seated in the seventh chair took out a spiritual material worth exactly five thousand spirit stones, clinging to the bare minimum as though venting his dissatisfaction through it.

Having already reaped a full harvest, He Sheng paid no mind to their behavior. How could there be such a thing as taking advantage without ever being taken advantage of? He certainly did not think Heavenly Talisman Elder was running a charity.

All he wanted now was to hurry back to Primordial Mist Immortal City and, in the cave residence he had rented just yesterday, test exactly how much his comprehension had improved and how much general cultivation time he could squeeze out of it.

After an unknown amount of time, the exchange segment finally came to an end. Just as He Sheng was preparing to leave, Heavenly Talisman Elder suddenly spoke.

"If nothing major changes, this gathering of high-level cultivators should be the last one before the auction convention begins. This old man intends to double the mutual aid fee for this gathering. Who agrees? Who objects?"

Only then did He Sheng recall Wind Spirit mentioning the so-called mutual aid fee before.

This mutual aid fee was essentially an alternative membership fee levied by the Southern Mountain Society. It was collected after every gathering, with the amount determined by the gathering's rank and scale.

For a gathering of high-level cultivators, the highest-tier gathering at present, Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators had to pay fifteen hundred spirit stones, while Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators had to pay eight hundred.

Those were the initial amounts.

If one failed to make a trade with another cultivator during the exchange session, the mutual aid fee they had to pay would double.

Take Wind Spirit, for example. He had originally needed to pay fifteen hundred low-grade spirit stones as his mutual aid fee, but because no one wanted the Sinking Water he had brought out, the amount rose to three thousand spirit stones.

If the mutual aid fee were doubled once again as Heavenly Talisman Elder proposed, Wind Spirit would have to hand over six thousand low-grade spirit stones in one go.

Yet He Sheng discovered that not only was Wind Spirit unbothered, he was actually the first to rise in support. He directly took out sixty mid-grade spirit stones and handed them to Heavenly Talisman Elder.

The reason for this was tied to the rules governing the use of the mutual aid fee.

Simply put, each cultivator received points according to the amount they contributed. For instance, paying six thousand low-grade spirit stones earned six thousand contribution points.

When the auction convention began, the person with the highest contribution points would be able to use the mutual aid funds when bidding on preselected auction items if their own resources fell short.

But it was not entirely free gain either, for Heavenly Talisman Elder had set a rule: once one chose to use the mutual aid funds, they could no longer raise their bid with their own resources.

For example, Zhang Tuo, who had preselected a Golden Core Pill, might clearly possess three hundred thousand spirit stones but choose to use one hundred thousand spirit stones from the mutual aid funds when the bidding reached two hundred thousand, hoping to get something for nothing.

Then, if an opponent bid more than three hundred thousand spirit stones, he could only give up.

And it was not merely the Golden Core Pill that would fly away. Once the mutual aid funds had been used even once, regardless of whether they were actually spent, the contribution points would all be reset to zero!

He Sheng felt the rules for the mutual aid funds were quite reasonable. Coupled with what had happened over the Comprehension Fruit earlier, he considered Heavenly Talisman Elder a fair and upright man. Thus, he readily paid three thousand low-grade spirit stones as his mutual aid fee.

Once everyone had paid their mutual aid fees, Heavenly Talisman Elder publicly read out the accounts.

"At present, the mutual aid fund totals one hundred seventy-four thousand nine hundred spirit stones. First in contributions is Wind Spirit, with sixteen thousand five hundred contribution points. Second is Zhang Tuo, with thirteen thousand five hundred contribution points. ..."

With the mutual aid accounts concluded, this gathering of high-level cultivators held by the Southern Mountain Society finally came to an end.

As the great winner, Wind Spirit showed no intention of leaving immediately. It seemed he intended to remain behind and thank Heavenly Talisman Elder personally.

To that end, Wind Spirit separately sent He Sheng a voice transmission to apologize, saying only that he could not return to Primordial Mist Immortal City with him. He also promised to help He Sheng obtain a Fate-Testing Talisman and personally deliver it to his residence afterward.

After bidding him farewell, He Sheng released a Cold Moon Arc Light Sword he had refined earlier. It transformed into a streak of watery-blue light, and with his robes fluttering, he sped away into the distance.

He was currently the Rogue Cultivator Xiang Yue, so naturally he could not casually expose his Water Escape Art.

Therefore, his sword-riding speed was no different from that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator.

After traveling merely two or three hundred li in this manner, He Sheng's far-reaching divine sense detected something amiss. Two people had been trailing behind him all along.

"So I've been targeted? This is rather interesting."

With a thought, He Sheng suddenly accelerated, flying toward the horizon like a wild goose vanishing into the boundless sky.