At Last, a Taste of Ginseng Fruit

Zhenyuanzi pointed at the spiritual fruits on the plate and said to Yellow Dragon with a smile, "My Ginseng Fruit Tree is a top-grade innate spiritual root. It blooms for three thousand years, bears fruit for three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. In nearly ten thousand years, it produces only thirty fruits."

"These fruits taste quite good. When the previous batch had just ripened, my old friend Hongyun was still around and would come to taste them from time to time. We never even made it to the next harvest... What a pity...!" As he spoke, he seemed to remember his departed friend again.

Seeing Zhenyuanzi lost in longing, Yellow Dragon comforted him. "Senior, do not grieve. Senior Hongyun's true spirit still remains. When he returns, having Ginseng Fruits to eat will be the greatest blessing."

Zhenyuanzi nodded. "Yes. So long as the true spirit remains, there will still be a day of reunion."

"I've made a fool of myself before you, little friend. Hurry and taste my spiritual fruit!"

Zhenyuanzi handed a Ginseng Fruit to Yellow Dragon, then picked up another and began savoring it slowly.

Yellow Dragon accepted the Ginseng Fruit and found it cool to the touch, its skin smooth and lustrous like water.

He took a gentle bite. A unique fragrance instantly spread through the air. After a few chews, his mouth filled with sweet juice. The moment he swallowed, it transformed into dense Yimu essence that dispersed through his body, while a gentle warm current nourished his soul.

Just as Yellow Dragon was about to take another bite, he caught sight of Qingfeng and Mingyue from the corner of his eye. Both were staring fixedly at the spiritual fruits on the plate, drool trailing from the corners of their mouths without their noticing.

Looking at the eight fruits resting quietly on the jade plate, he took two and handed one each to Qingfeng and Mingyue.

The two young attendants visibly swallowed, yet did not accept the Ginseng Fruits Yellow Dragon offered. Instead, they turned their gazes toward Zhenyuanzi, who was eating his fruit.

Still eating, Zhenyuanzi said, "What are you looking at me for? Your Senior Brother Yellow Dragon gave them to you, so take them."

Only then did Qingfeng and Mingyue happily accept the Ginseng Fruits from Yellow Dragon. After thanking him, they were about to stuff the fruits into their mouths when Zhenyuanzi added:

"However, if you eat them and fail to refine them, there won't be any more for ten thousand years!"

The fruits Qingfeng and Mingyue had just brought to their mouths were pulled back. Their little heads pressed together as they whispered and muttered in discussion.

In the end, they decided to split one fruit between them and save the other for whenever they wanted to eat it later.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Watching Qingfeng and Mingyue finish their discussion and each take a bite, Zhenyuanzi and Yellow Dragon burst into laughter together.

After one Ginseng Fruit entered his stomach, Yellow Dragon felt his mana swell throughout his body and his Dao body become light and nimble. Yet he had absorbed only one-tenth of the fruit; most of its remaining essence had spread throughout his flesh, requiring gradual refinement and absorption in the future.

Feeling the changes in his body, Yellow Dragon praised Zhenyuanzi. "Senior, this Ginseng Fruit truly deserves its reputation as a top-grade innate spiritual root!"

"Senior has invited me to taste a spiritual root. Though this junior has no innate spiritual root like yours, I do have some tea leaves whose flavor is also quite good. Please have a taste, Senior."

After speaking, Yellow Dragon took out a teapot, drew water from the void into it, and brought it to a boil. He added the tea leaves, and before long, a rich tea fragrance filled the entire hall.

Zhenyuanzi sniffed the tea's aroma and asked with slight puzzlement, "Enlightenment Tea? Hmm... not Enlightenment Tea. It is far inferior to Enlightenment Tea!"

"This should have been cultivated after birth!"

Hearing this, Yellow Dragon asked in surprise, "Senior has sharp eyes. This Enlightenment Tea was cultivated by the Azure Dragon Patriarch, who bestowed a plant upon me."

"No wonder. Across the entire primordial world, aside from the Dao Ancestor, only Fellow Daoist Azure Dragon could cultivate this Enlightenment Tea!"

Yellow Dragon first poured a cup for Zhenyuanzi, then poured two more and handed them to Qingfeng and Mingyue. Finally, he poured one for himself.

As they quietly drank tea, Yellow Dragon asked Zhenyuanzi, "Senior, could you tell me why, aside from the Dao Ancestor, only the Azure Dragon Patriarch can cultivate this Enlightenment Tea?"

Zhenyuanzi took a sip of tea, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "This Enlightenment Tea Tree was originally a top-grade innate spiritual root, on par with my Ginseng Fruit Tree."

"Unfortunately, it emerged into the world during the great war between the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans. During the struggle for it, Devil Ancestor Rahu shattered it with a single spear thrust. In the end, each participant in the fight only managed to seize some branches and leaves."

"Fellow Daoist Azure Dragon is unmatched in the primordial world in the art of cultivating spiritual roots. As for the Dao Ancestor, he is unfathomably mysterious. His methods are not something people like us can fathom."

Zhenyuanzi took another sip of tea, then suddenly paused, as though recalling something. He reached his hand into the void, and when he withdrew it, there was a charred-black object in his palm.

"It is of no use to me here. You and I are fated, so I shall give it to you!" He slowly sent it toward Yellow Dragon.

Yellow Dragon reached out and caught it. He examined it carefully but could not tell what it was. It was neither wood nor iron, yet possessed a faint jade-like texture.

"Senior, this is...?"

"I found this at that battlefield long ago. It is the root of the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Though it was tainted by demonic qi back then, it still retained a trace of life. Unfortunately, I am not skilled in the Dao of spiritual-root creation and have never managed to revive the life within it. By now, that trace of life is nearly gone."

"You possess great fortune. Perhaps in your hands, it may have a chance to reappear in the primordial world!"

Upon hearing Zhenyuanzi's words, Yellow Dragon examined the charred, jade-like root again. At last, he sensed a faint, flickering trace of life at its center.

Yellow Dragon hurriedly stored the Enlightenment Tea Tree root in the Mysterious Yellow World and placed it in the lotus pool of the Pure World White Lotus, first using it to cleanse away the thread of demonic qi within.

"Many thanks, Senior. If I can revive its vitality, I will invite Senior to drink Enlightenment Tea produced by an innate spiritual root!"

"Good. I will await your Enlightenment Tea, little friend."

Speaking of cultivating spiritual roots, Yellow Dragon looked at the Ginseng Fruits on the jade plate. An idea stirred in his heart, and he asked, "Senior, your Ginseng Fruit Tree is a top-grade innate spiritual root. Have you ever considered trying to cultivate it from cuttings? If a few acquired spiritual roots could be produced, though they would not compare to your mother tree, they would make up for it in numbers and yield."

Hearing this, Zhenyuanzi smiled, then shook his head. "Little friend, you do not know. This tree was born innate and carries the Dao of innate Yimu. Its rank is exceedingly high."

"Back then, Hongyun and I made many attempts, but all of them failed. We even divided off too many spiritual branches and nearly damaged the origin of the Ginseng Fruit mother tree."

"In the end, Hongyun and I searched the entire primordial world before finding a few drops of Three Lights Divine Water, then spent countless divine treasures to restore the spiritual root's origin. It truly was not worth the loss." His words carried no small measure of regret and helplessness.

"Three Lights Divine Water!" Yellow Dragon recalled that the Creation Gourd his master had bestowed upon him still contained a few drops, and over the past tens of thousands of years, it had condensed more than ten additional drops. He then said to Zhenyuanzi:

"Senior, I still have some Three Lights Divine Water on me, bestowed by my master. If Senior needs it, I can give it to you."

How could Zhenyuanzi accept something from a junior? He hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

Yellow Dragon pondered for a moment and said, "Senior, I possess a divine ability passed down by the Azure Dragon Patriarch. It contains the vitality of creation and is of great help to spiritual roots and immortal herbs."

"When I restored the primordial earth damaged by Senior Hongyun's self-destruction, the sweet rain that descended was from it. Senior has seen it as well."