Blue Fruit (Thanks to Tianyu Haikong for the recommendation votes!)

After traveling through the forest for several days, Golden Horn had gradually moved away from the landing site and deeper into the heart of the continent.

His gaze constantly swept the surroundings, searching for any natural treasures that might be present.

Suddenly, the forest opened up ahead. In a clearing stood a lone tree about twice a person's height. Its trunk was silver-white and covered in naturally flowing runes. Several Blue Fruits hung among its branches and leaves, giving off a faint fluorescent glow.

Golden Horn warily surveyed his surroundings and spread out his spiritual power. Only after confirming that there were no hidden threats within a hundred-meter radius did he slowly step forward. He gently parted the branches with his claws and carefully examined the fruits.

The fruits were only the size of fists, ice-blue all over, with faint patterns on their surfaces like condensed ice crystals. Each one emitted a weak energy fluctuation.

He plucked one, hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and swallowed it.

The next instant, Golden Horn's entire body shuddered, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

A vast and powerful surge of energy exploded within him, flooding into every limb and bone like a burst dam. Its purity far surpassed that of any metal ore he had consumed through Devouring before. Moreover, it was highly compatible with the Metal Origin of the Golden Horned Beast, with almost no rejection or loss.

What shocked him even more was that the fruit contained a faint trace of the power of laws.

The feeling was difficult to describe. It was like a light suddenly igniting within chaos, allowing him to vaguely touch something deeper. Though it lasted only an instant, the lingering radiance remained for a long time.

This was something that Devouring metal could never provide.

Golden Horn's eyes lit up. He quickly searched nearby. Over the next few days, he found three more Blue Fruit Trees and used Devouring to consume dozens of fruits. His cultivation steadily rose from Stellar level first rank to third rank. The sheen of his black scales became increasingly profound, while the strength of his physical body soared as well.

Golden Horn soon grasped the pattern: Blue Fruit Trees were spread widely throughout the Secret Realm. The closer one got to the core of the continent, the denser the trees became, and the greater both the size and energy purity of their fruits. However, each tree bore only a limited number of fruits, so once they had been picked, he had to seek another.

Yet danger was everywhere as well.

While flying, he discovered that this space was filled with flickering spatial rifts. Some were as thin as strands of hair yet contained terrifying cutting power, while others stretched several yards long like Death's scythe, silently suspended in midair.

The higher he flew, the more rifts there were. The ground was not absolutely safe either. He had personally seen a large tree suddenly have its branches severed and vanish without a sound, its cut as smooth as a mirror. A flying insect had shattered into a cloud of blood mist in midair, leaving nothing behind.

These rifts followed no discernible pattern and even moved slowly. One careless step would lead to eternal damnation.

Golden Horn had no choice but to slow down, treating every step as though he were walking on thin ice. Relying on his keen instincts and ability to foresee danger, he cautiously avoided those hidden killing traps. He had no intention of being sliced into pieces by a spatial rift before finding enough opportunities.

Occasionally, void rifts would open, and some native creatures would fly out. Most were weak and fled at top speed the moment they emerged. Golden Horn had once tried catching one and using Devouring to consume it, but the effect was negligible. He stopped wasting his energy and fixed his attention on the Blue Fruits instead.

But before he had gone much farther, a figure slowly emerged from the thicket ahead.

It was a powerful special lifeform, shaped like a cheetah and covered in dark gray scales. Its limbs were long and powerful, its claws deeply embedded in the soil.

Stellar level, at least fifth rank or above.

Golden Horn stopped, his gaze narrowing slightly. The Stellar-level origin within him began circulating silently, ready to activate his body-tempering secret art at any moment.

The other party saw him as well. Their two pairs of eyes met for a moment, and the air seemed to freeze.

Golden Horn did not strike first. He did not know the distribution of forces in this region, nor could he be sure whether the other party had a clan or stronger beings backing it. In the Secret Realm, rashly starting a battle was never a wise choice.

The other party remained equally vigilant, its tail taut as a steel whip and ready to attack at any moment. Yet after observing him for a while, it seemed to determine that Golden Horn was no easy opponent. In the end, it slowly turned around and headed in another direction. Its pace was unhurried, but it never relaxed its guard.

Golden Horn watched it leave without stopping it, then continued along his planned route toward the depths of the continent. But he understood clearly that from this moment onward, the competitors in this Secret Realm were far more than that Universe-level Sirius clan pursuer.

Over the next several days, Golden Horn collected Blue Fruits while advancing deeper into the continent.

He encountered more and more explorers, and their strength grew ever greater. He personally saw a Universe-level powerhouse fly overhead, surrounded by a solidified domain of laws that made the lower-level lifeforms below struggle even to breathe.

Those explorers came from different races. Some were special lifeforms covered in heavy scales and radiating earth-element energy fluctuations. Some were Snake Race Demon Race members dragging long tails. Some were Machine Race members with energy light flowing around their bodies. There were even several Human Race members with calm, steady auras.

Golden Horn silently memorized their faces. In this lawless Secret Realm, every stranger could be an enemy.

That day, while traveling onward, he suddenly sensed a vast and dense aura of energy from afar. Golden Horn's heart stirred, and he looked in the direction of the aura. In the center of a clearing stood a towering giant tree. Its trunk was thick, its silver-white branches covered in natural runes, and its foliage lush as a canopy. Countless ice-blue fruits filled its branches, densely packed in numbers exceeding a hundred. Their rich energy fluctuations had nearly solidified into substance.

"So many fruits?" Golden Horn's pupils narrowed. The Blue Fruit Trees he had seen before were at most twice a person's height and bore only a dozen or so fruits. This one was simply a giant.

The energy fluctuations emitted by the giant tree had long alerted the powerhouses within several miles, and five or six figures arrived one after another. Golden Horn swept his gaze over them. Even the weakest possessed Planetary-level cultivation, while the strongest was a Machine Race powerhouse.

That Machine Race member was entirely formed of silver-white metal and stood around two meters tall. It had no facial features, only a faint blue slit of light slowly flowing where its head should have been. Its aura was deep and cold—it was unmistakably Universe level.

Golden Horn's heart tightened, and he quietly widened the distance between them by several steps.

Machine Race. Universe level. He had no chance of victory in a direct clash.

However, Golden Horn was not overly panicked. His exploration over the past few days had allowed him to understand the rules of this Secret Realm. Spatial rifts were everywhere, and any overly intense battle could trigger disaster. Unless there was a life-and-death grudge, no one dared to fight recklessly here.

Moreover, while searching and using Devouring along the way, his cultivation had rapidly risen to Stellar level third rank. The Chaos Space within him had expanded once more, and its energy storage and conversion efficiency had increased severalfold compared with when he was first rank. The growth in his strength gave him a little more confidence.

Time passed second by second.

Five or six powerhouses had gathered beneath the tree, yet no one made the first move because the fruits had not fully ripened. Their color still carried a slight tinge of green.

After waiting for about half an hour, the fruits finally ripened completely, and the entire tree released a rich fruity fragrance.

Almost at the same instant, everyone moved!