Red Fruit and the Void Beast

After forming a team, their combined strength far surpassed that of lone adventurers. The two steadily advanced toward the heart of the secret realm together.

Danger lurked everywhere along the way. They repeatedly encountered provocations from lone explorers, but through seamless cooperation, they joined forces to drive their opponents back one by one. When they occasionally came across large groups or Universe-level experts, they could also retreat calmly and avoid the dangers of predators preying on one another.

The deeper they ventured into the secret realm, the more frequent the conflicts became. Traces of battle and dried bloodstains covered the forest floor. Some had fought over Blue Fruit, while others were experts who had entered the realm robbing one another. After all, anyone who had made it this far might be carrying quite a few Blue Fruits.

That day, the two were making their way through a dim forest when a strange little tree entered their sight. Its trunk was pitch-black, and its branches sparse, yet several brilliant red fruits hung from it, strikingly conspicuous amid the darkness.

"What is that?" Golden Horn halted, his gaze fixed on the small tree.

Giant Axe noticed it as well. He narrowed his eyes and studied it for a moment. "Never seen it before."

Quite a few experts had already hidden themselves nearby. Everyone was wary, and no one dared touch it first. Who knew whether it was poisonous? After all, some poisons in the universe could even bring down Immortal experts. Then, a burly alien expert could no longer hold himself back. He plucked one and swallowed it. His expression changed drastically, followed immediately by wild delight. He turned, grabbed the remaining fruits, and charged deeper into the forest.

The surrounding experts were no fools. They instantly realized that the red fruits were treasures too and immediately began searching for them.

Before long, more Red Fruits were discovered. Some experts consumed them and found that, after entering the mouth, they did not surge with energy like Blue Fruits. They had initially assumed they were ordinary fruits, but quickly realized something was wrong. The Red Fruits could raise one's genetic level! The news could not be concealed, and everyone began frantically searching for Red Fruits.

A flood of information from inherited memories surged through Golden Horn's mind. If an ordinary human's genetic level was 1, then a Golden Horned Beast's was 10. The difference in genetic level determined the multiplier of one's base combat power. For example, at the same realm and without the support of other secret techniques, a Golden Horned Beast possessed ten times the combat power of a human.

The higher one's genetic level, the greater the boost to one's comprehension of laws and the more compatible one became with the universe.

Furthermore, physical strength, defense, and recovery ability would all increase dramatically.

At the same realm, the upper limit of energy one could absorb would also rise greatly, vastly improving one's endurance in battle.

Basically, the higher one's genetic level, the higher the realm one could potentially attain. Some heaven-defying races were born with genetic levels hundreds or even thousands of times higher. Once they reached adulthood, they would at least be World Lords. With a bit of luck or enough effort, they had a great chance of breaking through to the Immortal level.

Most experts who had now become Immortals had greatly enhanced their genetic levels.

In an instant, Golden Horn's eyes turned red. Giant Axe, standing beside him, froze for a moment. This giant beast had remained unruffled no matter what it encountered before, so why was it so excited now?

Golden Horn did not hide it from Giant Axe. After all, everyone else already knew.

"That thing can raise genetic levels." Golden Horn's voice was low as he suppressed his excitement.

The moment Giant Axe heard that it could raise genetic levels, killing intent shot from his body into the sky.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other's meaning. They would risk everything!

These rare Red Fruits were a hundred times more precious than Blue Fruits. Blue Fruits merely contained a relatively large amount of energy and a trace of law power, and there were countless substitutes for them in the universe. But any treasure capable of raising genetic levels was incomparably precious, enough to drive every force in the universe mad.

The two advanced quickly, searching the dense forest like mad. Before long, violent energy fluctuations and sounds of battle came from a valley ahead. A battle meant fruit!

Golden Horn and Giant Axe crept to the edge of the valley and observed from behind the bushes. At the center of the battle stood a small tree bearing nine red fruits. Though the people around it fought fiercely, anyone who tried to seize a Red Fruit would be attacked by everyone else. Three corpses already lay on the ground, and the air reeked of blood.

"The Universe-level aura on the left should belong to the strongest of the three." Giant Axe lowered his voice. "Those three are keeping each other in check. We have a chance."

Golden Horn and Giant Axe exchanged a glance, then lunged at the strongest Universe-level expert on the left at the same time. Golden Horn rammed him head-on, while Giant Axe slashed from the flank. The Universe-level expert had no choice but to defend with all his strength and had no time to worry about anything else. Seeing this, the other Stellar-level experts attacked the remaining two Universe-level experts one after another, instantly breaking the balance. One Universe-level expert seized the chance to rush toward the fruit tree, snatch a fruit, and flee. Amid the chaos, Golden Horn and Giant Axe each grabbed one before swiftly withdrawing.

Roars of fury and pursuit rang out behind them, but the pursuers were soon stopped by the other contenders.

They charged several miles in one breath before finally stopping. Golden Horn still clutched the Red Fruit in his claw, while Giant Axe held one in his hand as well.

"One each." Golden Horn grinned.

Giant Axe nodded and swallowed his directly. A moment later, he opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them. "It works. The increase isn't large, but I can clearly feel it. My genetic level is indeed rising."

Golden Horn swallowed his fruit as well. A warm force seeped into every part of his body, as though some restraint had loosened slightly.

The two looked at each other. Go. Keep searching for fruit. No matter the color, they wanted it all!

The two continued exploring deeper along the valley from before. When they reached a mountain stream, they discovered obvious spatial fluctuations. Delighted, they assumed some fruit was ripening.

But this time, it was rather strange. The fluctuations covered a wide area, yet were not very intense, and they lasted quite a while. Just as the two wondered about it, space slowly bloomed like a flower bud, with faint light swirling within the crack. A figure with wings on its back floated out from the opening.

It was a silvery-white creature about two meters tall, humanoid in form, with a pair of wings as thin as cicada wings gently fluttering behind it. Its eyes were closed, and a faint silver glow lingered around its body, as though it had just awakened from sleep.

Golden Horn and Giant Axe simultaneously stepped back half a pace. They found it a little strange. It was not as though they had never seen creatures fly out from within before, but they had never seen one so large.

Its aura was also extremely powerful. It felt almost as strong as they were.

Just as the two hesitated in uncertainty, the silvery-white creature abruptly opened its eyes. A pair of silver vertical pupils swept coldly over them, and its voice was icy and piercing. "Damnable outsiders, you invaded our territory, stole our treasures, destroyed our home, and slaughtered our kin."

Before its words had even faded, its aura began rising wildly. The silvery-white glow around its body swelled layer upon layer, while its wings trembled with a faint buzzing sound. Its realm climbed from Stellar level fifth stage to seventh stage, eighth stage, and finally stopped at the peak of the ninth stage, just a step away from Universe level.

"Now that I have successfully evolved, give me your lives!"

Before the words faded, its figure vanished from where it stood.

Golden Horn felt his scalp go numb and chills run down his spine. Instinctively, he rolled to the side. A streak of silver light grazed his scales, sending sparks flying. Had he been any slower, that claw would have plunged into his throat.

Giant Axe's expression changed drastically, and he cried out in shock, "A Void Beast? That race hasn't gone extinct?"

Golden Horn climbed to his feet and stared suspiciously at the silver figure. "A Void Beast?"