Methods

Mu Lin sneered and unleashed the full power of Legendary Rank 2-Star.

With a flick of his wrist, an astonishing surge of Spiritual Power erupted from his Long Sword. In just two moves, the two Black Gold Rank, who had just endured a fierce battle, were nearly exhausted of Spiritual Power and severely injured, were easily slain by Mu Lin's sword.

In less than a few breaths, the original six-person alliance completely collapsed, leaving only Mu Lin standing among the corpses. He sneered twice, sheathed his sword, and turned to walk towards the cave where the Spiritual Origin Fruit was hidden.

As Mu Lin entered the cave, he was still cursing in his heart.

The cave was deeper than he had expected, and the loose stones underfoot made a rustling sound as he walked.

The cave walls were uneven, and the yellowish-brown rock surface bore scratches from the claws of Demon Beast, some deep and some shallow, indicating that the giant bear had lived there for quite some time.

The air inside the cave was stifling, a mixture of the pungent smell of animals and the dampness of the earth. Mu Lin waved his hand in front of his nose a couple of times, but it didn't dissipate much, so he simply gave up.

He muttered curses as he walked, "Those two good-for-nothings I brought were too weak. They were knocked away in one move, and the other couldn't even dodge a claw attack. If I hadn't concealed my strength beforehand, I would have really been done for here today."

He was telling the truth. His burly companion was killed instantly by the giant bear's impact, and the gloomy young man's head was smashed by a single claw.

Mu Lin himself also expended a lot of energy. Although his foundation as Legendary Rank 2-Star was much stronger than that of Black Gold Rank, that giant bear was still Legendary Rank 3-Star after all, with thick skin and flesh. In order to pretend to be Black Gold Rank, he couldn't use many of his methods. He had to use his sword to slash at it for the duration of an incense stick, and his arm was still sore from the slashing.

But all that is in the past. The dead cannot speak; only the living are entitled to a share of the spoils.

The cave turned twice further in, becoming narrower and narrower, to the point where you could only pass sideways.

As Mu Lin squeezed past, his clothes brushed against the rock wall, picking up a layer of dirt. He patted it off a couple of times, but it didn't get clean, so he gave up and quickened his pace.

After walking a few dozen steps further, the cave suddenly opened up, revealing a small stone chamber.

The stone chamber was not large, only about two or three zhang in size. There was a crack in the top, through which light leaked down, making the chamber neither too bright nor too dark.

The ground was made of natural stone slabs, flat and even. In the very center of the stone chamber grew a short plant with thick, dark-colored leaves, about a foot tall from root to tip.

The plant has two branches at the top, each bearing a fruit the size of a fist, round and smooth, with a dark red skin covered in fine lines. Light seems to flow slowly within these lines, alternating between bright and dim, as if the fruit is breathing.

Mu Lin recognized it at a glance: the Spiritual Origin Fruit.

He had found a diagram of this thing in the books of the Spiritual Cultivation Family; it had a dark red surface, shimmering patterns, and was about the size of a fist—it matched.

Moreover, the fruit is fully ripe, and the patterns on its skin are bright and stable, without the intermittent feeling of the unripe stage. Picking it at this time will maximize its medicinal properties.

He walked quickly to the plant, squatted down, reached out and pinched the base of a fruit, and gently twisted it.

The fruit stem was very brittle, breaking off with a snap. The fruit landed in my palm, warm and cozy. Spiritual Power seeped into my Meridians through my palm, and I could feel how rich the energy was just by holding it in my hand.

Mu Lin grinned and couldn't help but chuckle. He stuffed the fruit into his Space Ring and reached out to pick a second one.

The second one was a size bigger than the first, and it felt heavier when he twisted it off. He weighed it in his hand, put it in his ring with satisfaction, and stood up to dust off the fruit crumbs from his hands.

"The Spiritual Origin Fruit is mine."

He had barely finished speaking when the back of his neck suddenly tensed.

The feeling was hard to describe; it was like something brushed against the edge of his senses, very light, but definitely there. When Mu Lin squatted down to pick the fruit, his attention was entirely focused on the Spiritual Origin Fruit, and his senses were rather narrow. Now that he had the fruit in his hand, his mind relaxed, and his senses expanded outward, and he immediately noticed that something was wrong.

There are people in the direction of the cave entrance.

He turned around abruptly, his gaze passing through the narrow passage between the stone chamber and the corner of the cave, landing in the direction of the cave entrance.

Although the light inside the stone chamber wasn't very bright, daylight from outside filtered in from the other side of the cave entrance. Looking against the light, you could see the silhouettes of two people standing at the entrance, a man and a woman, walking inside.

Mu Lin's heart skipped a beat. There was no one at the cave entrance when he entered, and the time it took to pick the fruit was only a few dozen breaths. When did these two people arrive?

His mind raced, and he immediately remembered. When he was negotiating with those five idiots in the valley, a man and a woman walked over from the side. They were dressed in dark gray and light gray tight-fitting clothes. The man had a black sword at his waist, and the woman had her hair tied in a ponytail. They didn't look like they were with the same group.

He was busy calming down the five people and didn't pay attention to the two. Later, the man said, "We didn't come for the Spiritual Origin Fruit, we were just passing by," and pulled the woman away. Mu Lin still thought the two were just passing by.

Looking back now, it was nothing.

They went around in circles and came from behind.

Mu Lin pushed the Space Ring further in, straightened it, turned to face the cave entrance, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and asked in a familiar, sarcastic tone, "Gentlemen, what does this mean? Are you planning to kill me and steal my treasure?"

He wasn't flustered at all when he said this. His cultivation level was at least Legendary Rank 2-Star, and he had already sensed the auras of the two people opposite him in the valley. The man was only at Black Gold Rank Five-Star, and the woman was even lower, at Black Gold Rank 3-Star.

He knew better than anyone the difference between Black Gold Rank and Legendary Rank. He himself had climbed up step by step from Black Gold Rank, and he knew exactly how difficult that hurdle was to overcome.

The two Black Gold Rank trying to snatch something from him were like throwing eggs against Stone.

So he could still smile, and he even seemed a little curious to see how these two would handle the situation.

Shen Fei stood at the cave entrance, neither rushing inside nor drawing his sword.

He glanced at the plants on the stone chamber floor, then at the Space Ring on Mu Lin's finger, before finally fixing his gaze on Mu Lin's face and saying, "Compared to murder and robbery, your methods seem even more despicable."