Southeast Asia, Monkey Philippines.
Spiritual energy had returned, and Earth had expanded. Southeast Asia's landscape had undergone earth-shattering changes, with vast, rugged mountain ranges and ancient ruins appearing out of nowhere between the existing cities and islands.
With America's covert assistance, the leadership of Monkey Philippines had obtained several Qi Refining cultivation methods leaked from Huaxia. To strengthen the nation in these turbulent times, its leader made the methods public in a televised address, calling for universal cultivation of immortality.
In no time, the entire country was swept up in a frenzy.
Many citizens with decent talent rapidly reached the second Qi Refining layer, drawing on the resurgent spiritual energy.
A few days earlier, in a remote southern town, someone had accidentally eaten a strange, newly grown red fruit in the wilderness and shot straight from the second Qi Refining layer to the Qi Refinement fourth layer. When the news spread, the entire nation erupted with excitement. Soon, people everywhere were packing their bags and flooding into the wilderness, setting off a treasure-hunting craze.
On the outskirts of Manila, at the edge of a newly emerged folded mountain range.
An expedition of seven or eight people wielded machetes as they cautiously made their way through weeds taller than they were.
"Can we really find a red fruit?" a scrawny young man asked, swallowing hard, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Of course! We're experts at the second Qi Refining layer now. Find just one, and we can join the national guard straight away!" The burly man leading them tightened his grip on his machete, his eyes feverish. "This new mountain range is full of opportunities."
The group pressed deeper.
Suddenly, the space ahead rippled like water.
Boom!
A deep tremor swept across a hundred-mile radius, startling countless birds into flight.
"An