Rustle~!!!
The branches and leaves of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree began to move.
At the sight,
Da Ming instantly went on guard, circulating his Soul Power with his Soul Skill ready to unleash.
Xiao Wu was family to them. How could they let the Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree hurt Sister Xiao Wu?
And Gu Chen went without saying.
His and Er Ming's hope of evolving into Hundred Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and ascending to godhood in one leap rested on Gu Chen. If anything happened to him, their hope of becoming gods would instantly be dashed, and that was not something they wanted to see.
So if the Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree didn't know its place, it could hardly blame him for destroying it.
You can die.
But Xiao Wu and Gu Chen can't!!!
However,
The Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree did not attack Gu Chen and Xiao Wu. Instead, it moved the nine branches bearing Ageless Fruits, extending them in front of Gu Chen. Just like that, nine Ageless Fruits, enough to drive the entire Soul Master World and even the whole continent mad, were laid out before him.
Though the tree still could not speak, this gesture was enough for him to understand what it meant.
"Very good, I accept your loyalty!!!"
Gu Chen was very satisfied.
He then picked the Ageless Fruits one by one, placed them in jade boxes, and tossed them into the Void Ring.
"Er Ming, go catch ten more Ten-Thousand-Year life-attribute Soul Beasts."
Gu Chen said.
His words left Er Ming stunned.
What do you mean?
How many trips have I made today?
I'm a Titan Giant Ape, not your beast of burden!!!
Though a little reluctant, Er Ming still set off. It was for no other reason than that he hadn't seen enough of the evolution just now, so he wanted to watch Gu Chen evolve a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Compared with a Soul Beast going from a thousand years to ten thousand, the leap from ten thousand to a hundred thousand years was the greatest hurdle.
For an ordinary Soul Beast, reaching that stage was almost impossible.
Take a Soft Bone Rabbit like Xiao Wu, for example.
If not for the protection of top-tier Soul Beasts like Da Ming and Er Ming, Xiao Wu would have become a delicacy in someone else's mouth long before she reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation.
Before Er Ming returned,
Gu Chen also began to try cultivating.
Top-tier Martial Soul, Blue Silver Emperor!
Advanced Life Meditation Method!
Longevity Body!
Let me see your limits!!!
Although his Soul Power Level was stuck at level 10, the results of his cultivation were still accumulating. Once he began cultivating, he could clearly feel just how different he was now.
With everything stacked together, his cultivation speed truly felt as though it were advancing a thousand miles a day.
But the improvement was not just from his Martial Soul, cultivation method, and physique. It seemed that... the Lake of Life itself was also bolstering him, taking his already astonishing cultivation speed to another level.
That's right, I walk the path of life, and the Lake of Life itself is the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest. It can even condense a marvel like Gold of Life, made of pure life force. From that, it's clear just how astonishing the life force at the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest is.
Even the Mimicry Cultivation Environment for Blue Silver Grass can't come close to the cultivation boost the Lake of Life gives me!
Gu Chen was both shocked and delighted.
Given his relationship with Da Ming and Er Ming, he could stay here as long as he wanted. Unfortunately, he still had things to do, so he couldn't stay for long.
When Er Ming returned,
Gu Chen emerged from his cultivation.
Then,
He laid the carcasses of ten Ten-Thousand-Year life-attribute Soul Beasts beside the Ten-Thousand-Year Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree. Before putting them down, he checked the ten Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts to see whether they had dropped any Soul Bones.
Unfortunately, not a single Soul Bone had dropped.
At this,
Gu Chen wrung his hands and sighed. Of the four materials needed to upgrade the [Longevity Body], he already had Ageless Fruits, and more than one at that. As for the carcasses and Soul Rings of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, those went without saying. With Da Ming and Er Ming here, did he need to worry about those?
The biggest problem, then, was a Ten-Thousand-Year life-attribute Soul Bone. If he could find a Soul Bone in any of the ten Ten-Thousand-Year life-attribute Soul Beast carcasses, he could upgrade the [Longevity Body] directly into the [Undying Physique] and take another step forward.
But none had dropped, so this was heaven's will.
As for the Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree,
"Upgrade conditions met. Upgrade?"
"Upgrade!"
With the upgrade materials gathered, the upgrade conditions were naturally met. Without another word, Gu Chen upgraded the tree.
The materials dissipated, and golden light emerged, enveloping the tree. Ultimate evolution!!!
The feeling of upgrading a Soul Beast like this...
You know, it really did feel like a Digimon evolution. Oh, no, not necessarily; Pokémon evolution didn't seem all that different from the scene before him either. It almost brought Gu Chen's childhood wonder back.
The upgrade ended, and the golden light faded.
Then,
What appeared before them was a towering tree, its branches and leaves capable of blotting out the sky and sun, with fruits like emeralds hanging from its branches.
Longevity Fruits!!!
These were fruits that only a Hundred-Thousand-Year Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree could possibly bear.
Eating a single Longevity Fruit could extend one's life by a hundred years, twice the effect of an Ageless Fruit. If these were brought out, they would be enough to drive the entire continent mad.
But Gu Chen was not so foolish as to sell something this good. Its value was already beyond what money could express. Once it showed up, the major factions would soon set their sights on him, then try every means possible to get their hands on all the Longevity Fruits he possessed.
An ordinary man was innocent, but the jade he carried was his crime!
That was exactly the situation here.
Therefore,
He would not do anything so foolish.
"This subordinate pays his respects to my lord!"
After becoming a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree could speak human words. The first thing he did was pay his respects to Gu Chen, the master who had evolved him from a Thousand-Year Soul Beast into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
And with his first words and his first act, he pledged his loyalty to Gu Chen.
The nine branches bearing Longevity Fruits moved and hovered in front of Gu Chen.
"My lord, these are the fruits this subordinate has borne. Eating one can extend your life by a hundred years. Although only the first fruit eaten has that effect, consuming more will still bring my lord tremendous benefits, thanks to the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and life force contained within them. Please accept them, my lord."
His words were exceedingly sincere.
Though there were many ungrateful wretches in the world, the Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree was clearly not one of them.
Or rather,
The Fortune and Longevity Fruit Tree could still tell the difference between one full meal and a full meal every day.
Go it alone?
The Hundred-Thousand-Year Heavenly Tribulation a thousand years from now would be a huge problem for him.
But following his lord was a different story.
His future would be bright.
He might even step into the ranks of Hundred Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and become a god in one leap. How addled would his brain have to be, how badly would he have to want to throw his life away, to strike out on his own? Wasn't it better to cling to a powerful backer's thigh and lie flat all the way to godhood?
He knew his own limits all too well!!!