Heavenly Realm.
The Mortal Realm.
Mingguang Middle Chiliocosm.
A forest somewhere in the Southern Wilderness wilderness.
Giant trees, exuding a primitive aura, rise from the ground, lush and verdant, with vegetation reaching its zenith. Strange peaks and rocks stand tall within the green forest, where miasma permeates the air, and from time to time, the roar of giant beasts echoes through the woods, creating a vast and majestic atmosphere.
This place is sparsely populated and fraught with danger. Normally, not a single person would be seen here for thousands of years. No matter how many ordinary people came, they would only become food for poisonous insects and wild beasts, turning into a pile of bones buried under the layer of dead leaves.
However, what is an insurmountable barrier for mortals is not so dangerous for spiritual cultivators; on the contrary, it is full of opportunities.
We've arrived!
An aged voice drifted down from the sky, white clouds fell in clusters, and the surrounding miasma dissipated automatically.
On the mound, two figures, one large and one small, dressed in black and white robes, emerged from the white clouds.
"Master, are you sure there really is Earth Essence Fruit Tree in this godforsaken place?" A rather handsome young man with rosy skin bent over, rubbing his legs, pouting, and complaining.
Born into a privileged family, he had always lived a life of luxury since childhood. Since he began his cultivation, he had never had to lift a finger. This was his first time visiting such a remote and pristine jungle.
"They say there are ferocious beasts of the Third Realm in the Azure Wood Mountain Range? If we run into them, we're both doomed."
The boy seemed to recall something terrifying, and began to tremble involuntarily.
Bang!
"Ouch, Master, why did you hit me?"
The boy stumbled and nearly fell off the hill.
The old man withdrew his hand expressionlessly, ignoring his good-for-nothing disciple. Instead, he took out a brass compass from his sleeve, tapped it lightly with his finger, and wisps of pale blue spiritual energy entered it.
Buzz~
The compass was activated; it was clearly a magical artifact, not for fighting, but for treasure hunting.
Although the boy was rather timid, he was quite knowledgeable and immediately recognized the item in the old man's hand. He exclaimed with delight, "The Yi Wood Compass! Master, you actually had such a wonderful thing! No wonder you were so confident in finding the Earth Essence Fruit Tree!"
"Hmph, do you think your master is as unreliable as you, a good-for-nothing?" The old man glared at the boy with annoyance, then began to manipulate the compass, using spiritual power to locate it.
A moment later, the old man's face lit up with joy as he looked at a certain spot on the Yi Wood Compass, where a green dot was flashing.
"Found it! Back then, our grandmaster discovered a young Earth Essence Fruit Tree. Fearing that transplanting it rashly would damage its spiritual roots, he set up a concealment array before leaving. Calculating the time, a hundred years have passed, and that Earth Essence Fruit Tree should have matured and blossomed and borne fruit by now."
"The Earth Essence Fruit is Tier Two spiritual fruit, the main ingredient for the Spirit Restoration Pill. More importantly, the Yi Wood Spirit Pattern contained within the Earth Essence Fruit Tree, once extracted, will definitely allow me to open my third Dao Meridian, bringing me hope for the Late Spirit Refining!"
The old man muttered to himself, overjoyed. White clouds surged up beneath his feet once more, enveloping him and the boy, and they floated up, flying low in the sky, heading towards a certain place.
After flying for a while, covering about a hundred miles, the white clouds descended, and the old man led the boy stealthily across the ground. Before long, they arrived at a beautiful valley, where spiritual energy filled the air and exotic flowers and herbs bloomed everywhere, creating a truly magnificent landscape.
The boy took a deep breath and exclaimed in amazement, "Such abundant spiritual energy! Master, this is such a wonderful place; we could easily settle down here!"
"You're dreaming," the old man glanced at his disciple, then sighed, "Do you think everyone else is a fool for what you can think of? This valley is wonderful in every way, but alas, it's already taken."
"Huh? Already taken?"
The boy was stunned, his expression turning dejected. "In such a desolate place, are there still spiritual cultivators? Could they be reclusive monks?"
"Hehe, it's not a cultivator, but a spirit beast!"
"A spirit beast?" The young man's breath hitched, his eyes blazing with desire. "If we used this to Spirit Refining, we might be able to cultivate high-grade spiritual power, or even the Legend supreme-grade spiritual power!"
The old man slapped it again, hissing, "Don't even think about it! That's a Third Realm spirit beast, hundreds of years old. In this mountainous, densely forested place, it's an expert at escaping. Your master's small frame would only be sending me to my death if I went up there!"
"So powerful? How are we supposed to get the Earth Essence Fruit Tree then?" The boy was stunned.
"Don't worry, that Earth Essence Fruit Tree is located on the outer edge of the valley, and that spirit beast is lazy and won't easily leave the center of the valley. Just be careful, there won't be any problems. Besides, fortune favors the bold. If we don't take a chance, your master will forever remain at the Middle Spirit Refining realm."
After reprimanding his disciple, the old man took a deep breath and tiptoed into the valley. The boy followed him tremblingly, not daring to breathe, clearly frightened by the mysterious Third Realm spirit beast.
Neither the master nor the apprentice knew this.
Their every move was being observed by another group.
Somewhere in the sky, a sailboat floated in the air, its surface surging with Spirit Pattern, allowing it to enter a state of invisibility. Even its aura was completely concealed, without revealing the slightest trace.
Inside the sailboat, four spiritual cultivators, whose auras far surpassed that of the old man, sat facing each other, brewing tea. On the white jade table were many delicious dishes, each one enough to make the old man's mouth water.
Above the table, a purple eye floated silently, its pupil reflecting patches of light and shadow, one of which clearly showed the figures of the master and his apprentice.
"Huh? It's actually Earth Essence Fruit Tree!"
The scene of the old man finding the Earth Essence Fruit Tree was naturally witnessed by the four spiritual cultivators.
"Who is this person?" The only woman among the four spoke up. She was dressed in black, had a cold demeanor, and carried a longbow on her back.
"Oh? What, Fellow Daoist Qiu, are you interested in this Earth Essence Fruit Tree?" A burly man with a thick beard, standing three meters tall, and with a bronze complexion, sitting there like a small mountain, chuckled as he held a teacup.
"One of my disciples is in dire need of such a Spirit Refining item," the cold-faced woman said.
"Isn't that perfect? We can just have this person deliver it over then. Fellow Daoist Qiu, rest assured, this person is named Bai Yunzi, a rogue cultivator under my Thousand Refinements Sect, with a cultivation level of Middle Spirit Refining, nothing to mention." The third person spoke, a young man dressed in white.
"Well, thank you very much, Brother Shi." The cold-looking woman nodded slightly to the young man in white.
As the two spoke, they decided the Fate of Bai Yunzi and his apprentice, while the other two people beside them did not feel that anything was wrong, as if it were all a matter of course.
"I must thank several fellow Daoists for their assistance in this hunt for the Tricolor Spirit Deer. The mere Earth Essence Fruit Tree is nothing to mention. I, Shi, will present you with a generous gift afterward," the white-robed youth solemnly assured him, raising his teacup.
"Haha, Brother Shi, you're too kind. Our four sects are of the same lineage, and at this time of great war between the two realms, we should join hands even more. There's no need for thanks."
"Yes, we'll need Brother Shi's help with our spiritual artifacts from now on."
"Of course, of course."
Amidst the clinking of glasses, the atmosphere was quite pleasant and harmonious.
But at that moment, suddenly, strands of cyan-gold light appeared on the surface of the mountains below, flowing continuously across the mountains, from faint to bright, and countless spiritual energies surged in from all directions, affecting hundreds and thousands of miles in an instant.
The mountains, rivers, grass, and trees trembled, from a slight tremor to a violent one, all within a short time.
"What happened?!"
The old man in white clouds, who was picking Earth Essence Fruit, looked up, his face turning deathly pale, his voice becoming extremely shrill. "May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings! You've met your end..."
Amidst the screams, Bai Yunzi's eyelids twitched wildly. He didn't even bother to collect the Spirit Pattern; without thinking, he grabbed the disciple beside him and ran away, but it seemed to be too late.
The mountains trembled more violently than ever before, and the azure-gold light condensed and expanded, eventually transforming into a blue lotus.
The moment the lotus bloomed, the heavens and earth trembled.
The earth churned, soil and rocks rolled, vegetation flew, and Endless dust rose into the sky. Spiritual energy from hundreds of miles away gathered into a vortex, transforming into thick spiritual rain that fell down, watering the blue lotus and causing it to bloom fully.
Then, under the gazes of those who were watching, some openly and some secretly, a shocked and astonished infant suddenly appeared within the blue lotus.
"This is... a being nurtured by an innate spiritual root?!"
Inside the sailboat, four cultivators at the Third Realm suddenly stood up, their gazes burning so intensely they seemed to ignite the Void.
Yo~
A deer's cry rang out, and a white deer, bathed in tri-colored light, leaped up from somewhere, opened its mouth, and bit at the blue lotus.
"You beast, how dare you!"
A series of shouts, filled with shock and anger, rang out simultaneously, followed by a barrage of attacks imbued with surging spiritual light.
Inside the green lotus, Logo's consciousness churned, sensing his predicament, and he muttered to himself, "They're all treating me like a piece of cake..."