The Thunder Essence Fruit Tree, a New Approach!

After leaving Feng'an County, the caravan headed west.

The next two stops, Yongchang and Linjiang counties, passed without incident.

The Zhao Household in Yongchang had only recently been established. Its foundations were shallow, and it urgently needed spiritual goods to keep things moving, so it accepted nearly every condition Sun Mao offered.

The Fang Household in Linjiang was more shrewd. They haggled over the price of spirit herbs for most of the day, but Sun Mao ultimately silenced their objections with a batch of heavily discounted pills.

After visiting both counties, the caravan returned fully laden and set out fully laden again, its goods changing hands at a remarkable pace.

Sun Bo'an remained hidden in the shadows throughout, never showing himself.

He grew increasingly certain that the young man before him no longer needed his guidance. In the future, he too would be able to breathe easier.

The fifth stop was Ninghe County.

Ninghe lay in the southwestern corner of White Cloud Commandery. It was vast and sparsely populated, with the newly ascendant Foundation Establishment Wang Clan holding sway over the area. The clan had only recently been established and was likewise struggling to make ends meet.

A few local Qi Refining clans, on the other hand, could still hold their own.

When the caravan entered Ninghe Market, it booked the entire venue and held a banquet as usual, but few cultivators came. If the Wang Clan's ancestor had not attended, it would have looked especially shabby...

Fewer than a hundred or so cultivators attended, not enough even to fill the tables.

But Sun Mao paid it no mind. He negotiated what needed negotiating and purchased what needed purchasing. Ninghe was poor, but it had the advantage of many mountains and dense forests...

The quality of its low-level spirit medicines and Demon Beast materials was not bad at all.

Once transported back to Hongtian City for processing and resale, these goods would also bring considerable profits. In particular, the clan consumed enormous quantities of beast hides and spirit medicines.

These were the main raw materials for pill refining and uniform making...

At noon the following day.

Sun Mao was checking the accounts in the rear courtyard of the caravan's lodgings. The black dog dozed at his feet, while the spirit rat nestled on his shoulder, eagerly gnawing on a spirit fruit pit.

A guest elder lifted the curtain and entered. "Young master, there's an old man surnamed Zhou outside. He says he's the head of the Zhou Household in Ninghe County and wants to discuss a deal with you."

"The Zhou Household?"

Sun Mao leafed through the register beside him. Only when his gaze reached the end did he find the relevant information. He asked:

"The one with very few cultivators in the whole clan, who specialize in cultivating spirit trees, fruits, and vegetables?"

"That's the one."

"All right, let him in."

A moment later, a stooped old man entered the rear courtyard.

His graying hair was tied in a loose bun, and his clothes were faded from washing but clean and neat. His face was weathered, and his hands were rough.

He did not look like a cultivator, but more like a farmer who had spent years tending Spirit Plants.

"Zhou Dehou, head of the Zhou Household, greets Young Master Sun."

The old man cupped his hands and bowed very low, his manner exceedingly respectful. Before such a powerful force, he had no dignity to speak of.

"There's no need for such ceremony, Senior Zhou. Please, have a seat."

Sun Mao gestured for him to sit, personally poured a cup of spirit tea, and pushed it over:

"I hear you want to discuss a deal?"

At that, Zhou Dehou rubbed his hands, looking somewhat ill at ease. "To be honest, young master, my Zhou Household has cultivated spirit trees for generations. Our craft was passed down by our ancestors, and we have a modest reputation in Ninghe County."

"Our Emerald Spirit Fruits and Jade Leaf Ginseng Fruits aren't produced in great quantities each year, but their quality is decent."

As he spoke, he took several wooden boxes from his Storage Bag. When he opened them, a dozen or so First-Tier spirit fruits of excellent appearance lay neatly arranged inside.

Sun Mao picked up an Emerald Spirit Fruit and probed it with his spiritual power. He nodded. "The quality is indeed excellent, a grade above those circulating on the market."

"The spiritual power is abundant, the texture of the flesh is distinct, and there are no signs of forced ripening."

Zhou Dehou's eyes lit up. "You have a keen eye, young master! Our Zhou Household never uses forced-ripening methods. We let everything mature naturally. The yield is lower, but the medicinal properties are pure."

They soon settled on a price.

Sun Mao bought up the Zhou Household's entire harvest of Emerald Spirit Fruits and Jade Leaf Ginseng Fruits for the year at ten percent above market price, paying in Spirit Stones on the spot.

Zhou Dehou accepted the Spirit Stones, his face full of delight. After hesitating for a moment, he took a palm-sized cloth bundle from inside his robes.

He unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing an unremarkable dark purple fruit.

Its skin was rough and covered in fine cracks, like the parched bark of an old tree, giving it a rather peculiar appearance!

But on closer inspection, extremely faint specks of silvery-white light occasionally flickered deep within the cracks, vanishing in an instant.

"Young master, I have one more thing. I wonder if you might be interested."

Zhou Dehou carefully held the fruit in his palm and said apprehensively, "This is called a Thunder Essence Fruit. It grew on an old tree passed down from my ancestors."

"The tree is seventy years old, but Thunder Essence Fruit Trees grow extremely slowly. It only bears fruit once every five years, and only three to five fruits each time."

"This thing... to tell you the truth, members of my Zhou Household have tried it a few times. After eating it, their whole bodies went numb, and their spiritual power became restless and very difficult to control."

"Several of the younger clan members have eaten it. They all said it made them terribly uncomfortable and wasn't as useful as the Emerald Spirit Fruit."

Sun Mao took the Thunder Essence Fruit and sent his spiritual power into it.

The spiritual power within its flesh was entirely different from that of an ordinary spirit fruit.

Rather than flowing gently, that spiritual power had an extremely faint, jumping quality, as though something inside it were constantly bursting apart and reforming.

The spirit rat on his shoulder suddenly stopped gnawing. Its nose twitched a few times, and it squeaked twice at the dark purple fruit before drawing back again, seemingly a little afraid.

The black dog also raised its head and sniffed, but instead of showing the same desire it had for the Dark Gold Ape bone fragment, it sneezed and shook its head.

Something stirred in Sun Mao's mind.

The reactions of the spirit rat and black dog showed that the fruit's spiritual power possessed some special property. It was neither pure attraction nor pure repulsion, but a kind of...

Stimulation?

"Elder Zhou, is this Thunder Essence Fruit mentioned in any ancient texts?"

Zhou Dehou scratched his head. "Our ancestors did leave a few words about it. They said the fruit is 'fierce in nature and bitter in taste; prolonged consumption can draw lightning into the body.'"

"My Zhou Household has tended Spirit Plants for generations, and our cultivation is low. No one has dared eat it for long, and even those at the higher levels of Qi Refining can't keep consuming it for long."

"Those who tried two or three fruits said that when they used their spiritual power, it would occasionally carry a slight numbing force, as if they'd been struck by lightning."

"But after they stopped eating them, that force gradually faded away."

Prolonged consumption can draw lightning into the body.

At those words, Sun Mao's pupils contracted sharply, and his mind began racing!

A First-Tier Superior-Grade spiritual item. The effect of a single fruit is negligible, but what if it were consumed in large quantities over a long period?

Spiritual power and true essence gaining lightning properties... acquiring an explosive attribute...

For an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, the change would be too slow to notice, which is why the Zhou Household thought it was useless.

But what if a Demon Beast at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak, with a powerful physique and abundant spiritual power, ate Thunder Essence Fruits with its meals every day, accumulating their effects year after year...

That trace of lightning power would gradually seep into every inch of the beast's flesh and blood, every meridian, like drops of water wearing through stone.

The bloodline can't mutate?

Then change the nature of its spiritual power at the root!

Trade time for a qualitative transformation!

Sun Mao took a deep breath, his expression unchanged.

He set down the Thunder Essence Fruit, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. In a casual tone, he said, "It's somewhat interesting, but the yield is too low and the medicinal effects aren't obvious. It would make a decent snack, but I'm afraid it doesn't qualify as medicine."

Zhou Dehou nodded repeatedly and did not deny it.

"You're right, young master. That's why no one has been willing to buy them all these years."

"However..."

Sun Mao changed tack. "My Sun Clan is researching some special Pill Formulas and needs all sorts of unusual spiritual items for experiments."

"The Thunder Essence Fruit may be unremarkable, but its nature is unique. We could buy some and give it a try."

"Elder Zhou, would your Zhou Household sell that Thunder Essence Fruit Tree?"

Zhou Dehou froze.

Sell the tree?

It was an old tree passed down from his ancestors. Although its fruits wouldn't sell, it was still a family heirloom, and he truly couldn't bear to part with it.

"Young master, this..."

"I know it's a Zhou Household heirloom. I won't let you take a loss."

Sun Mao took a list from his Storage Bag and handed it over. "I can offer three years' worth of Spirit Plant cultivation materials, plus two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."

"On top of that, I'll add a First-Tier Mid-Grade formation plate for tending Spirit Plants, in exchange for your Thunder Essence Fruit Tree. What do you think, senior?"

Zhou Dehou took the list, his fingers trembling.

Three years' worth of Spirit Plant cultivation materials?

That was enough for his Zhou Household to expand its existing spirit tree nursery more than threefold!

Not to mention the formation plate. With it, the quality of their Emerald Spirit Fruits could rise another notch...

And on the market, it was costly, worth no less than three or four hundred Spirit Stones!

Plus two hundred Spirit Stones...

For the Zhou Household, this deal was a fortune dropped from the heavens, enough to make the Zhou Clan even stronger.

"Young master, are you serious?"

"It's all in black and white. We'll sign the contract on the spot."

Zhou Dehou fell silent for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth.

"Deal!"

The contract was signed, and the Spirit Stones changed hands.

With the Thunder Essence Fruit Tree in hand, the future looked promising!

[Fellow Daoists who've read this far, please move those fortune-bringing hands of yours and tap the update reminder, follow, and add the book to your bookshelf. If you can send gifts too, you'll be Canghai's providers of food and clothing. Canghai bows in thanks to you all!]