Chapter 1202: 10,000 Year Red Fruit
At the west side of the Inner Land, in the Lost Stone Forest.
A black figure materialized out of thin air in front of a stone house. It was a tall youth dressed in a black robe. He stood there as though he was one with heaven and earth.
Suddenly, the black-clad young man lifted his arm and caught a streak of light that was moving swiftly.
When he slowly opened his palm, he saw an extremely dark jade slip in his hand. It was a Communication Jade Slip.
When the black-clad young man sent a trace of Origin Energy into the Communication Jade Slip, an anxious but familiar voice sounded clearly in his ears.
"Senior Brother Zhou, if I fail to return, it means I've been killed by the Sect Leader of Ling Tian Sect, Duan Ling Tian! If I die, please avenge me considering I've always done my best to serve you." The voice stopped there abruptly.
The black-clad young man was the direct disciple of Lost Stone Forest's Martial Emperor, Zhou Yi. His master was Martial Emperor Shi Qi, and he was Martial Emperor Shi Qi's favorite disciple.
His strength could be considered the best among the few Martial Emperor Shi Qi's direct disciples.
"Duan Ling Tian."
Zhou Yi muttered expressionlessly. He fisted the hand holding the Communication Jade Slip, and it was instantly crushed into dust.
Hu!
A gust of wind blew past and caused Zhou Yi's black robe to flutter. The Communication Jade Slip in his hands that had turned into dust was carried away by the wind and disappeared in the air in just a blink of an eye.
Zhou Yi's expression remained calm the entire time as though Yang Chun's life did not matter to him.
However, there was a cold glint in the depth of his eyes.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Inner Land, Duan Ling Tian used the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory to guide him and finally arrived near his destination.
His destination was the place where the Rebirth Martial Emperor left the great treasure in his second life.
"According to the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory... The Spatial Ring that contained the great treasure is in that mountain range." Duan Ling Tian looked in the distance.
A long mountain range entered his line of sight. It was verdant, indicating the environment was good enough for the flora to bloom.
'After 10,000 years, the mountain range would have more or less changed... I'm afraid I'll have to spend some time to find the Spatial Ring hidden by the Rebirth Martial Emperor.' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself.
He was mentally prepared for that.
Sou!
Moments later, Duan Ling Tian seemed to have transformed into a bolt of lightning and flew toward the long mountain range. He quickly arrived above the long mountain range.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
...
When Duan Ling Tian arrived above the mountain range, he heard a series of loud noises from deep in the mountain range.
The loud noises shook the nearby mountains until the hills toppled and the earth quaked.
Many birds flew up into the sky from where the noises originated from. The verdant forest swayed as though there was a storm.
"Someone's battling?" Duan Ling Tian lifted his eyebrows as he moved closer out of curiosity. The closer he was, the louder the noise became. It was deafening!
Hu! Hu! Hu!
...
Once he had gotten close, Duan Ling Tian felt a rush of wind in his face as his purple robe fluttered in the wind. He subconsciously squinted his eyes.
"Seems like two powerhouses above the Seventh Level Martial Monarch Stage are fighting." Duan Ling Tian kept moving toward the source of the noise as he made guesses.
Shortly after, Duan Ling Tian saw the figures fighting in a spacious canyon. A two-meters tall burly man was fighting with a white-haired old man.
Sou! Sou! Sou!
...
The burly man held a pair of meteor hammers in his hands. When he moved, the meteor hammers rapidly fired bullets that were headed straight for the old man. He attacked mercilessly.
The airflow compressed and set off a series of air explosion that sounded like exploding mines in the wake of the meteor hammers.
It gave rise to raging winds that swept in every direction.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
...
On the other hand, the old man was holding a cane with both his hands. He was completely unafraid of the meteor hammers in the burly man's hand, blocking it again and again.
Whether it was the meteor hammers in the burly man's hands or the cane in the old man's hands, both of them were grade one Spirit Weapons.
The two of them fought tirelessly, but they were evenly matched. For a time, there were no winner or loser.
"Old man, I discovered that 10,000 Year Red Fruit first... Aren't you going overboard by interfering?" The burly man said in a deep voice as he smashed the meteor hammers in his hands.
"Big guy, it's not yours since you haven't plucked it! A precious material like the 10,000 Year Red Fruit should belong to the most capable person," the old man said with no intention of conceding. The cane in the old man's hand struck as fast as lightning, and he kept blocking the meteor hammers that shot out of the burly man's hands like streaks of lights.
"It should belong to the most capable person... If that's the case, I'll kill you first, despicable old man, before I pluck that 10,000 Year Red Fruit!" The burly man yelled. All his muscles suddenly bulged, and he looked as though he had gotten bigger.
Sou! Sou! Sou!
...
At the same time, the pair of meteor hammers flew out of his hands and trembled. Suddenly, a skyful of shadow hammers appeared before it fell on the old man like a meteor shower.
"We'll see if you're capable of that!" The old man sneered as his grey robe began to flutter. The cane in his hands shone, and he waved it around as though he was forming a protective barrier around his head and body.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
...
The skyful of shadow hammers fell like a meteor shower, and they smashed relentlessly on the protective barrier formed by the cane. It seemed as though he had the upper hand now.
Their strength was almost on par with each other. However, the burly man had the upper hand because he took the initiative to attack first.
However, the old man was not someone that could be easily dealt with. Soon after, he seized the opportunity and managed to escape the crisis.
There was a continuous sound of air explosion as the two men fought. Rolling airwaves transformed into flurries of hurricanes and uprooted all the plants and trees in the surroundings.
With both of them at the center, a large area turned into a barren land in just a blink of an eye.
However, both of them were fighting fiercely so they did not notice a figure had appeared above them while the plants and trees were uprooted.
The figure was none other than Duan Ling Tian who was attracted by their fight.
"10,000 Year Red Fruit?" Duan Ling Tian had overheard the entire conversation. His eyes brightened at once, and his breath quickened.
The 10,000 Year Red Fruit! He had seen records of it in the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory.
The 10,000 Year Red Fruit was an extremely precious spirit fruit. On Cloud Continent, it was also known as the King of Spirit Fruits.
On Cloud Continent, it was very difficult for martial artists above the Martial Monarch Stage to improve their cultivation by consuming spirit fruits. This was because the spirit fruits with the strongest effect on Cloud Continent were only effective for Void Transformation martial artists.
It had no effect on Martial Monarch powerhouses when they consumed those spirit fruits.
Naturally, it would not be effective only if one consumed it directly.
If a grade one alchemist refined grade one pills with a large variety of spirit fruits, it would be able to improve the cultivation base of a martial artist above the Martial Monarch Stage to a certain degree.
Although there would be improvements, the improvements were far less exaggerated compared to when a martial artist below the Martial Monarch Stage consumed the spirit fruit.
As the King of Spirit Fruits, the 10,000 Year Red Fruit's medicinal efficacy was infinitely superior to an ordinary spirit fruit. Even a Martial Monarch Stage martial artist would greatly benefit from consuming it.
"I can refine one cauldron of Profound Monarch Pill with the 10,000 Year Red Fruit along with some precious medicinal materials... One cauldron of Profound Monarch Pills will have ten pills if I personally refine it."
"Three Profound Monarch Pills' medicinal efficacy is almost equivalent to the medicinal efficacy of one 10,000 Year Red Fruit."
Due to that reason, Duan Ling Tian would not consume it directly even if he obtained the 10,000 Year Red Fruit. He would use the 10,000 Year Red Fruit and other medicinal materials to refine the Profound Monarch Pills.
'Since they're fighting here... It's safe to say the 10,000 Year Red Fruit must be nearby.' When Duan Ling Tian thought of that, he began searching the surrounding area to find that 10,000 Year Red Fruit. However, he failed to find anything after searching for a while.
Bang!
At this time, an earth-shattering loud explosion reverberated in the air. Duan Ling Tian instinctively looked at the source of the sound.
He saw the old man, who had lost the upper hand to the burly man's meteor hammers earlier, launched a strong counterattack. The cane in his hand landed on the burly man and immediately sent the burly man flying.
Boom!
The burly man's body slammed against the wall before it fell to the ground lifelessly.
Dead.
"Let him bring me to it." Duan Ling Tian's eyes were trained on the old man as he kept the burly man's Spatial Ring and Profundity Fragment.
He was certain the old man would head to the location of the 10,000 Year Red Fruit next.
All he had to do was follow the old man.
"En?" Duan Ling Tian was stunned when he saw the old man made a move.
The old man stepped into the air and flew to the other side of the mountain range.
"Seems like the 10,000 Year Red Fruit isn't here... I've wasted my time looking for it over here." Duan Ling Tian shook his head before he chased after the old man.
Duan Ling Tian's movement was extremely stealthy, and he maintained a distance from the old man. Due to that, the old man did not notice his presence and entered a canyon on the other side of the mountain range.
The canyon was extremely narrow and humid.
A plant stood in a corner of a forest in the narrow canyon that sunlight could not reach.
There was a spirit fruit that was so red it was almost purple on the plant.
"The 10,000 Year Red Fruit is mine." The old man's eyes brightened. He wanted to pluck the fruit so that it would finally be in his possession.
However, at that split second when he reached out to pluck the 10,000 Year Red Fruit, he felt an oddly strong wind next to him. His face changed dramatically.
In the next instant, he discovered the 10,000 Year Red Fruit before his eyes had disappeared.