Chapter 311: Myriad Beast Tree
As Rhydian fell from the sky, she tried flapping her wings in an attempt to fly, but for some reason, she still couldn't do such a thing. However, she did find that the restrictions that seemed to be placed on her have lifted every so slightly.
She also glanced around the massive cavern and saw several flocks of birds flying freely through the air. She wondered why they could fly but she couldn't. Rhydian felt it was unfair that she, a Golden Empyrean Winged-Wolf, was unable to fly yet these basic birds could soar through the air!! How could she allow herself to suffer such a loss?!
At that thought, her bloodline started surging and she started flapping her wings with more ferocity until she felt Mira knock on her head.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you feeling upset that you can't fly while those other beasts can? Quit being so petty and just focus on landing safely." Mira scolded, causing Rhydian to pout, but in the end, she still listened to her.
A few minutes later, Rhydian crash landed into a tree and after tumbling around in the tree for a few seconds, they eventually reached the ground with only minor bruising and a few fractures.
Robin took out a healing pill to bring her back to her peak condition, but Mira and Rhydian weren't worried about these injuries at all. Both of them had astounding regenerative capabilities and combined with the density of Qi in this place; they'd be back to their peak condition in just a few minutes.
That being said, Mira and Rhydian, after crash landing, instantly stood up and began assessing the surrounding area. They've both experienced a lot over the last 9 months and knew better than to be caught off guard just because they sustained a few 'light' injuries.
Looking around, they were stunned at just how beautiful their surroundings were. If Mira were being completely honest, this place reminded her of the Infinity Garden. Just that this place was infinitely smaller, the density of Qi couldn't compare, and there was no time dilation, but that's to be expected. On the contrary, this place seemed like the perfect place to grow herbs and plants.
She's only glanced around to make sure they aren't in any danger yet Mira could make out an over-abundance of herbs, fruits, trees, and other plant life.
Seeing all of this precious loot, Mira unconsciously licked her lips at the thought of plundering it all. If it was the usual Mira who hung out with Maria and Celaine, she'd probably be a bit more reserved. However, the whole reason for her coming to Quake City is so she can loot, plunder, and kill whoever she wants without consequences.
This is especially the case for naturally grown plants. To Mira, plants are made by the Heavens and Earth for the sentient beings to use as they wish. Naturally, as a fellow sentient being, Mira has to do her part and humbly take what was given!
When her thoughts reached this point, Mira almost started uprooting the trees, bushes, and herbs around her, but quickly held herself back.
'I can do that later. First, we need to scout out the area.' Mira thought and was about to start informing Rhydian and Robin of her plan, but before she could say anything Rhydian took off without warning.
"Rhydian! Tsk! That fucking wolf, can't she just wait for my orders before running off to do her own thing?" Mira cursed and quickly followed after her.
Robin didn't know what was going on, but she also went after the two of them.
Just a few seconds later, the three of them appeared in front of a sapling. This sapling was barely a meter tall and looked like it would fall over at any moment. However, on one of its branches was a fruit about the size of a peach.
Robin, Rhydian, Mira, and even Elenei had no idea what this sapling or fruit was, but they could sense a dense amount of Qi, lifeforce, and another kind of energy that seemed oddly similar to Elemental Essence yet not at the same time.
However, there was one person who knew exactly what this fruit was and he was a bit bewildered how such a thing could appear in front of Mira. Though, most of his bewilderment came from the fact that Mira met such a lucky encounter with her dog shit luck. Other than being surprised about Mira's luck turning around, he wasn't too surprised. Sure, that fruit is incredibly rare and one might not even be able to find it even if they searched 10 entire Mortal Worlds, but at the end of the day, it was still a mortal item. The Guardian would never be surprised that a Mortal Item appeared in the Mortal Realm.
"Girl, you should plant that sapling in the Infinity Garden as soon as possible. That sapling will mature into something called a Myriad Beast Tree and will produce Myriad Beast Fruits just like the one hanging from its branch there. I know the name sounds really lame, but there's a reason for it."
"The Myriad Beast Fruit is actually a unique fruit and doesn't have a grade. That's because to some beasts this fruit is an ultimate treasure while to others it's borderline useless. This fruit can actually stimulate one's potential and even has a small chance of causing the one who eats it to evolve. I know that may sound great and all, but you see not every fruit grown by the Myriad Beast Tree is the same nor do they affect every beast who eats one of its fruits the same."
"Sometimes a beast with low potential will eat one and just feel a mediocre rise in strength while the rest of the fruit is wasted. While other times, a beast with high potential will feel its strength rise quickly, its bloodline evolve, and its affinities increase. In essence, the effects of the fruits that come from this tree are random. Well, sometimes there are anomalies like this little wolf you have with you that can probably digest every fruit to its fullest potential, but she's truly one of a kind. Either way, if there's one thing you should get out of this trip it's this sapling. Even that High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source isn't as rare or important as this Myriad Beast Tree." The Guardian explained.
Hearing what he just said, the way Mira looked at the little sapling in front of her changed. Now, instead of looking at it like just another plant to be plundered, she was looking at it like it was a treasure.
Meanwhile, Rhydian didn't waste any time and directly consumed the fruit. Through her mental link with Mira, she told Mira that she could use this fruit to break through to Low-Stage Rank 6.
Hearing that, a rare smile appeared on Mira's face, unfortunately nobody could see it as she had a mask on. She knew that this breakthrough would lead to a qualitative change in Rhydian as she'd finally be forming her Beast Core.
From what Mira understood, Beast Cores are formed and work differently compared to Human cores. There's no need for any kind of Core Formation Recipe or anything like that for Beasts. For one, their cores are solely based on their current bloodline. If their bloodline improves then their Beast Core Improves. Two, Beast Cores are mainly used as just a more efficient way of storing and using Qi inside their bodies. Beasts also use their Beast Cores to store much more Qi.
Lastly, Beasts can actually start cultivating like humans after they form their Beast Core rather than just focusing on increasing their bodily strength and waiting for their bodies to mature in order to grow in strength.
Of course, beasts can't use the Cultivation Manuals that humans use, but the process of collecting and condensing Qi is still similar.
There are also other benefits to having a Beast Core, but those are unique to each Beast and their bloodline.
While thinking of all this, Mira deftly scooped up the sapling and threw it into her Infinity Garden to grow.
Rhydian soon started feeling a bit sluggish and slowly walked over to Mira's side before plopping onto the ground, officially starting her breakthrough to Rank 6.
Unfortunately, whether it was because of her terrible luck, fate, or maybe she just became incredibly stupid for a few seconds by allowing not only Rhydian to eat the fruit, but for her to even plunder the sapling, the surrounding beasts began roaring as if they went insane.
Then Mira and Robin felt an insane amount of bloodlust directed towards them. That's when she knew she fucked up.
"Goddammit! Why did I allow that stupid wolf to eat that fruit?! I should've been more cautious! Sigh... Oh well. At least I can collect some more beast corpses and a bunch more Contribution Points this way. Maybe I'll even kill so many that I can start looting this place until it looks less like a paradise and more like a wasteland! COME AT ME YOU SHITTY BEASTS!! COME AND BE MY CONTRIBUTION POINTS!" Mira yelled at the enraged beasts which seemed to only make them angrier.
Meanwhile, Robin really felt like crying right now. How did things go from eating a fruit to fighting an army of beasts? Not just any beasts at that, but a fucking army of Rank 6 Beasts!