Life Fruit

“Senior Brother, His Royal Highness, the Ninth Prince Buluolin, has gone to the castle,” Qiu Yu whispered among the Hundred Tiger Tower’s contingent.

“Hmph.”

The slender man’s silver eyes stared into the distance, letting out a cold snort. “Buluolin holds too great an advantage. Firstly, as the Ninth Prince, he has the support of the imperial family’s forces within the sacred land of Heilong Mountain. Secondly, his maternal grandfather holds an extremely high position within the sacred land of Heilong Mountain, garnering him support from another faction. This allows him to command 220,000 troops out of Heilong Mountain’s 500,000-strong army.”

This time, the allied forces numbered nearly 2 million.

Heilong Mountain and Ice Sea Divine Kingdom, the two sacred lands, each contributed 500,000 troops.

The four major organizations each provided 200,000 troops.

And the sixteen great families each supplied 10,000 troops.

Yet, due to his special background and status, the Ninth Prince Buluolin managed to control over 220,000 troops. This was a unified force of 220,000 troops… indeed, an enormous advantage.

“He’s divided his 220,000-plus troops into seven large teams, each with 30,000 soldiers,” the slender man grumbled. “With 30,000 troops plundering, who can stop them?”

…

Discussions buzzed among the allied forces, though many elites felt a sense of injustice. However, in terms of status, they were merely the young elites of their respective organizations; their standing was far inferior to that of a Universe-level expert! As for Buluolin, a Ninth Prince whose maternal lineage was also extremely powerful, his status was significantly higher.

If this were outside, not an assessment world, Buluolin could easily order the execution of a Universe-level expert! But here, in the ‘realm within a realm,’ Buluolin could only act according to the rules.

…

Ancient castle.

By the time Buluolin entered the castle with his bodyguards, Luo Feng, guided by the castle’s intelligent lifeform, had already stepped into one of its chilly ancient rooms.

The room was cold, with faint lighting illuminating the space. The mottled marks on the walls, however, spoke of its ancient history. The walls, constructed from dark green-grey flagstones, still carried a faint scent.

“What do you wish to exchange, little one?” a deep voice echoed in the ancient room.

The room was silent.

Luo Feng looked around; there was no one.

“Treasures, of course,” Luo Feng replied.

“Do you have Leiting Shi? Many have deliberately come here these past days, only to find they have no Leiting Shi to exchange,” the deep voice continued.

“I do.”

Luo Feng waved his hand, and instantly, a pile of Leiting Shi, tall enough to reach a man’s height, appeared before him.

“Very good,” the deep voice said.

Faint footsteps approached from the corridor outside, and then a plump, white-bearded old man entered. A faint halo shimmered around his body. Luo Feng recognized at a glance that this white-bearded elder was an intelligent lifeform, an energy body he had formed, just like Babata in the Yunmo Star Ship.

“It’s rare to have someone come for an exchange,” the white-bearded old man said with a smile, looking at Luo Feng.

“Greetings, Elder. May I ask your name?” Luo Feng asked politely.

Regardless, this white-bearded elder before him was an ‘intelligent lifeform’ who had once followed Kabu Realm Lord and lived in solitude for over ten million years. Such an existence deserved respect! And according to Babata, this white-bearded elder, having been alone for millions of years, might be psychologically twisted, so it was best not to provoke him.

“Little one, you may call me Lord Wu,” the white-bearded old man smiled, the faint halo around him shimmering.

“Lord Wu?” Luo Feng was startled.

What a strange name.

“Lord Wu, I wish to exchange for treasures,” Luo Feng said.

“Won’t you chat with me a bit longer? What’s the rush?” the white-bearded old man complained slightly.

Luo Feng quickly said, “Lord Wu, then…”

“Since you’re in such a hurry, let’s proceed with the exchange,” the white-bearded old man’s expression changed rapidly, becoming indifferent. “What do you wish to exchange for?”

“A Fifth-tier original force weapon, the ‘Ice Soul Blade’,” Luo Feng stated. “And a Fifth-tier psychic weapon, the ‘Space-Suppressing Cauldron’.”

“Oh?” The white-bearded old man was surprised.

“And finally, one Life Fruit,” Luo Feng bowed slightly. “Lord Wu, just these three items.”

“Just these three items?” The halo around the white-bearded man’s body suddenly brightened considerably, as he looked at the black-haired youth with immense surprise. “The Fifth-tier original force weapon ‘Ice Soul Blade’ requires 130,000 Leiting Shi. The Fifth-tier psychic weapon ‘Space-Suppressing Cauldron’ requires 180,000 Leiting Shi. And one Life Fruit requires a staggering 800,000 Leiting Shi! My alert and detection range covers ten thousand kilometers around this castle. You don’t seem to hold much status among these adventurer armies, so how did you acquire so much Leiting Shi?”

Luo Feng smiled.

A ten-thousand-kilometer alert range?

Babata had actually reminded him of this point. In terms of alert range, while the white-bearded old man’s range was vast… like Earth’s defense system, which covered the entire Solar System.

But a large range meant a significant difference in the precision of detection.

“Lord Wu, do you even need to ask that?” Luo Feng asked, feigning surprise.

“Just asking for fun,” the white-bearded old man blinked, saying casually, “Three treasures, alright, no problem.”

Luo Feng’s heart filled with anticipation.

In truth, exchanging for these three treasures was Babata’s suggestion. According to Babata, the pricing on the entire treasure list was somewhat chaotic.

For instance, a ‘complete set of spatial secret technique inheritance crystal balls’ was a priceless treasure! In terms of value, it could be ten thousand or even a hundred thousand times more expensive than a Fifth-tier original force weapon like the ‘Skyfire Wheel’! Yet, the Skyfire Wheel required 100,000 Leiting Shi, while the inheritance crystal ball, with its three layers of passwords, totaled 30 million Leiting Shi.

That was only 300 times the price.

Another example: a ‘Life Fruit’ cost 800,000 Leiting Shi. In the outside world, a single Life Fruit was equivalent to a Realm Lord’s second life, worth more than a hundred Skyfire Wheels.

Therefore…

The value here and the value in the outside world were inconsistent. This meant there was a trick to purchasing.

The Fifth-tier original force weapon ‘Ice Soul Blade’ was five to six times more expensive than the Skyfire Wheel in the outside world, and the Space-Suppressing Cauldron was ten times more expensive! But here for exchange… the price difference wasn’t that significant.

…

In the silent ancient room.

The white-bearded old man, with a halo shimmering around him, stood there.

“The three treasures combined total 1.11 million Leiting Shi,” the white-bearded old man said.

“Lord Wu, please accept this,” Luo Feng handed over an ordinary spatial ring. Having killed his way through, Luo Feng had acquired quite a few spatial rings.

“Oh?”

The white-bearded old man beckoned, and the spatial ring flew into his hand. A smile then spread across his face. “Hmm, exactly 1.11 million Leiting Shi.”

“This is the Fifth-tier original force weapon, ‘Ice Soul Blade’.” The white-bearded old man flipped his hand, and a peculiar weapon, a silver-blue, double-curved blade, appeared. Instantly, the temperature in the entire ancient room plummeted, and the moisture in the surrounding space began to condense. The blade’s edge was incredibly sharp.

The Ice Soul Blade floated before him…

Luo Feng felt as if his soul was being sliced apart. He quickly reached out and stored it in his spatial ring.

“This is the Fifth-tier psychic weapon, ‘Space-Suppressing Cauldron’.” The white-bearded old man flipped his hand again, and a pure purple, roughly 30-centimeter-tall small cauldron, seemingly cast from purple bronze, floated before Luo Feng. The small cauldron was covered in incredibly complex secret patterns, millions of times more intricate than those on the Duntiansuo. They felt similar to the golden secret patterns on the Golden Horned Beast.

The peculiar secret patterns…

Made the surrounding space feel isolated. Although it was only 30 centimeters tall, Luo Feng felt as if the small cauldron before him was infinitely magnified, like a towering mountain whose peak and end were beyond sight, leaving him breathless.

“Don’t just stare blankly, you idiot. Fifth-tier original force weapons and Fifth-tier psychic weapons have origin secret patterns inscribed on them that are close to the cosmic origin laws. Each possesses immense power. However, only by becoming a Realm Lord and possessing cosmic origin power can one truly wield them,” Babata’s voice echoed in Luo Feng’s mind.

Luo Feng snapped back to reality and quickly reached out to store the ‘Space-Suppressing Cauldron’ directly into his spatial ring.

Heavens!

Just these two Fifth-tier weapons left him with no will to resist. Legends say that when Realm Lords battle, they transform heaven and earth, and a single move can destroy all life on a planet. It was truly no exaggeration!

“Little one. Those two are merely Realm Lord weapons. But what I’m giving you now… is comparable to a Realm Lord’s second life, containing incredibly pure and wondrous life force, a mysterious spiritual fruit condensed from the cosmos itself—the Life Fruit!” The white-bearded old man’s expression grew solemn, and a peculiar, semi-transparent stone box appeared in his hand.

Inside the semi-transparent stone box, a faint emerald-green shadow was visible.

“The Life Fruit, a wondrous crystallization of the vast cosmos, contains inconceivable life force. Even Realm Lords, who can destroy planets with a wave of their hand and possess endless power, can be completely restored from the most severe injuries or exhaustion with just one fruit!” The white-bearded old man exclaimed in awe. “It’s truly miraculous, this wonder of the cosmos!”

Luo Feng held his breath as he took the stone box. *Snap*, the stone box opened.

…

In the silent ancient room.

Once the stone box opened, the surroundings instantly paled in comparison. Only the emerald-green Life Fruit, with faint dewdrops still clinging to its surface, shone most brilliantly!

Radiant emerald light emanated from it.

A rich, intoxicating fragrance filled the air, permeating the entire ancient room with vibrant life force. The core source of all this vitality was that emerald-green fruit—the Life Fruit! Just one such fruit, and countless Realm Lords would be willing to exchange an entire galaxy for it!

Incredibly rare!

Incredibly precious!

“Hiss!” Luo Feng took a deep breath. As the pervasive fragrance entered his body, every cell within him cheered with joy, as if it had consumed a heavenly and earthly marvel. The genetic material within his cells naturally began to transform, his bones emitted crackling sounds, and his muscles also underwent a metamorphosis.

“Idiot, close it quickly! Once it’s open, the Life Fruit’s life force will continuously dissipate!” Babata roared.

Luo Feng jolted, finally regaining his senses.

*Snap!*

He quickly closed the stone box.

“Phew, that was incredible,” Luo Feng said, staring at the stone box with wide eyes. “I only took one or two breaths, and I feel like I’ve evolved so much.”

“Idiot, you took one or two breaths, but hundreds of breaths worth of life force have already been lost!” Babata fumed.

Luo Feng, in a joyful mood, put away the stone box.

“Thank you, Lord Wu,” Luo Feng bowed.

“Haha, keep up the good work, and get more Leiting Shi. I have plenty of treasures here for you to exchange,” the white-bearded old man smiled, looking at Luo Feng.

“I will,” Luo Feng smiled, then turned and left.

He would definitely return! But that would be after Moyun Teng had evolved.