Chapter 12: Wisdom Fruit on the Wisdom Tree
Chapter 12. Wisdom Fruit on the Wisdom Tree
“Old Wei, you agree, right?” Zhao Jie did not respond to the conversation, but instead looked at Xia Feng deeply, then said expressionlessly, “Forget it, let’s begin.” Although he was not optimistic about Xia Feng, there was no turning back now. He could only pray that this reckless kid could survive the Evil Dragon Forest.
“The rules are simple. The Evil Dragon Forest is divided into a light calamity zone and a heavy calamity zone. The deeper you go, the faster the Calamity Force Erosion will be. If you don’t leave in time, the consequences will be loss of reason and death, and even becoming a nightmare slave. At the junction of the light and heavy calamity zones, there is a tree called the Wisdom Tree. Eating the Wisdom Fruit from the Wisdom Tree can effectively restore reason and resist Calamity Force Erosion.”
Zhao Jie slowly explained the rules, “What you need to note is that wherever the Wisdom Tree appears, a Life Tree will inevitably accompany it. Your ultimate goal is to pluck the Life Fruit from the Life Tree! Whoever successfully brings back the Life Fruit wins.” He grinned as he said this, “Also, this competition has no time limit, no method limit, and no limit on life and death!”
Xia Feng was not surprised by Zhao Jie’s last words. After all, this was the style of the Six-Tails Sect; they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Zhao Jie was a staunch believer in the survival of the fittest. It was also because of this that Qi Xiao had killed several fellow disciples, and Zhao Jie did not intervene. If Xia Feng had not had the status of a student of Weiyang Academy, he would have been ambushed and killed by Qi Xiao long ago, instead of using the strategy of marrying into a family to eliminate his competitors.
“Alright, if you’re all mentally prepared, follow me.” Zhao Jie presented his token, and Xia Feng and Qi Xiao followed him into the city gate passage. At first, there was nothing, but as they went deeper, Xia Feng suddenly felt a tightening in his chest.
“Thump-thump — thump-thump —” His heartbeat quickened noticeably. This was excitement and longing upon sensing something delicious. Xia Feng swallowed, smelling a wonderful scent—it was the smell of Calamity Force!
“So this is Calamity Force…” Qi Xiao, walking ahead, his face somewhat pale, suddenly stopped and leaned against the wall, panting. Zhao Jie, at the front, stopped and looked back, “When Calamity Force converges, it forms a Calamity Force Field. The Evil Dragon Forest is currently the largest Calamity Force Field outside the Nightmare Realm. Everyone feels chest tightness and shortness of breath when entering for the first time. You’ll get used to it after a while.” As he spoke, he looked at Xia Feng, who was at the very back, with some confusion. Xia Feng froze and quickly leaned against the wall, gasping, “Ah, it’s so uncomfortable…”
Zhao Jie glanced at his watch, “I’ll give you one minute to adapt. We can’t stay in the tunnel for too long.” Qi Xiao immediately closed his eyes to adapt to the Calamity Force Field. Xia Feng did the same, closing his eyes and trying to suppress his racing heart. He was dying, likely because he was severely lacking Calamity Force. Sensing such a massive Calamity Force Field had triggered a stress reaction. It was like a dying person who had been thirsty in the desert for three days and nights seeing a bottle of mineral water—they would go crazy and snatch it. He squinted his eyes. Qi Xiao was still adapting with his eyes closed. Xia Feng had never felt a minute could be so long.
“Young man, if you regret it, there’s still a chance to go back now,” Zhao Jie said casually, glancing at Xia Feng. Xia Feng looked up at Zhao Jie. Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhao, my saber has long been thirsty, please stop talking nonsense. Seeing the determination in Xia Feng’s eyes, without any sign of backing down, and even a hint of eagerness, Zhao Jie nodded.
“Let’s go, the exit is ahead.” After a few steps, a faint, dim blood-red light flickered ahead. After a moment of visual discomfort, Xia Feng squinted his eyes, and a vast, dense, and eerie forest appeared before him. A crescent blood moon hung in the sky, like the terrifying eye of a demon god, mockingly watching the mortal world. It exuded a powerful sense of oppression.
“Don’t look at the blood moon for too long. It will only accelerate your Calamity Force Erosion and loss of reason,” Zhao Jie said calmly from the side. Qi Xiao’s pupils contracted, and he quickly lowered his head and averted his gaze. Xia Feng’s pupils contracted, and he widened his eyes, staring intently at the blood moon in the sky. He felt as if a breathtaking fairy was alluring him with a playful wink, directly igniting his adrenaline! Bliss, what bliss. However, he only stared for a moment before lowering his head and feigning fear.
“Cross this line, and you will have officially entered the Evil Dragon Forest, and the competition will officially begin.” Zhao Jie pointed to the red line ahead and said indifferently, “I will wait for you here. Whoever brings the Life Fruit across the red line first wins.”
“Alright, go in.” As soon as Zhao Jie finished speaking, Qi Xiao felt a gust of wind sweep past him. Xia Feng vanished into the forest without a trace. “Heh~” Qi Xiao sneered disdainfully, took a step, and leisurely followed. He wasn’t in a hurry, after all, as they ventured deeper into the forest, the surrounding Calamity Force concentration would drastically increase, and their reason would rapidly decline. Xia Feng likely wouldn’t have learned the C-class Spirit Robe ‘Calamity Filter’ until the fourth year. ‘Calamity Filter’ could help Spirit Masters significantly reduce the concentration of Calamity Force infiltrating their bodies, allowing them to survive in a Calamity Force Field for extended periods. Therefore, Qi Xiao, who had mastered ‘Calamity Filter,’ was not in a hurry. Even though this was the outer perimeter of the Evil Dragon Forest, the Calamity Force concentration was still fatal for low-level Spirit Masters like them, and they couldn’t stay for long. For this reason, Qi Xiao was confident that as they went further, Xia Feng’s speed would slow down, and he might not even reach his destination. At that time, with his Spirit Pressure far more abundant than Xia Feng’s, he could easily overtake him. Therefore, his current strategy was—first obtain the Wisdom Fruit, eat it to ensure his safety, then quickly find the Life Fruit, and finally, casually kill Xia Feng to end the competition.
* * *
“Delicious, exquisite, delicious!” The black-haired youth, wearing a high-collar trench coat, stood on a branch, his arms spread wide, gazing at the moon. He muttered to himself, looking like a perverted cult leader. After entering the forest, he didn’t head directly to his destination but secretly found a secluded spot to test the abilities of the Calamity Demon Heart. He squeezed his hand in front of him, and the seemingly empty air was compressed to an extreme, producing a wisp of faint gray mist and a large pool of blood-red mist. In the light, the gray mist faintly shimmered with golden light and emitted a sweet fragrance. Xia Feng sniffed it; it smelled like vanilla ice cream, sweet, cold, and refreshing, penetrating his heart. He also sniffed the blood-red mist. The foul odor almost made him vomit, so he quickly threw it aside.
“Sizzle—” The blood-red mist touched the surrounding bushes, causing them to rapidly decay and wither. But in the next moment, they seemed to come back to life and began to grow wildly. However, their leaves had turned blood-red, and then a few alluring flowers bloomed. Ten eyes suddenly opened in the center of the flowers, looking at Xia Feng with malevolent gazes.
“…” Xia Feng was silent for half a second, then swung his saber several times, hacking them to pieces. “What are you looking at!” The newly grown flowers: “…”
According to the knowledge learned from textbooks, Calamity Force is composed of “bloodworm impurities” and “Calamity Spirit Fluid.” This blood-red mist should be the bloodworm impurities, which can cause organic organisms to mutate. This cannot be absorbed by the Calamity Demon Heart. As for the gray mist with a cold, vanilla-scented aura, it is Calamity Spirit Fluid, which can be absorbed by the Calamity Demon Heart. The Calamity Force concentration commonly referred to by people is not the proportion of Calamity Force in the air, but the proportion of Calamity Spirit Fluid in the Calamity Force. So, essentially, the Calamity Demon Heart repairs itself and enhances its activity by absorbing the Calamity Spirit Fluid in the Calamity Force. The wisp of gray mist just now gave him an additional—30 seconds of life. Damn it, that’s a drop in the bucket. His heart was still beating violently, seemingly dissatisfied with the Calamity Spirit Fluid that wasn’t even enough to get stuck between his teeth. Xia Feng pondered, then looked towards the depths of the dark forest.
“It seems that to significantly extend my lifespan, I must enter regions with high concentration, or perhaps even find the Evil Dragon that has been sleeping for ten thousand years!” As the most terrifying existence in this forest, the concentration of Calamity Force around the Evil Dragon must be outrageously high. The thought made his mouth dry. That would be a delicious feast that would drive him mad!
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Having decided on his target, Xia Feng stopped dilly-dallying and ran with all his might towards the depths of the forest. As he ran, he pondered how to better utilize the strength synchronized from Mu Qingtong.
[Spirit Pressure Rank: First Stage]
[Combat: Master Level (Smell, Hearing, Vision, Nerve Reaction, Combat Precognition…)]
[N-level Spirit Robe (6): Illumination Robe, Fireball Flash, Ice Shard Blade, Messenger Spirit, Reconnaissance Eye, Bronze Mask]
[D-class Spirit Robe (2): Stealth Robe, Three Overlapping Waves]
[Spirit Artifact: *To be Awakened*]
Among the eight Spirit Robes, the Illumination Robe emits light for illumination, and the Bronze Mask reduces presence—almost all of them have their literal functions and are auxiliary Spirit Robes. As for Fireball Flash and Ice Shard Blade? The former can throw out a fist-sized fireball, and the latter can throw out an ice blade. Together with Reconnaissance Eye, they are known as the “noob trio” – the three easiest and most essential Spirit Robes for first-year students to learn. This shows how lazy Mu Qingtong has been since enrolling. If she hadn’t accidentally learned Three Overlapping Waves yesterday, she had never actively learned any offensive skills at all. No, she didn’t learn Three Overlapping Waves proactively either! Speaking of which, why did this woman not learn the many D-class Spirit Robes she had, but specifically learned Stealth? Given Mu Qingtong’s personality, she would never waste energy learning a Spirit Robe that was not very useful to her. Xia Feng pondered for a moment, and a flash of inspiration struck him. Stealth combined with the Bronze Mask and Ice Shard Blade, good heavens, isn’t this the perfect Lanling King backstab technique? It’s worth mentioning that although the Bronze Mask is an N-level Spirit Robe, it was self-created by Mu Qingtong!! Using a very simple Spirit Particle Structure, she created this strange Spirit Robe that can reduce her own presence. It can only be said that this is very “Mu Qingtong.” Although the Stealth Robe is called Stealth, a faint blurry outline can still be seen, it’s not true invisibility. But combined with the Bronze Mask, it’s different. Even if the Stealth Robe still has an outline, after its presence is weakened by the Bronze Mask, it can enter a state of true stealth, making it difficult for enemies to detect her approach!
“Very good, learned it!” But— Unfortunately, Spirit Robes related to speed are crucial for him now. And Mu Qingtong, this arrogant woman, probably memorized the Spirit Particle Structure diagram of the D-class Spirit Robe ‘Shadow Step’ but was too lazy to analyze it. Very frustrating. As for the One-Tail Spirit Robe, the progress has reached 98%, just a little bit more—
“Roar!!!” Suddenly, a piercing roar came from a distance, shaking the surrounding forest. Unknown red-eyed birds flew into the sky in panic. “Is this… the roar of a Nightmare Beast?” Xia Feng stopped in confusion and looked at the map in his hand with uncertainty. “According to the map, this is still the light calamity zone. Why are there Nightmare Beasts here?” The environment of the light calamity zone is not the best habitat for Nightmare Beasts, so the Nightmare Beasts in the Evil Dragon Forest only appear in the heavy calamity zone and rarely enter the light calamity zone. While pondering, he jumped to the treetop and looked into the distance. He saw a huge black hole tearing open in the distant sky. A Nightmare Beast resembling a griffin was desperately escaping outwards, struggling against the black hole’s immense suction.
“Roar!!!” Futile. It roared in impotent rage, gradually being swallowed by the black hole. “Black hole… is this Sanamu’s ability?” Xia Feng recalled. Nightmare Beasts are divided into four types: Calamity, Disaster, Catastrophe, and Void. Sanamu belongs to the Catastrophe type. It randomly releases black holes, devouring everything around it, and then spitting it out from another black hole. Therefore, the natural disaster formed by Sanamu is also called the Black Hole Catastrophe.
“Run, run…” Xia Feng jumped off the treetop, turned around, and left. Since this path was blocked, he would take a detour. According to the map, there was a Wisdom Tree bearing fruit to the northwest. Although his main objective was to enter the heavy calamity zone to find the Evil Dragon, completing the competition along the way was not impossible. He figured Qi Xiao should be close to his destination by now, so he had to hurry.
* * *
“Hoo~ Hoo~~” Qi Xiao’s face was deathly pale as he leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily. He was somewhat disoriented, shook his head, and snarled, waving his hands wildly at his surroundings, “Get—get lost! All of you, get out!!” Indescribable whispers continued intermittently, mixed with sharp, noisy ramblings, surrounding him from all directions, as if countless human insects and beasts were roaring at him.
*Scratch—* He flipped a small knife and plunged it into his forearm. Blood splattered. Qi Xiao suddenly sobered up, but his eyes were still bloodshot, and the veins on his neck and forehead bulged terrifyingly. He panted like a maddened beast. “Damn it! I still underestimated the Calamity Force concentration in the light calamity zone!” He pressed his temples, trying his best to maintain his sanity and clarity. After a while, he finally calmed down, looked at the map, and grinned excitedly, “It’s just ahead!” He quickly got up and scrambled forward. After a few steps, the scenery suddenly opened up! A ten-meter-tall tree laden with small, dark red fruits came into view—that was the Wisdom Tree! Behind the Wisdom Tree was a not-so-large grassland. In the center of the grassland stood a solitary giant tree with pale leaves and stems, bearing only one snow-pear-shaped Life Fruit with a crystal-clear surface.
“Hoo~~” Qi Xiao grinned, staggering towards the Wisdom Tree. As long as he ate a Wisdom Fruit, he could regain his reason and escape the deadly threat of calamity. Then—then he could pluck all the Wisdom Fruits and leisurely wait for that kid Xia Feng to arrive. Even the proudest genius, faced with death, would be brought to his knees before him, begging for mercy, for a single Wisdom Fruit.
