Chapter 717 - Fire Spiritual Fruit

One day of cultivation in the Central Plains was comparable to dozens in the Southern Province.

He circulated the Desolate Devouring Art all day and night, drawing spiritual energy from the surroundings. A day later, he recovered his state to the peak and came out from the inn, heading toward the Scarlet Ridge City's teleportation array.

There was no direct teleportation array from Scarlet Ridge City to Astral Glory City. Liu Wuxie would have to travel to the next city and then cross the treacherous Genflame Mountain Range to reach Prosper City, which housed a teleportation array leading to Astral Glory City.

While using the teleportation array posed a minimal danger, the true risk lay in crossing the Genflame Mountain Range. Most travelers opted to traverse the mountains in groups for safety, while only the most powerful individuals dared to venture alone.

Liu Wuxie had already mapped his route and aimed to reach the Astral Glory City in half a month. He paid 1,500 high-grade spirit stones this time to secure a spot in the teleportation array.

The teleportation array was busy, accommodating up to forty people at a time. Seated across from Liu Wuxie were a young man and a woman, their uncanny resemblance suggesting they were siblings.

The young man had an angular jawline, and the woman was fair and pleasant-looking. When their eyes met, the siblings smiled and nodded at Liu Wuxie. Sharing the same teleportation array felt like a small twist of fate.

Liu Wuxie returned their gesture with a nod as the spiritual runes on the teleportation array began to glow. Suddenly, everyone was pulled into a dark spatial tunnel, where occasional screams echoed. Not everyone had physiques as resilient as Liu Wuxie's, and those in the lower levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm struggled to endure the ripping forces of the surrounding space.

Liu Wuxie noticed the siblings' anguished expressions, their faces tense with pain. The young man held the woman's hand tightly, a silent gesture of reassurance.

As for Liu Wuxie, he closed his eyes to immerse himself in the changes in the surroundings.

After several hours, a gravitational force yanked everyone out of the spatial tunnel, bringing them back to reality.

When sunlight shone on their faces, it felt like a warm embrace after a harrowing ordeal, and many people sighed in relief.

The city they arrived in was small, which explained the lack of a direct teleportation array to the Astral Glory City. The surroundings were barren, and many cultivators were shrouded in murderous intent.

Liu Wuxie had read about this city in books, and it was known as Mercenary City. The city served as a hub for mercenaries who made their living navigating the dangers of the Genflame Mountain Range.

Their primary work involved escorting merchants through the perilous terrain in exchange for payment. For newcomers like Liu Wuxie, attempting to cross the mountain range without a guide was fraught with danger. Without luck or preparation, one could easily lose their way or fall prey to spiritual beasts.

His first task in the city was purchasing a Genflame Mountain Range map. Though the map wasn't entirely accurate due to the constant changes in the region, it was sufficient for his needs.

He was confident he could navigate out of the mountain range as long as he was headed in the right direction. He didn't linger and left after purchasing the map.

The moment he stepped into the Genflame Mountain Range, an intense wave of heat washed over him. Genflame was a form of fire and referred to a stone capable of emitting heat. As a result, the temperature in the mountain range was far above that of other places.

Vegetation was sparse in the mountain range, and only heart-resistant plants could survive there.

As Liu Wuxie stepped into the mountain range, Fiery leaped from his embrace onto the ground, hopping around joyfully. It darted between trees and disappeared into patches of grass, exploring freely while Liu Wuxie paid no mind, letting it roam as it pleased.

Many cultivators were fond of using demonic beasts as mounts or pets in the cultivation world by forcing them into a soul contract. Once the soul contract was forged, demonic beasts lost their autonomy, rendering them obedient. If they defied their master, they would immediately die from the contract.

However, in the later stages of cultivation, some demonic beasts surpassed their masters in strength, occasionally rebelling and enslaving the humans instead. Such occurrences were rare, as cultivators typically severed the soul contract when they sensed they could no longer dominate their beasts—unless a strong bond of trust had formed between them.

Liu Wuxie, however, had no intention of forming a soul contract with Fiery as he had no plan to keep it with him for long. It could leave whenever it wished.

Fiery ran around for a long time before it emerged and grabbed onto Liu Wuxie's trousers, pointing up ahead.

"You're telling me to go there?" Liu Wuxie asked. If he had followed the map, he would have gone left, but Fiery told him to go right.

Fiery nodded and urged Liu Wuxie to hurry up. Liu Wuxie hesitated briefly before following Fiery, curious to see what was happening.

Fiery had high intelligence, and Liu Wuxie could understand what it was trying to express, except it couldn't speak, which wasn't normal. He quickened his footsteps and followed behind Fiery, who wasn't slow despite its small size.

The fact that it had escaped from a jackal unscathed hinted at its hidden capabilities. They passed through a dense forest of flaming trees, and the scenery suddenly opened up with a strong blood stench.

"There are signs of a battle here," Liu Wuxie said. He took out the Heretic Blade and stayed alert as he scanned the surroundings, only to see over ten corpses lying on the ground. Beside the corpses was a massive ninth-grade profound beast.

"They perished together?" Liu Wuxie frowned. That was the conclusion he came to after scanning the scene. The deceased humans were all clad in combat attire meant for mercenaries and killed by the profound beast.

The profound beast was killed through their combined effort. Its abdomen had a massive gash, and blood was still oozing out of it. This made Liu Wuxie wonder why they had fought here when they were only in the outer zone of the Genflame Mountain Range. It made no sense for there to be any treasures here.

After he performed the Ghost Eye to ensure there was no danger within a hundred-meter radius, Liu Wuxie finally inched closer to investigate the situation.

Compared to him, Fiery was bolder as it scampered toward the corpses, sniffing around to search for something. It didn't take long before Fiery stopped before a corpse and pointed at an interspatial ring.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Liu Wuxie stepped forward to remove the interspatial ring before extending his divine sense inside. In addition to spirit stones and some herbs, he found a few cultivation manuals—none of which were noteworthy.

It didn't take long before a vibrant red fruit appeared before Liu Wuxie, and Fiery became restless on Liu Wuxie's shoulder, frantically gesturing toward the fruit.

"You want this fruit?" Liu Wuxie asked.

Fiery pounced over and bit the fruit, gobbling it up before Liu Wuxie could determine if it was poisonous. The fact that Fiery could catch the fruit's scent through the interspatial ring made Liu Wuxie realize he had underestimated its capabilities.

After consuming the fruit, Fiery nestled into Liu Wuxie's embrace and fell asleep.

Liu Wuxie frowned at this scene. Did this little creature make him come all the way just for this fruit? But he brushed it off quickly since he wasn't in a hurry, considering this to be training.

He gathered all the interspatial rings and dug a large pit to bury the corpses. He didn't stop there as he summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to extract all the energy from the profound beast’s corpse. He converted it into liquified spiritual energy before pouring it into the desolate world.

Once he had taken care of the things, he continued his journey. He traveled all day and night and was puzzled as Fiery had been sleeping the entire time. When he reached into his robe, he was startled. It felt as though he had touched a ball of fire.

When Fiery emerged from his robe after an entire day and night of rest, its red fur had become even more vibrant than before, like flickering flames in the wind.

This amazed Liu Wuxie, as Fiery had grown noticeably. Its claws were much sharper than before, and the golden patterns beneath its red fur had become even more pronounced.

"This is weird...you grew so much after consuming just one fruit?" Liu Wuxie's curiosity for Fiery's origin deepened, who rolled in his palm playfully before it went up to his shoulder with half-closed eyes in contentment.

......

"Big brother, over here!" The corpses buried by Liu Wuxie had been dug out, and the group of five fell into silence after looking at the bodies.

"Their interspatial rings have all been taken!" a group member growled after examining the corpses and discovering the missing rings.

"These bodies were buried recently, and that person must be nearby. We'll split up to find him! The Fire Spiritual Fruit should’ve left a distinct scent if it was consumed, and it will lead us to that person!" the leader of the group said with murderous intent on his face.

The group had expended immense effort on the Fire Spiritual Fruit and had rushed over to rendezvous with the team carrying it, only to realize they had been too late.

The five quickly split up to the surroundings, and Liu Wuxie still had no idea about it. He didn't even know what it was that Fiery had eaten. His heart would've ached if he knew it had been a Fire Spiritual Fruit.

If he had consumed that Fire Spiritual Fruit, it would’ve elevated his cultivation by half a level, giving him about a seventy-percent chance of advancing to the eighth level of the Astral River Realm.

Along the way, Liu Wuxie kept taking out the map to compare his route. He would rest when he was tired, unbeknownst to the approaching danger.

As Fiery had consumed the Fire Spiritual Fruit, faint energy seeped through its fur, potent enough to be detected from afar.

On the third day in the Genflame Mountain Range, Liu Wuxie noticed he was being followed. He ran into many mercenary groups along the way, but he made a detour each time, as he didn't want any trouble.

However, trouble sometimes comes unbidden, no matter how much one tries to avoid it.

Rustling sounds were heard as five figures appeared and surrounded Liu Wuxie. The strongest among the group was in the fifth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm, and the other four were in the low levels.

"Big brother, the Fire Spiritual Fruit's aura is coming from him," the man on the right said, pointing his sword at Liu Wuxie. The others didn't need him to tell them, as they could also sense the Fire Spiritual Fruit's energy coming from Liu Wuxie, enveloping Fiery like a ball of fire.

"Gentlemen, I believe we don't have any feud between us. So, why are you people blocking my path?" Liu Wuxie asked, confused. He had no idea what they were talking about.

"Cut the act, boy! Did you steal our Fire Spiritual Fruit?" The man on the left stepped forward, releasing his aura in the Nascent Transformation Realm toward Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie frowned at their words, beginning to suspect that the fruit Fiery had consumed might indeed be the Fire Spiritual Fruit they were referring to. He had only sensed its extraordinary nature when he found it, but Fiery had eaten it before he had a chance to examine it further.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you people are talking about," Liu Wuxie replied with a shrug. Whether Fiery had consumed the Fire Spiritual Fruit was irrelevant as it had nothing to do with these people.

When Fiery had found the Fire Spiritual Fruit, it was unclaimed, as everyone had died, and these men had no right to question him.