Chapter 351: Lifespan Peach

"It seems that the Ninth Prince has had an unlucky start."

"Indeed, Fang Chen is a mere newcomer, how can he truly understand the way of the Immortal Origin Stones? Luck can also run out."

"They spent two hundred low-grade spirit stones on a withered branch. What a loss, a huge loss."

People whispered among themselves.

The shopkeepers of various stores frowned upon seeing this scene, some murmured under their breath.

"I thought he cut open something valuable. What a waste of time. Better get back to business."

Fang Chen's thoughts stirred, and his divine soul emerged to look at the withered branch. "Is this item really so ordinary?"

In his eyes, the branch had a faint green luster flowing around it. It clearly wasn't ordinary.

Tong Baizhou looked toward Tong Hu. "Dad, does this withered branch have any value?"

Tong Hu gestured lightly, and the withered branch in Fang Chen's hand immediately flew into his. He looked it over several times, then shook his head before returning it to Fang Chen's hand. "It's just a common withered branch. It's worthless."

The crowd looked somewhat amused.

Qian Jiuye sighed but didn't think much of it. After all, there were still nine more Immortal Origin Stones to be opened.

Glancing at Fang Chen, Fang Yun thought,

Indeed, it was just good luck.

Just as Fang Chen was about to try stimulating the branch with his divine soul to see if there would be any reaction, an old, hoarse laugh was suddenly heard.

"A common withered branch? It seems like our friend over here knows little about spiritual trees. This branch is clearly the root of a spiritual tree."

Fang Chen's gaze shifted, and he turned to look outside the pavilion.

At the entrance stood an elder and a little girl.

The girl appeared to be around seven or eight years old. She had a lively gaze and showed no aura of cultivation.

As for the elder, he looked even more ordinary. At least in the eyes of everyone here, he was just a common, mundane old man.

But no one was foolish enough to truly consider the elder as an ordinary person. The cultivators present all showed a look of wariness and respect.

Tong Hu looked toward the elder, and seeing that he couldn't see through the other's cultivation level, his expression became a bit more solemn. He cupped his fists and said, "Fellow cultivator, what do you mean by the root of a spiritual tree?"

Bringing the little girl with him, the elder walked into the Jade River Pavilion and arrived before Fang Chen. As he examined the withered branch in Fang Chen's hand, he smiled at Tong Hu. "Spiritual fruits don't just fall from the sky, do they? They grow on spiritual trees. This withered branch is the root of a spiritual tree, and it's capable of growing into one. Its value cannot be underestimated.”

Everyone was shocked by the revelation.

They knew about spiritual springs and spiritual fields, but they knew very little about spiritual trees. At least within the Great Qian Empire, it seemed there was no such thing.

Master Wu felt a surge of dissatisfaction well up inside him after seeing that the withered branch Tong Hu dismissed as ordinary and worthless was now being made out to be something of high value by this elder. He growled in a deep voice, "Elder, this branch shows no sign of spiritual energy fluctuations, how could it be the rumored root of a spiritual tree?"

The elder looked at Master Wu with a little surprise. "Oh? You know about spiritual trees?"

Master Wu smiled. "I have followed an old predecessor for many decades and have seen quite a lot."

"Spiritual trees are rare existences in our world. They have an almost infinite lifespan. Some top-tier families possess such trees, which serve as the foundation of their power. Every few years, they can continuously harvest the spiritual fruits from these trees." The elder chuckled and continued, "So... Why are spiritual trees so rare in our world?”

Master Wu lightly smiled and replied, "It's because young spiritual trees are indistinguishable from ordinary trees, showing no signs of their true nature. They can die from strong winds, lightning strikes, or even be cut down by ordinary people. Only mature spiritual trees will show special signs and be protected by cultivators."

Suddenly, Master Wu’s face began to fall. He seemed to have made the correlation.

The others also began to realize the implications of his words.

Could the withered branch really be the root of a spiritual tree?

Could they not sense it only because it hadn't yet matured?

"Fellow cultivator, according to what you've said, there's no way for us to authenticate that this is the root of a spiritual tree?" asked Tong Hu in a deep voice.

"That’s right!" Master Wu nodded in agreement. "There's no way to verify right now whether this withered branch is the root of a spiritual tree or not. So, according to the rules we have set, it can only be considered as something of no value."

"I happen to have planted a few spiritual trees and have some experience in this field. There’s a method that will allow us to see if this is the root of a spiritual tree.” The elder chuckled lightly, taking out a porcelain bottle. "There are a few drops of an Immortal Spring in here. Just a single drop will be able to nurture the tree and allow it to bear fruits. With that, we will be able to determine if it’s a spiritual tree.

“However, the water of an Immortal Spring is rare, and if you wish for me to use it, you must sell it to me once we verify what fruits it can bear.”

Immortal Spring?

Tong Hu looked deeply at the elder. The latter's background might be extraordinary, but he had never heard of an Immortal Spring before.

Whatever it was, anyone capable of planting spiritual trees can't be weak. At the very least, they had to have come from a profound background.

The elderly man smiled gently as he looked at Fang Chen. "Young friend, would you consider selling this root to me? If you agree, I will help you prove its value."

Fang Chen suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The elder was not looking at his physical body but at the location of his soul....

Although the two were only a foot or two apart and others might not notice the subtlety, Fang Chen could perceive it clearly.

The next moment, Fang Chen's soul returned to his body, and he forced himself to calm down.

"If you can prove the value of this withered branch, senior, I will give it to you."

"How can I simply take something from a junior without offering anything in return? Before using the water from the Immortal Spring, I can’t determine its value either," said the elder, taking out three thousand low-grade spirit stones. "Let's settle it at the lowest price for now."

Everyone was stunned by the amount.

"Three thousand low-grade spirit stones?!"

They never imagined that a withered branch like this could be so valuable.

Qian Feng's eyes showed a hint of panic.

Master Wu clenched his teeth and immediately turned to Tong Hu. "Senior Tong, this doesn't comply with the rules of our bet. We must prove the item's value before making an offer. Otherwise, anyone can manipulate the outcome of the gamble...."

Tong Hu nodded slightly and looked at the elder. "Fellow Daoist, please authenticate the value of this item."

"Naturally... It's easy, watch." The elder laughed heartily, took the withered branch, and opened the porcelain bottle to drip a drop of Immortal Spring water onto it.

The drops didn't seem to contain any spiritual energy, and it appeared to be only a drop of ordinary water, causing everyone in the Jade River Pavilion to be somewhat skeptical at this sight.

Was the old man a spy planted by Fang Chen? They couldn’t say for certain that something like that hadn’t happened before.

Just as the crowd began to doubt the elder's origins, the drop from the Immortal Spring had already seeped into the withered branch. Following that, a vast and profound force of wood elemental energy surged forth.

Suddenly, new branches began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye until it fruited a peach.

"A Lifespan Peach?" uttered the elder in surprise. He then looked at Fang Chen and laughed. "Kid, you're quite lucky. This spiritual tree is pretty rare and valuable. However, I won’t give you any more spirit stones as the drop of Immortal Spring Water was mine.”

The peach exuded rich spiritual energy, and anyone who wasn't blind would sense that it was valuable. And the fact that spiritual trees were almost immortal once planted and would bear fruit endlessly was another point altogether.

There was no way it could be worthless!

Master Wu's face had turned ashen.