Chapter 289: Chapter 288: The Sound from Deep Underground
Shi Xiaole sheathed his sword and glanced outside.
The middle-aged man with the goatee recognized the dangerous situation early on and ran no sooner than having the chance. Given his opponent’s 7th ranking of Xuan Qi, if he focused solely on escaping, Shi Xiaole would have a hard time catching up.
After all, his strength lied in his Sword Heart and techniques, while Internal Power was always his weakness.
"Young hero, we owe you much for this time."
After a close call with death, Ying Xiong and others from his group immediately walked up to Shi Xiaole, their faces filled with relief and excitement.
"Young hero, you have a boundless future ahead."
An overwhelmed gang leader couldn’t resist praising him.
Killing Ghost Granny, with 7th rank of Xuan Qi, while being only 3rd rank Xuan Qi, proved Shi Xiaole’s talent to be beyond Lin Shaoyi’s. Even among the top talents in Great Cold State, he would certainly be ranked amongst the top ones.
And judging by his opponent’s age, he seemed to be much younger than Lin Shaoyi.
Shi Xiaole exchanged pleasantries with everyone and proceeded to the seriously injured high-level experts from Ghost Castle who could not escape in time. One of them was a close aide of Ghost Granny’s. Persuaded by the Soul Transfer Great Method, he easily revealed the method to enter Ghost Castle.
Worth mentioning is that the Array System in Ghost Castle was not set up by Ghost Granny.
According to the informant, the array had mysteriously appeared one day. They had stumbled upon its entrance and despite countless checks, they could not determine its origin. Yet, sensing no potential danger, they began using the place as their main base.
Under Ying Xiong’s leadership, the group first dealt with the numerous lackeys and then stepped out of the formation, calling upon disciples from the three major factions to clean up the aftermath.
"Young Hero Shi, Young Hero Lin, here are some medicinal herbs. Can you use them?"
The most valuable items in Ghost Castle were the Gu Technique herbs provided by the three factions. Ghost Granny had used up most of these, but Ying Xiong and the others wanted to give the remaining to Shi Xiaole and Lin Shaoyi.
Shi Xiaole had contributed the most and saved everyone’s lives. In contrast, Lin Shaoyi was almost implicated by them, so they felt obligated to compensate. Besides, in the eyes of the public, both were young heroes with extraordinary talents. It would undoubtedly be beneficial to maintain a good relationship with them.
"You are all too kind."
Shi Xiaole had initially wanted to decline the offer, but under their insistence – and knowing that not accepting the gift would make them uneasy – he made a symbolic choice of a few herbs.
"I don’t like these sort of thank-you gifts. I prefer wine to herbs."
Lin Shaoyi said.
"Haha, once we return, we will definitely let Young Hero Lin have his fill."
Everyone laughed heartily.
With his mind on the exotic fruit in Half Moon Pond, Shi Xiaole, of course, had no intention of going back with them for drinks. However, he didn’t want anyone suspecting something, so he made an excuse and returned to Ghost Castle halfway.
Ying Xiong and others did not dismantle Ghost Castle as they found its Array System suitable for urgent hiding. Shi Xiaole easily passed through the formation and quickly found himself standing by Half Moon Pond.
According to the unnamed monk, beneath the water of the pond was a man-made passage that stretched 400 meters underground. Presumably, the exotic fruit seed was planted by someone.
Here came the problem.
Generally, martial artists at the Spiritual-Passage Realm have a lifespan of two hundred years. Above the Spiritual-Passage Realm, the life expectancy of martial artists is said to be limited to three hundred years.
The era of the unnamed monk was long before the great war between righteousness and evil. In other words, the person who planted the seed couldn’t have survived to the day when the exotic fruit matured.
So, did he send someone later?
Or did the long passage of time and the changing natural environment cause changes to the exotic fruit?
No matter what, Shi Xiaole’s chances of obtaining the exotic fruit weren’t great. Fortunately, he didn’t harbor high hopes from the beginning and just wanted to try his luck.
Making sure nobody was around, Shi Xiaole started to dig relentlessly into the western side of the dried-up Half Moon Pond, resting for a while every quarter of an hour and then continuing the task.
About half an hour later, a tunnel more than twenty meters deep was dug into the ground.
Thud!
A solid cracking sound echoed as Shi Xiaole saw a stone slab beneath the soil. Upon moving it aside, a dark and deep hole appeared.
"Strange, this place is so hidden, how did the unnamed monk discover it?"
Shi Xiaole suddenly began to feel suspicious.
If it wasn’t for someone informing him, who could have sensed the existence of another world hidden here? Could it be possible that the unnamed monk possessed some extraordinary abilities, or...
Proceeding cautiously, Shi Xiaole entered the hole carefully.
The underground passage was very low, only allowing an adult to slowly crawl. Adding to this, the path was steep and full of sand and grit, making it easy for someone to roll down carelessly, all battered and bloody.
Luckily, Shi Xiaole’s martial arts skills were impressive, and he kept his balance well. Although slow, he managed to avoid making a fool of himself.
As he delved deeper, the light in the underground passage increased rather than decreased. It grew brighter, and the temperature anomalously began to rise. Gradually, sweat beads appeared on Shi Xiaole’s forehead, and his entire body started to give off heat.
The moment he was 300 meters below ground, he dared not breathe deeply, for each breath felt like being cut by countless scorching knives.
At 350 meters underground, the air was filled with red mist. It seemed as if a giant fireball was hidden in front of him, causing the air to combust violently.
There were hissing sounds from his body surface. Shi Xiaole found out that his shield of real Qi was almost depleted. If a person without martial arts skills were to be here, they would have been burnt to ashes by now.
"Only fifty meters left."
Shi Xiaole urged his Internal Power to the limit, his heartbeats quickening as he decided to delve in further. There was no reason to look back now that he had come this far.
Exotic fruits are essentially born from the essence of heaven and earth, utterly dependent on their environment at first, before completely transforming it once matured. If the journey was smooth and ordinary without any exotic fruits, he would have been very disappointed.
Boom!
The passageway suddenly opened up, and Shi Xiaole fell onto a flat surface. Opening his eyes, a blazing redness stretched out before him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the light was emanating from a thoroughly transparent, crimson fruit.
The red fruit hung between the stone walls like a miniaturized sun, its roots spread across the walls, seemingly drawing energy from the earth.
"This is ... the Red Sun Vermilion Fruit!"
Even someone of Shi Xiaole’s temperament could not help but exclaim, overwhelmed with joy.
The Red Sun Vermilion Fruit, one of the ten exotic fruits famed within the Flying Horse Dynasty, could only be grown in a pure yang land. The sprouting alone took three hundred years, flowering six hundred years, and fruiting eight hundred years — altogether, a total of seventeen hundred years.
Once ripe, it must be eaten within ten days or it would decompose and dissipate completely.
In the martial world it is rumored that the Red Sun Vermilion fruit has miraculous effects. If consumed by castrated men or women, they would become men within three days.
If eaten by regular men, they would transform into pure yang men, resulting in significantly enhanced physical constitution, free from diseases and disasters and blessed with a long life of a hundred years.
For a martial artist to consume it, however, the effects were even more astounding.
There was an old legend about a poor wanderer in the martial world who, while being hunted by his enemy, accidentally found a Red Sun Vermilion Fruit. After swallowing it, all his meridians opened up and he encountered no bottlenecks in his cultivation ever again.
In just a decade, he transformed from a nameless average martial artist to a world-renowned supreme master, thus achieving a life-changing fate.
It’s fair to say that the ten exotic fruits are recognized as one of the supreme fortunes in the martial world. Whoever obtains even one, will leap through the dragon’s gate and stand undefeated under the heavens.
Unfortunately, these ten exotic fruits are far too rare. Throughout countless years, they have only appeared a few meager times. A few strains only exist in legends, never having been seen in person.
Shi Xiaole walked towards the Red Sun Vermilion Fruit, the scorching aura burning upon his body, yet he felt no pain.
Just as he was about to get within thirty feet of the fruit, Shi Xiaole abruptly came to a halt.
"Something’s not right!"
As a suppressed intuition suddenly erupted, Shi Xiaole rapidly retreated. The moment he moved, a sharp surge of mental fluctuation struck the spot where he had just been.
Shi Xiaole was certain, if he hadn’t reacted promptly, his mind would have received a heavy blow from this attack.
"You managed to resist the temptation of the Red Sun Vermilion Fruit?"
A voice tinged with surprise echoed, its source unlocatable.
"Who are you?"
Shi Xiaole looked around, his internal power reaching its limit.
"I’m just a fragment of a soul, waiting for the destined person to come. You are that person."
The voice echoed dreamily.
"Ridiculous, where in this world would a sole fragment exist? You’re merely a voice contained in the Sound Recording Stone."
With full concentration, Shi Xiaole noticed the Sound Recording Stone behind the Red Sun Vermilion Fruit. He unleashed his sword and pierced the stone right through.
Crack.
The scene before him instantaneously switched like an illusion. The rock walls, the Red Sun Vermilion Fruit, everything vanished, leaving only a slightly larger subterranean cavity. Even the path from which he came was gone.
Dark, oppressive, and thin of air.
Even if a renowned supreme master were to stay here for a bit, they would suffocate to death.
A hint of panic welled up in Shi Xiaole’s heart, but he quickly regained his calm.
"It’s all fake."
The power of the subconscious mind is horrifying. If you believe that something truly exists, you will be affected by it.
Shi Xiaole was convinced he had fallen into some sort of illusion array, greatly exaggerating the power of the subconscious. If he succumbed to what was before him, he would indeed suffocate to death.
In that moment, he understood that perhaps the magic array in Ghost Castle was the result of the leaking aura of this illusion array.
"Your mind is strong, and your constitution is decent. It might not match my heyday, but it’s barely acceptable. Ha-ha-ha, the prophecy of the Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller was indeed right; with your help, I could see the light of day again."
Deep underground in an unknown depth, there was a hazy space. In it laid an emerald-green stone about three feet long and six inches wide, which resembled both glass and jade. If anyone were present, they would be frightened out of their wits.
This was because the jade stone was filled with unknown bubbling liquid. Inside the liquid, a human brain was floating. The cold voice was emanating from this brain.
At the same time, a hammer, somewhere between real and illusory, formed in the earthen cavity and began ferociously striking Shi Xiaole’s head.
Thud!
Shi Xiaole’s face drained of color, his vision spinning. He felt as if his consciousness, his mind, had been shattered.
With a display of his swordsmanship, a dense layer of green sword net defended Shi Xiaole and stabbed at the hammer. But the hammer ignored everything and kept striking fiercely, adamant on annihilating Shi Xiaole’s consciousness.
"Fool, this is my Spirit Entity Great Method. Even though its power is hardly a fraction of what it once was, it’s more than enough to kill you. There’s no point resisting."
The voice coming from the underground brain echoed with unyielding determination.
