Chapter 98 - 79: The Powerful Holy Fruit, a Pleasant Surprise

Chapter 98: Chapter 79: The Powerful Holy Fruit, a Pleasant Surprise

"Shen Xing, what are you up to now?"

Xia Wanyin asked curiously, noticing him circling the Silver Ancient Tree.

"Uh... nothing, just taking a look."

"Just taking a look..." Xia Wanyin tilted her head and said with some suspicion, "You’re not thinking of digging up this Silver Ancient Tree, are you?"

Shen Xing, having been found out, gave an embarrassed laugh.

’He did indeed have that thought. After all, this Silver Ancient Tree was quite extraordinary.’

Just the fact that the Fog couldn’t encroach for several kilometers around it was a trait enough to tempt any Lord.

Moreover, this type of ancient tree also had the ability to improve soil and increase crop yields.

’If he could dig it up and plant it in his own territory, that would be fantastic.’

"You can’t dig up a Silver Ancient Tree. They die if they’re removed from their growing area."

Xia Wanyin poured cold water on his idea, saying softly, "So far, I’ve never heard of any Lord successfully transplanting an ancient tree."

"However..." Her tone shifted. "If you can find a seed from this kind of ancient tree, you might be able to grow one yourself."

"A seed?" Shen Xing asked. "Then how do you get these Ancient Tree Seeds?"

"I’m not sure. The methods for obtaining these Ancient Tree Seeds are all uncertain, and they’re extremely rare."

Xia Wanyin said, "But I’ve heard that in some special areas, Holy Altars can appear."

"Like the Demon statues, you can make offerings to receive a sacred gift, and there’s an extremely small chance of getting an Ancient Tree Seed."

’A Holy Altar, offerings...’

Shen Xing nodded in understanding, silently committing this to memory.

Although he often checked guides on the forums, the game’s background was vast and its systems numerous.

It was impossible to remember and understand everything in a short amount of time.

"Let’s go, then." Shen Xing silently pushed his wheelchair and turned away with some regret.

Xia Wanyin nodded. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped. "Huh? I think there’s something else!"

"Something else?" Shen Xing was surprised. "What is it?"

"I don’t know. It’s in the tree. I can sense a very strong Life Aura."

"In the tree?"

Shen Xing looked up but could only see layers upon layers of silver-white leaves.

After a moment of thought, he ordered, "Hellish Roar, go up the tree and see. If there’s something there, bring it down."

"Yes, Lord!"

The Beastman immediately dropped the shovel in his hands and activated [Hope’s Feather], his body becoming incredibly light.

A pair of black bat-like wings on his back flapped gently, and he shot up the trunk like a sharp arrow, disappearing deep into the dense canopy.

A series of rustling sounds followed.

After a few minutes, Hellish Roar emerged from the canopy, carrying a bulging bag in his hand.

"Lord, there were some fruits on the tree. I picked all the ripe ones."

As he spoke, he untied the bag.

A flash of silver light shone so brightly that it was hard to keep one’s eyes open.

When the light faded, more than a dozen fruits, each the size of an adult’s fist and glowing with a silver-white light, were revealed.

’What is this stuff?’

Shen Xing was puzzled. He used his Void Hand to grab one.

[Acquired: Silver Holy Fruit (Gold)]

...

’Holy crap, a Gold-Quality fruit?’

Shen Xing’s interest was immediately piqued, and he took a close look at its Attributes.

[Silver Holy Fruit]

[Quality: Gold]

[Introduction: The fruit of the Silver Ancient Tree, which bears fruit once every 5-10 years. Consuming it can greatly enhance Constitution and speed up recovery.]

[Effect: Permanently increases Four-dimensional Attributes by 20 points and recovery speed by 10% upon consumption.]

[Remaining uses: 1]

...

Shen Xing: "⊙▽⊙!!!"

’The Effect of this fruit is a little absurd!’

’Eating just one increases your Four-dimensional Attributes by a full 20 points, which is comparable to the boost from leveling up 5 or 6 times.’

’As expected of a Gold-Quality fruit, it’s so much more powerful than things like the Bone Fruit or Brain Fruit.’

"Shen Xing, what kind of fruit is it?" Xia Wanyin asked, her eyes vacant, a hint of curiosity on her face.

Shen Xing didn’t say anything, instead placing one directly into her hand.

Using the system function, Xia Wanyin saw its specific Attributes, and her expression also turned into: "⊙▽⊙!!!"

"Wow, it can increase Attributes by so much! This Holy Fruit is amazing!" Xia Wanyin said, completely shocked.

Shen Xing smiled, having already calmed down. "There are 16 fruits in total. We’ll split them evenly, eight each."

This time, she didn’t refuse and accepted the arrangement.

The two of them quickly finished dividing the fruits, adding several more astonishingly valuable treasures to their inventories.

Meanwhile, the Beastman Squad and Slave Laborers were still diligently digging up the red soil, piling it into small mounds.

The once flat and tidy Silver Holy Land was now dotted with pits. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought it had been struck by a meteorite shower.

The two of them walked to the edge of the pits and collected all the piled-up red soil into their inventories.

Unfortunately, each inventory slot could only hold a maximum of 400 kilograms of the same type of item, and their 20 slots were filled up quickly.

At this point, they had basically stripped the entire Silver Holy Land clean, not leaving even a single grain of wheat behind.

"Alright, everyone stop."

Shen Xing clapped his hands, planning to bring people back to dig again when he had time.

He also needed to check on the unripe Silver Holy Fruits periodically, lest they be picked by other Lords.

The Slave Laborers all stopped their work and formed two groups behind the pair.

Just then, Shen Xing suddenly felt a chill from above as a few cold water droplets hit his forehead.

Looking up, he saw that a light, drizzling rain had started to fall at some point.

"It’s raining." Xia Wanyin’s expression suddenly changed, and she said nervously, "Shen Xing, we have to go back right away."

Shen Xing noticed something was off about her expression and asked, "Is there something special about the rain?"

"I’m not sure, but I heard from my sister... from a friend, that this game rarely has abnormal weather phenomena."

"But when it does, the monsters in the Fog become unusually berserk, and special creatures you don’t normally encounter will also appear."

Shen Xing frowned slightly. Looking up at the gray, misty rain, he also felt a sense of oppression.

"Alright, let’s head back then," Shen Xing said.

"Okay." Xia Wanyin nodded lightly.

The two groups said their goodbyes, and then each took a Horse Lantern and separated into the Fog.

They traveled through the Fog under the drizzling rain, the fine strands tapping against the copper lampshades with a soft, pattering sound.

Just as Xia Wanyin had said, the monsters in the Fog seemed to have become much more berserk.

Along the way, they were attacked by at least three waves of monsters, encountering one every ten minutes on average.

But in front of the Extraordinary Level Hellish Roar, these Apprentice Level monsters were just walking experience packs.

「More than half an hour later.」

Shen Xing returned to his territory with the Beastman Squad and over twenty newly recruited slaves.

The warm light of the fire washed over them, dispelling the chill from their bodies.

At that moment, the Black Moon Knight Order was patrolling along the edge of the city walls, the heavy sound of horse hooves echoing all around.

On top of the walls, several Skeleton Archers patrolled back and forth with bows on their backs.

Although the Level 1 walls were only three meters wide, there was more than enough room for a few people to stand.

If they conserved space, they could even place some war machines on top.

Reina had also returned to the territory with the Werewolves. They were gathered by the Campfire, silently awaiting the Lord’s orders.

"The boss is back!"

"Welcome back, boss!"

The Beastmen training in the open space at the village entrance saw the group step into the firelight and greeted them enthusiastically.

Shen Xing nodded, then looked up at the sky.

The gray raindrops were still drizzling down, landing on the black earth and disappearing.

However, the rain had no effect on the Campfire. The flames at its center still burned tenaciously, illuminating the entire territory.

Because the Campfire continuously radiated warmth, the ground even remained in a dry state.

Next, Shen Xing pushed his wheelchair to an open area outside the southern wall of the territory.

He then emptied all the red soil from his inventory, piling it into a small mound.

"Monday, take the other workers and cultivate this area into farmland."

"There’s a well right over there. If you need water, get it from there."

Shen Xing pointed to the well inside the walls.

"Yes, great Lord!" The young laborer named Monday replied respectfully and was the first to grab a sickle and shovel, beginning to work with all his might.

The other Slave Laborers nearby looked listless, their movements slow. They would occasionally glance at Monday, a flicker of disdain in their eyes.

Seeing this, Shen Xing added, "As long as you work hard, I will provide you with ample Food."

"Those who perform well will even get meat soup in the evening."

"Praise the great Lord! We will work for you with all our hearts!"

The slaves were suddenly energized, grabbing their hoes and shovels and speeding up their movements many times over.

Shen Xing chuckled, then called over a few Skeleton Archers to protect the workers nearby.

Although the location they were cultivating was within the firelight’s range, it was still outside the walls.

’If a monster were to rush out of the Fog and kill a few of his Slave Laborers, it would be a huge loss.’

Next, he called over a few Beastmen to fashion a temporary rain shelter out of the tattered clothes of the Lost Ones.

This was to prevent the red soil from being washed away if the rain got heavier.

After finishing these tasks, Shen Xing pushed his wheelchair over to the territory’s Bluestone Street and opened the door to a wooden house.

It was originally a residence, but he had moved the small wooden bed out and turned it into a temporary warehouse.

Shen Xing took out all the Food except for the [Moonlight Wheat], piling up over a thousand jin of wheat, bread, and dried meat into a small mountain.

’Good, the inventory is finally a lot clearer.’

Shen Xing clapped his hands in satisfaction and exited the warehouse.

’Next up is the part I’ve been looking forward to the most—tallying the spoils.’

The rewards from this expedition had been far greater than he could have imagined.

Besides the two mysterious buildings and one Unit Nest seized from Gideon’s territory, there was also the series of treasures, fruits, and other items obtained from the Silver Holy Land.

Looking at the dazzling array of various items in his inventory, Shen Xing felt a bit overwhelmed for a moment.