Chapter 506 - 432: The Eternal Great Dominator, the 100-Year-Flowering Spirit Fruit

Its gaze was aloof, its features exquisite, but as it was a member of the Demon Race, Jiang Qiu couldn’t discern its gender. He only sensed it was a cold and powerful being, and residing in this white, mist-shrouded place only added to its air of mystery.

However, after a brief observation, he could tell it had shed most of the primal savagery characteristic of the lower-level beings from the Primitive Ancient Forest. It seemed to be attempting to transition into another form, pursuing a transformation not meant for an ordinary member of the Demon Race.

’Why do I feel this way?’

It was because Jiang Qiu’s perception of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was highly sensitive. Even though he couldn’t manipulate it himself, he could still discern that the Nine-tailed Fox’s aura was evolving.

That was right. Jiang Qiu was currently held back by the fact that he had not yet opened his Spirit Veins, so he still couldn’t control the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. At the very least, though, his keen perception of it was a great asset.

Every powerful member of the Demon Race would merge their aura into the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm; this was an immutable trait. The only exception was if they had specifically cultivated a Magic Technique to conceal their aura. However, Jiang Qiu knew that most beings had likely not mastered such a technique.

Therefore, he was certain that the Nine-tailed Fox before him had already reached a very advanced stage in a Realm beyond the Spirit Control Realm. It was now seeking an opportunity for some kind of breakthrough.

’And I’m not sure I can actually defeat a being at this Realm in my current state.’

’Physically, I’m not afraid of it, but the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm is the biggest variable. What if the Nine-tailed Fox has comprehended an extremely powerful Cultivation Method on its own? Or what if it has awakened an incredibly potent Bloodline Talent?’

’A mortal body definitely couldn’t defeat it. Even with my Dragon Body, I’m only a little over a month old. I haven’t grown to the level of being Immune to All Techniques. I still have a long way to go.’

Indeed, a fully developed Dragon Body could become Immune to All Techniques. Of course, Jiang Qiu didn’t know the specifics of how that worked. He had not yet received an inheritance of that level.

’Right now, I’m really just a newborn cub of the Dragon Race. How could I possibly resist an assault of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm?’

Therefore, to be on the safe side, Jiang Qiu couldn’t just start a fight with the Nine-tailed Fox. Of course, the other party was also quite wary of the unique, oppressive aura he exuded. As a result, the atmosphere had grown somewhat tense.

Jiang Qiu didn’t answer where he had come from, as it was pointless. The place itself was unimportant; his purpose was what mattered. "We would like to trade for some Spirit Fruits," he said. "I wonder, what does the Nine-tailed Fox Dominator require in exchange?"

Indeed. The moment he arrived and saw the Nine-tailed Fox, Jiang Qiu realized he had previously underestimated the level of combat prowess in this world. This Great Dominator’s aura had already reached a considerable level.

The True Dominators above the Great Dominators had to be incomparably powerful. That was to say nothing of the beings with Chaos Bloodlines in the depths of the Primitive Ancient Forest, who were feared by all living things. Then there were the Demons outside, of whom Xiong Batian was utterly terrified. Their strongest members could challenge those with Chaos Bloodlines, and their overall combat strength was immense.

And Tai Lake, a place that had made even the Demons back off, was clearly on the same level as the Primitive Ancient Forest. He didn’t know its exact size, but the Tai Python that resided there was certainly a being beyond his imagination.

’I had previously considered using the Tai Python’s bloodline for my own Opening Spirit Veins, but now it seems I was being far too arrogant. That being’s existence is probably far beyond even a True Dominator.’

Therefore, the top priority was to raise his own Realm. The key to that was resources—for instance, the Spirit Fruits in the territory of this Great Dominator, the Nine-tailed Fox.

The Spirit Fruits in each Great Dominator’s territory were actually different. The Wild Ape hadn’t known what effects the Spirit Fruits in the Nine-tailed Fox’s territory had. After all, he had never eaten one, and the beings who had wouldn’t deign to share such information with Lesser Dominators like him.

So, at present, Jiang Qiu only knew that the Nine-tailed Fox possessed Spirit Fruits, that they were extremely precious, and that they were beneficial for advancing one’s Realm. He wanted to acquire some to try them out.

When the Nine-tailed Fox learned of his purpose, its brow arched slightly, a ghost of a smile playing on its lips. "You want my Spirit Fruits? The price will not be cheap.

Are you aware that long ago, Lord Golden Eagle planted eight specimens of a strange plant in eight different locations? I was given one of them. It takes a hundred years to flower, a hundred years to bear fruit, and another hundred years to mature. To this day, I myself have only tasted a single fruit."

Hearing this, Jiang Qiu froze. ’It takes that long to mature?’

’It seems the information I got from the Wild Ape was full of inaccuracies. This is the result of a massive information gap. There’s simply no way to get accurate, high-level intelligence from the creatures at the bottom.’

After all, the beings of this world were all isolated individuals, evolving step by step. Only upon reaching a certain level did they begin to encounter the reality behind the rumors they had heard. As a result, the lower-level beings were completely unable to provide accurate information about the truly powerful.

Take the Great Dominators, for example. The Wild Ape never told him where they came from. The lesser beings only knew that one True Dominator and eight Great Dominators existed above them. They had no idea why these powerful figures were here, or how they managed to secure their positions.

Some beings were simply powerful. You only learned just how powerful they were after reaching a certain Realm, but you would never know *why* they were so powerful. It was as if it had been that way since time immemorial.

Initially, based on what the Wild Ape had said, Jiang Qiu had assumed that the beings here had all undergone their transformations recently and were replaced generation after generation.

But that was wrong. The ones constantly transforming and being replaced were the beings at the very bottom—for example, those that had just undergone their Spiritual Awakening. They were as numerous as ants, caught in a cycle of being devoured, only to be replaced by new life, which would then be devoured in turn.

A level above them was the so-called Opening Spirit Veins stage. They were like fatter ants in the colony, appearing somewhat more imposing. But were they not also caught in the same cycle of being devoured and replaced?

Countless beings at the Opening Spirit Veins level died every year. In fact, Jiang Qiu and Xiong Batian had eaten quite a few of them on their journey here.

Higher still were the regional Dominators of the Spirit Control Realm. They truly possessed status and renown, earning the recognition—or fear—of the countless beings within their territories.

They were the ones who truly had the qualifications to stand on their own and glimpse the scenery from a higher vantage point. But in reality, were they not just pawns, replaced by the stronger in an endless cycle?

Lesser Dominators... Jiang Qiu and Xiong Batian had eaten three of them on their journey. It was hard to say how important they really were. Whether they lived or died had little to no bearing on the local creatures.

The death of a single Lesser Dominator had no fundamental impact on the creatures below it, nor did it mean much to the Great Dominators above. Thus, Lesser Dominators were largely insignificant.

The Great Dominators, however, were different. It seemed there had always been eight of them, since time immemorial!

They had never been replaced. This was information Jiang Qiu had picked up along the way; their ranks hadn’t changed for hundreds, some even said thousands, of years.

Those who even knew of the Great Dominators’ existence were invariably at the Lesser Dominator level, or they were outliers who had learned more through some accident—like that giant wolf, who knew more simply because it had traveled widely.

Given the circumstances, Jiang Qiu had to be cautious. This was genuinely the first time he had felt such a sense of mystery, a faint oppressive feeling, from a creature of the Dragon Emperor Secret Realm.

The Nine-tailed Fox would be wary of his bloodline, but it surely possessed enough power of its own not to be at an absolute disadvantage just because of their difference in lineage. Of course, the main reason for this was that Jiang Qiu had not yet opened his Spirit Veins and was unable to manipulate the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm.