Chapter 137 - 120: Vermilion Fruit

Chapter 137: Chapter 120: Vermilion Fruit

The Heart Stabilizing and Body Lowering Method unlocked potential by harmonizing the Spirit, the energy within the body, and the cells themselves.

Following the specific power-exertion techniques described within, he continuously refined his body. This allowed force to be transmitted more easily and quickly and enabled him to store more energy. The mobilization of his Spirit became more effortless, and his spiritual particles grew more condensed, allowing his Purple Mansion to accommodate more of them.

This martial art was rather difficult for Zhang Ji to practice.

The benefits from resource enhancements were not as pronounced for this technique.

On average, it took him more than a day to obtain a single essence.

Even so, Zhang Ji was confident he could master it by the end of the month.

...

On August 25th, Zhang Ji finally mastered the Heart Stabilizing and Body Lowering Method.

As ten essences merged into one, Zhang Ji obtained the relevant Martial Crystal.

After integrating it into his body, Zhang Ji felt his entire being enter a state of profound harmony.

The transmission of force and the circulation of his Spirit became more effortless, much like the feeling of entering his self-developed [Pseudo-Spiritualization].

With a slight thought, Zhang Ji’s spiritual particles formed a membrane that adhered tightly to his cells.

The process wasn’t difficult.

Then, Zhang Ji’s figure rose into the air, and he struck out with his palm in the empty space.

"BOOM!"

The clouds that had just gathered were blown away, but Zhang Ji didn’t exit his Spiritualization state.

His body wasn’t even pushed back very far by the recoil.

Zhang Ji could now maintain Spiritualization indefinitely.

In other words, he now possessed A-rank combat power.

That being said, his current Spiritualization was actually different from true Spiritualization.

According to the information Zhang Ji had, Spiritualization involved spiritual particles entering the cells, which was equivalent to having autonomous Spiritual Force Fields all over the body.

Right now, he had merely applied a conductive layer; it was different from true Spiritualization.

However, Zhang Ji was currently incapable of achieving a state of true Spiritualization.

He had tried, but the feeling of spiritual particles fusing with cells was too difficult to find.

Forcing them in would only damage his cells.

So, it could only be said that he hadn’t found the right method.

However, by using a method similar to coating himself in a superconductor, combined with the unique nature of his own body, he had achieved an alternative form of Spiritualization. Even if it was a tier weaker, it shouldn’t be too bad, given his attributes.

At this moment, Zhang Ji had ten (Excellent) Martial Crystals.

If he chose to directly synthesize the Martial Crystal for [Wind God Kick], a technique from the [Divine Wind Sect], he would already be A-rank.

But if he did that, Zhang Ji felt it would be significantly inferior.

It was nowhere near as effective as using the "Five Elements Longevity Art" to complete the final crystal.

"Time to keep training!"

With a sigh of emotion, Zhang Ji flew to the top of the Gathering Light Tower, sat down cross-legged, and began to practice the "Five Elements Longevity Art."

...

「August 28th.」

Gu Jie was discharged from the hospital.

His injuries had recovered well.

Moreover, after Zhang Ji had him demonstrate a little, he discovered that Gu Jie’s strength and other aspects had increased considerably, and his defense was no longer weak.

He had practically crossed the threshold of a professional martial artist.

And Gu Jie wasn’t even ten years old yet; he had just passed his ninth birthday not long ago.

One could only say that improving through Alchemy Transformation was indeed fast.

But the premise was that one had to be able to withstand it.

For many Alchemy Organs, if one’s own attributes weren’t up to par, the rejection reaction after installation was enough to make a person suffer.

Not to mention some of those things even came with their own thoughts.

You add an organ, and next thing you know, your personality has changed.

However, Gu Jie showed no such reactions. It seemed the councilman who created that heart had indeed considered every aspect.

Zhang Ji fulfilled his promise. The very next day, he held a True Disciple ceremony for Gu Jie, officially accepting him as his disciple.

In the main hall of the Five Elements Sect, Gu Jie knelt on the ground and kowtowed nine times to Zhang Ji, who sat on a high seat. He put his full strength into every single one.

He himself was fine, but he cracked the floor with his kowtows.

Zhang Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But he understood Gu Jie’s sincerity.

"Master, please drink this tea!" Gu Jie said, holding up a cup of tea respectfully to Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji took the teacup, sipped from it, and said, "Rise. From this day forward, you are my True Disciple."

Gu Jie’s eyes filled with excitement and joy. He nodded heavily and said, "Yes, Master!"

Everyone who witnessed this scene was endlessly envious of Gu Jie. They felt that with a master like Zhang Ji, his future path would surely be smooth and boundless.

But who knew what he had been through before this?

This blessing... few could bear it without a tough enough fate.

...

On the second of September, while Zhang Ji was still training, a piece of good news arrived.

In his room, Zhang Ji sat beside a projection screen, waiting for the report from the man next to him.

"Saint, we’ve found the thing you asked us to look for. Its movements are rather stealthy, active at night and hiding during the day. It tends to operate only in some low-altitude canyon areas. We investigated several locations and finally found traces of it at the bottom of the Daluning Grand Canyon..."

The speaker was a Northern Dao Sect disciple named Yu Fei’ang.

He currently worked in a relevant intelligence department and was helping Zhang Ji investigate and find certain resources that Zhang Ji knew of from his memories.

At this moment, on the projection screen, was an enlarged figure. Reconstructed by AI, it revealed a four-legged Exotic Beast with brown scales and huge antlers like a sika deer.

Excluding its tail, this Exotic Beast was estimated to be 8.32 meters long and over three meters tall.

When it moved, it scaled walls and cliffs with ease.

The earth could even push it forward like rolling waves.

"The Qilin... they finally found it!" Zhang Ji said aloud.

This thing was also one of the field bosses from the Dragon Country area.

Back when Zhang Ji was after the Moonlight Cup, he had thought about it.

But this creature had [B+] strength, so Zhang Ji could only think about it at the time.

Now that he was back in the Dragon Country and strong enough, Zhang Ji naturally couldn’t help but set his sights on it.

This Exotic Beast called a "Qilin" wasn’t a real Qilin, but a special type of mutated deer.

It possessed the ability to manipulate the Earth Element, could burrow, had a very powerful physical body, and was also fast.

Even if an army were sent to fight it, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to take it down.

If a nuke came, it could just burrow into the ground and completely avoid the damage.

However, the reason Zhang Ji was looking for it was to find its lair and the thing it was guarding.

A "Nine-leaf Vermilion Fruit" plant.

That thing was an exotic item brought by a spatiotemporal rift, but it had grown up locally.

It blooms for thirty years, bears fruit for thirty years, and only ripens once a century.

When it ripens, it yields only a single fruit.

It’s a good material for Alchemy.

Eating it directly is also an absolutely good thing.

It can greatly replenish Qi and Blood and enhance one’s constitution.

In the game, it manifested as a permanent increase to the health bar, plus a boost to the Strength Attribute and Flame Resistance.

Besides planning to eat it, Zhang Ji also intended to get its seeds and plant them in the [Ark of Hope].

...

...

「Daluning Canyon.」

One of the rare mega-canyons within the Dragon Country.

Its total length reached seven hundred kilometers.

Its deepest point was over eight thousand meters.

On the entire Origin Star, there were few that could compare to it in scale.

On the helicopter, Zhang Ji looked down at the canyon below, a hint of emotion in his expression.

’With this kind of terrain, sending an army would likely be pointless.’

You would need an A-rank expert, or a powerful [B+] martial artist who had mastered the techniques of the [Earth-Suppressing Sect], to capture that Qilin.

"Have the satellite maps found it?" Zhang Ji asked Yu Fei’ang.

"It’s active at night, but according to the experts’ judgment, its nest should be in this area," Yu Fei’ang said, pointing at the abyss below.

Zhang Ji nodded slightly, then jumped straight out of the helicopter.

In mid-air, the airflow around Zhang Ji stirred. Primordial Qi burst from between his palms, and his whole body shot forward, entering the canyon.

Upon entering the canyon, Zhang Ji spread his spiritual particles. Although the surroundings were pitch-black, he could still see everything clearly.

In fact, this form of observation was even clearer than seeing with the naked eye.

As he descended, the canyon below grew much narrower, and the ambient temperature rose significantly.

This was because there was an active volcano beneath the canyon. It rarely erupted, but lava was constantly churning below.

"This looks familiar!"

Zhang Ji smiled when he saw the dark red river of lava below.

Back when he played the game, players had to follow this lava river all the way to the Qilin’s nest.

"BOOM!"

Zhang Ji surged his Primordial Qi and accelerated again, breaking the sound barrier.

Although Zhang Ji hadn’t mastered a specific flight-based martial art.

With his current spiritual strength and amount of Primordial Qi, he could easily fly at two to three times the speed of sound and maintain it for a long time.

He could probably fly for a whole day without using up all his Primordial Qi.

The amount of Primordial Qi Zhang Ji now possessed was even greater than that of an average A-rank martial artist from the [Primordial Qi Sect].

Suddenly, Zhang Ji sensed a disturbance and came to a halt.

The next moment, the sound of whistling wind came from the distance, accompanied by a giant boulder the size of a small mountain flying toward him.

"Throwing rocks? Child’s play!"

The corner of Zhang Ji’s mouth curled up as he raised a hand and struck out with his palm.

"BOOM!"

The Primordial Qi Palm Seal pulverized the boulder. Zhang Ji’s figure shot through the dust, heading straight for the distant Qilin.

He had already seen the creature.

And he had seen its nest.

"YOO~!"

A sharp cry rang out. The Qilin stomped its front hoof on the ground. The next moment, the mountains shook and the earth trembled. A massive amount of rock flew toward Zhang Ji as the terrain itself began to change. The canyon walls on both sides started to collapse, threatening to bury him.

"HUMMM!"

A golden light surged from Zhang Ji’s body. He didn’t dodge or evade, continuing to fly toward the Qilin. The rocks flying at him were all sent flying back at an even faster speed. He shattered the collapsing canyon walls with his fists, and they couldn’t hinder him in the slightest.

There was a fundamental difference in their power. Zhang Ji’s stats were off the charts, so even without knowing the ultimate techniques of the [Earth-Suppressing Sect], he could easily subdue the Qilin before him.

Seeing Zhang Ji approach, the Qilin didn’t dare to linger. It turned and rushed into the depths of its nest.

"Trying to run?"

Primordial Qi erupted from Zhang Ji’s palms as he charged right into the Qilin’s nest after it.

The nest’s tunnels were long and incredibly complex, but Zhang Ji just had to follow the Qilin.

He was very fast, reaching the bottom of the nest in an instant. Inside was a pool of lava, and next to it grew a red plant over three meters tall.

It had nine leaves, and at its very top was a fist-sized red fruit that shimmered with a faint light.

By the time Zhang Ji arrived, he saw the Qilin had already snatched the fruit in its mouth and was vanishing into the mountain wall.

’How could this be? I already considered that thing mine. How could I let this beast snatch it away?’

’Spiritualization!’

With a thought, Zhang Ji entered his Spiritualization state, then abruptly punched in the direction the Qilin had fled.

"BOOM! RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!"

With a single punch, Zhang Ji blasted a tunnel over a hundred meters long.

And that was while holding back; otherwise, it would have been even more exaggerated.

At the far end of the tunnel, the Qilin lay paralyzed on the ground with the fruit in its mouth. Its entire lower body had been flattened by the force of the punch, and it was still twitching. It opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to eat the Vermilion Fruit, but with a wave of his hand, Zhang Ji used his spiritual particles to snatch the fruit right out of its mouth.

Holding the Vermilion Fruit, Zhang Ji let out a sigh of relief.

’This guy’s strength wasn’t much, but in this terrain, it was indeed a bit tricky. If I hadn’t mastered the Heart Stabilizing and Body Lowering Method, enhancing my spiritual perception and control, I really might not have been able to secure the Vermilion Fruit.’

’There were only two other outcomes.’

’One was that I’d watch the Qilin run off with the Vermilion Fruit, and I would only get the plant.’

’The other was that I’d use my full power to kill the Qilin, but the Vermilion Fruit would likely have been destroyed in the process.’

’But thankfully, neither of those happened.’

’Now the Qilin is mine, the Vermilion Fruit is mine, and the plant is mine.’