Chapter 494

Li Yi looked at the emerald-green apple tree on the distant mountaintop, and after a brief hesitation, he still made a decision. He did not turn around to leave this secret realm, but walked forward very resolutely.

"If it really doesn't work, I'll use the cross-dimensional device to forcibly open the cross-dimensional gate to leave here. Although doing so is very likely to exhaust the energy of the Seven-Colored Stone, it is at least a method."

He has such a retreat, which is why he had the confidence to act.

However, before the door disappeared, Li Yi did not forget to leave a sentence for Sun Fei outside the door: "If I don't return, you go back the way you came into the building; at least that can ensure you won't die. If you still want to continue to leave this dark world, then keep walking forward along the fork."

He gave Sun Fei two choices, letting him make his own decision.

He took a few more steps.

The door behind him disappeared completely.

Li Yi was completely trapped in this secret realm alone, but he was not panicked; instead, he strode toward the golden apples on the mountaintop.

I don't know if it was because of the golden rat skin draped over his body, but he didn't encounter any danger along the way. All around were barren rocks, and there were no signs of monsters; occasionally, only the sound of strong winds howling through the valley came.

But when he walked to the middle of the mountainside, Li Yi suddenly saw colorful rays of light reflecting from the valley on the side.

Li Yi's silver eyes looked over, and he couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.

That valley was actually filled with colorful gemstones; gemstones of all sizes filled the river in the middle of the valley, and some gemstones even emitted magical power, quietly floating in mid-air. One look and one knew these gemstones were of great value.

"A valley of gemstones?" Even an outsider like Li Yi couldn't help but feel a sense of dizziness.

Fortunately, he has quite a bit of wealth, and plus he is a person who practices martial arts and Dao, so these worldly things could not tempt him.

But if a team of adventurers entered here, they would probably rush into the gemstone valley right now to crazily pick up those precious gemstones, because after taking these gemstones back to the building, they could be recycled by the shop in exchange for a large amount of gold coins and money. Some gemstones with magic power could also be inlaid on weapons and armor, bringing powerful strength.

Li Yi continued to walk forward.

He did not use his Gang Qi or magic power, because a feeling told him that it is best not to show his strength in this place, otherwise it would break some kind of balance here and attract disaster.

And now he is draped in golden rat skin, disguised as a big rat.

If his behavior is too aggressive, it might also lead to the failure of his disguise.

Soon.

He was about to approach the golden apple tree. At this time, he discovered that the rocks under his feet were a bit strange; on the flat rocks, there appeared regular patterns, and these patterns spread all around, just like the scales of some kind of creature.

This discovery made Li Yi's heart sink.

If these are truly the scales of a creature, then how big would this creature be?

Fortunately, his arrival did not disturb anything here, and there was no movement under his feet. It seems this creature should be in a deep sleep and was not awakened.

"Must take the Golden Apple immediately and leave here." Li Yi felt a bit ominous in his heart, and he immediately quickened his pace.

Without encountering any obstacles or danger, he arrived beside the golden apple tree very smoothly alone. However, he did not rush to pick the golden apples; instead, he examined the tree. He wanted to know what this tree relied on to grow on this barren mountaintop.

Soon.

He made a discovery along the tree roots.

The roots of this golden apple tree were a bit evil, rooted deep in the rocks, and the root hairs were hideous like blood vessels, and they were faintly still pulsing. These blood vessels gathered together to form the trunk, and at the very ends were golden apples.

But in Li Yi's view.

These so-called golden apples were more like the condensation of some kind of biological essence; they just appeared in the shape of golden apples and were not real fruit.

"A total of thirteen golden apples." Li Yi then counted the number of golden apples; this is not a very auspicious number.

But since he is here, no matter what, all thirteen golden apples should be taken away, because he won't have the chance to come here next time.

Once the thought arose.

Li Yi immediately reached out and tried to pick a golden apple, but this golden apple hung on the tree without moving at all; with his strength, he actually had no way to shake it for a moment.

Then he increased his strength.

The golden apple still didn't move.

"Can't pick it?" Li Yi's face sank, and then he stretched out his finger with a silver Gang Qi condensed on it, and then waved his hand to slash at a branch on a golden apple.

The Gang Qi shattered, and even a branch could not be cut off.

The toughness of this golden apple tree exceeded Li Yi's imagination.

"Young man, you cannot take away the golden apples with brute force. It is not an ordinary tree, but a tree planted by a god himself, born at the beginning of the world's creation, and is the most precious treasure in the world." Suddenly, at this moment, an old voice sounded abruptly, and then one saw a human face strangely emerge on the trunk of the golden apple tree.

This human face was like an old man, and it opened its mouth to speak at this moment.

Obviously, Li Yi's behavior just now awakened it.

"Evil thing?" Li Yi's gaze moved slightly.

"Not an evil thing, I am the tree spirit of the golden apple tree."

The tree spirit old man immediately retorted and then looked at Li Yi: "You are really a clever little fellow, actually draping yourself in golden rat skin to hide your aura to avoid being smelled by the evil dragon here. But even if you pass the evil dragon's test, it is still difficult to take away the golden apples, because golden apples are different from other treasures; they are very special and require conditions to be met."

"What conditions?" Li Yi asked immediately. The tree spirit old man said: "It requires equivalent exchange. If you want to take away the golden apples, you must take out your precious things to trade. The more golden apples you pick, the more things you sacrifice."

"Precious things? What are you referring to?" Li Yi asked.

The tree spirit old man said: "Your lifespan, health, strength, wisdom, courage... these are all very precious things. I will evaluate their value and decide how many golden apples you can take away."

"Those are very cheap to me and not worth a penny at all. The things that are truly rare and precious to me are ugliness, disease, ignorance, obesity, and shortness. You can take these away; each one is worth a fortune and can definitely trade for all the golden apples." Li Yi looked at the tree spirit old man and said.

"..." The tree spirit old man.

"Young man, are you joking? But this is not funny at all."

Li Yi said: "What I said is true. If you don't believe me, I have no way. But having said that, how do you take away those precious things of mine?"

The tree spirit old man said: "You just need to put your hand into my mouth, and I will absorb your lifespan, health, strength, wisdom..."

"It sounds like you are not a very decent tree, but rather like a very hungry old pervert." Li Yi said.

"You are insulting a golden apple tree spirit. Doing this will cause my resentment, and at that time you will lose the chance to obtain the golden apples. Young man, I advise you to behave yourself." The tree spirit old man revealed an angry expression.

"Then tell me, what is the use of the golden apples?" Li Yi said: "I want to know if it's worth trading with you. If this thing is useless and just looks good, wouldn't I be at a huge loss? You are a tree spirit; don't tell me you don't know the function of this golden apple tree?"

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The tree spirit old man immediately said: "What an ignorant boy. One look and I know you haven't read any books; your knowledge is extremely shallow. The legend of the golden apples has always been circulating among adventurers, and you actually don't know it. When you eat a golden apple, you will obtain power, authority, immortality, wealth, and luck."

"But no one knows what is gestating inside a golden apple; this requires you to taste it yourself to know."

Li Yi's face turned black at this moment: "You are speaking in riddles, saying nothing at all."

"Of course, golden apples can also help you dispel the evil god's curse on your body." Suddenly, the tree spirit old man added another sentence; obviously, it had already noticed the brand on the back of Li Yi's hand.

Li Yi did not speak, but circled around the apple tree, seemingly thinking.

The tree spirit old man urged: "Young man, have you thought it through? What do you want to use to trade for my golden apples? I suggest lifespan. As an adventurer, lifespan is not the most important thing, and you can also go find the Fountain of Youth to make up for the lack of your lifespan. You should know about the Fountain of Youth, right? That is a treasure that can make people live forever. If you obtain the golden apples, then finding the Fountain of Youth is not a particularly difficult thing."

It finally gave its own suggestion considerately.

"Exchange? You misunderstood; I have no intention of trading with you." Li Yi said.

"If you refuse to take out the most precious things to trade, then don't even think about taking away the precious golden apples, and you will also be trapped in this valley forever. The door to freedom will no longer open for you, and once the evil dragon awakens, you will also become food for the evil dragon." The tree spirit old man said angrily.

"You have to know, sometimes you don't necessarily have to trade to get what you want. Robbing is also a very effective means." Li Yi said.

He had no intention of trading with this tree spirit.

Immediately, he took out a glass bottle containing the Needle of Fei Eye from his Five Elements Bracelet.

With a thought, soul-controlling objects, a divine needle sealed in clear water immediately flew out.

"Young adventurer, you are too rude. You have offended me. Now you will lose the qualification to trade with the Golden Apple Tree forever, and don't even think about robbing a single golden apple. I will awaken the evil dragon sleeping in this valley and kill you." The tree spirit old man was completely enraged at this moment.

But Li Yi did not speak anymore; he controlled the Needle of Fei Eye to instantly slash at a branch, under which hung a heavy golden apple.

"It's useless. Your despicable means cannot hurt the Golden Apple Tree in the slightest." The tree spirit old man said.

However, the next moment.

Something that shocked the tree spirit happened.

As the Needle of Fei Eye swept past, the golden apple branch with jade-green leaves actually broke, and then it fell rapidly from the canopy along with the golden apple.

"Very good." Li Yi was overjoyed at this.

The sharpness of the Needle of Fei Eye had never disappointed him.

He immediately collected this golden apple into his Five Elements Bracelet, and then continued to control the Needle of Fei Eye to slash at other branches, determined to pick the remaining twelve golden apples as quickly as possible.

"Stop, stop quickly, you barbaric robber, thief." The tree spirit old man shouted in terror and anger at this moment, and then it struggled desperately.

The entire golden apple tree was shaking violently.

This behavior, however, also triggered serious consequences.

Because this golden apple tree is rooted in the body of a creature, absorbing the essence of the creature to grow, like a tumor. Now the violent pain of the golden apple tree shaking immediately awakened this creature that had been sleeping for a long time.

The ground was shaking, the mountain was swaying, and large boulders kept rolling down to the foot of the mountain.

And the mountaintop where Li Yi was located was also being rapidly lifted by a terrifying force.

But Li Yi did not dodge or avoid it at all; instead, he took advantage of this brief moment to slash down five more golden apples, and all of them were collected into the Five Elements Bracelet.

"The sixth, the seventh, the eighth..." The Needle of Fei Eye shuttled through the canopy, and in an instant, Li Yi had collected eight golden apples.

However, at this moment.

An angry roar that shook the world came from under his feet. The next moment, the top of Li Yi's head suddenly dimmed, and a huge claw covered in scales slammed toward him. That terrifying force vented, and before it even got close, the pressure of the force made Li Yi's movements lag, and his whole person was bent over.

(End of chapter)