Chapter 431: Soul Infant Fruit

Seeing Xiao Yan go on a killing spree, Mu Qingluan was stunned to find that these people not only held no grudge against him but were actually grateful.

"You really are too wicked!" Mu Qingluan walked to Xiao Yan's side and whispered.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Let's go in! If we're any later, all the good things will be snatched up."

After the three of them entered the stone gate, they arrived in a grand hall. There were many passageways in the hall, and it was unclear where they led. Everyone who entered the hall was in a panic, randomly choosing a path to walk into.

"Zi Yan, can you sense which passageway has medicinal herbs?" Xiao Yan turned his head to look at Zi Yan; when it came to treasure hunting, Zi Yan was the professional.

Hearing this, Zi Yan sniffed carefully and immediately said, "I can smell a little, but it's a bit blurry."

"Then let's go!" Xiao Yan said hurriedly.

Led by Zi Yan, Xiao Yan moved rapidly along a passageway. There were some buildings on both sides of the path. Many people entered these buildings and looted everything inside, not even sparing the tables and chairs, just in case the owner of the house had hidden something good inside.

Xiao Yan naturally would not stop to loot these pavilions; after all, the most precious things in these pavilions were merely Earth-tier Dou Techniques, which he no longer had any interest in.

After rushing along the passageway for over ten minutes, the three of them arrived at an extremely ancient stone gate, which was covered in moss.

"The medicinal scent is strongest here. The Soul Infant Fruit you want should be inside," Zi Yan said, pointing at the stone gate.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded and then pushed the stone gate open with force.

As the stone gate slowly opened, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted in. Upon smelling this scent, Xiao Yan felt his spirit lift instantly.

When the stone gate was completely opened, all three of them were stunned by the scene before them. As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but precious medicinal herbs, with no end in sight. This was an ancient forest constructed entirely of medicinal herbs.

Looking at the herbs covering the ground, Zi Yan's eyes lit up, and she pounced directly onto a Lingzhi to start gnawing on it.

"Don't be in such a hurry to eat! Help me find the Soul Infant first," Xiao Yan said, pulling Zi Yan away.

Although Zi Yan was somewhat reluctant to leave these herbs, she knew that some things were more urgent than others. After sensing for a moment, she found the location of the Soul Infant Fruit.

Led by Zi Yan, Xiao Yan arrived before a lake. In the center of the lake was a small tree that was entirely gray-silver in color. The branches of the small tree were intertwined, forming a strange arc that looked like a pregnant woman, and inside the belly, a golden light shimmered—clearly, a fruit was present.

At this moment, the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python in Xiao Yan's sleeve seemed to have sensed something; it transformed directly into a streak of light and charged violently toward the small tree in the lake.

However, just as the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python reached the halfway point, the previously calm lake suddenly surged with monstrous waves. A huge shadow quickly emerged and headed straight for the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python.

Any spiritual treasure of the world naturally has a strange beast guarding it; naturally, a heaven-and-earth wonder like the Soul Infant Fruit would not lack the presence of a Magical Beast.

Xiao Yan naturally would not let this Magical Beast disturb Medusa while she devoured the Soul Infant Fruit. He tapped his toes on the ground, his figure moving toward the Magical Beast. Upon reaching it, he flew up and kicked the Magical Beast, sending it flying far away.

With the Magical Beast no longer in the way, the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python quickly reached the small tree, swallowed the Soul Infant Fruit directly into its belly, and then returned to Xiao Yan's sleeve as a streak of light. The Magical Beast that had been kicked away by Xiao Yan saw that the Soul Infant Fruit it had guarded for years had been snatched away and immediately flew into a rage. Its scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Xiao Yan, wishing it could swallow him whole.

Looking at this creature with two horns that resembled a Jiao (dragon-like creature), Xiao Yan recognized it immediately. This Magical Beast possessed the bloodline of a dragon and was the ancient Magical Beast, the Heaven-Reaching Jiao.

The Heaven-Reaching Jiao flicked its tail and rushed toward Xiao Yan, intending to snatch back the Soul Infant Fruit. However, it was intercepted halfway by a purple figure. Under the suppression of the bloodline, the Heaven-Reaching Jiao immediately became docile, though its eyes remained fixed on Xiao Yan.

"You can't beat him, give up!" Zi Yan said, looking at the Heaven-Reaching Jiao.

Hearing this, although the Heaven-Reaching Jiao was unwilling, it knew that what Zi Yan said was the truth. Yet, it was unwilling to give up something it had guarded for so many years.

"I won't take your things for nothing. You possess an ancient bloodline, and transformation is extremely difficult. I have a Transformation Pill here, so I'll give it to you," Xiao Yan said, taking out a small jade bottle and tossing it to the Heaven-Reaching Jiao.

The Heaven-Reaching Jiao swallowed the jade bottle directly into its mouth. After sensing it, it became excited. After all, although the Soul Infant Fruit was precious, its effect on the Jiao was limited, far less effective than the Transformation Pill.

With the Soul Infant Fruit in hand, Xiao Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief; after all, one of the goals of this trip had finally been achieved. Just as Xiao Yan was preparing to continue exploring, he discovered that Zi Yan was staring blankly in a certain direction.

"Has she received a summons?" Xiao Yan thought to himself, looking at Zi Yan.

"There is something over there calling to me!" Zi Yan pointed in a direction, her eyes somewhat dazed.

"Since you've received a summons, it means this thing is very important to you. Let's set off right now!" Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"En!" Zi Yan nodded earnestly and then rushed toward the direction she sensed.

After Xiao Yan and the others rushed for a while, they arrived at the very center of the ancient forest. A light barrier about ten-plus zhang in size appeared in their line of sight.

"This is a Beast Spirit Shield, a light barrier that can only be condensed after some powerful Magical Beasts die. However, what's strange is that this Beast Spirit Shield not only has the scent of the Void Ancient Dragon Clan but also the scent of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan," Zi Yan said, looking at the light barrier in front of her.

"Hehe, why don't we go in and take a look?" Xiao Yan said with a faint smile.

Zi Yan nodded, bit her finger, and offered a wisp of golden blood.

As the golden blood flowed, a crack appeared in the light barrier. Xiao Yan and the others walked through the crack and arrived on a desolate plain.

In the center of the plain stood an ancient altar a hundred zhang high. A sense of oppression emanated from the altar, causing the flow of Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body to become sluggish.

When Xiao Yan and the others reached the end of the altar, they discovered a small sapling on it. The sapling was only as thick as a thumb and bore a fruit the size of a palm. The fruit was golden and purple in color. Looking closely, one would discover that the golden half resembled a Void Ancient Dragon shrunk countless times, while the other half was an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix.

"This is a Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit. This kind of fruit requires the absorption of the life force of both a Void Ancient Dragon and an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix to be produced, but there is only a one-in-ten chance. Now that the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix has long since disappeared, the remaining ones can only be called Heavenly Demon Phoenixes, so this kind of fruit has already gone extinct. I never thought I would see one today. Moreover, within the Ancient Dragon Clan, this Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit has only appeared five times. One can imagine just how precious it is!"

(End of Chapter)