Chapter 16

Life on the Lin family's ancestral mountain had always been peaceful and harmonious, and Lin Zhangqing grew up gradually in such an environment.

Time passed quickly, and over three months went by in the blink of an eye.

Lin Zhangqing was currently in the space, looking at the fully mature Vermilion Fruits before him. His heart was uncontrollably excited, and it took a while for him to calm down.

He took out two prepared jade boxes. The small jade box held four, which were for himself and Chuyi.

The large jade box held twenty; these were to be handed over to his grandfather, who would distribute them to the family members, and his grandfather would handle any extras.

Lin Zhangqing would make it clear to his grandfather that safety was the top priority. There would be plenty of these in the future, so there was no need to take risks.

A treasure like the hundred-year Vermilion Fruit couldn't be consumed continuously. For example, his second uncle had already eaten one, and some of the medicinal power was still hidden in his body.

He would have to wait for a period of time until it was completely digested before he could eat another. Otherwise, eating it would just waste the spiritual energy.

As for the one Lin Zhangqing ate, it would be more accurate to say that Lin Changliu ate it rather than Lin Zhangqing. At that time, not to mention medicinal power being hidden in his body, his flesh and blood were almost sucked dry; what could possibly be hidden?

After putting away the jade boxes, Lin Zhangqing couldn't wait to go out and find his grandfather.

He pulled his grandfather into the secret room and sealed it. With a tap of his storage bag, he took out the large jade box. With an uncontrollable smile on his face, he handed the jade box to his grandfather, signaling for him to open it and take a look.

His grandfather looked at Lin Zhangqing with a puzzled expression and opened the jade box. His eyes immediately widened. He looked back at the seal of the secret room and only felt relieved after confirming there were no issues.

He cast a Spirit Eye Technique on himself and looked at the jade box. That's right, there were twenty hundred-year Vermilion Fruits inside; it wasn't an illusion.

He was too familiar with this item; he had been in contact with it for nearly forty years.

For a moment, he found it hard to believe it was real. He understood too well what this meant. It meant at least half a Foundation Establishment Pill. If used for his family, it meant everyone could quickly reach the Qi Refining Great Perfection.

His grandfather looked at Lin Zhangqing, and Lin Zhangqing nodded.

Lin Fandao understood a little in his heart.

Lin Zhangqing spoke up: "Grandfather, it's better if you come forward to distribute these to the family members! You can also handle any extras."

"There will be many more of these in the future. So when you handle them, you must not take risks. Safety is the most important thing."

His grandfather tried hard to balance his excited mood and said: "I understand! First, give one to your parents each, and one to your second uncle and aunt each."

"I will take the rest to other large markets and entrust the Wanbao Pavilion to sell or auction them."

"The Wanbao Pavilion is spread throughout the entire cultivation world, and I haven't heard any bad rumors about them."

"Choosing them is the safest; it's just that the Wanbao Pavilion will charge a ten percent fee."

Lin Zhangqing nodded and said: "As long as it's safe. Grandfather, are the hundred-year Vermilion Fruits useless to you?"

His grandfather shook his head and stroked the jade box: "They have some use, but it's too wasteful for me to use them. Eating one is only equivalent to the medicinal power of two or three Spirit Essence Pills."

"Three high-grade Spirit Essence Pills only cost three hundred spirit stones, while the auction price of a hundred-year Vermilion Fruit is between 1,500 and 2,000 spirit stones. Even if the Wanbao Pavilion takes ten percent, there are still 1,350 to 1,800 spirit stones."

"So they can't be used like that; every little bit saved counts."

Lin Zhangqing said with a serious face: "Grandfather, it's not a waste. Another batch will mature in just over half a year, and we will have many in the future."

"Don't be afraid of waste; only when your strength is high will I feel at ease."

Hearing this, his grandfather's hand trembled. It was clear he was intensely excited inside.

His grandfather said to Lin Zhangqing with a serious face: "Don't ever say such things in front of anyone again."

"Including your future Dao companion, you cannot say it. Do you understand?"

"Just keep it to yourself. Actually, you shouldn't have told me either. There are so many magical secret arts in the cultivation world that you can't even imagine. Every extra person who knows adds a point of danger."

"As far as I know, there are techniques like the Heavenly Ear Power and Soul Searching Technique that could potentially discover your secret. So don't say it again in the future." Lin Zhangqing nodded and said earnestly: "I understand, Grandfather. It won't happen again."

His grandfather nodded and asked: "Is there anything you need?"

"Yes, I need seedlings or spirit seeds of high-grade spirit plants and spirit herbs, and I also need some spirit stones." Lin Zhangqing quickly listed the things he needed.

His grandfather thought for a moment, nodded, and said: "In the Baicao Garden, there is actually a small area hidden by an array that contains a third-grade high-grade Earth Soul Fruit tree."

"I obtained it by chance in a dangerous place when I first succeeded in Foundation Establishment and went out to travel. When I found it, it was just a small seedling that had just sprouted."

"I've catalyzed it for over forty years, and it's only just now in the flowering stage. I might not even live to see it mature and bear fruit. If I give it to you, will it be of any use?"

Lin Zhangqing thought about it and nodded: "It should be useful, it just needs a lot of spirit stones."

His grandfather thought for a moment and said: "Alright, I understand. I will prioritize collecting high-grade seedlings and spirit seeds for you."

After leaving his grandfather's house, Lin Zhangqing thought for a moment and came to the family's Scripture Pavilion.

He found the area for books on spirit plants with ease and started searching for records about the Earth Soul Fruit tree.

After flipping through it for a while, he finally found a relevant book. He found a comfortable spot to sit and began to study the information about the Earth Soul Fruit tree carefully.

The Earth Soul Fruit tree is a third-grade high-grade spirit plant. It blooms in three hundred years, bears fruit in three hundred years, and the fruit takes three hundred years to mature. The rest period is one hundred years. The entire cycle takes one thousand years. No wonder his grandfather had catalyzed it for decades and it was still just in the flowering stage.

The resulting fruit is purple, emitting a faint fragrance that makes one feel invigorated when smelled. It bears at most twelve fruits each time.

It is a supreme treasure for Purple Mansion stage cultivators to increase their soul power; it can be consumed and refined directly to increase soul power. Repeated consumption is effective.

It can also be refined with Ice Crystal Flowers into a third-grade high-grade spirit pill, the Earth Soul Ice Heart Pill. It has the miraculous effect of suppressing inner demons and strengthening soul power.

If a Foundation Establishment cultivator is lucky enough to obtain an Earth Soul Fruit, they must not consume and refine it all at once. If consumed all at once, there is a possibility that the sea of consciousness will be burst. It is recommended to adjust the number of times it is consumed based on the strength of one's soul power.

Basically, for the early Foundation Establishment stage, it is recommended to consume it in eight portions; for the mid-stage, four portions; and for the late stage, two portions. It can be adjusted according to the actual effect.

It didn't say how the Qi Refining stage should consume it, probably because they thought the Qi Refining stage wouldn't be able to obtain an Earth Soul Fruit anyway!

Qi Refining cultivators basically only have the possibility of awakening their divine sense early when they reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining and have strong mental power.

If a Qi Refining cultivator's divine sense can reach ten zhang, it is already very impressive. Ten zhang is equivalent to 30 meters.

Lin Zhangqing's current effective range for the Fireball Technique is only fifteen meters, and that is the result of his strong mental power from having lived two lives. If it were Lin Changhao, Lin Changjie, and the others, the range would probably be only a little over ten meters.

The divine sense range for the early Foundation Establishment stage is about 120 zhang, the mid-stage is about 250 zhang, and the late stage/Great Perfection is about 500 zhang. And so on; only at the Golden Core stage is it possible to take a person's head from a hundred li away with a flying sword.

Actually, upon hearing about the Earth Soul Fruit tree, Lin Zhangqing first thought of Lin Changliu.

Because of the severe loss of origin, Lin Changliu's consciousness was very weak now. Earth Soul Fruit had the effect of strengthening soul power; if fed to Lin Changliu, it should have some effect.

Thinking of this, he felt a flash of joy in his heart, which vanished in an instant.

However, Lin Zhangqing knew this was feedback from Lin Changliu, and he was already used to it. It wasn't strange at all.

Moreover, Lin Zhangqing also wanted his family members to be able to consume the Earth Soul Fruit, and he had already thought of a way.

He would try it himself first to confirm the appropriate amount. Anyway, his sea of consciousness couldn't be burst; at worst, he could transmit the excess soul power into the space through the space mark. Surely he couldn't burst the space! There was another problem, which was Lin Zhangqing's cultivation method, the Five Elements Return to Origin Scripture. It only had the Qi Refining part. He would ask his grandfather to inquire about the follow-up cultivation method when he went to the Wanbao Pavilion, or find another suitable cultivation method to replace it.

He would mention it to his grandfather next time he saw him! Right now, his grandfather should be busy distributing the hundred-year Vermilion Fruits.

This time, his aunt should be able to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and his mother could also break through to the seventh layer. His second uncle might have to wait a while before he could consume another.

It was a pity his father had set off to hunt demons. Otherwise, he could have advanced to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. He hoped he would return safely soon.

(End of chapter)