Chapter 31: The Earth Soul Fruits Have Ripened

Ever since Fourteenth Uncle achieved Foundation Establishment, everyone in the family has cultivated with even greater enthusiasm, resulting in Lin Zhangqing having to look after his little sister much more often.

The little girl is seven years old this year; the good news is that her Spirit Root has already been confirmed, and she will begin cultivation next year after the Spirit Root testing.

She now frequently trails behind her older brother; even when Lin Zhangqing goes to care for and feed the Purple Crystal Scorpions, she insists on following, showing no fear whatsoever, and even wants to touch them with her hands, displaying immense boldness.

Had Lin Zhangqing not stopped her, she would have long been stung; consequently, Lin Zhangqing was forced to command all the Purple Crystal Scorpions not to harm her, allowing her to pet them to her heart's content before letting them go.

Now, after two or three months of feeding, the scorpion swarm has grown significantly, with each individual's tail needle measuring ten centimeters when fully extended.

At the Affairs Hall, Lin Zhangqing exchanges for First Tier Lower Grade Spirit Material Crimson Flame Crystal, costing fifteen Contribution Points per portion; consuming one portion weekly, plus occasional direct feeding with Spirit Stones and some meat, results in a monthly expenditure of approximately eighty to one hundred Spirit Stones.

This is while they are still small; once they grow larger, expenses will only increase, which explains why Insect Cultivators are so rare—these little creatures truly grow by consuming resources!

Unlike Chu Yi, who is already self-sufficient; thinking about it, Chu Yi is still better! Lin Zhangqing plans to wait until they grow to about fifteen centimeters before feeding each of them a Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruit, which should greatly aid their growth.

Several months passed in a flash; Father and Second Uncle departed for demon hunting four months ago, and with the year-end approaching again, it is estimated that only two months remain until the Demon Hunting Team returns.

There is good news: last night, the Earth Soul Fruit Tree within the Space finally ripened, bearing twelve purple fruits on its branches that emitted waves of faint, delicate fragrance, merely smelling which from nearby made one's spirit surge.

Lin Zhangqing decided to try it himself first to determine the appropriate dosage before administering it to his family, so he plucked one fruit and sealed it inside a Jade Box.

Recalling the records regarding the Earth Soul Fruit, the recommendation was for those at Foundation Establishment Early Stage to consume it in eight divided doses; although he is only at Qi Refining Fifth Layer, having lived two lives, he believes his current mental strength is comparable to that of someone at Qi Refining Late Stage.

This means the amount he can tolerate should also be bearable for someone at Qi Refining Late Stage, so he decided to first cut out roughly one-sixteenth of the fruit.

Using a small Jade Knife, he carefully sliced the fruit, placed the larger portion back into the Jade Box, put the small sliced piece into his mouth, and immediately sat cross-legged to refine it.

A surge of purple energy shot straight to the crown of his head; a loud "Boom—" echoed in his Sea of Consciousness as the massive energy exploded within it, shaking Lin Zhangqing so violently that his soul nearly left his body; unable to withstand it, he fainted directly.

With the purple energy in his Sea of Consciousness having nowhere to vent, a point of light gradually expanded, providing an outlet for the energy, which rushed forth in a single torrent and quickly vanished without a trace.

The Sea of Consciousness returned to tranquility, yet due to the purple energy, its current area was now more than ten times larger than before.

Lin Zhangqing had a very long dream in which he returned to his past life; as a surgeon, he often worked overtime performing surgeries on patients until one day, after completing a major surgery lasting seven or eight hours, he was utterly exhausted and simply lay down to rest right there in the operating room.

He lay there for an unknown duration until a young nurse came to call him, finding that no matter how she called, he would not wake; after checking his breathing, she let out a scream and ran out.

Soon, a large group of colleagues rushed in, performing artificial respiration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Lin Zhangqing; this rescue process lasted several hours, but ultimately, they failed to save him.

Afterwards, the hospital leadership hurriedly attempted to contact Lin Zhangqing's family, only to discover that he was an orphan with no relatives.

His funeral arrangements were handled collectively by his colleagues! This dream was very long and incredibly clear, lasting a full week, ending only when his colleagues buried his ashes in the spirit garden.

After an unknown amount of time passed, Lin Zhangqing opened his eyes, remembering the lucid dream he had just experienced with perfect clarity.

So after he collapsed, his colleagues had tried so desperately to save him and even handled his funeral affairs; truly, he owed them much, yet unfortunately, he had no way to thank them! Perhaps this was for the best, serving as a proper closure to his previous life!

A special sensation arose in his mind; sweeping outward beyond the Cultivation Room, he saw his little sister playing in the Courtyard, noticed the flower buds on the peach tree, and perceived the small path outside the yard—this must be Divine Sense! Testing the range, he found he could clearly see slightly over two hundred meters, which should equate to a distance of seventy zhang.

He had still underestimated the medicinal power of the Earth Soul Fruit; his Divine Sense had directly surged from zero to seventy zhang.

No wonder it is a Third-Order Upper Grade Spirit Fruit! He could not even withstand one-sixteenth of a single fruit; fortunately, Lin Zhangliu had helped absorb the excess energy, otherwise, he might very well have died.

Therefore, the dosage for his family members should be reduced; perhaps half of what he took? No, it would be safer to start with one-third.

Lin Zhangqing swept his Divine Sense over the timing hourglass and discovered that less than one double-hour had passed between consuming the fruit and waking from the dream.

Wiping away the blood traces from the seven orifices on his face, he scanned everywhere with his Divine Sense and found nothing overlooked.

He first entered the Space to pick two more Earth Soul Fruits, sealing them separately in two Jade Boxes, then went out to find his grandfather; Lin Zhangqing led his grandfather into the Spiritual Sense Enhancement Success Location, where the grandfather and grandson sat down together.

With a smile on his face, Lin Zhangqing first lightly touched his grandfather with his Divine Sense, causing the old man to glance at Lin Zhangqing in disbelief.

Lin Zhangqing lightly touched him again, and this time, his grandfather finally confirmed it.

Speaking with excitement, he asked, "Could it be that thing?"

Lin Zhangqing nodded, patted his Storage Bag, took out three Jade Boxes, and opened the one containing the Earth Soul Fruit that had been partially sliced.

He then recounted his experience, emphasizing the recommended dosage and urgently warning against using too much, stating that it was extremely dangerous and far better to consume it in multiple small doses than to take any risks.

He then opened the other two boxes; one was for his grandfather to consume personally, while the other was intended to be passed through his grandfather's hands to the Clan Leader, for the stronger the Clan Leader became, the safer the clan would be.

His grandfather nodded in agreement, indicating he understood how to handle the matter.

Lin Zhangqing further instructed that if there were any fruit cores, they must be recovered, as they would be useful in the future.

Spirit Fruits sold externally are all treated with the Source-Sealing Technique, which should more accurately be called the Source-Destroying Technique.

These techniques destroy the vitality of the fruit core, which is why cores from externally purchased Spirit Fruits cannot be planted to grow.

Furthermore, some high-grade Spirit Plants only condense excess nutrients and Spiritual Energy to nurture seeds after maturing for a certain number of years.

Therefore, high-grade Spirit Fruits may sometimes lack a core entirely, or possess only an extremely tiny core, neither of which can be successfully planted.

For instance, the Vermilion Fruits his grandfather sells have all been treated with the Source-Sealing Technique to prevent others from cultivating Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruits as well.

After leaving his grandfather, Lin Zhangqing felt much lighter; having constantly worried about not making it in time, now that the Earth Soul Fruits had finally ripened and been delivered to those who needed them, both his body and mind felt relaxed.

Flying on his sword toward Aoyun Peak, he discovered that with Divine Sense, his Sword Flight was much more agile, allowing him to easily perform maneuvers he previously dared not attempt.

Overjoyed and carefree, he circled Aoyun Peak several times; when Chu Yi saw him, it flew over to join the fun, and Lin Zhangqing chased after Chu Yi, playing for quite a while and fully satisfying his craving for free flight before finally landing on Aoyun Peak.

Beginning today's work, he cast the Spirit Rain Technique and Growth Technique on the Spirit Medicine and spirit rice, finding his control over Spells more effortless and flexible; testing with a Fireball Technique, he discovered the fireball could actually fly seventy zhang, though its speed was too slow and required improvement.

Testing the Dharma Artifact Golden Thread Escape Light Needle, he found he could also control it flexibly within a range of seventy zhang; this was wonderful indeed, as the difference between having Divine Sense and lacking it was like heaven and earth.

Now, Lin Zhangqing felt confident enough to deal with opponents at Qi Refining Late Stage; after all, the Divine Sense of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator tops out at merely ten zhang, whereas he now possesses seventy zhang; in his cheerful mood, he felt today's tasks were completed even faster.

In the evening, after completing his Spell cultivation and returning to his room, he realized there was one matter left undone; entering the Space, he first completed the watering and growth task, then picked another Earth Soul Fruit, sealed it in a Jade Box, and exited the Space.

He summoned Lin Zhangliu, who had grown slightly larger than before; whereas previously it had three slender willow branches, its fourth branch was now five centimeters long, marking some growth indeed!

However, its Spiritual Sense had not yet recovered, so the human and the willow still could not communicate; opening the Jade Box, Lin Zhangliu's roots directly pierced into the Earth Soul Fruit, and soon only a layer of fruit skin and a fruit core remained.

Fortunately, there was an Earth Soul Fruit core; it appeared quite plump and should be capable of being planted successfully!

Asking silently in his heart whether another one was needed, he vaguely sensed a response indicating that it first needed time to digest the current one.

Lin Zhangqing told Lin Zhangliu to come to him whenever it needed more Earth Soul Fruits.

Then Lin Zhangqing re-entered the Space, selected a spot to plant the fruit core, applied the Spirit Rain Technique and Growth Technique, and soon a tiny sprout emerged from the ground.

Thus, there were now two Earth Soul Fruit Trees in the Space, while the total number of Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruit Trees stood at four, as Lin Zhangqing had planted the remaining cores from his own consumption several months ago.

(End of Chapter)