Chapter 63

"Mmm~" Lu Qian woke up from her faint.

If Zhao Xing were here, he would surely praise her; as expected of an Illusion Dancer who plays with charm techniques, even her groans upon waking were so alluring.

Lu Qian discovered that the stinking man who went back on his word had already disappeared.

She calculated the time; she had been unconscious for an hour.

She first checked her body and found that she had not suffered any humiliation, feeling a sense of relief in her heart.

Immediately, she became resentful again: "Detestable stinking man! He took my Vermilion Fruits, snatched my robe, yet went back on his word and left me here to fend for myself. Men are truly not to be trusted!"

"Heh." A mocking voice came from the dark forest.

"Who?!" Lu Qian was immediately alert, looking toward a bush.

She saw a straw doll there, but it lost its luster after making a sound.

"It was him? He actually keeps his word." Lu Qian came to her senses, then muttered to herself: "Next time if you fall into my hands, I will also snatch your things and then let you go once..."

Zhao Xing had left a quarter of an hour ago. The reason he left a straw doll and didn't leave Lu Qian to fend for herself wasn't out of soft-hearted sympathy, nor was it out of rigid adherence to a promise.

It was mainly because this East Lake Mountain was monitored by Yin Gods, and every move of the officials was seen by them.

If he had promised to spare Lu Qian's life but then let her be carried off by wild beasts in the forest, it would not be conducive to Zhao Xing's subsequent mountain climbing.

Because on the mountain, there was a Mountain God Temple. If one wanted to obtain benefits, one must not offend the gods guarding the mountain, otherwise, the losses would outweigh the gains.

"I will settle here."

After walking for half an hour, Zhao Xing found a rock cave.

He first had the Mighty Vajra scout the path, and finding nothing unusual, he walked in.

Afterward, he had the straw dolls ambush the area around the cave entrance to stand guard for him.

He also moved a few giant rocks to block the entrance.

Only then did he settle in with peace of mind.

It was no wonder Zhao Xing was so cautious, as he was preparing to consume the Vermilion Fruits.

"Low-grade spiritual treasure, known as longevity spiritual treasure, increases lifespan and vital energy."

"In my eyes, this Vermilion Fruit is even more important than the high-grade luck spiritual treasure."

What Zhao Xing craved most were treasures that increased lifespan.

Because it was quite difficult for him to survive until the future period of recovery, and besides, there was a limit to lifespan increases, so the earlier he obtained them, the better.

If one waited until the end of one's natural life, a treasure that could have added 800 years might only extend life by ten years.

"I hope this Vermilion Fruit can give me some surprises."

Zhao Xing first consumed the smallest one.

Strangely enough, he only took three bites of this Vermilion Fruit before it melted into his body, without needing much chewing.

"Classic melt-in-the-mouth," Zhao Xing smiled.

Afterward, he opened the panel to check the records.

[You consumed a low-grade spiritual treasure, Longevity Vermilion Fruit. Your lifespan increased by 15 years, and your vital energy increased by 20 points.]

"Fifteen years? As expected, the earlier you consume them, the better," Zhao Xing was overjoyed.

Although he couldn't see his lifespan on the panel, he just needed to remember the total amount of extra lifespan added.

"In the period when the Luck Dynasty system is operating normally, the first-grade realm has a limit of 800 years, and that is a theoretical limit; this theory is derived from Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty."

"Even the Emperor only has a thousand-year lifespan and cannot become a true 'Ten Thousand Years'."

His vital energy only increased by 20 points, which was negligible. If someone else had consumed it, they would probably spit out the fruit they had eaten and curse it as garbage.

But with Zhao Xing's panel records, he could see the growth directly, and what he wanted was lifespan, not vital energy.

Therefore, he was more than satisfied with this result.

"The second one."

Zhao Xing ate the second Vermilion Fruit with great anticipation.

[You consumed a low-grade spiritual treasure, Longevity Vermilion Fruit. Your lifespan increased by 18 years, and your vital energy increased by 10 points.]

This one was slightly larger than the previous one, giving 18 years of extra lifespan, with vital energy increasing by only 10 points.

For early-stage longevity treasures, the diminishing effect was not obvious, and continuous consumption still provided strong increases.

A new data record appeared on the panel: [Extra Lifespan: 33 years]

"Living more than thirty years longer just like that, I've made a huge profit. Thanks to the gifts of nature," Zhao Xing was flying with joy.

Because this wasn't something he had fought to the death to snatch, but something that fell from the sky, it was essentially a free gift. How could he not be happy?

"The third one, also a middle-grade Yuan-Method spiritual treasure."

Zhao Xing looked at the head-sized Vermilion Fruit, red and very plump.

"Crunch." The fruit flesh was very crisp. Compared to the first two, with the middle-grade Vermilion Fruit, one bite caused the vital energy to explode within his body.

Zhao Xing's face turned bright red, and a state of extreme fullness came from his abdomen; this was an excessive tonic.

"It really is good stuff!"

"Much stronger than the Heavenly Yuan Pear."

"The creation gathers spiritual beauty; fruits grown on a spiritual mountain are just different."

With a thought, Zhao Xing began to concentrate and circulate his Gathering Essence method, guiding this fierce vital energy to flow within his body.

The rotation speed of his dantian vortex was pushed to the max, like a millstone, crushing and absorbing the vital energy brought by the Vermilion Fruit.

After waiting for a full two quarter-hours, Zhao Xing finally digested this first bite.

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 2512 points.]

[Gathering Essence Fourth Grade: 2831/10000]

"An increase of 2500 points in one bite? Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit, it should be purely increasing vital energy," Zhao Xing thought to himself. If it were a Yuan-Method Vermilion Fruit, then while eating it, he would also be able to gain insights into spells.

That is, it would increase both vital energy and spell proficiency.

"It seems that today I can not only reach the fifth grade of Gathering Essence, but perhaps even the sixth grade."

He had broken through to the fourth grade of Gathering Essence a few days before the Autumn Equinox, and now that his vital energy had surged by a large margin, it felt simply wonderful.

"Fifth grade is certain, sixth grade is in sight!"

Zhao Xing had digested most of it and took the second bite.

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 2542 points.]

[Gathering Essence Fourth Grade: 5373/10000]

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 2642 points.]

[Gathering Essence Fourth Grade: 8015/10000]

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 2588 points.]

[You have broken through to the fifth grade of Gathering Essence!]

[Gathering Essence Fifth Grade: 291/10000]

After breaking through to the fifth grade of Gathering Essence, the cap remained at 10,000 points, and the vital energy added by the Vermilion Fruit decreased accordingly, but it was still considered strong.

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 1728 points.]

[Gathering Essence Fifth Grade: 2019/10000]

[You consumed a middle-grade spiritual treasure, Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit. Your vital energy increased by 1611 points.]

[Gathering Essence Fifth Grade: 2019/10000]

Just like this, he repeatedly devoured, digested, and devoured.

Zhao Xing actually spent the whole night eating the head-sized Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit.

After eating the last bite, Zhao Xing looked at the panel.

[Gathering Essence Sixth Grade: 156/10000]

"Sixth grade of Gathering Essence," Zhao Xing revealed a satisfied smile.

The Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit is not a plant; it has no seeds, let alone the possibility of cultivation, so after the last bite was eaten, it disappeared completely.

However, there was no need to worry about there being no record; there are gods three feet above one's head, and the Yin Gods in the mountain would keep statistics on the spiritual treasures obtained by officials in the mountain.

Ordering the Mighty Vajra to move the giant rocks, Zhao Xing walked out of the cave entrance, looked at the dim morning light, and gave a shout:

"Little ones, follow your King to patrol the mountain!"