Chapter 63: Breaking Through Two Realms in Succession, Zhao Xing Climbs the Mountain

"Eep~" Lu Qian awoke from her unconsciousness.

If Zhao Xing were here, he would surely praise her—worthy of an Illusion Dancer who plays with charm spells, even her waking murmurs are this alluring.

Lu Qian discovered that the fickle, stinking man had already vanished.

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

She first checked her body, found she had not been violated, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then anger surged again: "Damnable stinking man! He stole my Vermilion Fruit, took my dharma robe, yet went back on his word and left me here to fend for myself. Men truly cannot be trusted!"

"Heh." From the dark forest, a mocking voice sounded.

"Who?!" Lu Qian instantly became alert and looked toward a thicket.

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

"It's him? He does keep his word after all." Lu Qian came back to her senses, then murmured to herself: "Next time you fall into my hands, I'll rob you too, then let you off the hook…"

Zhao Xing had left a quarter-hour ago. The reason he left a straw figure rather than letting Lu Qian fend for herself was neither soft-hearted sympathy nor rigidly keeping his promise.

The main reason was that this East Lake Mountain had Yin Gods watching, and every move of the officials was observed.

If he had promised to spare Lu Qian's life, yet let her be carried off by wild beasts in the forest, it would not be beneficial for Zhao Xing's subsequent Dengshan.

Because on the mountain there is a Mountain God Temple; to obtain benefits, one must not offend the mountain-guarding deities, otherwise the loss would outweigh the gain.

"I'll settle here."

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

He first sent the Mighty Vajra to scout the way, found nothing unusual, then only then walked in.

Then he had the straw figures lie in ambush around the cave entrance, standing guard for him.

He also moved several massive boulders to block the cave entrance.

Only then did he settle in with peace of mind.

No wonder Zhao Xing was being so cautious—he was preparing to consume the Vermilion Fruit.

"A lower-grade spiritual essence, called Lifespan Spiritual Essence, increases lifespan and primal energy."

"In my eyes, this Vermilion Fruit is actually more important than a top-grade Fortune Spiritual Essence."

What Zhao Xing desired most was a treasure that increased lifespan.

Because he had to endure until the future revival period, which was rather difficult; moreover, lifespan had an increase limit, so the earlier obtained the better.

If one waited until the end was near, a treasure that could originally add 800 years would only extend life by some ten years.

"I hope this Vermilion Fruit can give me a pleasant surprise."

Zhao Xing first consumed the smallest one.

Strange to say, this Vermilion Fruit melted into his body after just three bites; no real chewing was needed.

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

Then he opened his panel to check the record.

【You consumed a lower-grade spiritual essence, Lifespan Vermilion Fruit. Your lifespan increased by 15 years, primal energy increased by 20 points.】

"Fifteen years? As expected, the earlier one consumes it the better." Zhao Xing was overjoyed.

Although the panel did not show lifespan, he only needed to remember the total extra lifespan gained.

"During the normal operation of the Fortune Dynasty system, the First Rank Realm has an eight-hundred-year limit, and that's the theoretical limit. This theory comes from Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty."

"Even the Emperor only has a thousand-year lifespan; he cannot become truly 'ten thousand years old'."

Primal energy only increased by 20 points—negligible. If others consumed it, they would probably spit out the eaten fruit and curse what trash this was.

But with Zhao Xing's panel record, he could directly see the increase, and what he wanted was lifespan, not primal energy.

Therefore, he could not be more satisfied with this result.

"Second one."

Zhao Xing ate the second Vermilion Fruit full of anticipation.

【You consumed a lower-grade spiritual essence, Lifespan Vermilion Fruit. Your lifespan increased by 18 years, primal energy increased by 10 points.】

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

For early-stage lifespan treasures, the diminishing effect was not obvious; consecutive consumption still yielded robust increases.

A new data record appeared on the panel: 【Extra Lifespan: 33 years】

"Over thirty extra years of life directly—what a huge gain, thanks to nature's gift." Zhao Xing was ecstatic.

Because this wasn't something he fought desperately to seize, but something that fell from the sky—purely free. How could he not be happy?

"The third one, also a mid-grade Yuanfa Spiritual Essence."

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

"Crunch." The flesh was very crisp. Compared to the previous two, the mid-grade Vermilion Fruit—after one bite, primal energy exploded within his body.

Zhao Xing's face instantly flushed bright red; an extreme state of fullness spread from his abdomen—he had over-tonified.

"Truly a fine treasure!"

"Far stronger than the Heavenly Origin Pear."

"Creation favors the spiritual and elegant; fruits born of spirit mountains are truly different."

With a thought, Zhao Xing began to focus his spirit and circulate the Essence Gathering method, guiding this fierce primal energy to course through his body.

The Origin Dantian's qi vortex spun at full speed, like a millstone, crushing and absorbing the primal energy brought by the Vermilion Fruit.

He waited a full two quarter-hours before digesting this first bite.

【You consumed a mid-grade spiritual essence, Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primal energy increased by 2512 points.】

【Essence Gathering Fourth Rank: 2831/10000】

"2500 points from one bite? Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit—it should purely increase primal energy." Zhao Xing thought secretly. If it were a Yuanfa Vermilion Fruit, then during the eating process, he could also gain some insight into spells.

In other words, it adds both Primordial Qi and spell proficiency.

"Looks like today I won't just reach the fifth stage of Qi Gathering—I might even make it to the sixth."

Breaking through to the fourth stage of Qi Gathering had happened just a few days before the Autumn Equinox. Now his Primordial Qi had surged by a huge margin—it felt absolutely fantastic.

"Fifth stage is a sure thing, sixth stage is within reach!"

Zhao Xing had nearly finished digesting it, so he took a second bite.

【You have consumed a Mid-Grade Spiritual Essence, a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primordial Qi +2542.】

【Qi Gathering Stage 4: 5373/10000】

【You have consumed a Mid-Grade Spiritual Essence, a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primordial Qi +2642.】

【Qi Gathering Stage 4: 8015/10000】

【You have consumed a Mid-Grade Spiritual Essence, a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primordial Qi +2588.】

【You have broken through to Qi Gathering Stage 5!】

【Qi Gathering Stage 5: 291/10000】

After breaking through to Qi Gathering Stage 5, the cap remained at 10,000 points, and the Primordial Qi gained from the Vermilion Fruit dropped accordingly, but it was still considered powerful.

【You have consumed a Mid-Grade Spiritual Essence, a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primordial Qi +1728.】

【Qi Gathering Stage 5: 2019/10000】

【You have consumed a Mid-Grade Spiritual Essence, a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit. Primordial Qi +1611.】

【Qi Gathering Stage 5: 2019/10000】

He repeated this cycle of devouring and digesting, devouring and digesting.

Zhao Xing actually spent the entire night eating a Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit the size of a head.

After the last bite was finished, Zhao Xing checked his panel.

【Qi Gathering Stage 6: 156/10000】

"Qi Gathering Stage 6." Zhao Xing broke into a satisfied smile.

The Pure Essence Vermilion Fruit was not a plant, had no pit, and certainly couldn't be planted—so once the last bite was eaten, it was gone for good.

But there was no need to worry about no record being kept. The gods watch from three feet above, and the Yin Gods in the mountain would all keep statistics on the Spiritual Essences obtained by officials within the mountain.

Ordering the Great Strength Vajra to move the boulder aside, Zhao Xing walked out of the cave entrance, looked at the faintly brightening sky, and called out:

"My boys, follow the Great King me on patrol of the mountain!"