Chapter 230: Spirit of the Ginseng Fruit Tree

At the moment the seed appeared, vast spiritual energy began to condense onto the branches.

Soon, a gorgeous flower blossomed on the branch.

"It actually bloomed!"

Qingfeng and Mingyue's faces showed a hint of shock.

You should know, the ginseng fruit tree blooms every three thousand years, bears fruit every three thousand years, and matures every three thousand years.

However, only a little over a hundred years have passed since the last fruit matured, and now we are far from the day the ginseng fruit tree blooms.

But this is only the beginning.

Just as Qingfeng and Mingyue were shocked by the ginseng fruit tree suddenly blooming, the gorgeous flower began to wither at a visible speed, and immediately, a tiny fruit grew within the flower's stamen.

"It bore fruit!"

Mingyue exclaimed.

All of this never ceased; as spiritual energy continuously condensed, the fruit began to grow rapidly, and soon it developed facial features and limbs.

At the same time, the withered petals began to condense onto the fruit, unexpectedly forming a rainbow-colored flower dress.

And the ginseng fruit wearing the rainbow flower dress continued to grow, eventually taking the form of a girl over one meter tall.

The girl had bright eyes and white teeth, and was extremely adorable.

"This..."

Such a bizarre scene left Qingfeng and Mingyue shocked speechless.

After all, they had never known that this ginseng fruit could actually grow into a girl.

The girl flew down from the branch, landed before Zhenyuanzi, and reached out to grasp the seed in the air.

Regarding all this, Zhenyuanzi did not obstruct; moreover, Ao Yifan saw no trace of surprise on the other's face.

It was obvious that Zhenyuanzi had long known of the girl's existence.

"This is probably the spirit of the ginseng fruit tree, right?"

Ao Yifan thought to himself.

The spirit of the ginseng fruit tree paid no heed to everyone's gazes.

Only see her chubby little hand holding the seed, flying back to her own body's side.

Immediately afterward, the spirit circled around its own body, finally found a suitable spot, and carefully buried the seed in the soil.

After the seed was planted, the spirit's chubby little hand gestured, and a branch of its main body extended over.

As the branch swayed gently, a crystal-clear dewdrop dripped from the leaves and fell onto the spot where the seed had just been planted.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

As each drop of dew fell, Ao Yifan clearly felt that the main body of the ginseng fruit tree had dimmed somewhat in spiritual light.

Obviously, this is the ginseng fruit tree using its own primordial power to stimulate that seed.

Watching this, Zhenyuanzi felt extremely distressed.

This ginseng fruit tree is the foundation of his Dao; usually he tends it with great care, unwilling to harm it in the slightest.

As for the so-called ginseng fruit, others only know it is an innate spiritual object.

However, only Zhenyuanzi knows that this is merely because the ginseng fruit tree's spiritual energy is overly abundant, forcing it to expel the excess in the form of ginseng fruit.

Colloquially, it's like being overstuffed!

Yet now, the spirit of the ginseng fruit tree actually uses its own primordial energy to nourish another ginseng fruit—how could this not cause him distress?

But all this is the spirit's own choice; Zhenyuanzi cannot stop it.

Otherwise, if he upset the spirit and it completely ignored him, that would be terrible.

And with the nourishment from the ginseng fruit tree's primordial energy, soon a tiny sprout broke through the soil.

"Pap-pap-pap..."

A burst of clear clapping sounds came; only see the spirit girl's face lit up with a brilliant smile—obviously, the ginseng fruit tree's seed had sprouted, making her very happy.

Suddenly, Ao Yifan saw a purple vortex appear above the ginseng fruit tree's sprout on the ground.

"I heard the ginseng fruit tree can communicate with the Chaos Sea; I never expected it to be true!"

Ao Yifan thought to himself.

At the same time, Ao Yifan discovered that whether it was Zhenyuanzi or his own companions Qingfeng and Mingyue, they all stared blankly at the purple hue in the air.

Communicating with chaos, comprehending the Dao principles!

Ao Yifan seemed to understand what they were doing.

Unfortunately, after observing for a while, Ao Yifan found he had gained nothing at all.

"Obviously, this method of comprehending the Dao is not suitable for me!"

Regarding this, Ao Yifan was not overly disappointed, after all, he has his own method.

The purple vortex existed only for the duration of an incense stick, then vanished directly.

Soon, Zhenyuanzi, Qingfeng, and Mingyue awoke from their contemplation.

Throughout the process, the spirit girl glanced at no one, merely extended her chubby little hand to lightly pat the sprout, then her body swayed and she flew back onto her main body to fall into a deep sleep.

A faint snore sounded; obviously, having just exerted herself to stimulate the ginseng fruit tree's seed, this little one was utterly exhausted.

"Alright, let's leave first, lest we disturb her rest; if she's woken while sleeping, she'll surely throw a tantrum!"

As someone who has watched the ginseng fruit tree grow from sapling to maturity, I have long understood the spirit's temperament, and immediately urged Ao Yifan and the others to depart.

After taking a deep look at the spirit soundly asleep on the branch, Ao Yifan gave a slight smile and then left together with Zhenyuanzi.

"Fellow Daoist, the matter here is settled; aren't you preparing to leave?"

Seeing Ao Yifan holding the hands of his two disciples without intending to let go, Zhenyuanzi's eye corner twitched involuntarily.

Ao Yifan naturally knows that this Zhenyuan Great Immortal currently does not particularly wish to see him.

However, Ao Yifan didn't mind this; after all, his harvest from this trip was not bad.

At least, he had already placed his own people inside the Five Zhuang Temple.

"Hehe, there's no need to trouble you, Daoist Zhenyuanzi; Qingfeng and Mingyue said they were preparing to let me sample their cooking. If you have something to do, go ahead and get busy—no need to specially entertain me."

Ao Yifan looked at Zhenyuanzi and said.

"You……"

Zhenyuanzi was fuming, wanting to drive Ao Yifan away.

However, the other party had just helped him find the ginseng fruit tree seeds; to drive them away now would indeed be somewhat unkind.

Immediately, Zhenyuanzi flicked his sleeve and vanished on the spot.

"Master, it seems you're a little angry!"

Qingfeng said with some concern.

"It seems, Master really is angry!"

Mingyue said.

Looking at the two worried faces, Ao Yifan smiled and comforted them: "Your master is clearly sharp-tongued but soft-hearted; since he willingly took you as his inner disciples, that shows he doesn't blame you for this matter, so there's nothing to worry about. Come, let your husband—me—properly sample your cooking!"

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue felt that Ao Yifan made sense.

After all, the status of an inner disciple is not trivial; since Zhenyuanzi is willing to grant them that status, in a sense it is compensation for the two of them.

In that case, how could he blame them?

If blame is to be assigned, it would only fall on the one who deceived Zhenyuanzi, and also Ao Yifan, the husband of the two of them.