Chapter 355: Distribution

Several days later.

With their magic power fully restored, Qin Ming and Yue Lingyan took the Silver Fox and the Shi Tian Shu deep into the Beast Roar Mountain Range to obtain the Infant-Nurturing Fruit.

For a demonic beast, a mature fourth-stage Infant-Nurturing Fruit is a rare encounter, sought but seldom found.

It can even help a demonic beast break through its shackles and completely complete its transformation into human form.

If news of this spiritual plant were to leak, it would likely ignite a bloody struggle between humans and demons.

Fortunately, Qin Ming had already asked Yue Lingyan, and only she and the Silver Fox knew of this; it was the greatest secret of their Silver Moon Sky Fox clan.

The Beast Roar Mountain Range was vast beyond measure; after half a month of flight, Qin Ming and his companions finally reached the northwestern region.

Here, the mountains were dense and wild, shrouded year-round in poisonous miasma, rarely visited by humans, and even demonic beasts seldom appeared.

Gradually, a natural barrier composed of gray fog blocked their path.

With just a slight probe, Qin Ming was surprised to discover that the gray poisonous mist before them was no less formidable than the strange fog of the Spirit-Severing Lands.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, come inside."

Yue Lingyan took out a magical treasure called Cloud-Avoiding Gauze, infused it with demonic power, and the thin green gauze instantly expanded to half a zhang in size, just enough to shelter the two of them.

"Cough! Fellow Daoist Lingyan, may I ask, can this magical treasure only expand to this size?" Qin Ming asked with a light cough.

For he had seen that if the two of them hid beneath it together, the space would be slightly cramped, and they might have to stand pressed against each other to move forward.

Yue Lingyan seemed to read his thoughts; her expression changed little as she said indifferently:

"When I refined this treasure, the materials were too difficult to gather completely, so this item can only be considered a semi-finished product, and only I can drive it with demonic power."

"Originally, I only intended to use it for retrieving treasures, so a range of half a zhang was sufficient."

"I didn't expect..."

Qin Ming nodded lightly; since Yue Lingyan did not mind, he saw no need for false modesty and stepped directly into the range of the Cloud-Avoiding Gauze.

Instantly, a heart-penetrating faint fragrance drifted in, refreshing Qin Ming's spirit.

Then.

Yue Lingyan infused her demonic power.

A purplish misty light shield emanated from the Cloud-Avoiding Gauze, protecting both of them, and the nearby gray fog immediately dispersed.

Immediately afterward, the two leaped upward, braving the poisonous miasma and gray fog, continuing their flight deeper into the mountain range.

Due to the cramped space, Qin Ming simply embraced Yue Lingyan, exerting his full speed to fly.

"Apologies, Fellow Daoist Lingyan; this way, we can arrive as quickly as possible."

Yue Lingyan offered no resistance, for Qin Ming had already treated her injuries earlier, and he had seen everything there was to see.

This made no difference now.

She also knew clearly that if they did not break through this layer of mist and poisonous miasma quickly, even with the Cloud-Avoiding Gauze, they could not hold out for long.

The Shi Tian Shu and the Silver Fox, inside the Small Xiao Lingjing, watched the ambiguous scene outside, utterly stunned.

"It's over; judging by how things are developing, it looks like your mother is about to be captured by my master," the Shi Tian Shu turned its head and said to the little Silver Fox with a cheeky grin.

Hearing that her mother was about to be abducted, the Silver Fox immediately pouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing this, the Shi Tian Shu hastily changed its tune to coax her: "Eh-heh! This Great Master was just teasing you, joking around; look at this—"

"My master aspires to the Great Dao of Immortality; how could he be delayed by mere romantic entanglements?"

"Do not overthink it."

"Look at how he holds your mother; not a single impure thought arises in his heart; he has already reached the sage realm of dwelling on nothing."

"Everything is solely for the cooperation of retrieving the treasure; do not overthink it, heh-heh-heh."

Only then did the Silver Fox return to her normal expression; she snorted "Hmph," ran off in a huff to one side, and turned her head to ignore the Shi Tian Shu.

After flying for a full two hours.

A valley surrounded by mountains appeared in the sight of Qin Ming and the other.

In the center of the valley, untouched by poisonous miasma, lay a paradise-like realm where towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was extremely dense.

A thousand-zhang waterfall cascaded down; sunlight filtering through the outer gray fog fell upon it, refracting into a seven-colored rainbow light.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, we have arrived."

"That cave is behind the waterfall," Yue Lingyan said softly.

"Mm." Qin Ming acknowledged, continuing to hold Yue Lingyan as he flew toward the direction she indicated.

After entering the cave.

Qin Ming's vision suddenly changed, and he immediately felt an extremely powerful yin-sha qi attacking him.

Fortunately, it was blocked by the Cloud-Avoiding Gauze.

As the two ventured deeper, Qin Ming saw countless cracks within the cave, from which terrifying black yin-sha qi occasionally erupted.

It was feared that even an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator would be melted into a pool of blood upon contacting a wisp of it; this was the most terrifying aspect.

"I didn't expect that the periphery of the place where the Infant-Nurturing Fruit tree grows would be separated by such a terrifying natural barrier," Qin Ming couldn't help but remark.

Yue Lingyan nodded and said, "Mm, I once heard elders of my clan say that the yin-sha here has weakened by more than half over time; otherwise, in the past, even a Yuan Ying expert would have found it difficult to pass."

"After all, this is a place where heavenly treasures are nurtured; having such a natural hazard is normal."

Another half hour passed.

Suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared in the dim cave ahead, refreshing Qin Ming's spirit! As they accelerated forward, the light within constantly expanded in his vision.

Moments later, the two arrived in a huge karst cavern space; a patch of brilliance shone down from the dome above, illuminating the center of the cavern.

A subterranean spiritual spring emitting a dense mist bubbled forth with spiritual spring water, radiating imposing spiritual energy.

Beside the spiritual spring grew a miraculous spiritual plant two zhang tall; its trunk was as hard as black iron throughout, bearing snow-white leaves shaped like maple leaves, which refracted a crystal-clear brightness under the sunlight.

Hanging from the treasure tree were three fist-sized crimson fruits, displaying peculiar golden patterns and emitting a brilliant, colorful, and captivating luster.

Qin Ming released Yue Lingyan; upon seeing such a treasure, both of them simultaneously revealed expressions of delight.

He stared intently and saw that among them, one Embryo-Nurturing Fruit possessed the deepest color, having already reached maturity.

As for the remaining two, they still seemed somewhat green, lacking quite a bit in ripeness.

"This is the fourth-tier spiritual plant, the Embryo-Nurturing Fruit!"

The Shi Tian Shu and the Silver Fox also emerged from the Small Xiao Lingjing; gazing at the scene before them, their expressions were extremely agitated.

At this moment, Qin Ming turned his head and asked Yue Lingyan beside him: "Fellow Daoist Lingyan, this fourth-tier Embryo-Nurturing Fruit ripens once every thousand years; of these three fruits before us, only one is fully mature, while the remaining two, judging by their appearance, will require at least several more decades."

"How do you intend to distribute them?"

He could see that Yue Lingyan had gone to great lengths precisely for the sake of these spiritual fruits.

"I previously promised Fellow Daoist Qin; I dare not forget the great grace of saving my life. Since that is the case, let Fellow Daoist Qin take that one mature spiritual fruit first."

"At worst, I can simply wait several more decades before returning to harvest the fruit."

Yue Lingyan bit her lip and immediately made her decision.

The Silver Fox nearby, upon hearing this, went over and tugged at Yue Lingyan's skirt, unable to help but say: "Mother..."

Qin Ming also perceived that Yue Lingyan bore a blood-soaked vendetta and urgently needed this mature fourth-tier Embryo-Nurturing Fruit to break through.

Despite this, she had still prioritized yielding the spiritual fruit to him.

It was evident that, as a member of the Demon Race, she possessed quite a strong spirit of honoring contracts.

Thus, after pondering for a moment, he suggested: "I see that Fellow Daoist Lingyan, disregarding everything, went to great lengths to obtain the fruit and prepared for a long time; you must be in urgent need of this mature spiritual fruit, correct?"

"Qin Mou is currently only at the mid-stage of the Jin Dan realm and has no immediate use for this mature Embryo-Nurturing Fruit, nor is there any rush; would it not be better to yield it to Fellow Daoist Lingyan?"

"However, as a condition, I will take away the Earth Heart Spirit Spring and the Embryo-Nurturing Fruit tree."

Upon hearing this, Yue Lingyan's expression froze, for she was aware that Qin Ming possessed a Small Xiao Lingjing capable of transplanting and carrying away precious trees.

"How about this: once the remaining two Embryo-Nurturing Fruits have ripened, Qin Mou can promise to give Fellow Daoist Lingyan another one, after all, you should also be considering this for your daughter's sake?" Qin Ming added immediately.

Upon hearing this, Yue Lingyan promptly nodded and said: "Then let us follow Fellow Daoist Qin's words; this Embryo-Nurturing Fruit is crucial to me, so I shall accept it without further modesty."

"I also thank Fellow Daoist Qin for your understanding."

Since this Embryo-Nurturing Fruit ripens only once every thousand years, keeping it would be of no use to her; she estimated she would not live to see the next cycle anyway.

Seeing that the other party had agreed, a strange smile also appeared on Qin Ming's face.

(End of Chapter)