Chapter 9: Netherfruit Tree

In the grey mist, Shawn chose a direction and walked, but after a while he returned to the white‑mist fringe zone.

"What a hassle." Shawn furrowed his brows, then retraced his steps.

After wandering blindly for days, he suddenly sensed a massive energy fluctuation ahead, accompanied by a series of roaring cries.

"Good, there are people." A smile appeared on Shawn's face.

In this grey mist zone, it easily drives masters with weak souls mad; they wage endless slaughter there, and after billions of years, only peak warriors survive.

Some can resist the mist's influence and survive long under the relentless hunt of the mad, and they are also very powerful.

As long as there are people, it's easy; among them someone should know where the Netherfruit Tree is, and even if not, they can lead Shawn to others.

He deliberately emitted a trace of aura; moments later a spear flew toward him, and Shawn swatted it away with one hand.

A Wind Ascendant Deity burst out like a mad demon, hand turning into a blade, tearing small rifts in space; Shawn's eyes flashed grey as he launched a soul attack.

The newcomer was hit directly, his body shuddered, and the bloodthirst in his gaze subsided.

"I have been mad for billions of years." The Wind Ascendant Deity gasped continuously, then bowed to Shawn and said, "Thank you, sir, for the rescue."

Shawn asked, "What's your name?"

The previous strike was a Soul Seed; however, within Nethermist Mountain the Primordial Deity's consciousness could be watching, so after the Soul Seed he immediately transmitted a command forbidding the name "master."

Having been Soul‑seeded, Shawn also shielded his soul to prevent further grey‑mist influence.

"My name is Ma Lik." Ma Lik replied.

"Do you know where the Netherfruit Tree is?" Shawn asked indifferently.

Ma Lik said, "I know, but the Netherfruit Tree constantly shifts location; if you go, it may take some time to find."

"Alright." Shawn thought and said, "Since it can be found, there's no rush. I know this grey mist zone has many masters whose consciousness remains clear; do you know where to find them?"

The endless grey mist surrounding them, whether wrought by the Death Sovereign or formed by the world itself, continuously affects souls; if Shawn now abandons protecting Ma Lik, even after being Soul‑seeded he would fall into madness again.

Yet his soul power, though strong, cannot shield too many forever, and if the Netherfruit is found a battle may ensue; people like Ma Lik would become a burden, so Soul‑seeding them then forcing cooperation to obtain the Netherfruit is unworkable.

The only way is to locate those who can keep their consciousness clear in the grey mist, Soul‑seed them, and then they can aid him.

Ma Lik replied, "I'm not sure either; they deliberately conceal their aura. I was once driven mad by the grey mist, and they're hard to find."

"Then it will take some time." Shawn nodded, "Let's go and look. We now have our own awareness, far stronger than your previous blind wandering."

Small snakes or these maddened physical‑attack masters are hardly worth mentioning to him, but near the Netherfruit Tree he must face the large serpentine divine beasts that appear in the original work; those snakes are extremely powerful, though when they encountered Beibei they were killed instantly.

Facing them, he isn't worried about the soul aspect, but materially these divine beasts are generally strong; therefore, with enough Six‑Star and Seven‑Star demons protecting him, he has a better chance of obtaining the Netherfruit.

In the following months, Shawn followed Ma Lik through the grey mist zone of Nethermist Mountain, searching for those conscious groups that have been hiding in the dark.

Without being able to wield consciousness, finding them was indeed hard, but diligence paid off; in a cave they successfully located three.

"Are you just arriving in the grey mist zone? Just ascended Nethermist Mountain?" a man, upon seeing Shawn and Ma Lik, hurriedly said, "The grey mist zone is full of madmen; their souls are too weak, the mist reduces them to pure killing;

if you managed to reach here safely, you're truly lucky—stay hidden with us, otherwise being discovered by those madmen guarantees death. Those people's souls aren't great, but their physical attacks are at least Six‑Star demon level, they fear no death, killing a few draws a swarm after swarm, it's a headache."

"Thanks for the warning, we've already encountered many." Shawn smiled and asked, "Could you lead me to where the Netherfruit is?"

In these months he also met many 'madmen', mostly killing them; a few, after being Soul‑seeded, revealed a lot of information to him, such as how to locate these people. Those madmen didn't know their whereabouts, but knew that most places definitely lacked them.

"Oh, it seems your strength is impressive." the man said in surprise, "I know that place, but I won't go; if I go, I'm courting death."

"No need for you to take me." Shawn's gaze hardened, three grey beams shot out, striking the three directly.

The three hit bodies shuddered, then froze; Shawn closed his eyes beside them, and Ma Lik remained silent, knowing his master was probing their memories.

After a while, Shawn, with Ma Lik, simply vanished.

Ma Lik transmitted a query, "Master, why didn't you Soul‑seed them?"

"No need; they're too weak. If I Soul‑seed, I'll only seed the strong." Shawn transmitted, "From their memories I've already learned the rough map of Nethermist Mountain, and there are many other hidden, stronger masters."

After all, on the Primordial Deity's domain he can't recklessly Soul‑seed too many masters, so he prefers the stronger Seven‑Star demons, keeping a normal demeanor.

A few years later, Shawn selected individually, Soul‑seeding thirty Seven‑Star demon‑level masters, using the information they shared to locate and complete the Soul‑seeds.

However, on the surface he conquers them one by one with soul attacks; he doesn't want to reveal that they've been Soul‑seeded, and many fierce battles lie ahead, especially the eleven snakes, each likely possessing Asura‑level power and terrifying innate divine abilities.

Over thirty people, with a clear goal, arrived at a vast plain where the surrounding grey mist had completely dissipated, and a low, massive tree with luxuriant branches stood before them.

Shawn realized this was the Netherfruit Tree, also the life‑governing deity residing in the nether realm.

PS: Please give monthly tickets.

(End of chapter.)