Chapter 37: Bloodline Fruit

Li Zhangsheng observed from the shadows, his gaze focused primarily on the center of the battlefield, where energy was surging and more than a dozen wild Spirit Beasts were locked in a chaotic melee.

Unlike the Lightning Zebras and Sawtooth Mantises on the periphery, the aura of these Spirit Beasts was far more powerful; they were at least Lower 9th Rank existences, each surrounding their respective leaders.

Whether in terms of aura or size, their leaders were a cut above these elite Spirit Beasts, all being genuine Middle-Rank Spirit Beasts.

At this moment, the Lightning Zebra leader was wreathed in lightning, and it lowered its head forcefully, aiming its sharp horn at the Sawtooth Mantis leader and launching a charge as swift as an arrow released from a bow.

The Sawtooth Mantis leader did not dodge, resolutely choosing to attack instead of defend; its forelimbs formed a cross, its sawtooth scythes intersecting, and with a flash of astonishing blade light, it slashed toward the Lightning Zebra leader's head.

Boom— Boom—

A dull sound of collision rang out, and both sides retreated a distance in unison; a cross-shaped wound deep enough to see bone appeared on the Lightning Zebra leader's head, and bright red blood spilled out frantically, dyeing the ground crimson.

The Sawtooth Mantis leader did not fare well either; its chest had been pierced by the opponent's horn, and wisps of electric current surged at its wound, leaving its body with a numb sensation.

The next moment, the leaders of the two groups moved again; they were so fast they seemed to turn into two black shadows, instantly entangling with each other.

While the group leaders were dueling, the other members of the two groups were mainly engaged in group combat, which was undoubtedly even more tragic.

Under these circumstances, more and more wild Spirit Beasts lost their ability to fight; some were unable to move, while others had breathed their last.

Compared to human wars, the battles of wild Spirit Beasts were even more cruel and bloody; this was the law of nature: natural selection, survival of the fittest.

The more wild Spirit Beasts that died, the more it pained Li Zhangsheng; heaven knows if there were any high-quality existences among these dead beasts.

Not long after, both Spirit Beast groups had suffered heavy losses, but the situation remained evenly matched, and a winner could not be decided for the time being.

Generally speaking, at this point, to avoid a lose-lose situation, both sides would basically choose to "sound the retreat" and stop while they were ahead.

But as it turned out, they were completely blinded by bloodlust, killing with such fervor that it gave the impression they would not stop until their goal was reached.

"Strange!" Watching the exceptionally tragic battlefield, Li Zhangsheng was filled with curiosity.

It was precisely at this moment that Li Zhangsheng faintly smelled a peculiar fragrance.

Aixi's nose was clearly sharper, but after smelling this aroma, it became inexplicably irritable, and its whole body began to heat up; even though it tried its best to control itself, it still felt unable to resist.

Unlike Aixi, Kailan showed no change; she placed her hands over her eyes and watched the battle not far away through the gaps.

"Aixi, what's wrong?" Aixi's abnormality naturally did not escape Li Zhangsheng's perception.

Awoo—

Aixi whimpered, its nose twitching, its eyes fixed tightly on the northeast corner; the moment it opened its mouth, drool flowed down like a waterfall.

Li Zhangsheng followed the direction and looked over there.

That area was near the center of the battlefield, and the leaders of the two groups were still locked in an inseparable fight, but this time Li Zhangsheng did not focus on them, instead observing the surrounding objects.

Soon, Li Zhangsheng's gaze locked onto a small tree.

The small tree was within the combat range of the Spirit Beast leaders, but if one observed carefully, one would find that they would subconsciously avoid this small tree whenever they attacked.

"A willow tree?"

Li Zhangsheng was a bit puzzled; this small tree resembled a willow, the only difference being that at the top of its canopy, it had borne a red and green fruit.

The fruit was round and plump, crystal clear, and faintly emitted a dim, blood-colored halo.

As time passed, the blood-colored halo began to grow more vibrant, and the fragrance it emitted became richer, with its range gradually expanding.

"This... this is... a Bloodline Fruit!" As if remembering something, Li Zhangsheng's heart was filled with excitement.

The Bloodline Fruit belongs to the Heaven and Earth Essence and can only be formed by the mutation of trees; there is no way to cultivate it, because judging from various signs, every kind of tree has the possibility of giving birth to a Bloodline Fruit.

The efficacy of the Bloodline Fruit is extremely strong; it can stimulate and strengthen a Spirit Beast's bloodline, giving the Spirit Beast the possibility of leaping into a stronger race, which is no wonder these two groups would come to blows.

However, consuming a Bloodline Fruit does not necessarily strengthen the bloodline; its success rate is not fixed and is mainly related to the quality and bloodline concentration of the Spirit Beast—the higher the quality and the lower the bloodline concentration, the higher the possibility of success.

If the bloodline strengthening fails, while it won't lead to death by explosion, it will still leave the Spirit Beast that consumed the Bloodline Fruit listless for a period of time.

"This Bloodline Fruit is not yet fully mature!" After observing for a moment, Li Zhangsheng reached a conclusion; according to the knowledge recorded in books, only when the Bloodline Fruit turns completely blood-red does it mean it is thoroughly mature.

And an immature Bloodline Fruit is not only devoid of any efficacy, but is also a highly poisonous object, so naturally, no wild Spirit Beast would touch it lightly.

Besides that, after the Bloodline Fruit matures, it must be consumed within a short period of time, otherwise the energy it contains will gradually wither until it has no effect at all.

With the powerful efficacy of the Bloodline Fruit, even though it cannot be preserved, even a High-tier Monster Tamer would be willing to pay a huge price to exchange for the growth location of a Bloodline Fruit, so its value can be imagined.

"Aixi, stay calm, let's wait until it matures!" Under Li Zhangsheng's soothing, Aixi was clearly much calmer; of course, this also had to do with the fact that the Bloodline Fruit was not yet mature.

After soothing Aixi, Li Zhangsheng couldn't help but look at Kailan; Elves are different from Spirit Beasts, born from the essence of heaven and earth, they have no bloodlines, so the Bloodline Fruit was ineffective on Kailan and naturally held no attraction for her.

In the process of waiting, time began to pass slowly, and Li Zhangsheng looked around, discovering the traces of many wild Spirit Beasts.

As it got closer to maturity, the fragrance emitted by the Bloodline Fruit became richer, which would inevitably attract more wild Spirit Beasts.

Every Bloodline Fruit, once fully mature, often triggers a chaotic melee.

There is no help for it; the Bloodline Fruit is too important to them.

In the eyes of the two Spirit Beast groups, they were the greatest powers in the valley, believing that as long as they defeated the other, they could obtain ownership of the Bloodline Fruit.

Unfortunately, the two groups were equal in strength, and after a long, fierce battle, not only did they fail to defeat the other, but they also had a tendency to suffer a lose-lose outcome.

Before the Bloodline Fruit matured, their battle finally came to an end; the Lightning Zebra group was slightly better, winning the final victory.

Winning a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred, the Lightning Zebra group also suffered heavy losses, with only a few Lightning Zebras still retaining combat capability, and none of them were in their prime.

Neigh—

The Lightning Zebra leader stepped on the corpse of the Sawtooth Mantis leader, holding its head high and emitting a sound symbolizing victory, but its state was very poor; although it had finished off its opponent, it was also severely injured, covered in wounds, and its horn had even been snapped off by a section.

"It's our turn now!" Li Zhangsheng thought to himself, and while the Bloodline Fruit was not yet mature, he immediately took action.

(End of chapter)