Chapter 533

The spiritual energy in the stream grew denser, continuously spreading outward to nourish the entire forest.

It seemed the higher it rose, the heavier the spiritual energy became; the lower it flowed, the thinner it grew, until at the mountain's base, the energy vanished entirely.

As they climbed further, a faint glow began to appear in the springwater, like morning or evening aurora.

"Red Spring…"

Lin Jue turned his head in surprise.

Soon they saw immortal trees in the forest, laden with immortal fruits.

They were golden, about the size of a bowl, exuding a strong exotic fragrance, their surfaces thick with spiritual aura, even forming mist that lingered endlessly.

"Immortal Yuanqiu fruit…"

"Immortal Tree…"

Ancient texts record that Immortal Yuanqiu Mountain has an Immortal Tree; eating it grants long life, and there is a Red Spring; drinking it prevents aging.

This place must surely be Immortal Yuanqiu Mountain.

Because he had seen this fruit before!

But the ones he'd seen previously were only fist-sized—likely cultivated outside by immortals or true lords who brought them here, or perhaps due to unsuitable soil and water, or poor cultivation, they never grew as well as these.

"No wonder so many wondrous, captivating tales of immortals have spread through the world," Lin Jue murmured. "If an ordinary mortal accidentally wandered here, perhaps they avoided those giant snakes—or perhaps the giant snakes didn't bother them—hungry and thirsty, they bent down to drink a sip of water and became ageless, hungry and craving, plucked a fruit and gained longevity; once they returned and spread the word, who wouldn't yearn for it?"

"Isn't this just the Nine Heavens' Immortal Realm?" the junior sister said. "Not just ordinary mortals—even I find it alluring."

"The former Daoist abode of the Immortal Elder was no different from the legendary Jade Pool Immortal Realm," the senior brother said.

"Formerly the immortal's cultivation ground, it was no different from the legendary Yaochi Paradise," said the senior brother.

"Wait here! The fox will pick some!" Good Fuyao stopped, turning to gaze at the immortal trees and fruits beside the path.

"Wait a moment! I'll go pick some!" Good Fuyao stopped and turned toward the immortal trees and fruits beside the path.

"Why not? They're ripe!" The fox looked puzzled. "Ripe fruit is meant to be picked; if it smells so sweet and tastes so delicious, it's meant to be picked, taken home, eaten, and its seeds spat out across the mountains—next year, the whole mountain will be covered!"

"Why not? They're ripe!" The fox looked puzzled. "Ripe fruit is meant to be picked. It grows fragrant, sweet, delicious—so it's meant to be picked, taken home, eaten, and the pits spat out all over the mountains, so next year the whole mountain will be covered."

"Of course I do!"

The fox stared seriously, holding firm to her view.

If ripe fruit isn't picked, it falls to the ground and goes to waste—wouldn't that be a betrayal of it?

Lin Jue also wanted these fruits.

Though their effect on him was inferior to the original Dan fruits grown on his own mountain, for those who hadn't achieved true enlightenment, they were not insignificant—especially for untrained mortals, such fruits were the true legendary immortal peaches.

If given to Luo Luo Gongceng, to Shu Village kin, to Master Tao of Wan, to Master Nan Tian, or even to disciples who might never achieve true enlightenment, these immortal fruits would be most fitting.

Take Master Master Wangji of Immortal Source Temple, for instance—if I had come here earlier and obtained Immortal Yuanqiu fruit, wouldn't it have extended his life further?

Or the temple's former little hound, or its parents—they lived forty or fifty years; if given a Immortal Yuanqiu fruit, they'd live several more years at least, and perhaps even gain the opportunity to become spirits or attain enlightenment in those extra years—not merely living longer, but transcending.

Moreover, for Lin Jue now, the original Dan fruits had little effect—merely satisfying hunger and offering flavor—so adding a Immortal Yuanqiu fruit meant another taste to enjoy.

Or perhaps the temple's former hunting hound, or its parents—these dogs lived forty or fifty years; if given an Immortal Yuanqiu fruit, they might live several more years at least, and at best, might gain a chance during those extra years to become spirit-beings and attain the Dao, which would be far more than merely extending their lives.

"This is someone else's cultivation. We are guests here—we should be cautious."

Yet as he glanced aside, he spotted a fallen, fully ripe fruit beneath a tree, half-rotted, its seed exposed, surrounded by shimmering specks of light, making it seem like an object from a dream.

Lin Jue reached out with a gesture.

The seed immediately detached from the soft, rotting flesh and flew straight into the Daoist's hand.

The fox immediately fixed him with a stern gaze: "We are guests here—we should be cautious."

The pit immediately detached from the soft, rotting flesh and flew straight into the Daoist's hand.

The fox immediately fixed him with a serious gaze: "We are guests here. We should be cautious."

The fox stretched her neck, scanning the surroundings.

Her eyes were sharp—she saw clearly in moonlight as if it were daylight, and amid the darkness, spiritual energy shimmered like scattered moonlight on a lake, unreal as a dream; the spiritual aura around the immortal fruits glowed especially bright. She shifted her gaze from the shadows and soon spotted another fallen fruit that hadn't yet taken root.

A white flash shot past.

Its eyes were sharp—it could see clearly in moonlight as if it were daytime, and moreover, dark corners around them glimmered with spiritual light, like tiny moonbeams dancing on a lake's surface, unreal as a dream. The spiritual aura around the immortal fruits was especially dense, causing their glow to shimmer even more. It shifted its gaze from the shadows and soon found another fallen fruit that had not yet…

"I got one!"

The fox held the seed in her mouth, lifted her head, opened her jaws, and swallowed it.

The fox immediately brightened.

Then she scanned again.

She knew these were immortal fruits, knew their value, knew they could be planted to grow new trees and bear new fruit, to be enjoyed years later with the Daoist—so for her, this was the joy of harvest.

"Got another!"

Each seed retrieved brought her pure delight.

It knew this was an immortal fruit, knew its value, knew it could be taken home and planted to grow new trees that would bear new fruit, to be savored one day years hence by itself and the Daoist—so for it, this was a joy of harvest.

The sparrow landed, transformed into Caili, glanced at the junior sister, and joined her in searching.

Even the little hound ran off to look.

Caili brought what she found to the junior sister.

The junior sister loved fruits, loved fruit trees, loved the feeling of having endless food without effort when harvest season came—deep down, it stemmed from past poverty and hunger; thus, she had planted fruit trees everywhere around Hongye Temple, and every spring, blossoms never ceased.

The black hound brought what he found to the senior brother.

He was an old farmer—everything he loved to plant.

The junior sister loved fruits, loved fruit trees, loved the feeling of having nothing to do but eat and drink freely when the fruit season arrived—really, it stemmed from past poverty and hunger. Thus, she planted fruit trees everywhere around Hongye Temple, front and back, and every spring the blossoms never ceased.

"Aow… aow…"

Suddenly the little hound ran over in fear.

Caili also grew alert and returned to the three's side.

Only the fox, confident in her skill, sat calmly beside a fallen immortal fruit, her paw naturally extended, pressing it down, gazing upward into the forest.

The forest hummed.

Upon closer look, it was a swarm of earth bees—but enormous, nearly as large as millstones, struggling to fly through the trees, making great noise.

"That's Qinyuan," the senior brother said, well-read. "In ancient times, some immortal mountains and caves had them. Texts say they resemble earth bees but are the size of mandarin ducks; beasts and birds stung by them die, trees stung wither and die instantly—don't provoke them."

"That one's bigger than mandarin ducks."

"Likely due to the excessive spiritual energy here," the senior brother said. "Those giant snakes may have grown much larger too."

"That's a Qinyuan," said the senior brother, well-read. "An ancient creature once found in some immortal mountains and grottoes. The texts say it resembles a wasp but is the size of a mandarin duck; beasts and birds stung by it die instantly, and trees stung wither and die. Do not provoke it."

Lin Jue watched as one Qinyuan flew toward his fox, tilting its compound eyes to stare at her. The fox had raised her paw to touch it, but upon hearing the senior brother's warning, she glanced back at them, lowered her paw, and waited. When the Qinyuan withdrew its gaze, it flew away.

A few steps further, they all looked up.

The bright moon now hung high; above it flew birds resembling geese, and a herd of horses—like galloping across a grassland, yet walking through empty air, moving from east to west.

"Those are Wenma—also called Jihuang Ma or Jiguang Ma. Ancient immortal mountains and caves sometimes had these strange beasts. Some ancient immortals kept them. I read in another book that the heavenly soldiers and generals of the Nine Heavens rode horses bred from these and another kind. They have red manes, white bodies, patterned hides, golden eyes shining like molten gold, capable of flying through clouds—but they're fierce, feeding on tigers and leopards."

"Red mane, white body, patterns…" The junior sister tilted her head, watching the herd vanish into the distance. "They really do look like that."

"I've never seen a herd of horses galloping from this angle," Lin Jue said, looking up.

"There are so many rare birds and beasts here," the junior sister said. "If only we could catch a few to raise."

"Wenma are fierce and temperamental—hard to raise," the senior brother said. "That's why heavenly warhorses are bred from them."

"Red mane, white body, markings…" The junior sister tilted her head upward, watching the herd ride off. "Yes, that's exactly how they look."

Suddenly a scream rang out.

The little hound, Caili, even the fox all jumped, whirling to look.

They thought someone had discovered them—or that another person lurked in this immortal mountain realm—but when they turned, they saw only a crow with a human face, the same size as the fox, perched on a branch of the Immortal Tree, hidden in darkness, staring at them.

The human-faced crow immediately shrieked:

"Stole fruit! Stole fruit!"

The black hound also froze, barking back:

He had thought someone had discovered something, or that another person lurked within this immortal mountain and grotto—but when he turned, he saw it was merely a crow with a human face, the same size as the fox, perched on a branch of a nearby immortality tree, hidden in darkness, watching them.

"Lies! We picked them!" The fox leapt forward, standing beneath the tree, locking eyes with it.

"Stole fruit! Stole fruit!"

"Picked! Picked!"

"Picked!"

Caili, seeing the fox rebut, joined in.

The place grew noisy.

"That's a human-faced crow. In ancient times, they were fairly common—found in remote mountains or along dense forest paths," the senior brother said, glancing at the shrieking crow. "Texts say they hide by day, emerge at night; eating their flesh prevents heatstroke. In ancient times, many travelers and laborers in summer would kill and eat them when spotted on the road. I suspect that's why they've vanished from the outside world—combined with cosmic changes."

The human-faced crow, who had refused to stop screaming, instantly fell silent.

The next instant, it flapped its wings and fled in terror.

"Scared the bird! Scared the bird!"

Its dry voice, mixed with wingbeats, faded into the distance.

"It's a human-faced crow. In ancient times, they were fairly common—encountered in remote mountains or along dense forest paths," said the senior brother, glancing up at the crow on the tree, still squawking loudly. "The texts say it hides by day and emerges at night. Eating its flesh prevents heatstroke, so in ancient times, many travelers and laborers in midsummer would kill and eat them when they spotted them by the roadside. I suspect that's precisely why, combined with changes in heaven and earth, it's nearly vanished from the world today."

The crow that would never shut up under any circumstances immediately fell silent upon hearing his senior brother's words.

In the next instant, it flapped its wings and flew off in terror.

"Scared the bird to death! Scared the bird to death!"

A dry voice, mixed with the flapping of wings, faded into the distance.

"Third Shixiong brother, that's true skill."

"I was bored in the monastery, so I read more books," the senior brother said, shaking his head as he watched the crow fly away. "The books didn't say crows could speak—this human-faced crow probably lived here all along, nourished by the immortal qi and spiritual aura until it eventually attained the Dao."

"Hmm..."

Lin Jue remembered many years ago, when he first left Shu Village to seek the Dao, and met Luo Luo Gongceng, encountering that group of strange monkeys.

That group of strange monkeys were likely ancient beasts once common along mountain paths and forest edges, just like this human-faced crow—except that while the human-faced crow had nearly vanished from the outside world, those monkeys may have survived in the deep mountains due to their stronger survival instincts or because people avoided hunting them, and some even emerged to cause trouble.

Like the xingxing, too.

"Then, according to Third Third Shixiong, where might we find the Phoenix?"

"I've heard the Phoenix is noble by nature, preferring high places and perching on green tung trees," the senior brother said, scanning the surroundings but seeing no tung trees. "Let's head to the mountain peak first."

"Alright!"

Lin Jue looked around at the rare birds and exotic beasts in the forest, then turned to watch the celestial horse flying far into the sky—he longed to take some back to raise and adorn his own Dao hall, but he restrained the impulse and continued climbing upward.