Chapter 85: Origin True Stone

Chen Mo took two jade boxes from the wooden chest, first opening the one containing the Blood Essence Stone and the Gray White Stone to hand to his foster father.

"There are two of these red stones in total. I discovered that my Dantian Internal Qi reacted to them, so I used my internal Qi to make contact, not expecting that a mass of red light would flow out from within the stone and merge into my body.

This mass of red light is filled with Blood Qi; by utilizing it for cultivation, both my Dantian Internal Qi and my strength of Qi and Blood have increased."

As Chen Mo spoke, he pointed to the other Gray White Stone, asking with slight confusion. "But for this one, I have never known how to use it?"

Sun Shouren picked up the two stones from the box, looking them over from top to bottom, from beginning to end.

"These two stones are both Mirage Spirits. This red stone is called a Blood Essence Stone; it can help a Martial Artist replenish Qi and Blood for cultivation. This Blood Essence Stone is of good quality and belongs to the superior grade."

"As for this one, called an Origin True Stone, it contains Heaven and Earth Qi within it. Ordinary Martial Artists have no use for it and no way to use it. However, its value is very high, so it can be taken out to trade with those Qi Refiners."

He picked up the other Gray White Stone again and introduced it carefully to Chen Mo.

As a Fifth Rank Guardian, even if he had not used many things himself, he had heard of them and seen them, so he understood quite a lot.

"However, where did you obtain these two Mirage Spirits? Were they also obtained from the Mirage Sea?"

Sun Shouren's tone was slightly suspicious; judging by his experience, the Mirage Beasts that could evolve such Mirage Spirits must be extremely powerful.

Even if he encountered them himself, he would likely not come out unscathed, so how could Chen Mo possibly have hunted them?

"No, it's a long story. A while ago, Brother Five had been tracking the trail of the Ziyi Daoren, and it turned out he really did discover that the Dutian Dao Sect wanted to smuggle a batch of commercial goods, and the contact person was precisely that Ziyi Daoren..."

Chen Mo's tone was neither hurried nor slow as he recounted the whole matter in detail.

Sun Shouren listened quite earnestly, finally making a judgment, "It is fortunate that your strength had improved before you went, otherwise you all would have perished there."

He spoke the truth; if it had only been that old Daoist and the four Scholars, it would have been effortless for Mo Hu and the others to handle them.

But the strength of that Ziyi Daoren was definitely not something Mo Hu and the others could handle; if Chen Mo had not gone that day, they would have eight-tenths likely perished there.

However, this could not be blamed on Mo Hu; after all, no one had expected the Ziyi Daoren to appear suddenly that day.

"Besides these two Mirage Spirits, there was also a peculiar item among the commercial goods smuggled by the Dutian Dao Sect."

Chen Mo's expression appeared slightly strained as he lifted another jade box from the wooden chest with both hands.

When that jade box was placed on the desk, one could hear the desk, made of fine red wood, continuously emitting creaking sounds.

Sun Shouren frowned, and when he reached out to take the jade box, his expression changed abruptly.

Having seen Chen Mo's difficult expression, although he did not know what was inside the jade box, he could see that the weight was definitely not light.

Yet he had not expected it to be this heavy; it was only after he put his hand to it and used some strength that he managed to lift the box.

"Hold your breath first, hold your breath before opening it," Chen Mo urged hurriedly, fearing he would open it directly.

As the words fell, he had already held his own breath, ensuring he would not smell the odor.

Sun Shouren's frown deepened; he took a deep breath, his expression becoming solemn.

The jade box was slowly opened by him, and a fruit the size of a fist with a baby's smiling face remained inside.

For some reason, even though he clearly did not smell anything, Chen Mo always felt an urge to swallow the fruit before him.

This felt like a biological instinct, like a traveler running in a desert who had not drunk water for a long time; upon seeing a clear spring, one would not think at all, instinctively wanting to drink.

Even if it were a highly toxic poison in front of him, one would have to drink it to quench their thirst first.

However, this feeling was not intense, and he could easily restrain it.

Sun Shouren's eyes, however, visibly revealed greed, his throat swallowing repeatedly; it was clear he wanted to swallow this fruit immediately.

But he had been able to fight for his current position by his own strength, so his determination was naturally far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even though he wanted to eat it, he forcibly endured it, gritting his teeth as he closed the jade box, his expression finally relaxing.

"How many such fruits are there in total?" he asked.

"There are two in total, and I have brought them both." Chen Mo opened another wooden chest and likewise took out a jade box.

"Put them away first." He handed the jade box to Chen Mo, letting him put it back into the wooden chest.

"This fruit is called the Human Infant Fruit, though it can also be called the Human Face Fruit. It is not something from the Mirage Sea, but rather cultivated by the Dutian Dao using evil methods."

When Sun Shouren said this, his expression became much more solemn.

"This fruit must be irrigated with human essence and Qi; a single fruit consumes the lives of no fewer than a hundred children, which is why it weighs a thousand catties."

The human body's essence and Qi are not necessarily at their most abundant in infancy, but they are the richest in vitality, and when used to catalyze evil objects, the effect is second only to that of a Martial Artist who has achieved success in cultivation.

"And this fruit has only one effect: swallowing one can extend one's life by one year. One can only eat at most three; eating more will have no effect.

And the more severely a person's life essence has drained away, the more they will want to eat this fruit when facing it."

Sun Shouren slowly narrated the effects of this fruit; extending one's life by three years was indeed a huge temptation for those whose lives were nearing their end.

Moreover, the less life a person had remaining, the more they would want to eat it when facing this fruit.

The greed he had just displayed when facing this fruit, which far exceeded Chen Mo's, was not because his will was not firm, but because the temptation he faced was far more intense than Chen Mo's.

"Then what are the drawbacks of this fruit?" Chen Mo asked after a moment of reflection.

Since this fruit was an evil object, there must be drawbacks.

They should also be quite serious drawbacks, otherwise the Imperial Court would not be in such a hurry to suppress the Dutian Dao Sect; even if the Dutian Dao Sect were truly planning to rebel, the Imperial Court would not be in such a rush to suppress them.

The current Emperor might want to wipe them out completely, but other Imperial Court officials and great aristocratic families would never be in a hurry to do so.

Even if they really wanted to suppress them, they would have to obtain the cultivation method for this fruit from the Dutian Dao Sect before taking action.

Because there would be too many people wanting to rely on this Human Infant Fruit to live a few more years.

As for how many children's lives were needed to grow this fruit, those masters would not care; after all, it wouldn't be their own lives lost.

And the reason such a situation had not occurred could only mean one thing: this fruit must have significant drawbacks.

That was why no one was tempted by it, and why even though the temptation was great, his foster father still forcibly endured it and did not swallow it.

"You guessed correctly. It takes the lives of over a hundred children to cultivate one such fruit, so it naturally contains the life essence of over a hundred children.

Only those who are old, frail, and weak in Qi and Blood can take this fruit to extend their own lives. Because their Qi and Blood are weak enough, they will not conflict with the essence of these hundred people.

But if a Martial Artist or someone in the prime of life swallows it, the essence of a hundred people added to their body will certainly conflict with their own Qi and Blood.

At that time, the Qi and Blood will surge, the Martial Artist's cultivation will inevitably be damaged, and they will be unable to make any further progress. And for a Martial Artist, damage to their cultivation is equivalent to shortening their lifespan."

Sun Shouren explained the drawbacks of this fruit to Chen Mo in a deep voice.

It is precisely because of such great drawbacks that this fruit is of no great help to the vast majority of aristocratic descendants and Imperial Court Martial Officials.

Especially for aristocratic descendants, almost everyone, regardless of gender, practices Internal Martial Arts in order to prolong their lives.

Therefore, it can be said that they have almost no need for this fruit.

These people occupy almost half of the entire Great Gan Imperial Court, and since they have no need for it, the government decree to encircle and suppress the Dutian Dao can naturally be issued quickly.

As for Martial Officials like Sun Shouren, they certainly have no use for it; even if they have relatives nearby who want to use it, it is not worth defying the orders of their superiors for it.

Even if a small number of officials from humble backgrounds collude with the Dutian Dao Sect for this reason, they are merely mantises trying to block a chariot in the face of the Imperial Court's momentum.

"Then what should we do with these two fruits?" Chen Mo asked again.

(End of this chapter)