Chapter Forty-Six: The Spirit Fruit Instance

Mu Kui was brushing his teeth with charcoal when he saw Lu Sheng returning from outside. With his mouth full, he mumbled, "Hey... Lu Sheng... where did you go so early in the morning?"

Lu Sheng smiled. "Just went out to feel refreshed," he replied.

He wasn’t lying. He did feel quite invigorated, his spirits bright and cheerful.

Mu Kui gave him a knowing look. "Next time, let me take you to Tianniu City for some fun. Don’t always handle it yourself."

"By the way, do you know what all that shouting was about from Team Six just now?"

"No idea, maybe they had a nightmare or something."

...

Afterward, Lu Sheng continued to go out with the squad. He didn’t want to stand out too much, and there was little point in isolating himself. He couldn’t just sit in his room and stare into space, after all. Now, there was no need for him to hide deliberately or make a show of himself—time would reveal everything that needed to be known.

Today, they were heading out to hunt again. Most of the red pouches they’d obtained earlier had already been absorbed; every member was only a step away from breaking through to the second tier. By hunting monsters continuously, it was inevitable that within half a month, they’d all reach the second tier.

However, the monsters nearby had been largely cleared out by their encampment. To hunt more, they’d either have to venture farther afield or revisit the location of that last massive dungeon.

Last time, the high-level monsters in that large dungeon had been wiped out, but some low-level creatures remained. Shi Jiu also had a small scheme in mind—he wanted to see if any red fire ants were left. If there were, the team could quickly achieve second-tier breakthroughs.

The others in the squad seemed to have guessed Shi Jiu’s intentions and were all a bit hopeful.

Lu Sheng was also looking forward to it, but what he awaited was the look of disappointment on their faces.

Sure enough, when they arrived, the collapsed ant nest brought only disappointment.

The day passed quickly. Even though there were no red fire ants, the day’s haul was decent—the dungeon had spawned plenty of minor monsters. Just by wandering around the outskirts, they managed to kill dozens of goblins.

On their way back, a bluish-green light suddenly illuminated the horizon in the distance, strikingly visible against the twilight sky.

"A Spirit Fruit Dungeon?!" Shi Jiu exclaimed up ahead, unable to contain himself.

A memory surfaced in Lu Sheng’s mind—a fragment from before. The Spirit Fruit Dungeon, when it appeared, would cast a bluish-green glow over the surrounding land. If one looked closely, it would resemble a giant fruit, and within, there would always be a bounty of spirit fruits.

By counting the number of stripes on the glowing fruit, one could tell the highest tier of spirit fruit contained within.

"One... two... three stripes..." Shi Jiu’s eyes blazed with excitement. "Three stripes in total—there’s a third-tier spirit fruit inside!"

The Spirit Fruit Dungeon was hardly a secret; everyone in the squad knew about it.

"Let’s go, hurry back!"

...

Meanwhile, all the surrounding settlements were in an uproar.

The Demon Wolf Encampment, White Cloud Encampment, Sandstorm Encampment...

All began to mobilize.

This Spirit Fruit Dungeon covered a vast area—it was a large dungeon, and no one doubted there would be monsters inside strong enough to challenge any who entered. Whenever such a dungeon appeared, Tianniu City would certainly send people, and most of the best treasures within would be divided up by the powers from the city.

The settlements could only scavenge at the fringes, hoping to pick up some low-tier spirit fruits, and, if luck favored them, perhaps even a second-tier one.

Tianniu City.

Xuanbing Sect.

"Master, I have two matters to report."

"Speak."

"The intelligence from the subordinate Liuhuo Gang is accurate. Yan Dao has slaughtered five settlements in total—his deeds are inhuman."

"At dusk, a third-tier Spirit Fruit Dungeon appeared to the south."

"Send the Thunderbird Gang to deal with Yan Dao. That dungeon will be their reward."

"As you command."

The Thunderbird Gang, led by Meng Yang, whose core card was the Thunder Spirit Bird—fifth tier, already completed the first stage of evolution, formidable in strength.

Gale Encampment.

Lu Sheng and the others were summoned as soon as they returned—the news of the Spirit Fruit Dungeon had already spread throughout the settlement.

Seven squads were gathered together—an uncommon sight, as they usually each had their own tasks and seldom crossed paths.

Li Kuang spoke from a high platform. "The Spirit Fruit Dungeon is important, but dangerous. Struggle always means bloodshed, and danger always walks with opportunity. We can’t let this chance slip by—if we’re weaker than others, we’ll only be bullied."

"This time, I’ll only take three squads with me. You’ll draw lots—those picked will go, the rest will stay and guard the base."

Li Kuang produced a box for the seven squad leaders to draw slips of paper.

The results came out quickly: the first, sixth, and seventh squads were chosen to go.

No one objected to the first two, but when the seventh squad drew the last spot, grumbling began.

"Of course it’s the seventh squad. Didn’t I say so? Wang Ziping is Li Kuang’s nephew—he’s bound to get special treatment."

"Maybe the leader slipped him a ‘go’ slip beforehand—this is all for show."

"Come on, drop it. If you had what it takes to be leader, you could look after me, too."

"Get lost. Who’d look after you? If I was going to look after anyone, it’d be my little Red..."

In truth, whether or not Wang Ziping had been favored, so long as he gained anything while in the settlement, people would feel some resentment—he was the leader’s nephew, after all, and no doubt received special consideration.

Regardless, the decision was set.

Three squads—three hundred people—plus a ten-man elite team assembled by Li Kuang, over three hundred strong, all moving toward the Spirit Fruit Dungeon.

It lay about ten kilometers away—a trip that would still take at least an hour, even with their enhanced constitutions, traversing rugged terrain.

Night was falling, and they had to watch out for monsters along the way.

Other settlements were hurrying over in much the same way.

Only the Thunderbird Gang from Tianniu City was ostentatious, charging forth with over a hundred men, all mounted on White Cloud Horses.

White Cloud Horses, a species of wild herd monsters—swift, tireless, each one a veritable steed of legend. In the wilds, they were incredibly fast; to capture one required traps, careful tracking, and long observation.

Of course, overwhelming strength would let you seize them outright, no need for such complications.

Lu Sheng blended in with the team as they advanced. He mused that if he could get his hands on a third-tier green spirit fruit and feed it to the Tusked Boar, perhaps it would evolve. The only question was whether the boar would be worth such a precious fruit.

Everyone else in the squad was scheming how to get even a single spirit fruit, even a first-tier one.

Lu Sheng alone was considering feeding a third-tier fruit to a pig...

If the others knew that under Lu Sheng’s care, the pig was enjoying such welfare, who knew what they’d think.

As they traveled, Lu Sheng took a moment to check on the red fire ants’ breeding progress—there were already over a hundred second-tier ants.

Now, all that was missing was time for the red pouches to produce red sap. He wondered how long it would take before the sap appeared.