“Could he be having a secret rendezvous with a lover here?” Longtian cursed inwardly.
But he remained cautious, even suppressing his breathing and only taking a breath after a long pause.
“You said you found a Little Mortal Fruit.
You aren’t lying to me, are you?” a human voice suddenly rang out.
Longtian cautiously looked toward the speaker and was instantly startled.
The person speaking was also around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, wearing gray clothes.
He had a Scarface and was missing an arm—he was clearly the youth in white’s older brother.
“Wasn’t the youth in gray hunting down his younger brother?” Longtian wondered.
“Why hasn’t he attacked after catching up?
A Little Mortal Fruit?
Could it be a Treasure Fruit capable of elevating a First-Layer Cultivation?”
The Little Mortal Fruit was an incredibly precious fruit.
As long as one’s Cultivation was below the Seventh Layer, eating this fruit would absolutely raise their Cultivation by a First Layer.
In Cultivation, every Third Layer was a hurdle.
Crossing from the Sixth Layer into the Seventh Layer was an even greater hurdle.
But with a Little Mortal Fruit, someone at the Sixth Layer was guaranteed to successfully break through to the Seventh Layer.
Naturally, the Fourth Layer would definitely break through to the Fifth Layer, and the Fifth Layer would definitely break through to the Sixth Layer.
The function of this Little Mortal Fruit was to use its special Energy to open the next Hidden Vein.
“A Little Mortal Fruit,” Longtian thought.
“If I can get a Little Mortal Fruit, I will successfully enter the Fifth Layer.
At that time, relying on my Martial Skills, He Chao will absolutely not be my match.” His eyes shone, though he tried his best to restrain his emotions.
At this moment, the voice of the youth in white drifted over.
“You are my biological older brother; would I lie to you?
I really did find a Little Mortal Fruit.
However, I wasn’t the only one who discovered the Small Returning Fruit—there are others.
Isn’t that why I came to find you so we could join forces and fight for it?”
The youth in gray scoffed coldly.
“Biological older brother?
Heh, the Scarface on my face and this arm are all thanks to you.
If we hadn’t found that Secret Manual, I really wouldn’t have known how fragile the familial bond between us truly was.”
“Don’t say that.
You and I both know there is only one Secret Manual, and neither of us wanted to share it with anyone else.
If I hadn’t attacked you, you would have attacked me.
The only difference is that I hesitated for three seconds before making up my mind.
Besides, I have already shared the Secret Manual with you.”
The youth in gray grew even colder.
“A Secret Manual that cannot be used for Cultivation.
What use is it?”
“You can’t practice it, but isn’t it the same for me?
God knows why this Secret Manual has such high requirements for Spiritual Power.
But we have to look at the long term.
Even if the Secret Manual is useless, we still have the Little Mortal Fruit.
If we can obtain the Little Mortal Fruit, this trip to the Wilderness Forest can still be considered a massive harvest.”
The youth in gray was indeed tempted by the Little Mortal Fruit.
“Exactly how many Little Mortal Fruits are there?”
“Three.
If you and I join forces, snatching two of them shouldn’t be a problem.
You are at the Sixth Level of Mortal Realm.
Even though you lost your left hand, your right hand has always been your strongest, so your combat power hasn’t been significantly affected.
Once you get a Little Mortal Fruit, you will be able to open your Meridian Passage and step into the Seventh Layer,” the youth in white continuously urged.
“What about the Cultivation of the others?”
The youth in white smiled faintly.
“Come with me, and you’ll find out when we get there.
The Little Mortal Fruit will mature tonight.
When the time comes, you and I must use our full strength.
Otherwise, whoever fails to get a Little Mortal Fruit shouldn’t blame the other.”
The youth in gray shot him a cold glare.
“Cut the crap and lead the way.”
The youth in white shrugged and led the youth in gray off into the distance.
Only after their figures vanished did Longtian emerge from behind the tree.
“The Little Mortal Fruit…
I must get it,” Longtian muttered softly.
Half an hour later, Longtian’s footsteps came to a halt.
At the edge of his line of sight was a small hill.
At the base of the hill was a cave.
The cave wasn’t large—only about the size of a person’s arm.
Bizarrely, a short fruit tree was growing inside this arm-sized stone hole.
The fruit tree was entirely green and looked full of vitality.
The top of the green branches split into three forks, and a single fruit grew on each forked branch.
The fruits were milky white and looked incredibly conspicuous.
The three fruits hung isolated on the branches, waiting for the moment they would ripen.
Longtian didn’t continue moving forward.
Instead, he held his breath and focused his attention, observing his surroundings.
His Cultivation was only at the Fourth Layer.
Openly charging in to snatch the fruits would only lead to a dead end.
He could only play the role of the oriole waiting behind the mantis, looking for an opening before making his move.
Longtian recalled his knowledge about the Little Mortal Fruit.
“The Little Mortal Fruit hides within the crevices of mountain walls.
It blooms every three years.
When bearing fruit, it breaks through the crevices and forms a small tree blooming on the cliff.
The fruit takes three days to mature.
On the first day, the fruit is the size of a fingernail.
On the second day, it grows to the size of a thumb.
On the third day, the milky white fruit absorbs the Energy of its mother plant and transforms into a mature, green Little Mortal Fruit.
Once the Little Mortal Fruit matures, the mother plant dies.”
“It seems that youth in white was right,” he realized.
“This Little Mortal Fruit will mature tonight.”
At this time, ten youths were standing opposite the Little Fan Fruit Tree.
Naturally, the youth in gray and the youth in white were among them.
The strongest Cultivation among these ten people was the Sixth Level of Mortal Realm.
It appeared that no experts at the Seventh Layer had discovered this Little Mortal Fruit.
The ten people were divided into four groups, with headcounts of three, three, two, and two, respectively.
The strongest group among them had a Demon Moon Wolf embroidered on the chests of their clothes.
These three likely came from the same village.
The Demon Moon Wolf was their village’s Totem and their belief.
A village that possessed a Totem was a true village, and everyone in it shared a single surname.
A village like that was the goal of Longtian’s older brother, and it was also Longtian’s current goal.
One day, he would drive away the Sun Family and plant the flag of the Flaming Lion at the entrance of Flying Horse Village, announcing to everyone that Flying Horse Village was now the territory of the He Family and would be called He Family Village.
The strongest person in this group was also at the Sixth Layer, making him one of only two Sixth Layer experts present.
His two companions were both Fifth Level Cultivators.
Barring any accidents, they would end up with the most Little Mortal Fruits.
“Brother, those three from Zhang Family Village are our formidable rivals.
They are the only ones present who can make us wary.
When the fruit matures, we both must use our full strength.
At that time, you’ll block their Sixth Layer expert.
As long as you hold him back, I’m confident I can secure two fruits, and then we’ll each take one.” The youth in white began to communicate with the youth in gray.
The youth in gray glanced at the youth in white and only nodded after a long while.
He didn’t say a word.
It was obvious he didn’t fully trust the youth in white.
“The fruits won’t mature until tonight, and there’s nothing I can do here right now.
I might as well go practice my Martial Skills first.
That way, I’ll have the capital to fight for them when the time comes,” Longtian thought after observing from afar for a while.
He decided to withdraw for now.
Judging from the color, the Little Mortal Fruit wouldn’t fully mature until the early hours of the morning.
He couldn’t just waste such a long period of time.
“I need to familiarize myself with the latter few punches as much as possible.
Only then will my strength grow even greater.”
“Seven Luminaries Fiery Fire Fist, strike!”
The sun rose and set.
The Wilderness Forest gradually grew dim, and a crescent moon replaced the sun above everyone’s heads.
“The Little Mortal Fruit is about to mature,” Longtian thought.
“I should go see if there’s an opportunity.” He stopped his practice.
After recovering his expended stamina, he hurried toward the small hill.
He still didn’t get too close, instead hiding his body from a distance.
Under the moonlight, the Little Fan Fruit Tree underwent a significant change.
Its originally green branches gradually withered and yellowed, as if instantly aging from its youth to its twilight years.
In contrast, the three fruits at the top of the branches took on a lush green color.
They looked like three oceans of forest, making one feel completely refreshed.
At this moment, the Little Fan Fruit Tree was still withering at a visible rate.
Once it completely withered, the Little Mortal Fruit would be fully mature and fall from the tree.
If no one obtained the Little Mortal Fruit within three days, the Energy contained within it would return to the heavens and the earth.
As the Little Fan Fruit Tree withered bit by bit, the Little Mortal Fruits became increasingly full of vitality.
The ten youths all held their breath in concentration, readying themselves for the snatch.
Finally, the last touch of green on the branches vanished, and the Little Fan Fruit Tree withered completely.
Having lost their support, the Little Mortal Fruits dropped from the branches.
“Now’s the time!” The instant the Little Mortal Fruits fell, the eyes of the ten youths lit up simultaneously.
The Spiritual Energy in their bodies surged out, carrying ten trails of radiant light as they rushed toward the Little Fan Fruit Tree.
“Get lost!”
Some Cultivators who were too close to each other attacked one another.
In an instant, Spiritual Energy raged, creating a scene of absolute frenzy.
Several youths with weaker Cultivation were directly beaten until they vomited blood, instantly losing their ability to move.
“Fighting with the people of Zhang Family Village for the Little Mortal Fruit?
You’re courting death!”
The Sixth Layer expert from the Zhang Family gave a cold harrumph.
His Sixth Layer imposing aura surged out.
The earthy-yellow Spiritual Energy made him look tall and mighty.
Anyone who approached him was heavily injured by a single punch.
One person even had his head directly blown apart by his fist.
In the distance, Longtian drew a sharp breath of cold air.
This was the struggle among Cultivators—no mercy, no flukes, only life and death, success and failure.
“Good thing I didn’t go up there,” Longtian thought.
“If I had charged in, I would be heavily injured if not dead.
They haven’t even reached the cave entrance yet, and already three people have been severely wounded and one has died.”
Thanks to the protection of their Sixth Layer expert, the group from Zhang Family Village rushed toward the cave entrance completely unscathed.
Inside the cave, the three Little Mortal Fruits emitting green light looked like three gemstones, giving off a dazzling radiance under the moonlight.
“Brother, I’ll leave that guy to you.
I’ll go snatch the Little Mortal Fruits!” The youth in white’s voice rang out, followed by a loud roar.
“Transform!”
A loud BANG echoed, sending dust flying into the air.
Within the cloud of dust, the youth in white’s body rapidly grew taller, instantly reaching a height of nearly three meters.
When the dust settled, a humanoid beast appeared in everyone’s line of sight.
He had a rhinoceros horn on his head and hands like rhinoceros hooves.
When his massive foot stomped, a deep crater appeared in the earth.
The rampant Spiritual Energy transformed into Beast Energy, violently swirling around his body to form faint bands of wind.
This was a Half-Beastman!
They were powerful, Bloodthirsty, and berserk!
They possessed Defense akin to that of wild beasts, and their bodies represented naked, absolute power.
This was a Beast Cultivator!
The youth in white had transformed into a Half-Beastman, possessing a berserk strength that was two or three times that of ordinary people.
With a slap of his massive, furry hand, the violent force directly smashed the head of a Fifth Level Cultivator from Zhang Family Village beside him.
From start to finish, the victim didn’t even have time to defend himself.
Stunned.
All the Fifth Level Cultivators were completely stunned.