The Eternal Soaring Sword

Chapter 5 - The Fruit of the Red Tree

The night was as cold as water and the full moon hung high in the sky. The mountain air was cool at night, not to mention that there was blood splattering on the ground, along with the heads of monsters. The wind caused the leaves to rustle violently.

Zhao Jiuge's neck became tense and he nervously looked around. He felt his surroundings were a bit creepy, so he tightened his grip on his knife and rushed forward, borrowing the light from the moon to look in front of him.

Zhao Jiuge spent his days in the mountains like this. He had been in the mountains for a month. The deeper he went into the mountains, the more dire his condition became. It was more humid, the vegetation was busier, and there were even more snakes and venomous insects lurking within it.

Absorbing the world's spiritual energy into one's body and turning it into spirit power was the first stage of cultivation, the Spirit Detecting Realm. After Zhao Jiuge's battle against the beast a few days ago, along with his daily cultivation, he had entered the final stage of the Spirit Detecting Realm. His meridians were even wider and the spirit power in his body was even brighter. Now he could jump several meters into the air and run faster than a wild rabbit.

As he went deeper into the mountains, the road became steeper, humidity increased, there were marshes of various sizes, and the entire road was covered in vegetation. Fog enveloped the area, so even with the sun high in the sky, sunlight could not penetrate. Zhao Jiuge saw a white mist rising among the dark mountains and saw poisonous snakes of various colors entangled in the tree branches.

There was a constant sound coming from all around him. Zhao Jiuge walked every step as if he was on thin ice, and his right hand held tightly to the hunting knife that had been used to kill Wang Dazhuang. Spirit power constantly revolved within his body. Although the snakes and insects in the surroundings were not far from him, they all instinctively avoided him. As he quickly traveled through the forest, some vegetation immediately caught his attention.

“Eh, the Red Tree Fruit tree in the village only grows knee-high and one fruit is about the size of a thumb. This fruit is completely green, and not only do the village children love it, even the wild snakes love it. The vegetation here was nourished by spiritual energy, so it grew to the size of a small tree and the fruit was the size of a fist, ”melt Zhao Jiuge on himself as he walked to pick up the fruit.

When he was a few feet away from the fruit and had not even reached out, he heard the sound of something quickly crawling from afar. There was a strong smell of blood that caused Zhao Jiuge's heart to beat violently. He silently cursed at what could happen this time.

Fortunately, after experiencing the meeting last time, he did not panic, but he was still shocked. He quickly retreated a few steps only to see a snake head the size of a baby's head poking out from the grass. His eyes were cold and his body was thick, with a brown and black pattern. It is over seven meters long.

The snake shook its tongue and its tail gently swung forward and backward while staring intently at Zhao Jiuge at all times. It was extremely displeased and wary of outsiders who had invaded its territory.

Zhao Jiuge's lips were dry, his eyes were filled with fear, and cold sweat covered his forehead. Sweat drips from the forehead to the chin. He held the hunting knife tightly in his hand and was even afraid to wipe his sweat away as he felt a strong danger in his heart.

The path of cultivation was at odds with the heavens, and the person walking on that path would naturally sense danger. Although Zhao Jiuge had not even taken the first step on this long road, he had at least opened the door. The man and the snake remained in a dead end. Not much sunlight reached this place and was surrounded by swamps. The moist and foggy air gave off a pitiful aura. 

After a few minutes, Zhao Jiuge was unable to endure this miserable atmosphere and licked his dry lips. He pedaled all the spirit power in his body and used his full strength to escape. The huge snake saw the intruder running away but did not chase. It watched as Zhao Jiuge's figure disappeared and then crawled back into the grass.

Zhao Jiuge ran for a while before he looked back, and after he was sure the huge snake was not following him, he felt a lingering fear in his heart. Today is different from that night. If he didn't run away when he could, then he would be a fool.

After experiencing the strange cultivation world, even though it was only the tip of the iceberg, he couldn't help but complain about that cheap teacher, Ye Wuyou. Not only was he not there to guide her, he did not even leave any practical items for her.

One item was the Sanskrit Heart Sutra, which was the main cultivation method, and the other was the Sanskrit Divine Body, which he could not learn until he reached the Blood Movement Realm. No method of attack was given to him. Even though he was at the final stage of the Spirit Detection Realm, all he had was empty power with no method to use it.

The second realm was when the spirit power within one's body became dense enough to spread from dantian to blood. After the body fused with spirit power, one's body would be reborn and they would enter the Blood Movement Realm.

The third realm is when the body finishes changing at the final stage of the Blood Movement. At this point, even the limbs would fuse with spirit power. Then the spirit power within the body will be able to be released outside the body to attack—it is the Spirit Transformation Realm.

“Teacher, ah, Master, you just left me like this and you want me to go to the distant Carefree Valley to fulfill your unfinished wish. I'm afraid I'll be sent to accompany you before I even make it out of this mountain range, ” complained Zhao Jiuge as he worried about all the dangers.

After walking for half a day, he gradually made it out of this swamp. The sun shone on the young man's back. Compared to the mountain, he was still very small and weak.

A gentle breeze blew away the moisture in the air and the vigilance in the young man's heart. He slowly calmed down and caught a glimpse of the sun hiding behind the clouds, slowly appearing. He reached out his hand and said, "Maybe you are out of my reach now, but one day you will definitely be in my hands!"

The young man's shadow was stretched out by the sun as he completely left the swamp. Zhao Jiuge found a place to rest and inspected his body. His will for power was stronger than before. When he reached the final stage of the Spirit Detecting Realm, he had to examine his body and find a way to quickly enter the Blood Movement Realm.

Even if one had a famous teacher, one would still have to rely on themselves on the path of cultivation. Even a famous teacher will not know the fine details of their student body, but with a teacher, you will take a much less detour.

However, after reaching a certain realm, you will have to rely on your own understanding and hard work. Even if two people were to cultivate the same method, they would still not go down the same path. This is due to his own qualifications, environment, opportunities, and other factors due to his own fate. Then, each step is life or death, and no one walks the same path. Cultivation was like someone swimming in the darkness with their eyes closed, slowly searching for stones to cross the river. Every moment was filled with danger and every step was more difficult than the last.

He focused his mind and his spirit power moved smoothly. Even when he traveled all day, his body had absorbed the spiritual energy beneath him. The color around his dantian would not shine anymore, so how could he enter the Blood Movement Realm?

Zhao Jiuge had tried to combine his spirit power with his blood, but was quickly forced to retreat. When his spirit power extended to his limbs, his body became extremely strong, but the moment he stopped cycling his spirit power, it would all retreat back to his dantian. Although he was troubled by this matter, he would slowly explore his options whenever he had time during the day.

However, he was unable to find a solution to this problem. Even though he wanted strength, he knew that cultivation was a long road he had to take step by step and he could not become impatient or greedy. After another failed attempt, the young man sighed softly and lowered his head in frustration.

He stood up and found that there was a valley not far away. The entrance was not wide and was sandwiched between two mountains. He stood at the mouth of the valley and looked inside but saw nothing.

The mountain was covered in dense trees and eagles flew high in the sky. Zhao Jiuge looked up at the sky. The sun was about to set, so he decided to stay here overnight to find out how to enter the Blood Movement Realm. Then, knowing what kind of venomous snake and strange insect would come out at night, he would go deeper into the valley in the morning.

The huge snake he saw had left a scar on his heart.