Chapter 1431: Dragon Scale Fruit

Wang Changsheng frowned slightly and asked, "Fellow Daoist Shen, I'm a bit confused. It's incredibly difficult for plants to become demons. Under specific conditions, there's only a certain chance for them to gain sentience, and transforming into human form would require who knows how many opportunities. Yet, their offspring are born in human form? That seems incredibly abnormal!"

According to Shen Wenbin, a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb, after finally gaining sentience and transforming into human form, its descendants can just directly transform?

"Perhaps the Spirit Realm possesses rare treasures that can achieve this! Or, it might be that the ancestors of the Five-Element Spirits had to cultivate to a very high realm and master a specific secret art to achieve it. However, the Five-Element Spirits are particularly difficult to deal with, especially the Water Spirits, who are proficient in water-element spells and are incredibly hard to guard against."

Shen Wenbin spoke somewhat vaguely. He didn't know much about the Five-Element Spirits, as there wasn't much information about them in the ancient texts. It only mentioned that they were quite formidable. It was said that during the primordial era, the Five-Element Spirits were more numerous, but due to various reasons, they are no longer seen in the East Fence Realm. They might still exist in the Spirit Realm.

"I've seen records of the Five-Element Spirits in an ancient text," Gongsun Yang said, smiling as he looked at Song Tianyang. "They have difficulty reproducing, and only those with purer bloodlines can directly transform into human form. If one parent is not a Five-Element Spirit, their offspring cannot take human form. If I recall correctly, tens of thousands of years ago, a Spirit Transformation cultivator from the Thousand Gourd Realm came to the East Fence Realm and caused widespread slaughter. He carried a fourth-tier wood demon, which was incredibly ferocious, killing many Nascent Soul cultivators. He was eventually slain by two palace masters of the Sun and Moon Palace, who obtained many seeds. Fellow Daoist Song, your Sun and Moon Palace must have cultivated this kind of wood demon, right?"

Song Tianyang shook his head. "We did get some seeds, but we haven't been able to cultivate them. Many factions obtained these seeds. Fellow Daoist Li, did your Nine Yang Sect not cultivate them either?"

Li Tianyang shook his head. "No, those seeds didn't sprout even after a hundred years in the spiritual fields, so we used them for crafting."

"What a pity," Gongsun Yang said with regret. "If we had the seeds, our Myriad Beast Island might have been able to cultivate them."

The casual remark, however, did not escape the notice of some. Wang Changsheng's expression remained unchanged. He wondered how much effort the Zhenhai Sect had put in to cultivate wood demons. It was a pity the Zhenhai Sect had been destroyed; otherwise, once the wood demons reached the fourth tier, they would have been a significant asset.

In the Immortal Ascension Ruins, an endless dense black forest stretched out. Wang Qingling sat on the back of a black sparrow, with thousands of black bats relentlessly pursuing her.

Each black bat was about a *zhang* in size, with blood-red eyes, gaping maws, and protruding fangs, appearing terrifyingly grotesque.

The black bats either spewed black flames or emitted black sonic waves, attacking Wang Qingling from all directions.

Above Wang Qingling's head floated a small, shimmering green umbrella with several blue lotus flowers on its surface. A screen of green light enveloped both Wang Qingling and the black sparrow.

When the black flames or sonic waves struck the green light screen, it swayed continuously, spiritual light flickering.

The black sparrow was swift, constantly changing direction. Some black flames that hit the ground immediately created craters several *zhang* wide. When black flames landed on towering trees, the trees instantly burst into roaring flames.

Black sonic waves hitting ancient black trees caused their thick trunks to immediately explode.

Wang Qingling took out a palm-sized green bell with a blue lotus flower carved on its surface. The blue lotus suddenly glowed brightly, and a rapid ringing sound echoed as the small green bell emitted a misty green sonic wave towards the black demon bats behind her.

The black demon bats showed no fear, each spewing a fist-sized black flame to meet the attack.

Thousands of black flames collided with the green sonic wave, causing the latter to instantly shatter. Wang Qingling also fled far away.

A quarter of an hour later, the black sparrow flew out of the dense forest. Wang Qingling's face was pale, looking as if she had over-expended her magical energy.

There were too many third-tier demon beasts here, along with numerous ferocious insects and savage beasts. Of course, there were also many high-grade spiritual herbs.

Not long ago, after she picked a thousand-year-old Cold Moon Flower, she encountered a swarm of demon bats. There were as many as five third-tier demon bats alone. Fortunately, the black sparrow was quite fast.

Not far ahead was an open area. The black sparrow accelerated and landed on the ground.

Just then, the black demon bats caught up.

Wang Qingling flipped her hand, taking out a shimmering red talisman. She blew a breath onto it, and the red talisman shot out. With a muffled "poof," it burst apart, transforming into a five-hundred-zhang-wide cloud of white fire. The ambient temperature suddenly rose, and the surrounding weeds spontaneously combusted.

"Go!"

The crimson fire cloud, carrying an overwhelming heatwave, flew towards the attacking black demon bats with remarkable speed.

Wang Qingling released her Earth Dragon Earthworm, jumped onto its back, and after a yellow glow emerged from its body, the Earth Dragon Earthworm burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

Rumble!

The crimson fire cloud surged into the swarm of demon bats and instantly exploded, transforming into a rolling inferno that engulfed hundreds of black demon bats.

Before long, the flames dispersed. Over a hundred black demon bats were reduced to ashes, and dozens more fell from mid-air, their bodies covered in blood. The other demon bats rushed forward, attacking their injured counterparts and draining them dry.

The black demon bats circled a few times where Wang Qingling had disappeared, then flew off into the distance.

A somewhat desolate mountain range stretched out, barren of vegetation, with everything a grayish-white.

A massive golden giant eagle swiftly soared through the sky. Behind it, two enormous golden centipedes, ten *zhang* long, pursued. Each centipede had four pairs of *zhang*-sized purple membranes on its back, purple patterns on its head, and exposed fangs, making them look terrifyingly grotesque.

Both golden centipedes simultaneously spewed large sheets of golden light, striking the golden giant eagle. A series of "clanging" metallic sounds erupted, indicating that the golden giant eagle was clearly a puppet beast.

The golden giant eagle flew into a narrow valley, and the two golden centipedes pursued it.

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose, and dark clouds rolled violently. A five-hundred-zhang-wide black cloud abruptly appeared high in the sky, accompanied by lightning flashes and thunder, as electrical serpents danced wildly.

Outside the valley, a black light flashed, revealing Ye Haitang. She held a formation plate in her hand, its surface adorned with flickering silver electric arcs.

Ye Haitang cast several incantations into the formation plate. After a rumbling roar of thunder, a large swath of thick silver lightning bolts flew out, rushing into the valley.

A series of thunderous roars echoed, and a silver sea of lightning engulfed the valley.

A quarter of an hour later, the dark clouds dispersed. The valley was in ruins, emanating a hot mist. The ground had turned black, with two enormous centipede heads lying on it. The rock walls on both sides were blackened. At the end of the valley lay a watermelon-sized metallic sphere.

Ye Haitang collected the metallic sphere, transformed into a black streak of light, and flew along the path from which the golden centipedes had come.

Before long, Ye Haitang landed at the foot of a steep peak. There was a *zhang*-sized cave entrance at the base of the mountain, and Ye Haitang stepped inside.

The cave wound circuitously. Soon, she reached its end, where a *mu*-sized cavern appeared before her.

The rock walls were pitted and uneven. In a hidden corner stood a three-zhang-tall golden fruit tree. Its leaves were rhomboid and pale gold, and its trunk had silver patterns. Five pale golden fruits hung on the tree, their surfaces covered with fine patterns that, from a distance, resembled golden scales.

"Dragon Scale Fruit!"

Ye Haitang was startled at first, but quickly realized what it was and was overjoyed.

Dragon Scale Fruit was a very rare spiritual fruit in the cultivation world. Some ancient texts recorded that it possessed the heaven-defying ability to regenerate flesh on bones. Of course, Dragon Scale Fruit didn't actually have that power, but it could strengthen a cultivator's physical body. It was said that if a cultivator consumed too many Dragon Scale Fruits, their physical body could become comparable to a flood dragon's.

In terms of physical strength alone, flood dragons ranked among the top three demon races.

Wang Changsheng was the only body cultivator in the Wang family, so these five Dragon Scale Fruits were perfect for him.

Wang Changsheng had greatly helped Ye Haitang reach her current achievements.

"Uncle will surely be very happy if he sees these Dragon Scale Fruits," Ye Haitang murmured to herself.

Ye Haitang muttered to herself, then quickly walked forward and carefully plucked the five Dragon Scale Fruits. She placed them in a jade box and stored them in her storage ring.

Once planted, a Dragon Scale Fruit tree could not be easily transplanted, as it would likely wither and die.

Ye Haitang did not dig up the Dragon Scale Fruit tree. She walked out, then flipped her hand, took out several pale yellow talismans, and threw them towards the cave entrance.

With a flash of yellow light, the yellow talismans disappeared into the rock wall. A large cloud of yellow mist then emerged from the rock wall, sealing the cave entrance.

Another flash of yellow light, and the cave entrance vanished, replaced by an uneven rock face.

She took out a pale blue beast hide and drew a map of the nearby terrain. If cultivators from the Wang family could enter the Immortal Ascension Ruins in the future, the Dragon Scale Fruits would likely have borne fruit again.

As the saying goes, "one generation plants trees, another enjoys the shade." When disciples of cultivating families or sects searched for treasures in secret realms or forbidden lands, they would always draw maps, marking potential treasure locations. Later generations, re-entering these places, could then use these maps to seek treasures.

Having completed all this, Ye Haitang walked forward, and soon disappeared into the dense forest.

An endless yellow desert stretched out. A massive golden giant eagle flew high overhead, carrying Wang Qiuming on its back. His brows were tightly furrowed.

He had been in the Immortal Ascension Ruins for several days, but his detection bead showed no reaction at all. He wondered if the Immortal Ascension Ruins were simply too vast.

Just then, a deafening roar echoed.

Wang Qiuming was startled. He withdrew his incantation, and the golden giant eagle slowed down.

A streak of red light, incredibly fast, flew from the distant horizon.

Behind the red light was a five-hundred-zhang-wide cloud of golden mist.

Wang Qiuming narrowed his eyes, discerning the true nature of the red light: it was a shimmering crimson flying boat, carrying two Core Formation cultivators who looked flustered.

The golden cloud, it turned out, was formed by thousands of golden scorpions gathered together. They spewed poisonous mist from their mouths, shimmered with golden light all over, and held their tail stingers high.

Wang Qiuming inwardly cursed, "Why do I always run into such trouble?" His golden cloak instantly glowed brightly, and he flew back the way he had come.

A loud roar of thunder erupted, and two miserable screams came from behind him. Wang Qiuming's heart tightened, and he quickly accelerated.

The golden cloud pursued relentlessly, moving exceptionally fast.

After about fifteen minutes, Wang Qiuming flew out of the yellow desert, emerging onto an endless plain, with the golden cloud still hot on his heels.

A shrill hiss rang out, and Wang Qiuming felt as if someone was repeatedly striking his head with a heavy object, making him dizzy and disoriented.

Rumble!

A deafening roar erupted, and the sky suddenly darkened. A five-hundred-zhang-wide golden thundercloud appeared high above, with thick, waist-sized golden lightning serpents writhing within it.

After the golden thundercloud violently churned, dozens of thick golden lightning bolts shot out, striking towards Wang Qiuming.

Wang Qiuming's expression turned grim. He had actually encountered a swarm of lightning-element demon insects. Lightning-element demon insects were already rare, and swarms of them were even rarer. To encounter lightning-element demon insects that also knew soul attacks was extremely uncommon, yet he had managed to stumble upon them.

Wang Qiuming raised his hand, and a pale golden small umbrella flew out, opening above his head. Its surface had several golden lotus flowers, which glowed brightly, causing the golden umbrella to emit a large sheet of golden light that enveloped Wang Qiuming.

The golden lightning bolts struck the golden light, making it tremble incessantly and dim considerably.

Wang Qiuming dared not be careless. The golden cloak on his body glowed brightly once more, transforming him into a golden streak that cut through the air and sped away.

A thunderous roar echoed, and golden lightning bolts flew out, striking down towards Wang Qiuming, but missing him.

He quickly flew out of the golden thundercloud's range, but the golden giant scorpions caught up.

Another shrill hiss rang out, and Wang Qiuming's head throbbed. He slowed down, and a thick golden lightning bolt struck him precisely from behind.

With a flash of golden light, a sheet of golden electrical arcs enveloped Wang Qiuming, and a faint scream could be heard.

Wang Qiuming fell to the ground, his body covered in blood, with multiple charred areas. His eyes were filled with terror.

The golden giant scorpions caught up. Wang Qiuming tried to evade, but a shrill hiss rang out, contorting his features. He felt as if countless heavy objects were striking his head, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

A large swath of thick golden lightning bolts flew towards him. Just then, a yellow light emerged from underground, and a hundred-zhang-tall yellow earth wall rose from the ground, blocking Wang Qiuming.

Rumble!

The dense golden lightning bolts struck the yellow earth wall, causing it to instantly shatter, sending dust flying. Wang Qiuming also disappeared.

Several hundred *zhang* underground, Wang Qiuming and Wang Qingling sat on the Earth Dragon Earthworm. Wang Qiuming's clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

"Tenth Aunt," Wang Qiuming said with a wry smile, "I'm so glad I ran into you, or I would have lost my life."