Chapter 1364: Zoysia Dragon Fruit
"Zoysia Dragon Fruit!" Ye Ying blurted out the words that had just surfaced in Han Li's mind.
Long Dong and the others also put on expressions of surprise and elation, having clearly also identified these fruits.
"These fruits are the main ingredient for refining the spirit medicine, the Rising Dragon Pill, which can only be consumed by cultivators at or above the Spatial Tempering Stage. The fruits only ripen once every 30,000 years, and even consumption on their own can save one 60 years of arduous cultivation. Looks like this one has only ripened recently; it would be massively fortunate if we could secure this bunch of fruits," Xiao Hong murmured to herself with glowing eyes.
Her expression was also mirrored on Ye Ying and Long Dong's faces. All of them were clearly extremely tempted to step in.
Main ingredients for Spatial Tempering Stage pills were extremely rare, and even most ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivators wouldn't be able to encounter them. Such prized ingredients couldn't be found in normal auctions, either; they were mostly traded between high-grade cultivators for items of equal value. Otherwise, the True Toad Spirit Blood required for refining a late-Deity Transformation Stage pill wouldn't have been so desperately sought-after by those attending the auction.
The pill could take one from the Deity Transformation Stage to the Spatial Tempering Stage, which appeared to be just a single step, but the difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
If a cultivator among them were to secure the Zoysia Dragon Fruits here and take them to a Spatial Tempering cultivator, they would undoubtedly be ecstatic and be willing to exchange a large bunch of Deity Transformation Stage pills in exchange for the fruit.
Even though prized materials and ingredients are extremely abundant in the primordial world, spirit medicines that were effective for Deity Transformation cultivators and above were still considered to be quite rare, and a certain degree of luck was required to find them.
Furthermore, if a spirit medicine were to appear or ripen, it would attract many powerful beings in a short time, so these fruits wouldn't be around for long.
Han Li and his group hadn't even ventured into the primordial world in search of materials and ingredients, yet they've encountered a Lightning Turtle and these Zoysia Dragon Fruits within the short span of a few months; they were certainly immensely fortunate. There would often be high-grade cultivators who stayed in the primordial world for decades at a time, only to remain completely empty-handed.
"Have a look at the situation down below first!" the white-browed young man harrumphed coldly.
"That giant is a Thousand-Eyed Giant; its eyes are all silver-white, which suggests that it's yet to reach full maturity, but it's still a vastly fearsome being. That lizard may not look like much, but for a Thousand-Eyed Giant to be so wary of it clearly indicates that it's also quite powerful in its own right. Both of these beings most likely possess at least early-Spatial Tempering Stage power," Han Li analyzed in a slow voice.
During his days at Deep Heaven City, he'd purchased some tomes related to the primordial world in preparation for his upcoming trip. As such, he was immediately able to identify what this giant was and made a calm assessment based on this observation.
After hearing Han Li's words, everyone else was alerted to the fact that securing these fruits would be an extremely daunting task. However, they simply couldn't bring themselves to leave such a rare and precious ingredient behind. Everyone glanced at one another, but no one was willing to take the plunge, and their expressions all darkened in unison.
Right at this moment, a buzzing sound rang out from the distance, drawing everyone's attention toward that direction.
There in the distant sky, seven or eight massive silkworm-like beings were flying rapidly toward them. They were all around 20 feet in length, and their bodies were radiating lights of all different colors.
They did not appear to be here for a picnic.
Han Li's brows furrowed, but after sweeping his spiritual sense toward them, his expression eased again.
These giant creatures appeared to be quite fearsome, but their auras were rather weak, and they'd pose no threat to Han Li and the others. As such, no one regarded these creatures as a threat, and they were preparing to swat them away once they drew closer.
However, the sequence of events that unfolded next gave them a massive fright.
When these creatures were still over 1,000 feet away from them, they just so happened to be flying right above the massive lizard. The lizard abruptly opened its cavernous, blasting forth something from within.
One of the giant silkworms abruptly disappeared on the spot, sending the entire swarm into a state of panic and disarray. The remaining silkworms circled around erratically in the air, letting loose sharp screeches of shock and rage.
However, their actions proved to be completely ineffective as another giant silkworm disappeared without any premonition.
Long Dong and the others were all quite startled to see this.
Han Li narrowed his eyes as a wisp of blue light flashed through his pupils.
In the instant that the next giant silkworm disappeared, he was finally able to glean what was happening with assistance from his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
Those giant silkworms weren't actually vanishing into thin air. Instead, their abdomens were being punctured by a close-to-transparent tongue that shot forth from the lizard’s mouth at an incredible speed, then dragged into the lizard's massive mouth as food thereafter. It was just that the speed at which its tongue was able to fly through the air was quite absurd, thereby giving everyone the illusion that those giant silkworms were disappearing on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, all of the remaining silkworms were also swallowed by the giant lizard, following which the latter lay down on the ground in a completely stationary manner.
A hint of astonishment appeared in Han Li's eyes as he cast his gaze toward the lizard.
Long Dong had unleashed a certain secret technique, thereby allowing him to also catch sight of the massive lizard’s tongue, and he took a deep breath with a grim expression as he said, "This might be a mutated ancient beast. Otherwise, it wouldn't possess such devastating offensive power. Looks like our spirit ark was also destroyed by this thing's tongue."
"But we're standing right here; why hasn't it attacked us as opposed to those giant insects?" Ye Ying cocked her head to the side with a hint of befuddlement on her face.
"Who knows? Perhaps we're too small for the lizard to even bother to consider eating us. Alternatively, perhaps those giant insects just so happen to be its favorite food," Xiao Hong speculated with a faint smile.
Ye Ying nodded in response, seemingly under the impression that Xiao Hong's speculation was quite plausible.
"Let's not waste any more time with idle chatter. None of us want to give up on these Zoysia Dragon Fruits, right? Seeing as such a brilliant opportunity has been presented to us, I wouldn't even be willing to relinquish it even if I was here on my own." A hint of greed flashed through the eyes of the white-browed young man as he spoke.
"There are two Spatial Tempering Stage beings down below; you sure are brave, Brother Li," Ye Ying giggled.
"Hmph, if there was only one Spatial Tempering Stage being around, then I may immediately leave on the spot. However, with two here, we have some chances," the white-browed young man said in a cold voice.
"Oh? Are you saying..." Ye Ying immediately caught on to what he was planning.
"That's right. This mutated ancient beast is quite troublesome to deal with, but that Thousand-Eyed Giant is nothing to be scoffed at, either, even if it hasn't reached full maturity. In a battle between the two of them, both would most likely end up with severe injuries; perhaps even one or both of them would die in the process. If we strike then, we'll have decent chances," Long Dong chuckled as he rubbed his hands together.
"How long will we have to wait before a battle breaks out? What if they don't do anything for months on end?" Xiao Hong shook her head.
"That is indeed something we need to consider. After all, we've been assigned with an important mission and we can't stay here for too long," Long Dong agreed with a slight nod.
"No matter how urgent the situation is, we have at least this much time to waste. These are Zoysia Dragon Fruits! They're definitely worth the delay." The white-browed young man seemed to be determined to get his hands on those fruits.
"Even if those two Spatial Tempering Stage beings do battle one another and end up with severe injuries, if they struggle for their lives, their attacks will not be easy to handle. One or more of us may perish during that process. If you ask me, we should continue onward and not take any reckless detours."
Long Dong was also very drawn to these Zoysai Dragon Fruits, but they couldn't compare to the other major event that he was hiding in his heart, so he naturally didn't want to take any risks, which was why he was advocating for caution above all else.
"I also think that it would not be a wise decision for us to try and secure these fruits. Don't forget that giants are pack-dwelling creatures. These spirit fruits have already ripened, yet this giant and this lizard are still caught in an impasse; perhaps the giant is awaiting its brethren to arrive on the scene and provide it with assistance. The lizard hasn't taken the initiative to attack, so it must also be plotting something as well. If we keep waiting like this, we could get caught up in a massive battle that would endanger our lives," Xiao Hong mused with furrowed brows.
"I don't care what you say; I have to secure those spirit fruits." For some reason, Ye Ying suddenly decided to stand firmly by the white-browed young man's side. Not only did Long Dong and Xiao Hong falter upon seeing this, even the white-browed young man himself was quite surprised by this development.
However, a predicament now arose. There were two people for and two people against, making Han Li's vote the decisive one.
As such, all four of them cast their eyes toward Han Li. Han Li heaved an internal sigh and paid the four of them no heed as he mused, "It is indeed taking some risks for such precious spirit fruits, but it's just as Fairy Xiao has said; we can't spend too much time here. Even if the giant and the lizard refrain from making a move, other powerful beings could b attracted to this place by these spirit fruits. We have to strike within three days."
The other four people all glanced at one another upon hearing this.
"Surely it's not possible to create a suitable opportunity for us to strike within three days." Xiao Hong shook her head.
The white-browed young man and Ye Ying remained silent, but they were clearly also quite skeptical.
"If we leave things as they are right now, then it would indeed be quite unlikely that an opportunity would present itself within three days. However, if we employ some tactics, we might be able to create some chances for ourselves. For example, we can lure them away or enrage them," Han Li proposed with a faint smile.
"So what you're saying is..." Long Dong was beginning to understand what Han Li was plotting.
"That's right! If we can do that, then it's possible to create an opportunity for ourselves in a short time!" The white-browed young man was ecstatic.
"Luring them away won't be easy, but enraging them and urging them to battle one another shouldn't be too difficult," Ye Ying chuckled.
"If there's not much risk involved, then I'm willing to offer my assistance." Xiao Hong seemed to have changed her mind after hearing Han Li's proposal.
Long Dong contemplated the situation for a long while before finally giving a reluctant nod. "Seeing as all of you have made your decisions, it wouldn't be right for me to detach myself from this endeavor. However, the course of action we take has to be a feasible one!"