Cultivation Starting from Full Talent
Chapter 567 - 565: Heavenly Destiny Fruit Seed

Chapter 567: Chapter 565: Heavenly Destiny Fruit Seed

"Since City Lord Ning holds me in such high regard..."

Ning Daoran cupped his hands immediately and said, "I might as well accept Fairy Mingyu as my sworn sister. No problem at all."

"Good!"

Ning Tianyi nodded with a smile and said, "In that case, this old man shall make it official! Mingyu, why aren’t you paying your respects to your elder brother?"

"Yes!"

This was exactly what Ning Mingyu desired but didn’t dare ask for. She immediately stood, held her sleeves together, and bowed respectfully with a sweet smile, "Brother! Mingyu offers her respects~~~"

Ning Daoran cupped his hands again. "No need for such formalities, Mingyu."

"With this out of the way, we can speak more freely now."

Ning Tianyi appeared full of ambition and declared, "I wouldn’t have come here uninvited if it weren’t for a request. I imagine Ning Young Friend already knows that this old man has a humble favor to ask."

"City Lord, please speak frankly."

Ning Daoran smiled slightly. "If it is something I can assist with, I certainly won’t decline."

"Excellent!"

Ning Tianyi glanced at Ning Mingyu and said, "I’m sure you’ve noticed, Mingyu is the only child I have. Ever since she was young, I’ve treated her like the apple of my eye, pampering her greatly. Now that Mingyu’s already at the late Golden Core Stage, she needs further refining to attempt a Nascent Soul breakthrough. Thus, I’ve decided to send her out to sea to hunt demons and compete for a spot on the Demon Slayer List."

He paused before continuing, "I’ve heard that several years ago, you also ventured out to sea to hunt demons. Thus, I’m shamelessly asking if you can accompany Mingyu to the Endless Demon Sea this time and offer her protection."

As he spoke, Ning Tianyi lowered his voice and added, "So long as this girl Mingyu can place within the top 500 of the Demon Slayer List, this journey will be a great success. And if Young Friend truly helps her achieve this, this old man would be willing to offer this as a token of gratitude!"

He lifted his hand lightly, revealing a faintly golden seed resting on his palm.

"Ah?"

Ning Daoran’s heart trembled. Just a slight extension of his Nascent Soul Divine Sense to scan it revealed its extraordinary nature—this was no ordinary seed. It emitted a faint aura of a fifth-rank Spirit Fruit!

"What is this...?"

Ning Daoran frowned as he inquired.

"This is a seed of the Heavenly Destiny Fruit, an opportunity I obtained years ago while demon-hunting in the Endless Demon Sea. I’ve kept it preserved ever since. Unfortunately, its spirituality has waned and now it’s lost all vitality. However, if planted, there’s still a very slim chance it may germinate."

In that moment, Ning Daoran felt as though he was struck by lightning!

The Heavenly Destiny Fruit, a fifth-rank Spirit Fruit, was one of the main ingredients for the fifth-order God Transformation Medicine—Ming Xing Immortal Soul Pill!

This type of treasure was considered one of the rarest gems in the Eastern Wasteland Cultivation World. The value of a flourishing Heavenly Destiny Fruit tree, if it could be regrown, was beyond imagination.

However, this seed had indeed lost its vitality, with only a shred of spirituality remaining. As Ning Tianyi had said, while it was technically a Heavenly Destiny Fruit seed, the odds of successfully planting it were exceedingly low.

It was akin to buying a lottery ticket—one knew the chance of winning was negligible, but the anticipation was irresistible.

Nonetheless, Ning Daoran was deeply moved. He was fundamentally different from other cultivators, having refined the Eternal Green Technique to the thirtieth layer as a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. Even though this seed’s residual vitality was scarce, combined with the water from the Jade Spirit Spring and supplemented by the power of the Eternal Green Technique, the chances of revival exceeded fifty percent!

Ning Tianyi, as the Lord of the Returning Ruins Immortal Land, was shrewd to the extreme. Using this seed as a bargaining chip was informed by his knowledge of Independent Practitioner Jianjia’s reputation, cleverly deducing that Ning Daoran’s proficiency with Wood Attribute techniques was unparalleled. This seed, insignificant to many others, held an exceptional allure for Ning Daoran.

"This... this might be worth a try."

Ning Daoran was in the Endless Demon Sea precisely to seek a God Transformation opportunity. Now that the Heavenly Destiny Fruit seed lay before him, how could he let such a chance slip by? Besides, if aiding Ning Mingyu only required collecting around a hundred Golden Core Demon Beast Souls, it would be an effortless task. Why not?

"Good!"

Ning Tianyi put away the Heavenly Destiny Fruit seed, smiling. "Mingyu’s journey to the sea is no trivial matter. We still need to make deliberate plans and preparations. The tentative departure date will be three years from now, so Ning Young Friend has three years to make your preparations."

"That sounds ideal."

Ning Daoran nodded. "Indeed, I have several matters I need to address beforehand."

"Then it’s settled!"

Ning Tianyi rose. "This old man has other affairs to attend to, so I shall take my leave. Mingyu, are you coming back with your father?"

"Father, you can return on your own."

Ning Mingyu remained seated, unmoving, as if glued to her chair. "I’ll stay and chat with my elder brother for a while. You go ahead if you’re busy."

"Fine."

Ning Tianyi sighed and shook his head as he departed. Outside the cave mansion, several of the City Lord’s Mansion followers were waiting. Each boasted early-stage Nascent Soul strength, radiating a fearsome aura.

Ning Daoran took a deep breath. As expected of the Returning Ruins Immortal Land—it undoubtedly surpassed Kunpeng Immortal City in foundation. When Lin Tiannan traveled, his followers were usually at the Golden Core Stage. Compared to Ning Tianyi, with Nascent Soul stage followers accompanying him, there was simply no comparison.

As soon as Ning Tianyi left, Ning Mingyu visibly lightened up.

She crossed her arms and even propped up one leg over the other, grinning mischievously. "Brother, what’s for dinner tonight?"

Ning Daoran felt a headache coming on. "What’s this? The moment your father leaves, you show your true colors?"

"Of course!"

Ning Mingyu laughed charmingly. "Now that you’re my big brother and this is half my home, why would I still keep up appearances?"

"Alright then."

Ning Daoran smiled wryly. "Old Lu, prepare a few dishes to entertain this mischievous Mingyu. Besides..."

He fixed his gaze on Ning Mingyu. "For this demon-hunting journey, tell me everything about who else is part of the team. Knowing your allies and enemies will help me plan accordingly."

"Understood."

Ning Mingyu retrieved a Jade Talisman. With a single wave of her hand, it released projections in shades of green, each representing another cultivator.

She pointed to the first projection, an old man clad in a long robe. "Independent Practitioner Longque. He has resided in the City Lord’s Mansion for many years as a senior deacon. Few outside know of his existence, but he watched me grow up and is deeply loyal to the Ning Family. My father assigned him to accompany us. On the surface, his cultivation appears to be late Golden Core..."

"Oh~~"

Ning Daoran raised an eyebrow. "At least early Nascent Soul, right?"

Ning Mingyu chuckled but said nothing.

Next, she pointed to another projection. "Master Luo. He’s a late-stage Golden Core Loose Cultivator skilled in Thunder Techniques—a friend I made during my Jianghu travels. And this one, Liu Buyu, a late-stage Golden Core Sword Cultivator with exceptional swordsmanship."

Following that, she pointed to a familiar projection. "Zhou Yunlong, a late-stage Golden Core Independent Practitioner. He’ll serve as our guide for this demon-hunting expedition."

"Zhou Yunlong?"

Ning Daoran frowned slightly. "Did you choose him too?"

"Indeed."

Ning Mingyu replied, "For this demon-hunting journey, I’ll be operating under my alias as Fairy Mingyu. Apart from you and Independent Practitioner Longque, the others are unaware that my father is the City Lord."

Finally, she gestured at five identical projections standing together. "The Five Absolutes of Yun Mountain. Rumored to be quintuplets born with Spirit Roots, and top-grade golden ones at that. Their combined strength in a Five Absolute Sword Formation could even fend off an early Nascent Soul expert for a brief moment."

"Brother."

She smiled coyly. "This is the entirety of our team for this journey. On the surface, they’re all Golden Core cultivators, with you being the exception."

"I see."

Ning Daoran nodded in understanding.

Ning Tianyi’s arrangements were meticulous. On one hand, he sought to have Ning Mingyu compete for a spot on the Demon Slayer List to temper her cultivation; on the other hand, he made comprehensive provisions for her safety.

Ostensibly, the Spirit Boat taking them demon-hunting was filled with Golden Core cultivators. This kept matters low-profile. By placing figures like Master Luo and Liu Buyu as mere disguises for Ning Mingyu’s identity, Ning Daoran served as an overt "light piece," while Independent Practitioner Longque, at least in the early Nascent Soul stage, acted as the covert "dark piece." This dual-layer protection ensured that even if demon-hunting didn’t go entirely smoothly, Ning Mingyu could, at the very least, return to the Immortal City unharmed.

Why go to such lengths to conceal Ning Mingyu’s identity as she ventured into the Endless Demon Sea? Simply for safety. If the sea creatures learned that Ning Tianyi’s daughter was hunting demons, they would surely dispatch overwhelming forces to eliminate her.

Even so, great risks remained. But risks were inevitable on the path of cultivation. Even the daughters of Divinity Transformation cultivators had to face mortal dangers to advance.

"Zhou Yunlong may be our guide, but he may not be entirely trustworthy."

Ning Daoran crossed his arms and cautioned, "Mingyu, be wary of him."

"Understood."

Ning Mingyu giggled and said, "Once we set sail, I’ll follow only your instructions. Even Independent Practitioner Longque won’t have my full trust."

"Smart girl!"

Ning Daoran nodded with a smile. "Rest assured, while I may not intervene in matters concerning others on this journey, I will guarantee your safety. However, the act of demon-slaying is something you’ll have to do for yourself—I won’t take your place."

"I get it."

Ning Mingyu grinned and teased, "Brother, don’t underestimate me. I’m not some useless damsel..."

"Alright, then!"

Ning Daoran was immensely pleased. With the God Transformation main medicine within reach, he stood up and said, "Wait here for a bit. Old Lu and I will whip up a few dishes. You can judge your brother’s cooking skills later!"

"Mm-hmm~~~"

Ning Mingyu nodded with a bright smile, her crescent-shaped eyes sparkling like radiant moons, her beauty utterly spellbinding.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

This year, Ning Daoran turned 429. His cultivation in the Evergreen Technique and the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture had grown even more profound, reaching immeasurable depths.

At dawn, Ning Mingyu arrived early, her appearance altered into another stunning visage. While still breathtakingly beautiful, her chest... appeared notably fuller. Even her movements carried an attractive quiver. So this, Ning Daoran thought to himself, was the direction of female cultivators’ disguises!

As for the City Lord’s Mansion, no personnel were dispatched, as Ning Mingyu’s departure was highly secretive.

At the port, a colossal treasure boat was docked—a magnificent and imposing behemoth, a hundred zhang in length. From a distance, it resembled a shrouded mountain, exuding a sense of grandeur.

The Sea Dragon Immortal Boat was forged from rare high-grade materials and imbued with intricate inscription patterns. It could be described as a true artifact treasure of unparalleled craftsmanship. Such high-quality vessels were not things that mere wealth could purchase, leaving Ning Daoran swallowing his envy.

"Young Miss."

A man in a deep red robe greeted them before the Sea Dragon Immortal Boat, bowing respectfully. "Everything is ready. All we await is you and Fellow Daoist Ning."

This man was Independent Practitioner Longque...

Ning Daoran extended his Divine Sense, immediately startled. Though his cultivation was cleverly concealed, there was no hiding the truth from Ning Daoran’s eyes—this man was at mid-Nascent Soul Stage!