Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1625 - 1625 0958 Not in Vain_2

Chapter 1625: Chapter 0958: Not in Vain_2 Chapter 1625: Chapter 0958: Not in Vain_2 Xiu Zhengyu said, “It was only when Fairy Yuqiu mentioned we might discover the Infant Fruit Tree that you glanced in this direction several times. If you didn’t have a definite answer, how could you have done that?”

Qi Tian chuckled, “Who do you think I am? The master of this secret realm? If I knew where all the fortunes of this secret realm were hidden, would I need to team up with you? I would have already scoured the place clean by myself, leaving not a single opportunity for any of you.”

Gao Yuqiu, who had still held some hope until now, completely lost her expectations at this point. She glared dissatisfiedly at Xiu Zhengyu and said, “This is all your fault; I shall remember this incident. Fellow cultivators, now that none of us can be sure of the whereabouts of the Infant Fruit Tree, please spread out and search around. We must hurry, for if we can find this opportunity, so can others. Only by finding and seizing the opportunity earlier can we avoid clashing with others.”

Just as Gao Yuqiu finished speaking, a series of thunder-like sounds, one after another, came from behind them. Gao Yuqiu was startled; she could tell that this was not the sound of thunder from a stormy sky but the kind of thunderous noise produced only by cultivators engaging in battle. Based on her experience, she judged that the source of the thunder was about a hundred miles away, a distance truly insignificant to cultivators at the Peak of the Gold Core Realm.

The first thing that came to Gao Yuqiu’s mind was the Infant Fruit Tree. They were searching for the tree in this region, and just within this area another battle had erupted. It was hard to say there wasn’t a direct connection between the two.

Regardless, the Infant Fruit Tree must not fall into the hands of others. Gao Yuqiu immediately issued an order, “Let’s go take a look. If the battle is triggered by the Infant Fruit Tree, everyone should know what to do. If we need to strike to kill, we strike to kill. At this moment, mercy means handing over an opportunity that is within easy reach to someone else, and one would never qualify to ascend to the Nascent Soul Stage in this lifetime.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Qi Tian said, “Shall I quickly scout ahead for everyone?”

Gao Yuqiu said hastily, “No need. This time we should all make haste together; our speeds are relatively similar, so there’s no need to trouble Sir Qi Tian to scout for us.”

Qi Tian shrugged and did not insist. He knew what Gao Yuqiu was worried about, and he didn’t want to press the issue. After all, he had already secretly sent a Transporting Whirlwind with a ghostly presence ahead. If indeed there was an Infant Fruit Tree, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the fortune would likely end up in his hands and no one else’s.

Gao Yuqiu and the others could not possibly know that Qi Tian had already prepared a backup plan. They came together, exerting their fullest potential, and flew toward the direction of the thunderous sounds at their greatest speed.

In the blink of an eye, they had traversed the hundred miles. From a distance, they saw two groups of cultivators engaged in fierce battle, and not far from them, there was an orchard bearing fruit trees. Among these, one tree stood out for its height—over ten meters tall—bearing a single, eye-catching, and resplendent red fruit.

At the sight, everyone’s eyes burned with intensity—it was clearly the Infant Fruit Tree they had been desperately seeking, and the red fruit hanging from it was undoubtedly the Infant Fruit.

The two small factions engaged in battle were careful to keep their distance from the Infant Fruit Tree, avoiding any spillover damage that might destroy it. The area surrounding the Infant Fruit Tree was devoid of cultivators, but this did not mean the tree was safe or posed no danger to others. On the contrary, for the average cultivator, that place was akin to a den of dragons and a pit of tigers.

On the Infant Fruit Tree, there hung a gigantic beehive, which drooped from halfway up the tree almost to the ground. Thousands of bees buzzed in and out of this hive, causing onlookers’ scalps to tingle with apprehension.

These bees were unusually large, each the size of an adult’s fist, with bodies of golden hue; the stingers at the ends of their tails were like steel needles, gleaming with a chilling light.

Although the spot where the Infant Fruit hung was half a tree’s height away from the hive, bees always buzzed around it incessantly, clearly guarding the fruit and not allowing cultivators to approach it easily.

Gao Yuqiu and his companions were no fools; they recognized at first glance that these bees guarding the Infant Fruit were the legendary Tiger Baby Bees. As the guardian Spirit Beasts of the Infant Fruit, such bees were often found wherever Infant Fruit Trees grew. Harvesting Infant Fruits necessitated breaching their defenses.

The typical characteristics of Tiger Baby Bees included their fearlessness of fire and water, their belligerent nature, and extreme ferocity. Once they encountered an enemy, they would fight to the death, never retreating unless they were completely wiped out; otherwise, they would not back down.

Such difficult Spirit Bugs generally dissuaded cultivators from engaging with them unless absolutely necessary. However, faced with Infant Fruit, a treasure that could significantly advance one from the Gold Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Stage, no one wanted to miss it.

Gao Yuqiu, who never excelled in combat, felt utterly outmaneuvered by the Tiger Baby Bees. Her only option against such a swarm was to evade. Looking at the two teams of cultivators engaged in battle, she said, “Now is the best time for us to benefit as the proverbial fisherman. What do you say we sit back and watch the tigers fight, wait for one side to emerge victorious, then concentrate our strength to annihilate them, or do we take advantage of our strongest moment to charge in alone and eliminate the inner circle of Tiger Baby Bees and harvest the Infant Fruit?”

Gao Yuqiu proposed two strategies, each with its merits and drawbacks. The second option might seem more efficient in conserving strength, but its greatest disadvantage lay in the wait, as it could potentially attract other small teams. Capturing the Infant Fruit after that would become significantly more troublesome. The first option required her small team to break through the Tiger Baby Bees’ defense, which was already a difficult task. Moreover, in attempting to steal the fruit, they would undoubtedly draw the attention of the two battling teams. If those teams turned their focus onto them, they would then have to face both teams and the swarm of Tiger Baby Bees in a three-front battle, making their chances of victory exceedingly slim.

Qi Tian remained silent at this time; he had not expected to encounter such a large swarm of Tiger Baby Bees. Although he could possibly snatch the Infant Fruit on his own, such a brazen act might draw too much attention, likely making it impossible for him to continue with this small team thereafter.

Qi Tian’s original plan was to quietly use Transporting Whirlwind and Ghost Face to stealthily pluck the Infant Fruit, but the Tiger Baby Bees were too vigilant. To harvest it without alerting them seemed an impossibility. Even though Ghost Face possessed the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage, it wasn’t without weaknesses, and the Tiger Baby Bees happened to have traits that could cripple Ghost Face’s combat effectiveness.

Of course, Qi Tian could deploy more Transporting Whirlwinds and Ghost Faces and could resort to other means, yet it seemed unnecessary to cause such a commotion just for one Infant Fruit. He had already used the sensory function of the Heavenly Dao Engine to investigate this particular fruit and found that it was actually of low grade among Infant Fruits. Swallowing it would offer a cultivator at the Gold Core Stage Peak less than a thirty percent chance of successfully advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage. Such an opportunity was not something he was keen on; getting it would be ideal, but missing it was no great loss.

Xiu Zhengyu, on the other hand, did not share Qi Tian’s detached perspective. The sight of that single Infant Fruit had his eyes turning red with desire. It was a treasure that could greatly enhance his chances of success; he had to obtain it at all costs. With such an opportunity in hand, venturing into the Holy Land’s secret realm would be far from a wasted effort.