C9 "Ordinary Human!"

"Is that really a Yang Fruit?!"

Chu Zhongtian looked at the three red fruits on top of the small red tree in the middle of the cave. His eyes were wide open as he muttered in disbelief.

The Yang Fruit was a natural spiritual item—it was a low Level-8 item. The tree bloomed once every 300 years, and every bloom consisted of nine flowers. These nine flowers would then mature for another 300 years before giving birth to six Yang Fruits. After another 300 years, these fruits would ripen. The initial six fruits would be reduced to three matured Yang Fruits by the end of this cycle.

The Yang Fruit—as the name suggests—was rich in Yang Qi. Yang Qi was still Qi, and this fruit had Qi by the tons. Moreover, this fruit also contained a weak stream of Tao law. This could help anyone in breaking through to the next level.

The Qi Refining realm and Body Refining realm were merely the beginning of the cultivation path—all they did was build the foundation for subsequent realms. The realm above the Body Refining realm was the true starting point of cultivation. What was the realm above the Body Refining realm? Well, Chu Zhongtian had no idea for now. However, he did know that the patriarch of the Chu Family, Chu Tianyun, was just a step away from the next realm.

Otherwise, how could the Chu Family become one of the three great families? After all, they had nothing to show for apart from medicinal herbs and materials. It was only thanks to the influence of the patriarch and the alchemist that the Chu Family could surpass the second-ranked Liu Family.

Also, apart from a patriarch at the peak of the Body Refining realm, the Chu Family had few other hidden experts. Those experts were all at Level-10 of the Body Refining realm.

After seeing the fruit, he finally understood why Chu Fann brought him here.

The Yang Fruit had a unique characteristic.

Since the Yang Fruit was a low Level-8 fruit, even its outer shell was protected by a thin layer of Tao law. When the fruit ripened, this Tao law would give birth to an unusual barrier. Thanks to this barrier, if as much as a minuscule amount of external Qi touched the fruit, it would wither instantly.

Consequently, Qi and Body Refining cultivators couldn't harvest it. They could control their Qi but not to the point that not even drop leaked out. Therefore, ordinary people were most suitable to pick Yang Fruits.

This was also the reason Chu Fann brought Chu Zhongtian along.

However, this Qi leaking problem didn't pester strange beasts. After all, they didn't touch the fruits—they directly swallowed them. The wolf would've most likely eaten the fruits and then used the Qi and Tao laws to strengthen itself.

"Let's wait for a while. We'll act once the Wang Family gets rid of that strange beast!" Initially, Chu Fann was quite nervous. However, after checking that all three fruits were safe, he felt relieved.

At the same time, he was secretly glad that he was late and could profit from others' hard work. Else, all four of them would've to fight the wolf; that would've probably left them all injured.

The Red-eyed Blood Wolf was a unique type of strange beast. It was different from the other wolf species since it didn't move in packs. It was known as the lone king of the forest and always lived alone. They were also famous assassins of the Endless Forest, so cultivators felt quite the headache after encountering them. After all, no cultivator wanted to make an enemy out of someone that attacked from the dark.

From its ten meters tall body and lightning-fast speed, one could easily tell that it was a peak Level-9 beast. Otherwise, it couldn't give four Body Refining cultivators a run for their money.

Since Chu Zhongtian had never cultivated before, he couldn't distinguish the true strength of the Wang Family members. However, judging from the current situation, the four of them were at a disadvantage despite fighting together. This showed just how powerful the Red-eyed Blood Wolf was.

Due to their dense and vast Qi reserves, strange beasts could fight longer than humans of the same level. This was probably also why the Wang Family experts were having a hard time defeating it.

"If this fight's drawn any further, we'll lose. We have to execute our ultimate skill!" Noticing that the Red-eyed Blood Wolf was getting more and more fierce with each passing second, Wang Family's group leader shouted. Seconds later, a bright red pill appeared in his hand. The other three men also took out the same pill.

"Hu Yi, Hu Er, Hu San, get ready to attack!" When Chu Fann saw the red pill, his expression shook, and he ordered in a low voice.

Although the ensuing battle had nothing to do with Chu Zhongtian, he was still very nervous. If Chu Fann and the others eliminated Wang Family's men, the heavy responsibility of harvesting the Yang Fruit would fall on Chu Zhongtian.

Chu Zhongtian knew that he wouldn’t even get a bite from those fruits, but he was sure that just the leaves would be more than enough for him.

After Wang Family's four experts consumed the pills, their strength improved significantly. They, who were initially at a disadvantage, quickly gained the upper hand. Finally, they suppressed the Red-eyed Blood Wolf and left it with no other option but to retreat.

In just 30 seconds, the once domineering Red-eyed Blood Wolf was stabbed in the head by the Wang Family’s group leader, then it fell to the ground and died.

"Attack!" Seconds after the Red-eyed Blood Wolf died, the Wang Family dropped to the ground, exhausted. Meanwhile, Chu Fann and the others were waiting for this very moment. They drew their weapons, circulated their spiritual Qi, and rushed toward the Wang Family experts.

The Wang Family expert had been fighting with the wolf for more than an hour. After consuming the pill, they did manage to kill it, but the pill’s side effects left them defenseless and weak. Currently, their strength was less than 30% of their actual strength. The fatigued Wang Family experts were no match to the Chu Family experts, who were as strong as the 100% rested them. Three to five minutes later, the Wang Family experts died tragically under the Chu Family’s blade.

As for “Chu Zhongtian” or “ordinary human” of the Wang Family’s side… Well, he was killed by Hu San before the battle even began. The weak, helpless “ordinary human” died while dutifully guarding his spot.

Chu Zhongtian's eyes lit up when he saw the dead “ordinary human” from the Wang Family. He quickly walked to the young man's side and bent over to check his body.

The dead man had 500 gold coins and 17 inferior stones with surprisingly dense Qi. Excitingly, the dead body also had a low Level-10 spirit stone.

Although it was only a low-level spirit stone, it was enough to duplicate over a thousand Meridian Herbs. He also had 500 gold coins and 17 inferior stones on him for some reason.

Chu Zhongtian hurriedly put away the things, then turned his gaze towards Chu Fann and the others.

"Chu Zhongtian, come here!" After eliminating the four experts from the Wang Family, Chu Fann, who hadn't used much of his energy, waved at Chu Zhongtian, signaling him to come forward.

"Eighth Elder!" Chu Zhongtian knew that it was his turn to harvest the Yang Fruits, so he walked to Chu Fann's side without any hesitation.

"Chu Zhongtian, this is a Yang Fruit that can help a peak Body Refining realm cultivator achieve a breakthrough. I'm sure you know who it’s for, so harvest it carefully." After saying this, Chu Fann took out three jade boxes from his bag and handed them to Chu Zhongtian.

"Eighth Elder, don't worry. I will harvest the fruits now." Chu Zhongtian took the three jade boxes and quickly walked to the Yang Tree.

However, while Chu Zhongtian was walking toward the Yang Tree, he sneakily took out the Level-10 spirit stone and placed it in his right palm. Because next, he needed to do something more substantial—he was going to duplicate the Yang Fruit.