Chapter 682 - 625: Stepping onto the Peak 34 (4,000 Words)_3
Tan Shuangshuang vaguely remembered someone in the family mentioning that there was a Wine Plum Tree in the Secret Realm, but at the time they were exploring the realm, everyone was busy searching for Ancient Spiritual Medicine and ignored the Wine Plum Tree.
Wine Plum is a low-grade Spirit Fruit, and although it is low-grade, it’s quite expensive, the reason being its taste.
The taste of Wine Plum is sweet with a faint hint of wine, extremely delicious, having the fruit’s savor without intoxication. Many cultivators are willing to spend a large sum to buy it.
Particularly those who love drinking favor it the most because it’s said the wine flavor of Wine Plum is rich and aromatic. If one can brew wine with the Wine Plum, it becomes even more valuable, with a small jar the size of a fist selling for a sky-high price of a hundred Spiritual Pearls.
Though the Wine Plum Tree is precious, it can’t compare to the value of ancient spiritual medicine handed down to the present. Moreover, the Wine Plum is just a low-grade Spirit Fruit, aside from its taste offering little else, so everyone didn’t pay attention back then, busy finding spiritual medicine, not expecting this Wine Plum Tree to remain until now.
This Wine Plum Tree is gigantic, towering tens of meters high, looking up gives the illusion of an endless peak. The trunk is so thick that dozens of people couldn’t encircle it, showing its immense size.
Every branch on the Wine Plum Tree, even the trunk, is densely covered with fist-sized purplish-red Wine Plums, sagging the branches under their weight, giving no clue how long they’ve been growing.
Though enticed by the Wine Plums, Tan Shuangshuang didn’t rashly pick them. The Wine Plum Tree is an inferior Spirit Fruit Tree, lacking self-protection capabilities. Although the Spirit Fruit can conceal its aroma, it’s unusual that none of these Wine Plums have been picked.
Tan Shuangshuang cautiously picked up a stone and threw it over, lightly striking the trunk of the Wine Plum Tree, which had no reaction.
Raising an eyebrow, Tan Shuangshuang caught a wild rat and tossed it over, this time the Wine Plum Tree reacted. One of its branches flexibly bent down, quickly swatting the wild rat away!
Silently, Tan Shuangshuang realized this Wine Plum Tree indeed had developed some Spiritual Wisdom, managing to protect itself with its branches, and its speed wasn’t slow. No wonder not a single wine plum was picked; the tree wouldn’t allow it.
Considering this, Tan Shuangshuang didn’t proceed forcefully but took out a porcelain bottle filled with a nutrient solution dedicated to cultivating Spiritual Medicine.
The nutrient solution is immensely beneficial to Spiritual Medicine, helping it survive, enhancing its quality, most importantly, aiding in producing a scent that repels insects, with no harm to the Spiritual Medicine, only benefits.
After taking out the nutrient solution, Tan Shuangshuang dripped a few drops, diluted with water, and, using her Spiritual Power, controlled it to pour onto the Wine Plum Tree’s roots. Instantly, the moistened earth visibly dried up, showing the liquid had been absorbed by the tree.
Reaping the benefits, the branches of the Wine Plum Tree all trembled without wind, akin to a human dancing joyfully, while Tan Shuangshuang’s perception detected a wave of exhilaration emanating from the Wine Plum Tree.
After a bout of exuberant branch wriggling, several branches of the Wine Plum Tree bent down suddenly, laying in front of Tan Shuangshuang. Then the fist-sized, robust Wine Plums began falling off automatically, piling up into a person-high mound before her.
Tan Shuangshuang was a bit astonished, realizing this was a gift from the Wine Plum Tree. Evidently, not only had it gained Spiritual Wisdom, but it was sophisticated, possibly with the intelligence of a young child. Given that this area is the Tan Family’s Secret Realm, should the Wine Plum Tree fully develop its Spiritual Wisdom, the family would naturally benefit.
Looking at the immense size of the Wine Plum Tree, Tan Shuangshuang figured that little nutrient solution wouldn’t be much help; she emptied the entire small bottle, diluting with water and poured it all at the tree’s root.
At this point, Tan Shuangshuang wasn’t thinking about the Wine Plums; she aimed to cultivate the Wine Plum Tree, as the nutrient solution isn’t particularly expensive. More wouldn’t hurt to provide.
This time, the Wine Plum Tree was even happier, shaking all its branches like a wavy line incessantly swaying, and then a rain of Wine Plums fell in front of Tan Shuangshuang with a crackle. So thrilled, it gifted her all the fruit it bore.
Actually, just like common fruit trees, Spirit Fruit Trees’ fruit mature and should fall off; however, unlike normal trees, sentient Spirit Fruit Trees protect their fruit, not allowing them to be picked even when ripe, thus hanging on the tree.