Chapter 741 - 668: Ascend to the Peak 67
Companion Magical Beasts and humans both want to harvest Flame Fruit; the difference is that Companion Magical Beasts cherish their companion plants, and each time they take Flame Fruit, they are careful not to harm the plants, whereas humans often act rough, easily uprooting them.
Shuangshuang waited for a full month, observing the petals of the Flame Fruit turning from red to white, poised to fall, hanging on the round, crimson fruit as if magma flowed inside it.
This signified it was mature enough to harvest. This time, Shuangshuang and Feiyu were more cautious when they descended; she had researched the companion beast of the Flame Fruit but still hadn’t found its exact appearance, only knowing the companion beast was extremely fast.
Soon, Shuangshuang experienced just how fast this Companion Magical Beast was. She felt a dangerous aura nearby and reacted almost instantly, yet still, the attacking beast grazed her cheek, leaving a fine scar.
Although she was attacked, Shuangshuang saw it clearly: a snake over a meter long, as thick as an arm, with wings, entirely red, moving extremely fast. She was more alert afterward and managed to dodge its attacks.
Feiyu’s Cultivation Level wasn’t high, so Shuangshuang worried he might be in danger. However, sometimes, to progress, one can’t always avoid danger. After hesitating for a while, Shuangshuang still advised Feiyu to be careful, while she paid more attention to protecting him.
Weapons like Spirit Swords couldn’t be used here. The magma was too hot; the Spirit Sword would heat up almost immediately, as if it were a red-hot iron block, too hot to hold, let alone fight. Shuangshuang and Feiyu could move in such scorching conditions only thanks to their robust Magic Robes.
Fortunately, Shuangshuang’s Thousand Silk Entanglement was flexible enough. Though not reaching Thousands of Threads, her diligent practice had progressed, allowing her to simultaneously control twelve strands of Thousand Silk Entanglement.
In battle, she split her efforts between defense and offense while protecting Feiyu. Initially, Shuangshuang handled it with ease, but this ease didn’t last long; soon, she found it overwhelming.
In the magma, there seemed to be countless companion beasts of the Flame Fruit—these winged little red snakes were unending and inexhaustible. While Shuangshuang’s Thousand Silk Entanglement was sharp, it consumed much mental energy and Spiritual Power.
Constant fighting like this, Shuangshuang could only endure two or three hours before her Spiritual Power would start depleting. Yet the number of these snakes was so large, seemingly endless. After battling for two hours, Shuangshuang had yet to reach the stone platform as intended; beneath her, and the magma surged dense with red flying snakes, each fearlessly charging forward, impossible to kill them all.
Finally, Shuangshuang couldn’t hold on any longer and pulled Feiyu up to fly again. Both collapsed at the volcano’s mouth, looking down at the mass of red flying snakes rolling in the magma below, feeling frustrated. It was unclear how many there were; this task might end in failure?
Feeling irritated, Shuangshuang couldn’t help but lean over the volcano’s mouth to watch the restless, entangled red flying snakes in the magma below, pondering how to clean them up. How could they be endlessly killed yet continue?
In her mind, Shuangshuang calculated how to harvest Flame Fruit, her gaze unconsciously fixed on the magma below. Then, she noticed something seemed strange about the red flying snakes swimming in the magma.
Though these red flying snakes tangled together, they didn’t exhibit typical snake-like behaviors, such as sticking their tongues out, an essential snake action.
Moreover, these red flying snakes only swam in the magma; none tried to climb onto the stone platform dense with Flame Fruit. Although the Flame Fruit on the stone platform still required over a month, or even longer, to mature, some were already mature now.
The reason for such great disparity in maturity times is because Flame Fruit’s maturity differs from other Spiritual Medicine; it depends on how much energy the plant absorbs.
Plants growing alike absorb energy at varying speeds, resulting in Fruits maturing at different times; thus it can be said that Flame Fruit matures all year round.
Right now, those bright red ones, seemingly with magma flowing inside, mature Flame Fruit hung prominently on the plants, yet not a single red flying snake went up to devour them—something was indeed wrong.
With such a thought, Shuangshuang sent Thousand Silk Entanglement out with her mind, swiftly wrapping a red flying snake rolling in the magma, instantly bringing it out, and then she grasped it by its seven-inch point to observe closely.
This red flying snake was incredibly beautiful—entirely flame-like in color, smooth as jade to the touch, wings thin as cicada wings, the same pale red as its body.
The scales seemed semi-transparent, almost allowing one to see magma flowing inside. Its eyes resembled two glowing Red Jade, immensely beautiful; though fiery hot all over, it was not scorching when held.
Though Shuangshuang caught this gorgeous red flying snake, it merely twisted in her hand without sticking its tongue out or making any threatening hisses, simply struggling and wriggling in her grasp.
Shuangshuang sensed carefully, this beautiful snake resembling more an artifact than a creature was indeed off, as it had no sign of life! Clearly held in hand, yet appeared alive in every aspect.
Considering this, Shuangshuang directly probed into the body of this beautiful red snake with her Spiritual Power. The outcome astonished her: the moment her Spiritual Power entered, this exquisite red snake suddenly exploded, producing quite a blast.
Given Shuangshuang’s physical strength and the toughness of her Vestment robe, the explosive impact didn’t harm her even slightly. What stunned her was that, after the explosion, a fiery red stone appeared in her hand, seemingly within magma flowed—a beautiful discovery!
Shuangshuang’s body jolted instinctively, causing Feiyu, who sat on the ground, to be shocked, raising his curiosity. Seeing the stone in Shuangshuang’s hand, he couldn’t resist peering at it for a while, then asked, "Sister Shuangshuang, what is this thing?"
Shuangshuang scratched her chin, inspecting the stone in her hand as striking as the red snake, recalling her knowledge of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in her mind. Finally, she remembered what it was.
Upon recalling, Shuangshuang’s face couldn’t help but light up with excitement. It was a precious find known as Fire Spirit Essence, only growing in intensely hot magma, and it could only form in energy-rich magma—rare beyond measure and highly valuable. One piece of Fire Spirit Essence was worth ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones!