Chapter 646: The Fruit
Duke’s thoughts shifted as he attempted another flight style documented in Sword Flying.
He maneuvered the Cyan Sun Sword to hover in front of him. The sword’s body began to expand, elongate, and widen once more; cyan light concentrated, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive light-forged sword five meters long and half a meter wide.
He leaped, landing steadily on the broad surface of the giant sword’s blade.
The cyan light underfoot seemed like a solid deck, offering sturdy support and powerful adhesion.
In the giant sword form, flight was more stable, the carrying capacity was stronger, and because of the enormous sword body, infusing magic power was much smoother, allowing it to bear the energy load and air resistance from extreme speed flight.
Duke’s thoughts moved, and the magic power within him surged forth, pouring unreservedly into the giant sword beneath him.
The cyan light of the giant sword burgeoned, releasing a low, melodious Breaking the Sky roar, carrying Duke and transforming into a broader, more conspicuous cyan rainbow, shooting out at a terrifying speed surpassing his previous state.
The scenes on either side of his vision completely stretched into blurred light bands, mountains and the earth rapidly receded below, a strong pushback sensation arose, and the wind roared intensely by his ears.
He navigated the giant sword cyan rainbow, freely and wildly across the vast 8,000 square kilometers space of the Light God Court.
Sometimes skimming close to the ground, lifting clouds of grass debris, and sometimes performing various high-level maneuvers such as sharp turns, spins, and rolls, the cyan rainbow carved dazzling arcs in the sky.
Speed, extreme speed.
Duke roughly estimated that his current maximum flight speed probably had reached or even achieved the extreme of a Level 2 creature’s speed.
This far exceeded the maximum speed of a Storm Dragon Eagle and was several times more than the burst speed of a winged serpent.
Moreover, this speed was entirely under his control, without relying on external objects; with a thought, he could instantly reach distant places, bringing an unmatched sense of freedom and formidable mobility.
Of course, such high speed also resulted in astonishing consumption.
After merely about ten minutes of full-speed flight, Duke felt nearly thirty percent of his magic power had been drained.
Maintaining high-speed flight in the giant sword form consumed far more energy than standard sword flying or sustaining a Sand Servant.
Duke slowly decreased his speed, eventually hovering above the lake of the Spring of Life.
The glow beneath him dimmed, and the sword returned to its rustic shape, flying back into his hand.
He gently landed, feeling the circulation of magic power within him and a slight fatigue, yet his face was brimming with undisguisable excitement and satisfaction.
"Sword flying, traversing through cyan rainbows... this is the true allure of sword flight," Duke mused, stroking the warm blade; the Cyan Sun Sword resonated faintly, as if rejoicing alongside its master for the recent exhilarating venture.
The Cyan Sun Sword was unique in the Wizard Plane, representing another system and method of power that might become a unique advantage along his future path.
His thoughts shifted, and the warm Cyan Sun Sword emitted a barely audible soft hum; its light retracted, and its shape began to shrink slowly, ultimately transforming into a short cyan stream, disappearing into the region near his chest, the Tan Zhong point.
This was a way of nurturing a flying sword, enhancing the compatibility between himself and the sword, making usage more effortless and satisfactory.
Having completed this, Duke directed his gaze toward the center of the Light God Court, where the most vibrant life existed by the lake of the Spring of Life.
He slightly moved, crossing space in just a few steps to arrive at the lakeside.
The crystal-clear lake water rippled gently like jade, and a dense mist of life enveloped the area.
At a spot not far from the lake shore, within a deliberately created spirit garden with dark, luminous soil emitting slight spiritual brilliance, the small emerald tree he had transplanted intact from the competition, was quietly growing.
After the competition had ended, Duke casually transplanted the small tree into the Light God Court.
The tree was in a much better state than when he first transplanted it; initially slightly curled due to transplantation, its jade-like branches and leaves had now fully unfolded. Each emerald leaf appeared tender and plump, with soft life brilliance flowing through its veins, reflecting with the divine court’s sky and lake mist, making it appear increasingly exquisite and extraordinary.
The trunk seemed to have slightly risen a small notch; though still only about waist-high to Duke, its contained yet resilient life force was much greater than before.
Duke squatted down, carefully perceiving the interaction between the small tree and its surrounding environment.
He could clearly see the crystal-like roots deeply embedded in the specially crafted spiritual soil, continuously extracting rich nutrients from the soil and pure life essence from the Lake of Life.
In the surrounding air, strands of extremely subtle, unlike ordinary life energy, more refined, peculiar spiritual energy were naturally being inhaled and exhaled by the small tree.
The entire plant and Light God Court’s environment, especially with the Spring of Life, formed excellent symbiotic and nourishing relationships.
"The transplant seems successful; it has adapted here and is growing well," Duke nodded slightly, feeling more at ease.
His greatest concern was this clearly extraordinary small tree being unable to survive in the court or exhibiting signs of distress.
His gaze fell on the empty branches.
The branches originally bearing five Golden Fruits now only had nearly invisible small traces left from picking.
"I wonder when this tree will flower and bear fruit again?" Duke pondered.
Plants of this caliber might have extremely long fruiting cycles, possibly taking hundreds or even thousands of years.
However, the high concentration of the Spring of Life nourishing within the Light God Court, coupled with the World Tree Seed subtly optimizing the environment with life rules, might greatly shorten this cycle.
But regardless, in the short term, there was certainly no immediate hope.
After examining the small tree, Duke shifted his attention back to the remaining four Golden Fruits.
He took out a specially designed preservation box, opened the lid, and the four golden, flowing with golden light, inscribed with silver patterns fruits met his eyes, their enticing fragrance and profound life aura faintly permeating through the box.
"It’s already confirmed that a single fruit can extend one’s life by approximately a hundred years and significantly enhance spiritual power, but what is the upper limit? Is the effect different for different levels of life forms? Apart from direct consumption, are there other ways to utilize them? For instance... in medicine? Or as core materials in some special rituals or crafting?" Duke mused over numerous questions.
"More in-depth analysis is needed," Duke returned to the laboratory he had set up within the divine court.
Actually, this was not the first time he conducted in-depth research; over the past period he had intermittently studied, gaining a general understanding of the fruit.
Currently, it appears that the upper limit of consuming these fruits remains unclear, meaning at least for now, consuming them enhances spiritual power indefinitely.