Chapter 144 - 15: Slay You
A quarter of an hour later.
Lin Yan finished searching the bodies, not particularly satisfied.
Perhaps because there was nowhere to spend money in the Yantian Mountain Range, the three didn’t even have a single copper plate on them.
The only gain was three weighty Martial Arts Fruits, which combined to a total of thirty years of Cultivation time.
Lin Yan used Introspection to look at the Martial Arts Tree in his mind. On the purple leaf belonging to the Jinghong Sword Technique, white veins had already spread across most of its surface. He was only a few steps away from bringing his Silk Binding Sword Intent to complete Perfection.
Infusing thirty years might be enough to bring it to that state of perfection.
But after a moment of thought, Lin Yan decided not to infuse it just yet. ’The infusion of a Martial Arts Fruit provides an instantaneous epiphany. I can do it whenever I need to, so there’s no rush.’
As for the Smoke-Stepping Technique, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to infuse it, but that it was powered by Qi Blood. His current Qi Blood limit only allowed him to use the Smoke-Stepping Technique to its present extent.
There was another reason he chose to save them. Once he reached the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing, he could go to the Lin Family and select a Top-grade Cultivation Method.
In Brother Hai’s eyes, he was currently considered quite talented in his comprehension of Martial Arts. It would be awkward if he learned a new Cultivation Technique only to make extremely slow progress.
With the Martial Arts Fruits on hand, he could make up for any lack of progress at any time.
After digging a pit and burying the three bodies, he carefully covered the spot with dry branches and fallen leaves. Only then did Lin Yan straighten up and look ahead.
Although he hadn’t found anything valuable on the three, their actions confirmed his suspicion: there had to be something good up ahead.
He had originally been heading in this direction by following the convergence of Earth Vein Qi. If there wasn’t something good ahead, the three would have had no reason to ambush him here.
The Yantian Mountain Range was vast enough. He had no history with them, so if they didn’t want to be discovered, they could have just changed direction and avoided him.
Unless they were a group of Tribulation Cultivators who enjoyed ambushing and sneak-attacking others, but even that logic didn’t hold up.
By setting an ambush here, weren’t they afraid of running into a Blood Exchange Realm Powerhouse from the Lin Family?
The Eagle could spot him and determine his direction of travel—that was its limit. It couldn’t possibly have been able to gauge his strength.
This was the Yantian Mountain Range, the Lin Family’s territory. The possibility of a Blood Exchange Realm Powerhouse entering to search for Treasure Medicine was not zero.
Despite the risk of encountering a Blood Exchange Realm Powerhouse, the three had still set up an ambush here...
Lin Yan’s gaze shifted forward. He took a deep breath, and in the next moment, he executed the Smoke-Stepping Technique, silently flitting into the depths of the dense forest.
After passing through the dense woods, the vegetation ahead had become almost unnaturally lush.
A glint of light flashed in Lin Yan’s eyes. This was a sign of flourishing Earth Qi. Earth Qi of this intensity couldn’t possibly only nurture ordinary medicinal herbs.
’My judgment was correct. The only reason they would risk setting up an ambush was to prevent anyone from getting close to this area.’
He slowed his pace, his eyes consciously searching for easily missed details. He walked like this for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before stopping.
Ahead was a shaded slope. It wasn’t particularly steep, but the terrain was peculiar. Two low ridges extended from either side, like a pair of arms, cradling the small patch of slope between them.
"The Gourd Port gathers qi, the belly concentrates it, and the surrounding mountains prevent it from leaking."
A description from the True Understanding of Earth Veins surfaced in Lin Yan’s mind.
The terrain before him was a classic formation for "sheltering from wind and gathering qi."
Lin Yan began to scan the ground. After a few breaths, his gaze locked onto one spot.
Between a few broken stones grew a plant, no taller than his palm, with long, slender leaves of a deep purple color, its edges shimmering with a faint golden luster.
At the top of the plant was a single fruit.
"A Purple Essence Fruit."
Lin Yan’s pupils contracted slightly. Ever since obtaining the True Understanding of Earth Veins, he had specifically sought out a copy of the Treasure Medicine Encyclopedia from the Tang Family. It not only described a hundred types of Treasure Medicine but also included illustrations.
The plant before him was precisely the Purple Essence Fruit.
The Purple Essence Fruit was a Treasure Medicine one tier higher than the Purple Lingzhi. A Purple Essence Fruit would only grow where a Purple Lingzhi had rotted back into the earth.
The Purple Essence Fruit blooms after three years and bears fruit after another three. When ripe, the fruit turns a deep purple, and its rich fragrance can drift for several dozen feet.
Even in the eyes of a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist, this fruit was an extremely precious item.
As for the Purple Essence Fruit before him, its color indicated it was close to ripening, but its fragrance had not yet been released. According to the encyclopedia’s description, when a Purple Essence Fruit ripens, its leaves turn a deep purple. A few days later, when its fruity aroma begins to drift, it is considered fully mature.
Picking it now would greatly diminish its medicinal efficacy—a terrible waste.
’So, it seems those three discovered the Purple Essence Fruit and were waiting here for it to ripen. They set up an ambush in the forest because they were afraid I would continue forward and find it myself.’
The puzzle was solved. No wonder the three of them were willing to risk an ambush rather than pick the fruit—they wanted to wait until the Purple Essence Fruit was fully mature.
An unripe Purple Essence Fruit had medicinal effects comparable to a Purple Lingzhi, but a fully mature one would have its efficacy raised to a whole new level.
’Their decision not to pick it certainly benefits me.’
Lin Yan decided to stay by the Purple Essence Fruit and wait for it to ripen.
It was only a two or three-day wait. If he went out hunting or continued searching for herbs and some beast ended up eating the fruit, it would be a classic case of losing a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.
Lin Yan cleared an empty space next to the Purple Essence Fruit and began to set up his pot. He didn’t even plan to hunt for game, deciding instead to eat dry rations. In short, he was determined to keep the Purple Essence Fruit within his line of sight at all times.