Chapter 6: The Autumn Hunt Coming-of-Age Ceremony

The Parasitic Spirit Fruit bears fruit only once every three years. The mature fruit is purplish-red, and the five spirit fruits currently available are not yet two years old. Although they can be harvested and consumed, their effects are not much different from those of a second-grade Xuan Yu fruit. It would be a pity to harvest them now.

The parasitic spirit fruit is still nearly two years away from full maturity, and by that time, I will have more means at my disposal, allowing me to capture both the spirit fruit and the spirit beasts in one go

Chen Zining's purpose this time is to obtain a spirit beast. However, regardless of the type of spirit beast, each possesses its own unique skills, whether for offense, defense, or escape, making them extremely difficult to capture

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Zining arrived at the edge of a small stream. He had been to this place earlier this year with the village hunting team, but he had not ventured further in. Along the way, he encountered quite a few animals, but they were all very ordinary prey, which did not meet his expectations. Venturing deeper posed significantly greater risks, but for Chen Zining, as long as he could leap up into the treetops, he could always escape, so he was not particularly concerned.

The iron-skinned beast was struck back two zhang, with a long white mark appearing on its head. The area that was hit experienced immense pain, and its head felt somewhat dizzy.

Chen Zining exclaimed that the benefits of loving to read had finally found a practical application. This fifth-grade spiritual fruit is extremely rare; he had only seen it mentioned in an obscure book. This peculiar tree species does not grow taller than two feet, and it bears no more than nine fruits. On one hand, it parasitizes on a giant tree to absorb nutrients for survival, while on the other hand, it gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the giant tree, creating a mutually beneficial and remarkable symbiotic relationship.

Chen Zining sidestepped to avoid the collision and thrust a knife towards the iron beast's eye. The iron beast turned its head to evade, sweeping its long tail like a steel rod aimed at Chen Zining

It was only when the short knife was about to reach him that the Iron Beast reacted, hurriedly twisting its body. Unable to completely evade, it met the attack head-on with its iron head!

"Unfortunately, it is a pale red color," Chen Zining thought to himself

Chen Zining gazed at the sky; it was now around noon, with three hours remaining until nightfall. Given that he was traveling at full speed, he could reach home in at most one hour, leaving him ample time. There was no urgency to return just yet, so he continued deeper into the forest.

Welcome!

Just as we were about to approach the target, a white shadow flashed and disappeared into a cluster of leaves above us

With a movement of his body, he descended towards the tree. He decided to leave this place, as it would be a great pity to pick either the spiritual fruit or the spiritual beast, one of which was too precious to take, while the other was currently beyond his reach. He could only leave them for another day.

As one ventures further inside, the traces of fierce beasts can occasionally be seen, and attacks do occur from time to time. Chen Zining began to be fully on guard. The Holy Lan Continent also has beings similar to the demon beasts in the cultivation world, and those that have developed varying degrees of intelligence and can utilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth are referred to as spiritual beasts. They are classified into nine ranks, ranging from one to nine, with some possessing extraordinary strength and immense power, while others may lack offensive capabilities but possess unique abilities. Generally, the higher the rank of the spiritual beast, the more formidable it is.

He stopped to take a few sips of spring water and continued on his way. The deeper he went, the more vibrant the jungle appeared. Due to the scarcity of human presence, this place was not only a paradise for animals but also a fertile ground for medicinal herbs. Throughout his journey, Chen Zining had not made a single move against any prey; instead, he had gathered several rare medicinal herbs. Notably, he found a spirit herb, the Fire Yang Grass, on a cliff. Although it was the lowest grade of spirit herb, it was still worth more than ten gold coins, making it several hundred or even a thousand times more expensive than ordinary herbs.

The Iron Beast was enraged, letting out a tremendous roar, and leaped into the air, pouncing towards Chen Zining's head.

As if two boulders collided, a dull and brief sound of impact echoed. Chen Zining felt a sharp pain in his tiger's mouth, and the force of the rebound transmitted all the way to his arm, shoulder, and lower back. He couldn't help but silently praise the Iron Beast for its well-deserved reputation

However, in that brief moment, it was enough for Chen Zining to see clearly that it was a spirit beast resembling a cat, known as the Wind Fox!

The Wind Fox is an ancient and extraordinary species. With each additional tail, it ascends a level, and it is said that the most powerful among them possesses six tails. The arrow of energy just now was emitted by this creature; its attack power cannot be deemed particularly strong, but its speed is astonishingly swift. The name "Wind Fox" itself suggests its prowess, making it one of the top contenders among spirit beasts of the same rank. For Chen Zining to catch a glimpse of its figure is already a stroke of good fortune, especially considering that this creature is exceptionally intelligent. Given Chen Zining's current strength, even a single-tailed Wind Fox would be beyond his ability to capture.

The power of spiritual perception search is indeed formidable. After traveling for less than half an hour, the figure of a spirit beast known as the Ironhide Beast came into view. The Ironhide Beast has a slender body, with a tail over two zhang long, black fur, and weighs approximately one thousand jin. It resembles a giant leopard, renowned for its copper skin and iron bones, as well as its sharp fangs and teeth. The "Compendium of Beasts" states that this beast can absorb the five metal spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, forging a body of hard iron skin. Ordinary arrows and knives find it difficult to inflict harm upon it, making it one of the spirit beasts that hunters in the mountains are most reluctant to provoke. The beast before him has just reached adulthood, possessing only first-level spiritual power. However, even so, if one could hunt this beast, it would be difficult not to win the championship in this coming adulthood ceremony.

Chen Zining leaped onto a tree trunk with a circumference of about ten zhang, using a few pushes to ascend to the canopy that obscured the clouds and sun. Indeed, the fragrance became even more intense. He darted back and forth among the branches, scanning his surroundings. Finally, at a fork in the tree, he discovered a peculiar small tree, its roots deeply embedded in the ancient wood. It stood slightly taller than a human calf, with dark green branches and eight or nine azure leaves. Each branch bore a pale red fruit, totaling five, and the strange aroma emanated from this very tree.

Chen Zining's figure swayed slightly as he reined in his breath and lightened his footsteps, charging towards the iron-clad beast. When he was more than five zhang away from the beast, he focused his spirit and gathered his energy, gripping the knife in his right hand, and executed a swift strike aimed at the beast's slender waist

Chen Zining had memorized the location and was about to leave, planning to return for harvesting later, when suddenly a sharp wave of energy surged towards him from behind

It seems that the parasitic spirit fruit here is being guarded by the wind raccoon, Chen Zining thought

Chen Zining memorized the location of the giant tree, then made a wide detour and approached Chenjia Village from a different route

In the late autumn season, when the mountain fruits are ripe, Chen Zining picked a few mountain fruits and leaned against a tall ancient tree to rest. While eating the fruit in his hand, he suddenly caught a faint yet penetratingly refreshing fragrance in his nose. Unable to resist, he stood up and searched around for the source of the scent, only to discover that it came from the crown of the ancient tree above him

"Energy Arrow!" A thought flashed through Chen Zining's mind as his spiritual awareness locked onto the elusive, rapidly moving target. With a surge of spiritual power from his feet, he dashed forward like lightning

Chen Zining collected the snake's blood and gallbladder in a leather pouch, used a knife to extract its horn and spirit core, then skinned the snake and placed everything into the package. The meat of the python is also quite useful, but the circumstances today were different, so it had to be discarded. In fact, capturing this large python was already considered a completed task, and securing the championship would not be a problem.

Chen Zining turned to evade, standing on a branch while looking back. He caught a glimpse of a white shadow flashing at the corner of his eye. Before he could discern what it was, another wave of air surged from the back of his head.

Puff!

At noon, Chen Zining finally located a visually striking first-tier spirit beast, a nearly ten-zhang long unicorn python, which was currently hiding in a burrow, seemingly asleep. If it weren't for the spiritual sense search, it would have been nearly impossible to discover. Chen Zining stood at the entrance of the burrow and threw a fireball spell inside. Taking advantage of the unicorn python's fury as it burst out of the burrow, he swiftly struck its vital point with a single slash, cleaving it in two. After rolling around in the burrow for a moment, the unicorn python lay still. It is worth noting that this great python met an unjust end; had it been on flat ground, with its venomous fangs and toxic mist, combined with its incredible speed, Chen Zining might not have been able to contend with it. However, now, due to its full stomach, its movements were hindered, and coupled with the constraints of the burrow, it died in a rather inexplicable manner.

Parasitic Spirit Fruit