57: Chapter 57 Strange Fruits in the Forest

Ye Jing, hiding in the shadows, saw that the rabble had all fled, and immediately blew a bird whistle.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chi and Xiao Yu gathered before Ye Jing.

Ye Jing sneered. He had deliberately lured Young Master Tang Shaojie here and used a Essence Spirit to assassinate him, precisely so the Tang Family would believe that a mountain Essence Spirit was to blame for his death.

Ye Jing had also specifically ensured these servants witnessed the Essence Spirit attacking Young Master Tang Shaojie's corpse, creating sufficient eyewitness testimony. He doubted the head of the Tang Family would ever dream that it was he, Ye Jing, who controlled the Essence Spirit to assassinate him.

With the eldest son of the Tang Family dead, Ye Jing had finally vented some of his pent-up anger for the time being.

He prepared to leave, but just then, Xiao Chi suddenly tugged at his pant leg, as if it had discovered something.

Ye Jing looked at the fleeing servants, thinking that they would soon call for reinforcements. Since Young Master Tang Shaojie was dead, they would certainly come to search the mountain, and it would be very difficult for him to escape then.

This place was not suitable for a long stay, but he saw that not only Xiao Chi but also Xiao Yu were heading deeper into the mountain.

It was as if there was something very important inside.

Seeing this, Ye Jing felt helpless. If there truly was something formidable inside, it would be a pity to miss it. He could only sigh and say, "Fine, I'll go in and take a look with you!"

With that, he followed Xiao Chi and Xiao Yu into the forest.

After walking for half a mile, Xiao Chi led Ye Jing to a mountain stream. The water was crystal clear, and many wild flowers grew along the banks. The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of grass and trees, giving a sense of openness.

Xiao Chi dashed ahead to a blue stone on the opposite bank of the stream and let out a few excited, low growls at a patch of low bushes behind the stone.

There was a hidden cave there.

Ye Jing hurried to catch up. Inside the cave, he saw several fruit trees he had never seen before. The plants were not tall, and their branches were a faint, jade-green color. They bore fiery red fruits the size of a fist, shaped like plump water droplets. The skin did not have the texture of ordinary fruit; instead, it was wrapped in a thin layer of glaze, translucent and shiny.

"This is..." Ye Jing had never seen such a peculiar fruit tree before, and both Xiao Chi and Xiao Yu beside him revealed intense desire in their eyes, eager to pounce and devour them immediately.

Just as Ye Jing wanted to walk up, a golden pattern suddenly rose up by his feet.

This strange power immediately put Ye Jing on alert, and he hurriedly jumped aside.

Xiao Chi and Xiao Yu also became alert. He saw strange golden patterns floating around the fruit trees, blocking them out.

The image of the Immortals flying in mid-air from the depths of his memory immediately surfaced in Ye Jing's mind.

Could it be that he had stumbled upon fruit trees left behind by an Immortal?!

Ye Jing immediately became vigilant and watched his surroundings. After a long while, there was no reaction from the surroundings.

His tense heart finally calmed down slightly. He still gripped his knife, seeing that the Formation had already disappeared.

Seeing this, Ye Jing threw a pebble inside, but there was no reaction. However, when he had Xiao Yu pounce to grab it, the barrier appeared again, and no matter how Xiao Yu attacked, there was no reaction at all.

It seemed this barrier only had a blocking effect on living things.

No wonder these fruits were so attractive to Essence Spirits, yet no other animals had eaten them.

Ye Jing observed the area around the stream. He saw what appeared to be a long-dead skeleton among the fruit trees, its clothes so decayed that their original color could no longer be distinguished.

Could it be that some Immortal died here?

Ye Jing looked at the strange fruit trees and the dead skeleton, reluctant to leave just like that.

He immediately used the ability of the Immortal Willow to see if he could figure anything out.

He saw a message pop up over the fruit: "crimson blood fruit, low-grade spiritual fruit, edible. Spend ten points of Immortal Light to enlighten. Ability: Replenish Qi and blood, provide Spiritual Qi."

As for the strange barrier, it read: Magic Treasure: golden light bowl, residual fragments, defensive Magical Artifact. After breaking the golden light barrier, it can be collected and used.

Ye Jing's eyes widened immediately; that corpse truly was an Immortal.

Although he did not know much about Immortals, just looking at that magical barrier made Ye Jing itch to have it.

But how could he break through this barrier?

Ye Jing had a headache. He was afraid that if he were careless, he would damage these natural spiritual objects. Thinking of this, Ye Jing looked at the cave entrance, clenched his fists, and said to Xiao Chi and Xiao Yu, "Stay further away!"

Xiao Yu and Xiao Chi immediately flew away. Ye Jing gave a loud shout and slammed his Broadaxe into the stone wall. The immense force caused the rubble from the wall to collapse directly down.

Ye Jing struck several more times, completely burying the cave with the rubble falling from the entrance.

The cave could no longer be seen.

He did not have the fortune to enjoy this treasure for the time being, so it was best to hide it first.

Ye Jing helplessly bowed to the cave, then quickly left the place.

At this time, the inner perimeter of the Qinling Mountains was filled with servants from the Tang Family. Ye Jing carefully bypassed these Tang Family servants all the way and hurried home.

It was already dark.

When Tang Wanxiong and his men found Young Master Tang Shaojie, who had died in the mountain forest, a few wild wolves were gnawing on his corpse.

Tang Wanxiong's eyes were bloodshot. He strode forward and, with the momentum of thunder, fiercely grabbed the necks of those wolves. He applied ruthless force, and the wolves' heads snapped off in an instant.

The surrounding servants were so terrified by this scene that they trembled all over, standing on the spot, shaking with fear.

"The Martial Artists who followed Wanjie, deal with them all!" Tang Wanxiong's low voice made the surrounding servants tremble as they acknowledged the order.

He stared fixedly at his son's mangled corpse, hoping to see some clues from it.

But apart from the damaged corpse, which didn't even have a single piece of intact flesh, what could he possibly see?

After investigating for a long time, the Tang Family gained nothing.

Even when they asked Ye Jing, who had long-standing grievances with the Tang Family, Ye Jing coughed severely and only said that he had been at home for the past few days and had never gone out.

Even Ye Jing's two sons were training in the martial arts gym in the city; at home, there were only old men, women, and children—where would a master come from?

Furthermore, many people had seen that it was two Essence Spirits that attacked Young Master Tang Shaojie that day, so the Ye Family had no suspicion.

Tang Wanxiong could not ask too many questions. Now that the Ye Family had the patronage of the Zhenxiu Restaurant, he could not offend them openly, so he had to leave first.

Soon, the news of the death of the Tang Family's eldest son spread throughout the entire Yanggu County, and every restaurant was buzzing with discussion.

"Have you heard? The Tang Family's eldest son, Young Master Tang Shaojie, was eaten by a Essence Spirit!"

"Oh my mother! A Essence Spirit? Could it be that a Essence Spirit from the deep Qinling Mountains has run out?"

"Who knows? The Tang Family finally got what was coming to them. Occupying such a large hunting ground, they deserve it!"

"Then should we go to the Qinling Mountains to take a look? Maybe we can encounter a Essence Spirit! If we catch one, we'll get rich!"

"That's right! How did I not think of that? Let's go! Don't let others get there first!"

When those Martial Artists heard there were Essence Spirits in the mountains, they immediately jumped from the death of the Tang Family's eldest son to the matter of how to capture Essence Spirits.

For a time, the Qinling Mountains were packed with Martial Artists. Even the Tang Family's hunting grounds were repeatedly intruded upon by Martial Artists; everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

The Tang Family's hunting grounds began to descend into chaos. To manage the hunting grounds, Tang Wanxiong was stretched thin and had to send his incompetent second son, Second Master Tang, to manage the hunting grounds.

However, Second Master Tang was merely a playboy who only knew how to fight cocks and chase dogs. How could he manage the hunting grounds well? In one instance of dereliction of duty, the hunting grounds even caught fire, burning down more than half of it, and countless prey were killed or injured.

Seeing this, the owner of the Zhenxiu Restaurant, Zhao Yuanyi, immediately conspired with the county magistrate. On the charges of the Tang Family burning down the mountain forest and dereliction of duty, they stripped the Tang Family of their land deeds and took the Tang Family's hunting grounds into their own possession.

Since then, the supply of delicacies in the Zhenxiu Restaurant has been endless. In addition to the golden spirit rice and Mountain Delicacy Chicken, there have been several other special meat supplies.

It can be said that the Zhenxiu Restaurant has made a fortune.

It is said that these rare meats are all supplied by a long-unknown Family from Liu Village, and this Family is the Ye Family.

The head of the Family is an eighty-year-old elder, Ye Jing.

People in the city are constantly marveling. In these chaotic times, living to such an advanced age is already extremely rare, let alone that this elder led his whole Family from being rural farmers to becoming wealthy, which is simply a miracle.

Some even speculate whether this Elder Ye is an Immortal; otherwise, why would he be so energetic and not look old at the age of eighty?

But this remains a mystery.