146: Human fruit

The mysterious person did not reach out to take the fruit with their hands, their bright eyes continuously scanning Chu Shengfan up and down.

"Do you know what this fruit is?"

Whatever it was, Chu Shengfan just wanted to throw this 'hot potato' away. He only wanted to live out his life in Xianyuan Prefecture City peacefully and then go to Qianling Prefecture to take the exams.

"This junior does not know what this is, but regardless of what it is, this junior has no intention of keeping it. Please, Senior, take it back now."

However, the person seemed not to hear the refusal in his words, instead slowly walking two steps towards Chu Shengfan, explaining in a soft voice:

"This is a human fruit. Inside such an ordinary-looking fruit, there is a self-contained world where a Tribe of Mortals lives. If you were to break it from the outside now, in an instant, thousands of people would meet their end in the Yellow Springs because of your actions. You must be careful."

"Furthermore, without a supply of energy for a long time, the Human Race within will also die due to the withering of the world. A day has passed since the fruit was picked. Without the supply of energy from the mother body, natural disasters should already be occurring inside it."

Listening to the mysterious person's words, Chu Shengfan almost lost his grip on the fruit in his hand, as if it now possessed the weight of a thousand jun.

But after calming down for a moment, Chu Shengfan's gaze became somewhat suspicious. If this were the case, why would the mysterious person in front of him tell him this? They could have just taken the fruit and left. Why waste these words now... Chu Shengfan inexplicably had a bad premonition.

"Since it is so precious, I will return it to you now, Senior."

The mysterious person shook their head, "I don't have time to take care of them. This benefit can only be given to you now."

Before Chu Shengfan could understand the meaning behind their words, the mysterious person suddenly flashed in front of him. A cold light flashed by, Chu Shengfan's left hand was lifted, and a wound was cut on it. Crimson blood dripped like water onto the grey-green skin of the human fruit.

Chu Shengfan instinctively wanted to pull back his arm, but the mysterious person's strength was immense, pinning Chu Shengfan's arm firmly in mid-air like a pair of pliers.

With the influx of blood, the grey-green color on the skin of the fruit slowly faded, replaced by a brighter, emerald-green color.

Moreover, Chu Shengfan felt a portion of his spirit being pulled away, as if he had arrived in a mysterious place. Here, the sky was grey-green, and the land was brownish-brown.

The space could not be said to be very large; it was a very standard environment where the sky is round and the earth is square, with the sky acting like a cover shrouding the ground beneath it.

On the ground lived a somewhat ancient Tribe. Red blood Qi surged between heaven and earth, flowing into the bodies of the Tribe members, instantly invigorating their withered spirits.

Finally, the excess blood Qi slowly formed a statue of Chu Shengfan in the very center of the Tribe.

Those Tribe members rushed over from all directions, bowing respectfully towards the statue and shouting, "Divine Master."

Chu Shengfan's spirit only lingered in this world for a moment before instantly returning to his true body.

Just after returning, a brief look of confusion appeared in his eyes, "What was that just now?"

"If you can cultivate this fruit well and accept the worship of ten thousand people, this path to becoming a king will be exceptionally smooth for you."

Chu Shengfan never believed that good things would fall from the sky onto his head. He asked almost through gritted teeth, "Senior, why give this object to me? Senior and I do not seem to be acquainted."

"Nothing much, I just find you pleasing to the eye." The mysterious person seemed to smile.

Just at this moment, above the night sky of the Prefecture City, thousands of streaks of light suddenly lit up. These streaks of light flew out from one place and then flew to various parts of the Prefecture City.

The mysterious person looked up, a smile curling at the corners of their mouth, "The real search has begun. Young man, you had better hide well."

As they spoke, they extended their palm and pressed it lightly on Chu Shengfan's body. A faint ripple swept across Chu Shengfan's entire body and then converged onto the fruit in Chu Shengfan's hand.

Under Chu Shengfan's gaze, the fruit turned into a streak of light and slowly merged into his palm, finally leaving behind only a mark the size of a wood grain.

After doing this, the mysterious person took one last deep look at Chu Shengfan, their figure flashed again, and they vanished without a trace.

His own blood Qi surged into the mark in his palm. Waves of dizziness assailed Chu Shengfan's mind. Chu Shengfan supported himself against the wall beside him, slowly steadying his body.

About a few minutes later, seemingly finally full, or perhaps out of protection for this 'new mother body', the human fruit, which had turned into a mark, stopped absorbing the blood Qi from Chu Shengfan's body.

Chu Shengfan stretched out his palm with a pale face to look at the mark, revealing a bitter smile. He felt that he was a piece of fertile land, and this human fruit mark was a growing plant; he was now using all his strength to nourish it.

Thinking of this, his body stiffened. Perhaps that mysterious person really had this intention—to wait until the fruit was ripe and then come to harvest it.

Chu Shengfan gritted his teeth. There really was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

He clenched his palm fiercely and looked up at the streaks of light continuously passing through the sky. Each streak of light represented a Spirit Rank Contract Master.

Now he not only had to find a way to handle this human fruit but also had to hide well so as not to be found by the people in the sky. If he were really discovered, he did not believe the Wu Family would listen to his explanation.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Chu Shengfan felt the dizziness in his mind subside a lot. He tried his best to keep his steps steady, walking towards the small courtyard as usual.

Because of the mysterious person's arrival, the Snow Shadow Cat, which had been placed on the ground, followed obediently by Chu Shengfan's side, its lively eyes vigilantly watching the surrounding environment.

Now, Chu Shengfan's look towards the Snow Shadow Cat was complicated. He did not know whether he should get rid of it; after all, the Snow Shadow Cat was a witness to everything that had just happened.

He hesitated for a long time. If he really killed it, the boy would not be able to see his cat tomorrow and would make a bigger scene. Moreover, a Mortal Rank Upper Stage Source Beast was far from being smart enough to understand what had just happened.

Thinking this way, Chu Shengfan allowed the Snow Shadow Cat to follow along obediently.

Until he returned to the courtyard, Chu Shengfan closed the courtyard gate and saw Sun Chunchen sitting in the main room.

Almost the moment he saw Chu Shengfan, Sun Chunchen discovered that Chu Shengfan's state was not right.

He immediately put down the teacup in his hand. Waiting for Chu Shengfan to enter the main room, he waved his fingers lightly, closing the room door, before asking in a deep voice:

"What happened today? Why is your state so poor?"

After entering the house, Chu Shengfan seemed to have lost all his strength. He staggered to the side of the chair, almost leaning on the chair to sit down slowly.

Sun Chunchen hurriedly stood up. A deer-shaped Source Beast appeared in the main room, its two horns glowing with green light, enveloping Chu Shengfan's body.

A moment later, some ruddiness finally returned to Chu Shengfan's face. He looked at the worried Sun Chunchen, sighed, and slowly opened his right palm, revealing the mark of the human fruit.