453: Golden fruit tree, the first to arrive? (Two-in-one, please subscribe for a monthly ticket)

Inside the Nine Suns Hall, a Spirit Map was spread out before the four individuals.

Nine Heavens Hermit occasionally dotted and supplemented the Spirit Map, and with each stroke, the Spirit Map became more complete.

From this, it could be seen that Nine Heavens Hermit had indeed traveled through the various countries of the Eastern Domain before this.

The Spirit Map marked the largest cities in Chu Country most clearly, such as the vast Yuhai City, Kaiyuan City facing Zhao Country and Yan Country, and Heavenly Devil Valley, where the main base of the Heavenly Demon Sect was located.

Lin Shiming looked at the sea map, his mind filled with thoughts, constantly deducing, trying to find the best and most favorable way to attack the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Shiming, I know one of the Devil Dens controlled by the Heavenly Demon Sect is not close to Yuhai City or Kaiyuan City. Rumor has it that there are nether dark iron woods over two thousand years old inside, which are also the main Materials for the Heavenly Demon Sect to refine their Heavenly Demon Banner Magic Treasure!" Nine Heavens Hermit spoke again.

"The Heavenly Demon Sect only has two Devil Dens of this scale. As long as we destroy the Devil Den and let the Devilish Qi spread out, the Heavenly Demon Sect's Luck for the next hundred years will be cut in half!"

The middle and lower-level Cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Sect basically trained in the Devil Dens, captured Devil Heads, and these were also the Heavenly Demon Sect's Spirit Herb Gardens for cultivating Yin-wood Spirit Materials.

These words made Lin Shiming's eyes light up.

The Lin Family now only lacked one type of Material, nether dark iron wood, to refine a fifth-tier Spirit Puppet.

In his Storage Pouch, the Heavenly Colorful Mud and Dark Light Crystals were quite large, more than enough to take to Thousand Machine Island to refine a fifth-tier Spirit Puppet.

Not to mention, it could also create chaos for the Heavenly Demon Sect. The only difficulty was that such a place would surely be heavily guarded.

"Elder Jiuxiao, please tell me more about this Devil Den, especially its defenses!" Lin Shiming finally spoke.

Nine Heavens Hermit also answered everything he knew, except for the past few decades, he was unsure if there had been any changes.

And for the four of them, it was indeed a great opportunity!

"Fellow Daoist Lin, please give me ten days; I will refine two more demon-expelling jades!" Nine Heavens Hermit spoke again.

Since they had decided to target the Devil Den, they needed to prepare Magic Treasures and Magical Artifacts in advance.

If there were Talisman Masters, they even planned to refine some Spirit Talismans.

However, it was no longer realistic to buy them now. Since the Heavenly Demon Sect's plan was for a month later, they would also act a month later. Buying now would be too revealing.

Ten days passed in a blink of an eye. The four arrived at the underground hall again, their expressions solemn. This trip to the Eastern Domain, since it involved action, naturally required complete preparation.

However, this time the hall was in a different location, completely opposite to the Teleportation Array leading to the South Sea.

The advantage of this was that even if one Teleportation Array was discovered, there was still another one.

This was also a common method for setting up Teleportation Arrays in the cultivation world, making it convenient to destroy them at any time to prevent Cultivators from the other side from teleporting over, without affecting other Teleportation Arrays.

"It was rather sudden, so it can only reach the level of a fourth-grade Low Grade Magic Treasure!" Nine Heavens Hermit took a thumb-sized spirit jade and handed it to Lin Shiming.

He then gave Lin Shiyun and Lin Shiyuan each a third-grade Peak grade magic jade.

Both of them were Foundation Establishment Cultivators and could only use Magical Artifacts.

"It's enough!" Lin Shiming nodded, not paying too much attention.

He wasn't afraid of ordinary Devilish Qi. His Body Cultivator strength was at the Purple Mansion Late Stage, so ordinary Devilish Qi wouldn't affect him.

The Teleportation Array quickly activated, still tested by Nine Heavens Hermit using a Spirit Rat.

The Teleportation Array to the South Sea had at least been tested before, but this Teleportation Array had not been used for fifty or sixty years, so they were naturally more cautious.

After waiting for a full hour, Nine Heavens Hermit finally nodded and continued to take out High-Grade Spirit Stones, filling them into the Formation's Spirit Slots.

As bursts of Spirit Light appeared, they then gathered into a Spirit Net, and a large amount of white light surged.

The four also stepped into the Teleportation Array.

As the white light faded, Lin Shiming immediately summoned the Golden Winged Mantis and the Red-haired Demon Monkey from his hand.

As soon as the two beasts appeared, one beast howled loudly, while the other transformed into a golden light, floating around Lin Shiming.

"This place is relatively remote; there won't be too much danger. Not far from here is just a Foundation Establishment Family, occupying an island with a third-tier Spiritual Vein!" Nine Heavens Hermit explained, then put the red long-haired rat back into his spirit beast pouch.

"It's fine, this place cannot be exposed, so it's better to have an extra precaution!" Lin Shiming smiled lightly, then looked at Lin Shiyun and said.

"Shiyun, set up another Teleportation Array not far from here!"

"Okay, Seventh Brother!" Lin Shiyun also nodded. This was his biggest role on this trip, so he naturally had to perform well.

This island was not large, and the Teleportation Array was also built underground. The island was mostly inhabited by ordinary birds and beasts, with no Spirit Beasts, which was why Nine Heavens Hermit said the island was remote.

According to Nine Heavens Hermit's introduction, this sea area was not close to the Heavenly Demon Sect's coast, but rather not far from the Secret Realm of the ningjin fruit.

This Teleportation Array was also something Nine Heavens Hermit learned about when he learned about the Secret Realm.

Lin Shiyun circled the island once, and once again found a higher elevated spot on the island, burrowed into the ground, and began to open up an underground space to build a Teleportation Array.

Meanwhile, Lin Shiming and Lin Shiyuan began to set up a hidden Formation and remained vigilant on the island.

Time passed monotonously, only the Red-haired Demon Monkey, on the island, was curiously running around.

Touching this, looking at that!

But seeing that the isolated island only had some ordinary mortal wild fruits, the Red-haired Demon Monkey also lost interest, took out its own Storage Pouch, transformed into a tiny red furry monkey, sat in the fork of a tree trunk, and began to eat spirit beast meat and spirit wine on its own.

Occasionally, he would let out a yell, as if acting drunk.

Ever since Lin Shiming had let the Red-haired Demon Monkey roam free on Shuangmu Island, Lin Shiming was unsure how much spirit wine and Spirit Peach this red-haired one had gotten from the Lin Family members, and it never let Lin Shiming see its Storage Pouch.

Of course, Lin Shiming also made the Red-haired Demon Monkey give Spirit Stones when asking for things from the Lin Family members, otherwise, he would forbid the Red-haired Demon Monkey from leaving the Immortal Cave.

So, the Lin Family members quite liked trading with the Red-haired Demon Monkey, because the Red-haired Demon Monkey's lowest Spirit Stone was only a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Elder Jiuxiao, let's go check out the Secret Realm first!" Lin Shiming saw that Nine Heavens Hermit was a bit distracted and understood that since they were already here, Nine Heavens Hermit would not be content if he didn't go to the Secret Realm to take a look.

He had been busy with the Lin Family's affairs, but the most important goal of this trip was the ningjin fruit.

Lin Shiming also didn't want to work hard for a while only to find that the ningjin fruit had already been taken by someone else!

Moreover, Lin Shiming had some other ideas about the ningjin fruit; perhaps, he wouldn't even need to wait that long.

"Good, it's good to take a look first!" Nine Heavens Hermit also nodded.

Once the two made their decision, they left the Red-haired Demon Monkey and Golden Wings to guard here. To be safe, Lin Shiming even had Old Wood and Thunder Child also guard this island.

Then, he flew south with Nine Heavens Hermit.

Lin Shiming was also a little curious in his heart; he didn't know if flying continuously southward would lead to the South Sea.

He had some suspicions in his heart, but ancient texts didn't record it, and there was very little interaction between the South Sea and the Eastern Domain cultivation world. Naturally, he couldn't risk danger to try it just because of a suspicion.

Although the Secret Realm was close, it still took a full day's flight on the purple wind boat, only to see the vast ocean in the distance.

No islands could be seen, and fish and shrimp in the sea were also very scarce, making the sea look exceptionally clear. Looking from afar, the end of the sea met the sky. If one didn't look closely, it would be hard to distinguish where the sky was and where the sea was; truly, the sky and water merged into one!

"The Secret Realm is at the bottom of the sea, and this is also the place where that Golden Core Cultivator passed away!" Nine Heavens Hermit said.

Lin Shiming also stopped. The two put away their purple wind boat, took out their water- 遁符 (water evasion talismans), and directly descended towards the seabed.

The depths of the ocean were even more magnificent and colorful, with various coral fish and shrimp, and some predatory Yao Beasts began to appear.

To avoid causing a commotion, Lin Shiming also took out the Eternal Night Umbrella.

As soon as this Eternal Night Umbrella, refined from the skin of a Discoloration Jiaolong, entered the sea, the figures of the two disappeared, and they didn't even need a water spirit shield. They moved as if on flat ground at the bottom of the sea.

Their speed was not slow!

This sea area was thousands of feet deep, and the deep sea seemed to be covered by some Spirit Material that could block Divine Sense.

Of course, the deeper it was, the more it blocked Divine Sense, and the more at ease Lin Shiming felt.

If it were that easy to find, treasures, Immortal Caves, and even the Gold Core Forming Fruit Tree would have been found long ago, and it wouldn't be their turn.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the sea. Here, it was as deep as night, and the pressure of the seawater had reached its extreme. Ordinary Qi Refining Cultivators would probably not be able to withstand this pressure and would be crushed to death.

However, the Eternal Night Umbrella did not consume much True Essence.

Lin Shiming and the other person finally saw a half-ruined ancient square.

There was clearly an inexplicable Formation within the square, isolating the seawater.

Green glowing stones were scattered everywhere, emitting a faint light, illuminating one stone pillar after another, as if it were an ancient sacrificial ground.

Eerie and desolate, the remnants of Spirit Puppets floated, along with some beast bones.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, wait for me!" Nine Heavens Hermit landed on the square, bypassed the first spirit pillar, and went directly to the second spirit pillar.

As he pulled it, the spirit pillar fell off. Lin Shiming looked at the broken end and immediately knew that this spirit pillar was refined by Nine Heavens Hermit. For a moment, he couldn't help but admire the methods of an old Purple Mansion like Nine Heavens Hermit.

Nine Heavens Hermit took the spirit pillar. He took out a bottle of spirit liquid from his 懷中 (bosom). The spirit liquid was poured onto the spirit pillar, and the next moment, it began to fade, revealing the appearance of a mirror.

The long, narrow mirror looked very strange. Under the application of Nine Heavens Hermit's spirit art, the next moment, images began to appear and constantly change.

The speed of change was extremely fast, but for Cultivators, it was all within an acceptable range.

Until a certain point, something unusual finally appeared in the image.

Several deep-sea Dark Octopus Great Demons appeared, circling among the stone pillars.

This scene made both Lin Shiming and Nine Heavens Hermit's expressions worsen, but because the Octopus Demon couldn't find the entrance to the Secret Realm, it eventually left quietly.

The two then breathed a sigh of relief.

The scene in the mirror continued to change, and the calm scene didn't last long. A giant Octopus Demon King appeared again in the image. At this moment, countless tentacles grabbed all the stone pillars and violently pulled them!

The entire square vibrated violently, and countless seawater began to intrude. The hearts of the two also rose to their throats.

However, the image still did not change; the square remained the square.

Even the spirit pillar where the mirror was located showed no sign of breaking, making Lin Shiming even more amazed by Nine Heavens Hermit's methods.

However, this scene seemed to enrage the Octopus Demon King. It opened its large mouth and spewed out terrifying venom, which began to impact the entire square.

The square was shaken and on the verge of collapse, and many spirit pillars finally began to break. A small circular light spot was revealed in the center of the area. The Octopus Demon King's eyes narrowed, and a huge tentacle fiercely drilled in.

Pfft!

A huge circular opening appeared in the center of the square.

Moreover, within the circular opening, a palace was revealed. Inside the palace, a massive Gold Core Forming Fruit Tree emitted a tremendous Spirit Light.

In front of the palace, two Puppet warriors stood.

Nine Heavens Hermit put away the mirror image, and at this moment, he didn't linger. He took out another spirit pillar from his bosom and placed it where the original spirit pillar had been.

This spirit pillar was clearly from the original square stone and perfectly matched the previous one.

It was probably taken by Nine Heavens Hermit to prevent others from getting there first.

But he didn't expect that the arriving Demon King would actually break the Formation by brute force.

The square hall began to shake again, and each glowing stone became more translucent, emitting bursts of Spirit Light that intertwined into a net, revealing a huge dark cave.

This square was clearly connected to a Secret Realm.

Nine Heavens Hermit released the red long-haired rat and sent it directly inside.

After a while, he spoke again:

"There's no danger, the Gold Core Forming Fruit Tree is still there!" Nine Heavens Hermit said, also letting out a sigh of relief.

But his face was still not good.

This Secret Realm was no longer known only to the two of them; new Cultivators had appeared, and that Demon King was clearly also waiting for the ningjin fruit to ripen.

At the level of that Demon King, its intelligence was no less than that of a Cultivator.

The two entered the Secret Realm, only to find that the palace had been thoroughly explored.

The plaque had collapsed, golden debris lay scattered everywhere, many walls had been pushed down, and the Immortal Master's sleeping quarters had completely turned into ruins.

It was completely different from the palace seen in the previous image.

Apparently, the Immortal Master's sleeping quarters had been pushed down and thoroughly searched by that Demon King, and it was likely that some Purple Mansion Great Demons had also swept through it.

Even the Spirit Herb Garden in front of the gate had been cultivated miserably, with only some young Spirit Medicine seeds remaining, but their growth was extremely poor.

Many of the Spirit Gathering Formations had been destroyed.

At the palace entrance, there were also two Spirit Puppet remnants. Lin Shiming stepped forward to pick them up, only to find that the strength of these remnants was no less than the two Spirit Puppets he had purchased from Thousand Machine Island.

Clearly, the two Spirit Puppets had at least the strength of fourth-tier Peak Spirit Puppets when they were alive.

"This is why I needed a Purple Mansion Late Stage Cultivator to come. Back then, several of my good friends died at the hands of these two fourth-tier Peak Spirit Puppets!" Nine Heavens Hermit sighed.

His eyes recalled the scenes of the past, filled with a hint of sadness.

He also didn't expect that these two Spirit Puppets would eventually perish at the hands of the Octopus Demon King.

After the sadness, the two looked up at the same time.

Only the Gold Core Forming Fruit Tree in the very center still emitted a rich glow, each leaf remarkably radiant, like golden silver coins.

At the top of the leaves, three spirit fruits were distributed in three corners.

The golden spirit fruits were clearly still somewhat unripe, not fully mature, but a vast amount of Spiritual Qi had already gathered into three Spiritual Qi vortexes above the spirit fruits.

They frantically swept up the surrounding Spiritual Qi.

Making the Spiritual Qi throughout the Secret Realm seem a bit thin, and even the entire sea area around it had been sucked dry.

Looking at it this way, due to the scarcity of Spiritual Qi, it would probably take another ten years or so to fully mature.

And it was for this reason that the Demon King did not remain here to guard it!

Nine Heavens Hermit's expression worsened.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, I miscalculated. I didn't expect this spirit fruit to take another ten years to mature!" Nine Heavens Hermit couldn't help but say.