75: Fifteen high-grade crystal cores—I'm determined to nurture this tree!

Meanwhile, Qin Yue and Lin Hu’s pupils had constricted violently into dangerous pinpricks!

What shocked them was not the three boxes of supplies.

It was Lu Sheng’s unfathomable, unheard-of Spatial Ability!

As Heaven-Tier Experts, they prided themselves on their extensive knowledge, yet this method of retrieving objects from thin air completely exceeded their scope of understanding!

What made it even harder for them to comprehend was that Lu Sheng actually used such valuable supplies—enough to trade for a beautiful woman or even a human life in the camp—to exchange for a broken sapling that anyone could tell was about to die!

Extravagance!

Luxury!

He was simply an irrational lunatic!

The two exchanged glances, seeing the same shock and confusion in each other's eyes.

This Lu Sheng acted strangely, completely ignoring conventional wisdom, and could not be judged by normal standards!

“The transaction is complete.” Lu Sheng’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

He no longer looked at the old man kneeling and kowtowing, nor did he heed the surrounding, almost predatory gazes, but carefully took the withered yellow sapling from the old man’s trembling hands.

As if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

Qin Yue recovered from her enormous shock. She glanced at the surrounding Survivors who were becoming restless due to jealousy, and then at the three boxes of supplies on the ground, enough to incite a bloody conflict.

Frowning, she coldly issued an order to the two Guards who were already terrified.

“You two, escort this old gentleman home and ensure the supplies are delivered safely.”

“Yes, Officer!”

The two Guards snapped to attention, immediately accepted the order, rushed forward to help the kowtowing old man up, carried the supplies on the ground, and hastily escorted him away.

A potential riot was nipped in the bud.

Silence returned to the dock.

But the gaze of all the Survivors toward Lu Sheng had changed.

It was a complex look mixed with awe, fear, and extreme greed, as if they were looking at a walking, mobile treasury.

Lu Sheng paid no attention to this.

Using the action of turning around, he blocked Qin Yue and Lin Hu's line of sight, and a thought flashed through his mind.

The enlightenment tree he held in his hands instantly vanished.

The next second, in his consciousness, the withered yellow sapling was firmly rooted in the center of the 10-square-meter Black Soil patch within the spiritual source space.

Almost the instant the sapling touched the ground, a cold System Notification Sound boomed in his mind!

[Ding! God-Tier Spiritual Plant—enlightenment tree detected!]

[Status: Dying (Root system severely damaged, spirit source depleted, vitality continuously decreasing. Estimated complete death in thirty minutes!)]

[Warning! Please immediately replenish a large amount of Pure Spirit Source for the enlightenment tree, or the spiritual plant will die completely!]

“...”

Lu Sheng's heart sank.

Without hesitation, his consciousness instantly sank into his storage space, and he took out one of his only two intermediate spirit source crystal cores!

“Bury it!”

Following his will, the Pale Gold Crystal Core, radiating immense spirit source, instantly appeared in the spiritual source space and was buried directly at the roots of the enlightenment tree.

“Buzz!”

The seemingly dead roots of the enlightenment tree, like sharks smelling blood, instantly burst forth with astonishing vitality, wrapping tightly around the intermediate spirit source crystal core like countless tiny tentacles!

Visibly, streams of Pure Spirit Source were frantically drawn and devoured by the roots!

In just over ten seconds, the intermediate crystal core—which was enough to significantly boost the experience of a Level 4 Spirit Source Practitioner—dimmed and turned into a handful of ashes.

And on the system panel, the status of the enlightenment tree finally changed.

[Status: Severely Wounded (Vitality 2%, has exited the dying state, deterioration halted)]

[Hint: To fully restore its vitality, an estimated 15 advanced spirit source crystal cores, or spirit source crystal cores of equivalent value, are required.]

“...”

Seeing this hint, Lu Sheng’s mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.

Fifteen advanced spirit source crystal cores!

Damn it... he had risked his life to kill a Level 6 Leader, and only refined three advanced crystal cores!

This wasn't a Divine Tree; this was clearly an insatiable black hole!

The immense investment didn't discourage Lu Sheng; instead, it ignited an unprecedented fighting spirit in his heart!

The greater the input, the greater the return!

Once this tree bears fruit, he will be able to advance from the God-Tier Sequence to the... Unknown Sequence, which transcends the God-Tier!

By then, what would a mere dozen or so advanced spirit source crystal cores matter?

“It seems I must find a way to acquire more spirit source crystal cores! Massive amounts of spirit source crystal cores!”

Lu Sheng's consciousness returned to reality, and on his calm face, a hint of uncontrollable excitement even surfaced.

When he came back to his senses, he realized the old man had already left, and he inwardly sighed with regret.

He forgot to ask the man where he had found this Divine Sapling.

But there was no rush. As long as the person was still in this camp, he would find him eventually.

“Mr. Lu, you...”

Qin Yue looked at the strange smile on Lu Sheng’s face, and her confusion peaked.

She truly couldn't understand why a normal person could still smile after exchanging three boxes of precious supplies for a broken branch.

She couldn't help but speak, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny she hadn't even noticed herself.

“Your actions just now were too impulsive.”

“In the Apocalypse, meaningless kindness will only harm yourself.”

Lin Hu also echoed gruffly from the side: “That’s right, Brother Lu, there are all sorts of people in the Zijin Mountain Camp. That old man clearly looked like a swindler. You... suffered a huge loss this time.”

Hearing this, Lu Sheng simply turned around, and a faint smile played on his lips as he faced Qin Yue and Lin Hu, who were still dumbfounded and shocked.

He shook his empty hands and spoke calmly, in a light and easy tone.

“A loss?”

“No, I made a huge profit.”

“That wasn’t an ordinary withered branch. That was... a precious Local Specialty.”

“Local Specialty???”

A question mark slowly appeared simultaneously above Qin Yue and Lin Hu’s foreheads.

Both of them were completely baffled.

They felt that their brains could no longer keep up with the thought process of the man before them.

Seeing their expressions of existential doubt, Lu Sheng was in high spirits.

Right after entering the camp, he had acquired a Heaven-Defying Divine Item.

For the first time, he developed a profound interest in this chaotic and filthy place.

“Let’s go, both of you.”

Lu Sheng walked ahead, hands clasped behind his back, leading the way toward the even more chaotic Trading Zone deeper inside the camp.

“Let’s go look around inside and see if there are any other... Local Specialties.”

P.S.: Third update, 6,000 words, absolutely filling. Brothers, give me some time, I’m adjusting my status to update 10,000 words daily!!!