80: Dragon fruit

He took a few deep breaths to calm his mind. It was far from the worst-case scenario. He had to find the person who took his dragon snake fruit and retrieve it. He couldn't bear to think about how he would face the Serpent if he failed. He owed the Serpent an enormous amount of Karma, and if he didn't complete the task, he knew how vast the Karma he would have to repay would be. He absolutely had to get the dragon snake fruit.

After sorting out his emotions, he began examining the traces at the scene. The soil was brown, with scorch marks from fire. This indicated a Fire Attribute Cultivator. There was no Demonic Qi, so it was a Cultivator of the Human Race. Fire Attribute, Human Race—this scope was still too large. He needed to see if he could find any personal belongings to narrow down the search.

Suddenly, he detected a trace of blood. Excellent! Blood carried a crucial Aura for a Cultivator. They, as Yao Beasts, could track Cultivators using blood traces. This was their predatory talent. Not just Yao Beasts, but many common carnivorous creatures could also do this.

He tremblingly extended his snake tongue and began capturing the scent of blood in the air. Fortunately, the battle here had not ended too long ago, and the scent was still detectable.

The person had headed east and hadn't gone too far. Following the scent, he began his pursuit.

Meanwhile, to the east, a young man was healing his injuries in a cave. His name was Situ Wangchuan, a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator of the Yellow Springs Sect. The Yellow Springs Sect was very far from here, and he was not a local Cultivator; his arrival here was purely coincidental.

He had come out for training and saw the Secret Realm open from a great distance, so he entered to seize an Opportunity. He had gained a lot here, but when retrieving the dragon snake fruit, he had a fierce back-and-forth battle with the Yao Beast guarding it—a black python. Although he ultimately won, his injuries were severe, forcing him to recuperate here.

Suddenly, however, he opened his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead. He felt something was terribly wrong; his mind was restless, as if something was about to happen. He wanted to continue meditating, but he couldn't stabilize his mind. He realized his subconscious was telling him that the area was dangerous, and he had to leave.

This was an ability possessed by all Cultivators of the Yellow Springs Sect. The Yellow Springs Meng Po Scripture they cultivated granted them this divine ability: they could sense major dangers approaching ahead of time. This was a famous ability of the Yellow Springs Sect, greatly enhancing the safety of their Cultivators, and many Cultivators envied this skill.

Situ Wangchuan immediately got up and continued running east. He even concealed his Aura and tracks, hoping to increase his safety margin.

After about half an hour, Gu Yuchuan arrived. Looking at the cave, he saw flames that had not yet lost their heat and a strong human Aura. He knew the opponent had only recently left. However, he frowned, great confusion visible in his small eyes.

"That's wrong," he thought. Sensing the opponent's Aura, it was clear the person was still injured. This cave seemed extremely hidden. Why wouldn't he recover here? Why keep running? Could he possibly sense that he was being pursued? That was simply too absurd. He didn't even realize that he had actually already found the reason.

However, since he had tracked him this far, he was close to catching him. The opponent couldn't run much further. Although he had concealed his Aura, that might only work against Human Race Cultivators. But Gu Yuchuan wasn't human; he was a snake. Snakes are naturally extremely sensitive to Auras, as their eyesight is not very effective.

He merely flicked out his tongue, and shortly after—in less than half an incense stick's time—he sensed the direction the opponent had fled. He immediately gave chase. His speed was definitely much faster than Situ Wangchuan's, as Situ Wangchuan still had to conceal his tracks and proceed cautiously, while Gu Yuchuan just needed to pursue quickly.

Soon, Gu Yuchuan spotted the figure of the Human Race Cultivator in the distance.

“Human of the front, stop! As long as you do as I say, I guarantee I won't kill you.”

However, Gu Yuchuan's words only made Situ Wangchuan fly faster. He didn't trust the Yao Race; who knew if stopping would result in instant death? But his strength was clearly inferior to Gu Yuchuan's. After running for a little longer, their distance closed significantly, and Gu Yuchuan immediately used water to form a cage, trapping him.

Situ Wangchuan immediately put on a flattering smile: "Your Majesty Snake King, may I ask why you stopped me? I will certainly cooperate."

Once Gu Yuchuan confirmed the opponent was trapped, he stopped rushing. He looked at the man with interest and a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Why aren't you running now? You were so fast, weren't you? It took me a full two hours to catch you. Run again and let me see. Come on."

Situ Wangchuan lowered himself, knowing that if he handled this poorly, he would die right here.

"Your Majesty looks so powerful, with such a magnificent Aura! I am just a small Cultivator of the Human Race. When I saw you, I was naturally terrified and wanted to run. Please don't take offense. May I ask what business you have with this lowly one? I will certainly comply."

Gu Yuchuan didn't want to waste any more words on him. After all, the most important thing now was retrieving the dragon snake fruit; everything else was irrelevant.

Gu Yuchuan stared intently at the man, his eyes filled with intense killing intent: "Hand over the dragon snake fruit to me. I know there were five dragon snake fruits on that tree. If even one is missing, I will ensure you die without a burial place, and your Soul will be continuously tormented in endless Demonic Fire. Think carefully."

Situ Wangchuan's expression became very ugly. He hadn't expected this was what the other party wanted.

The dragon snake fruit was also useful to him, as it could improve the quality of one's Physical Body. Spell Cultivators did not cultivate the Physical Body, making their physique their weakness. Anything that could enhance the Physical Body was extremely precious. He truly didn't want to give it up, but he didn't dare refuse, so he could only take them out.

Gu Yuchuan was delighted after receiving them. Since he was in a good mood, he decided not to kill the man. He wasn't an inherently bloodthirsty person; if there was no benefit, there was no reason to kill casually.

He immediately swallowed one, and instantly felt his Bloodline beginning to condense and purify. He had taken a step closer to becoming a Mid-grade Spirit Beast. He was overjoyed, as for the Yao Race, Bloodline was often more important than cultivation level.