97: Daowen exotic fruit

Ye Ming's luck seemed to have run out just now; he searched for a long time but couldn't find another dao rune.

Along the way, he encountered several groups of people, but unfortunately, none of them had acquired a dao rune, so he didn't even get a chance to try his method.

After another day of searching, Ye Ming finally discovered three anomalous fruits of different colors on a cliff.

Although these anomalous fruits were of different colors, they all had a similar dao rune pattern on their surface.

Most people, upon seeing these three anomalous fruits, would eagerly pick and eat them.

Ye Ming, however, frowned and stopped, because his powerful Divine Sense detected a group of ten people hiding not far from the cliff.

Fishing for lawbreakers?

Ye Ming quickly figured out what they were doing. But when he saw that three of those people had dao runes in their hands,

a glint flashed in his eyes, and then his entire body was enveloped by a mysterious power, disappearing from his original spot.

He wanted to try his method. If it didn't work, he would just beat them up. After all, in the Spirit Realm, strength reigns supreme.

Meanwhile, the ten people who were 'fishing' were unaware that they had been exposed and were still hiding in the shadow of a large rock.

"No one has come after waiting for so long. Should we change locations?"

"Will changing locations bring people? Haste makes waste. Let's keep waiting!"

"Listen to Fellow Daoist Chen!"

...The whispers of the ten people secretly spread. Ye Ming heard them clearly before even getting close. His strength was too great; the soundproofing technique they used couldn't stop him at all.

At this moment, Ye Ming had already approached the three people with dao runes. He randomly picked one person and cast the Great Yin and Yang Reversal Absorption Technique!

That person only felt a chill down his back, but when he turned around, his own companions were looking at him with puzzled expressions.

"What's wrong, Fellow Daoist Lin?"

"Nothing, nothing!" The person rubbed his head, seemingly thinking he was just being too sensitive.

While he was confused, Ye Ming successfully siphoned off his dao rune.

Seeing that this method was effective, Ye Ming immediately stopped casting on that person. Otherwise, if he continued, that person would likely notice.

Next, Ye Ming followed suit, siphoning off the dao runes of the other two. After confirming that they hadn't noticed anything unusual,

Ye Ming left their location and went to pick the three anomalous fruits. During the picking process, he thoughtfully left behind an illusion.

Those people didn't notice anything unusual for several days until several groups flew past, and only then did they realize something had happened.

But it was too late; Ye Ming had long since disappeared... On the other side, somewhere in the Secret Realm.

Looking at the three extra dao runes in his hand, Ye Ming's face was full of smiles. He liked this steady method; it wouldn't be discovered and could continue afterwards.

Then Ye Ming took out the three anomalous fruits. According to others' descriptions, these anomalous fruits were delicious, not only sweet but also juicy, with a crisp crunch when bitten.

They were described just like apples.

To verify if they were as described, Ye Ming took a bite.

The crispness was similar to an apple, and it had sweet juice.

Ye Ming believed it.

The taste was indeed like an apple, but its shape was polygonal, looking different, giving it a peculiar feeling.

After eating the anomalous fruit, another dao rune appeared in his hand, quietly waiting for him to refine it.

Immediately, he ate the other two anomalous fruits as well.

After finishing the anomalous fruits, Ye Ming continued his search for dao runes and targets.

Five days later, as he passed through a valley, he discovered two groups of people cooperating to encircle and kill a group of Yao Beasts.

There were fifteen Yao Beasts, eight of which had dao runes on them. Among them, four were Peak seventh-stage Yao Beasts, five were Late Stage seventh-stage, and the rest were Middle Stage seventh-stage.

No wonder there were two groups cooperating; if there was only one group, they wouldn't be able to defeat these Yao Beasts.

The numbers of these two groups were also different: one side had twelve people, the other fourteen. There were a total of six Body Integration Peak cultivators, eight Body Integration Late Stage, and the rest were Body Integration Middle Stage.

Six Body Integration Peak cultivators alone could easily defeat that group of Yao Beasts, but for fairness, they still made everyone contribute.

Only when they had finished killing the Yao Beasts and were about to part ways did Ye Ming make his move, directly going over and siphoning off all the dao runes from those who had them.

This time, he didn't siphon them all, leaving one for them. There's an old saying: you shouldn't be too extreme in anything.

Then Ye Ming continued this operation, accumulating two thousand one hundred and thirty dao runes in a month.

At this point, many people were already wary of him. To be precise, everyone in the entire Secret Realm knew that someone could silently steal dao runes.

Although they didn't know who it was, they all heightened their vigilance, pulling out signal flares and calling for help whenever there was any abnormality.

Ye Ming also knew he should stop for a while. He would continue when their guard was down. He wasn't greedy; he would just siphon five thousand dao runes!

Thinking this, Ye Ming went to other places to look for dao runes, temporarily leaving people alone.

Half a month later, Ye Ming wandered aimlessly into the depths of the Secret Realm.

As he approached the depths, the groups of seventh-stage Yao Beasts became more numerous, but the Yao Beasts possessing dao runes became fewer.

Reaching the two large mountains before the Secret Realm's depths, Ye Ming was surprised to find many Yao Beasts here, at least a hundred Peak seventh-stage ones!

The rest combined totaled two thousand, making over two thousand seventh-stage Yao Beasts in total, yet not a single one possessed a dao rune.

They were gathered together, seemingly guarding something.

And Ye Ming wasn't the only one who had reached this point; many others were rushing here, all becoming interested in what they were guarding.

"Hey, Fellow Daoist, could it be that there are all dao runes inside?"

"Possibly. Look, these Yao Beasts don't have dao runes, so they must be protecting those Yao Beasts that do!"

"Sigh, when you mention dao runes, I remember that damn thief! His granny, not only did he steal my dao runes, but he also picked all the anomalous fruits I discovered!"

"Haha, I'm even worse off; I was stolen from three times, three whole times, damn it..."

...As they spoke, most of the people present gritted their teeth, their faces agitated as if they wished they could bite the person they were talking about to death.

Standing not far away, Ye Ming heard them shift the topic to him and secretly sighed, thinking no one knew the thief was right beside them.

At this time, more and more people arrived. They were already eager to gather everyone to break through the Yao Beast's defensive line and enter the deeper regions.

Ye Ming thought for a moment and decided not to wait any longer. He wanted to go and see what was inside first.

Taking advantage of no one noticing him, an ordinary person, he cast the Divine Concealment Art and swaggered towards the depths.

The group of Yao Beasts didn't discover him either. Just like that, Ye Ming arrived in the depths, where the dao runes were unexpectedly scarce.

Walking all this way, he only collected ten anomalous fruits.