Chapter 236: Chapter 205 Black Snake Vine [Extra update] _1
“Senior, do you smell a fragrance?”
As Xu Mu alertly surveyed his surroundings, he also woke up the Puppet Cat on his shoulder.
The fragrance seeped through his layers of defensive formation. This was no ordinary scent, and he had to be cautious.
What if it was toxic? That would be the end of him.
“Where do I get the sense of smell from, I’m a Puppet!”
The Puppet Cat, appearing as though it were alive, rubbed its eyes with its paw and lazily stretched before standing up. After scanning the surroundings, it pointed in one direction.
“The fragrance should be coming from that direction!”
A hint of an anthropomorphic grin emerged on the Puppet Cat’s face, “You’re really lucky!”
“What do you mean?”
Xu Mu asked in confusion.
Are you being sarcastic?
“You’ll know once you go there. Not many Spiritual Objects can permeate the fragrance through the formation. It shouldn’t be wrong,” the Puppet Cat said. “Spiritual Objects?”
Xu Mu decided to go take a look.
Before the task was completed, he had a hunch that the cat would not harm him.
Xu Mu withdrew the formation and cautiously proceeded in the direction which the Puppet Cat had pointed out.
Roar!
A two-headed wild bull Monster Beast looked intoxicated as it dashed past him, rushing in the direction the Puppet Cat indicated.
“Senior, are you sure there’s no problem?”
Watching the Monster Beast zoom away, Xu Mu was a bit worried.
“Don’t worry!”
The Puppet Cat was full of confidence.
“Could you tell me what exactly it is?”
“You’ll know when you arrive.”
II II
A cat sells me suspense.
Xu Mu grumbled internally.
Seeing the cat’s confident appearance, he was slightly relieved.
After walking about four to five miles, suddenly a large tree with lush foliage appeared in front of him. The tree crown spread out like an umbrella, covering hundreds of meters around it. The branches were hung with crystal clear white fruits looking like jade.
“Ginseng Fruits!!”
Seeing the fruits shaped like infants, Xu Mu nearly popped out his eyeballs.
However, he quickly calmed down. There might be Ginseng Fruits in this world, but it’s definitely not this one in front of him.
Because the Spiritual Energy emanating from the tree was not particularly strong, it absolutely wasn’t enough to achieve immortality just by eating one fruit.
“Ginseng Fruits? The name is quite vivid!” The Puppet Cat murmured: “But its real name is Jade Spirit Seed! It was named by my master!”
Xu Mu didn’t get hung up on the name of the fruit tree. He asked, “Senior, you’re not going to tell me the good thing you mentioned is these fruits, right?” “Correct!”
The Puppet Cat nodded.
Xu Mu furrowed his brows and said, “Didn’t you tell me all the Spiritual Objects in this space were contaminated with evil energy?”
“Every axiom has exceptions. There will always be some exceptions in the world. This Jade Spirit Seed in front of us is one of the few Spirit Plants that won’t be contaminated by the evil energy!”
“Really?”
Xu Mu was a bit skeptical.
“Should I lie to you!” The Puppet Cat said disdainfully.
Hearing Puppet Cat’s affirmation, Xu Mu couldn’t help but reveal a look of joy.
Judging from the Spiritual Energy these fruits emitted, their grade would definitely not be less than tier five. There should be at least a thousand fruits on the tree. If he could pick them all, it would be a fortune.
At least it could offset the consumption of Spirit Stones on him. As for helping the Puppet Cat, he didn’t want to end up paying out of his pocket.
Seeing Xu Mu’s delighted expression, the Puppet Cat reminded him, “Don’t get too happy too soon. It’s not that easy if you want to pick these fruits.”
“I know that naturally! There are always Monster Beasts guarding near treasures. It’s the same for the Spirit Fruit Tree in front of us!”
If there were no Monster Beasts guarding it, the fruits would have been picked long ago.
“You’re pretty smart!”
“Thanks for the compliment, Senior! Do we know what kind of Monster Beast it is?”
Xu Mu spread his Divine Intent over ten miles but did not detect any high-tier Monster Beasts.
“You will know soon.”
The puppet cat looked not too far away, a three-tailed monkey was jumping hurriedly among the tree branches, it seemed to be attracted by the Jade Spirit Child too.
“Chirr Chirr!”
The three-tailed monkey seemed to have lost its sanity due to the enticing scent. As soon as it approached, after much scratching and grooming, it impatiently leaped toward the Jade Spirit Child tree.
Just as the three-tailed monkey landed on the tree and was about to reach out to pick the fruit, a black shadow shot from the ground like lightning, swiftly entwining it.
“Chirr Chirr!”
The three-tailed monkey struggled and roared in vain. In an instant, it was dragged by the black shadow into the ground and disappeared without a trace. “A vine?”
With Xu Mu’s cultivation, he clearly saw the shadow – a thumb-thick vine covered in sharp barbs. The monkey had been just entwined, the barbs impaled into its flesh.
“It’s not the vine of the Jade Spirit Child, rather a parasitic plant called Black Snake Vine. They like to attach to the fruit trees with a strong fragrance, attracting Monster Beasts with the aroma of Spirit Fruit, then they kill and absorb the nutrients,” the puppet cat explained.
“What level is this snake vine at?”
“It depends on how long they’ve grown, the longer they’ve been growing, the stronger they are. Theoretically, there’s no limit!”
That’s like saying nothing at all!
Xu Mu muttered in his mind.
Since the puppet cat couldn’t provide valuable information, Xu Mu had to do it himself. He released his Divine Intent to penetrate the ground and examine the Black Snake Vine.
“Tier one? Damn it!”
Through the Divine Intent, the aura of the Black Snake Vine was only tier one. Xu Mu could not help but curse. The monkey before was tier four, it was clear that the Black Snake Vine had been deliberately concealing its aura.
Although it was frustrating, this outcome was within his expectations.
The power of Divine Intent is magical, but it cannot reveal everything,
Especially when dealing with Monster Beasts.
Some very low-level Monster Beasts can develop the ability to evade Divine Intent.
The reason is simple. Without this ability, they would have been hunted to extinction.
This is why the Golden Core Stage cultivators are always hunting Monster Beasts in the forest. Unless they are professional Beast Hunters, the efficiency of hunting may not be as good as a seasoned Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The group of red spiders he encountered not long ago tricked Xu Mu successfully. If it wasn’t for his strong abilities, he might have been in big trouble.
“Senior, are you sure these fruits are edible?” Xu Mu thought for a while and asked again.
“If you don’t believe it, forget it!” The puppet cat said indifferently.
“In that case, please get off my shoulder and move a little farther away.”
“What are you going to do?”
The puppet cat asked with surprise.
“Of course, I am going to use my skill to kill it!” Xu Mu beamed, “But as it is the first time I am using this skill, to avoid any mishap, it’s better that you hide first.”
The puppet cat looked at him dubiously, then jumped off his shoulder and quickly hid hundreds of meters away.
Once Xu Mu confirmed the puppet cat was safe, his body levitated from the ground. When he reached several meters in the air, he quickly squeezed the spell.
Roar!
A phantom Kun Peng appeared behind him, opened its mouth wide and sucked in. The energies within a radius of ten miles began to gather towards him.
The massive energy fluctuations spread hundreds of miles away. The Monster Beasts in the jungle sensed a disaster, and began to flee in all directions.
“What is this kid up to? Doesn’t he fear attracting high-tier Monster Beasts?” The puppet cat mumbled to itself.
Countless energies converged into the Kun Peng, forming a chaotic energy ball within it that radiated fearsome, violent energy fluctuations, as though it harbored enough energy to destroy the world.
Xu Mu was about to unleash God Skill Devour Heaven. Although he had improved this divine skill to the Transcendent level, it was his first time using it.
To avoid causing too much trouble, he didn’t maximize its power. He only absorbed energies from a radius of ten miles.
Theoretically, with his current realm, he could reach up to hundreds of miles.
Feeling that the energy was gathered just about right, Xu Mu used his Divine Intent as an anchor, squeezed the spell and released it.
Roar!
The phantom Kun Peng roared. The energy ball transformed into a pillar of light, shooting obliquely towards the ground.
Hum!
Where the beam of light passed, white ripples appeared in the void. Like water waves, they silently rippled outwards.
The soil on the ground melted like snow under the impact of the beam.
All of this seemed like a slow-motion sequence until the beam penetrated tens of meters into the ground, almost reaching the Black Snake Vine. Then, a deafening explosion spread out like a avalanche.
A strong shockwave, with the energy pillar at the center, lifted the ground several tens of meters high. Like a dragon tossing and turning, it swept all around.
Xu Mu, hanging in mid-air, his face slightly changed.
“Damn it! Seems like I overdid it!”