The Immortal Fruit on the Divine Tree

Chen Chang'an stepped through the stone wall and discovered that the space beyond was far larger than the stone chamber—at least ten times its size, if not more.

Unlike the darkness of the chamber, this area was bathed in a soft, azure glow. At the very center of the blue-lit space stood a translucent tree, crystalline and radiant, its branches shimmering with the same ethereal light.

"This is…"

Chen Chang'an was stunned at the sight.

No wonder this place periodically experienced surges of spiritual energy—this was a fully materialized Spirit Immortal Tree!

He had no idea how many eons it took for such a thing to form, but he had heard of its existence from Mu Yunyao in the past.

The Spirit Immortal Tree was the result of pure, concentrated spiritual energy condensing over countless millennia. In the Tai Xuan Realm, only a handful had ever encountered one in person; most only knew of it through ancient records.

Chen Chang'an never expected that within the small Cloud Snow Ridge's Heavenly Pool in Langya, such a treasure—one that would drive the entire Tai Xuan Realm into a frenzy—lay hidden.

Cultivating near the Spirit Immortal Tree could multiply one’s progress by several, even dozens of times.

But the tree’s true terror lay in its fruit—the Spirit Immortal Fruits.

These were the real prizes that would drive men to madness.

"Fifteen… There are fifteen Spirit Immortal Fruits here!"

Each fruit was a crystallization of the tree’s essence, unimaginably precious, and took three thousand years to mature.

Fifteen fruits meant this tree had been accumulating power for at least forty-five thousand years—likely far longer.

"That so-called 'Snow God' from back then must have discovered this tree and stayed because of it," Chen Chang'an mused. "He probably consumed quite a few of these fruits himself."

Fifteen Spirit Immortal Fruits were an astronomical fortune, but storing them was no simple task.

The moment a fruit was plucked from the tree, it had to be placed in a container made of Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade, or it would gradually dissipate over time.

Moreover, prolonged physical contact with bare hands was ill-advised.

"Such treasures—it’d be a shame not to take them."

"Fifteen shouldn’t be a problem."

Over the years, Chen Chang'an had amassed quite a collection of rare items, not to mention the ones he’d "borrowed" from his master, Mu Yunyao.

While Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade wasn’t particularly useful for cultivation, its value as a storage vessel made it highly sought after.

Mu Yunyao had gathered plenty in her time, so Chen Chang'an happened to have some on hand.

He retrieved a jade container and carefully tapped each fruit loose with another piece of jade, storing them one by one.

All fifteen—he didn’t leave a single one behind.

"Pity I can’t take the tree itself," Chen Chang'an sighed. "Otherwise…"

Not that he was greedy—he just wanted to uproot the whole thing.

After securing the fruits, he scoured the area again. After all, a thief never leaves empty-handed.

"Seems like there’s nothing else here but the tree. No other treasures."

He was slightly disappointed. Legends spoke of companion spirit beasts or companion spirit herbs appearing alongside a Spirit Immortal Tree.

"Maybe that ‘Snow God’ took them first?"

That seemed the most likely explanation. Whoever had arrived before him wouldn’t have left such treasures untouched.

The only reason the tree and its fruits remained was because the tree itself couldn’t be moved.

"You’re back already?"

"That fast?"

"What’s inside?"

"Speak already!"

As Chen Chang'an emerged from the stone wall, Lie Zhankuang bombarded him with eager questions.

Ignoring him, Chen Chang'an walked over and casually took a seat on the stone chair.

"Honestly, you’re a terrible host."

"Not even offering a guest a proper welcome." Chen Chang'an scoffed.

"Eh?"

Welcome?

Lie Zhankuang stared blankly. His place had nothing to offer—what kind of hospitality was he supposed to provide?

"Don’t start with me. Look around—what do I even have here?"

"You want me to piss in a cup and serve it to you?" Lie Zhankuang snapped.

"Guess you don’t want to know the secrets of the Heavenly Pool, then." Chen Chang'an said coolly.

"Wait, no—brother, I was wrong! Tell me, please!"

"What’s it like inside? Any treasures?" Lie Zhankuang grinned, his tone instantly shifting.

"There was. And… it was a supreme treasure."

"Supreme treasure?"

If Chen Chang'an called it that, it had to be extraordinary.

"Where is it? Show me!"

"Don’t worry, I, Lie Zhankuang, have principles—I won’t steal it."

"I just want to see what it is." His excitement was palpable.

"Can’t show it."

"Can’t show it?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Divine Spirit Tree—can you actually produce it?"

The Divine Spirit Tree?

Hearing these three words, Lie Zhankuang was completely stunned!

Could it really be something that only existed in legends?

"Are you saying that beneath this Heavenly Pool, right next to my stone chamber, there’s a Divine Spirit Tree?"

"I’ve been sitting beside the Divine Spirit Tree for thousands of years and never even knew it existed?"

"No wonder… no wonder the spiritual energy here is so dense, and why there are surges of spiritual energy eruptions."

"The Divine Spirit Tree… it’s actually the Divine Spirit Tree!"

Lie Zhankuang acted as if he’d gone mad, pacing in circles, his excitement impossible to contain.

"Chen Chang’an, you’re about to hit the jackpot!"

"Then why did you come out? You should’ve stayed there and cultivated beside the Divine Spirit Tree!"

"Wait, what’s your current cultivation level anyway? Why do you only seem to be at the first level of the True Qi Realm?"

"Are you just pretending to be low-key?"

"If you haven’t broken through to the Great Emperor Realm yet, you might as well stay here in seclusion. I think you have a chance to reach the Great Emperor Realm." Lie Zhankuang said excitedly.

In Lie Zhankuang’s mind, Chen Chang’an had always been more impressive than him. Even if he hadn’t reached the Great Emperor Realm, he was probably at least at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

"Don’t you want to?"

"Of course I do, but I can’t get in. This opportunity was never meant for me."

Lie Zhankuang let out a bitter laugh. He’d been here for thousands of years without discovering anything, yet Chen Chang’an found the Divine Spirit Tree the moment he arrived.

Clearly, this heaven-sent fortune wasn’t his to claim.

"Since we’re friends…"

"Let me give you a gift."

With that, Chen Chang’an casually took out a Divine Spirit Fruit and tossed it to Lie Zhankuang.

"Eat it now."

Lie Zhankuang was taken aback at first, but without hesitation, he devoured the fruit as instructed.

"Holy shit!"

"What is this thing? The spiritual energy is so pure and dense!"

"This…"

Lie Zhankuang never expected that what Chen Chang’an had given him would be so incredibly precious.

"Divine Spirit Fruit. Since you know about the Divine Spirit Tree, you should know what this is."

"Though, no one’s ever consumed it before, so its effects are unknown."

"You can be my test subject." Chen Chang’an said with a faint smile.

"Fine by me. The more of this kind of thing, the better."

"Let me start meditating!"