Tyrant Blood Fruit

Xiang'an Auction House. Qin Sang finally met Alchemist Yi. "We haven't seen each other in years; Fellow Daoist Qin's bearing is as remarkable as ever." Pushing open the door, Alchemist Yi entered with a genial chuckle. Behind him followed a maidservant bearing a tray, who handed the mustard seed bag from the tray to Qin Sang. Qin Sang opened it to look; inside were indeed the spirit materials he had previously commissioned Xiang'an Auction House to gather, meant for setting up the spirit array to craft the shafts of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. He had gathered a portion back then, and now the rest were finally complete, with only top-grade spirit stones remaining. "I have troubled Fellow Daoist with this!" Delighted, Qin Sang accepted the materials and handed over the spirit stones. This took another sizable chunk out of his savings, but fortunately he had come into a few windfalls, so he could still hold out for now. Once the maidservant withdrew, Qin Sang continued, "After parting with Fellow Daoist Yi all those years ago, I came by several times and learned that you had gone to the Demon Sea. Later, an urgent matter forced me to leave Tianxing Island, and I ended up being away for several years. I heard quite a stir was caused back then, and you weren't the only one transferred to the Demon Sea. When did you return?" "Indeed, I did go to the Demon Sea. Quite a few fellow Daoists went along, and most of them remain there. I only recently found a chance to return." As he spoke, Alchemist Yi's smile faded, and he let out a sudden sigh. Seeing his hesitant expression, Qin Sang grew curious and asked in a grave tone, "Fellow Daoist Yi, has some upheaval occurred in the Demon Sea?" Alchemist Yi nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand to cast a sound-isolating restriction, then said, "Fellow Daoist Qin, if you trust me, it would be best if you did not go to the Demon Sea anytime soon. I suspect a great upheaval will strike there before long." "What makes you say that?" Qin Sang turned solemn. He secretly speculated: in the Demon Sea, the human race and the Witch Clan had to work in full cooperation to survive, with the demon race being their sole enemy. Could the demons be making abnormal moves? If both races were driven out of the Demon Sea by the demons and all cultivators were trapped in the Canglang Sea, it was hard to imagine what kind of chaos would erupt here. "I dare not claim my guess is entirely correct, but during the two years I spent in the Demon Sea, I noticed that beast tides attacking islands have become noticeably more frequent. Two Nascent Soul Patriarchs were even forced to abandon their islands, nearly severing the sea routes. It's said that the movements of these demon beasts were remarkably orderly, possibly directed by great demons behind the scenes. The various maneuvers by the merchant alliance's upper echelons in recent years are likely because they discovered certain omens as well. I kept feeling an ominous premonition, so I found an opportunity and applied to return. I only know how to refine pills and have no skill in combat; I have no wish to find myself besieged by a beast tide." Alchemist Yi shook his head repeatedly. Having spent decades in the Demon Sea and experienced beast tides firsthand, Qin Sang understood that place well. Hearing Alchemist Yi's words, he also realized something was amiss. In the past, beast tides attacking cultivator-occupied islands were not uncommon. For example, back at the Five Elements Islands, continuous beast tide assaults had caused all five islands to fall, forcing the cultivators to flee far away. However, an island occupied by a Nascent Soul powerhouse was not so easily lost; such an occurrence happened perhaps once in a hundred years. Yet in just these past few years, two Nascent Soul grandmasters had abandoned their islands, which was highly abnormal. "What do the demons want? Surely they aren't attempting to drive cultivators out of the Demon Sea entirely? As far as I know, Tianwu Island and Dahuang Island have never fallen. With teleportation formations connecting them, experts can be dispatched at any time," Qin Sang said, puzzled. "Who knows? We still know too little about the demon race, only that several top clans rule the Demon Sea. I'm not worried about Tianwu Island or Dahuang Island falling; what I fear is that blades have no eyes in a great war. We humble figures carry little weight, and once swept into it, we won't have control over our own fates. No one knows what end awaits them. Falling into the hands of demon beasts, even preserving an intact corpse would be difficult..." Pausing slightly, Alchemist Yi chuckled and added, "Of course, this is merely my own personal view, not necessarily accurate. Perhaps I simply cherish my life too much." "I believe Fellow Daoist's words make good sense. Thank you for the reminder." Qin Sang acknowledged the kindness and cupped his hands in gratitude. At this moment, Alchemist Yi recalled something and changed the subject: "Fellow Daoist Qin, rushing over immediately upon your return to the island—was it for that spirit fruit?" "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Yi to still remember," Qin Sang smiled slightly. "Naturally. What I have promised, I have never reneged upon." With that, Alchemist Yi took out a jade slip and handed it to Qin Sang. "After returning, I finally found mention of this spirit fruit in an ancient demon-script text collected by a friend. Take a look and see if it matches. Translated from the demon script, it is called the Tyrant Blood Fruit. It is a demon fruit capable of transforming the blood, cleansing the tendons, scouring the marrow, and tempering the bones. Its medicinal potency is exceedingly tyrannical, bearable only by demon beasts through their formidable demon bodies. If we cultivators consume it, there is a danger of our bodies exploding. If you ever find this fruit, remember never to ingest it raw; it is best to find an alchemist to devise a way to temper its medicinal vigor." "Tyrant Blood Fruit?" Hearing this name, Qin Sang's heart jolted in sheer astonishment. In the cultivation method Heavenly Demon Form Refining, three kinds of spirit fruits were mentioned as aids to breaking through the third tier—and one of them was the Tyrant Blood Fruit! The other two were Green Weed Root and Scorpion Poison Grass. Only their names had been recorded, without any illustrations. He had inquired about them in the past to no avail, intending to ask Alchemist Yi after his return. He had never imagined that one of these spirit fruits was already in his hands. Keeping his expression unchanged, Qin Sang steadily took the jade slip. Looking at the contents copied by Alchemist Yi, he immediately found the name annotated in demon script—it matched the characters in Heavenly Demon Form Refining completely! "It truly is the Tyrant Blood Fruit." Reading through the demon text, Qin Sang found that Alchemist Yi had spoken the truth. It indeed was a demon fruit of exceedingly tyrannical potency, possessing miraculous efficacy for tempering the physical body. For demon beasts, it was a rare elixir. Once ripe, a Tyrant Blood Fruit was covered with a dense blood-veined mesh, its exterior crimson like fresh blood. The spirit fruits in his possession were not yet mature, but they already possessed most of their medicinal potency. 'Demon beasts swallow it raw. Once I break through the third tier of Heavenly Demon Form Refining and my body undergoes metamorphosis, I should be able to take it as well. However, I still don't know where to find a place for astral essence body infusion. Having one Tyrant Blood Fruit already, if I can find the other two spirit medicines, it can serve as a way to help break through the bottleneck—not a bad alternative...' Thoughts flashed through Qin Sang's mind. Withdrawing his spiritual sense from the jade slip, he stood up to express his thanks. "I have troubled Fellow Daoist Yi. It is indeed the same spirit fruit. At last, I know what it is called!" Alchemist Yi shook his head. "Don't rejoice too soon, Fellow Daoist Qin. Such a demon fruit is not easy to come by. In any case, I had never heard of it before, and presumably very few people have ever found one. What use is knowing its name if you cannot find the spirit medicine?" "You are right, Fellow Daoist." A look of dejection appeared on Qin Sang's face as he gave a bitter smile. "Besides, those aren't the only spirit medicines I seek. Has Fellow Daoist Yi ever heard of Green Weed Root or Scorpion Poison Grass?" "Those..." Alchemist Yi was taken aback. "If I hadn't looked into it, I really wouldn't recall off the top of my head. According to records, both are spirit medicines used by demon beasts to temper their physical bodies. Fellow Daoist, could you be a body cultivator?"