"Snap!"
Jiang Xuan and the two others raised their rudimentary large shields and approached the Whip Tree. The longest branch whipped across first, striking the shield with great force, producing a crisp sound.
"Keep moving forward, go a bit slower."
Jiang Xuan led at the front, Chi Shao was in the middle, and Shi Qiu was at the back. The three of them slowly moved toward the Whip Tree.
"Snap, snap, snap..."
As they got closer, the Whip Tree was infuriated, countless branches swung violently at them, striking the large shields and creating a continuous series of sounds.
The large shields perfectly defended against the attacks from above, leaving the three beneath unharmed, as they got closer to the trunk of the Whip Tree.
"We're almost there!"
Chi Shao was extremely excited; she had never thought she could one day personally pick the fruit of a Whip Tree. It was like a dream.
Jiang Xuan and Shi Qiu were thrilled as well. Seizing the opportunity, they quickened their pace and reached the base of the Whip Tree.
The sound of the Whip Tree striking became even more intense, but aside from losing some bark and wood chips, the shield remained very solid.
The Whip Tree's fruits mature relatively early, and although it was summer now, the fruits were nearly ripe, emitting a tempting fruity fragrance.
"You guys hold the shields steady, I'll go pick the fruit."
"Alright."
Jiang Xuan swallowed hard, released one hand, reached towards the trunk of the Whip Tree, and stretched his right hand towards the nearest fruit.
The Whip Tree's fruit is green and oval-shaped when unripe, and turns purple when ripe. A slit opens at the base of the ripe fruit, revealing the aromatic flesh inside, attracting prey.
The fruit Jiang Xuan aimed to pick was a ripe purple one. Through the slit at its base, the plump red flesh inside could be seen clearly.
Jiang Xuan accurately grasped the fist-sized fruit, gave it a gentle twist, and snapped the stem instantly.
The fruit was successfully picked by Jiang Xuan.
"Snap, snap, snap..."
Upon picking the fruit, the Whip Tree became even more enraged, furiously striking the large shield, but it was futile; its branches weren't strong enough to break the row of sturdy logs.
After successfully picking one, Jiang Xuan pressed on to pick all five reachable fruits and even used the Bamboo Spear to poke down some higher ones.
After half an hour, Jiang Xuan had picked almost all the ripe fruits from the Whip Tree, filling up half a Beast Hide Bag.
The poor Whip Tree, probably never imagined that its hard-won powerful attack would encounter a shield crafted by Jiang Xuan.
If it could speak, it would probably be cursing loudly by now.
"Let's go!"
Satisfied, Jiang Xuan tied the Beast Hide Bag to his waist, and together with Chi Shao and Shi Qiu, retreated while holding the large shield.
After they left, the branches of the Whip Tree drooped powerlessly, probably exhausted from striking for so long.
After getting away from the Whip Tree, the three discarded the cumbersome large shield and excitedly began to inspect the harvest this time.
"We've struck it rich, struck it rich!"
Jiang Xuan put down the Beast Hide Bag, opened the strap, and as he looked at the half-bag of fruits, his face lit up with a smile, his mood reaching its peak.
"Does eating this kind of fruit really increase strength?"
Shi Qiu picked up a fruit, checked it repeatedly, his heart still somewhat skeptical of the legend surrounding it.
Chi Shao also wasn't sure, as she had only heard the legend and never tried it herself.
Jiang Xuan said, "What's the use of guessing? Just try eating it, and we'll know."
Jiang Xuan casually picked up a Whip Tree fruit, split it along the slit into two halves, then sliced off a small piece of flesh with the Stone Knife. Then he picked up a bug from a tree, placed the flesh before it.
A legend is a legend, Jiang Xuan dared not be careless; he had to ensure the fruit was non-toxic to eat it confidently.
Bugs are relatively weak; generally, if a fruit is toxic, once a bug eats it, it quickly dies.
The bug, lacking any wit, was enticed by the alluring scent of the fruit, immediately crawled onto it, munching away delightedly.
Jiang Xuan was still not assured, so he caught a few more bugs and similarly fed them some Whip Tree fruit.
Half an hour passed, and not only did those bugs remain safe and sound, but they even searched eagerly for that kind of flesh.
Finally, Jiang Xuan was at ease; since it couldn't poison the bugs, even if the fruit had toxins, the tribe people's robust constitution would handle it.
"Let me try one first."
Jiang Xuan picked up a fruit, wiped it, and was about to put it into his mouth.
However, Chi Shao swiftly snatched his fruit and quickly placed it into her mouth, biting down directly and swallowed.
Chi Shao gave Jiang Xuan a smile, saying, "I've been craving it for so long, couldn't resist for a moment."
Nonetheless, Jiang Xuan knew well; Chi Shao's only reason for doing this was to test the poison first.
Although they had tested it with bugs, the jungle's toxins are unpredictable, someone had to eat first to truly ease the mind.
Chi Shao quickly finished eating the fist-sized fruit, then tied the Beast Hide Bag and said, "Let's go find plants that eat bugs first, we've got enough fruits, we can take our time eating them later."
Jiang Xuan understood she was using the excuse to buy time, feeling silently moved.
Chi Shao was incredibly kind to him; no matter what danger they encountered, she was always the first to step forward, fearing Jiang Xuan would get hurt.
With tacit understanding, the three continued walking through the marsh, searching for bug-eating plants.
Soon enough, they truly found such a plant.
The plant was called Clapping Flowers.
It had red flowers blooming at the top, very vivid, the entire plant consisted of two leaves, resembling two big hands.
These plants use the nectar within the flowers to lure insects. Once an insect flies over, the two ghostly hand-like leaves swiftly strike, catching and smothering the bug with a "clap".
Then the bugs fall to the ground, quickly getting enveloped by the roots of the Clapping Flowers and slowly digesting without being carried away by ants.
Jiang Xuan dug up seven or eight seedlings of Clapping Flowers; as it was getting late, the three, carrying these seedlings and a bag full of Whip Tree fruits, set off on the return journey.
By dusk, the three returned to the Vine Tribe.
Jiang Xuan first planted the seedlings of the Clapping Flowers in the ground, then returned to the Bamboo House and opened the Beast Hide Bag containing the fruits.
By then, half a day had passed since Chi Shao ate the Whip Tree fruit, without any signs of poisoning, proving the fruit was harmless.
"Sis, after you ate the fruit, did you feel anything different?"
Jiang Xuan looked at Chi Shao, full of anticipation.
Chi Shao thought carefully and said, "On the way back, I felt much lighter all over, not as tired as before."
Jiang Xuan's eyes lit up, indicating the Whip Tree's fruit was indeed magical, at least it could replenish energy.
"What about strength, has your strength increased?" Jiang Xuan was most concerned about whether eating the Whip Tree Fruit could increase strength.
"I just need to test it to find out."
Chi Shao walked outside, found a large stone she was familiar with, hugged it with both hands, and lifted it overhead.
"Huh? My strength seems to have indeed increased a lot! It used to be tough lifting this stone."
Chi Shao gently put the large stone down, tested other stones, confirming her increased strength.
"It's great! It seems the legend is true; the Whip Tree's fruit indeed can increase strength."
Jiang Xuan was beyond excited, realizing the effort hadn't been in vain.
Simultaneously, he thought of more possibilities.
Legend had it that some large tribes' warriors could eat fruits from mystical plants, allowing their strength to grow much faster than mere warriors.
In retrospect, the Whip Tree's fruit was evidently one of those mystical plant fruits enhancing strength.
If more mystical plants could be found and more fruits harvested in the future, the Vine Tribe might eventually produce Three-Color Warriors, Four-Color Warriors, or even Five-Color Warriors!
Thinking of this, Jiang Xuan's heart surged with passion.
A powerful tribe needs strong warriors to protect it.
If the Vine Tribe could increase a batch of mighty warriors through this method, they could truly establish themselves in this wild Primitive Jungle.
That night, Jiang Xuan divided the fruits among Chi Shao, Gou Teng, Shi Qiu, and Nan Xing, taking two more himself as the leader.
After personally eating a fruit, Jiang Xuan felt his body awakened some potential, dispelling the day's fatigue completely, leaving him full of energy and his muscles feeling stronger!