"Patriarch, are you still worried about the disaster in the Spirit Field?"
Bypassing the members of the Zhao Family, Shen Mo walked straight to Patriarch Zhao Bing.
"Sigh..." Zhao Bing sighed, a look of sorrow etched on his face. Although he didn't say anything, his worries were self-explanatory.
"I am preparing to return to the sect." After a moment's hesitation, Shen Mo continued, "I can't solve the problem with your Spirit Field for now, but... if the Zhao Family really can't find any other cultivators, I will come back again."
Zhao Bing, who had been frowning just a moment ago, was overjoyed to hear this. "Immortal Master, are you serious?"
"Yes, I will return to Yong'an Town in a month. I will come fully prepared to eliminate the snake disaster for the Zhao Family." He nodded and instructed, "But during this period, don't let anyone else enter the Spirit Field, and don't look for other cultivators, to avoid provoking the Double-headed Python. It is crucial that no other cultivators learn of this matter or enter the Spirit Field!"
If other cultivators saw the purple Red Fruit, their greed would surely be aroused. If that happened, someone might beat them to it and take the fruit.
Therefore, he stressed this point with great seriousness.
"Immortal Master, rest assured, our Zhao Family will strictly follow your teachings." Zhao Bing nodded repeatedly, overcome with joy. He hadn't expected the Immortal Master to change his mind and graciously agree to continue helping the Zhao Family solve this trouble. Truly, heaven is blessing my Zhao Family!
「Riverside Sect, Mountain Gate.」
After giving his instructions, Shen Mo set off, arriving back at the sect after two hours of travel. After showing his identity token, the disciple guarding the mountain gate let him in.
Upon returning to the sect, he intended to rest at his residence first. But as soon as he arrived at his courtyard, he saw a figure standing at the gate, who seemed to have been waiting for a while.
"Uncle Chen?" He looked at the figure, somewhat surprised. "You've come out of seclusion?"
The person waiting at the gate was his parents' old friend and an Outer Deacon, Chen An, who had always cared for him. He remembered Mengze had told him that Uncle Chen was trying to make a breakthrough and was thus in seclusion, unable to visit him. Unexpectedly, Uncle Chen had come during his absence.
"I just came out of seclusion today and wanted to see how you were doing, but you weren't in the sect." Chen An turned around, his gaze settling on the travel-worn Shen Mo. "Where did you go?" he asked.
"Uncle Chen, under Mengze's guidance, I decided to go out for some real-world experience. So, I took up a bounty mission from a vassal family and went to Yong'an Town."
"Went out for experience?" Chen An asked with concern. "Did the trip go smoothly? Were you injured?"
In response to Uncle Chen's concern, Shen Mo hesitated for a moment, then confessed, "Although I wasn't injured, my journey... was not smooth."
He recounted everything he had encountered in Yong'an Town to Chen An, including the Double-headed Silver-pattern Python hidden in the Spirit Field and the Purple Red Fruit atop the giant tree.
"The information provided didn't mention the existence of a powerful demonic beast close to Class II. I almost met with disaster because of it." Shen Mo was still resentful about the incomplete information.
But Chen An's attention wasn't on this; it was on—the Purple Red Fruit!
"Did you say you saw a Purple Red Fruit growing on a tree?" Chen An's expression turned solemn as he asked with utmost gravity, "Are you certain you didn't mistake it?"
"It was indeed purple, I'm absolutely certain." Shen Mo was taken aback, not expecting Chen An to react so seriously to the mention of the Purple Red Fruit. Thus, he described it in detail once more.
"The fruit grew on a giant tree. Perhaps due to its high quality, it had drained all the tree's nutrients. As a result, the large fruit tree bore only this single fruit; the rest of it consisted of broken branches and fallen leaves. Oh, right, its surface also bore some intricate patterns that resembled lightning."
Chen An took a deep breath and said, "The Red Fruit you saw must be the legendary Purple Sun Red Fruit!"
Purple Sun Red Fruit? Shen Mo was stunned and asked, "Is this Red Fruit very precious?"
He had indeed guessed that the Purple Red Fruit was of exceptional quality and certainly not ordinary. However, Uncle Chen's extreme reaction made him feel as if he had still underestimated its value.
"The Purple Sun Red Fruit is undoubtedly incredibly precious. Only after being tempered by Heavenly Thunder can it possibly form."
Tempered by Heavenly Thunder? Hearing this, a question in Shen Mo's mind was answered.
No wonder the Zhao Family members didn't know about the Purple Sun Red Fruit's existence. That fruit tree probably had nothing extraordinary about it before. Then, one day, it was struck by Heavenly Thunder, and only then did it bear the Purple Sun Red Fruit. This, in turn, attracted the covetous attention of the Double-headed Python. This prevented them from entering the Spirit Field, and so they remained unaware of the fruit's transformation.
Shen Mo threw out the price he had in mind, asking curiously, "If this Purple Sun Red Fruit were sold, would it be worth seventy Spirit Stones?"
"Seventy Spirit Stones?" Chen An raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Forget seventy; seven hundred, even a thousand Spirit Stones, might not be enough to buy it!"
"Such a rarity has a price but no market. Red Fruits are easy to come by, but one tempered by Heavenly Thunder is an encounter of chance, not something you can seek out."
Not even a thousand Spirit Stones could buy it? Shen Mo drew in a sharp breath.
"Even if it's top-quality, it's just a low-class spiritual medicine. How could it be so precious?" He was somewhat puzzled.
"If it merely had ordinary spirit-nourishing and qi-enriching medicinal effects, naturally it wouldn't be so valuable. But the Purple Sun Red Fruit is the supreme spiritual medicine for Body Tempering Realm cultivators to use when breaking through, to help open a Dantian vortex!"
"Open a Dantian vortex?" Shen Mo frowned, still not understanding.
The previous owner of his body hadn't encountered much cultivation knowledge beyond the Body Tempering Realm. Uncle Chen's words were already beyond his current comprehension.
Seeing this, Chen An explained directly, "When a Body Tempering Realm cultivator is about to advance to the Qi Gathering Realm, their body undergoes a transformation. The Qi Sea must open up a Dantian for the advancement to be considered successful."
The biggest difference between Body Tempering Realm cultivators and Qi Gathering Realm cultivators lies in the Ocean of Qi Dantian. Body Tempering Realm cultivators haven't opened an Ocean of Qi Dantian, so they cannot store large amounts of Mana. They rely solely on their rigorously trained physique and strength. In essence, they are still considered mortals and haven't truly stepped through the immortal sect's gates. Conversely, Qi Gathering Realm cultivators possess an Ocean of Qi Dantian, allowing them to freely execute various magic. The gap between the two cultivation realms is huge.
"In fact, there are three major Dantians in a person's Qi Sea: the Upper Dantian, the Middle Dantian, and the Lower Dantian. Most cultivators can only form one Dantian when they break through to the Qi Gathering Realm," Chen An explained seriously.
"Does that mean the more Dantians a cultivator can open when advancing to the Qi Gathering Realm, the stronger they will be?" Shen Mo quietly speculated and then asked.
"It's more than just combat capability," Chen An said seriously. "It also affects their future cultivation potential. Cultivators who open two Dantians at the time of promotion are far more likely to advance to the Spirit Sea Realm than ordinary cultivators. As for cultivators who manage to open three Dantians, they possess an exceptional foundation. As long as they don't perish midway, they are almost certain to advance to the Spirit Sea Realm and even have a high chance of reaching the Golden Core Realm! Opening all three Dantians relies on a cultivator's own accumulation; very few external items can assist. And this Purple Sun Red Fruit happens to be one of them. If consumed during advancement, it will increase a cultivator's probability of forming multiple Dantians!"