The deeper the cave went, the narrower it became. Soon, Ye Xuan reached a crevice. It resembled a natural underground corridor, leading straight into the depths.
“It should be right inside,” he thought.
He advanced rapidly. Three minutes later, he neared the end of the corridor. Beyond the exit lay a small cavern, inside of which stood six young men.
They stared intently at a glowing small tree about five meters away. The sapling, growing out of a pool of underground water, was only the size of an infant. Unknown patterns etched its bark, emitting a blue radiance that gave the entire tree a dreamlike, ethereal appearance. Hanging alone from the very top of its crown was a single fruit, looking somewhat lonely.
At this moment, a member of the Sun family spoke up. “Cong, can we pick it now? When we first arrived, the fruit was only the size of a thumb, but now it’s as big as a child’s fist! It doesn’t look like it’ll grow any larger. It should be fully ripe, right?”
“Yeah, Cong. This is definitely a Miracle Fruit. No wonder the Unicorn Frenzied Lion refused to leave. Cong, do you recognize what kind of fruit this is?”
Sun Cong didn’t answer. A burning light gleamed in his eyes. This was the Blue Spirit Fruit. It could elevate the cultivation of any Cultivator below the 9th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm by an entire layer. Even Beasts could consume it. Upon consumption, it would increase their intellect and raise their level. That was exactly why the Unicorn Frenzied Lion had been guarding this place.
The only regret was that the Blue Spirit Fruit could not be used in Alchemy; it had to be consumed directly. Moreover, raising one’s cultivation was not its greatest effect. Aside from cultivation, it also enhanced a person’s intelligence and vastly improved their Mental Power. This was one of those rare Treasures of Heaven and Earth capable of boosting a Cultivator’s mental strength!
“To think it’s a Blue Spirit Fruit…” Ye Xuan had also recognized it. This was absolutely incredible, especially for the enhancement of Mental Power.
He had already opened his Sea of Consciousness ahead of time. If he obtained the Blue Spirit Fruit, he might very well achieve Divine Sense Detachment. Divine Sense Detachment was something only Cultivators in the Celestial Spirit Realm could accomplish. Of course, even those as powerful as Celestial Spirit Realm Cultivators couldn’t necessarily open their Sea of Consciousness.
The Sea of Consciousness might seem useless on the surface, but its actual utility was immense. It was like a pool of still water—solid and stable. As long as the Sea of Consciousness wasn’t shattered, one’s spirit would never die. This was the very reason Ye Xuan succeeded every time he attempted to break through a Hidden Vein.
Ordinary Cultivators could only achieve Divine Sense Projection in the Celestial Spirit Realm. However, with the Blue Spirit Fruit, an Earth Spirit Realm Cultivator might be able to pull it off. Once a Cultivator’s Divine Sense could detach from their body, they could learn Divine Soul Attack Techniques. These techniques were the true means of killing formlessly, utterly impossible to defend against.
Ye Xuan was going to take this Blue Spirit Fruit.
“Cong, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you not recognize it either?” the Sun family member asked again.
As soon as he finished, another person chimed in. “I know what it is! I remember now—this should be the Blue Spirit Fruit. I read about it in an ancient book. The Blue Spirit Fruit can raise the cultivation of a Demon Spirit Realm Cultivator by an entire layer. Cultivators of any level can consume it.”
“What? It can raise a Demon Spirit Realm Cultivator by a layer? In that case, we can all use it.” A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of all the Sun family members.
Then, someone growled in a low voice, “Old rules—whoever gets it first, keeps it!”
With that, one of them lunged toward the Blue Spirit Fruit. Five meters was a negligible distance. However, the moment he moved, a muffled BOOM echoed. Blood sprayed, and brain matter went flying. Someone had blown his head off.
“Cong, you…” The surrounding Sun family members all looked at Sun Cong simultaneously. He was the one who had just attacked.
Sun Cong said coldly, “I’m taking this Blue Spirit Fruit. You don’t have any objections, do you?”
His cultivation was the highest among them. For that man to dare snatch it before Sun Cong even spoke—wasn’t that just courting death?
“No objections. You’re our leader, Cong. Of course such a treasure belongs to you.”
“Yeah, Cong. Sun Mie was ignorant for daring to fight you for it. He deserved to be killed by you.”
Sun Cong frowned and asked, “Did I kill him?”
The Sun family members froze for a moment before catching on. “No, no! He was accidentally killed by the Unicorn Frenzied Lion!”
Sun Cong finally smiled. “That’s more like it.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the Blue Spirit Fruit. His eyes sparkled with greed. This fruit was absolutely invaluable. He could either consume it himself or exchange it for a massive amount of Contribution Points.
Sun Cong placed his hand on the Blue Spirit Fruit. Due to his overwhelming excitement, he completely missed the expressions of the Sun family members behind him. A vicious glint flashed in all of their eyes!
They exchanged glances and, without a shred of hesitation, aimed the Celestial Secret Divine Crossbows in their hands at the back of Sun Cong’s head.
THWIP THWIP THWIP!
The piercing sound of objects tearing through the air instantly rang out as three Crossbow Arrows were fired in quick succession. They were determined to take Sun Cong’s life.
Sun Cong didn’t have eyes in the back of his head. After all, he couldn’t perform Divine Sense Detachment. Even if he heard the piercing sounds, it was too late to defend himself.
SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH!
Several soft tearing sounds echoed as bloody holes instantly appeared in Sun Cong’s neck and head. The Celestial Secret Divine Crossbow packed immense power, piercing straight through his body. Since this Divine Crossbow could severely injure even a Tier-7 Beast, killing Sun Cong with it was naturally a breeze. After all, Sun Cong was only at the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm, though this cultivation level was already considered genius within the Sun family.
“You… actually… dared…”
Sun Cong didn’t die immediately. He turned his head around, his eyes filled with shock, as if he never expected these people to strike at him. He was Sun Zhenwu’s grandson! The absolute core of the Direct Lineage! How could these people dare to rebel against him? Even the Celestial Secret Divine Crossbows in their hands had been temporarily granted to them by him. Had he just shot himself in the foot?
THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP!
Another volley of attacks rained down. More than a dozen new bloody holes appeared on Sun Cong’s body.
THUD.
Sun Cong’s body hit the ground heavily. He died with his eyes wide open.
After killing Sun Cong, the sound of crossbows didn’t stop. They fired once more. This time, the remaining members were shooting at each other! There was only one Blue Spirit Fruit, and none of them wanted to give it up. Since they had already gone as far as killing Sun Cong, they might as well continue slaughtering one another.
Crossbow Arrows flew wildly throughout the cavern. One Crossbow Arrow even grazed past Ye Xuan’s face. He was nearly struck by the crossfire.
After a few rounds of attacks, only one person was left standing. The rest were either dead or severely injured.
At this moment, the last man standing aimed his Celestial Secret Divine Crossbow at one of the heavily injured Sun family members. The injured man immediately dropped his own weapon and pleaded, “Don’t kill me! I don’t want it anymore. The Blue Spirit Fruit is yours. I don’t want to die, I don’t…”
THWIP.
The trigger was pulled, and the man begging for mercy died. Since they had already crossed the line, why show any mercy? Leaving survivors would only expose what had truly happened here.
Faced with such immense temptation, no one could maintain their true nature. Cultivators would go mad for great treasures, mercilessly slaughtering even their own flesh and blood without a second thought! No matter how powerful or united a family was, they couldn’t change this fundamental truth. They might stand united against outsiders, but when it came to internal competition, their methods were just as ruthless.
With this man’s death, there was now only one Sun family member left standing in the cavern.