Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Mystical Spirit Fruit

In its final moments, the consciousness of the horned serpent heard Judah’s triumphant words: “Two brainless fools! The lotus seed has already been taken by our boss, what are you still fighting for?” Realization came too late. As its awareness dissolved, the horned serpent lamented in regret, “Brainless… it’s true after all…”

Its demonic energy exhausted, Qiongqi was prepared to meet its ancestors. But after waiting for half a day with no sign of movement, surprise quickly turned into fury. Was the horned serpent mocking it, waiting for it to beg for mercy? A dignified descendant of the White Tiger, how could it plead to such a low-blooded creature? What face would it have before its forebears?

“What are you waiting for? Don’t you want my demon core?”

After a moment with no response, curiosity overcame Qiongqi, and it opened its eyes, gazing toward the serpent’s location. “What’s happening?”

Seeing the serpent’s state, Qiongqi was utterly astonished. The horned serpent’s once blood-red eyes had faded to a lifeless gray, its thick body sprawled across the lakebed, clearly devoid of all vitality.

“Dead…”

Qiongqi was shocked, unable to believe that the horned serpent, so fierce moments ago, had perished in the blink of an eye! Who was responsible? It turned its tiger head, searching the surroundings in fear, but found nothing suspicious.

This only heightened its unease. It knew the serpent’s strength well, yet it was killed without a sound or trace. How could it not tremble in its heart?

The water below the lake was eerily still. Qiongqi waited a long while, but the one who slew the serpent never appeared. Gradually, its mind calmed, and it tried to stand, swaying to the serpent’s corpse.

Using demonic sense to investigate, it confirmed the serpent was truly dead. Strangely, there were no wounds, not even internal damage; yet the gray eyes suggested its soul had been scattered before death, otherwise Qiongqi would have sensed something.

“What terrifying methods… In this vast domain, how has such a powerful being gone unnoticed? Could it be…? Impossible! Those elders would never come here, nor would they kill their kin. Then…”

Qiongqi stood beside the giant serpent’s body, pondering for a while before exclaiming, “Could it be humans have entered again? But every time they come, their martial strength is about mine—they shouldn’t be so formidable!”

“Every entrance is guarded by laws, repelling those beyond a certain cultivation. There’s no way high-level martial artists could get in!”

“Fool! With your brains, you’ll never figure it out, even in death! The boss took it!” Judah’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Qiongqi into retreating a few steps.

“Who’s there? Show yourself…”

Though Qiongqi could not speak, it could form sounds with its powerful sense. As soon as it finished, a scarlet light enveloped it, and in a flash, Qiongqi felt dizzy, lost consciousness, and its body vanished from the lakebed.

Within Purgatory, Qiongqi’s towering form lay quietly on the grassland, eyes closed, breathing evenly—as if in a deep sleep.

“Boss, you really want to tame it? That’ll be tough work. Are you confident you can beat it one-on-one?” Judah asked, patting his round belly in contentment.

“What do you think?” Cold Sky shot a glance at Judah, who floated nearby.

“A slip of the tongue, just a slip!” Judah quickly grinned apologetically.

With a slight shift of thought, Cold Sky left Purgatory, standing by the lakeside, gazing at the now withered and lifeless Purple Flame Lotus. He sighed regretfully, then leaped onto the cliff. At this time, Cold Sky was still hidden by Judah, soaring away.

This was a lush green mountain. Three figures—Nanling and his companions—walked through the forest, searching as if for something.

“As time passes, the marks left by the Supreme Emperor have faded and weathered, slowing our progress,” Nanling said, brushing his wide sleeve over a large stone to reveal a strange mark beneath.

“Yes, marks left seventy years ago—some have worn away completely. Thankfully, most are carved on sturdy objects, otherwise this journey would be even more arduous,” Mingfeng observed, carefully identifying the direction indicated by the mark.

“Let’s go! The sooner we obtain the Mystic Spirit Fruit, the better our chances for rewards,” Nanling urged, gazing meaningfully toward the mountain’s depths.

“Nanling is right, it’s not easy to come here,” Xuehan said approvingly, her face bright with anticipation.

The three continued, searching for the Supreme Emperor’s marks as they moved deeper into the mountain.

On a vast prairie, emerald grass swayed as birds of all colors occasionally soared across the sky. Blue heavens, drifting white clouds, still winds and unmoving grass—a scene of pristine nature.

But in this idyllic setting, a demon wolf prowled the grassland, its fierce eyes hungry for prey. Its four limbs moved at a steady pace, scanning its surroundings with keen senses, but it detected no trace of prey, growing agitated and letting out a howl.

Suddenly, a pitch-black, narrow blade flashed into existence, tracing a sinister arc and gently passing across the demon wolf’s neck.

Its head rolled onto the grass, blood spurting from its neck and blossoming in the air as a steaming flower.

A figure cloaked in black appeared beside the wolf’s corpse. With a dark sword, Nightshade sliced open the wolf’s belly, retrieved its demon core, and stored it in a ring.

Having finished, Nightshade sheathed the sword and looked toward the horizon, muttering, “I wonder where the Azure Sea Divine Spring truly lies.”

Turning to look behind, Nightshade felt someone was tracking him these days, but every investigation came up empty.

“No matter who you are, if you try to profit from me, your fate will be death!” Nightshade’s cold words echoed across the empty prairie.

With that, his figure vanished once more.

After a long while, a subtle ripple disturbed the air above the prairie. Clear, watery eyes appeared, and a bright voice echoed, “Impressive! Death God’s top lieutenant, but this time, you’re destined to be buried here.”

After speaking, the eyes faded again into the void.

Following Nightshade’s path, many beheaded demon beasts could be found, their demon cores taken. The stench of blood attracted weaker beasts to feast on the corpses. Though the demon core was gone, the powerful flesh was still a prized supplement for these lesser creatures.

“Wow! Sister, come see what flower this is—it’s so big and beautiful!” Deep in the forest, Guoguo called to Luan Yudie, pointing to a strange flower two meters tall just ahead.

Hearing Guoguo’s call, Luan Yudie, who was gathering herbs, paused and looked up, just in time to see Guoguo reaching out to touch the flower. She quickly called out, “Don’t get too close!”

No sooner had she spoken than Guoguo shrieked, leaping like a frightened rabbit to Luan Yudie’s side. “Sister, what is that? It scared me to death! Such a pretty flower, but it had sharp fangs and a huge mouth—just now, it tried to eat me! Luckily, I ran fast, or I really would have been swallowed alive!”

Guoguo’s face was flushed, her chest heaving, and she patted her chest with a small hand, looking pitiful and frightened.

“You! All you do is play. Don’t you realize this ancient realm is full of dangers? You treat it like a backyard! You’ve learned your lesson, right?” Luan Yudie scolded, unable to stay angry at Guoguo’s pitiful expression.

“All right, help me gather these herbs. Imagine—a descendant of the mighty Haotian Sage, scared by a flower! If word got out, it’d spread across the continent!” Luan Yudie teased as she continued picking herbs.

“Sister, you’re mocking me again! I’m ignoring you!” Guoguo pouted, pretending to be angry.

She didn’t hold the act for long, soon smiling again and crouching to help collect herbs. Luan Yudie smiled helplessly, unable to resist doting on the little girl, occasionally teasing her for amusement.

Deep in the mountain, Nanling and his companions stood in a cave above an underground gorge, right on its edge.

But this cave wasn’t truly enclosed—the gorge’s depths were open to the sky, sunlight streaming down and illuminating a wide area.

“The Supreme Emperor said the Mystic Spirit Fruit should be down in this gorge. But in this ancient realm, treasures always have their guardians—there will be a battle soon. Once we secure the fruit, we must leave quickly,” Nanling advised the others, gazing into the shadowy ravine.

Then his expression changed. “Strange! Where has that boy gone? My sense of him suddenly vanished! Has he left my detection range?”

“I said we should have dealt with him earlier, whatever the profit. Now if he dies to someone else or to a beast, our efforts were for nothing!” Xuehan complained, hearing Nanling’s surprise.

“You’re questioning me?” Nanling’s expression darkened, his voice tinged with coldness.

Xuehan realized her mistake and quickly smiled, “Nanling, don’t misunderstand, I meant no offense—just a little…”

“Enough!” Nanling’s face was gloomy, but he said, “Let’s focus on the task. That boy can’t escape my grasp!” With that, he leapt down, floating slowly toward the bottom of the gorge.

Martial Peak 57 – Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Mystic Spirit Fruit, updated.