Chapter 61: The Crimson Immortal Fruit

There are always certain ugly people and events in this world that make one feel sick at the mere sight of them.

Ning Qing was undoubtedly such a person. After returning from Madam Zhang’s room that night, his heart was still burning with restless heat. The following evening, just after finishing his vigil for the dead and preparing to return to his quarters, he happened to encounter that female ghost. Succumbing to her temptation, he shamelessly committed indecent acts right there in the mourning hall. Of course, from Ning Qing’s perspective, the ghost appeared exactly like Madam Zhang.

What he did not expect was that Ning Zhiyuan, who was already dead, would suddenly come back to life at that moment.

In the end, his father pierced his chest with a single claw.

This pair of scoundrels, one sleeping with a ghost and the other being taken by a ghost, truly seemed made for each other.

Madam Zhang fared little better. After that encounter with the walking corpse, the chill of the netherworld had already invaded her body. Later, she was expelled from the Ning household by Ning Mingfeng; it was unlikely she would survive for long.

The physical injuries healed quickly; within a day, Ning Xiu had mostly recovered. But the trauma to his spirit was not so easily mended. Compared to before, his complexion was still rather pale, and he seemed unwell. Fortunately, it was nothing serious—another few days of rest and he would likely be as good as new.

Though he had paid a price to kill the female ghost, the rewards far outweighed the cost. Looking at the system interface and seeing the number 330 behind the word “ingots,” Ning Xiu felt a surge of comfort throughout his body.

Twenty of those ingots were left over from last time, which meant this kill had netted him three hundred and ten ingots all at once. Ning Xiu was in no hurry to spend them. Ideally, he wanted to save up for a tenfold ingot draw.

After all, the first tenfold ingot draw guaranteed a four-star martial art. Four-star martial arts were beyond the scope of ordinary techniques—classified by the system as extraordinary—and that was simply too tempting for Ning Xiu.

He opened the martial arts panel to check his proficiency in each technique and found that he was still some distance from reaching the fourth level of the Nine Yang Divine Art. After a moment’s hesitation, he spent thirty ingots to raise it to the fourth level.

After all, this was his foundation for survival. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe will not delay the work of chopping wood. Whether for self-preservation or for hunting more evil spirits, increasing his strength was essential.

Now, Ning Xiu had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Art to perfection.

Of course, if he wanted to go further—break through the limits of the art and reach the legendary level where dragons and tigers meet, surpassing all who came before or after—he would need an extraordinary stroke of luck, like Zhang’s encounter with the Universe Pouch, or another option: spending money!

But such breakthroughs beyond the original limits of a technique always cost dearly. To use it on the Nine Yang Divine Art would be wasteful, so Ning Xiu did not intend to do so.

During his days recuperating, Ning Xiu kept abreast of news from the outside world.

One piece of news caught his attention: the Four Seas Escort Agency in Shouchun County had suddenly been wiped out, with no clues as to the culprit.

Ning Xiu drew a white mark with his finger after this message. Anything that might involve ghosts always demanded his special attention.

But compared to the next piece of news, everything else seemed far less important.

This message came directly from the Bamboo Grove Society: someone had discovered a Scarlet Immortal Fruit near Pine Wind Ridge.

Rumor had it in the martial world that if a peak first-rank expert consumed a Scarlet Immortal Fruit, they could immediately break through to the Grandmaster realm.

According to the Great Qian Dynasty’s classification of martial artists, Ning Xiu knew that ranks three to one were all about refining essence into qi. The so-called Grandmaster realm was the threshold of touching the divine—where spirit and qi merged, and qi was refined into spirit.

Thus, the Scarlet Immortal Fruit was a spiritual fruit that could enhance the strength of the mind and soul, which explained the legend.

The fruit sprouted once every thirty years, took thirty years to blossom, and another thirty to bear fruit, then a final thirty years to mature. It was a rare stroke of fate that someone had found such a fruit deep in the mountains of Pine Wind Ridge. But for some reason, word of the discovery had leaked. Now, the news had spread throughout Lingnan’s martial world, stirring up a storm.

Ning Xiu put down the letter and handed it to Zhang Heng beside him, asking, “Uncle Zhang, since the Scarlet Immortal Fruit is so precious, why didn’t the first person who found it pick it? Was he afraid of affecting its medicinal properties?”

Zhang Heng nodded first, then shook his head.

“It’s not just a matter of affecting its efficacy. According to records, the Scarlet Immortal Fruit only turns bright red at the moment of full ripeness. Only then is it effective; if plucked before that, it is nothing but a useless fruit.”

“Moreover, once ripe, it must be consumed within twelve hours, or it will rot on its own,” Zhang Heng explained.

Ning Xiu nodded silently.

But Zhang Heng’s words only explained why the fruit wasn’t picked, not why the news had been leaked.

If it had been Ning Xiu, he would have simply stayed in the mountains, waiting quietly for the fruit to ripen. The way the news spread made it seem as if someone had deliberately released it.

Zhang Heng had noticed this as well. Concerned, he asked, “Young master, are you planning to get involved in these troubled waters?”

“Pine Wind Ridge is under the Bamboo Grove Society’s control. Old Fox Wei Junkun would never let such a golden opportunity pass. But most of their top experts died in the recent internal strife, so he wants me to return and help hold the fort.”

Ning Xiu smiled and continued, “According to the letter, a medical expert has already examined the fruit at Pine Wind Ridge. It will ripen within the month, but no one knows exactly when. All the major factions have already sent people to settle in.”

“The Bamboo Grove Society can barely withstand the pressure from all of Lingnan’s martial world and had no choice but to let them in. At least they have the home ground advantage.”

“It seems you’ve made up your mind, young master,” Zhang Heng remarked.

“When a mountain storm is about to break, the wind fills the tower; when a man’s journey is about to begin, the road is rough.”

Looking into the distance, Ning Xiu murmured, “For me now, nothing is more dangerous than standing still. No matter who is orchestrating this behind the scenes, the Scarlet Immortal Fruit is real…”

There may be fools in this world, but clever people abound—especially in the martial world, where shrewd minds are everywhere. Whatever Ning Xiu could think of, so could they. Yet still, people flocked to Pine Wind Ridge like carp crossing the river, all because of that one simple truth:

The Scarlet Immortal Fruit is real.