Ye Qiu’s eyes lit up with delight.
He had not expected the Golden Sacred Tree to bear fruit at all.
Though the fruit was only the size of a quail egg, it gleamed with golden light and resembled a lifelike Buddha seated in meditation, chanting scriptures.
Ye Qiu even wondered whether it might be the legendary ginseng fruit.
Yet, upon closer examination, it did not quite match.
“Little brat, what sort of fruit is this?” the Long-Browed Real Person asked, his face full of curiosity.
“I do not know. It has not yet ripened.” Ye Qiu muttered to himself, “I also wonder what marvellous effects the fruit of the Golden Sacred Tree might hold.”
“Will its form change once it matures?”
For a time, Ye Qiu felt intense anticipation towards the fruit.
The Long-Browed Real Person glanced up at the Golden Sacred Tree and said, “The five-coloured soil truly is wondrous. In a single moment it caused this tree to branch out and bear fruit.”
“Little brat, in future, whenever we encounter an immature divine medicine, we can nurture it directly with the five-coloured soil.”
“That way, we can hasten its maturation.”
Ye Qiu nodded slightly, fully agreeing with the Long-Browed Real Person’s suggestion.
The Long-Browed Real Person said enviously, “Little brat, I must admit, your luck truly defies the heavens.”
“Not only did you obtain the Great Dao Tree, you also acquired this mysterious five-coloured soil that accelerates the ripening of divine medicines.”
“This fortune makes this poor daoist’s eyes bleed with envy.”
Ye Qiu replied calmly, “Nothing to be done. I am handsome, so my luck is good.”
Show-off!
The Long-Browed Real Person curled his lip.
Ye Qiu took out his Qiankun bag, preparing to store away the Golden Sacred Tree along with the five-coloured soil. Suddenly, the Long-Browed Real Person shouted.
“Oh no, how has that hapless Dragon Bodhisattva turned up?”
At these words, Ye Qiu spun round hurriedly, yet saw no one.
“Not good.” Ye Qiu realised he had been duped. He whipped back, only to find the fruit borne by the Golden Sacred Tree gone.
A second glance revealed it already stuffed into the Long-Browed Real Person’s mouth.
Ye Qiu’s face darkened instantly.
The Golden Sacred Tree had produced just one fruit, still unripe, and the Long-Browed Real Person had eaten it. How could he not rage?
“Old thing!”
Ye Qiu bellowed, “You bloody tricked even me. Have you any conscience left?”
Having swallowed the fruit, the Long-Browed Real Person licked his lips as if he had not had enough, then shamelessly apologised to Ye Qiu.
“Little brat, do not be angry.”
“I know my conduct was somewhat improper, but I acted entirely for your sake.”
“No one knew the fruit’s effects. What if it had been poisonous?”
“I merely wished to test it for poison on your behalf.”
“You need not thank this poor daoist. We are friends through life and death. For you, I would brave boiling water and tread on fire.”
Ye Qiu grew even angrier at these words.
He knew the Long-Browed Real Person well. The old fellow was greedy, fond of petty gains, and utterly thick-skinned.
As for testing poison, that was simply his excuse.
The Golden Sacred Tree was a divine medicine. Its leaves could swiftly heal the gravely injured. How could fruit from such a treasure possibly be toxic?
“I will beat you to death.” Unable to restrain himself, Ye Qiu punched and sent the Long-Browed Real Person flying.
“Ouch…”
The Long-Browed Real Person cried out in pain as he crashed dozens of metres away.
Ye Qiu strode towards him, saying as he went, “I have tolerated you again and again, yet you show no remorse.”
The Long-Browed Real Person scrambled up swiftly, retreating while protesting, “Little brat, calm down. We are friends through life and death. Surely our bond outweighs one mere fruit?”
“If not for our shared trials of life and death, I would have killed you long since,” Ye Qiu said coldly. “Today I must give you a proper thrashing.”
“Rest assured, I shall not truly kill you. I will merely flay a layer of skin to teach you remembrance.”
“Daring to steal even my possessions. Your courage has grown.”
Ye Qiu clenched his fists and advanced step by step.
The Long-Browed Real Person backed away rapidly, insisting, “Little brat, I truly did not deceive you. I was testing for poison… Ouch, not good. This poor daoist has been poisoned.”
With that, he collapsed with a thud.
“You bloody dare trick me again. It seems the heavens themselves demand I teach you a lesson today.”
Ye Qiu was about to strike when he saw the Long-Browed Real Person’s eyes roll white, his body convulsing violently, foam bubbling from his mouth.
“Quite a convincing act.”
Ye Qiu felt fury mingled with amusement. He stepped forward, kicked the Long-Browed Real Person, and shouted, “Enough pretending. Get up at once.”
Yet the Long-Browed Real Person did not rise. His convulsions worsened, and amid the foaming he pleaded for aid.
“Little brat… quickly… save me… This poor daoist cannot hold on.”
His head slumped sideways, and he fainted dead away.
“Still acting?” Ye Qiu kicked him once more.
Bang!
The Long-Browed Real Person lay like a corpse, face ashen, utterly unresponsive.
“Hm?” Ye Qiu’s expression shifted. “Could he truly be poisoned?”
He crouched swiftly, grasped the Long-Browed Real Person’s wrist to check his pulse, only for his fingers to be repelled the next instant.
At that moment, the pallid face flushed crimson as fire, sweat beads the size of soybeans crowding densely on his forehead.
“What is happening? Why is the power within the old fellow’s body like a boundless ocean?”
Ye Qiu was astounded. He immediately opened his heavenly eye, his gaze piercing straight through the Long-Browed Real Person’s meridians.
He saw true qi surging madly within, the eight extraordinary meridians widened by a full circle.
Golden light seeped from every pore, and his bones had taken on a pale golden hue.
After a while, a foul stench rose from the Long-Browed Real Person’s body. Black fluid oozed from his skin, the impurities expelled from within.
Ye Qiu was stunned.
He could tell the Long-Browed Real Person was not poisoned, but undergoing a profound rebirth.
Clearly, the fruit was responsible.
“What exactly is the fruit of the Golden Sacred Tree? Unripe as it was, its power is already so immense.”
“If fully mature, how extraordinary would it be?”
Ye Qiu could not help glancing at the Golden Sacred Tree.
At that moment, another fruit had appeared upon it.
Again the size of a quail egg, it resembled a cross-legged meditating Buddha, radiant with golden light.
Without hesitation, Ye Qiu stored the Golden Sacred Tree in his Qiankun bag.
“I must not let the old fellow see it again. Otherwise, the rascal might snatch it on the sly.”
Ye Qiu waited nearby.
Time slipped quietly by.
About a quarter of an hour later, the Long-Browed Real Person’s flushed complexion returned to normal, though a thick crust of impurities coated his body, reeking abominably.
Ye Qiu stepped back several paces.
Just then, the Long-Browed Real Person opened his eyes. Almost simultaneously, a vast, suppressed aura swept out in all directions.
