Ling Zhenfei was also taken aback, he looked around and indeed saw nothing in the vicinity, but to be sure, he still used his Divine Sense to scour the area and found no wild beasts.

"Perhaps the monster has just left, no monsters are even better, it allows me to catch a break," he said.

Now reassured, Ling Zhenfei slowly approached the vermilion fruit, arriving at the base of the tree where it was located.

This was a tree so large that two people could not wrap their arms around it, it used to grow lush and verdant, but at this moment he discovered that the tree was half-dead, its leaves yellowed, looking as though it wouldn't be long before the tree died completely.

"What a formidable vermilion fruit, it has absorbed all the nutrients of such a big tree, leaving it half-dead. If we wait for the vermilion fruit to grow further, I reckon the tree will be completely dead," he reflected.

Ling Zhenfei also found it slightly strange that there were no wild beasts nearby, reasoning based on what he usually saw, there should be Spirit Beasts guarding such a natural treasure, yet this vermilion fruit was an exception.

As for the wonders of this vermilion fruit, Ling Zhenfei had heard too many legends and read about it in many books, but it was mostly hearsay, and not even his Heaven-Dropping Essence Marrow contained any.

The vermilion fruit was positioned high up, merely a little over a meter off the ground, growing on the trunk. It could be easily reached and picked with an outstretched hand, but just then, he suddenly heard someone say, "Are you seeking death?"

Ling Zhenfei was startled and quickly halted his actions, looking around.

The appearance of this voice gave Hua Long a fright too; both of them looked around but saw no one.

Ling Zhenfei was shocked in his heart, he hadn't expected someone else to be around, as he had covered the area with his Divine Sense all along and hadn't detected anyone's presence.

"Who is it? Come out and talk, no need for tricks," Ling Zhenfei called out to his surroundings.

"You're the one playing tricks," right after saying this, Ling Zhenfei saw a person emerge from behind the tree.

Seeing this person, both Ling Zhenfei and Hua Long were taken aback—it was Ru Meng, whom they had just met the day before.

"Why is it you, have you been following us the whole time?" Ling Zhenfei immediately realized.

Ru Meng broke into a smile, "Who has been following you? I go up the mountain to cultivate every morning. Today, when I set out, I saw you two sneaking inside, and out of curiosity, I followed you in."

Ling Zhenfei was amazed in his heart, going to Xianling Mountain every morning for cultivation—this Ru Meng was indeed odd.

Yesterday, although Ling Zhenfei managed to capture Ru Meng successfully, he was struck by several of her palm technique blows and knew that if she used her Northern Spiritual Energy properly, he would have been the one injured.

Her peculiar palm technique and fluid steps were incredibly mystical, it was just that her palm force lacked in Spiritual Power. The energy was not strong, and that was why Ling Zhenfei had an opportunity to exploit that and capture her.

"What do you want by following us around then?" Ling Zhenfei asked.

Ru Meng said with a smile, "I just wanted to see how you two would get killed by the monsters and poisonous creatures in Spirit Mountain, but you have really disappointed me. You have barely covered this short distance and almost died."

Ling Zhenfei asked in surprise, "What do you mean? What 'almost died'?"

Ru Meng shook her head in disappointment, "You really mistook this fruit for a vermilion fruit, take a look at what's under your feet?"

Ling Zhenfei hurriedly looked down at his feet and saw that the ground was covered with the bodies of many small insects, which he hadn't noticed before due to the fallen branches and leaves.

Ru Meng said with a smile, "See it now? The ground is littered with animal carcasses. Do you know why? Because the red fruit above your head is not a vermilion fruit, but a Blood Fruit."

After hearing this, Ling Zhenfei was shocked. Maybe others didn't know, but he was well aware of the name Blood Fruit.

In the Poison Scripture held by Heavenly Net Poisonous Woman, there was a very detailed description of the Blood Fruit, calling it the king of poisons.

Even a tiny amount of the substance inside the Blood Fruit could kill a person without leaving a trace, truly a form of killing without being seen.

"You're saying this is the king of poisons, the Blood Fruit?"

Ru Meng nodded, somewhat surprised, and said, "Yes, you actually know this Blood Fruit is the king of poisons. Look, the shape and color of this fruit is indeed very similar to the vermilion fruit, but its effect is different. The mere scent of the fruit has killed the small insects that came close."

Hua Long quickly moved away from the fruit upon hearing this, as its toxicity was quite strong.

"Although the Blood Fruit is poisonous, it's not entirely useless. Traditional medicine often uses the method of fighting poison with poison, or when combined with several other herbs, it can neutralize its effects and produce different results."

Even though he now knew that it was a Blood Fruit and not a vermilion fruit, Ling Zhenfei still drooled over it. Many of the poisons in the Poison Scripture required this Blood Fruit as a raw material, and now that he had encountered it, how could he possibly pass it up?

"You still want to pick the Blood Fruit?" Ru Meng asked in surprise.

Ling Zhenfei nodded, "That's right, I've got my heart set on this Blood Fruit, but I still want to thank you for the warning earlier."

Ling Zhenfei took out a small box from the Heaven-Dropping Essence Marrow, held the box under the Blood Fruit with one hand, and gently tapped the fruit with some Northern Spiritual Energy from the other hand.

The Blood Fruit gently fell into the box, intact and unbroken, but at that very moment, as the Blood Fruit fell, something suddenly shot towards Ling Zhenfei from behind the tree trunk.

That thing came swiftly like the wind, very small and fast, and not easy to guard against. By the time Ling Zhenfei noticed it, the thing was already in front of him.

Ling Zhenfei was inwardly shocked. He could see that it was a very tiny animal, sharp and slender, with a very long beak, just like an arrow.

Having never seen such a strange creature, Ling Zhenfei knew that a kind creature would not so approach; this little thing must be extraordinary. Before he could react...

At that moment, he suddenly saw something flying towards him. It was an embroidery needle. The needle flew straight and pierced through the creature's body, pinning the insect to the tree trunk.

Ling Zhenfei let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the embroidery needle had been thrown by Ru Meng. He hadn't expected her to have such precise control.

"What a fool, nearly killed by a Poison Arrow Insect. These Poison Arrow Insects are well-known toxic creatures in the forest. This one, living by the Blood Fruit all year round, is definitely the most poisonous," Ru Meng explained.

"I truly owe you thanks. If it weren't for you, I would have been in trouble," Ling Zhenfei thanked Ru Meng, inwardly cursing his own carelessness. How could he survive in the forest with such lack of attention?

"You don't have to thank me. I misunderstood you yesterday and even hit you a couple of times. Now we're even. Besides, you now owe me a needle," Ru Meng said as she pointed to the embroidery needle stuck in the body of the Poison Arrow Insect on the tree trunk.

"Thank you. I will surely repay you well in time," Ling Zhenfei said with a smile. At that moment, he felt that Ru Meng might not be so disagreeable after all.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.