Chapter 151 [Alive?]
Indeed.
Su Jingxing dared to take the gamble because his soul power had increased significantly, which in turn enhanced a martial artist's sixth sense.
This vague intuition had expanded from a mere premonition to a simple ability to judge good and bad outcomes.
When the thought of unlocking the Life-Extension Card and bestowing it upon the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree popped into his mind, Su Jingxing did not sense any ominous signs.
And the absence of bad signs was a good omen!
Therefore, Su Jingxing decided to give it a try.
……
Following the underground tunnel and moving with familiar ease, he arrived at the subterranean cavern.
Su Jingxing stood before the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree, took out the Life-Extension Card, stepped back a few paces, and the moment he unlocked it, his figure flashed rapidly backward into the corner of the cavern wall.
Swish~
The brilliant light released by the card immediately enveloped the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
A surge of vibrant life force burst forth from the radiance, wrapping around the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree and subjecting it to unknown, bizarre transformations.
Was it going to grow faster, become larger or smaller, or perhaps suffer some mutation?
Su Jingxing stood in the corner, waiting with a mix of apprehension and anticipation.
Hum~
Hum!
The massive Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree pulsated within the light like a beating heart, vibrating the air and emitting a low hum.
Its glowing trunk, branches, and leaves were completely obscured at this moment.
The entire Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree had transformed into a massive sphere of light. Its dazzling brightness banished all shadows from the subterranean cavern, making the vast space as bright as day, as if a sun were blooming with endless brilliance and dispelling all darkness.
Su Jingxing was forced to temporarily close his eyes, relying on the "Sound-Imbued Realm" secret technique to sense the changes happening to the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
The towering life force released by the unlocked Life-Extension Card was currently driving the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree through a profound, deep-level transformation.
Hum~
Hum!
The humming continued. The changes occurring within the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree translated to Su Jingxing as a steadily intensifying vitality.
It seemed as though the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree had been stimulated by something, and was now erupting with its own life force.
The energy-gathering stones buried in the soil around the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree were also undergoing unusual activities.
They were drawing upon the ambient energy within the subterranean cavern, the surrounding soil layers at the edges, the nearby underground river, and the deep veins of the earth.
All the environmental energy across these regions was being powerfully pulled by the energy-gathering stones, gathering entirely at the tree roots, and then being channeled up through the roots into the trunk of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
Wave after wave, surge after surge.
In Su Jingxing's perception, at this very moment, the ambient energy filling the air, the soil, and the water from all directions—above and below ground—was being greedily absorbed by the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
Stimulated by the immense life force, this miraculous treasure tree seemed to suddenly spring to life.
Possessing a will of its own, it continuously devoured the energy of heaven and earth.
As for what the changes would be after absorbing so much energy, Su Jingxing could neither see nor perceive them.
He could only confirm that the life force of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was growing increasingly vibrant and intense.
It was already several times greater than the ball of life force released when the Life-Extension Card was unlocked.
Su Jingxing could no longer predict what kind of ultimate transformation such a massive amount of vitality would inflict upon the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
He had truly learned the hard way that the best-laid plans often go awry.
The records concerning the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree in the *Compendium of Marvels* contained no mention of an automatic absorption of ambient energy.
Yet it was happening right now, which only proved that the author of the book did not know all the detailed secrets of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree either.
Facing such an unpredictable turn of events, Su Jingxing did not dare to meddle rashly.
All he could do was wait with a mix of anxiety and patience.
Ten minutes.
Half an hour.
One hour.
Two hours.
……
Five hours passed, and the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was still enveloped in light, its mutation far from over.
Ten hours passed, and the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was still undergoing transformation.
Twenty hours passed, and the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was still changing.
However, Su Jingxing's perception caught some good news.
The overwhelming life force of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was beginning to recede, and at a rapid pace.
At the same time, the action of pulling ambient energy from the earth, water, and air had also ceased.
It felt as though a fierce battle had just concluded, and only the final cleanup remained.
Su Jingxing waited more than three hours longer before finally opening his eyes to look at the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree.
Sure enough, the radiance surrounding the exterior of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree was slowly fading.
First, the outline of the trunk emerged, followed by the crown, the branches, the leaves, and the fruit!
The fruits had appeared!
It took thirty years to blossom, thirty years to bear fruit, and thirty years to ripen.
To taste a Mind-Soothe Fruit normally required waiting ninety years.
Never had he imagined that this reckless gamble by Su Jingxing, using the Life-Extension Card to stimulate the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree, would "awaken" this miraculous treasure tree. By drawing upon the energy of the earth, water, and air on its own, it had instantly shaved decades off the timeline, bypassing the flowering stage entirely and directly bearing fruits the size of an infant's fist.
The half-red, half-green Mind-Soothe Fruits were clearly unripe.
Once the red hue receded and turned entirely green, they would be fully mature.
The Mind-Soothe Fruits recorded in the *Compendium of Marvels* were not red, but completely green.
Judging by the color, if no external forces were applied, it would still take over a decade for the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree to fully mature.
A decade was something Su Jingxing was equally unwilling to wait.
A dozen days, perhaps, but a decade was too long.
At this thought, Su Jingxing walked back to the base of the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree, dug away the soil, and inspected the placement of the energy-gathering stones.
As expected, he found that quite a few of the energy-gathering stones had lost their luster, turning into dull, ash-gray rocks.
A preliminary estimate showed that at least half of the energy-gathering stones had become useless.
The remaining half had also dimmed significantly in color.
Clearly, the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree's recent energy-devouring frenzy, fueled by the stones, had exhausted a large majority of them.
Since those stones were now useless and had become ordinary rocks, it was obviously unrealistic to expect the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree to pull off another absorption feat to accelerate its ripening anytime soon.
Su Jingxing would have to go out and acquire more energy-gathering stones to replenish them.
Or perhaps he could acquire a second Life-Extension Card.
The probability of that was even lower.
It was far more reliable for Su Jingxing to simply go and source more energy-gathering stones.
……
After circling the Mind-Soothe Fruit Tree, apart from the newly grown fruits, there were no other changes.
Confirming that there were no major issues, Su Jingxing left the subterranean cavern and returned to the courtyard at the foot of the mountain.
He had skipped work just after becoming a deputy captain, disappearing for an entire day and night.
He wondered what the people at the crematorium were saying about him behind his back.
Su Jingxing glided through the air, pondering to himself.
Suddenly, the sounds of a fight drifted up from the ground below.
Cruising through the wind, Su Jingxing instinctively looked down.
Activating his night vision and long-distance vision techniques simultaneously, he saw two factions fiercely clashing in the darkness among the woods along the banks of the Tianshui River.
One faction consisted of only three people, while the other had eight.
The cultivation levels of both sides seemed roughly comparable.
Consequently, the disparity in numbers left the first faction severely suppressed and forced into a continuous retreat, fighting back only as they fell back step by step.
By the time Su Jingxing looked down from the sky, one of the three—a woman—had barely managed to hold on before suddenly being struck and collapsing to the ground, losing her ability to flee.
A young man beside her let out an angry roar at the sight.
And then...
Then, his entire body abruptly began to glow, transforming like an electrified light bulb as his skin, eyes, and hair all turned a brilliant golden color!