The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 725 - 404: Dragon Elephant Fruit Ripens_2
"Is this the Dragon Elephant Fruit?" Like the Blood Parasol, the Dragon Elephant Fruit Tree seemed to be thriving much more; the biggest one required four people to wrap their arms around it, its canopy reaching over twenty meters high. The fruit was hidden among the lush foliage, appearing plump and round, with a blush of red through its pale surface, so tender that it seemed it would burst with a single touch, with a layer of fine fuzz on its skin. "Isn’t this just a peach!" she muttered to herself.
In the vast Immortal Plant Garden, a melodious sound of the Jade Chime echoed, leading to everyone holding their breath in anticipation.
As the chime sound ceased, the largest and heaviest Dragon Elephant Fruit hanging from the branch suddenly detached itself from the stem and fell straight down. The demon child, who had been standing by, flew forward, catching it gently on a golden plate. With the biggest one leading the way, the other Dragon Elephant Fruits followed suit, dropping from their branches one after another. Xu Nongyou spoke softly: "The Dragon Elephant Fruit, once ripe, will fall from the stem and won’t hang on the branch for long. It must be caught with a golden plate for it to rest, or if it touches the earth, it will dissolve into a puddle of sweet water, with the core burrowing into the ground right away."
The yield of the Dragon Elephant Fruit Tree is not high; in fifteen years, it can only produce around twenty fruits. There are only three trees in this greenhouse, and recently only one has matured, making each fruit exceedingly precious. In the upcoming Martial Arts Competition three days later, Hidden Stream will offer ten of these fruits as prizes for the winners, which is already an extremely generous reward. This Demon Sect has always been so; though demanding of its subordinates, it is never stingy.
Over twenty fruits finished falling in a blink, and it would take another two years for the next batch to ripen. The demon child caught them all and cautiously placed them on the plate for the guests to admire before quickly carrying them away. After a spell of admiration, the crowd started to leave the Immortal Plant Garden. Their true intention for this visit was not to spectate the ripening of the Dragon Elephant Fruit, but rather to seize this rare opportunity to negotiate with Hidden Stream about the supply of medicinal herbs. Now that the ceremony was over, it’s best to promptly leave such an important place to avoid suspicion; didn’t they see that a clueless unfortunate had already been thrown out just a while ago?
Following Elder He, Ning Xiaoxian saw a man, short and stout like a stump, quickly approach and persistently talk to Elder He. Elder He surprisingly displayed unusual patience towards this man. Listening in, Ning Xiaoxian learned that this person turned out to be the Master of the Northwest Division of the Heavenly Residence combination sale event, who had come this time to persuade Hidden Stream to contribute the Dragon Elephant Fruits for auction at the Central Province combination sale held by Heavenly Residence after two years.
Heavenly Residence holds combination sales each spring and autumn, but the Central Province combination sale that occurs every four years is a grand event for the entire continent, featuring curios and strange treasures that are indeed "continent-level." Thus, despite still being over two years away, people from all divisions of Heavenly Residence began to roam around, searching for Miracle Medicines and Exotic Fruits like the Dragon Elephant Fruit to enhance and elevate the prestige of the combination sale.
Heavenly Residence is a peculiar organization in the Southern Continent; it’s not just a Chamber of Commerce, as it also holds a powerful armed force. Facing such a famous organization across the Pan-continent, Hidden Stream also showed considerable politeness. At least Elder He, when dealing with Mr. Lv, the Master of the Northwest Division, was much warmer, without the usual aloof pride characteristic of Hidden Stream towards outsiders.
She didn’t know whether the two had concluded their negotiations, because Xu Nongyou had already introduced her to the various Pill Masters of Hidden Stream. As the inventor of the antidote for the plague, everyone exhibited ample curiosity towards her. Here, human nature’s complexity was revealed—eyes that gazed at her were filled with envy, admiration, jealousy, and even faint contempt and disgust. Just like an author cannot satisfy every reader, she could only respond with a smile to such sentiments, not taking them to heart.
At this time, two Pill Masters stepped forward and requested Ning Xiaoxian’s presence in the Alchemy Room to test her skill in distinguishing herbs and Alchemy Technique. They were entrusted by Elder He to conduct her entrance test. As a vital operation of Hidden Stream, the Immortal Plant Garden, despite its name, had a status equivalent to a department. Thus, as long as she passed the entry test, Elder He, as Vice Garden Master, had the authority to incorporate her into the ranks of the Immortal Plant Garden Pill Masters. She specifically clarified that Pill Masters could participate in the Martial Arts Competition before obediently following them.
Although Xu Nongyou was convinced she was the inventor of the plague antidote, he was an outsider after all; Hidden Stream emphasizes the true skill of a Pill Master, so the two tests were unavoidable. Fortunately, while her cultivation deepened, she never neglected her study of the Alchemy Dao, making such tests easy to pass. When the two Pill Masters learned she had been in the mountains for a month, they didn’t intend to give her a hard time. They issued her a green Token, allowing her passage into and out of the Immortal Plant Garden.
Of course, the Token was useless to Mr. Chan, who only recognized faces. So, over the next few days, Ning Xiaoxian spent nearly every day immersed in the Immortal Plant Garden, on one hand, increasing her knowledge in this Grand View Garden of exotic plants, and on the other hand, trying every means to foster a good relationship with Mr. Chan, in hopes of acquiring what she desired.
When Mr. Chan heard she aimed to obtain not the toad venom but its essence blood, it fell silent for two days. She thought the amphibian demon no longer wished to trade with her until, three days later, it finally spoke. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote with a recommendation ticket or a Monthly Ticket at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
