Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 323 Chengyuan Apricot Tree
In the mysterious eastern region, at the Three Mile Apricot Garden, a fierce battle is taking place.

This apricot orchard is a treasure trove within the Hundred Fruits Secret Realm. It contains many spirit apricot trees, with the core one, the Pure Origin Apricot Tree, bearing second-tier apricots. These apricots not only aid the cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators but also refine the true qi of Qi Refining cultivators, improving its quality and helping them forge their foundation. It is truly a rare treasure.

It was precisely because of this that after entering the secret realm, a cultivator from the Qu family and a cultivator from the Qiao family arrived here, which led to a great battle.

At first, both sides maintained some restraint, after all, the Qu family and the Qiao family had a fairly good relationship. But as time went by, they gradually became more aggressive and showed no mercy in their attacks. If it weren't for the protective barriers around the apricot trees in the apricot orchard, many of them would probably have been destroyed in the battle.

"Die to me."

The sword was drawn and the water split open. After a long wait, the Qu family cultivator severely injured the Qiao family cultivator with a single sword strike.

However, just as he was preparing to press his advantage and completely eliminate the Qiao family cultivators, a strange figure flew out from the trunk of the Chengyuan Apricot Tree, directly unleashing a burst of spiritual light that severely injured him in one strike.

"Monkey demon, no, you..."

Looking back at the figure standing on the Chengyuan Apricot Tree, the Qu family cultivator was filled with disbelief. The figure resembled a monkey, with a pointed snout and monkey cheeks, purplish-black fur, and a faint blue light shimmering in its eyes, making it look quite eerie.

With a whoosh, the true energy circulated, and the Qu family cultivator still wanted to struggle. The Qu family actually had records of the monkey demons, but according to the family records, these monkey demons were docile and timid. As long as they were not provoked, they would basically not make a move.

That's why he didn't think much of it after barging into the apricot garden and seeing the monkey demons scared away, never expecting that he would be tricked.

But before he could actually do anything, several more figures emerged from the surrounding apricot trees.

Squeak, squeak, squeak! The demonic sound filled his ears. As several monkey demons simultaneously let out strange roars, his head spun and the Qu family cultivator's consciousness waned. He collapsed to the ground.

A moment later, as the monkey demon took the two cultivators from the Qu and Qiao families away, the entire Apricot Garden returned to calm. It stood there quietly, like a gaping maw, waiting to devour the next guest.

After some time, Jiang Chen rode a crane and approached the Apricot Garden.

"The Pure Essence Apricot, a second-tier spiritual fruit, is quite a treasure."

With his divine sense spreading out, Jiang Chen's gaze locked onto the Chengyuan Apricot Tree. He entered the secret realm from a relatively remote location, and although he had collected some treasures along the way, their value was not particularly high.

In the next instant, Jiang Chen moved and arrived next to the Chengyuan Apricot Tree.

"Thirty-six apricots, it seems that no one has come to pick them for too long."

"Although the effect of these apricots is quite limited with the quality of my true qi, if I completely refine all thirty-six apricots and combine them with Tao Yao's true meaning of withering and flourishing, the transformation of my true qi should not be far off."

On a whim, Jiang Chen waved his sleeve, intending to collect all thirty-six apricots.

Just then, a burst of emerald light appeared, freezing the apricots in place. At the same time, six figures emerged from the surrounding apricot trees and launched an attack on him. These were the monkey demons who had previously ambushed the Qu and Qiao family cultivators.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Chen remained calm and composed. Although these monkey demons were well hidden, they could not escape his second-level divine sense. He had already discovered their existence long ago.

With a whoosh, a powerful surge of divine consciousness erupted, and the monkey demons who had just manifested their forms and hadn't even had a chance to do anything were all frozen in place by an invisible force, unable to move.

"The information about these monkey demons is different from what the Aoki family had gathered before."

As his gaze swept over the monkey demon, a strange glint flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes. "Let me see what's going on."

With a wave of his hand, Jiang Chen summoned a monkey demon to his side.

With a hum, Jiang Chen reached out and stroked the monkey's head, activating the Soul Illumination Secret Technique.

The next moment, Jiang Chen frowned.

"These monkey demons have no history of problems, but now they have the idea of ​​capturing human cultivators, and there is no reasonable explanation for why."

"They didn't target human cultivators because they trespassed into the apricot orchard; to be precise, the apricot orchard was bait they used to fish."

Withdrawing his hand, Jiang Chen's face showed a solemn expression; the situation was somewhat unexpected.

Humans and demons are on different paths. When human cultivators enter the secret realm to pick spiritual fruits, it is inherently a conflict with the monkey demons. Under such circumstances, it is actually quite normal for the monkey demons to take action against the human cultivators. However, the results of the soul search add a different dimension to the matter.

Soon, Jiang Chen put down the monkey demon in front of him and performed soul searches on the other monkey demons as well, with the same result.

"It seems that something has really changed in this secret realm."

"These monkey demons have unusual bloodlines and possess the power to interfere with the mind. The reason why the two Qi Refining Perfection cultivators from the Qu family and the Qiao family fought so fiercely and to the death was because they were influenced by this power."

"This power is quite strange. Unless one is born with a strong soul or possesses a corresponding secret technique, an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator would likely fall victim to its schemes."

With a thought, Jiang Chen unleashed his divine soul power and annihilated six monkey demons.

All six monkey demons are at the Qi Refining level, with the strongest having already reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage. When they join forces, they can subtly influence the minds of Qi Refining Perfection cultivators, but it's nothing to him.

"The truly precious things in this apricot orchard are actually these apricot trees, especially this ancient Chengyuan apricot tree. It's just a pity that these apricot trees are protected by restrictions, making it extremely difficult to transplant them. Forcing it would only destroy these apricot trees."

After collecting all the monkey demon corpses, Jiang Chen's divine sense swept across the entire Apricot Garden.

After a short while, having confirmed that nothing had been missed, Jiang Chen left Xingyuan.

"The secret realm has changed. I need to find the hidden treasure as soon as possible to prevent further complications."

With a thought in mind, Jiang Chen took out the mysterious wooden plaque he had obtained from the Aoki family and headed in one direction.

According to the records of the Aoki family, this wooden plaque corresponds to a secret treasure within the secret realm, which contains considerable benefits, such as a third-tier inheritance or a third-tier spiritual root. His main purpose in traveling this route was to reach that place, and the gains he obtained were actually just incidental.

He wasn't originally in such a hurry, but the changes within the secret realm made him decide to speed up his progress, abandoning some less important gains.

Just as Jiang Chen was heading to the secret realm, he was ambushed by the monkey demon, and more and more cultivators fell victim to his schemes, making the atmosphere within the secret realm increasingly strange.

However, the monkey demon was not invincible. Elite cultivators from various families also had their own methods, and some even killed the monkey demon and gained a lot of rewards, including many second-tier treasures.

(End of this chapter)