Fairy Eye

As dusk fell, Han Lin walked through the woods.

As he walked, he looked around, searching for the 'secret code' left by Song Tingyu.

Suddenly, at the foot of the mountain ahead, a ravine with sparse trees appeared. Han Lin's eyes lit up, and he walked towards the ravine.

After walking a short distance uphill into the ravine, we came across a huge rock, several meters in size. There was a mark carved by human hands on the rock.

Han Lin hesitated slightly, then walked to the boulder. Sure enough, there was a dark hole below it. He called out in a low voice, "Miss Song, are you in there? You can come out now."

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in green robes emerged from inside, bowing low. It was Song Tingyu.

Song Tingyu frowned. "Why are you so late?"

Han Lin said, "We encountered a monster on the way, which delayed us for a while."

"Oh, the Zhu Yu Fruit is not far up there. You can sneak over and take a look, but be careful not to disturb the sleeping Cracked Armor Beast, or all your efforts will be wasted!" Song Tingyu didn't delve into Han Lin's late arrival and whispered to him.

"Hmm, let me ask. What stage is considered ripe for the Zhu Yu fruit? How much longer do we have to wait here?" Han Lin glanced at the woods behind the boulder.

"When the white color fades completely and it turns entirely red like jade, it will be considered ripe. Based on our observation, this should happen within the next few days. Wang Qinghe and I will both come over in three days, and the three of us will wait together until it is fully ripe."

"Understood, then leave this to me."

"Hmm, Han Lin, you really need to keep a close eye on this. This thing is very valuable; one piece can sell for two thousand sect contribution points."

Song Tingyu said with a grin, then swayed her hips as she walked outside.

Two thousand contributions per pill?

That would be equivalent to twenty spirit stones.

Han Lin was both surprised and curious about the wonders of this thing, wondering why the sect would spend so much money to acquire such a spiritual fruit.

It should be noted that although twenty spirit stones were not enough to even pass a single level for him, they were already a considerable sum in the eyes of an ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

With that thought in mind, Han Lin bypassed the boulder and headed towards the woods behind it.

On the way, he kept his breathing low and tried not to make a sound. At first, he thought it was very close, but it took him quite a while to finally see his target.

In front of them, below a cliff face, grew a small purple tree about three feet tall, with six fruits the size of a baby's fist hanging from it.

The fruit is like a piece of red jade, radiating a faint red glow, but upon closer inspection, one can see that there are some white spots mixed in on its surface.

"So this is the Vermilion Jade Fruit. It certainly looks extraordinary." Han Lin was quite surprised to see this kind of spiritual fruit for the first time.

However, he soon turned his gaze to the grass next to him.

There lay a monster about ten feet long, shaped like a crocodile, but unlike ordinary crocodiles, this beast had barbs all over its back.

The rest of its skin is covered with dark black scales, giving it an impressive defensive capability.

Fortunately, the beast was currently asleep and did not notice anyone spying on it. Han Lin glanced at it from afar a few times, then turned and left.

Upon entering the stone cave where Song Tingyu was hiding, he closed his eyes and began to meditate. Now that his spirit stones were almost used up, he could only pass the time with meditation spells.

But not long after he closed his eyes, Han Lin seemed to sense something and took out a gray storage bag from his pocket.

This storage bag belonged to the man in blue from before.

Han Lin's original intention was to return the item if the other party truly helped him prove his innocence.

But at this moment, it was suddenly discovered that the storage bag seemed to have lost its spirit and was no different from an ordinary money bag.

He looked surprised and doubtful, pinched the storage bag, injected a wisp of true energy into it, and attached his divine sense to the true energy, putting it into the storage bag.

This is a test.

Han Lin frowned; he could actually see what was happening inside.

This situation can only mean one thing: the storage bag is now ownerless.

If it were someone else...

Finding a storage bag would surely make one very happy.

Han Lin, however, felt not happy, but rather worried.

He didn't know whether the storage bag had lost its owner because the man in blue had lost his cultivation, or whether the man had already met with misfortune.

If it's the former, that's fine. But if it's the latter, I'm afraid I'll be unable to clear my name even if I jump into the river, and I'll become the Qingyun Gang's mortal enemy.

"Well, there's no use thinking about it now. Let's see how things go." Han Lin sighed softly and began to examine the contents of the storage bag.

This storage bag should be a miniature storage bag, with very little internal space. It doesn't look like it contains anything of value, just a bunch of clothes and daily necessities.

But when Han Lin took out these miscellaneous items and prepared to burn them, he unexpectedly discovered a palm-sized porcelain bottle inside.

"A fasting elixir?"

Han Lin's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the label on the porcelain bottle.

Unexpectedly, it contained the "fasting pill" mentioned in the book, which supposedly contains all the elements needed for human survival and allows one to go without food for several days after consuming it.

Thinking of this, Han Lin couldn't help but uncork the bottle and peer inside.

The bottle was more than half full of brown pills. I smelled them and they were exactly as described in the book.

It doesn't seem to be poison.

Han Lin nodded and put the porcelain bottle away.

The situation with the Qingyun Gang is currently unclear, and it's unlikely we'll be able to easily return to Qingyun Town in the future. This Bigu Pill has come at just the right time.

Immediately afterwards, Han Lin unleashed a fireball, burning the clothes on the ground to ashes, and then continued to meditate with his eyes closed.

At this point, he had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, and even his beginner-level fireball technique was quite powerful, making it no problem to destroy evidence.

For the next two days, Han Lin practiced the Returning Origin Technique outside the stone cave during the day, and meditated on a few spells at night before resting normally.

On the morning of the third day, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside: "Han Lin, we're here."

Hearing the sound, Han Lin crawled out of the cave.

They discovered that besides Song Tingyu, Wang Qinghe had also come over.

His right hand hung naturally, his palm slightly open. He activated his keen observation skill and took a look, discovering that the two of them were still at the third level of Qi Refining.

"Brother Han, it's been a long time." At this moment, Wang Qinghe smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Brother Wang, it's been a long time." Han Lin returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

"Brother Han, have you gone to check on it? How is the spirit fruit?" Wang Qinghe asked with a smile, glancing at the nearby woods.

"I've been to check on it these past two days. It's still a little short of being fully ripe, but I estimate it will be fully ripe in the next couple of days."

Han Lin said calmly, then added, "But Brother Wang, we can't wait until it's fully mature before we make our move, can we?"

"What if, the moment we're fully mature, the armored beast has the advantage of proximity and devours us? Wouldn't we have wasted all that time?"

"Of course! Let's go take a look first. If it's certain that it will mature in the next two days, we'll take care of that armor-cracking beast in no time."

Wang Qinghe nodded.