Ye Qin was contemplating whether to venture into the deepest recesses of the Lyu Family Fortress when a dim, yellow shadow materialized silently a few yards from him.

"Brother Qin, have you found any spiritual items over there?" the yellow shadow inquired in a low voice.

"The two forbidden grounds I previously investigated weren't heavily guarded. One was a mineral warehouse storing a significant amount of ore. The other was an old storage room containing some discarded spiritual artifacts. Aside from those, I found nothing particularly spiritual. Brother Shi, how was your search?" Ye Qin glanced at the yellow shadow and replied calmly. This shadow was Shi Hanyang; they had split up to search the remaining restricted areas within the Lyu Family Fortress.

Having each searched two locations, they converged here again.

"I haven't found anything on my end either."

Ye Qin nodded slightly, not doubting Shi Hanyang's words. If Shi Hanyang had truly discovered a spiritual fruit, the first thing he would do would be to leave the Lyu Family Fortress, not linger here.

"There is only one final forbidden area left to investigate in the Lyu Family Fortress. However, there are two Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding it, one more than the others. Bypassing their surveillance to enter the restricted area will likely be difficult. If we alert the other cultivators in the fortress, all our efforts will be in vain."

Ye Qin cautiously eyed the deepest part of the Lyu Family Fortress, a flicker of worry crossing his face. If only one Foundation Establishment cultivator were guarding it, entry would be easier, but with two, he felt incapable.

"I will handle those two guards. Brother Qin, keep watch around us, and try to lure away anyone who approaches this area."

Shi Hanyang gazed at the deepest section of the Lyu Family Fortress, his eyes cold. He had been targeting this location for a long time; it was the retreat for the Lyu Family Ancestor. Like Ye Qin, he dared not approach it lightly. He had waited in the Lyu Family Fortress for over a month and had finally waited for the Ancestor to leave—he would not miss such a prime opportunity.

......

In the deepest part of the Lyu Family Fortress, a middle-aged Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer cultivator and a younger Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer cultivator were chatting and sipping small cups of wine while standing guard. This was the Lyu Family Ancestor's seclusion chamber, one of the fortress's forbidden grounds. However, both guards knew that the Ancestor's meditation room was actually empty; nothing of value was inside. The valuable items were all on the Ancestor himself.

Therefore, their sole purpose, assigned by Lü Yuanhong, was to prevent ordinary people from accidentally intruding into the Ancestor's quiet room and incurring his wrath. Tonight, with the Lyu Family's Second Young Master's grand wedding, these two on duty had been exceptionally permitted a small amount of wine.

Suddenly, they saw a yellow-robed cultivator swaggering towards them, carrying a wine gourd and humming a little tune.

"Who goes there? This is a Lyu Family forbidden area, leave immediately!"

The two guards immediately grew alert. One, the middle-aged cultivator, challenged in a low voice. But before he could finish speaking, the yellow-robed cultivator stumbled and collapsed with a thud, mumbling nonsense incoherently. He tried to get up several times but seemed too heavily intoxicated, slumping back down limply. Finally, he simply fell asleep on the ground, snoring thunderously.

"A wretched drunkard, how unlucky. Brother, what should we do?"

The younger cultivator stepped forward and gave the yellow-robed man a kick. There was no reaction. He turned to ask the middle-aged cultivator.

The middle-aged cultivator walked over, examined the man's complexion, waved his sleeve to clear away the heavy stench of wine, and frowned. "Looks like a guest who drank too much at the banquet. Carry him away and dump him in one of the empty courtyards."

The younger cultivator nodded, lifted the stout, yellow-robed man, and tossed him some distance away.

However, the supposedly drunken yellow-robed cultivator underwent a sudden transformation. A cloud of pinkish mist suddenly erupted violently from beneath him, spraying onto the two guards.

Both were greatly alarmed, but the mist was strangely potent. In an extremely short time, it penetrated their bodies. Before they could even utter a cry of alarm, they went limp and collapsed onto the ground, their entire skin flushing an alluring red.

The yellow-robed cultivator, meanwhile, sprang up. His slightly plump face showed not a trace of drunkenness; instead, it held a hint of triumph. With his cultivation, defeating two Foundation Establishment cultivators was easy, but subduing both simultaneously was absolutely no small feat.

Seeing Shi Hanyang take down the two Foundation Establishment guards so cleanly and swiftly, Ye Qin was secretly astonished. He emerged from the shadows and praised, "Brother Shi's methods are superb. What poison is this that can instantly paralyze two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

"This is Crimson Soothing Mist, a paralyzing poison refined from the foul secretions of a Sixth Tier many-tailed demon fox. It's exceedingly rare in the Cultivation World. I paid a huge price to gather this small gourd of it, and unfortunately, I've used it all on these two. Let's not waste time talking; let's enter this secret chamber. A Foundation Establishment cultivator struck by Crimson Soothing Mist will only be paralyzed for a few hours. We have only two or three hours to search this room."

Shi Hanyang smiled faintly, picked up the two guards who were completely paralyzed, and walked straight into the Lyu Family Ancestor's meditation chamber. He casually tossed the guards into a corner—he hadn't killed them—and began surveying the room.

Ye Qin suddenly realized something and followed him in.

He recalled an incident from six years ago when he was still a Qi Refining cultivator undergoing a trial in the Myriad Wither Peaks. Senior Sister Yan Xuan, who led their group, had also been poisoned with similar symptoms, only recovering after a full three days. Later, he obtained a red gourd magical artifact from a disciple of the Great Luo Sect, which he still kept. He hadn't expected this substance to have such a potent paralyzing effect on Foundation Establishment cultivators; it was not to be underestimated.

He followed Shi Hanyang into the innermost secret chamber of the Lyu Family Fortress.

The chamber was about ten zhang in size, built from sturdy stone slabs one foot wide, quite spacious, but utterly bare. Apart from a straw mat and an incense burner in the center, there was nothing else. This sanctuary for the Lyu Family Ancestor's solitary cultivation was surprisingly simple.

After a brief scan, Ye Qin had to admit he couldn't find anything peculiar in this chamber, let alone a spiritual fruit tree.

However, he refused to believe there was truly nothing here. If a spiritual fruit tree existed in the Lyu Family Fortress, the Ancestor's retreat was the most suspicious spot.

Ye Qin observed Shi Hanyang repeatedly. Shi Hanyang's knowledge was incredibly broad—he was proficient in mystical arts, mechanisms, formations, and more. If anyone could find something hidden, it would be Shi Hanyang.

Indeed, Shi Hanyang swept his gaze over the chamber, meticulously checking every spot, and began fiddling with things inside.

In less than half an hour, Shi Hanyang pressed several stone plate mechanisms inside the chamber. The stone wall on the side of the room grated open with a "creak-creak," revealing a cavern.

It was a natural cave, somewhat narrow, wide enough for two or three people to pass through, emitting a cold, damp aura.

"Although the Lyu Family Ancestor has high cultivation, his skill in mechanisms is not very high! If I'm not mistaken, the Lyu Family Fortress's greatest secret lies within this stone cavern. Brother Qin, let's go in and take a look together."

Shi Hanyang chuckled and stepped towards the stone tunnel.

Ye Qin smiled and followed behind.

But his heart grew cautious. At the crucial final moment, the greatest danger still came from this smiling Sect Master Shi. Cultivators emerging from chaotic places where dragons and snakes mingled often turned their faces faster than turning a page. Once the spiritual fruit was found, he didn't believe this Sect Master Shi, who constantly hung "Brother Qin" on his lips, would show an ounce of mercy.

They followed the stone tunnel downward for about several hundred zhang until they reached a very serene underground stone cavern.

The path ended here, blocked only by a cold pond fed by a stream flowing from a crack in the stone. The emerald green water sent a bone-chilling coldness to Ye Qin even from a distance, yet there was no sign of frost—the water was strangely cold.

Ye Qin quickly shifted his focus to an ancient, withered vine tree.

Beside the frigid cold pond grew a solitary, somewhat desiccated old tree, slightly over one zhang tall. This tree must be thousands of years old. It bore three unripe, pale green spiritual fruits.

However, the old tree was protected by a faint blue curtain of water. If Ye Qin was correct, this was likely the formation the Lyu Family Ancestor used to guard the spiritual fruit tree.

"Brother Shi, the spiritual item pointed out by the Holy Emperor must be the spiritual fruit on this old tree, right?"

Ye Qin smiled faintly, staring at the spiritual fruit tree, but remaining far back, distanced from the old tree and Shi Hanyang.

He did not move rashly. Firstly, he wasn't skilled in formations and couldn't dismantle the protective barrier on the old tree. Touching the restriction might alert the Lyu Family Ancestor and the family disciples, which would be disastrous. Secondly, he didn't want to arouse Shi Hanyang's suspicion that he intended to seize the fruit.

"Brother Qin, there are only three fruits. It seems they aren't enough to share!" Shi Hanyang turned back and looked toward Ye Qin with a smile.

"These three spiritual fruits were found by Brother Shi, so they naturally belong to you," Ye Qin said with apparent deference.

Shi Hanyang was truly puzzled this time. He had expected Ye Qin to also desire the spiritual fruits, leading to a fierce struggle between them. He hadn't expected Ye Qin to be so courteous and yielding at this juncture, which made it awkward for him to make a move. He began to suspect Ye Qin was planning some scheme, but he wondered if any scheme would work against him.

"If you don't want the spiritual fruits, then what do you desire?"

"I only wish to obtain a single branch from this old tree to try and plant it when I return."

"You want a branch? A branch requires at least a thousand years to grow into a tree, and even then, it would need another four to five hundred years to bear fruit, otherwise, it likely won't fruit. That would be fifteen hundred years after obtaining the spiritual fruit."

"It doesn't matter. While I might not use it, my descendants in fifteen hundred years will surely find use for this Water Spiritual Fruit Tree."

"Then you might as well take the entire tree; it would save you a thousand years of work," Shi Hanyang said jokingly, unconvinced.

"That won't do. Taking one branch will only enrage Old Ancestor Lyu, but he won't relentlessly pursue me to the death. However, taking this entire tree, which is tied to the Lyu Family's fortune, would surely cause Old Ancestor Lyu to hunt me down until his last breath, meaning he would have to kill me. I'd like to move the whole tree, but I fear provoking the Ancestor's rage," Ye Qin shook his head with a wry smile. He wasn't so greedy as to ignore all danger. For him, obtaining one branch was not much different from obtaining the whole tree; why move the entire tree and provoke Old Ancestor Lyu?

"Haha, Brother Qin is quite sensible. However, Brother Qin seems to recognize the special properties of this tree?"

"Indeed. The treasured spiritual fruit codices of the Azure Elixir Sect detail this tree extensively. This tree is called the 'Five Spirit Fruit Tree,' an Eighth Tier spiritual tree possessing five attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The one before us is clearly the Water Spiritual Fruit Tree among them. Water Spiritual Fruit Trees must grow in a water-elemental place; they cannot thrive without abundant Water Spiritual Qi. This Lyu Family Fortress is upstream of the largest river in the Southern Liang Kingdom, and this underground location is precisely where the Water Spiritual Qi is most abundant. It's not surprising this tree grows here; the prosperity of the Lyu Family Fortress rests upon this old tree.

"A Water Spiritual Fruit Tree bears three fruits at once, typically maturing every five hundred years. Upon falling, they instantly dissolve into Water Spiritual Qi. These three fruits haven't ripened yet; their medicinal power is insufficient, and they probably need another century to mature. Furthermore, since the spiritual fruit is of the Water element, only a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a Water Spiritual Root can use it to break through the bottleneck to the Golden Core stage; it would be useless for cultivators with other spiritual roots."

"So, Brother Qin is a disciple of the Azure Elixir Sect. That explains it. This Sect Master cannot wait another hundred years. We can treat these three green fruits as if they were one ripe fruit; the effect will be similar."

While they chatted, Shi Hanyang cautiously approached the boundary of the formation surrounding the spiritual fruit tree and began quickly dismantling the restrictions. This place was dangerous and not suitable for lingering.

In one hour, the blue formation was broken. It was somewhat amusing; the Lyu Family Ancestor was not skilled in formations and was unwilling to rely on others, so he only set up a small, water-attribute guardian formation. However, Shi Hanyang was extremely proficient in formations. He could easily infiltrate underground imperial tombs; a mere small guardian formation was far too simple for him.

As the blue water curtain vanished, the three unripe green spiritual fruits were collected into Shi Hanyang's palm.

Shi Hanyang was filled with joy. After so much hardship, he had finally secured the spiritual fruit mentioned by the Holy Emperor. Most importantly, his spiritual root attribute happened to be Water Spiritual Root—though his potential was low, he possessed it. With this spiritual fruit, he had a chance to achieve Golden Core formation.

Only after Shi Hanyang collected the fruits did Ye Qin walk toward the spiritual fruit tree, intending to cut off a branch. Just then, a sharp alarm rang in his heart. He glanced alertly toward the entrance of the stone tunnel, lightly tapped his feet, and concealed himself beneath a rock within the cave.

Shi Hanyang was no slower than him. In the blink of an eye, he retreated into a shadow near the cold pond, staring coldly at the tunnel entrance. He sent Ye Qin a mental message to coordinate their movements. Now that the spiritual fruit was in hand, if an enemy appeared, he would not hesitate to strike them down fatally.

There was a slight disturbance outside the cave; someone was entering.