Eat First, Talk Later

The God's Wrath Land was always shrouded in a dusky night, as if something mysterious separated heaven and earth.

After an afternoon of exploration, by the time Shi Feiyu had successfully unlocked the seal on the book, it was already evening. He hurriedly had a small meal and then headed straight down the mountain.

"Senior Chang, I heard the reward for this competition is a Revival Pill, and you can also choose martial arts from the Scripture Pavilion. It's really something to envy!"

To the left of Flowing Cloud Peak lay a dense forest, which connected with several other mountain peaks, often visited by disciples of Nine Palace Mountain.

Just as Shi Feiyu entered the forest, he heard voices ahead. He paused, and as he listened, he discovered a young man and woman approaching.

The young man appeared to be of a similar age to Shi Feiyu, while the girl was slightly younger, around fourteen or fifteen. Yet from their intimate interactions, they seemed close.

The pair seemed oblivious to Shi Feiyu, who was standing nearby, and the young man had his arm around the girl's waist, saying, "Junior Sister Lan, don't worry. As long as we find that herb this time, I'll definitely break through to the Bone Forging Realm. When that happens..."

As they walked by, they still hadn't noticed Shi Feiyu standing under the tree.

Once they were gone, Shi Feiyu emerged from the shadow of the trees and fixed his gaze on their receding figures, muttering to himself, "Revival Pill? It's a second-tier pill!"

Seemingly reminded of his own inability to absorb Source Qi, Shi Feiyu let out a sigh. Nine Palace Mountain's eight peripheral peaks held a competition every five years to select disciples with good potential to cultivate on the main peak.

Although the Revival Pill was a second-tier pill, it had the incredible ability to accelerate Source Qi absorption for those who consumed it.

Unconcerned, Shi Feiyu didn't dwell on the matter. Once the pair had gone further, he turned and headed deep into the forest.

The location of this forest lay between two mountain peaks of Nine Palace Mountain and had been searched countless times by disciples. Finding spiritual herbs here was more challenging than reaching the heavens.

Shi Feiyu was aware of this fact, but there was a specific area in the forest where few ventured. And that was his current destination.

Half an hour later, he suddenly came to a stop and gazed at a valley in front of him. A smirk crept across his lips.

First, he gathered some dry branches nearby and fashioned them into a torch. Then, carrying the torch with him, he proceeded into the valley.

The valley wasn't deep, with cliffs covered in withered vines on either side. Upon entering the valley, Shi Feiyu promptly planted the torch in the ground, looked up, and began to chuckle with amusement.

His laughter echoed through the night sky, sounding eerily loud. Shortly after, the valley reverberated with a series of sharp cries, followed by a brightly furred spiritual monkey leaping down from the vines on the left cliff.

Seeing the spiritual monkey's appearance, Shi Feiyu's wicked smile grew. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the monkey.

The classification of mythical beasts in God's Wrath Land was stringent, ranging from the first to the ninth rank, with even more powerful beings beyond the ninth rank.

Although this spiritual monkey was a first-rank mythical beast, it was not one to be trifled with. It snarled a few times and then leaped down from the cliff, picking up a stone to throw back at him.

Shi Feiyu didn't evade this time and continued to pelt it with stones to further provoke it.

Despite its intelligence, as it was, in the end, just a monkey, after a few direct hits, it lost patience and suddenly charged at Shi Feiyu. Realizing he had tricked it, Shi Feiyu immediately turned and ran. His speed was so astonishing that even disciples at the Qi-Infused Realm's initial stage would be amazed by it.

In the blink of an eye, he had appeared several meters away, showing just how swift he was. However, the spiritual monkey wasn't about to back down. Mid-leap, it grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it, striking Shi Feiyu on the back of his head.

Shi Feiyu stumbled but didn't stop running. Within a few breaths, he had exited the valley.

However, just as he secretly rejoiced, the spiritual monkey suddenly stopped at the entrance to the valley. It bared its teeth and screeched, refusing to chase him any further.

Seeing this, Shi Feiyu had a wicked idea. He reached out and broke off a tree branch from the side, which he vigorously wiggled behind his back. Then, he grinned, and with a swift motion, he snapped it in half.

The spiritual monkey, upon witnessing this, became furious. This open humiliation caused it to lose its composure once more, and it screeched angrily, charging towards Shi Feiyu.

Unexpectedly, Shi Feiyu used this opportunity to escape into the dense forest, avoiding a direct confrontation. This further infuriated the spiritual monkey, and it leaped onto a nearby tree, using the branches to quickly swing forward.

With both the man and the monkey dashing through the forest, half an incense stick's worth of time later, Shi Feiyu suddenly halted. Before the monkey could react, he swiftly turned around and dashed towards the valley.

His speed this time was utterly astonishing. His figure, accompanied by a whistling wind, quickly vanished into the night.

The spiritual monkey, still standing on the treetop, only realized the situation when Shi Feiyu disappeared before its eyes. Its eyes widened with alarm, and it screeched in panic before hurrying back.

However, when it returned to the entrance of the valley where it lived, it found the path blocked by a row of torches. Even a first-rank mythical beast was instinctively afraid of fire.

Seeing the torches lining the narrow entrance to the valley, the spiritual monkey became furious and jumped around the nearby trees, screeching repeatedly.

At this moment, Shi Feiyu had already reached deep within the valley. Before him, there was a cave, from which emanated the aroma of fruits, creating a refreshing atmosphere.

This cave was his ultimate goal. Several months ago, he had discovered that it concealed a rare herb known as the Heavenly Fragrance Fruit.

However, the spiritual monkey residing in the valley valued this fruit more than its life. Every time Shi Feiyu tried to enter, the monkey drove him out, even taking risks to protect its precious fruit.

If it weren't for the purpose of stimulating the Divine Soul, he would never completely fall out with it. After all, in the Nine Palace Mountain, this spiritual monkey was quite popular, and many disciples were very fond of it. Some girls even frequently brought fruits to feed it.

The fruity fragrance wafting from the cave entrance brought Shi Feiyu's thoughts back. He swiftly entered the cave. Inside, he found a withered tree over two meters tall.

However, on one of the branches of this withered tree hung two purple round fruits--the very things he was looking for.

Heavenly Fragrance Fruits, a unique type of spiritual medicine used to stimulate the soul. It bloomed every ten years and bore fruit every ten years. To mature, however, one must patiently wait.

These fruits were extraordinary; once they matured, they could ripen at any time. If left unpicked, they would fall, and the medicinal properties they contained would dissipate.

"Well, whatever. I'll eat them first and then think later!

Standing in front of the tree, he raised the torch high and examined the fruit carefully. He confirmed that these two fruits were not yet ripe. However, after all the effort he had put into luring the spiritual monkey, he couldn't bear to just leave them behind.

He gritted his teeth, then picked both fruits and took a bite out of one of them. The Heavenly Fragrance Fruit was originally about the size of a fist, and it couldn't withstand his consumption.

After several bites, Shi Feiyu had eaten the whole fruit. But as he was about to devour the second fruit, a sudden surge of heat coursed through his abdomen.

The burning sensation quickly spread throughout his body, making his face turn crimson and his eyes bloodshot.

"Oh no, it seems to be poisonous!"

Feeling the unbearable heat in his body, Shi Feiyu sighed in frustration. In the past, he could have suppressed the toxins in his body with his formidable cultivation. But now that his cultivation had been lost, he could only endure it and wait for the poison to dissipate on its own.

However, it didn't take long for a faint noise to come from the entrance of the cave. Panicking, Shi Feiyu quickly extinguished the torch and hid in the shadows.

The sound grew nearer, and while he was mentally calculating how to evade the spiritual monkey's sharp claws, a graceful figure entered the cave.

Inside the cave, it was pitch black, and he couldn't see beyond arm's reach. However, he could make out her graceful figure in the moonlight at the cave's entrance, even though he couldn't discern her face.

The girl took a few steps forward, hesitated for a moment, and then lit a match from her pocket to illuminate the cave. The moment the light penetrated the cave, Shi Feiyu, like a fierce beast, lunged at her and pinned her to the ground.

The girl let out a startled cry at first. After realizing who it was, she displayed a look of surprise in her eyes and said, "Feiyu?"

However, Shi Feiyu, with his hand outstretched, suddenly paused...