Chapter 67: Bountiful Rewards

With the Yellow Spirit Monkeys having fled, the dense forest now posed no significant danger. Lin Xingzhi led the group deeper into the forest.

At the top of a hill, they found a clearing several acres in size, home to six towering fruit trees.

The trees, over ten meters tall, were laden with over a dozen bright red fruits, each larger than a fist. The fruits, known as Jade Spirit Fruits, emitted a strong spiritual energy.

Jade Spirit Fruits, first-tier spiritual fruits, take a century to mature. They can be consumed directly and are valuable aids for Qi Refining cultivators, worth seventy to eighty spirit stones each. These fruits were at the perfect stage for harvesting.

The group gathered around Lin Shiji, who remained unconscious, to cultivate and keep watch over the fruits.

Five days passed quickly. At noon, a sound of coughing broke the silence. Lin Shiji had finally awoken.

After coughing up some congealed blood, Lin Shiji's complexion improved significantly.

The group crowded around, concerned about Lin Shiji's condition.

Upon waking, Lin Shiji's first concern was the status of his clan members and the outcome of their battle with Song Lixin. He placed the safety of his clan above all else, earning deep respect and gratitude from everyone.

With tears in his eyes, Lin Xingzhi recounted the events following Lin Shiji's unconsciousness, reassuring him that everything had been taken care of.

"Xingzhi, you did well. I may not have many days left, but you all are the future of our family. I will report everything that happened and our gains to the elders honestly. The rewards will be substantial, even if they don't match the value of what we found."

Lin Shiji, with a smile of relief, praised his clan members before addressing his own injuries.

"Don't worry about my injuries. They are stable now, and I will recover with some rest. However, I can't fight for a while, so we must be cautious on our way back."

"Also, we must harvest all the fruits and transplant these Jade Spirit Fruit trees back to our family's spiritual herb garden. If they survive, they will bear over a hundred fruits in another century!"

After giving his instructions, Lin Shiji handed Lin Xingzhi a green storage bag, suitable for carrying the trees back to the family.

Lin Xingzhi checked the storage bag with his spiritual sense and smiled, seeing it was large enough to hold the trees, solving their problem.

After organizing everything, Lin Shiji took a Vitality Pill and sat down to recover.

Three days later, a fragrant aroma filled the air, waking everyone from their cultivation.

"The Jade Spirit Fruits are ripe!"

Lin Xingzhi, with a joyful expression, said, "Tianfeng, Tianhong, Tianming, you three go harvest the fruits and dig up the trees, including the surrounding soil. The rest of you keep watch. The aroma might attract some beasts, so we must hurry and leave the mountains as soon as possible."

"Yes," everyone replied in unison and sprang into action.

Lin Tianming and the others each climbed a tree, carefully picking the fruits and placing them in jade boxes.

Within half an hour, Lin Tianming had harvested the fruits from two trees, collecting twelve fruits from the first and eleven from the second.

After harvesting, he took out the Di Sha sword and began digging around the trees.

After digging three meters deep, he used his thousand-pound strength to uproot the trees with their surrounding soil.

As Lin Tianming and the others were putting the six trees into the storage bags, a few first-tier beasts, drawn by the fragrance, approached but were quickly dealt with by Lin Xingzhi.

Once the trees were secured, Lin Tianming and his group returned to Lin Shiji.

Seeing them approach, Lin Shiji asked, "Tianming, did you succeed?"

"Yes, we did! We harvested eighty-three Jade Spirit Fruits and successfully uprooted the six trees. We just need to transplant them to the family's herb garden."

After reporting their success, Lin Tianming and the others handed over the storage bags to Lin Shiji.

Lin Shiji checked the bags, smiled, and called everyone together.

After a brief discussion, they decided to leave immediately, moving swiftly through the dense forest.

By noon, they had exited the forest and reached a vast plain, leaving the dangers of the Luo Yun Mountain Range behind and entering human-controlled territory.

Feeling the safety of the plain, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"We finally made it out!"

Smiles of relief spread across their faces. The journey had yielded far more than they had expected, and now they could return home.

Lin Tianming released the Purple Gold Eagle from its beast bag, fed it a Beast Vitality Pill, and they all climbed on for the journey back to Qingzhu Mountain.

By noon the next day, they arrived near Qingzhu Mountain. After a day's travel, Lin Tianming and his group finally returned home.

Entering the protective array, they were greeted by many curious clan members, eager to learn about their harvest.

However, as Lin Shiji had instructed, no one revealed any details of their journey or their gains.

After dispersing, everyone returned home, awaiting the family's rewards.

Lin Shiji, not lingering, flew to the peak of Qingzhu Mountain to report to the elders.

In a courtyard at the peak, seven senior clan members had gathered, alerted by Lin Shiji's message.

"I wonder how much they've gained with Fifth Brother leading them."

Hearing Lin Shixin's words, Lin Shilu replied with a smile, "It must be considerable for him to call us all together."

"Indeed," agreed the others, discussing recent events over tea.

Half an hour later, Lin Shiji arrived at the courtyard.

Seeing him, the elders rose to greet him.

Sensing his weakened state, they quickly inquired about his condition.

"Fifth Brother, are you injured?"

"My injuries are not serious. I just need some rest. There's no need to worry," Lin Shiji reassured them, before recounting the entire journey and their gains.

When he described the ambush and the intense final battle, everyone held their breath.