Chapter 47: Gaining a Treasure, the Three-Hundred-Year-Old Fire Lingzhi?

 "Later, when it tried to escape, I chased it for seven days and nights, exhausting it completely…"

"I forced it into that valley, and it could no longer escape."

Listening quietly to Xu Taiping's account, Ling Yue's expression remained calm, but the shock in her heart was no less than when she had witnessed her master single-handedly slay a dragon.

"Such willpower surpasses ordinary people's endurance, and it's comparable to the patience of a demon hunter. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed this is the same boy who's barely eleven years old."

In Ling Yue's original plan, after Xu Taiping had mastered the Ice Breath technique she taught him, he would have been able to face the tiger demon in battle. With the help of the protective barrier around the Qing Bamboo Residence, he would be safe for a while, allowing her to wake up and assist in slaying the demon.

She never expected that Xu Taiping would be able to single-handedly defeat the tiger demon.

Though a portion of the credit was due to her disciples, it was important to note that this demon was not just an ordinary demon lord. It was a tiger demon with the bloodline of the ferocious Shuo Feng Tiger and possessed the Shuo Feng Demon Pearl.

While she was astonished, Ling Yue's gaze slowly shifted to the various injuries on Xu Taiping's body.

Although Xu Taiping was at the Open Gate realm, meaning his recovery abilities were far superior to an ordinary person's, the various wounds, still covered with scabs, were truly unsettling to look at.

For some reason, Ling Yue felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

"Little Taiping, was it hard?"

She gently touched the wound on Xu Taiping's face and asked with a hint of emotion.

"No, not at all."

Xu Taiping shook his head resolutely.

"Good, you did well. Better than I expected. I didn't make a mistake in trusting you."

Ling Yue nodded firmly.

Just as Xu Taiping had a heart as solid as rock in cultivation, Ling Yue had also made up her mind to team up with this young boy and return to the cultivation world.

"Sister, look, this is the Shuo Feng Pearl."

Xu Taiping happily handed the demon pearl to Ling Yue.

Although he hadn't yet checked the other treasures the tiger demon had in its mouth, he was certain that this Shuo Feng Pearl was his greatest prize from slaying the tiger.

"This Shuo Feng Pearl…" Ling Yue hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth. "It's actually a demon pearl condensed from the Shuo Feng Tiger, a ferocious beast. Its demonic aura is too strong, so it's not suitable for human cultivators. Keeping it close for extended periods will only cause harm."

"I see..."

Xu Taiping felt a slight disappointment upon hearing this.

"But don't be too disappointed. For now, it is indeed useless, but if you use it as nourishment for the Earth Fruit, it may be able to cultivate a good weapon."

Ling Yue smiled and reassured Xu Taiping.

"The Shuo Feng Pearl can be used as nourishment for the Earth Fruit?"

Xu Taiping asked, surprised.

"The Earth Fruit has twelve transformations. Every time it is seeded, it undergoes a transformation. After the second transformation, it can absorb the demonic power from beasts and demon pearls to cultivate fruit."

Ling Yue nodded.

"Seeding… That's right!"

Upon hearing about the seeding process, Xu Taiping suddenly remembered something. He turned quickly and walked over to the tiger's head, lifting it up and spilling out a pile of merit coins and gold and silver treasures.

"This tiger demon had at least three thousand merit coins on it. This should be enough for us to buy a True Fire Talisman."

Xu Taiping picked up a handful of merit coins from the ground, his face filled with excitement as he looked at Ling Yue.

Among the treasures in the tiger demon's mouth, there was mostly gold and silver, but not much in the way of merit coins. In addition, Xu Taiping had also found manuals on cultivation techniques and magical artifacts.

"Yes, with the True Fire Talisman, we can seed the Earth Fruit and make it undergo its second transformation."

Ling Yue's eyes also glimmered with hope.

There was something Ling Yue hadn't told Xu Taiping, though: after the second transformation of the Earth Fruit, she would be able to use its power to further enhance her soul and cast magical abilities using someone else's body.

At that point, if she encountered a demon like the tiger again, she would easily crush it.

She hadn't shared this with Xu Taiping because she worried that he would become overly reliant on her, which could negatively impact his future cultivation.

"Taiping, come, before we exchange for the True Fire Talisman, let's first go through the treasures the tiger demon had. Maybe we can find something useful for your cultivation."

Ling Yue's soul projection floated over to the pile of treasures, her face filled with excitement as she gestured toward them.

Late at night.

"Six hundred taels of gold, one thousand three hundred taels of silver, two thousand three hundred merit coins, three transmission jade slips, six magical artifacts, eight talismans, a set of armor made from the Fire Rhinoceros Beast's hide, and two other demon pearls aside from the Shuo Feng Pearl."

After organizing everything the tiger demon had in its mouth, Ling Yue took a quick glance and her eyes betrayed a slight disappointment.

To her, the most valuable items here were the few demon pills.

"And a map marking the location of a three-hundred-year-old Fire Lingzhi."

Xu Taiping handed Ling Yue a beast hide map.

Unlike Ling Yue, who had seen many things in her time as a cultivator, Xu Taiping had never seen so much gold and silver before, let alone a dozen or so items worth over a thousand merit coins each, such as magical artifacts and talismans.

"This Fire Lingzhi was likely something the tiger demon left behind for its own breakthrough."

Ling Yue took the beast hide map and glanced at it.

The map was very simple, with just a few rough outlines of terrain and the general location of the three-hundred-year-old Fire Lingzhi. It was likely drawn by the tiger demon itself.

"This location seems to be the same valley where I chased it down. Could it be that it was heading there to retrieve this Fire Lingzhi?"

Xu Taiping couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

Had he not chased the tiger demon, or if he had arrived just a little later, and the demon had obtained the Fire Lingzhi, the outcome could have been very different.

"Will this Fire Lingzhi be useful for me?"

Xu Taiping asked, his large eyes full of curiosity.

"It's too potent for you; taking it would do more harm than good," Ling Yue said, shaking her head.

"But..."

Ling Yue paused for a moment, as if debating whether or not to share more.

"But what?"

Xu Taiping pressed her, eager to know more.

"But it can also be used as nourishment for the Earth Fruit. If we're lucky, it might help cultivate a treasure that could enhance your cultivation speed."

Seeing the curiosity in Xu Taiping's eyes, Ling Yue finally decided to tell him the truth.

"But the problem is, Fire Lingzhi older than three hundred years is usually guarded by a Fire Python. If you don't know how to avoid the Fire Python when harvesting it, it's very dangerous."

Before Xu Taiping could get too excited, Ling Yue quickly added a warning.