Petrified

Xie Qing King must have broken down a dozen walls, each one a shortcut through what had to be some manner of maze. There were countless branching pathways, each guided by thick walls that were around one meter tall. It was in this wall-breaking way that they proceeded.

Alu-Alu!

Another wall was smashed through. Beyond it, something new greeted their eyes. It was another palace, just smaller in size than the previous one. It did, however, have a pool at its center and a tree in the middle of that.

The tree was strange. It was two meters tall and it only had two leaves to its name.

Between the leaves was a sole grey fruit. It was hefty-looking—around the same size as a football—but it looked slimy and sickly.

"Holy-Jade Fruit." Xie Qing King looked at the fruit with much excitement. He reached out and tried to grab it.

But before he could, the fruit broke. From within its sticky interior, a juice oozed out.