Chapter 356: Chapter 352: Centennial Ice Divine Fruit (7)

"So, only a Demon can enter the Yaoling Mountain Range to save someone." The Vice Dean looked at Tu Xiao’an’s handsome face. "And that is precisely why I need to ask for your help."

A human entering the Yaoling Mountain Range would be swarmed and attacked, but another Demon wouldn’t attract much attention.

"Oh, I see..."

Tu Xiao’an understood what the Vice Dean meant. The helper he was looking for had to be a Demon, and on top of that, had to be trustworthy and kind-hearted.

’It seems like I’m a pretty good fit.’

A wicked thought crossed his mind.

’But this Yaoling Mountain Range sounds interesting. A Demon stronghold, a major hub... To think a place like this still exists in the modern, atheistic world.’

’If it’s full of Demons and Awakened Creatures, wouldn’t it be the perfect place for me to grind and level up?’

"I won’t ask you to help for free. I’ll give you one thousand Spirit Stones as payment."

"A thousand?"

Tu Xiao’an gasped. This old man was certainly generous.

’Aren’t Spirit Stones supposed to be under state control? Every single one is hard to come by. So what’s the deal with your thousand stones?’

Seeing Tu Xiao’an’s strange look, the Vice Dean seemed to understand his thoughts. "This thousand stones is my entire life’s savings from my time as Dean of the Ancient Academy. It’s what I’ve scraped together over many years."

’Heh... As if I’d believe a word you say.’

’At a rate of 100 Evolutionary Energy per Spirit Stone, if I absorbed all one thousand stones, wouldn’t that be 100,000 Evolutionary Energy?’

’And I only need 5,000 Evolutionary Energy to level up right now.’

’My god, this deal might just be worth it.’

With a thousand Spirit Stones, it was clear he would have more than enough to reach Level 30.

"First, tell me the details," Tu Xiao’an said after a moment of thought.

"Sigh..." The Vice Dean heaved a sorrowful sigh, putting on a pained expression before lamenting, "The person I need you to save is none other than my own granddaughter."

’The Yaoling Mountain Range... his granddaughter?’

The answer seemed obvious. "Was your granddaughter kidnapped by Demons?" Tu Xiao’an asked.

"Hmph... I may be old, but I’m not so useless that I’d let my own granddaughter be kidnapped by Demons." The Vice Dean’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. His claim of being old was pure modesty; he could easily live for another one or two hundred years.

Tu Xiao’an just quietly watched the old man posture.

"My granddaughter is one of heaven’s favored children. She has the face of an angel and the heart of a Bodhisattva. She’s innocent and pure, like a blank slate in this world, utterly flawless. She is..."

"A Nine Heavens Fairy descended to the mortal realm, right?" Tu Xiao’an deadpanned. ’What is with this old man? Who asked you to start gushing about your granddaughter?’

’Can’t he be serious for a second? Can’t he just get to the point?’

AHEM...

The Vice Dean cleared his throat. He couldn’t help but start praising his granddaughter the moment he thought of her.

"But fate is a cruel mistress. Heaven bestowed all the world’s beauty upon that girl, showering her with endless affection, only to play a cruel cosmic joke on her."

"That girl was born with a constitution unlike that of ordinary people. She was sickly and plagued by misfortune. By the time she was nine, her condition showed clear signs. It was only then that I realized her constitution was the legendary Taiyin Cold Body, also known as the Yin Body."

The Taiyin Cold Body. The body contains the ultimate yin, where Yin Qi transforms into cold qi. A person with this condition is born only once every few centuries, and most of them die young.

In other words, such a person is fated to live a short life, often not even surviving to adulthood.

"Yin Body?" Tu Xiao’an’s brows furrowed slightly. He didn’t need to ask for details. He could tell from the old man’s expression that anyone with this condition was done for.

The Vice Dean spoke with grief, "This extremely rare constitution causes the cold qi in my granddaughter’s body to grow stronger with each passing year. Her Yin Qi is heavy, and the cold qi flourishes. Under normal circumstances, she would be certain to die by the age of fifteen or sixteen. There are only two ways for her to survive. The first is to have a legendary Rank Four Divine Spirit intervene for ten consecutive years, using their immense power to dispel the cold toxin annually, and even using their own True Essence to help cleanse her marrow and meridians. Only then could her life be saved."

’A Rank Four Divine Spirit? Heh...’

’From what I understand, a Rank Four Divine Spirit is basically a Land Immortal—capable of splitting mountains, parting rivers, flying through the sky, and tunneling through the earth. They’re omnipotent, much like those Ancient Demons Luo Ziyun told me about.’

’Needless to say, the first option is out of the question. There are plenty of Rank Three Creatures in the world today, but Rank Four Divine Spirits are unheard of. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be described as ’legendary’.’

’Maybe a Rank Four Divine Spirit does exist somewhere, but could you even find such a being? And even if you could, would they condescend to help?’

Although this old man was so powerful that Tu Xiao’an’s Insight couldn’t even pull up his stats, the look of grief on his face made it clear he wasn’t Rank Four.

He was unable to dispel the cold toxin and scatter the Yin Qi for his own granddaughter.

It was a tacit understanding that needed no further explanation. The Vice Dean continued, "The second life-saving method is for my granddaughter to consume a very precious Spirit Fruit every year, called the Centennial Ice Divine Fruit."

"Centennial Ice Divine Fruit?"

Just from the name, Tu Xiao’an knew it was one of the so-called Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. It was probably similar to the Snakeberries he had found in Snake Valley.

But its value was clearly far greater than that of the Snakeberries. The name alone spoke of its extraordinary nature.

Back then, the cliff walls of Snake Valley had been covered in Snakeberries. Now, Tu Xiao’an ate them like candy.

He even gave them away on a whim.

But the Centennial Ice Divine Fruit was different. It was in a much higher league.

The tree that bore this fruit looked as if it were carved from ice. It bore fruit only once every ten years, and only a single fruit at that. It was normally green, turning red only when ripe, and it remained ripe for a mere two hours.

After those two hours, the original fruit tree would wither, and the fruit would fall directly to the ground. The moment it touched the soil, its flesh would dissolve, leaving only a single seed behind.

The seed would then take root and sprout anew. After another ten years, it would bear fruit again. If that fruit wasn’t eaten, it would fall, its flesh dissolving to allow the seed to sprout once more. And so it would continue, every ten years...

Generation after generation, after a full century, the fruit that finally grew was worthy of being called the ’Centennial Ice Divine Fruit.’ When a Centennial Ice Divine Fruit ripened, it glowed with a deep blue radiance and produced ten fruits at once.

Each and every fruit was a priceless treasure.

This Spirit Fruit was perfectly suited for Alchemy, though it could also be eaten directly. Consuming a single Centennial Ice Divine Fruit could cause one’s body to be completely reborn. Take, for example, an ordinary person whose body was completely incapable of awakening.

A single Ice Divine Fruit could let you soar to the heavens. It would not only cause you to awaken instantly but would also improve your constitution, turning you into a genius.

If an elderly person were to eat one, their body would be reborn, their youth restored, and their life extended by ten years.

Ten years! What an incredible concept. It’s said that no amount of money can buy more time, but a single Ice Divine Fruit could give you back a piece of your youth.

The ability to extend one’s life alone was enough to demonstrate the fruit’s immense value. If it were brought to the Human World, people would fight over it even if it cost billions.

For ten more years of life, many would willingly bankrupt themselves without a second thought.