Chapter 121: The Ginseng Fruit Core

"The Ginseng Fruit Tree?!"

The two of them shouted in unison. Even Cheng Xinzhan, who was usually composed, could not remain calm at the mention of these four words.

Who did not know? Who had not heard? The Ginseng Fruit Tree was a legendary treasure, a divine tree nurtured since the very beginning of the Primordial Era. Its master was none other than the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, known as the Ancestor of Earth Immortals!

And according to legend, the Ginseng Fruit could extend one's lifespan!

Shiyiniang looked at the white mouse and asked, "You know the whereabouts of the Ginseng Fruit Tree? You must understand, the Ginseng Fruit Tree is not just some Ginseng Grass that grew into a tree!"

The white mouse was exasperated. "Of course I know that!"

"But legend says the divine tree was taken beyond the heavens by the Great Immortal Zhenyuan," Shiyiniang questioned.

"Who said I knew the whereabouts of the divine tree?" the white mouse replied.

"Then are you just toying with us?!" Shiyiniang picked up the white mouse and shook it vigorously.

Terrified, the white mouse stopped speaking in riddles and cried out, "What I want to talk about is not the Ginseng Fruit Tree, but a pit of a Ginseng Fruit!"

Shiyiniang and Cheng Xinzhan exchanged a look. A pit of a Ginseng Fruit—that too was an extraordinary divine object!

Shiyiniang put the white mouse down. "Speak carefully, where did this pit come from? Legend has it that the Great Immortal Zhenyuan’s rules are even stricter than those of the Queen Mother of the West. Even for the immortal fruits he gives away, he sends his attendants to retrieve the pits afterward. Furthermore, the legends say this treasure blossoms every three thousand years, bears fruit every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. After waiting ten thousand years, only thirty fruits are produced, and every single one is recorded. How could there be a lost pit?"

The white mouse rolled its eyes. "How would this old fellow know where the pit came from? I just saw it. Now, do you think this secret is enough to trade for my life?"

Shiyiniang nodded. "Naturally, it is. But how do you know what you saw was a Ginseng Fruit pit?"

The white mouse held its head high and replied, "In this world, the Ginseng Fruit Tree came first, then the Ginseng Grass. The ancestor of the Ginseng Grass was just ordinary grass that touched the roots of the Ginseng Fruit Tree and was imbued with immortal energy, thus being transformed. I have seen my own ancestor; how could I not recognize that aura? Besides, I have tracked that pit. It travels through the earth's meridians, inhaling and exhaling the vast essence of the earth, spontaneously forming Five-Element restrictions. I couldn't get close to it at all. Aside from a Ginseng Fruit pit, what other pit has such power?"

"Where is the pit now? Speak quickly and clearly!" Shiyiniang urged.

However, the white mouse ignored her.

"With the Three Pure Ones as my witness, I, Cheng Xinzhan, disciple of Sanqing Mountain, hereby swear: as long as the Wood Spirit leads me to find the Ginseng Fruit pit, I shall immediately set the Wood Spirit free, without imprisonment or pursuit. Should I break this oath, may my path to immortality be severed." Cheng Xinzhan held up three fingers on his left hand and swore to the heavens.

"So you are a Daoist from Sanqing Mountain. In that case, I naturally trust you. However, I am truly a coward who fears death, so I ask the Daoist to add one more condition: if this Lady Xiao insists on keeping me, the Daoist must intervene, and neither of you shall seek me out or send others to find me in the future," the white mouse added.

Cheng Xinzhan agreed and took the oath again.

Only then did the white mouse feel at ease, and it spoke slowly. "I first saw the pit two hundred years ago, deep within the mountains of the Miao Territory, in a very deep earth meridian. I was traveling through the ground when I accidentally saw a mass of five-colored mysterious light. Knowing I had stumbled upon a treasure, I moved closer to look.

"Inside that mysterious light was nothing else but a rotten fruit. Its shape was no longer discernible; it had shriveled into a mere skin. The essence of the fruit pulp had been absorbed by the pit. The pit was inhaling and exhaling essence, radiating five-colored light. It is a pity that the fragrance of the rotten fruit was locked within that light; otherwise, if I had just taken a sniff, I could have ascended to immortality," the white mouse recalled.

"A rotten fruit? You mean when you first saw it, it wasn't just the pit, but the pulp as well? Could it have been an intact fruit?" Shiyiniang asked.

Cheng Xinzhan was also puzzled. How could a Ginseng Fruit that had never been consumed fall to the ground? That was a fruit that took ten thousand years to ripen!

"Yes, a whole fruit. I don't know who was so wasteful," the white mouse remarked with a sigh.

"Divine objects have spirits; naturally, it would emit mysterious light to lock in its own fragrance, or else it would have been eaten long ago," Cheng Xinzhan said.

"Exactly," the white mouse nodded and continued, "Upon seeing the divine object, I naturally wanted it, but the pit had spontaneously formed a Five-Element domain, and I couldn't break through at all, so I kept watching from afar while trying to think of a way.

"I watched for fifty years. One day, fifty years later, the pit suddenly moved. It traveled through the earth, avoiding the demons and ghosts underground. Fortunately, it wasn't very fast. I gathered all my strength and followed behind it. After ten hours of rapid travel, the pit drilled into a meridian and stopped again to inhale and exhale essence.

"Do you two want to guess where it was?"

"The Southern Wilderness?" Shiyiniang guessed cooperatively.

"No." The white mouse shook its head.

"Dianwen?" Cheng Xinzhan also guessed.

"No." The white mouse still shook its head.

"I can't guess. Tell us quickly," Shiyiniang lost patience again.

"Hehe, when I came out to look, it was sunny and full of forests—it had arrived at Qiongzhou Island!" the white mouse said, shaking its head.

"So the pit is now on Qiongzhou Island?" Shiyiniang asked.

"No, the pit only stayed on Qiongzhou Island for sixty years before leaving again. This time I won't keep you in suspense; it went to Jingchu. It stayed in Jingchu for forty years, then went to Heluo for fifty years. Six years ago, it went to the land of the White Mountains and Black Waters, stopping at the foot of Changbai Mountain."

"Two months ago, I was out for a stroll when I was caught by your Xiao family's hunting party."

"That means the pit is now at the foot of Changbai Mountain?" Cheng Xinzhan asked.

The white mouse nodded. "The pit only moves every few decades; it shouldn't have left Changbai Mountain yet."

Cheng Xinzhan was puzzled. "What is the pit doing, traveling all over the country like this?"

The white mouse shook its head. "I naturally don't know the truth, but I have my guesses. There should be two reasons. First, it is likely absorbing essence from different earth meridians—the south is hot, the north is cold; it travels across the Divine Land to absorb the essence. Second, I suspect the pit is looking for a place suitable for taking root and sprouting."

Cheng Xinzhan’s heart stirred. If this pit sprouted, it would be an entirely different matter! If it didn't sprout, it might be a supreme treasure for alchemy or artifact refining, but if it sprouted into a tree, it would be an inexhaustible treasure! The fruit from such a tree, not to mention extending life by thousands of years, even if it were just fifty or sixty years, would be a supreme immortal rarity!

He hadn't even seen the shadow of the pit yet, and he was already thinking about eating the fruit. Cheng Xinzhan inwardly mocked himself; his mental cultivation was still lacking.

"Then please, Senior, take us there. Once we see the pit, we will naturally let you leave," Shiyiniang said with a smile.

The white mouse grunted. Now she knew to call it 'Senior'.

However, the white mouse kept its word. Its lifespan was short, and it had long since realized that having not touched the pit in two hundred years, it was simply not destined for it. It would be better to give this opportunity to others in exchange for a chance at reincarnation.

The white mouse led the way, and the two followed. They set off from the Qilu region, heading north, passing through Beiyou, and then heading east. By the time they reached the land of White Mountains and Black Waters, they realized it was already covered in snow.

The magnificent Changbai Mountain range was visible in the distance, like a white dragon lying prone. On Changbai Mountain was the Medicine King Temple, a world-renowned holy site for Daoist medicine.

The white mouse led them to a place two hundred miles west of Changbai Mountain and stopped.

"This is it. You have to tunnel down. It's deep underground. Do either of you know the Earth Escaping Technique?"

Hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan looked at Shiyiniang.

Shiyiniang shook her head. "I don't know the Earth Escaping Technique. Xinzhan, you go ahead; I will wait for you outside."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. "Then let Deng’er stay with you."

Shiyiniang nodded, then took a few items from her storage stone. "Xinzhan, take these. This is the White Jade Exquisite Orb, which can block a strike from a Golden Core cultivator; this is the Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill, a good medicine for poison; this is the Earth-Piercing Cold Frost Needle, and this is the Profound One Heavy Water Bead—all are supreme offensive treasures. Take them all!"

Shiyiniang stuffed the items into Xinzhan's hands.

Xinzhan smiled. "I don't need these things. You, Shiyiniang, are guarding for me outside, so you should keep the treasures safe."

He stuffed the items back into Shiyiniang's arms and said to the white mouse, "Please lead the way."

The white mouse nodded, a flash of light appeared on its body, and it drilled into the ground.

Without waiting for Shiyiniang to decline, Cheng Xinzhan performed a hand seal, his earth-element magic power circulating, and chanted: "Ten Directions Earth God, grant me convenience. Traverse mountains and walk the earth, enter the gloom and penetrate the underworld, escape!"

A bright light flashed over Cheng Xinzhan, and he immediately seeped into the ground and vanished.

Shiyiniang looked around, found a cave not far away, and hid there with Deng’er. Standing in the vast white snow was a bit too conspicuous.

Cheng Xinzhan followed the white mouse downwards. He estimated they had traveled about ten miles before the white mouse gradually slowed down.

"Look, this is the earth meridian," the white mouse said.

Cheng Xinzhan saw it too. Not far away, in the pitch-black underground, there was a glowing ribbon of light flowing slowly. At this moment, Cheng Xinzhan didn't feel like he was underground; rather, it felt like looking up at the starry sky on a summer night, the glowing ribbon looking like the Milky Way.

At this moment, the inner scene gods in his spleen palace responded, spontaneously consuming the essence of the earth's energy from the meridian.

"This earth meridian connects directly to Changbai Mountain. The pit is in this meridian."

The man and the spirit traveled along the meridian for another three or four miles. Before the white mouse could say anything else, Cheng Xinzhan already saw that in the brilliant meridian, there was an even more brilliant mass of light, intertwined with white, cyan, black, red, and yellow—five colors like a rainbow in the night.

Cheng Xinzhan and the Wood Spirit approached slowly.

"This!"

As they got closer, the Wood Spirit suddenly widened its eyes, its short mouse claws pointing straight at the light. "It, it sprouted!"

Cheng Xinzhan had already activated his Dan Pupil, seeing even more clearly than the Wood Spirit.

Inside the five-layered, five-colored light, there was indeed a pit. The pit looked like yellow jade, its surface patterned like a peach pit, full of grooves and tendons. At first glance, it seemed chaotic, but upon closer inspection, those tendons clearly formed a map of the human body's meridians and acupuncture points!

But the truly surprising thing was that the top of the pit had split open, and from that crack, a tiny green sprout had emerged.

What kind of green was it?

It was like the tender green that suddenly colors the black-yellow wilderness after the spring rain; like the sprout on a weeping willow branch stirred by the chilly spring breeze; like the new leaf on a tea tree in the misty mountains; or like the pointed green lotus emerging from the mud in a shallow pond in early summer.

After seeing this touch of green light, Cheng Xinzhan forgot the five-colored light and the brilliant meridian; it was as if this was the only color in the pitch-black underground.

This was the embodiment of vitality.

"It seems this object is indeed not destined for this old fellow. I guarded it for two hundred years, traveling all over the world, and never saw it sprout. I only left for two months, and now I see it sprout. It is a pity I didn't see the moment the green sprout broke through the pit; that must have been the most beautiful sight," the white mouse sighed. Then it looked at Cheng Xinzhan and said, "This object is destined for you, Daoist!"

Cheng Xinzhan smiled. "Oh? Is it because I saw it sprout?"

The white mouse shook its head. "Not only that. You don't know, Daoist, but spiritual objects can avoid misfortune and seek luck. For many years, this spiritual object was never caught underground because it traveled through the meridians, leaving no trace.

"But it is different now. I am a transformed spirit plant and understand some things. In my opinion, it sprouted because it has taken a fancy to this piece of land and intends to take root here. The essence accumulated over many years has been used to sprout and break the pit. It is currently concentrating all its energy on rooting and is unable to escape. It must wait for the sprout to grow leaves and the roots to drill into the soil to absorb the earth's essence before it can escape again.

"So, this is your opportunity, Daoist. If you miss it, it will be gone forever. If the spiritual object is startled, it will certainly escape deeper into the earth, and then it will truly never be found again."

After speaking, the Wood Spirit added, "Daoist, now you know I haven't lied to you."

Cheng Xinzhan came to his senses and bowed to the Wood Spirit. "With your guidance, I have glimpsed such an opportunity; I am truly grateful."

The white mouse laughed. "So, am I a free spirit now?"

Cheng Xinzhan said solemnly, "I would also like to ask you to take an oath."

"What oath?"

"I ask you to swear by the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak. That the events of today are known only to you, me, Shiyiniang, and a dog. You must not let it reach any other ears. If you violate this, you shall never be reincarnated as a human for all eternity."

The Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak was the god who presided over life and death and determined status.

The Wood Spirit laughed. "Good, good, this is easy. With the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak as my witness, I, Bai Yongliang, swear that if I pass the events of today to any other ears, may I be a blade of grass for generations and never attain a human form."

Cheng Xinzhan thanked him.

Afterward, he ignored the white mouse and slowly tunneled toward the pit.

The closer he got, the more he felt the power of the five-colored light. With the pit as the core, the five layers of light—cyan, red, yellow, white, and black—corresponded to the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

Each layer of light was a hundred paces wide.

He stopped in front of the outermost black Water-element domain and extended a thought. But the moment the thought touched the black light, it immediately dissolved.

How formidable!

He wanted to try again, so he slowly extended his hand, but as soon as it touched the black light, he felt as if his flesh and blood were about to dissolve, and he quickly pulled it back.

He looked down and saw that the skin on his fingertips had dissolved and was bleeding.

Seeing this, the white mouse laughed. "I guarded it for two hundred years and tried every method. The furthest I ever got, after consuming countless spiritual materials, was a narrow escape through the water domain to touch the metal domain. But as soon as I touched the metal domain, I almost lost my soul, and it took me decades of quiet cultivation to recover.

"I would like to watch you bring the pit out, Daoist, and maybe I can touch it then. So, I will tell you some things I have discovered over these hundreds of years. The light in this water domain should be transformed from the Yin-Void Water, which is said to dissolve all things. The light in the metal domain should be the Soul-Severing Golden Light, which specifically cuts down a person's seven spirits. As for what lies deeper, I haven't entered, but I have stolen books while tunneling and inquired everywhere, and finally found in an ancient record the connection between the Ginseng Fruit and the five elements:

"Meets water, it dissolves;
Meets metal, it falls;
Meets earth, it enters;
Meets fire, it scorches;
Meets wood, it withers.

"I think these five layers of domains might correspond to the Ginseng Fruit's relation to the five elements."

Cheng Xinzhan heard this, turned, and bowed to the white mouse. After turning back, he looked at the black light and began to ponder deeply.