Mist shrouds the landscape, birds flit about, as sunlight spills down.
The forest below resembles an endless emerald ocean, spanning across the earth. The vast sea of trees seems boundless, with the sound of wind resembling waves. Towering old trees reach high into the sky like colossal giants holding up the heavens, among them stand pines, cypresses, and firs, forming an ancient, mysterious forest.
Beneath the sea of trees, spiritual energy lingers, clusters of shrubs decorate the area, green as jade, lush and vibrant. Occasionally, small fierce beasts reveal themselves, nurtured by the spiritual energy. The flowers and plants on the ground thrive, resembling a floral green carpet.
Underneath the forest, two colossal creatures are slowly advancing. The terrifying aura they emit frightens the surrounding small beasts, causing them to flee in panic.
Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a pair of giant tigers, one large and one small.
One is gigantic with yellow and black fur that shines, its tiger eyes resembling bright stars, exuding extraordinary presence and unmatched majesty, giving off an aura of absolute dominance.
The other is smaller, yet looks extremely majestic, its golden fur glistening in the forest like golden light, radiant and glittering, pure and inviolable!
The two tigers are Jiang Che and Nangong Luo, who are continuing their journey.
After leaving the zoo, they first ran out of the crowded area at the fastest speed to avoid being intercepted by humans, then entered the suburban area that was about to transform into a forest. Using the cover of the woods, they traveled rapidly, choosing routes that were seldom visited by humans, making it difficult to be discovered.
"I'm gone. Old Two must be overjoyed now, right?"
Jiang Che thought to himself amusedly, recalling how he constantly suppressed the guy in the Tiger Garden, which must have been quite stifling.
Now that he's gone, Old Two no longer has to restrain himself; under his fierce intent, he's probably already eyeing the other fierce beasts in the zoo.
Jiang Che isn't worried that Old Two will get into trouble. The guy is ruthless and adaptable; once he senses danger, he'll probably run faster than anyone else.
Besides, being released will only hasten his growth. When Old Two continuously breaks through, Jiang Che will also continuously receive feedback.
Shaking his head at the thought of Old Two always wanting to devour him, Jiang Che even looks forward to their next encounter.
By then, realizing how much stronger he is, Old Two's wicked heart might just shatter!
"Old Two, you better work hard and don't get capsized by a little gutter. Big brother is still waiting for you to devour him!"
While Jiang Che fantasized about Old Two cheering him on from afar, Nangong Luo suddenly stopped.
"There seems to be a spiritual object ahead?"
Nangong Luo sensed an intense concentration of spiritual energy not far away in the forest; all the surrounding spiritual energy was rushing towards that point.
Such phenomena usually only occur when heaven and earth treasures are about to emerge.
Under the revival of spiritual energy, even original plants can mutate and evolve into spiritual medicine and spirit trees.
Now, being at the initial stage of spiritual energy revival, judging by this phenomenon, it is likely that a spiritual medicine or spirit tree is about to emerge.
Nangong Luo quickly dashed over, and the abnormality ahead was also noticed by Jiang Che, who followed directly.
The two tigers moved swiftly, crossing several hills and quickly reaching the slope ahead, discovering a spirit tree!
"Red Essence Fruit?"
Nangong Luo's eyes lit up, recognizing the spirit tree on the first sight.
The Red Essence Fruit Tree is a relatively common spirit plant, and its fruit, the Red Essence Fruit, contains rich spiritual energy, which can nourish and temper the body, accelerating the practice progress, making it very suitable for Nangong Luo at this moment.
On a clearing below the slope, a small tree glowing with light stands, only as thick as an arm. Its entire body has red bark and red leaves, and its two branches hold two fist-sized fruits.
The fruit, a spiritual fruit, emits red and blue spiritual light; one fruit is half blue and half red.
The other fruit is all scarlet, with only a hint of blue at the bottom, on the verge of ripeness. A subtly penetrating fragrance wafts around, attracting the creatures of the mountains and forests.
Evidently, Jiang Che and Nangong Luo were not the only ones lured here; several fierce beasts had already arrived near the spirit tree.
One of them is a black giant dog, over two meters tall at the shoulder, with a fierce appearance and fangs like sharp daggers, baring its teeth menacingly at potential enemies.
Two gigantic snakes over eight meters long, covered in black scales, raise their upper bodies high, swaying and hissing sharply at the giant dog.
Beside the two giant snakes lies a beast that resembles a goat. Its size is comparable to the giant dog, but its body is contorted, limbs limp, and blood trickling from its mouth, clearly strangled to death by the two giant snakes.
As the standoff continued, Jiang Che rushed forward with Nangong Luo!
Roar!
Nangong Luo emitted a long howl that resonated through the mountains, as the king of the forest leaped forth like a golden lightning bolt, charging straight at the giant dog.
A tiger's roar exploded in its ears, causing the giant dog to panic instantly, letting out a cry of fear as it tucked its tail and tried to retreat, but its legs were too weak to move.
Bang!
Nangong Luo, now close enough, struck without mercy, landing a golden paw on the giant dog's head. A crack sounded, and the giant dog was sent flying, rolling to a stop in silence a few meters away.
Following closely, Jiang Che swiftly delivered two palm strikes. The palm imprints tore through the air, instantly killing the two giant snakes, their upper bodies exploding under the force of the attack.
In an instant, blood and flesh flew everywhere, filling the air with a pungent stench.
With the battle over, the Red Essence Fruit ripened just in time. The blue at the bottom shifted to red, the whole fruit glowing vividly, its red radiance dazzling, exuding a strong fragrance.
Roar!
Jiang Che did not touch the Red Essence Fruit, but gently roared at the approaching Nangong Luo, indicating she should consume it.
"Big brother actually wants to give me the spiritual fruit?"
"Is he not eating it? Is he yielding to me?"
Nangong Luo originally worried that the big brother would compete with her for the spiritual fruit, but she did not expect him to offer it to her.
For the first time, Nangong Luo felt cared for, her heart filled with complex emotions.
At the same time, her perspective on Jiang Che underwent another change.
The big brother not only has extraordinary lineage but also takes care of his younger sister, making him quite a good brother.
"Little sister, I'm not as kind as you think!"
Hearing Nangong Luo's thoughts, Jiang Che felt a bit embarrassed and ashamed.
He wasn't nearly as noble as she imagined!
The Red Cloud Fruit, with its enticing fragrance and unseen-before qualities, naturally tempted him to taste it.
It was only after calculating that the benefit wasn't worthwhile that he refrained from devouring the Red Cloud Fruit himself.
After all, if Nangong Luo consumes the spiritual fruit and her strength improves, he would gain tenfold feedback. Were he to consume it, he'd get at most a mere onefold increase—clearly a tenfold disparity.
So Jiang Che ultimately decided to let Nangong Luo eat the spiritual fruit; that was the most profitable choice!