The slow rise of a blazing red sun stunned every warrior currently braving the third layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Ground.
On a stretch of rolling hills, five or six Saint King realm warriors clad in golden robes stood behind Qu Changfeng, their eyes wide with shock as they stared toward where the red sun had appeared. After their initial astonishment faded, they began whispering among themselves, trying to figure out what could have caused such a phenomenon. But Qu Changfeng's expression was dark as storm clouds. He had indeed seen plenty of rare treasures during this trip to the Flowing Flame Sand Ground, yet it seemed he hadn't gained any real benefits — especially the Soul-Washing Divine Water incident, which had become a wound in his heart. Now that heaven and earth were producing such an anomaly, his attention was immediately captured.
After a moment's contemplation, he waved his hand and growled, "Let's go take a look!"
He then led his fellow sect members and rushed at full speed toward the location where the red sun had risen.
On another stretch of plain, four warriors with pure and powerful Saint Yuan were gathered. Lightning arcs, visible to the naked eye, flickered across their bodies, and the artifacts they wielded shot out bolts of lightning of extraordinary might.
When the red sun appeared, they had just finished routing a group of Fire Spirit Beasts that had come to harass them. One of them collected the fire crystal stones scattered on the ground, and the group gradually gathered around a steady-looking young man dressed in simple clothes.
"Senior Brother Fang, what is that?" someone asked.
The plainly dressed young man slowly shook his head and said evenly, "We'll know once we go look. An anomaly like this appearing in the Flowing Flame Sand Ground most likely means a great treasure has emerged."
As he spoke, he clasped his hands behind his back and strode directly toward where the red sun had risen. His pace seemed unhurried, yet lightning flickered beneath his feet, and his body drifted forward like a phantom — covering dozens of zhang in the blink of an eye.
On an isolated rock formation, a cold-faced man had been meditating and regulating his breath. He too turned to gaze at the red sun, and after a moment's thought, immediately rose to his feet.
Meanwhile, at the deepest reaches of the third layer's heat flame zone, a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties was struggling to withstand the scorching waves and fire poison. From the looks of it, he had been trying to push deeper — but when the red sun appeared, he glanced back, and his face lit up with shock and wild joy. He muttered, "It's actually this thing ripening… Hahaha!"
With that, he immediately turned and rushed desperately toward the red sun, as though fearing that if he arrived too late, someone else would claim the prize.
Similar scenes played out across the third layer in countless locations. The elite disciples of every major faction who had entered the third layer were now all converging toward the red sun. Everyone was guessing what had caused such an anomaly — and whether it heralded the emergence of a great treasure.
But before they could reach the sun's location, a gust of blazing red wind swept toward them with terrifying force, carrying within it an incredibly intense heat that made every warrior's expression change drastically as they circulated their Saint Yuan to defend themselves.
To everyone's surprise, this fearsome gale passed through without causing anyone any harm. Instead, it carried throughout the entire third layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Ground a wondrous fragrance.
It was the scent of fruit — and a single whiff was enough to make one's spirit surge with vitality. It even seemed to contain some strange, indefinable power that filled one with the urge to stop and immerse oneself in its contemplation.
But no one stopped to meditate. If merely smelling the fragrance produced such an effect, what kind of earth-shaking fortune would the unknown treasure itself bring?
As the fruit's fragrance spread, everyone's expressions grew even more excited, and they quickened their pace.
Beside the dried-up, vanished lava lake,
Only now could he be certain that the vision of the rising sun was not caused by some secret treasure or the emergence of a great artifact — it was the ripening of a Spirit Fruit.
The pervasive fruit fragrance in the air was the best proof.
A name burst into his mind — the name of a Spirit Fruit that had nearly vanished from existence. Almost simultaneously with
Yet
"Red Candle Fruit?"
"A superior-grade Void King Spirit Fruit!"
Everyone besides
It wasn't that the Dark Star lacked Void King grade spirit herbs and medicines, but such things were exceedingly rare — perhaps only one or two specimens would appear every decade or even every few decades. And even then, nine out of ten would be inferior-grade, with mid-grade specimens being as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
Yet now, here in the third layer of the Flowing Flame Sand Ground, a superior-grade Void King Spirit Fruit had actually appeared.