He had previously been worried that he might spend too much time inside the fruit world and risk becoming trapped in the Land of No Old Age, but it seemed now that this concern had been rather unnecessary.
No wonder no one else had come out yet and he had been the first to emerge — time inside the fruit world flowed differently from the outside. He had spent over a month in the previous World Fruit, yet barely a cup of tea's worth of time had passed out here.
He released the Emperor Heaven warrior, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Be careful going down the mountain."
The warrior looked somewhat shaken, not daring to linger any longer. He offered a word of thanks and headed down the mountain once more.
Yang Kai raised his head to gaze at the tree laden with fruit, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Suddenly, his figure blurred as he lunged toward a fruit and reached out to grab it.
But unlike last time, he did not plunge directly into the World Fruit. Instead, an unimaginable repulsive force surged outward from within it. No matter how hard he tried, he could not close his hand, let alone make contact with the fruit. When he pushed harder still, the World Fruit actually flung him backward.
Pu Baixiong scratched his head with one of his root tendrils upon seeing this and said, "Master, didn't that chubby little fellow say before that each person only gets one chance with the World Fruits? You've already obtained one, so how could you possibly go in again?"
"There's no loss in trying!" Yang Kai said, somewhat displeased. True, he had obtained a single World Fruit — a modest gain — but it had been a low-grade one, capable of advancing a warrior only to Third-Grade Open Heaven. Such a fruit was not particularly valuable, and he was far from satisfied.
Unfortunately, this little experiment confirmed exactly what Xu Zhen had said: each person only got one chance. Now, he could not even touch the World Fruits, let alone enter them.
He tried several more times, each attempt ending in failure. Unwilling to give up, Yang Kai circled around the World Tree.
With so many fruits hanging from its branches and only a single one claimed, how could he possibly resign himself? Setting aside the extraordinarily rare high-grade World Fruit, even a medium-grade one would make this entire trip worthwhile.
After a moment, Yang Kai suddenly seemed to think of something. His eyes lit up and he came to a halt, staring upward with a burning gaze.
Pu Baixiong said helplessly, "Master, what are you plotting now?"
Yang Kai ignored him. Instead, he stored both Pu Baixiong and Little Mushroom inside the Small World, then withdrew his consciousness into it to commune with Meng Hong and the others for a time.
Shortly after, with a flicker of thought, two figures materialized before him — Meng Hong and Lang Qingshan.
Both men raised their heads to gaze upward, their eyes filled with fascination.
After a moment, Meng Hong said, "So this is the Three Thousand World Tree? Those fruits can advance an Open Heaven cultivator straight to First Grade?" Although he hailed from the Greater Moon Province, it was not a major power, and he had never heard of something like the Three Thousand World Tree before. A treasure capable of propelling an Open Heaven cultivator directly to First Grade — what kind of heaven-defying wonder was this?
Yang Kai nodded. "That's right. This is the Three Thousand World Tree, and those are World Fruits. But the worlds within the fruits are extremely dangerous. If you become trapped inside, you may never escape. Brother Meng, please think carefully."
Meng Hong shook his head. "With such an opportunity laid before me, if I'm not willing to risk my life, then what's the point of Cultivation? I might as well stay home threading needles and embroidering flowers."
His eyes blazed with eagerness.
Ever since entering the Grand Void Realm, his journey had been remarkably smooth. He had first encountered Yang Kai and followed him to the Scarlet Star Market. Though his romantic pursuits had met with setbacks, he had also experienced growth through loss — breaking down and rebuilding himself, condensing Fifth-Grade Fire Element. Over the years, he had since condensed Earth, Metal, and Water elements as well. The only remaining materials he needed for Wood Element and Yin-Yang attributes had all been collected, and with time to refine them, he stood a real chance of advancing to Fifth-Grade Open Heaven.
But he knew full well that all of this had been made possible under Yang Kai's protection. The Fifth-Grade Fire Element had been a gift from Yang Kai, and the other materials had all been gathered at the Scarlet Star Market. Without Yang Kai as his backer, he could never have achieved so much.
Such a debt of gratitude was etched into his heart — yet it weighed upon him like a mountain, and he had long been pondering how he might repay it.
And now, those fruits hanging from the Three Thousand World Tree represented his chance.
Yang Kai, unaware of what was running through his mind, saw that his words had not swayed Meng Hong and said no more, offering only a final reminder to exercise extreme caution.
Meng Hong smiled. "Rest assured, Brother Yang. I will return safely." With that, his figure blurred as he shot toward one of the World Fruits and plunged straight into it, vanishing without a trace.
Beside him, Lang Qingshan watched with his mouth agape. Although Yang Kai had explained the miraculous properties of the World Fruits, hearing about them was one thing — witnessing it with his own eyes was something else entirely.
"My lord, how should I proceed?" Lang Qingshan asked.
"Go inside. And take me with you while you're at it," Yang Kai said with a grin.
Lang Qingshan was initially confused, but then understanding dawned.
Yang Kai tossed him the Universe Bead and said solemnly, "I don't know whether I'll be able to enter on my own. If I can't, you'll need to call everyone else out. With our combined efforts, we can unravel the mysteries of that fruit world together."
"Yes, sir!" Lang Qingshan accepted the Universe Bead with a grave salute. He glanced at the fruit-laden tree beside them and asked, "My lord, which fruit should I choose?"
"Whichever one catches your fancy — it depends on your luck." As he spoke, Yang Kai's figure shimmered as he slipped back into the Small World. From there, he projected his consciousness outward to observe what was happening, silently praying all the while.
He had already tested it — under his own power, he could not approach the World Fruits anymore, let alone enter the world within. But inside the Small World, there were still several dozen people hidden away.
Did those people count as having entered a World Fruit? Previously, Yang Kai had not been certain, but having watched Meng Hong enter the fruit world without any trouble, he was now sure that those hidden inside the Small World did not count as having used their chance.
Which meant he could simply hide inside the Small World and have someone carry him in.