The Violet Mystic Life Tree was truly magical and Lin Mu could feel the dense energy that was contained within it.
Every leaf, every twig, every branch was filled with vitality and even the air around it was getting infused with it.
"No wonder they say merely staying within its periphery can heal mortals and improve one's health." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
Just a few breaths alone were enough to invigorate Lin Mu, making him feel like his exhaustion was fading away.
"Let's search for the fruit then… there should be at least one." Lin Mu muttered.
"Considering the age of the tree, there should be at least four or five of them." Xukong informed.
"Oh? Where can I find them senior?" Lin Mu asked. "My immortal sense is not useful here, due to the energy of the tree." He was unable to use Immortal sense as it would get deflected by the energy that was being emitted by the tree.
"The fruits are usually quite spread around if there is more than one." Xukong answered. "If you find one fruit, the others should be distant from it."
"Alright senior." Lin Mu flew through the branches of the Violet Mystic Life Tree.
The dense branches and leaves made it hard to search for the fruit. Not to mention, from what Lin Mu had learned, the fruit was also of the same color. It would be very easy to miss one, especially since he couldn't use his Immortal Sense either.
And while Lin Mu continued his search for the fruit, the bombardment on the barrier was ongoing. The people of the Grand Sky Pavilion were relentless and didn't seem like they would give up easily.
The formation masters were also workings on it diligently and were getting results too. It wouldn't be long before they would be able to either gain a passage into the barrier, or directly disable it.
Lin Mu frantically searched for five minutes before he finally sensed something.
"Hang on…" Lin Mu could feel his body responding to something. "Such intense response… it should only be due to dense vitality." He muttered.
Lin Mu followed his body's response and quickly reached a small bunch of branches. They were located at the base of the tree's crown and were filled with leaves, almost making it look like a violet clouds.
The feeling that Lin Mu was getting was from these leaves.
"Is it here…" Lin Mu parted the branches and leaves, allowing him to see its insides.
And in there, he finally saw the fruit. It was about the size of an orange and was violet in color just like the leaves. Its skin was smooth and fine patterns could be seen on it. Upon examining closely one would realize that these patterns were actually runes!
"This… isn't this Dao Script!?" Lin Mu was surprised.
"It is indeed." Xukong confirmed.
"So it really is like that… Dao Script come's from the very Dao itself. Natural treasures can form these runes automatically…" This was the first time that Lin Mu was encountering something that had Dao Script on it.
While he had read about it and also heard from Senior Xukong about it, seeing it with his own two eyes was a unique experience.
'What are these runes though?' Lin Mu tried to read the runes on the fruit.
But after a few seconds, he realized he was unable to recognize them at all.
"You won't be able to read it right now. You haven't comprehended it after all." Xukong reminded. "Keep it with you for later. You can study it." He suggested.
"Yes, that'll be good." Lin Mu wouldn't give up an opportunity to learn more about Dao Script.
While he had learned a lot from Xukong, there were still runes that could not be taught by others, only understood on their own. The runes on the Fruit of the Violet Mystic Life Tree were an example of that.
'I need to ensure the Fruit is not damaged…' Lin Mu first took out a special storage box that was used for Immortal Fruits and herbs.
It was made out of Lacquered Wood that was then protected with preserving formations. Even its insides were cushioned and padded to ensure that the delicate fruits and herbs would not be damaged by the hard surface.
Lin Mu held the open box with one hand, and then used his other hand to gently pinch the twig that was attached to the fruit.
~Snap~
The twig broke off smoothly and Lin Mu immediately put the fruit in the box before closing it.
~huu~
Lin Mu took a breath of relief seeing the Fruit safely stored away.
"That's one fruit down," Lin Mu said before looking around for others.
~rustle~
But what he didn't notice was that the tree had started to move faintly. This had happened just as he had plucked the fruit and was barely noticeable over the explosions that were happening in the distance.
The explosions had gotten stronger and were now affecting the area within the barrier too. It was a sign that the barrier wouldn't last long.
Lin Mu saw this too and knew that he needed to be faster.
'I'll try using the same method as before. My body seems to be able to sense the energy of the fruits.' Lin Mu closed his eyes and relied on his instincts to find the fruit.
After a couple of minutes of wandering, he finally felt a slight response. He changed his direction to go there and felt the response getting stronger. And a minute later, the response got strong enough for Lin Mu to confirm that there was a fruit there.
"Here it is!" Lin Mu finally found the second fruit.
Just like before, the fruit was nestled between hundreds of leaves and could be barely seen.
"Carefully…" Lin Mu opened the fruit storage box that already contained a fruit and quickly plucked the second fruit.
~CLACK~
The box was closed and the fruits were stored away safely.
~RUSTLE~ RUSTLE~
"Huh? What's that?"
