A blast of icy cold instantly surged into Evan Chu's body, making him shiver uncontrollably and yank his hand back in a hurry. He muttered in frustration, "Damn it, what the hell is this thing? It's so cold, I almost froze to death!"
Evan felt as if just lightly touching the silver fruit had nearly frozen his blood solid. He quickly circulated his water element to dispel the chill, finally feeling much better.
Staring at the three silver fruits, Evan could only sigh. Anything that appears here must be incredibly precious—maybe even rare in the Immortal Realm. If only Luna, the Sword Spirit, were here; she knows a ton about these kinds of strange treasures.
Evan didn't dare touch the silver fruit again and was about to leave for now. Some treasures really do require the right fate to claim. Sure, he was lucky to stumble on it, but he wasn't the truly destined one—he could only give up for now.
Just as he was about to leave, Jade Chu suddenly spoke up from inside the storage ring: "Big Brother, are you really planning to give up on these silver fruits?"
Jade’s sudden comment made Evan pause and think. He asked, "Jade, do you know what kind of fruit this is? What does it do?"
"Big Brother, you’re honestly hopeless! What’s the point of awakening your Primordial Dragon bloodline if you don’t use it? Didn’t your inheritance memories mention these things at all? This is an absolute heaven-defying treasure! If I’m not mistaken, these three Ice-Spirit Fruits are the only ones in the entire Immortal Realm. You seriously hit the jackpot." Jade said.
"Ice-Spirit Fruit? What the heck is that? Don’t tell me eating it boosts my power—wouldn’t I just freeze to death before I even get a bite?" Evan grumbled.
"You already got the Waterglass Crystal, right? Well, Ice-Spirit Fruit is several grades above that—it's not just a water-attribute spirit fruit anymore, it’s basically a celestial fruit, maybe even a god-fruit. And I know you have a technique called Ninefold Stellar Transformation, with one stage being Watershift.
The whole point of getting the Waterglass Crystal was to boost your Watershift. But this Ice-Spirit Fruit can straight up break you through to the final layer. Tell me that’s not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If you still don’t want it, I don’t even know what to say." Jade complained.
"Are you serious? This fruit can actually boost my Watershift to the next stage? Damn, that's some real treasure—I have to figure out a way to get it!" Evan Chu said, eyes gleaming.
Jade Chu grinned, "Don't get too excited, big bro. I haven't even told you the news that'll really blow your mind. I was afraid if you heard it, you'd go leaping straight into that iceflame."
Evan was getting antsy. He quickly brought Jade Chu and Tom Chu out of his storage ring and said, "Qing'er, hurry and spill it—what's the other good news? I promise I won't go jumping into the iceflame. I'm not done living yet!"
Jade Chu chuckled, "Since we've got earthfire and iceflame here, you should know—this iceflame isn't just any cold flame, it's called Iceflame. If there's Ice-Spirit Fruit here, there must be Fire-Spirit Fruit too. And trust me, it's leagues above that fire fruit you got from your Five-Element Fruit set.
The Fire-Spirit Fruit can push your Fireshift all the way to its final layer. Isn't that something to get excited about?" Jade Chu teased.
Evan forced himself to calm down and said, "Eh, it's not that big a deal. Ice-Spirit Fruit and Fire-Spirit Fruit, right? I already knew that. I was just testing you."
Jade Chu rolled her eyes at him. "If you know everything, I won't say another word. You can figure out how to get those fruits on your own. I'm done wasting breath."
Evan instantly panicked. "Qing'er, my dear Qing'er, I was just messing with you! How would I know anything about Ice-Spirit Fruit and Fire-Spirit Fruit? Hurry up and tell me how to get them!"
Jade Chu and Tom Chu both laughed. Seeing Evan's anxious look, Jade Chu explained, "With your current cultivation, there are two ways to get those fruits. One is to wait until you break through to Immortal Emperor—then you can take them easily. The other is to grab the Fire-Spirit Fruit first, then go for the Ice-Spirit Fruit.
Since your Fireshift is at the second layer, you can barely handle the Heavenfire around the Fire-Spirit Fruit. Once you have that, you can use its power to approach the Ice-Spirit Fruit—the cold won't be nearly as deadly, and you'll be able to snatch it without a hitch."
"So that's how it is... Which method do you think is best? Breaking through to Immortal Emperor could take a lot of time. What if the Ice-Spirit and Fire-Spirit Fruits ripen before then? Wouldn't I miss my chance?" Evan asked, worried.
Jade Chu grinned, "Now you're thinking! The Ice-Fire Spirit Fruit Pair really has reached peak maturity—your luck is off the charts. These two fruits need at least a hundred thousand years to ripen, and you just happened to show up at the exact right moment. If you miss it, the next chance is a hundred thousand years from now. Got it?"
"Got it, got it! My luck's always this good. (If it wasn't, the readers would roast the author—but seriously, isn't this a bit too smooth? No setbacks at all? That's a little sus!) Anyway, let's go check out where the Fire-Spirit Fruit is," Evan said, half-joking, half-excited.
Jade Chu said, "The Fire-Spirit Fruit is in the heart of the earthfire, right where the flames are strongest. It's covered in Heavenfire, so be careful. Tom Chu and I can barely handle the temperature, but you'll have to push both Earthshift and Fireshift to the limit just to survive."
The three of them headed back in search of the Fire-Spirit Fruit. The deeper they went, the hotter it got. Evan felt sweat pouring down his forehead, and before long his clothes were soaked. He quickly activated Earthshift to shield himself, finally feeling some relief.
After about an hour, they all stopped. About a hundred meters ahead, a small tree appeared in front of them—or maybe it was better called a fire tree, since every inch of it was blazing with flames.
Even from a distance, they could see three fiery red fruits hanging on the tree, each one wrapped in a layer of flame—only this flame was pure white.
"That's the Fire-Spirit Fruit," Jade Chu said. "Looks like it's almost ripe, probably maturing at the same time as the Ice-Spirit Fruit—since ice and fire naturally go hand in hand. The Fire-Spirit Fruit has one year left before it's ready, so big bro, you've got a year to prepare."
"It's insanely hot here. I feel like my whole body is about to ignite—and that's with Fireshift active. If I wasn't using Fireshift, I'd have been burned to ash already. Since there's still a year left, that means I've got a hundred years inside the Timewheel Bracelet to get ready."
"Right now, I feel like I'm about to break through to Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal, so I've decided to enter the Timewheel Bracelet and make my breakthrough. Tom, you stay here and guard the Ice-Fire Spirit Fruit Pair. Qing'er, come with me inside the bracelet. If I lose track of time and miss the window, that'd be a tragedy," Evan said, determined.