“It’s not expensive, not expensive at all,” the old man waved his hand. “I have fixed prices here, and you can buy these Energy Grass seeds with Essence-Building Pills. If you find it pricey, you can look elsewhere.”
The old man was the only one selling spirit grass and medicine seeds at this market. Leo pondered for a moment and finally said, “Alright, I’ll take all the Energy Grass seeds in that bag.”
Seeing a generous buyer like Leo was rare, and the old man’s smile grew even wider. He said, “There are a total of 5, 300 Energy Grass seeds in that bag. Since you’re taking all of them, you just need to give me fifty Essence-Building Pills.”
Leo immediately took out fifty Essence-Building Pills and handed them to the old man. The old man secured the bag filled with Energy Grass seeds and handed it to Leo.
Leo’s reason for purchasing these Energy Grass seeds was a preemptive measure. If he found a suitable place for cultivation in the future and set up a nurturing array, he could significantly increase the survival rate of these Energy Grass seeds to around fifty percent.
In just a short moment, he had spent one hundred and fifty Essence-Building Pills.
Seeing Leo storing the seeds and getting up, the old man asked, “Young man, I have many other seeds of spirit grass and medicine. Are you interested?”
Leo shook his head; he didn’t want to bite off more than he could chew. Without the right place for cultivation, even the best spirit grass and medicine seeds wouldn’t be of any use.
Seeing Leo and his companions preparing to leave, the old man stood up from the ground and said mysteriously, “Young man, it’s rare to meet someone as generous as you. I have an extremely rare spirit fruit seed here. Are you interested?”
Leo’s curiosity was piqued by the old man’s mysterious tone, and he asked, “What kind of seed is it?”
“I have no idea,” the old man shook his head. Leo couldn’t help but be speechless; the old man didn’t even know what kind of seed it was, and he dared to ask for a thousand Essence-Building Pills!
Master Jennifer and Violet exchanged amused glances.
“Young man, don’t be surprised just yet. I’ll show you something.” The old man took out a small wooden box from his clothes. Opening the box revealed a smaller jade box inside, emitting a faint chill from its surface.
The old man opened the jade box, revealing a seed inside. The seed was similar in shape and size to a loquat seed, but it was transparent and had a slight reddish hue.
A strange aura emanated from the seed, refreshing and invigorating to anyone who sensed it.
After a moment of astonishment, Leo’s pupils suddenly constricted. In Leo’s mind, a burst of information flashed, and he exclaimed to himself, “This is a Gathering Spirit Tree seed!”
Leo suppressed his excitement and said to the old man, “Let me take a closer look.”
The old man handed the jade box to Leo.
Leo carefully examined the seed in the jade box and infused a bit of Spiritual Power to sense it.
“It is indeed a Gathering Spirit Tree seed, and the seed still contains life force, so it can be planted,” Leo thought to himself.
Leo was pleasantly surprised because Gathering Spirit Tree seeds were extremely rare. According to the information that had come to his mind, the Gathering Spirit Tree only flowered once every three hundred years and bore fruit another three hundred years later, producing only three fruits each time. This meant that it took six hundred years to produce three seeds.
As for the function of the Gathering Spirit Tree, it was quite remarkable.
For cultivators like Leo, the first step in cultivation was to refine their energy, using cultivation techniques to transform the essence of heaven and earth into Spiritual Power within themselves.
The second step was to condense that Spiritual Power. Even though Leo had expanded his cultivation, the capacity of a person’s body was limited. When they reached this stage, they needed to condense their Spiritual Power, making it purer and more potent.
To put it simply, if Leo, as an intermediate-level Spiritualist, could currently store a hundred units of Spiritual Power, after condensation, he could store two hundred units. This meant that with highly purified Spiritual Power and enough quantity, a breakthrough to the next realm would be achievable.
This principle applied to martial cultivators as well. However, condensing one’s Spiritual Power or inner energy was a time-consuming process. Even those with extraordinary talent, due to their limited lifespan, couldn’t realistically reach the highest realms of cultivation.
For martial cultivators, for instance, in the thousands of years of history, only three Martial Saints were known to have appeared. As for legends of Martial Gods, nobody had ever heard of them or seen them.
Returning to the point, the purpose of the Gathering Spirit Tree’s fruit was to shorten the time needed for condensing Spiritual Power or inner energy. A single mature Gathering Spirit Fruit could reduce this time by at least one-third.
For cultivators, obtaining a Gathering Spirit Fruit was a dream come true. Many top martial sects and families searched for Gathering Spirit Fruit seeds, hoping to cultivate their own Gathering Spirit Trees.
Seeing Leo’s peculiar expression, the old man gazed at him intently and asked, “Young man, do you know what kind of fruit this seed belongs to?”
Leo’s face quickly returned to a calm expression, and he calmly shook his head. “I don’t know.”
In truth, even if Leo were to say that this seed was from a Gathering Spirit Tree, the old man probably wouldn’t have heard of it, let alone know its purpose.
Hearing Leo’s response, a hint of disappointment flashed across the old man’s face. However, he quickly accepted it. Given his age and experience, coupled with his specialization in selling seeds of spirit plants and herbs, he couldn’t identify this fruit either. Leo was much younger and would be even less likely to know.
“Sir, could you please tell me where you found this seed?” Leo asked curiously.
The old man pondered for a moment and then replied honestly, “Young man, you seem extraordinary at first sight, so I won’t hide it from you. I obtained this seed by sheer chance in a mysterious realm.”
Leo’s interest was piqued, and he followed up, “Which mysterious realm was it?”