Chapter 63 Daylight Stronghold Bounty
He picked up the Scarlet Flame Fruit and examined it, then suddenly understood.
This Scarlet Flame Fruit was fully ripe, with a full three hundred spirit lines. According to the standard of the Scarlet Flame Fruit, one hundred years counted as one rank, and it could only grow to a maximum of three ranks. After reaching its limit, it would no longer grow.
Lu Li thought for a moment, summoned a pile of jade bottles, and picked all the Scarlet Flame Fruits, storing them in the jade bottles.
"This fruit tree is still here, perhaps it can bear new fruits again."
After storing all fifty jade bottles into the Space Palace, Lu Li also left the medicinal garden and came to the Time Palace.
It had been almost a month since he left the Qingyang Sect. During this period, he had been busy searching for spirit medicines and had not had time to cultivate. Up to now, he had only opened twenty-six acupoints in his third energy meridian. Now was the perfect opportunity to cultivate properly.
Because the Spiritual Qi here was not particularly dense, Lu Li did not plan to take True Essence Pills for this cultivation session. With the assistance of the Great Profound Scripture, refining this thin Spiritual Qi was more than sufficient.
At the same time.
In the jungle on the main mountain range opposite Daylight Town, flames flickered. Over a hundred people continuously shuttled through the forest searching for something. A green-robed old man stood with one hand behind his back at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the flickering flames below, his face so dark it seemed about to drip water.
Few people knew that this person was the elusive leader of the Daylight Stronghold, Blazing Yang Hand Bai Sheng.
Not long after, a powerfully-auraed burly man in a brown short jacket hurriedly rushed up, bowing to Bai Sheng: "Reporting to the Leader, the count is complete."
Bai Sheng took a deep breath and asked, "How is it?"
The burly man lowered his head, not daring to look at the old man, trembling as he said, "According to the remaining traces, no less than three hundred plants were stolen."
"Ah! Bastard!" Bai Sheng's eyes nearly burst with rage, roaring fiercely: "Search for me! Even if we have to search through the entire Thunder Fire Mountain Range, we must catch that young thief and that old thief!"
"L-Leader... the other strongholds?"
"You just focus on searching. I will personally go greet the other strongholds."
"Yes!"
"Oh right, pass down the order: you are only going to catch people. When passing through others' territories, be proper, and do not touch their spirit medicines. Whoever causes trouble for our Daylight Stronghold, you know my methods!"
"Yes, Leader!" The burly man trembled slightly upon hearing this, stood up, and quickly rushed down the mountain.
The western section of the Thunder Fire Mountain Range went completely crazy. Over a hundred men and women wearing Daylight Stronghold badges ran through the jungle, gradually moving toward the eastern part of the mountain range.
Three days later.
The news that the Daylight Stronghold's spirit medicines had been stolen spread like wildfire. The entire Daylight Town was in an uproar, everyone discussing who was so bold as to dare steal from the Daylight Stronghold.
Fifteen days later.
The Daylight Stronghold's search team reached the middle section of the Thunder Fire Mountain Range, encountering people from the middle section's force, the Drifting Snow Stronghold.
After a long stalemate between the two sides, it seemed they did not reach an agreement. Finally, the Daylight Stronghold's people had no choice but to ask Bai Sheng for instructions. Upon hearing, Bai Sheng was furious again: "Fine, Ye Piaoxue! I will remember this grudge!"
Then Bai Sheng announced a retreat, leaving only a few people to continue searching on the mountain.
Returning to Daylight Town the next day, Bai Sheng issued a bounty announcement. Two portraits-one old, one young-spread throughout Daylight Town. Those who could provide accurate clues would be rewarded with eight hundred Low Grade True Essence Pills. Those who could provide their heads would be rewarded with three thousand True Essence Pills.
Such an enticing reward instantly stirred the emotions of the rogue cultivators, who surged into the Thunder Fire Mountain Range. However, the Daylight Stronghold had rules: rogue cultivators were not allowed to enter the main mountain range, and could only search on the various branch ranges.
For a time, not only the western section, but some rogue cultivators even surged into the middle section's branch ranges, and began spreading toward the western section.
Fortunately, the waiter who had seen Lu Li was just a mortal and did not have time to go outside, otherwise... he would probably have been exposed immediately.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
The rogue cultivators who went out searching for Lu Li and the other person almost all returned with disappointed faces. The sparse streets returned to their former liveliness, and long sighs sounded in the wine houses.
The waiter who brought meals to Lu Li every couple of days, during his free time, also sat listening to everyone's stories. In his heart, he yearned for cultivation, even imagining that one day he could be as formidable as the young thief and old thief that people talked about.
When evening approached, the waiter again followed routine to bring dinner to Room 306.
This was the guest's instruction: deliver once every three days. Although that guest ate little, he was very generous with tips.
Carrying several plates of small dishes and a bowl of rice, the waiter gently knocked on the door, then quietly waited.
According to past practice, that guest would open the door in about sixty breaths.
But this time was clearly different. In just ten breaths, the door opened. A dark-skinned youth in ink-green martial attire smiled at him, taking the tray: "Thank you for your trouble."
"This is what I should do," the waiter respectfully replied, then prepared to leave.
Suddenly, the youth called out to him, "Wait."
Then he tossed out a silver ingot, "Come in for a moment. I have some things I want to ask you."
The waiter was delighted, carefully putting the silver ingot in his pocket, and quickly walked in: "Honored guest, what do you want to know?"
Lu Li smiled, motioning for the other to sit first, then asked: "Some time ago, Daylight Town seemed much quieter. Now it is suddenly lively again. Did something happen?"
"Oh, the honored guest means this matter." The waiter immediately began talking endlessly: "I heard two months ago someone stole spirit medicines from the Daylight Stronghold's jurisdiction area. Then Leader Bai Sheng personally took people to catch them..."
Seeming worried his news was not worth the silver ingot in his pocket, the waiter spilled out all the news and gossip he knew, regardless of whether it was true or false.
After hearing, Lu Li's heart immediately skipped a beat, and he looked at the waiter: "You have not seen that bounty notice?"
The waiter shook his head, thinking Lu Li also wanted to take the bounty, and said: "No. Some time ago when business was slow at the wine house, I went out a few times. Unfortunately, the notices were all torn down by those cultivators. If the honored guest wants to see, you can go ask those cultivators."
Lu Li slightly relaxed: "I understand."
"All right, honored guest. Do you have any other questions?" The waiter stood up and asked.
Lu Li thought for a moment, suddenly remembering Wu De. That fellow had also been in secluded cultivation this period; he did not know if he had come out yet. So he asked: "Right, that beggar-any recent movement from him?"
"Him." The waiter glanced toward the door, then said in a low voice, "Three days ago at dusk, I saw him come out. You say... it has been almost two months, and there is no place to bathe in the room, yet he is still in that dirty, messy state. I really do not understand... Could being a beggar become addictive?"
"Oh? He came out!"
"Yes, but these past two days, there seems to be no movement from his room. I do not know if he left."
"All right, I understand. You may go."
After the waiter left, Lu Li could not help but show a thoughtful expression. This Wu De actually left three days ago. Could he want to go take that Earth Milk Essence alone?