Arthur moved deeper into the forest while maintaining his concealment spell, his figure slipping silently through a world that seemed untouched by humans for a long time. The deeper he ventured, the more he realized just how absurd this rogue planet truly was.
Every tree towered thousands of meters into the sky, their trunks resembling skyscrapers in girth rather than vegetation. Vines as thick as a meter in diameter hung between branches while strange flowers the size of houses bloomed beneath the canopy.
Dense spiritual energy saturated every inch of the environment, making even the air feel clearer than spirit energy rich cultivation grounds. Yet despite the oppressive atmosphere, Arthur felt increasingly excited.
Ever since arriving in the Immortal Realm, he had wanted a place where he could fight opponents stronger than himself without worrying about attracting the attention of powerful sects or exposing his secrets.
This planet was exactly that. Here, powerful beasts roamed freely, and most importantly, nobody cared whether one lived or died. As he moved from branch to branch, occasionally sensing terrifying lifeforms hidden deep within the wilderness, a distant commotion eventually caught his attention. Curious, he altered his direction and arrived above a clearing several kilometers away, where he found two enormous beasts locked in battle.
One of them was a gigantic ape covered in dark golden fur. Unlike ordinary apes, however, this creature possessed four heavily muscled arms, each one capable of pulverizing boulders larger than buildings. Standing nearly as tall as a two story building, the beast repeatedly slammed its fists into the ground, creating shockwaves that flattened the surrounding vegetation.
Opposing it was an equally impressive spider whose body resembled a fortress of black chitin. Silver webbing shot through the air continuously while its razor sharp legs carved deep trenches into the earth whenever it moved.
Neither beast was particularly weak. Arthur estimated that both possessed strength comparable to Golden Immortal cultivators. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have ignored such a battle and continued searching for stronger opponents. However, the combatants themselves weren't what had captured his attention.
Behind them stood a tree much different than the ones he had seen since arriving on the planet. Golden fruits hung from its branches and these fruits had a strange halo around them making them look mysterious. Even from several kilometers away, he could sense dense spiritual energy radiating from every fruit.
His attention immediately shifted from the battle to the tree. 'Now that's interesting,' he thought while observing the golden apples swaying gently beneath the breeze.
Before he could investigate further, a rustling sound echoed through the forest. Moments later, dozens of similar four armed apes emerged from the surrounding trees. The lone ape fighting the spider immediately released an excited screech that shook the clearing.
It looks like the creature had apparently called for reinforcements. The spider froze the moment it noticed the newcomers. Even without human intelligence, it clearly understood exactly how bad its situation had become.
What had started as a duel had suddenly transformed into a gang beating. Without hesitation, the spider attempted to flee. Unfortunately for it, one of the newly arrived apes was noticeably larger and stronger than the others.
The beast intercepted the spider before it could escape and smashed downward with all four fists simultaneously. The impact shattered the ground and sent debris flying in every direction. The remaining apes immediately swarmed the spider, screeching triumphantly as they overwhelmed it through sheer numbers.
The unfortunate creature's struggle lasted less than half a minute before silence returned to the clearing. The victorious apes dragged away the corpse while celebrating loudly amongst themselves, completely unaware that an invisible observer was watching from above.
Arthur naturally didn't waste the opportunity. While the apes were distracted, he silently approached the golden fruit tree. The concealment spell covering him remained flawless, hiding both his aura and presence.
Standing beneath the tree, he carefully examined one of the fruits. The spiritual energy contained within it was surprisingly pure. Even Great Unity Immortals would likely fight over such a treasure.
Curious, he quickly plucked several fruits and stored them inside his Sea of Consciousness. Then he looked beyond the first tree and froze. Another identical tree stood several hundred meters away, then another, and another.
His gaze slowly swept across the landscape until the full extent of the sight became apparent. What lay before him wasn't a single spirit fruit tree, it was an entire forest of them. Hundreds upon hundreds of golden fruit trees stretched across the horizon.
For several moments he simply stared at them in confusion. The absurdity of the scene left him momentarily speechless. Chen Yuze had repeatedly warned him that rogue worlds were dangerous places with little value beyond powerful beasts.
Yet he had barely spent an hour on the planet and had already stumbled across what appeared to be an entire forest of spirit fruits. Eventually he retreated several kilometers away and landed atop another tree before taking out one of the fruits.
He muttered, "Analyze." And a familiar blue screen immediately appeared before him.
//--------------------//
Name: Golden Adamant Apple
Description: The fruit strengthens the skin and internal organs, and after consuming one hundred and eight fruits a person has a chance of gaining the Indestructible Golden Body. A single bite can extend a person's lifespan by exactly one hundred years and restore their physical body to its youthful prime.
//--------------------//
Arthur read the description twice to make sure he wasn't misunderstanding anything. Then he read it a third time. By the end, his eyes had widened noticeably. "Who in their right mind called this place resource poor?" he muttered.
A single fruit extending lifespan by a century was already absurd enough. The possibility of obtaining the Indestructible Golden Body which might be one of the sought after powerful physiques in the cultivation world after consuming one hundred and eight fruits elevated their value even further.
Such treasures would cause countless immortals to fight one another throughout the Immortal Realm. Yet here they existed in quantities large enough to form an entire forest. He suddenly found himself questioning everything he had heard regarding rogue worlds.
Yes, the danger was real. Even now he could sense Planetary Level beasts roaming somewhere across the planet. The sleeping monster beneath the massive lake from earlier still lingered vividly within his memory.
However, after discovering the Golden Adamant Apples, he refused to believe resources were actually scarce on this planet. A more logical explanation quickly presented itself before him. Perhaps the resources weren't rare at all. Perhaps they were simply impossible for ordinary cultivators to obtain.
Golden Immortals entering this region would likely become food for the apes. Great Unity Immortals might survive slightly longer, but eventually stronger beasts would appear. Only truly powerful cultivators could safely harvest the treasures hidden throughout the rogue world.
Another possibility also crossed his mind. What if powerful organizations intentionally spread misinformation regarding rogue planets? If cultivators believed such worlds contained little value, fewer people would investigate them. It wouldn't be the first time powerful factions manipulated information for their own benefit.
Still, after a few moments of consideration, Arthur simply shrugged. Whatever secrets surrounded the planet weren't his concern. What mattered was that he had discovered a treasure trove and he fully intended to take advantage of it.
Still concealed, he resumed moving through the forest. One tree after another passed beneath him as he harvested fruits. He was careful not to take too many from any single tree, usually plucking only three or four apples before moving on.
This way, the losses would be difficult to notice immediately. Along the way, he encountered numerous ape groups. Most possessed Golden Immortal level strength, though several leaders had already reached the Great Unity Immortal Realm.
Those stronger apes typically commanded dozens of subordinates and appeared responsible for patrolling different regions of the forest, so Arthur deliberately avoided them. Although he wasn't afraid of a fight, he had no desire to alert the entire species while collecting resources.
More importantly, he suspected these Great Unity Immortal apes weren't the true rulers of the territory. Somewhere deeper within the forest there had to be an Ape king. A beast powerful enough to sit at the top of the food chain. Perhaps they were in the Moon Level, or perhaps even Small Planet Level.
Whatever it was, he preferred not to meet it just yet. He wanted to gather enough fruits to share with Selene, and his friends before provoking the local population.
Time passed surprisingly quickly. Before long, nearly half an hour had gone by. Thousands of Golden Adamant Apples now rested inside his storage space. Arthur couldn't help feeling satisfied with the harvest.
Unfortunately, good things rarely lasted forever. A loud commotion suddenly erupted several kilometers away. Arthur immediately paused. Several apes had gathered around one of the trees he had recently visited. Angry screeches echoed throughout the forest as they pointed toward missing fruits.
His concealment spell had hidden him, but it couldn't hide the fact that the apples themselves were disappearing. Arthur sighed. "Looks like my luck finally ran out." He prepared to leave the region entirely, that's when the forest shook.
BOOOOOOOM!
A massive figure descended from the sky and landed beside the agitated apes. The shockwave flattened hundreds of normal trees. Arthur narrowed his eyes, the newcomer was enormous. Golden fur covered its body while every muscle seemed forged from metal.
Standing nearly fifty meters tall, the beast radiated overwhelming pressure that eclipsed every other ape in the region. Most importantly, it was staring directly at him. Not at the tree or at the missing fruits but at him even through the concealment spell.
For several seconds neither moved. Then Arthur sighed again. "Well, that answers the question of whether they have a king." With a casual wave, he dispelled the concealment. Thousands of apes immediately turned toward him.
The entire forest fell silent and he jumped down from his branch and landed atop the forest floor. Even without using Analyze, he could clearly sense the golden ape's strength, it was at the Moon Level. A genuine Moon Level beast,but he felt it was still weaker than Malphas.
The ape snarled towards him, then disappeared.
Arthur's pupils contracted. 'Fast.'
Despite being able to follow the movement of the ape with his eyes, his body simply couldn't react in time. Before he could raise a defense, a gigantic fist crashed into his chest. The impact sounded like a thunderclap exploding across the forest. The ape not only attacked him but also drove him away from the fruit trees without harming them.
Several of his ribs cracked instantly and he was blasted backward while creating huge shockwaves. His body tore through kilometers of forest before finally smashing into the side of a mountain and the entire cliff collapsed beneath the force of the impact.
Yet before he could even climb out of the rubble, his instincts screamed of danger. The golden ape was already upon him. Arthur immediately teleported from the attack's trajectory and the ape's fist slammed into the ground instead.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The resulting shockwave tore apart the surrounding landscape, and a crater several kilometers wide appeared instantly. Arthur reappeared hundreds of meters away and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
Despite his injuries, a grin slowly spread across his face, he felt genuinely excited. Rolling his shoulders, he looked directly at the golden ape and smiled. "Now that's what I'm talking about." The ape responded with a deafening roar that shook the forest but Arthur's grin widened. And this time he himself initiated an attack.
***
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