"These dozens of Origin Fruits weigh only a few kilograms, yet they contain such dense vital energy. Truly rare," Kent marveled, before handing a few more to Wukong.
Wukong immediately began devouring them, eating each one in a single gulp.
Kent couldn't help but smile wryly. He counted them—there were 68 Origin Fruits, probably not enough to satisfy Wukong's appetite.
But if all of them were consumed, Wukong's experience would increase by 650,000, plus the 50,000 already accumulated—making a total of 700,000.
Kent decided to give Wukong all of them. Wukong happily stuffed them all into his mouth.
Before long, Garfield relayed the mental connection that the last Flame Phantom Ghost had been successfully slain after a brief resistance.
Kent sighed with relief. It was getting late, so he found a small hill and created a cave dwelling to rest for the night, while continuing his study of the Storm Battle Technique.
The next day, Kent resumed his usual tasks—searching for fruits, harvesting them, and storing them away.
This time, he encountered no danger. The day passed smoothly, and he harvested over a thousand more fruits.
The deeper he ventured into the Changguo Mountain Range, the taller the trees grew. However, the fruits became scarcer, and their shapes increasingly bizarre. Some even reached the level of spirit herbs.
He harvested whatever he could within his capacity, as it was a rare opportunity. Wukong, being a Buddhist monk who only ate plant-based food, was in need of plenty of nourishment, and Kent wanted to stockpile at least half a year's worth of food for him.
"It's been three days on the road and five or six more in the mountains. Time is tight," Kent thought.
He had collected tens of thousands of fruits, but most of them were of low quality, providing little experience. Kent couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied.
"Well, tomorrow I'll head deeper into the mountains," Kent decided. Though the central part of the mountain range was dangerous, it was also home to higher-quality fruits.
Like a pawnshop owner waiting for business, he hoped that if he found high-quality fruits, Wukong could benefit from them for a long time.
At dawn the next day, Kent immediately set off towards the center of the mountain range. The dangers increased as he went, but with Bajie scouting ahead, most threats were avoided.
By 10 AM, Kent had entered the heart of the Changguo Mountain Range.
Looking up, he saw a massive cloud formation hanging nearly a thousand meters above the ground. It resembled an apple, possibly as large as several palaces, casting a huge shadow over the land.
"So, this is the entrance to the Fruit Space?" Kent was taken aback.
It seemed that the higher the star rating of the connected alternate space, the higher the cloud entrance was positioned, and the larger it became.
At such a high distance, without flying tools or flying beasts, ordinary mercenaries and patrols couldn't reach it.
Kent wasn't an exception. However, if his Storm Battle Technique reached a higher level, he could generate wings of wind and fly.
Fortunately, Kent wasn't planning on entering the Fruit Space right now, otherwise, he'd have to expend a lot of effort to reach it.
Although he had a small helicopter in his spatial pouch, it could only carry two or three people. At over a thousand meters up, anyone would become an easy target for flying monsters, making it far too dangerous.
After observing the cloud formation entrance for a while, Kent refocused on collecting fruits. The closer he got to the Fruit Space, the more pronounced its influence, which meant the fruits would have a higher degree of mutation.
Soon, Kent spotted a peculiar tree glowing with a soil-yellow light. It was quite short, only about fifty meters tall, which made it stand out in a forest of trees that reached over a hundred meters.
The tree had ordinary leaves and no flowers, but it was bearing fruit. The fruits looked almost ready for harvest. They were gourd-shaped, green with a hint of yellow.
"That's a Gourd Fruit Tree!" Kent's eyes lit up. He had seen information about this tree online. The central region of the Changguo Mountain Range had a few of these, each bearing Gourd Fruits.
These fruits could create containers, with a small gourd capable of holding one or two tons of liquid. Many alcohol enthusiasts loved these fruits for their natural storage ability. Some even buried full gourds underground for aging wine.
Of course, the flesh of the gourd fruit was edible, fragrant, and sweet with a hint of bitterness.
Kent's mind raced as he decided to harvest the gourds, but he didn't dare act recklessly. He knew that Gourd Fruit Trees were protected by guardian spirit beasts, and these beasts were no ordinary creatures.
He cautiously approached, unsheathing his black blade and raising his black shield, adopting a combat stance while instructing his three beasts to surround the tree.
When he stepped within fifty meters of the tree, it responded. Branches swayed, and countless green leaves detached from the tree, shooting towards Kent and his beasts like flying knives.
Kent wasn't worried. Wearing B-level battle armor, the leaves' attacks were no more than an itch to him. He had also donned a helmet, leaving no weak points exposed.
Ignoring the leaves, Kent pressed forward, planning to wait for the guardian spirit beast to appear before charging.
Soon, when he entered ten meters of the tree, the leaves could no longer deter him. The tree emitted a strange sound, like a "clang."
The Gourd Fruit Tree suddenly began to change. Its yellow light gathered into the roots like smoke, and within a second, the tree's glow vanished, while something in the soil began to emerge.
Kent halted his steps, waiting for the guardian spirit beast to show itself.
Boom! Boom!
The ground rumbled as massive fists burst through the surface. Kent's eyes widened as a fist the size of a double bed appeared, dark gray in color, pockmarked and ugly, exuding a faint yellow glow.
Kent's expression shifted slightly. This beast had impressive strength, which explained why Gourd Fruit was so rare—few human mercenaries ever obtained one.
The tree still had over forty fruits hanging on it. At a rate of one million dollars per fruit, that was over forty million dollars—a substantial fortune.
But Kent wasn't after the money. He didn't need it. The flesh of the gourd fruit could be fed to Wukong for experience, while the gourds themselves would be used as storage containers.
Spatial rings were limited in that they could only store solid materials, and liquids could make them dirty or difficult to retrieve. Having a gourd would be much more convenient.
Kent remembered the last time he went to the Fire Dragon Nest to steal the sacred milk. He had used a huge metal barrel, which was inconvenient, bulky, and hard to manage.
Boom! Another massive fist broke through the ground. The earth shook violently as a gigantic head emerged, with human-like features, but so ugly that Kent could hardly stomach it.
"So this is the guardian spirit beast? It's hideous," Kent muttered under his breath.
Before him stood a colossal creature, its body covered in large, yellow scales. It was over fifty meters long, with a human head and the body of a serpent, no legs but two arms protruding from its ribs, and an oppressive aura surrounding it.
Kent's eyes narrowed as he scanned it with his system. His instincts told him this guardian spirit beast was formidable and not to be underestimated.