Chapter 161: Casmodor, Fruits of the Divine

“Divine Tree of Casmodor?”

Ling Jiu was dumbfounded. He had never heard of it at all. What the hell was it?

“I am an extraterrestrial lifeform.”

The sapling trembled as it spoke, but its words were shocking. “I arrived on this planet by accident over ten years ago and have been living here ever since.”

“Are you an alien plant?”

It stunned Ling Jiu to hear that. “How did you get here? By spaceship?”

“Spaceship? What is a spaceship?”

The sapling was puzzled. “I came to this planet on a meteorite. Of course, I was just a seed that had yet to sprout at the time.”

Ling Jiu was utterly silenced.

Came on a meteorite?

It might have sounded simple, but Ling Jiu could fully understand the terrifying truth of it.

A seed had embarked on a long space journey aboard a meteorite, passed through the atmosphere of Pandora, and endured the test of extreme temperature. In the end, it hit the ground with an impact force equal to that of a nuclear explosion.

Miraculously, it survived.

How tough was this seed?

Ordinary seeds would have already died after soaking boiling water. It was impossible for them to sprout in such a circumstance, but this guy here…

If what it says is true, then its origins must be extraordinary, Ling Jiu thought. “Tell me about yourself!”

“I originally lived on Casmodor, a beautiful and rich planet, which is also the home planet of our Casmodor Divine Tree!”

The sapling continued, “An alien civilization invaded my home planet, so my mother wrapped me in stone and cast me out of Casmodor.

“After that, I wandered in space for a long time. It was not until I reached this planet that I managed to take root and sprout.

“It is a pity that the resources on this planet are too scarce and the energy content is not abundant. As a result, I have grown at a slow rate.”

Too few resources?

Ling Jiu’s mouth twitched. Pandora’s resources were scarce?

Ling Jiu could not tell if that was indeed the case. However, if the resources on Pandora were scarce, how scarce were the resources on Earth?

“Let’s not talk about that.”

Ling Jiu became impatient. “Tell me what you can do.”

“I-I think… all I can do is eat.” The sapling was startled and stammering.

“Eat?”

The corners of Ling Jiu’s mouth twitched, and he picked up his war blade again. “Since all you can do is eat, I am sorry to tell you that I will have to gouge out your heart. You’ll prove more valuable to me this way.”

“D-Don’t kill me!”

The sapling was shaking in fright. “My body is tough enough to be used as a weapon. Plus, we Casmodor Divine Trees will bear fruit once we reach adulthood.”

“Bear fruit?”

“What’s the use of this fruit?” Ling Jiu cocked an eyebrow.

“I don’t know exactly.”

The tree sapling was in fear. “I only know that those animals on Casmodor gain a tremendous increase in strength by eating the fruits of the adult Casmodor Divine Trees.”

“Gain a tremendous increase in strength?” Ling Jiu squinted. “How much strength can it add?”

“I don’t know.” The sapling did not have a clue.

“You don’t know?”

Ling Jiu raised his war blade again.

“I really don’t know!” the sapling cried out.

“Ling Jiu, stop frightening it!”

Another voice echoed in Ling Jiu’s mind. It was 9527.

“You know this guy, 9527?” Ling Jiu was surprised.

“It is the Divine Tree of Casmodor.”

9527 chuckled. “I knew about it when it arrived on this planet, but I just allowed it to grow. I didn’t expect you guys to discover it. This little guy is so unlucky. Fortunately, it was you who found it. It is kind of a blessing in disguise.”

“What kind of life form is the Divine Tree of Casmodor, 9527?” Ling Jiu was baffled.

“The Divine Tree of Casmodor is a relatively powerful plant. It can grow into a pinnacle stellar life form as soon as it matures,” 9527 said. “There is something magical about this plant, though. It is able to bear the Casmodor Fruit once it reaches adulthood, and you can grow into a stellar life form as soon as you eat the fruit.”

“Become a stellar life form as soon as I eat the Casmodor Fruit?” Ling Jiu swallowed, his throat feeling a little dry.

“That’s right,” 9527 replied.

“Holy moly!” Ling Jiu was astonished by what he heard. “Is this an Ultimate Treasure of Heaven and Earth?”

Are you kidding me?

“A plant that can grow to reach the pinnacle of a stellar life form and produce the Casmodor Fruit when it matures is an Ultimate Treasure of Heaven and Earth?”

Ling Jiu knew that those people in the training camp had mistaken a super treasure as only an Ultimate Treasure of Heaven and Earth.

“But I thank them for their ignorance.”

Ling Jiu stared at the sapling, his eyes lighting up. “Hey, little sapling, you will follow me from now on. I will take care of you.”

“You will not kill me?” The sapling was emotional.

“Instead of killing you, I am going to protect you,” Ling Jiu said. “From today onwards, you will be my little brother. I will show no mercy to those who dare to hurt you. Well, you will be called Sapling Ling.”

“T-Thank you!”

Sapling Ling was so excited that he thanked Ling Jiu repeatedly.

“Very well.”

Ling Jiu was pleased with the sapling’s attitude. “By the way, 9527, how long does a Casmodor Divine Tree take to mature and how long does it take to bear fruit usually?”

“It depends on the growth environment,” 9527 said. “If the planet is rich in resources and energy, it will mature in a few years, and the flowering, as well as fruiting period, will be short. If it is a planet with scarce resources, the growth rate will be slow—it will probably be thousands of years before it matures.”

“What about on Pandora?” Ling Jiu asked.

“Pandora’s resources are average. It will take at least a hundred years for a Casmodor Divine Tree to mature here,” 9527 said without thinking.

“A hundred years?”

Ling Jiu had lost hope. A hundred years might have seemed short, but it was too long for him.

He could reach stellar life form within ten years with his speed of self-cultivation. What was the use of keeping this sapling then?

“Forget it! I’ll cut it down!” Ling Jiu’s mouth twitched. “I’ll gouge its heart out, then at least it can speed up my cultivation base by thirty years. It just makes no sense to keep it alive.”

“You can actually keep it,” 9527 said. “The Casmodor Divine Tree also has a parasitic ability. You can let it feed off of you and absorb your pure Dark Bio-energy. It will grow rapidly and only take a few years to reach adulthood that way.”

“Feed off of me?” Ling Jiu was dumbfounded. “Look at its size; don’t you think it will suck me dry?”

The sapling might have looked small now, but it used to be a thousand feet tall before. It was a bad idea to let such a huge creature feed off of him.

“Don’t you worry about it,” 9527 said. “Firstly, the Dark bio-energy’s effectiveness is beyond your imagination. Don’t be fooled by its size. It will grow with very little Dark Bio-energy. Second, once it starts to feed off of you, both of you will be in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. It can transform part of the Dark Bio-energy into pure vitality and give it back to you. You can strengthen your cells, enhance their vitality, and at the same time improve your self-healing ability. The benefits are abundant. In short, there are only benefits for letting the Casmodor Divine Tree feed off of you at this stage.”

Ling Jiu nodded. “What if it attacks me after it feeds off of me? Won’t I be like a lamb to the slaughter?”

“That is even simpler to settle,” 9527 said. “You should have a Shadowform Arcana, right? You can expel it from your body by using this ability.”

“How the hell did you know that?” Ling Jiu was stunned.

“As I’ve said before, the exploring spaceship has a human body scanning function. You have no secrets in the spaceship.”

“The feeling of being seen through is so uncomfortable.”

Ling Jiu snorted and ended his conversation with 9527. He then looked at the sapling with a gentle smile.

“Hey, little brother, Pandora is too barren. Do you want to feed off of me?”

“Feed off of you?”

Sapling Ling was stunned and overjoyed. “I can feel the pure energy in you. Are you really willing to let me parasitize you?”

“You’re not willing?” Ling Jiu smiled.

“Oh, yes, I am!”

Sapling Ling was excited. It then quickly shrank into a tiny tree the size of a needle, pierced through Ling Jiu’s skin, and entered his body.

Magically, Ling Jiu did not feel a thing during the entire process. He could not help but be amazed.

“Wow! The energy here is so pure and rich. I love this place!”

Sapling Ling’s cheerful voice echoed in his mind. It was roaming through Ling Jiu’s meridians, constantly absorbing the Dark Bio-energy in his body.

“This guy is stealing my Dark Bio-energy!”

A thought came to mind, and Ling Jiu activated his Shadowform. He could see the sapling being expelled from his body and falling to the ground.

“9527 was not lying.”

Ling Jiu deactivated his Shadowform and allowed Sapling Ling to feed off of him again. He once again felt his Dark Bio-energy leaving his body, but fortunately, the rate of loss was slow and completely acceptable.

At the same time, he could feel a massive amount of vitality flowing through every limb and part of his body.

He felt a warmth inside him that was so comfortable, it felt like he was soaking in a hot spring.

“Make yourself at home in my body.”

Ling Jiu was very pleased with what Sapling Ling could do. He then moved into the distance. It was time to hunt for Direbeats after he received such a treasure.

Time flew, and another week had passed in the blink of an eye.

“Boss, there are two Direbeasts in that direction!”

Ling Jiu went where Sapling Ling pointed, and there really was a big centipede that was 100 meters long.

Without a word, he raised his war blade and chopped off the centipede’s head before he moved on to the next Direbeast.

Searching for Direbeasts was Sapling Ling’s other ability.