Slice!
A sharp sound rang out behind Miko, causing him to turn his head quickly in fright. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the bisected corpse of a small snake flop down on the branch directly in front of him. Venom dripped slightly out of its fangs, indicating that it was a venomous snake.
"Be careful. Never let down your guard!" John rebuked as he put away the knife he had used to kill the snake. Although the snake wasn't strong, it was very venomous, and would have posed lethal danger to Miko. It was clearly living amongst the branches by the fruit, bathing in their radiance when John and Miko intruded on its territory.
Due to his past experiences with letting his guard down at the final moment, John had learned to always remain vigilant, even when it looked like things were safe, a lesson Miko had yet to learn with his sheltered upbringing.
"What just happened. How did we not sense this snake?" asked Miko in confusion.
When he had approached the fruit, he had let his guard down, causing him to miss the snake. Although the snake specialized in stealth and could fool even divine senses, Miko would still have been able to detect it if he was alert, but the allure of the fruit had dulled his senses.
"You let your guard down, and almost died because of it. Never let your guard down, especially when you think it's safe to do so. Only when you know you are absolutely safe can you afford to do so."
"Oh, thanks. I guess you saved me, haha…" Miko rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He was supposed to be the strongest of the two, and find all the danger first, but his inexperience had almost cost him his life.
Two divine senses swept through the rest of the tree, making sure that the coast was clear. Only after confirming that it was safe did John and Miko reach for the fruit. There were four fruits hanging together closely, and each of them grabbed two fruits.
The fruit was around the size of a large apple, and gave off a wonderful aroma. As soon as he picked it up, John felt a vibrant life force surge into his hand.
"Wow, it's this amazing just holding it?" Miko said.
"Eat one now, and remember to save the other one for pills. Don't eat it, or it will go to waste," John reminded as he stored one fruit away and bit into the other one.
Juices ran down his chin as John savored the delicious flavor of the fruit. As the fruit hit his stomach, an incredibly vibrant life force surged into his whole body. John felt as if he was being reborn anew as his entire body began to surge with life. Without his beckoning, the potent energy from the fruit fused into every inch of his body, and even surged towards his dantian. John could clearly feel his cultivation improve slightly without even doing anything.
"This is incredible!" yelled Miko in excitement as he took another bite.
Both John and Miko spent the next few minutes eating their fruits. By the time he was done, John felt as if his body had unlimited energy, and his cultivation had advanced quite a bit. Before the fruit, his essence cultivation was at the initial stages of the late Mist Creation Realm, but the fruit had advanced his essence cultivation beyond the middle stage and directly to the upper stage of the late Mist Creation Realm.
"How amazing. Just this fruit alone has saved me months of cultivation. I'm already almost ready to advance to the Qi Condensation Realm. Although I still need to advance a bit more and improve my comprehensions before I advance, this has saved me an incredible amount of work. Maybe I can advance before I leave the pocket realm" John couldn't help but excitedly exclaim.
Miko nodded his head in confirmation. Although the fruit wasn't as amazing for him, as he was already in the Qi Condensation Realm, it was still better than anything he had eaten before in his life. This fruit had also saved him months of cultivation time, and had also filled him with a vibrant energy.
"I also read that this fruit extends the youthful lifespan of anyone who eats it by over fifty years, but I didn't believe such a thing. But after eating it, I believe it," John added.
Although cultivation would extend the lifespan of people, adding an extra fifty years of vitality to one's life was always a good thing. Not only would the cultivator live longer, but they would stay youthful for longer, extending their prime cultivation years.
"This fruit might be even more amazing than my sword. This pocket realm has incredible treasures!" Miko exclaimed with a large smile on his face.
John wanted to nod in agreement as he thought about the egg. Although he had no idea what type of creature the egg would turn into, the actions of the artifact spirit told him it would be anything but normal. Even within the whole pocket realm, John was sure that this egg was one of the best rewards possible, although that was only his guess.
'The egg might be amazing in the future, but I need to find something that improves my strength now. Although I was able to temper my body in the lightning trial to become a true lightning attribute body, I don't know any lightning techniques yet. The Celestial Lightning Script is only a cultivation technique, and not a battle art. My strength is still mostly the same as when I entered this realm.'
After savoring the fruit for a little bit longer, John and Miko climbed down the tree and began to continue down the land bridge that cut through the bleak swamp. Several hours later, the two of them stopped and raised their guard, staring directly and a dense approaching fog.