Chapter 28
The fourth day of the combat examination.
“Wow! A white spirit fruit!”
Ji Ruo picked up a white fruit that was giving off an alluring fragrance. He looked very happy.
The white spirit fruit was a spirit fruit of a higher grade than the blood-red rice.
Eating it could clear one’s mind and vision, and there were no restrictions on eating it, which was greatly beneficial to martial arts cultivation.
Not only that, but it could also strengthen one’s vitality, and to a certain extent, it could even cleanse one’s body and bones. Although martial apprentices were weak, any spiritual medicine or fruit they ate would have special effects.
According to Ji Ruo/s understanding, this was similar to playing online games like blue moon. If one’s level was too far away from the highest level in the world, they would get a certain amount of experience when fighting monsters…
Because it wasn’t a particularly high-grade spirit fruit, the white spirit fruit had the effects of clearing the heart, improving eyesight, and cleansing the body, but the effects were very weak.
But even so, it was enough to make Ji Ruo happy.
After all, this fruit was picked up for free.
“Ji Ruo… Lower your voice …”
Liang Shixian lowered his voice and said anxiously.
“We can’t be exposed now!”
“Exposed what?”
“We are tree demons now, what are you afraid of?” Ji Ruo asked in surprise.
Liang Shixian was left speechless.
Do you really think you’re a tree demon?
Liang Shixian recalled yesterday’s experience and was still a little confused.
Yesterday, Ji Ruo had dug two holes for him to lie in and fill them with soil. He had planned to pass the last four days of the martial arts exam.
In the end, they did not expect that they were indeed not discovered by the demonic beasts, but the trees in the forest were all tree demons.
During the day, they would bask in the sun and photosynthesize.
When night fell, they would rise from the ground and migrate.
Liang Shixian was fine, but Ji Ruo was suddenly pulled out of the ground by a tree demon. He did not know if it was because of bad luck or something.
At that time, not to mention Liang Shixian, even the tree demon seemed to be stunned.
Then, the tree monster started to attack Ji Ruo.
The dense branches covered the sky and the earth as they stabbed at Ji Ruo.
Liang Shixian remembered clearly that Ji RUO had calmly placed the traditional knife at his waist and lowered his body. Then, with a clang, the gleam of the knife was unusually bright in the dark night, as if it was accompanied by white thunderbolts.
Ji Ruo’s speed was so fast that Liang Shixian couldn’t even see clearly that they were at the same level!
Liang Shixian could only see a dazzling flash of lightning, and the tree demon’s branches were all cut off. At the same time, Ji Ruo rushed to the tree demon and hugged the tree, his palms red as he rubbed against it at high speed…
It had been forcefully rubbed by the tree demon!
Normally, ordinary tree demons only had a long life, but their individual strength was not very strong. Moreover, they were extremely afraid of fire.
The other treemen also wanted to attack Ji Ruo, but they ran away when they saw the fire. Ji Ruo was also shocked. It was the first time he had seen a tree separate the area.
Then, Ji Ruo ran away with Liang Shixian while the tree demon was burning and screaming.
And then, the most outrageous thing happened.
Liang Shixian did not expect that after Ji Ruo brought him into the normal forest, he would cut off a large piece of leaf, crush it, take its juice, and smear it on his body. Then, he would break off a few branches with green leaves and stick them into his clothes. After that, despite Liang Shixian’s strong dissuasion, Ji Ruo said that he would bring Liang Shixian back for a good meal.
After that, they were surrounded and released by the treemen. Ji Ruo suddenly said that he wanted to join the family of treemen, and then he really did…
He even helped the treeman, whose leaves were almost all burned out, put out the fire. Although half of its body was burnt, the shaking branches of the Treeman showed that it was very grateful to Ji Ruo.
These tree demons actually did not suspect their identities, it was simply ridiculous.
“It’s better to be careful. After all, we’re not real tree demons. Can you not pluck the spirit fruits from those tree demons all the time?” Liang Shixian asked, “This is too arrogant!”
Ordinary tree demons had no eyes, nose, or mouth. They were a kind of relatively docile demon, not very dangerous.
But even if it was not high, it was still dangerous!
Liang Shixian felt that the reason these tree demons accepted them was because they had no facial features, so they could not see or hear what they were saying. However, what tree would climb up another tree to pick its fruit?
Ji Ruo thought for a while and picked another fruit. “Here, class president. This is for you.”
“… Thank you,”
Ji Ruo took a bite of the white spirit fruit and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t be exposed. Tree demons sleep during the day and only wake up at night to move. Besides, they can’t see or hear us, so we won’t be exposed. Don’t worry!”
Seeing Ji Ruo like this, Liang Shixian said helplessly, “Ji Ruo, when will you learn to be more careful …”
“Snacks? What kind of snacks?”
Liang Shixian was at a loss for words.
…
Ji Ruo wasn’t an ignorant person. In fact, Liang Shixian wasn’t involved, so he didn’t know what happened.
At that time, Ji Ruo was not forced out by the tree demon, but by himself. The tree demon was indeed stunned.
In fact, Ji Ruo didn’t want to come out, but the problem was that the tree demon had stepped on Ji Ruo!
The treemen ran over Ji Ruo’s body with their strong roots. Through the air vent in his head, Ji Ruo saw a large group of treemen moving away.
The teachers in school had taught him that tree demons were generally gentler in nature. Moreover, tree demons that lived in groups must have chosen to live in groups because they couldn’t survive on their own.
Therefore, Ji Ruo made a move. The tree monster was too heavy and moved too slowly. The tree monster seemed to feel that something was wrong with its feet, so it rubbed against Ji Ruo’s body and refused to leave.
The reason he attacked was because Ji Ruo couldn’t take it if he kept being stepped on.
As for why Ji Ruo came back later, it was because he remembered an important point.
That was, tree demons that lived in groups like this would generally form a very wonderful symbiotic relationship with other creatures in the forest.
Because the tree demons needed to sleep during the day, or they cooperated with light to accumulate the ability to move at night, they could not move during the day until they reached a certain level.
Therefore, they would bear some relatively ordinary spirit fruits on their bodies. They were non-toxic and harmless, attracting other creatures in the forest to eat them.
Because the spiritual fruits were relatively ordinary, there wouldn’t be too powerful demons or demons eating them, so the crime of possession of a Jade was ruled out first.
As for the creatures that would come to eat the spirit fruit, while they were not strong, the herbivorous demons or monsters were more docile in nature. In theory, they would not hit the chef after eating their fill.
In this way, although the tree demons could not move during the day, they were still safe.
Not only that, some weak creatures would occasionally excrete on the spot after they had eaten their fill and felt the urge.
When the creatures were satisfied, they would also provide a certain amount of fertilizer for the tree monsters. This was the way for ordinary social tree monsters to survive. It was a mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship.
Ji Ruo had thought of this, which was why he had disguised himself and brought Liang Shixian back after escaping.
However, in the beginning, he had only wanted to pick up some spiritual fruits. After eating his fill, he would find a good place to bury them and wait for the martial examination to end.
However, the world was always changing. The treemen who were still migrating at that time noticed Ji Ruo and his friend who had returned, and they immediately surrounded them.
However, at that time, Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian had the smell of soil and plant juice on them, and they had the [disguise] skill.
The tree demons’ perception wasn’t very strong, but they could still detect some movements.
Ji Ruo was prepared for a fight. Unexpectedly, one of the thicker trees touched the branch on Ji Ruo’s clothes with its own branch. The leaves shook slightly and rustled, as if telling Ji Ruo not to fall behind.
After that, the tree demons continued to migrate. Ji Ruo’s fruit had not yet slipped away, so he suddenly did not plan to leave.
Because when the treemen approved of Ji Ruo, he suddenly activated an achievement aperture.
[Little host, congratulations for unlocking functional skills: Let’s play house together!]
[Acquired skill: Influenced by the situation.]
[Sense of being brought in: During character showcase, if the identity you are acting as is within a ‘reasonable range,’ you can gain a 40% identity bonus, causing the people around the target to be brought in to a certain extent.]
[Remark: I’m the father today, and the grandfather tomorrow. The whole family will be solely comprised of me. Hehe!]
…
“Ji Ruo, you’re almost done, right? Let’s take advantage of the fact that these tree demons haven’t woken up yet and quickly run,” Liang Shixian said in a low voice.
As the class president, Liang Shixian had always been a good student.
In terms of theoretical knowledge, Liang Shixian was not much worse than Ji Ruo.
If Ji Ruo could think of the important points, Liang Shixian would have thought of them as well.
Of course, he knew that under normal circumstances, this kind of symbiotic tree demon wouldn’t take the initiative to attack the surrounding creatures.
However, even if he knew, it did not affect Liang Shixian’s fear.
“Leave?” Ji Ruo said seriously. We have big things to do now!”
“What’s the big deal?” Liang Shixian was stunned.
“Of course, we’re playing a game of house!”
Liang Shixian was rendered speechless.