Xu Nian immediately dashed towards the direction of the Spiritual Jade Fruit.
"Xu Nian, be careful!"
However, at this moment, Emperor Xuanwu spoke up to warn him.
Xu Nian was startled and then he saw a vine suddenly shoot out from the Spiritual Jade Fruit Tree ahead.
Like an eastern sword.
It aimed to pierce through Xu Nian's body.
Xu Nian's gaze instantly sharpened, and a sharp sword appeared in his hand.
He swung the sword at the vine.
The sword struck the vine, but surprisingly, it did not cut through.
"What a sturdy vine," Xu Nian muttered to himself.
Soon, the vine tightly wrapped around the sword in his hand.
The sword, only of Meteorite Iron Level, was directly snapped by the vine.
"These vines are extremely hard, comparable to Divine Iron, and they possess strong offensive capabilities. Once entangled, it is very difficult to break free, and the Defensive Light Shield becomes weaker under its attack," Emperor Xuanwu explained.
"So that's how it is," Xu Nian muttered to himself.
However, soon a smile appeared on his face.
Comparable to Divine Iron.
That meant it was not as good as Divine Iron.
The vine, having missed its first strike, came at Xu Nian again.
Xu Nian smiled faintly.
Another Immortal Sword appeared in his hand.
A strong Wind Attribute Dimension Cutting Profound Argumentation emanated from it.
Xu Nian instantly swung his sword.
The vine was immediately cut by Xu Nian's stroke.
The vine emitted a strange cry.
Then Xu Nian saw the small tree uproot itself and head toward the depths of the Dark Abyss.
"Thinking of running?"
Xu Nian immediately turned into a bolt of lightning and chased after it.
At the same time, he swung his sharp sword.
The small tree was directly split into two parts.
And Xu Nian caught the Spiritual Jade Fruit in his hand.
The fruit was somewhat cold, but it contained a strange power within.
If he had not guessed wrongly, it was this power that helped cultivators expand their Dantian.
Xu Nian did not hesitate and directly stuffed the fruit into his mouth.
"Just eating it like that? The power of this fruit is very violent, you need to sit down and regulate your breath, otherwise, it can easily cause the Dantian to collapse," Emperor Xuanwu spoke again.
Xu Nian just smiled faintly.
He was not concerned at all.
The Dan Sea Species Green Lotus he cultivated was completely unfazed by any violent power.
Indeed, once the fruit entered his stomach, it transformed into a surge of power that rushed into Xu Nian's Dantian.
As this power swept into the Dantian,
Xu Nian's entire Dantian actually expanded by twice its original size.
"Huh, it's actually useful!" Xu Nian muttered to himself, his face showing a look of joy.
An expansion of the Dantian by twice its size meant that Xu Nian could accumulate more Spiritual Energy before breaking through to the Zifu Realm.
This would make his entry into the Zifu Realm much more stable.
Even his potential in the Zifu would be greater than the average person.
"I didn't expect this fruit to have such great effects. It looks like I need to pick a few more," Xu Nian muttered to himself.
After finishing, Xu Nian continued to sweep around.
He wanted to find more fruits .
While Xu Nian was searching for the fruits,
above the Dark Abyss,
there were currently two figures floating.
One was dressed in a red robe, and the other in a black long robe.
The person in the red robe was the Whale Emperor.
As for the man in the black robe beside him, his true face was not clear.
However, the aura emanating from him was incredibly powerful.
"Are you sure the Dark God Island Master has already secluded himself in closing up?" the man in the black robe asked the Whale Emperor beside him.
"Yes, I've confirmed it, so you can feel confident to make your move," replied the Whale Emperor with a light laugh.
"Hmph, I hope what you're saying is true, otherwise both of us will die," the black-robed man said. "Since Xu Nian carries the entire inheritance of the Dark God Island Master, he is definitely regarded highly by the master. Normally, I wouldn't even enter your waters."
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems," said the Whale Emperor. "Just kill Xu Nian and all the inheritance of the Dark God Island Master will be yours, then you can leave this place. I only want the Spiritual Jade Fruits they carry; I'll bear all the consequences."
"It seems you plan to consume the Spiritual Jade Fruit and then make a breakthrough, leaving the Forbidden Sea area?" said the black-robed man with a cold laugh.
"Exactly, I've reached a bottleneck now. As long as I consume another Spiritual Jade Fruit and accumulate some Spiritual Energy, I can break through directly to the Zifu Middle-stage, and then I will not fear the Heavenly Tribulation at all," said the Whale Emperor.
His eyes were filled with excitement.
Indeed, their goal in obtaining the Spiritual Jade Fruit was to successfully break through to a higher realm when the time came.
This way, they would have more chances of surviving the impending Heavenly Tribulation.
"Hmph, but from what you've said, this human named Xu Nian still has plenty of secrets," the black-robed man said. "Otherwise, how could a youth under twenty possess such high Cultivation?"
"You're right, Xu Nian indeed has many secrets," said the Whale Emperor. "I had people inquire about him on the Tianhen Continent; Xu Nian already has quite a reputation there, and he's grown so much in less than five years."
"Five years? Even in the Cultivation World, nobody could reach such a realm within five years. It seems Xu Nian is truly extraordinary. When I kill him later, his secrets will be ours," the black-robed man said with a cold laugh.
A cold smile also appeared on the corner of the Whale Emperor's mouth.
He looked down at the Dark Abyss, his eyes unusually cunning.
"Xu Nian, I originally begged you for a chance, but since you disagreed, don't blame me for being ruthless," said the Whale Emperor, a trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
And while the Whale Emperor and the black-robed man were waiting at the entrance for Xu Nian and others,
Xu Nian had also just collected three more Spiritual Jade Fruits.
Xuan Hong and the Three Emperors also had their harvests.
Although the yields varied, it was still worth the while.
"It's about time we left," Xu Nian calculated the time and said.
The others around him agreed one after another.
Then the group aimed to sweep out of the Dark Abyss.
However, at that moment,
a vine came directly from the deep parts of the Dark Abyss.
It pierced through Xu Nian's Defensive Light Shield,
latching onto Xu Nian's ankle.
Xu Nian was taken aback,
and quickly drew his Immortal Sword to sever the vine.
But before Xu Nian could act,
the vine suddenly exerted force,
snatching Xu Nian towards the depths of the abyss.
Xuan Hong and the others immediately noticed Xu Nian's predicament.
However, as they were about to rescue Xu Nian,
a terrifying force suddenly hit their Defensive Light Shields,
blasting them all out of the Dark Abyss.
While Xu Nian struck his Immortal Sword into the wall, attempting to stop his descent,
he found the power too overwhelming.
His speed was not reduced at all.
Eventually, he was pulled to the bottom of the abyss.