An hour passed during which Lin Mu had thought up of a plan that he may be able to use, but there were still some uncertainties that were problematic for him. The two biggest ones being him needing to find that Brown Forest Shrubby Cat and then somehow making it show him the way to the spirit fruit.
While being lost in his thought, Lin Mu didn’t even realize that he had already entered the Northern town. He only broke out of his stupor after being greeted by some town guards. Lin Mu recognized one of them to be part of the Hei Corps and simply nodded at them before continuing on to his house.
He looked around the town and could see the stalls being set up along the street.
’Oh? They’re starting already? Are the merchants coming early this year or something?’ Lin Mu wondered.
The merchant’s caravan would come to the region every year, four times or once every three months. Their first visit of the year was at the start of the spring and their last one was before the start of the winter. Although they would usually come to Northern town at the very last and would normally start from the western town circling around to the southern town, eastern town, and then finally northern town before entering Wu Lim City.
They did this because the Hunters took a little while to complete their first hunt of the year and obtained sufficient materials and goods to sell to the merchants. The merchants would also bring them fresh grain from the southern parts of the kingdom so that they could replenish their food stocks that get depleted during the winter.
Lin Mu felt curious and thus decided to ask around. The people this time were quite genial to him as he was now recognized as an influential person in the town. Lin Mu could not help but feel a bit emotional at this moment.
’Mother, Father, your son finally has the recognition that you once wished for me.’ Lin Mu internally prayed.
For a very brief moment the character meaning ’Ordained’ glowed on Lin Mu’s forehead. This went unnoticed by everyone, and even Xukong did not sense it, not to mention Lin Mu.
Lin Mu talked with a few people and learned that the hunters were already ready for the hunt and would be going for it tomorrow. The acting town head who was Hei Bao had apparently asked the mercenaries to let them hunt and vacate the area for three days.
The mercenaries happily accepted and did not mind it as they were going to head deeper in the forest, anyway. Not to mention, after all the help that the Hei Corps provided them, they would be staining their honor if they did not heed his request.
"Seems like Hei Wan taking over was a good decision." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
Having learned all this, Lin Mu reached his house and immediately started setting up the meat to be cooked. While the meat cooked, Lin Mu pondered more on his plan and decided to ask Senior Xukong a few questions.
"Senior this Dual Circle Ascension fruit, can you tell me more about it?" Lin Mu asked.
"Of course. Dual Circle Ascension fruit is a spirit fruit that grows on the Dual Circle Ascension Vine. The vine sprouts into two from the ground and forms circles around the tree that it is growing on, thus the name Dual Circle Ascension.
It is a rather rare spirit plant and its fruits are used to raise the aptitude of cultivators. But of course, the increase is not that great, being around one percent at the very most. While the fruits can grow every few months depending on the nutrients available, the vine itself can take decades to grow." Xukong answered.
"But Senior, if it can raise the aptitude of cultivators, doesn’t that mean it’s very valuable? Won’t cultivators just keep on eating the fruits to raise their aptitude?" Lin Mu questioned again.
"While it is indeed quite valuable, its fruits become ineffective after a while. A cultivator won’t be able to raise their aptitude for a certain point using them as they will soon develop a resistance to the effects of the Dual Circle Ascension fruit.
Still, as long as the vine can keep on producing fruits, it will stay valuable, especially for sects. For cultivation sects, such a spirit herb that can keep on producing fruits is immensely valuable, and they would do anything to get their hands on one.
But the thing that I am doubtful about is that the Dual Circle Ascension Vine cannot grow easily. Not only does it require a strong tree to absorb nutrients from, but it also needs a large amount of spirit qi to grow, an amount which is quite likely not present in the Northern forest.
That’s why I have doubts whether it is a Dual Circle Ascension vine or some other spirit herb. But considering the effect it had on the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat, others seem unlikely." Xukong explained.
Lin Mu carefully listened to Senior Xukong’s words and contemplated on them. He realized that the chances of it being a Dual Circle Ascension vine were getting lower and lower the more he thought. Still, he did not lose hope and wanted to find it.
But the thing that would lead Lin Mu to the Dual Circle Ascension fruit was none other than the Brown Shrubby Forest cat. In order to make it guide him to it, he would first have to find it.
"For this, you would need to tame the beast. That would give you the best chances of finding the Dual Circle Ascension fruit as just betting on the off chance that the Brown Shrubby Forest would go back there is quite less.
On the other hand, this would also allow you to test your aptitude in beast taming." Xukong suggested.
Lin Mu’s eyes lit up after hearing Senior Xukong’s suggestion, and he started looking forward to it.