Upon plucking the second fruit, Lin Mu noticed that the branches and leaves in front of him were moving.
'They certainly aren't moving from the wind… and neither from the vibrations…' Lin Mu narrowed his eyes.
But after watching it for a few seconds, the leaves stopped moving, making him think that he was just mistaken.
"I need to search for other fruits, I can't waste any more time…" Lin Mu wandered around searching for more.
He was getting better at sensing the fruits, as his body was also responding to the energy of the fruits better. Lin Mu could only attribute it to him being a body cultivator, for his body to respond to vitality like this.
'Even if I don't necessarily need the added vitality from the fruits of the Violet Mystic Life Tree, my body still hungers for it… Guess there's no such thing as too much lifespan.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Being a dual body and Qi cultivator, Lin Mu's current longevity was more than ten thousand years. It was actually hard to estimate for even Xukong, since it could actually vary depending on the quality of Lin Mu's body.
The longevity could also change later on, thus confirming it was difficult. Only the Ten thousand years could be said with a guarantee. At a maximum, there was a chance Lin Mu could easily have over fifteen thousand years of longevity at his current cultivation base.
This was a massive number that most cultivators wouldn't have. But then again, this was a benefit that only dual body and Qi cultivators had. While it came with its own difficulties, as long as one could overcome them, it was all worth it.
The long lifespan Lin Mu had was also making him wonder if he should just enter seclusion and hone his occupational skills for a while.
Five more minutes passed like this before Lin Mu stumbled upon the third fruit!
"Good!" Lin Mu carefully plucked the fruit and stored it in the wooden box safely.
~RUSTLE~RUSTLE~
~THUD~
But as soon as he did that, the branch in front of him moved and slapped his hand!
"What the!?" Lin Mu was surprised by this.
~BOOM~
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt~CRACK~
At the same time, a large explosion happened at the barrier, making it crack.
"Shit! They've already cracked it!" Lin Mu wondered if he needed to escape now.
~WOONG~
But before he could follow on that thought, winds started to stirs around the Violet Mystic Life Tree. Then in the next moment, strong energy fluctuations rose from the tree, stunning Lin Mu.
"What's happening?" Lin Mu became alert.
~KACHA~ KACHA~
"HAHA! The barrier is broken!" The members of the Grand Sky Pavilion explained.
"Everyone charge in!" The elders ordered.
~SHUA~ ~SHUA~
"Dammit! They've broken in…" Lin Mu knew his time here had come to an end.
~rustle~ rustle~
~CREAK~
But at this point, he felt a massive wave of energy spreading from the Violet Mystic Life Tree.
"Ugh!" it was strong enough to send Lin Mu flying back.
~WOONG~
The entire Violet Mystic Life Tree started to shake, as its branches moved. The veins on the leaves grew brightly while its trunk swayed.
~HUALA~
Lin Mu watched as Tens of thousands of runes spread out from the leaves of the Violet Mystic Life Tree. The runes were all in Dao Script and were so intricate, Lin Mu could barely read a fraction of them.
"It can't be… this tree…" Lin Mu started to realize something.
~CRACK~CRACK~CRACK~
But this seemed to merely be the start of something huge as the trunk of the Violet Mystic Life Tree suddenly cracked and split!
Lin Mu watched in shock, wondering if the tree was damaged somehow. But then he saw a red glow filling the cracked trunk. A familiar bloody aura permeated the cracks in the trunk and soon turned into a thick viscous fluid.
"This can't be… it's similar to that strange rock creature…" Lin Mu recalled the creature that had attacked him and Little Shrubby when they had arrived in the Desolate Blood Battlefield.
The aura that the Violet Mystic Life Tree was now emitting was very similar to that.
'No… it's actually stronger!' Lin Mu grasped.
~HONG~
By this time, the runes that had spread out from the Violet Mystic Life Tree were now assembled into a large array. Lin Mu couldn't understand what the array was from looking at it, but soon understood its effect by merely experiencing it.
"I can't—" Lin Mu suddenly became unable to fly and plummeted to the ground.
~THUD~
His body crashed into the ground, leaving an imprint in it.
"Ugh… why can't I fly?" Lin Mu was confused.
~THUD~THUD~THUD~
"AHH!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
"What's happening!?"
But it wasn't just him that was unable to fly. The members of the Grand Sky Pavilion that had entered the area of the Violet Mystic Life Tree also experienced the same thing and fell to the ground.
"What's this elder?" the junior members of the Grand Sky Pavilion asked.
"How's this possible?" the elder though seemed to be stunned.
He was looking at his hands, having noticed something more than the others.
But being experienced, he didn't stay in his dazed state for long.
"EVERYONE! MOVE BACK!" The elder shouted.
"Why elder?" they asked.
"Move back or you won't be able to—" Before the elder could finish his words though, the others had understood.
"I can't sense Immortal Qi!?"
"I can't mobilize my own immortal Qi either!"
"How's this possible?"
~SHUA~SHUA~SHUA~
More runes started to rise from the Violet Mystic Life Tree, and soon turned into formations.
These formations though were something the formation masters could identify.
"Heavens! Fire Fall offensive formations!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM~
Just a few seconds later, all the formations in the air lit up and hundreds of fire balls were shot out of them. The fireballs landed on the cultivators who had entered the area, injuring them and sending them flying.
Lin Mu who watched all this was stunned.
"The Violet Mystic Life Tree has awakened?"