Thinking of this, Zhou Yan quickly rushed towards the mountaintop of Longquan Mountain, because there was a waterfall on the mountaintop. The sound of the waterfall was relatively clear, and the gurgling sound of the flowing water could be heard distinctly.
Zhou Yan rushed to the edge of the cliff, leaped across, and then swiftly flew down, landing below the waterfall, and was washed down by the flowing water.
The waterfall was not too large, about twenty to thirty meters high. However, there were many stalagmites below the cliff. Zhou Yan climbed up a few meters along the stalagmites and finally ascended the waterfall.
Standing on the waterfall, Zhou Yan looked up at the flowing water. Watching the cascading water, Zhou Yan felt a surge of excitement because the waterfall was very rapid and the water flowed extremely fast. As Zhou Yan stood above the waterfall observing the flow, the water below became increasingly fierce and urgent. Finally, a giant wave, tens of meters long and weighing tens of tons, suddenly surged out of the pool, splashing towards Zhou Yan.
Seeing this, Zhou Yan's heart constricted in fear, and he quickly jumped down. However, halfway down, he noticed something unusual. There were many stalagmites within the waterfall, and their shapes were all the same, like giant spheres. Although these stalagmites appeared small to Zhou Yan, he found that they were over a meter thick.
"Could these stalagmites have been eaten by the Dragon Emperor?" Zhou Yan wondered. He immediately circulated the Nine Yang Art within his body, activating it to elevate the flame power within him to its strongest state. He planned to try to roast these stalagmites.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of the giant waves crashing against the stalagmites echoed through the night. Under the impact of the waves, these stalagmites shattered, turning into dust and dissipating into the darkness.
However, Zhou Yan did not give up. He continued to use the flame power within his body to roast these stalagmites, hoping they would help him break through.
Zhou Yan roasted a total of eight stalagmites and then wrapped them in his clothes. By this time, he was ravenously hungry and needed to fill his stomach.
Whether human or beast, food is essential for sustenance. Zhou Yan was no exception; he was human and needed to replenish energy. Therefore, he couldn't waste time and had to find a safe place to rest as soon as possible.
"Huh? What is that?" Suddenly, Zhou Yan's gaze fell upon a large tree not far away. The tree was hundreds of meters tall with dense foliage. Moss grew all over its trunk, and its leaves were golden-yellow, with a flower growing on each leaf, looking extremely bizarre.
Zhou Yan observed the tree closely. The tree looked so peculiar, and its leaves bore many golden fruits. Furthermore, he noticed a bunch of grapes hanging from the very top of the canopy.
Zhou Yan had never seen such a strange tree.
The giant tree appeared to be a hundred meters tall, with a massive apple at the top of its canopy. On the canopy, there were also many golden fruits on a leaf. On the ground beneath the tree, many golden fruits were piled up, varying in size from palm-sized to foot-sized, some as thick as an arm, and others larger than a head...
Zhou Yan had never seen so many golden fruits. Some of these fruits were ripe, while others were just maturing. It seemed these fruits were from the previous year. They were all golden-yellow and looked very sweet.
Upon seeing the giant tree, Zhou Yan's interest was greatly piqued, and he wanted to understand what had happened. Therefore, he decided to investigate first. If these golden fruits were poisonous, he would have no choice but to accept his fate. Otherwise, he would have to hide and await the Dragon Emperor's pursuit.
Zhou Yan crouched beneath the tree and picked up a golden fruit that was slightly larger than his thumb, examining it carefully. He found no trace of any potent poison within these golden fruits.
"They look quite ordinary, but they appear to be very sweet. I wonder how they taste," Zhou Yan mumbled, and then prepared to open his mouth and swallow the golden fruit.
Just as Zhou Yan's lips touched the golden fruit, a terrifying energy instantly surged into his body, making his body incredibly hot.
"This... How could this happen? What is going on!"
Zhou Yan exclaimed, his face showing surprise.
"This is bad! These golden fruits must be poisonous, otherwise my body temperature wouldn't have increased so suddenly!"
Zhou Yan immediately stopped eating the golden fruits and quickly circulated the Nine Yang Art to dissipate the terrifying energy within his body.
As Zhou Yan circulated the Nine Yang Art, a surge of heat flowed through his body. Immediately, he felt the intense heat on his body subside significantly, and his body became incredibly comfortable. He felt invigorated, and his injuries were almost fully healed.
Zhou Yan looked at the giant tree, which appeared very strange. However, he couldn't resist sticking out his tongue and gently licking the golden fruit. He found that the golden fruit was cool to the touch, without any warmth, which made Zhou Yan overjoyed. He knew that this golden fruit must be poisonous.
"Haha... I didn't expect to be so lucky! I've encountered Golden Cicada Shedding Fruit. This kind of good stuff is a rare treasure in the world," Zhou Yan said, looking at the golden fruit in his hand and laughing heartily, feeling very excited.
"This must be the Golden Cicada Shedding Fruit. It's a spiritual fruit rarely found in the world. If refined into a pill, it would definitely be a top-grade pill, and an exceptionally good one. I wonder what its effects are," Zhou Yan muttered to himself.
With this thought, Zhou Yan put the Golden Cicada Shedding Fruit into his Qiankun Ring. He then collected the other six stalagmites, planning to study them carefully later.
Following this, Zhou Yan stood up, preparing to leave. He noticed that there seemed to be many more Golden Cicada Shedding Fruits growing nearby, so he had to hurry and collect them before others could snatch them away.
"Hmm? What is that!" At this moment, Zhou Yan suddenly noticed a dark shadow flashing with red light beside a large rock not far away. This startled Zhou Yan, and he quickly ran towards the rock.
When Zhou Yan reached the rock, he saw a corpse lying beside it. The corpse had its limbs severed, and its chest was pierced directly by a metal rod. Blood was continuously gushing from the body, which Zhou Yan had not seen clearly before.