Chapter 45

Sometimes, the difference between decay and immortality is simply a matter of patience.

Thinking this, Zhang Tie’s face showed a determined look, and he slowly withdrew his hand. When his hand was completely pulled back, a victorious smile appeared on Zhang Tie’s face. He took a deep breath, glanced at the small tree, and then locked onto the magical archway in his mind before leaving the Black Iron Fortress...

Zhang Tie himself did not realize that today’s small decision about patience had matured his mindset even further.

After returning to his humble shack, Zhang Tie stood for a moment, then sat on the bed and began to meditate and practice the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation." After finishing this, Zhang Tie took out the crystal from the window sill, where it had been charging in the crystal sand, and began to polish the Divine Palace Bright Spot. When his mental energy was almost depleted, Zhang Tie practiced the visualization content of the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation" again. He looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was still over an hour before he could return to the Black Iron Fortress. Suppressing the urge to go back, he fell asleep.

He slept until midnight, when he was woken by the need to urinate. He woke up from a dreamless, deep sleep.

Waking up, Zhang Tie, barefoot and in only his underwear, jumped out of bed. He quickly locked onto the magical archway in his mind and disappeared from the shack...

Several hours later, when Zhang Tie returned to the Black Iron Fortress, the first thing he did was not to run to the small tree to pick the fruit. Instead, he pulled down his shorts, took out his member, and urinated right there, about ten meters from the tree. He turned his back to the tree and relieved himself, feeling the pressure in his bladder release with a few shivers of comfort. Satisfied, he pulled up his shorts and approached the tree. As he got within four or five meters of the tree, Zhang Tie caught a whiff of a scent that invigorated his entire body. The scent was unique, with a hint of ripe fruit and a touch of sandalwood, along with a mysterious, indescribable aroma. It was very pleasant, and Zhang Tie inhaled deeply, savoring it. His gaze was drawn to the ripe No-Leak Fruit, which was emitting this fragrance.

At this moment, the No-Leak Fruit looked different from a few hours ago. It was still about the size of an egg, with a dark red color, but it had a glossy appearance. The smooth surface of the fruit had become slightly transparent, and inside, it seemed to have a faint, dark golden glow, like a color-changing wood.

"Swallow..." Zhang Tie couldn’t help but swallow, and his feet moved involuntarily toward the ripe No-Leak Fruit. He reached out to touch it.

—The No-Leak Fruit is ripe. Usage: Pick and eat directly. Note: The fruit cannot be taken out of the Black Iron Fortress. After twelve hours, the energy and essence within the fruit will gradually dissipate.

A semi-transparent dialogue box appeared, reminding Zhang Tie of the important points.

Watching the dialogue box slowly disappear, Zhang Tie’s chest rose and fell as he took two deep breaths. His eyes became resolute, and he picked the No-Leak Fruit like a peach, bringing it to his nose to smell it, then to his eyes to examine it. Finally, he tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the fruit whole.

As soon as Zhang Tie’s teeth broke the skin of the fruit, his mouth was filled with a rich, sweet juice. It was incredibly delicious, and his pores seemed to open in pleasure.

With a slurp, Zhang Tie greedily swallowed the first mouthful of juice, and the fruit had already shrunk by a small half. He took another bite, and in a few more, he had eaten it all. In terms of texture, the No-Leak Fruit was similar to a ripe tomato, but in terms of taste, Zhang Tie swore he had never eaten such a delicious fruit in his life.

Just as he finished the fruit, Zhang Tie extended his tongue to lick the residue from his lips, savoring the aftertaste and wondering how much this fruit would change him. But before he could fully savor it, the effects of the No-Leak Fruit began to spread through his chest and abdomen.

A warm, comforting heat began to rise in Zhang Tie’s chest and abdomen, then turned into a warm wave that started to rotate. After a couple of rotations, the warm wave, like a snake that had spotted its prey, turned and lunged directly at Zhang Tie’s Divine Palace Bright Spot. Realizing the target of the warm wave, Zhang Tie’s face changed, and he immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. Under the influence of the qi, he instantly entered a meditative state...

At this moment, a transformation was occurring at the Divine Palace Bright Spot in Zhang Tie’s navel, something he could not have anticipated. Under his感应 (induction), the powerful, sustained heat wave was now like a legendary fire dragon drilling into its cave, rotating around his Divine Palace Bright Spot. The Divine Palace Bright Spot was like a copper mouth, continuously devouring the warm energy that was being dispersed from the fire dragon. The dispersed energy was slowly expanding the "cave entrance," continuously remodeling it to allow the massive fire dragon to squeeze in. As the entrance grew larger, it could devour more energy, and the light inside the entrance became brighter. The fire dragon, which was rotating around the entrance, also spun faster.

After about ten minutes, with a "boom," the originally green entrance expanded, and the green light turned blue. However, even with the blue light, the entrance was still too small for the fire dragon, which continued to rotate around the entrance, continuously spewing warm energy into the cave. After another ten minutes, the blue light became even brighter and stronger, and with another "boom," the blue light turned purple, and the entrance expanded again. The fire dragon spun even faster, and the continuous flow of warm energy from the chest and abdomen transformed into a wave that supported the fire dragon’s power, with all the waves being injected into the larger, brighter entrance. After another half an hour, the purple entrance, which was growing larger, seemed to finally be able to accommodate the fire dragon’s body. The fire dragon immediately and without hesitation plunged its entire body into the entrance...

With another "boom," the long fire dragon completely entered the cave. The purple light, after a brief burst of brightness, turned into fragments of light that scattered in all directions. At the place where the dragon cave and the entrance had disappeared, a small red spark appeared, which then ignited into a stubborn flame burning in the darkness, continuously spreading its light and heat to the surrounding darkness and cold.

When his consciousness clearly "saw" the flame burning at the Divine Palace Bright Spot, Zhang Tie, sitting on the ground, cried, tears streaming down his face. Then, like a madman, he threw his head back and laughed. Even he had not expected that the flame of his Divine Palace Bright Spot would be ignited in this way today. The effect of a single No-Leak Fruit was astonishing, easily breaking through the three barriers of green, blue, and purple to ignite the Divine Palace Bright Spot, elevating him from an ordinary combat worker to a first-level combat soldier.

Could the No-Leak Fruit’s purpose be to ignite the Bright Spots? This question flashed through Zhang Tie’s mind, and then he stood up, feeling the sensation of his first Bright Spot being ignited.

This sensation was very strange. His entire body felt as if it were empty inside, with no organs, bones, or muscles. His body was like an empty sack, and it felt as if a wind was rising from the Divine Palace Bright Spot, blowing in all directions. The wind was like a warm spring breeze, bringing vitality wherever it blew. Zhang Tie’s brother had told him that when each Bright Spot on the body is ignited, there is a process of physical transformation and enhancement. This process can be very special, sometimes very comfortable, sometimes very painful, and can produce a variety of strange sensations. The comfort from some Bright Spots can be even more intense than the climax of sexual pleasure, while the pain from others can be as severe as childbirth, truly making one feel the transformation from a cocoon to a butterfly.

The warm wind from the Divine Palace blew for about seven or eight minutes before stopping. Then, Zhang Tie’s body made a series of popping sounds, which lasted for over a minute. This was the "bone realignment" process that everyone experienced after the first ignition of the Divine Palace Bright Spot. Zhang Tie found this process very enjoyable. It felt as if an invisible hand of creation was manipulating him, and with a few casual movements, he felt as if his entire skeleton was being fine-tuned and adjusted, like a machine fresh out of the factory. After this process, his bones seemed to be in a state of perfect alignment, and he felt full of strength and unprecedented coordination, making him want to shout out in joy.

Living in this era, one only truly begins the path of cultivation at this point.

"Teacher Daina, I’m here! I’ve ignited the Divine Palace Bright Spot, ah..."

Zhang Tie threw his head back and shouted to the sky!