In An Qisheng's view, it shouldn't be difficult for Xiang Yu to find his cave. Asking him to lead the way was a sign of respect, and he couldn't refuse such a gesture.
The horse gallops, it really is galloping.
Soon, guided by An Qisheng, Xiang Yu flew into a fog, and the land below gradually became clear, which was Penglai Immortal Island.
The fog around Penglai Island has a certain mesmerizing effect on ordinary people. In addition, there are many reefs around it, so very few ships come near. Even An Qisheng himself has to be very careful if he wants to go to the island.
However, with the transformation of Wuzhui into a celestial horse, everything became simple.
"This is truly a paradise on earth," Xiang Yu exclaimed.
An Qisheng smiled slightly, "That mountain is my place of cultivation. My humble abode is simple and unadorned, and I hope that the Great God and His Majesty will not find it offensive."
"This place is nice." Hao Jiu suddenly appeared above Xiang Yu's head, looking down at An Qisheng. His Sagittarius Gold Cloth attire immediately dazzled An Qisheng's eyes.
Especially the moment his large wings spread open, he looked incredibly heroic and divine, and despite being covered in golden armor, he didn't give off the slightest nouveau riche vibe.
"This humble Taoist greets the Great God!" An Qisheng was thrilled; the Great God had finally shown himself to him!
"No need for formalities." Hao Jiu felt very pleased when he saw An Qisheng's expression. Back then, he was wearing a vest and shorts, and his appearance was extremely ugly. Apart from Xiang Yu, no one else could see him.
After completing the novice missions and becoming a full-fledged member, Hao Jiu mastered the essentials of becoming visible, finally allowing mortals or ghosts to see him.
"Thank you, great god!" An Qisheng seemed to understand something. He figured this great god must be a god of war or something similar, otherwise why would he be wearing a suit of armor?
The black horse landed in the courtyard of the thatched cottage. In the thickest part of the fog, a jujube tree more than three zhang tall could be faintly seen.
“Great God, this is my immortal jujube tree. Sixty years ago, it could bear nearly a thousand immortal jujubes in a good year, but now it is getting worse year by year… Alas!” An Qisheng walked into the jujube tree and roughly estimated that there were only about two hundred white jujubes on the tree.
Hao Jiu could also tell that the jujube tree's harvest was poor this year. "I wonder what wonderful uses this immortal jujube has?"
"These dates can prolong life; each immortal date can extend one's life by approximately one day." An Qisheng didn't hide anything; he figured the great god probably wouldn't even bother with his few dates.
It would be strange if you didn't like it!
Hao Jiu's eyes practically lit up. Although a single jujube could only extend one's life by one day, there were so many jujubes that it was impossible to live a whole year without eating one. Well, no, it was that as long as this tree existed, immortality was not a dream. No wonder An Qisheng could live so long.
Xiang Yu's breathing also became a little heavier. Hao Jiu had said that the rare and precious materials in the God's Shop that could increase lifespan were all very expensive.
"King Xiang, shall we get rid of An Qisheng?" Hao Jiu said to Xiang Yu in his heart.
"Hmm?" Xiang Yu's expression immediately turned cold.
"Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Don't take it too seriously, Xiang Yu. An Qisheng is our friend, and a very close one at that. He'll definitely take the initiative to send us off."
Hao Jiu roared inwardly, "Let's split it in half when we meet, bro!"
Chapter 227 Exchange
Hao Jiu knew that Xiang Yu would not agree to kill and seize the treasure, so he had already thought of other ways.
Regardless, these jujubes that can increase lifespan are a must-have.
"This year's harvest isn't very good, is it?" Hao Jiu smiled slightly.
"Alas, these past few years have been really tough. A harvest of more than five hundred immortal dates is considered a good one. In recent years, it's been difficult to even get more than four hundred. However, although there are fewer dates, they are still larger than in previous years, and each date can extend one's lifespan by a few hours."
After saying this, An Qisheng took out the health-preserving jade pendant that Hao Jiu had given him from his bosom and hung it on the jujube tree. "With this jade pendant, the jujubes should be able to grow bigger. In another two months, the jujubes will be ripe, and at that time, I will send some to His Majesty to enjoy."
"Then thank you very much, Immortal Master," Xiang Yu said, bowing.
"This jujube tree is the foundation of Master An's cultivation of immortality. King Xiang cannot take the immortal jujubes for nothing. Let me exchange them for something." Hao Jiu said, then gently pointed forward. "This is the water of the Milky Way. Take it."
Although Xiang Yu had already ascended the throne as emperor, Hao Jiu still liked to call him King Xiang or Overlord, as he had gotten used to it and was unwilling to change it, while Xiang Yu himself did not care much about this title.
An Qisheng stared wide-eyed at the crystal-clear water sphere, then his face lit up with ecstatic joy. "Thank you so much, Master!"
Even without An Qisheng saying it, Hao Jiu could probably guess why the jujube tree was getting worse year by year: the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was almost depleted, and it would be even less after the planes were split.
If this situation is not improved, the tree will inevitably produce even less next year.
But would Hao Jiu possibly ignore this?
Of course not, this is an extremely profitable business!
The reduced jujube yield is related to the overall decrease in spiritual energy concentration in the plane. Therefore, directly irrigating with Heavenly River water to replenish spiritual energy can completely restore the jujube yield to the level of hundreds of years ago.
An Qisheng carefully cupped the celestial river water and brought it close to the roots of the jujube tree, watering it little by little.
Then, the small white jujubes on the tree swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the entire jujube tree grew taller.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!" An Qisheng clapped his hands and laughed, "The Heavenly River water bestowed by the Great God is truly a divine object! Although the number of dates this year is small, their size already surpasses that of previous years. When they ripen in two months, they will be even larger. I imagine that each celestial date could easily add three days to one's lifespan!"
"That would be perfect. Also, Xiang Yu and I plan to go to the split plane to see if there is such a tree. If there is, there will be plenty of these immortal dates." Hao Jiu smiled slightly.
Xiang Yu's eyes lit up, "The sixth plane alone has seventeen times the production. If all the planes were added together..."
An Qisheng's breathing also became heavy. "Great God, I want to go to the sixth plane to take a look. Regardless of whether there is a celestial tree or not, I want to merge with that clone."
"Alright, let's set off immediately." Hao Jiu was overjoyed. An Qisheng was quite decisive. It was undeniable that having many clones allowed for faster cultivation, but without enough immortal dates to support them, the clones would all die of old age, and even the main body would die of old age. What would be the point of cultivating immortality then?
Now that he has merged with the clone of the sixth plane, even without the Heavenly River water to irrigate him in the future, the seventeen-fold increase in production will be enough for An Qisheng to continue to live forever.
Of course, if the effects of the Heavenly River water were added, Xiang Yu and the others would also have a chance to achieve immortality, and could simply eat the immortal dates as their main meal.
The sixth plane.
An Qisheng sensed the location of his clone as soon as he stepped out of the time tunnel; it was Penglai Immortal Island.
As the courtyard gradually came into view, the jujube tree also came into view.
Hao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. The God of the System had said before that true treasures could not be copied from different planes, so it seemed that this immortal jujube tree was not a true treasure.
Or perhaps that time-reversal item is so powerful that it can even replicate the Black Dragon System. A tree is nothing special; in a cultivation world, the extra lifespan wouldn't even be enough for one seclusion.
At this moment, An Qisheng, the clone, was standing under the jujube tree, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.
"I see. This humble Taoist pays his respects to the God of Wine..."
The starlight returned to An Qisheng's body, causing him to involuntarily groan, "Ah~"
Hao Jiu got goosebumps all over and couldn't help but wonder in his heart, "Was it this enjoyable when Xiang Yu merged with Xiang Yu?"
"Yes, it really feels great." Xiang Yu carefully examined An Qisheng.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Hahaha..." An Qisheng laughed uncontrollably, "I never thought that fusing with a clone could increase one's cultivation by a hundred years. If I were to fuse with all the other clones, wouldn't I be able to ascend to immortality in broad daylight?"
Hao Jiu felt strange. Xiang Yu and Wuzhui's strength doubled after merging, so why did An Qisheng only gain a hundred years of cultivation?
However, Hao Jiu thought about it again and realized that although An Qisheng was called the Thousand-Year-Old Man by later generations, it was actually an exaggeration. In history, An Qisheng only lived for a little over five hundred years from becoming a disciple to ascending to immortality.
An Qisheng's current age is around one hundred years old, so there is no problem in adding a hundred years of cultivation.
Hao Jiu is not sure whether An Qisheng will ascend to heaven in broad daylight after absorbing all his clones, but it is definitely possible, as seven hundred years of cultivation is not low.
If An Qisheng absorbs all the clones and ascends directly, that would be fine; at least he could leave behind seven immortal jujube trees.
But what if he didn't ascend directly, but instead became invincible and rampant throughout the world due to his greatly increased magical power?
Or perhaps they packed up the jujube tree and took it with them?
Hao Jiu rolled his eyes and pondered for a moment, "Master An, your state of mind is not yet sufficient to become an immortal. What use would it be if you gained a thousand years of cultivation out of thin air? Don't put the cart before the horse."
An Qisheng's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Thank you for your guidance, great master. I was being presumptuous."
"Excellent. Anyone would be unsettled to receive such a benefit out of thin air. It is truly rare for Daoist An to be able to maintain his integrity. He will surely achieve great things in the future," Hao Jiu said with satisfaction.
"I am ashamed." An Qisheng felt increasingly frightened as he thought about it. He had almost lost his way, but fortunately, the God of Wine reminded him.
"Master An, these dates are almost ripe. Why not use some more Heavenly River Water?" Hao Jiu said, then sent out another portion of Heavenly River Water, which was worth 100 Great Energy Points!
"Thank you so much, great master!" An Qisheng said, then carefully dripped the water from the Milky Way onto the tree.
The jujubes on the tree visibly increased in size, their color turned fiery red, and the canopy became more lush.
Xiang Yu swallowed hard as he looked at the jujubes on the tree. They were so tempting that he wanted to eat them. Even his black horse, Wuzhui, was having trouble resisting the temptation.
An Qisheng was overjoyed. With a wave of his sleeve, a celestial breeze swept by, and a hundred celestial dates flew down from the tree. An Qisheng caught them in his Taoist robe and came to Xiang Yu.
"This is just a small gift; I hope Your Majesty will accept it with a smile."
Xiang Yu glanced at Hao Jiu, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
With a wave of his hand, Hao Jiu stored all one hundred immortal dates into his storage space.
"If the Overlord likes it, then in the future, let's exchange more Heavenly River Water with Master An for some Immortal Dates. Besides eating them ourselves, we can also give them as rewards to our family and subordinates. What do you think?"
Xiang Yu pondered for a moment, then asked, "Immortal An, are you willing?"
"I couldn't be happier!" An Qisheng was extremely excited. With the Heavenly River Narcissus Dates, there would definitely be a bumper harvest. He would not lose anything at all, and would even make a profit.
"Hahaha... Excellent!" Xiang Yu clapped his hands and laughed, it couldn't be better if everyone was happy.
Just then, a dazzling light emanated from Hao Jiu's chest, signifying the perfect awakening of his supernatural powers!
Chapter 228 Awakening Supernatural Powers
Awakening to the pinnacle of supernatural powers!
Hao Jiu laughed inwardly, "Xiang Yu, let's go."
"Good." Xiang Yu was very happy; it really was a series of good news.
"Master An, would you like to come back to the main plane with us?" Hao Jiu asked.
An Qisheng thought for a moment, "I will stay here for now."
Hao Jiu nodded and said, "That's fine. The time flow rate in the sixth plane is seventeen times that of the main plane. Master An can harvest the immortal dates here a couple more times before returning to the main plane to harvest more."
“That makes sense. However, the water of the Milky Way is extremely precious, far more valuable than those hundred immortal dates. Therefore, let’s give all the harvest of the immortal tree in the main plane this year to the Great God and His Majesty. I wish to cultivate in the sixth plane for a longer period of time,” An Qisheng said with a smile.
"In that case, I will pre-allocate another portion of Heavenly River Water. If the yield decreases next year, Master An can use some." Hao Jiu conjured up another ball of Heavenly River Water as he spoke.
An Qisheng quickly took out a jade bottle and put the water of the Milky Way into it. "Thank you, great god."
"Farewell." Hao Jiu cupped his hands in farewell and then disappeared.
Xiang Yu mounted his black horse, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Immortal Master An, we shall meet again another day. I take my leave now."
"Your Majesty, please take care..."