(Five hundred chapters exactly, thank you to all readers who have accompanied me this far.)
"Ryun-sama, please try this spirit fruit. Also, collected a Purification Spirit Flower, which I will give to this lady."
The great slug offered the spirit fruit presented by the white ape to Ryun, and a small slug also delivered a spirit flower to Nanaise.
"You should eat it yourself."
Ryun smiled and declined its kindness.
"How can that be? The two of you have come all the way to Shikkotsu Forest, I must certainly host you properly." The great slug insisted that Ryun accept the spiritual items.
Ryun really could not win against its insistence and ultimately had no choice but to accept the items.
"This flower is called a Purification Spirit Flower? What effect does eating it have?" Ryun asked curiously, looking at the white spirit flower in Nanaise's hand.
"As the name suggests, the Purification Spirit Flower is used to purify the body. Eating this spirit flower can expel toxins accumulated within the body, making living beings healthier. I hear this spirit flower is a favorite among women. Little Tsunade orders a Purification Spirit Flower every year because it has the miraculous effect of beautifying and maintaining youth."
The great slug earnestly explained the flower's effects. Ryun then promptly borrowed a small slug from the great slug to use for identifying plants within his Kamui dimension.
He had collected so many spiritual roots in Shikkotsu Forest. Some plants, though they all possess spiritual energy, might actually contain potent toxins or side effects. Without understanding the effects of these spiritual roots, he dared not give them to his family to eat.
Take the Purification Spirit Flower, for example. Although it has the miraculous effects of detoxification and beauty maintenance and is deeply loved by women, eating it has the side effect of causing severe diarrhea, a point the great slug proactively reminded him of.
"And this spirit fruit? What effect does eating it have?" Ryun asked again, holding the bright red spirit fruit.
"This type of spirit fruit contains spiritual energy. Like most spirit flowers and herbs, it has the effect of enhancing senjutsu chakra."
Hearing it had no particularly special effects, Ryun directly tossed the fruit to his daughter, letting the little glutton taste it.
Nanaise showed no interest in the spirit flower with detoxifying and beautifying effects but stared at the spirit fruit for a good while. Clearly, she was just craving it.
The spirit fruit was crisp, sweet, and delicious with a rich fruity aroma the moment she took a bite. Nanaise's eyes immediately lit up. This was the first time she had eaten such a delicious fruit.
"Sweet and juicy, this fruit is so delicious, Daddy, you try it too."
After taking another bite, she handed the remaining half of the fruit to her father, obviously wanting to share this rare delicacy with Ryun.
"If it's delicious, you should eat the whole thing." Ryun patted her head and smiled.
"No, it's really, really good. Daddy, you must try it too." Nanaise insisted on sharing it with him, even though she had already bitten off half of the fruit.
Ryun shook his head with a wry smile. Then, not minding his daughter's saliva, he popped the half fruit into his mouth.
"Hmm, crisp, sweet, and refreshing, plenty of juice and containing rich, easily absorbable natural energy. It is indeed a rare spirit fruit." Ryun also gave this spirit fruit extremely high praise.
He even felt the impulse to take the entire spirit fruit tree from the white ape's territory with him.
But in the end, he did not do so. After all, he was not truly a robber who would take anything good he saw. He seized territory to create cultivation lands abundant with natural energy for other old friends or future generations of humans, not for himself.
"If this spirit seed is carefully cultivated, can it bear similarly delicious fruit?" Ryun spat the pit into his hand and asked the great slug.
"Yes, it can. This type of fruit is called the Crimson Abundance Spirit Fruit. That fruit tree grew from a spirit fruit pit left behind by a monkey after eating. Its age is approximately three hundred and eighty years. If I remember correctly, this fruit tree now bears fruit only once every three years, and each time it yields only a mere dozen or so fruits."
As a great slug with clones everywhere and an extremely long lifespan, it knew Shikkotsu Forest like the back of its hand. It might not be familiar with every single plant in the entire sacred land, but it probably wasn't far off.
Ryun was very satisfied with the affirmative reply. He planned to plant this spirit seed within his Kamui dimension. That way, he could have good fruit to eat in the future.
After chatting with the great slug for a good half day about spiritual roots, Ryun stated the purpose of his visit to Shikkotsu Forest to the great slug.
"We came here to seek your teachings. I hope you will instruct me, Sage."
The lifespan of the Great Slug Sage far exceeds that of the Great Toad Sage. Even now, it shows no signs of aging. Its sage arts and cultivation experience are extremely valuable. Ryun urgently wanted to gain cultivation knowledge from the Great Slug Sage.
"You want to learn sage arts? That's fine."
The Great Slug Sage agreed very readily. After all, as Ryun's summon, it was willing to teach the sage arts to its summoner.
The main reason Ryun brought Nanaise along to visit the three great sacred lands was to have her form summoning contracts with them and personally experience the similar yet distinct sage arts of the three sacred lands.
His daughter's cultivation talent was not much worse than his own as a father. Sometimes, she could even offer cultivation insights that made things click for Ryun. This was the biggest reason why Ryun brought her along when seeking teachings.
"Both of you possess extremely vast amounts of senjutsu chakra within your bodies. Learning my sage arts should be very easy for you."
Over the next several days, the father and daughter stayed by the Great Slug Sage's side, listening to its teachings. The Great Slug Sage held nothing back. It imparted all of its own insights into the sage path and cultivation experience to Ryun.
As a supreme powerhouse who had surpassed the Six Paths level, he could find the correct path of cultivation within the sage methods of different races. A 'cultivation path' suited to the human physique was also rapidly taking shape in his mind.
In the blink of an eye, nine days passed. Ryun remembered he needed to go to Mount Myoboku to take over the new territory, and there was also a newborn baby at home needing care. So, he bid farewell to the Great Slug Sage.
Before leaving, the Great Slug Sage also allowed Ryun to bring people here to cultivate. It expressed its willingness to shelter humans who came to Shikkotsu Forest to cultivate.
However, Ryun did not want to trouble this compassionate mother of Shikkotsu Forest too much. He only asked the Great Slug Sage for a corner of wilderness area free of miasma.
He wanted territory in both Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest mainly because he valued the dense natural energy of these sacred mountains and blessed lands. Cultivating sage arts here was much easier than in the outside world. Long-term living in such spiritually rich lands, without danger, could even allow humans to live an extra three to five years.
Of course, if one entered his Kamui dimension, an ordinary person could even live an extra twenty years. It's just that his Kamui dimension was not open to outsiders, and even if it were, he could not allow outsiders to reside there long term.
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