Xiaoxiao.

Like a red lightning bolt, Zhu Guo arrived at the wilderness with lightning speed. Without even a moment's hesitation, he plunged straight into the dense forest as if returning home.

In the blink of an eye, it came to an abrupt end at a depth of eight kilometers in the forest.

This distance is precisely at the edge of the farthest distance that the three people's perception abilities can reach.

Faced with this situation, the three of them looked at each other, hesitant for a moment.

Ying Yue broke the silence first, her brows furrowed as she analyzed, "In my opinion, this Vermilion Fruit is clearly trying to lure us into this wilderness! From the very beginning, it has been heading straight for this place."

Wu Ren, standing to the side, nodded in agreement: "That's right, Ying Yue is absolutely right. I wonder if you have noticed that the route that the Vermilion Fruit has taken these past few days has been a perfectly straight line, and its initial destination is obviously here."

Perhaps startled by his own guess, he pondered for a moment before continuing, "But... I've never heard of a Vermilion Fruit possessing consciousness before? Could there be some unknown conspiracy or trickery hidden here?"

These words stirred up a storm, making Ying Yue, who was already suspicious, feel that there was something strange about the matter.

She wondered to herself, could there be a carefully designed trap hidden behind this seemingly tempting vermilion fruit?

Thinking of this, Ying Yue felt a chill slowly creep up her spine and into her heart.

"You mean there's someone secretly manipulating all of this? How is that possible!" Ying Yue's startling guess was like a thunderbolt, making Wu Ren jump up in fright.

Ying Yue analyzed with a serious expression: "Otherwise, why would that Vermilion Fruit be so strange? Its appearance this time is by no means accidental. Its purpose is quite clear: to lead us into this extremely dangerous wilderness."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ren frowned and asked in disbelief, "This... could the Vermilion Fruit really possess such power? I find it hard to believe that there are others hiding behind it. If that's the case, then it's far too terrifying!"

Although she harbored doubts about Ying Yue's guess, upon closer examination, what she said seemed to make sense. After all, the Vermilion Fruit had acted extremely abnormally from the very beginning.

Looking back, Zhu Guo suddenly appeared before everyone without any warning.

When it realized that someone was chasing it, it fled desperately towards the wilderness without hesitation.

This behavior was completely different from what they had previously known about the Vermilion Fruit.

Normally, although Zhu Guo possesses a certain level of consciousness, it is far from having the level of spiritual intelligence.

Its thirst for power and its heightened senses are merely innate instincts.

However, the Vermilion Fruit they encountered this time was like a highly intelligent and cunning human being, which was truly perplexing.

A series of bizarre and inexplicable behaviors made Wu Ren begin to have doubts, and his originally firm belief began to waver, becoming less certain. At this moment, he cast a questioning glance at Kuang Zheng beside him.

In fact, Kuang Zheng had noticed something amiss and unusual from the very beginning.

This mysterious Vermilion Fruit is quite different from the descriptions in the rumors; it is not at all like what people say, which only possesses a superficial subconscious.

On the contrary, after careful observation and in-depth analysis, Kuang Zheng was surprised to find that this Vermilion Fruit actually possessed unimaginably powerful wisdom!

At the very first moment of their encounter, Zhu Guo seemed to have already foreseen everything. He deliberately slowed down his pace, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, like a nimble fish swimming slowly ahead, as if he were very worried that they would lose him.

This kind of performance is not a behavioral pattern that can be driven solely by the subconscious.

Furthermore, according to previous records, once the Vermilion Fruit senses the presence of a human, it usually chooses to flee immediately and disappear without a trace.

However, the reality is not so.

At first glance, it does indeed appear to have launched its escape the instant it was detected, but upon closer examination, one can discern that there is much more to it than meets the eye. The so-called "escape" is actually more like a meticulously planned and deliberate lure, concealing unfathomable intentions and purposes.

Escape? No!

This is merely a carefully crafted facade.

Its true intention was to lure them here.

At first, the three had doubts, but they were not certain that it was a trap.

However, when they stopped in their tracks, an astonishing scene unfolded—the vermilion fruit also abruptly stopped at the edge of their sensing range.

Even more bizarrely, it seems to intentionally amplify its scent, like a woman deliberately flaunting her charm, generously releasing her allure.

In a short while, the aura emanating from the Vermilion Fruit surged like a turbulent tide, impacting the three people's senses wave after wave.

The previously faint aroma had become exceptionally strong, several times more intense than before.

Given this situation, if this doesn't count as a deliberate seduction, then what does?

Must we wait until they are trapped in a desperate situation and unable to extricate themselves before we can see the conspiracy and trickery hidden behind it?

Kuang Zheng's analysis sent a chill down their spines, but Wu Ren clung to his preconceived notions.

He said, "The characteristics of the Vermilion Fruit have always been clearly recorded; these are all objective records from our predecessors. How come everything has changed here? Is the Vermilion Fruit different, or are we just overthinking it?"

His excitement was understandable; for many years, everyone had regarded the Vermilion Fruit as their only lifeline.

Over the years, not a single day has passed without the fear of suddenly dying, and the thought that their fate was not in their own hands. They had had enough of living like this.

They had finally seen hope, but the vermilion fruit before them behaved strangely. Not only was it vastly different from what was recorded, it was practically unrelated.

What's even more terrifying is that he seems to have led them into a carefully crafted trap. It is said that the Vermilion Fruit will actively approach cultivators with spiritual energy within them and has an extreme craving for their blood.

Now we see this desire, but it's not the desire to absorb from cultivators, but the desire to drain the blood of cultivators. His bloodlust is the plundering of the lives of those who seek him.

Although reason tells him that this is the truth, he simply cannot believe it.

Ying Yue, who was standing to the side, suddenly realized and said, "No wonder the records about the Vermilion Fruit have only been those few words all these years. It's not that they are unwilling, but that they are unable to! The Vermilion Fruit was originally designed to absorb the spiritual energy in the body of the user."

The original few lacked spiritual energy, so it needed to be absorbed to help the absorber convert their true essence into spiritual energy. Once the absorber's spiritual energy reached a certain level, it was time for the Vermilion Fruit to harvest it. No wonder Zheng Ge'er always suspected that Lü Chunyang and Zhang Sanfeng's deaths were suspicious. So that's how it was. This Vermilion Fruit is truly cunning!

As she finished speaking, Ying Yue sighed repeatedly, a chill running down her spine.

"Does that mean we can't absorb the Vermilion Fruit? Then we still can't control our own lives and deaths. Are we going to go back to those days of living in constant fear?" The solution they had been searching for for years was right in front of them, and they were just one step away from success. Naturally, Wu Ren was unwilling to give up.

Ying Yue, standing to the side, felt a deep sadness at the thought that everything would have to go back to square one.

"No, of course not! Although the Vermilion Fruit has its hidden dangers, they are just that—hidden dangers. Cultivation is inherently about defying the heavens. If one is always timid and hesitant, how can one talk about defying the heavens and changing one's name? How can one talk about taking control of one's own destiny!"

Everything comes at a price; the key lies with ourselves. If we grow faster enough and become stronger enough, even the heavens will make way for us. To give up on ourselves because of such minor difficulties—what kind of talk is that of "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens'!"

Hesitation is unacceptable, and giving up on things because of a minor setback is even worse! So whether it's a trap or poison, as long as it can solve our real problems, we cannot hesitate for a moment.

"We'll deal with the future later. If Heaven is unjust, we'll tear a hole in it!" Kuang Zheng's words were powerful and resounding.

Upon hearing this, Ying Yue and Wu Ren, who were standing to the side, had unwavering determination in their eyes!

At this moment, their Dao hearts finally began to be nurtured...