Strongest Replication

Before Chu Zhongtian participated in the Hunting Contest competition, neither did he dream about getting a high rank nor did Chu Fann force him into performing well.    

However, Chu Zhongtian was still very tempted by the generous rewards.    

Especially, days inside the Hidden Dragon Pavilion tempted him to no end. However, that didn't mean he would overexert himself and compete like crazy; he would simply give his best. If he could get a spot in the top three, he would be happy; he would still be satisfied if he didn't get a spot.    

Of course, Chu Zhongtian would try his level best to enter the top ten, though. After all, those spots were literal treasure troves of spirit stones.    

Since he wasn't too far away from the marked location, Chu Zhongtian advanced carefully while keeping an eye out for powerful strange beasts.    

He didn't know what was going on; for some reason, he didn't encounter a single strange beast during the first half of his journey. The strange absence of even the weakest beasts in the area made Chu Zhongtian see numerous red flags.    

Fortunately, the marked location was no more than a thousand meters ahead of him. Chu Zhongtian temporarily suppressed his doubts and quietly headed towards his destination.    

After advancing for a few hundred meters, he unexpectedly discovered a natural valley ahead; it was quite well-hidden.    

The valley couldn't be called large, being only a few thousand square meters. Yet, in such a narrow valley, he could see dozens of large-sized strange beasts.    

Fortunately, only their number was immense, not their level. Apart from the five intermediate Level-10 strange beasts at the front, all the others were just low Level-10 strange beasts. In summary, Chu Zhongtian didn't have to follow one of the 36 stratagems due to their strength.    

Seeing those dozens of beasts, Chu Zhongtian couldn't help but feel curious. He sped up and, after few more dozens of meters, his eyes landed on the valley's center.    

"Cinnabar Fruit!" Chu Zhongtian saw that the five intermediate Level-10 beasts were actually surrounding a small tree. It was only around 30 centimeters and had a strange shape. Looking at the tree, Chu Zhongtian could not help let out a subdued exclaim.    

Fortunately, the strange beast in the valley were all focused on the Cinnabar Fruit, so none of them cared about the tiny human's tiny shout.    

Chu Zhongtian quickly covered his mouth with his hand and looked at the Cinnabar Fruit before a trace of joy appeared on his face.    

No wonder Chu Fann left behind that inexplicable sentence. Chu Fann was actually talking about the Cinnabar Fruit!    

The Cinnabar Fruit was an advance Level-10 spirit fruit. Not only did it contain a rich amount of spiritual Qi, but it could also help a cultivator enhance their meridians and acupoints.    

In the human body, other than the 12 major meridians, there were also eight special meridians. Various acupoints blocked these eight special meridians. Among them, there were 16 important acupoints. As long as one of them was opened, a cultivator could break through and become a Level-4 Qi Refiner.    

Cinnabar Fruit wasn't important because it could open one of those acupoints—it was precious because it could open six.    

If Chu Zhongtian could obtain the Cinnabar Fruit, he could become a Level-4 Qi Refiner in an hour at most.    

Furthermore, Chu Zhongtian had a cheat: his "copy-paste" ability.    

As long as he could obtain the fruit, Chu Zhongtian was confident that he become a peak Level-4 Qi Refiner in half a day. Then, he wouldn't be any weaker than ordinary Level-7 Qi Refiners.    

More importantly, he could practice a movement technique after becoming a Level-4 Qi Refiner. A movement technique and his basic saber technique were bound to increase his strength by leaps and bounds.    

No one stopped Chu Zhongtian as he let his fantasies run wild while leering at the Cinnabar Fruit.    

The Cinnabar Fruit was about to mature, so Chu Zhongtian decided to use the remaining maturing period to restore his spiritual power and adjust his mental state. His game plan was to let the strange beasts fight for the fruit before swooping in and looting the fruit from the victor.    

First, he found a place that could be considered well-hidden and also a convenient offense spot. Then, he hid and waited for the best time to seize the Cinnabar Fruit.    

As Chu Zhongtian recovered his spiritual Qi and power, he wondered if the time was passing too quickly. When his dantian was just 80% full, the strange beasts started rioting.    

The source of the riot was the unusual fragrance emitted when the Cinnabar Fruit matured. This fragrance made the Low Level-10 strange beast go completely crazy. The frenzied strange beasts didn't even fear the stronger beasts ahead as they rampaged around.    

Dozens of low Level-10 beasts started to attack the five intermediate Level-10 beasts ahead. Although there was a huge difference in strength between them, the low Level-10 beasts could easily overwhelm intermediate Level-10 beasts with their number. If one low Level-10 died, another low Level-10 replaced it almost instantaneously. This made the intermediate beasts quite uncomfortable.    

Chu Zhongtian, who was hiding outside the valley, secretly formed his next step. Though depressing, he had to make his move sooner than expected.    

Initially, Chu Zhongtian wanted to steal the fruit after all the beasts were done fighting. Sadly, he couldn't wait because he abruptly remembered an important fact about the Cinnabar Fruit.    

The Cinnabar Fruit remained mature for was very short period—half an hour at most. If he did not pluck the Cinnabar Fruit within half an hour, the Cinnabar Fruit would automatically wither and fall to the ground. Then, the Cinnabar Fruit would turn into a seed and germinate for the next 30 years.    

The strange beast had been fighting for more than 20 minutes. While a lot of low Level-10 strange beasts died during this period, only a single intermediate beast lost its life. At this rate, perhaps the Cinnabar Fruit would fall to the ground before they were even done fighting,    

So, Chu Zhongtian decided to make his move.    

Although he didn't want to throw himself in danger; if there was really no other way, he would do it without hesitation.    

Chu Zhongtian waitedfor a few more minutes, and when another intermediate beast died, asafe entry point appeared on the east side. Without hesitation, he rushed inwith all his might while brandishing the top-tier steel blade.    

When a beast noticed his sudden appearance, it stopped fighting with its opponent and instead started attacking him with all its strength.    

Due to Chu Zhongtian's speed, he was already less than 30 meters away from the Cinnabar Fruit by the time the strange beast reacted.    

On that 30 meter path, there were only seven Low Level-10 strange beasts. Chu Zhongtian waved the steel blade in his hand, backed the saber technique with his spiritual power, and unleashed some truly terrifying slashes.    

Suffice to say, those seven beasts didn't create any obstacles for Chu Zhongtian. In just a few seconds, he stood next to that red Cinnabar Fruit.    

Chu Zhongtian used his knife to cut down the tree, and a red Cinnabar Fruit fell into his hand.    

Chu Zhongtian temporarily put the Cinnabar Fruit into a cloth bag. Then, instead of running away, he held his blade and rushed toward the strange beasts.    

Chu Zhongtian wanted to use these strange beasts to practice the saber technique and increase his combat experience.    

Also, Chu Zhongtian wanted to duplicate the Cinnabar Fruit, the Qi Increasing Pill, and the Dantian Cultivating Pill. All that would require massive amounts of spiritual Qi. The dozens of strange beast corpses on the scene were equivalent to endless Qi in Chu Zhongtian's eyes.    

Most of the strange beasts had died in the battle; Chu Zhongtian did his part and killed seven of them. Now, there were less than 20 of them left.    

Not only had those 20 spent much of their energy, but they were also covered in injuries. Compared to Chu Zhongtian's current ferociousness, they were like lambs. Even the third intermediate Level-10 beast was no match for him.