Pathway

"Ah, what a pity. I, mighty Dargehk of the giant race. A once renowned powerful figure from planet Zorda. My fame was known throughout my birth world and different parts of the mortal plane. So mighty I was in those days that few cultivators ever confronted me."

He looked at the them before shaking his head.

"You have no idea who I am, do you? Hm, I don't fault you. You definitely had never seen me before now. I became a lowgod when most giants were still trying to form a nascent soul. It never took me long to even become a highgod. But my ego got the better of me... I Dargehk, how many could face the wrath of my Oblivion?"

Suddenly, Cao Wang Xiu remembered a text she once read about an axe called Oblivion, owned by a mighty giant. The giant who caused chaos and destruction in the Mightybound realms which eventually attracted the intervention of the celestials.

"Dargehk, the barbarian?"

"Aha, so you've heard of my name before."

Elder Cao Wang Xiu, in utter alarm, could only nod her head but kept her mouth shut. The others didn't know who the giant was, but from the expression of elder Cao Wang Xiu, they realized the giant must be of tremendous power..

Seeing their tensed state, Dargehk made a gentle but bitter laughter.

"Hahaha. You don't need to worry. In here, you are totally safe with me as long as you maintained the rules of this place. So, relax yourselves and enjoy the place. Now, back to the garden. There are many trees you can choose from, each tree as you can see only has one fruit which had taken thousands to millions of years to reach this stage."

With a swipe of his hand, he sent six golden tokens to them before continuing.

"Take these tokens, and place them under any tree or plant which connects to you. Do this before taking the fruit or the plant. Remember, only one fruit tree or plant. You can begin."

Ju Feng watched as everybody contemplated on Dargehk's words, and the whole happenings. Although the state of apprehension had receeded and they were already warming up to the giant, they were still cautious of the place. After all, it was a godly place according to the giant.

He turned his attention to the trees. Despite many fruits being taken over the years, there were quite a number of coloured fruits still left in the garden. Moving around cautiously, he examined the trees and fruits. He could see some of the others placing their tokens under the tree of their preferred fruits. None were choosing the plants. He couldn't blame them. Fruits were more revered than plants.

Ju Feng continued until he came to a tree with a yellow fruit freckled in red. He observed the tree and the fruit for a time before deciding to move on. He had started moving when he suddenly changed his mind and stopped. He turned back and inspected the tree again before placing his token under it. In complete amazement, he watched as the tree lowered its fruit enough for him to pluck it. The power of the token. In his hand, the fruit seemed a bit strange with the freckles but looked robust. He would take it.

He joined others who were holding their own fruits and examining them. They waited for elder Wang Xiu who also arrived shortly afterwards. With all of them back with their fruits, they turned their attention to Dargehk who had been patiently waiting where he'd been standing.

"Now that you all have your gift, would you like to know what each one of you each?"

He asked them, glancing from one face to the other. He continued after receiving nods in return.

"Alright then. You, young mortal."

He pointed at Lin Chenric.

"What you have is the Immortal Root spirit fruit. The Immortal Root tree was taken as a seed from the ever dangerous Crimson realm due to a fortunate encounter. Though it was here on the mortal realm, the Crimson realm was an extremely dangerous place. The fruit you are holding can easily take you to the Jindan level, if not to the threshold of nascent soul, from your current stage. Even a mortal could form a bronze core, at the least, from eating that fruit."

The remnant paused to inspect Lin Chenric. 

"You've recently moved to the Zhuji stage as I can see. But you need not worry. With that fruit, you'll easily form your golden core. The quality of your golden core is left to you by the way."

Beside Lin Chenric was Lin DaXia who had been apprehensively waiting for her own turn.

"Your own is the Twin Soul spirit fruit. One of the rarest fruit you can find on any plane. This particular tree seed was found in the Million Dreams realm. With that fruit you are holding, you can form your mortal avatar. A second image of you with all your features but with only a minor part of your will-power and soul. How wonderful it is to have another you in the mortal realm. How you protect your image is left to you."

Fu Yingjie got the Wyvern God spirit fruit.

"The spirit fruit you're holding is a very powerful one. The fruit tree was grown from a seed of a tree that grew on the spot where a dragon-like primordial beast was found by the divines after the last primordial war. How fortunate you are. It would make your body almost indestructible when facing an opponent of Jindan level and below. Though a nascent soul would still incinerate your body. So, if you see one, you should run."

Infernal Essence spirit fruit was in the hand of Zhang Xiu Ying.

"The Infernal Essence. The tree of which could only be found in the Fiery Abyss after the Seven Infernal realms. As a demigod of the fire element, you're extremely fortunate to have that fruit. If you eat that fruit, it could make you form your nascent soul. Meaning, your ascension could be near after that. The fruit will transform the fire element in your Chi to that of a nascent soul at the least."

Dargehk looked at the fruit in Cao Wang Xiu's hand.

"Your fruit is called Godly Valor spirit fruit. You can't even phantom the power of the fruit you are holding. Although, it has good sides and bad sides. When you eat the fruit, it will give you a godly power for a day. The type of the godly power, lowgod, highgod or truegod depends on you, by the way. And only last for a day. The day after eating it, I'll advice you to stay away from fight, as far as possible. If not, you may die."

When it finally reached Ju Feng's turn, he stared expectantly at the terrifying giant who was standing a few yards away from him. He extended his hand forward properly for the giant to see his fruit clearly.

"Ah, the Heavenly Solitude spirit fruit. In the world of cultivaton, few things compare to soul meditation. Every cultivator needs meditation to advance the soul. This fruit tree was from the Slumbering Monks mountain in the Bodhi realm on the heavenly plane. A fruit of this kind would take millions of years to be like this. It's only when you eat it that you'll see its work with your own eyes."

After watching their reactions for a while, Dargehk raised his voice.

"You've all recieved your welcome gifts. You've now bore witness to the generousity of emperor Wan Bao. Time to leave the garden. Follow me."

He moved towards the way they came from and they all followed him.

Ju Feng, who had been quiet since he received the description of his fruits, continued to wonder what he did to deserve his fate. Why that particular fruit out of all the ones in the garden? Everybody in the group got a great fruit apart from him. Heavenly Solitude! Soul meditation! Sounded more like solitary confinement fruit. He had been meditating from his childhood. Why is everybody now looking for a way for him to die in meditation?

They left the garden and returned to the walkway leading to the palace.

Dargehk turned around to face them with firm eyes.

"From here onward, you'll face the powers of the garden. Now, I ask you all, do you want to go back or you want to proceed to the palace?"

His gaze was still on them as he continued.

"If you decide to go back now, the gates will be opened for you to leave. But If you proceed to the palace, you must face the powers of the garden until you reach the palace. It'll take six hours before you are all ejected to the portal archlit. If you proceed, you'll have to bear till then. But mind you, everything you get, you keep." 

They looked at one another, and after thoughtful delibration, they decided to proceed. Why not? They would have to bear whatever would come their way for just six hours. Moreover, they wouldn't be able to come back in the future.

"Continue along the walkway until you come to the palace. If you're able to pass the outer walkway,  you'll meet me inside."

With that, Dargehk disappeared silently and the group continued to walk on. As they neared the front of the palace doors, two voices suddenly boomed out.

"Well, well, well. Femara, What do we have here?"

"Oh Neviria, we have new souls seeking entrance into the palace. Emperor's palace. Hehehe."

"Six seekers. From five no-gods to one half-god. Very interesting."

"All of you, come forward and stand in front of the eye."

The group cautiously stepped forward and a large emerald eye appeared in front of them.