My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse-Chapter 972 - 970 The Ancestor

"W-What was that?!" one of the allied sect members, who had looked completely hopeless, nearly bounced off the ground when he saw the flickering golden light emanating from the basket, tall enough to reach his waist. A small spark of hope ignited in his chest as he guessed what might be inside, though he tried not to let himself hope too much.

He opened his mouth to ask, but before he could, a lingering, sweet scent began to spread from the fruits. The cave, heavy with the stench of blood and decay, slowly filled with this new aroma.

The fruity scent crept over the rancid air, capturing everyone’s attention as it gradually overpowered the smell of death. One by one, the members started to notice it, eyes widening in disbelief.

"What’s that fruity scent?" someone asked from across the cave, far from the basket, yet still catching the aroma.

Only after hearing the growing murmur of everyone in the cave did "The Rogue Blender" come back to his senses. His hands trembled as he slowly rose to inspect the grade of the Spiritual Fruits and crops Kisha had sent. He carried a spark of hope in his heart but didn’t allow himself to believe it; he needed to see it with his own eyes.

Just as he carefully peered into the basket, his junior sister, who had supposedly been asleep, suddenly leapt up. With surprising force, she pushed him aside and peered inside first, her eyes wide with anticipation.

With a sharp gasp, she pressed her hand over her mouth, eyes widening in disbelief."God... these are Grade B Spiritual Fruits?! Wait... this other basket contains Grade B Spiritual Crops?! Holy fuck! Senior brother, where did you steal these from?!"

She stared at him warily, suspicion flashing in her eyes, as if accusing him of taking the items from the demonic creatures and potentially being the reason they were now being pursued so relentlessly.

Seeing her accusatory gaze, "The Rogue Blender" felt a sharp throb in his forehead. He knew his junior sister had a wild imagination and a tendency to jump to conclusions. At the same time, he was trapped; his system was a secret, one that no one could ever discover.

If anyone, especially a demonic cultivator, found out about it, the consequences would be catastrophic.

He had no way to explain where the high-grade Spiritual Fruits came from. Having so many was simply impossible to justify; everyone knew how rare these fruits were, and here he had two entire baskets filled with them. Given that, it was only natural for his junior sister to suspect something.

"Actually, although I came from the mortal realm before I began cultivating, my parents have a hidden identity. They merely concealed themselves among mortals in order to give birth to me; otherwise, how would you explain my divine spiritual roots?"

He paused, then continued evenly, "My parents are from a powerful, reclusive family in the Central Plains. One of our ancestors has long since reached godhood. The reason I took everyone’s belongings was to offer them to my ancestor."

"Because when he sensed that my life was in danger, he used a special method to contact me. Through the offerings I have given, he was able to send these items back to me in return."

"As his cultivation is already far beyond this realm, the Heavenly Dao would never allow him to descend directly, as it would disrupt the natural order of the lower world. Instead, he used a roundabout and legitimate means to help me, one that the Heavenly Dao would not regard as interference."

"The Rogue Blender" finished his explanation calmly. It was the only story he could think of that could account for the high-grade Spiritual Fruits without drawing further suspicion or revealing the existence of his system.

After all, powerful reclusive families were a dime a dozen in the Central Plains, so even if he spoke nonsense, few would know enough to verify it. He had carefully mixed fact with fiction, especially since many already knew of his Divine Spiritual Roots.

Claiming to be from a powerful, reclusive family in the Central Plains didn’t seem far-fetched. After all, the Central Plains were home to slumbering dragons, phoenixes, and countless powerful clans. Mentioning an ancestor who had reached Godhood sounded plausible, too.

But, even in the Central Plains, no family could provide him with so many high-grade Spiritual Fruits; but if the source was the higher realm, it became believable, and this is the reason why he said an ancestor from his family has already reached Godhood.

Because only then would it be easy to explain why he got so many of the high-grade Spiritual Fruits that even a powerful, reclusive family had a hard time procuring. On paper, his explanation made sense.

Yet, because he wasn’t used to lying, the moment he opened his mouth, beads of sweat formed on his forehead and back. His hands grew clammy. He feared someone might see through his story, forcing him to reveal the truth, a truth he could never possibly expose.

In truth, part of what he said was genuine. He truly treated Kisha as his "ancestor" now, and the special method used to send him the items was indeed through the system trade, so that much wasn’t a lie. Even his junior sister could sense a flicker of sincerity in his eyes.

Hearing his explanation, it was as if a bomb had exploded in her mind. She had always known her senior brother to be talented, but he was always low-key, and she never expected him to be this discreet.

Anyone else with such a background would have made sure every human, insect, animal, or even blade of grass knew of it. Yet he was different. Only now were they learning about his true heritage.

The revelation rekindled their hope. Slowly, they began to step closer, their eyes practically glowing with curiosity and awe as they took in the truth about the brother they thought they knew.

"Senior brother, you’re amazing!!! You’re our hero!!!" his junior sister exclaimed, eyes shining.

"Exactly! You’re our hero!!! With these Spiritual Fruits, we’ll be able to recover our spiritual energies!" another added eagerly.

"Wait... can you ask your ancestor if we could get some healing pills? Or maybe detoxification pills to purge the demonic energy in our bodies?!"

"Yes! Since your ancestor is already a God, it’s highly likely he has pills to cleanse demonic energy!"

All eyes turned to "The Rogue Blender," who felt like an ant on a hot pan under their expectant gazes.

"I... I’ll ask..." he stammered, grabbing a few Spiritual Fruits before hastily retreating a short distance to contact Kisha for additional requests, trying to buy himself some breathing room.

As soon as he left, the others began distributing the high-grade Spiritual Fruits. His junior sister took charge of overseeing the process, making sure no one took extra or tried to hide any for themselves.

These resources were their only way out of their predicament, and each piece could mean the difference between survival and failure, so they had to be handled with utmost care.

After running to a corner where there were few prying eyes left, "The Rogue Blender" let out a relieved sigh and opened the chat panel again. He saw the second batch of the trade items that Kisha had shared. Going through each item carefully, his eyes widened; he hadn’t yet asked Kisha about some of them, but she had already provided them.

Although he wasn’t familiar with the black and blue vials of liquid, he had already tested most of Kisha’s products from her store and knew that everything she sold was top-notch. Now that they had signed the contract, he was confident she wouldn’t offer anything subpar.

Reading through the descriptions, his excitement only grew. One hundred bottles alone were already a huge help, but he still needed to ask her about a detoxification pill, or if there are not, maybe herbs would do, and they could just use it to craft some, since they had an alchemist in their group.

Before doing that, he accepted all the items Kisha had put in the trade and added all the items he had received from the others for the exchange. The second trade list was extensive, but he checked each item with a bright, eager smile.

After securing all the items, he didn’t make the same mistake as before by showing everything to everyone. If they saw it all at once, they might either faint from excitement or become complacent and let their guard down; both would result in a dangerous outcome.

They had already seen the high-tier Spiritual Fruits and Crops, which were enough to boost their morale for the moment. The other items could be brought out later, when needed.

[The Rogue Blender: Hello, Ancestor sir. We’re extremely grateful to have received all the items, and I can see their top-notch quality. I’ll make sure to leave a glowing review on your store. But...]

[The Rogue Blender: Could I also request some herbs or pills that can detoxify demonic energies?]

[Merchant #841273: Alright, just give me a moment. I’ll get one for you.]