The Three of Us

Han Sen fingered the cores for a while, but he didn't make use of them. It was a risk to do so, and he didn't like committing to uncertainties. Plus, opening his tenth gene lock was only a matter of time, anyway. It wasn't worth the risk, all in all.

If there were adverse side-effects to the consumption of the Aqua Fruit cores, they could be lethal. As such, he chose to leave them be for now.

Purple Emperor was an emperor, but due to its deprivation of nutrition before birth, it lacked the power to equal others of its class.

If Han Sen gave him an Aqua Fruit, there was a chance that could be fixed, and the spirit would be as fit as a fiddle with all ten gene locks open. With an emperor like that by his side, Han Sen would have no trouble taking on and taking down Saint Fan Shelter.

He summoned Purple Emperor, peeled away the fruit, and fed him the core.

Purple Emperor had no clue what it was, but since Han Sen commanded him to consume it, he did not hesitate in swallowing it. When the core slid down his throat, it dissolved into a gentle liquid that reinvigorated his body.

Han Sen felt a change in Purple Emperor's lifeforce, and the color of his body started to turn a certain shade of green.

When the new color grew, the emperor's overall color became a mixture of purple and blue.

Boom!

Purple Emperor's body began to leak gas. He hadn't farted; it was just that this gas was starting to seep out of the pores on his body.

Most people wouldn't be able to notice a difference, but through the use of Dongxuan Aura, Han Sen could see that Purple Emperor had been reborn. He was a totally different spirit now.

Han Sen was delighted with the results. It had actually become difficult to sense Purple Emperor's lifeforce now, which painted him like some sort of silent reaper.

Han Sen brought him over to the training room. After a session of practice, one-versus-one, with no transformations involved, Han Sen was hopeless against him.

"That core is the bee's knees. I should save the other one for the silver fox." Han Sen decided to work on opening the tenth gene lock by himself, so he saved the second for his favorite pet.

When Han Sen found the silver fox, he teased him with the core.

Han Sen wanted to spend more time with the silver fox, and when the time came to open the Holy Door, he hoped they could ascend together.

But when the silver fox looked at the core, his interest quickly diminished. Then he walked away and went to rest elsewhere.

"All these emperors are fighting for this thing, and you have no interest?" Han Sen thought.

If the silver fox wasn't going to eat it, then neither was Han Sen.

"Then who should I give it to?" Han Sen could not decide.

It seemed the Aqua Fruit was not to everyone's tastes. He had a few king spirits in his service, though; ones he could help. But such numbers proved troublesome for this decision. He liked them all, and providing a boon to just one was a difficult choice.

"Well, I guess I'll just pocket it for now." Han Sen thought about giving it to the fish king, but he imagined it might become a demi-god immediately after.

With the fish king in the water, nothing could threaten Han Sen there. They were now buddies of a sort, after all. And if the fish king ascended, it would only be a matter of time before something else took its place.

"Let me take down Blood River Shelter first." Han Sen took the silver fox and Bao'er with him.

He kept Purple Emperor in the shelter, as taking the silver fox would be much safer for him.

Han Sen approached the shelter, and as he went, he thought about the Battle Geno Essences he had collected.

They had the term "Geno Essence" in their title, but they most certainly weren't like Life Geno Essences. Han Sen had tried absorbing them through his usual trick of simulating energy flows, but he wasn't successful.

Han Sen couldn't find a way in which he could make use of them.

Xue Yucheng was in Blood River Shelter, and the man hoped the Xue family would come to his rescue, or at least take the item so he could die without worry.

But a while had passed since Han Sen had been given the message, and no one had yet come. Today, however, he saw Han Sen once again. Gritting his teeth to bear the pain once more, he crucified himself and started driving the boat over to meet with him.

"Young Man, did you deliver the message?" Xue Yucheng asked.

Han Sen shook his head and said, "Sorry, I was a little busy collecting fruit."

Xue Yucheng looked concerned and seemed to be in a worried rush. He said, "You have to believe me! If you deliver the intel, you will be rewarded handsomely!"

Han Sen responded with an explanation, saying, "Calm down, pops. I don't need to ask for the aid of anyone. The Xue family are actually the ones who requested that I help you guys out. I have come here to save you. That's why I was here before, but then something else came up. But I'm here now to help!"

"Are you kidding me?" Xue Yucheng asked, his tone suggesting that it was a legitimate question.

"Do you remember this?" Han Sen pulled out an item Xue Feiyan had given him.

"It's the Ice Ring! In that case, you just need to find Xue Chen. If you show him that ring, he'll give you the item. Then, all you must do is take it home." Xue Feiyan looked relieved after seeing the ring. And ease had definitely been brought to his worries.

Han Sen thought it best to show the ring instead of wasting any more time.

Han Sen put it away now, and said, "I'm taking down Blood River Shelter, so you can be that elusive item's mailman and save me the trouble."

"You jest, surely! How might you do such a thing?" Xue Yucheng's face was painted with a mixture of varying emotions.

"This is no joke. We'll conquer it; just the three of us." Han Sen raised a finger to point at the silver fox and Bao'er each.

Xue Yucheng balked. "Stop joking, man! We need to be serious now and discuss how we get you inside. We've got plans to formulate!"

Han Sen didn't say anything more, and simply proceeded towards the shelter.