Giant Ape

Wu Sui frowned, pondering deeply for a good while. Only after a moment did he recall who Song Wen was. His brow smoothed over as he spoke.

"So it is Junior Brother Ji Yin from the Corpse Dismemberment Cave. With your meager strength, how did you manage to enter the secret realm?"

Song Wen let out a heavy sigh. "I originally thought this place would be brimming with spiritual herbs everywhere, allowing me to gather a few to exchange for cultivation resources back at the sect. Who could have known this secret realm is fraught with peril? Every patch of spiritual herbs is guarded by fierce demon beasts."

"Fortunately, I chanced upon you, Senior Brother Wu Sui. I was hoping I could serve at your beck and call, and perhaps receive a bit of protection under your wing."

Wu Sui raised an eyebrow, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"Oh? You want my protection? But you possess a mere fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivation. Why should I allow you to travel with me?"

Song Wen put on a flattering smile and said, "Senior Brother, though my cultivation is lacking, I am meticulous and sharp-witted. There are bound to be places where I can be of use to you. Besides, traveling alone means you will inevitably run into tedious chores and dirty work. I can handle all of that on your behalf."

"You claim to be sharp-witted? Then tell me, which direction should I head in right now?" Wu Sui challenged.

"With your strength and grand vision, Senior Brother, ordinary treasures naturally cannot catch your eye. Only things like the Heavenly Spirit Fruit and the Jade Marrow Mushroom are worthy of your attention."

"In my estimation, you should first head toward the great mountains to the southeast to seize the Heavenly Spirit Fruits."

Wu Sui shook his head. "Though the Heavenly Spirit Fruit is precious, it still pales in comparison to the Jade Marrow Mushroom. I have no intention of going southeast. My plan is to strike directly for the center of the secret realm and claim the Jade Marrow Mushrooms at Falling Eagle Chasm."

Although both the Heavenly Spirit Fruit and the Jade Marrow Mushroom were primary ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, the former grew on spiritual trees. While rare, the major sects could still cultivate these trees. The Jade Marrow Mushroom, however, was a spiritual fungus that only grew wild upon sheer cliffs; there was no way to cultivate it artificially.

Rarity dictated value.

The market price of a Jade Marrow Mushroom was naturally far higher than that of a Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

Song Wen shook his head. "Senior Brother, I must respectfully disagree. While the Jade Marrow Mushroom is indeed more valuable, Falling Eagle Chasm is overrun with fierce demon beasts and rampant Walking Corpses. It will not be easily taken. Moreover, the top experts from all three major sects will undoubtedly target it. A brutal, bloody battle is guaranteed to erupt there."

"As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Senior Brother might as well secure the Heavenly Spirit Fruits first. Once the other experts have thinned out the demon beasts of Falling Eagle Chasm-or better yet, slaughtered each other in the chaos-you can make your grand entrance. Wouldn't that be far wiser?"

Wu Sui fell silent for a moment, weighing the words.

"What you say makes a fair amount of sense. But how do we guarantee the timing? Jade Marrow Mushrooms are few and far between. If I arrive too late and others have already stripped the chasm bare, what then?"

Song Wen smiled subtly. "Then we simply lie in wait at the exit of the secret realm. No matter who obtains the Jade Marrow Mushrooms, they must eventually leave, and there is only one exit. With your profound strength, Senior Brother, your chances of victory against exhausted experts who have barely survived a bitter struggle would be exceptionally high."

Wu Sui's eyes flashed with brilliance. "An excellent scheme! Very well, you may follow me."

Song Wen hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Wu Sui summoned a flying boat before them.

He leaped aboard first, then called out, "Ji Yin, get on."

The mountain where the Heavenly Spirit Fruits grew was not far. After flying for nearly an hour, the mountain loomed into view.

It was not particularly tall, rising only about a thousand meters, but it was densely wooded, lush, and verdant.

Even from a distance, the two could see the spiritual Qi over the mountain churning in violent chaos, accompanied by intermittent, booming explosions.

A fierce battle was actively underway at the summit.

Wu Sui remarked, "It seems someone has beaten us to the punch. However, we are not too late; the Heavenly Spirit Fruits should still be there."

The flying boat charged straight toward the battlefield at the mountain crest.

Down below, a pack of giant apes was fiercely besieging several human cultivators.

Not far from the clash stood a spiritual tree over two meters tall. Ten walnut-sized fruits hung from its branches, but most were a dull green. Only two had ripened into a greenish-yellow hue. Only these two were fit for harvest.

Heavenly Spirit Fruits had to be fully mature before they could be used in alchemy; immature fruits carried a lethal toxicity.

The pack consisted of over forty giant apes, most standing over three meters tall. The largest and most robust among them neared six meters in height, clearly the alpha of the pack.

The ape king's aura was thick and violent, infinitely close to that of a Tier 2 demon beast.

Every swing of its long, massive arms whipped up a terrifying gale.

The seven human cultivators trapped in the melee belonged to the Profound Yin Cult. Their leader possessed a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivation, backed by two at the eighth layer, while the rest were at the seventh layer.

The Profound Yin Cult cultivators immediately noticed the sudden arrival of the flying boat.

Their leader's expression turned grim. They were already hard-pressed to handle the ape pack; if Wu Sui, a ninth-layer Qi Refining expert, decided to strike them now, few of them would leave this mountain alive.

As for Song Wen, he was completely ignored. A minor cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining could be dealt with at leisure.

Forming hand seals to cast his techniques, the leader looked up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Fellow Daoist of the Corpse Demon Sect! I am Chen Xiuming of the Profound Yin Cult! Join us in repelling these apes, and we shall divide the Heavenly Spirit Fruits equally!"

Wu Sui looked down at the battle with a cold sneer, entirely unmoved.

There were only two mature fruits in total, and they wanted to split them? Pure delusion.

Seeing that Wu Sui remained silent, clearly intending to sit back and reap the rewards after both sides exhausted themselves, Chen Xiuming gritted his teeth.

"Junior brothers, retreat!" he bellowed.

He hoisted a ten-foot-tall ghost banner and gave it a violent sweep. Billowing torrents of ghastly yin Qi erupted, revealing a massive, towering ghost creature within the dark mist.

The overwhelming ghost Qi flooded the ape pack. The mist possessed a strange property; though it dealt no physical damage to the beasts, it caused their movements to sluggishly drop. Only the ape king remained largely unaffected.

With a roar, the ape king swung its three-meter-long arm, smashing down toward Chen Xiuming.

The towering ghost creature barely managed to intercept the blow on its master's behalf.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Chen Xiuming and the remaining disciples utilized their movement techniques, either leaping into the air or darting backward to flee.

Yet, right at that moment, a pitch-black chain suddenly whipped out from the flying boat above.

The chain surged with a terrifying, malevolent fiend Qi, resembling a furious black flood dragon as it coiled and hissed through the sky.

The strike came too abruptly and with overwhelming force. Caught off guard, the Profound Yin Cult disciples had no time to prepare proper defenses. To avoid the brunt of the terrifying momentum, they were forced to halt their retreat and dodge, including Chen Xiuming himself.

With their momentum broken by the chain, the flight of the seven cultivators ground to a sudden halt.

By then, the ape pack had already broken free from the ghost Qi. Scrambling on all fours, they rapidly closed the distance and surrounded the disciples once more.

The ape king had already torn the ghost creature to shreds. Snatching up a massive log from the forest floor, it hurled it directly at Chen Xiuming.

Chen Xiuming shot a furious, venomous glare toward the flying boat in the sky.

"Despicable!"

He swung his ghost banner again, releasing a blast of black energy that pulverized the incoming log into splinters.

Before he could breathe, a piercing screech tore through the air above him. He looked up to see the ape king leaping high into the sky, its massive fists clenched like twin warhammers, its muscles bulging as it descended with a mountain-splitting force.

Without any body-tempering techniques to protect himself, Chen Xiuming would be reduced to a bloody paste if those fists connected.

Left with no choice, Chen Xiuming frantically waved his ghost banner once more, summoning another ferocious spirit from the depths of the artifact-a humanoid, bull-headed demon sporting a pair of razor-sharp, half-meter-long horns upon its brow.

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