The valley shook as the massive body of the Fire Spirit Ape King grew even more ferocious, its ugly face turning savage.
Mu Chen and Lei Cheng watched its increasingly terrifying aura with tense expressions. Who could have predicted it would break through at such a crucial moment? With this aura, the Fire Spirit Ape King had reached the peak of the mid-level spirit beast tier, comparable to a late-stage Spirit Wheel Realm expert!
A late-stage Spirit Wheel Realm expert?
Mu Chen and Lei Cheng exchanged glances, the corners of their mouths twitching. This was an extremely rare occurrence, almost impossible, yet their luck was truly abysmal.
"Captain, what do we do now?"
Team members like Lin Zhong asked, their faces pale and voices trembling.
Lei Cheng's mind reeled. He gritted his teeth and said:
"The Fire Spirit Ape King was already heavily injured before its breakthrough. Let's try one more time. If we still can't kill it, then we retreat, all of us!"
Lin Zhong nodded upon hearing this. Although this unexpected turn of events made everyone regretful about losing the Jade Spirit Fruits, they had to be alive to enjoy them.
From a distance, Mu Chen gestured, telling Tang Tian'er and the others to immediately fall back.
"Roar!"
Just as Mu Chen was reminding Tang Tian'er, the Fire Spirit Ape King suddenly roared in fury, its bloodshot eyes fixed menacingly on Mu Chen. It seemed to remember the one who had inflicted its fatal wound more clearly than anyone else.
The Fire Spirit Ape King was also a vengeful type of spirit beast, possessing a degree of intelligence. It had decided that no matter what, it would tear Mu Chen into pieces to exact its revenge. Its massive ape hand snatched up a huge boulder and hurled it directly at Mu Chen's position.
Seeing this, Mu Chen nimbly tapped his toes against the ground and retreated, dodging the Fire Spirit Ape King's berserk attack. He didn't dare let anyone else charge forward; a late-stage mid-level spirit beast would leave them half-dead, if not dead.
Seeing the Fire Spirit Ape King attack Mu Chen, Lei Cheng also rushed forward anxiously to intervene. But to his surprise, no matter how they attacked, the ape paid them no heed. It only frantically struck, smashed, bit, and threw rocks at its sole target, Mu Chen, leaving him increasingly flustered.
"Roar!"
Seeing Mu Chen dodge all its attacks as swiftly as a squirrel, the Fire Spirit Ape King became utterly enraged. It let out terrifying howls that echoed loudly through the valley, reverberating off the rocks, the sound lingering. At that very moment, Lei Cheng was horrified to discover that the Fire Spirit Apes lying unconscious on the ground, affected by the sleeping incense, were showing signs of waking up.
This new dangerous development made everyone's faces turn ashen. If nearly a hundred of those Fire Spirit Apes woke up, they might not even have a chance to escape.
"Captain, if the Fire Spirit Ape King keeps roaring, those Fire Spirit Apes will definitely all wake up!"
Lin Zhong cried out in panic.
Mu Chen also noticed the situation, his face growing even more serious. His eyes flashed as he glanced at the Jade Spirit Tree in the crevice, then he fiercely gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Brother Lei Cheng, I'll lure this Fire Spirit Ape King away! You guys quickly grab the Jade Spirit Fruits!"
"What?!"
Lei Cheng was startled upon hearing this. The Fire Spirit Ape King possessed the strength of a late-stage Spirit Wheel Realm expert, while Mu Chen was only at the mid-stage Spirit Movement Realm. If he were to lure the enemy alone, it would undoubtedly be incomparably perilous.
“There's no time! The Fire Spirit Ape King only cares about me! Go, quickly!”
Mu Chen shouted, dark spiritual energy enveloping his legs. His speed increased even further, and he shot out of the valley like an arrow released from a bow. The Fire Spirit Ape King roared without hesitation and gave chase.
Lei Cheng and his men watched in astonishment as the Fire Ape King chased Mu Chen out of the valley. Lei Cheng barked softly:
"Quick, make the most of this time! Lin Zhong, lead the men to stop the awakening Fire Apes. I'll go get the Jade Spirit Fruit!"
"Understood!"
Lin Zhong wiped the blood from his lips, nodded, and quickly darted towards the Fire Apes that were swaying as they struggled to their feet.
Lei Cheng glanced towards the valley entrance, sighing with resignation. He could only secretly hope that Mu Chen would be alright; otherwise, if the experts from the Northern Spiritual Academy came knocking, the Blazing Thunder Squad's fate would hardly be a good one.
...
"Boom!"
The ground in the dense forest trembled. A fierce aura emanated from a fiery figure that streaked past wildly, snapping large tree branches as it went. It snatched the broken pieces and hurled them at the small figure in front, who was dodging by swinging through the branches with the speed of a spirit monkey.
Such a huge commotion naturally attracted the attention of many spirit beasts in the forest. However, the Fire Ape King had reached the peak of the mid-grade spirit beast level and was probably the strongest spirit beast in the outer regions of the Northern Spiritual Realm. Its fierce aura suppressed the other spirit beasts, preventing them from approaching. They could only watch as a massive beast chased and attacked a tiny human, moving deeper into the forest.
"You damned beast, sticking to me like a leech!"
After running frantically for about ten minutes, Mu Chen realized the Fire Ape King had no intention of giving up and cursed loudly in frustration.
"Whoosh!"
No sooner had he finished cursing than a powerful gust of wind pressed in from behind him, as a large tree trunk, hurled by the Fire Ape King, shot towards him like an arrow. He quickly slammed his body against a tree trunk, spinning several times in the air, narrowly avoiding the projectile as it grazed past him.
As he swung past some tangled vegetation, he suddenly reached out, plucked a blade of grass, tucked it into his chest, and continued his escape.
As he ran, his eyes constantly darted around, observing. He wasn't actively leading the spirit beast away because he was at his wit's end or trying to show off his abilities. In fact, he had encountered such situations quite often during his time on the Spiritual Road and could be considered quite experienced.
"Ahead, we must have reached the inner regions of the Northern Spiritual Realm. There should be spirit beasts strong enough to deal with you there. They guard their territory more fiercely than gold. Let's see how they handle you when you barge in..."
Thoughts raced through his mind. The spiritual energy within his body surged as he pushed the Great Pagoda Art to its absolute limit. For some reason, its circulation speed had increased dramatically, sending waves of spiritual energy coursing through his limbs and bones, temporarily keeping his exhaustion at bay.
However, no matter how miraculous the Great Pagoda Art was, his cultivation was still only at the Middle Stage of the Spirit Movement Stage. Compared to a spirit beast at the Late Stage of the Spirit Wheel Stage, the gap was simply too vast. Mu Chen could already feel his physical strength beginning to wane.
"Roar!"
Just then, another beast's roar echoed from deep within the forest, carrying an unmistakable note of warning.
“Finally!”
Hearing the earth-shaking roar, Mu Chen’s eyes lit up with joy. He accelerated, leaping nimbly through the treetops as he dashed toward the sound. With a flick of his fingers, he pulled out the black stalk of grass he had plucked earlier, crushed it, and smeared the pungent black sap all over his body.
By the time he finished, a massive black shadow loomed ahead. Its eyes completely ignored the tiny human in the trees, glaring ferociously instead at the aggressively pursuing Fire Spirit Ape King behind him.
“A One-Horned Dragon Leopard.”
Mu Chen stared at the massive black shadow. The spirit beast resembled a black panther, but with a single horn protruding from its head. Its entire body was covered in incredibly tough scales, and it possessed a tail like a crocodile's. Violent spiritual energy pulsed intensely around it.
Mu Chen frowned slightly as he looked at the One-Horned Dragon Leopard. Although it was also a Mid-Rank Spiritual Beast, it was only at the Early Stage of the Spirit Wheel Stage—far too weak compared to the Fire Spirit Ape King.
“Roar!”
The One-Horned Dragon Leopard bared its fangs at the approaching Fire Spirit Ape King, letting out a menacing roar in an attempt to intimidate and drive the intruder away.
But the Fire Spirit Ape King’s eyes were already blood-red with rage. Anyone who dared to stop it from tearing Mu Chen to pieces would be slaughtered first. Seeing the One-Horned Dragon Leopard blocking its path, it let out a savage howl. Its massive body leaped into the air as fiery-red spiritual energy condensed around its paws. Like a falling meteor, it slammed brutally down onto the One-Horned Dragon Leopard’s back.
Boom!
The ground shook violently from the impact, and the surrounding trees snapped and toppled from the shockwave. Mu Chen watched with wide, startled eyes as the One-Horned Dragon Leopard let out a mournful shriek, its body sent flying backward. The scales on its back had been completely shattered by the Fire Spirit Ape King’s single, devastating strike.
“What a brutal beast.”
Mu Chen shivered as he watched the One-Horned Dragon Leopard get nearly killed in a single blow. *What a useless creature,* he grumbled inwardly. *And here I was, hoping you could hold it off for a bit.*
Having swatted the One-Horned Dragon Leopard aside, the Fire Spirit Ape King locked its bloodshot eyes onto Mu Chen once more. A chill ran down his spine. Just as he was about to turn and flee, an incredibly furious roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the forest.
“GRAAAOOO!”
The roar carried an astonishing spiritual energy. As it swept through, the very space vibrated as if a fierce gale was about to erupt, and the sheer pressure of this spiritual energy caused Mu Chen's expression to change.
A high-rank spiritual beast?! The Spirit Stage!
*Crash!*
A silver shadow burst wildly from the depths of the forest, soaring high into the air before instantly crashing down to the ground, sending pebbles and broken branches flying. Mu Chen quickly crouched down. Looking closely, the silver shadow was identical in form to the dead Horned Dragon Leopard, except its body was massive, and the single horn on its head glowed with a brilliant silver light.
This is... a high-rank spiritual beast, the Silver-Horned Dragon Leopard?
Mu Chen tilted his head, glancing at the corpse of the Horned Dragon Leopard, then looked back at the Silver-Horned Dragon Leopard, which was staring at the Fire Spirit Ape King with blood-red, hateful eyes. He chuckled softly. *Who would have thought that the Fire Spirit Ape King had just killed the Silver-Horned Dragon Leopard's offspring?*
Mu Chen silently pressed his body close to the ground, smearing the pungent black fluid all over himself to mask his human scent. Holding his breath, he cast a triumphant gaze toward the Fire Spirit Ape King.
"My dear friend, say goodbye to your life!"