Long Feng was already sprinting toward the other side of the Reviving Grass meadow, hoping to quickly dig up a single stalk of the herb; one stalk was all they needed to complete their mission this time.

The Long-Armed Spirit Ape suddenly thrust out one of its long arms, blocking Zhang Yang’s advance with that single motion.

Its arms were far too long; that lengthy, powerful limb was truly its finest weapon.

Sssshhhk!

The combat knife, infused with Zhang Yang’s inner strength, sliced directly against the ape’s iron-hard arm, producing only a harsh sound across the surface but leaving absolutely no mark.

The Spirit Ape’s arm pressed down heavily. Its movements weren't swift, nor was its body flexible, but its sheer brute strength was immense. Zhang Yang dared not meet force with force and had no choice but to rapidly retreat.

The skin of this Long-Armed Spirit Ape was truly formidable.

When Zhang Yang was only at the second layer of Inner Strength, his blade, imbued with internal energy, could slice open the Golden Crown Python. Now, at the third layer, facing this Spirit Ape, he couldn't even manage to scratch its hide.

The sheer power of this Long-Armed Spirit Ape made even Zhang Yang click his tongue in astonishment.

After retreating, the Spirit Ape didn't pursue him; instead, it raised its left arm.

Zhang Yang’s eyes tightened instantly. Wrapped around its left arm was a long vine, dark and ancient-looking, clearly possessing considerable age. As the Spirit Ape lifted its arm, the vine whipped out directly towards Long Feng.

This vine was incredibly long, even longer than Long Feng’s Snow Whip.

The vine sliced through the air with a sharp whistling sound, sweeping towards Long Feng like a black dragon. Long Feng had been tracking the situation and reacted the moment the ape unleashed the vine.

He retreated swiftly, and the vine immediately changed trajectory, relentlessly snapping close behind him.

With the black vine hot on his heels, Long Feng had completely abandoned thoughts of digging up the Reviving Grass; self-preservation had become his primary, desperate concern.

Everything the Spirit Ape did left Zhang Yang momentarily stunned.

A Spirit Beast using a weapon—even the most primitive kind—was astonishing. Spirit Beasts’ intelligence simply didn't match humans'; at best, they were comparable to small children.

And when speaking of children, that referred only to their basic thinking; the gap in true wisdom was much greater.

This elderly Spirit Ape before them was clearly far more intelligent than other Spirit Beasts. When Zhang Yang and the others were stationary, it remained still, only reacting defensively once they initiated an attack.

This strategy allowed it to conserve energy most effectively.

And then there was that unbelievable black vine—it was clearly a long whip, and the ape’s movements as it wielded it resembled a complete set of sophisticated whip techniques.

A Spirit Beast using a weapon was shocking enough, but this creature actually knew a whip style! Zhang Yang felt a surreal, dreamlike sensation wash over him.

"Zhang Yang!"

Long Feng, driven to desperation by the relentless black vine, cried out after narrowly evading several fatal strikes.

That shout finally snapped Zhang Yang back to reality. Long Feng was still in grave danger, and Zhang Yang couldn't just watch him suffer; he had to find a way to intervene.

The best way to rescue him was to re-engage the Spirit Ape directly, forcing it to abandon the pursuit of Long Feng.

Zhang Yang rushed in close again. The ape raised its right arm once more. No matter how Zhang Yang attacked, it merely used that single arm to block, occasionally delivering a measured counter-strike.

That rigid right arm was more formidable than any ordinary sword or saber, and despite circling it, Zhang Yang found himself utterly helpless.

An extremely bizarre tableau unfolded in the valley: one man attacking the Spirit Ape relentlessly while his blade repeatedly struck the beast’s body to no effect, while the ape simultaneously used its other arm to ceaselessly whip the long black vine, harrying the second man.

Witnessing this, Li Wei’s jaw dropped again. It was a spectacle he had never imagined in his life.

Squeak-squeak-squeak!

Lightning suddenly sprang up, moving faster than before, like a white shadow that landed instantly atop the Spirit Ape’s head.

The ape was preoccupied, one hand dealing with Zhang Yang and the other managing the black vine, leaving it no time to attend to anything else. Lightning, having observed long enough, finally found its opening and leaped across.

On the ape's head, Lightning bit down without restraint.

After just one quick chomp, Lightning shrieked and leaped away. The poisonous fangs that could shatter the head of a Golden Crown Python were momentarily checked by the Spirit Ape’s incredibly hard skull.

However, that single bite succeeded in diverting the Spirit Ape’s focus from Long Feng to itself.

Seizing the opportunity, Long Feng finally let out a sigh of relief, leaning heavily on the ground some distance away, gulping air. That black vine had chased him so closely he nearly suffocated.

Seeing the black vine lash toward him, Lightning darted aside. Its speed was superior, and within a few bounds, it disappeared into the distance without a trace.

Zhang Yang also retreated quickly, moving directly to Long Feng’s side.

The Spirit Ape returned to its original spot, neither pursuing them nor initiating a new attack.

"A Spirit Beast that knows whip techniques—is this even a Spirit Beast anymore?" Long Feng asked first, his tone laced with profound irony. He himself was a whip user, and to be hunted by a Spirit Beast wielding a whip felt like the ultimate mockery.

"It’s definitely a Spirit Beast, but..." Zhang Yang smiled wryly, unable to complete his thought.

Looking at the creature’s form, it was clearly a genuine beast. Yet, for a Spirit Beast to be clever enough to employ a weapon, and specifically, a whip style, was something Zhang Yang had never encountered or read about.

Even the secret manuals of the Zhang family contained no such records.

Zhang Yang glanced again toward the Reviving Grass nearby, and his whole body suddenly froze. Seeing the herb, he finally grasped the situation completely.

This Long-Armed Spirit Ape was clearly guarding this patch of Reviving Grass.

There was an abundance of Reviving Grass here, and the ape, stationed here, wouldn't merely watch it grow; it would undoubtedly consume it.

Reviving Grass did not enhance inner strength, but it significantly strengthened the spirit. Beyond that, it carried an additional effect: intellectual enhancement.

Intellect (Zhi) was intrinsically classified under the category of Spirit (Shen), which itself fell within the trinity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Eating a small amount was useless, but consistent, prolonged consumption would accumulate benefits for intellectual development. This Spirit Beast had guarded this patch for untold years, consuming immeasurable quantities of the herb.

Its intelligence was fundamentally different from that of ordinary Spirit Beasts; one could say it bordered on achieving demonic transformation.

A Spirit Beast possessing such deep wisdom could effectively be considered a Yao (demon/spirit), as their intelligence would be nearly indistinguishable from a human’s.

If this was true, they were in severe trouble. This ape clearly possessed the capability to engage two opponents simultaneously, meaning Zhang Yang and Long Feng couldn't secure the Reviving Grass even if they split up.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The Long-Armed Spirit Ape, which had been standing silently, suddenly emitted a loud, terrifying series of vocalizations.

Moments later, Lightning reappeared, jumping back from behind, and Wuying also crawled out from some unknown crevice. They stood together at a distance, echoing the ape’s calls.

Squeak-squeak-squeak!

Lightning’s chirps were the loudest. At first, Zhang Yang was puzzled by Lightning’s cries, but as the sounds grew more insistent, his surprise mounted.

Lightning was actually communicating with the Long-Armed Spirit Ape.

And they were indeed communicating. Lightning wanted the Reviving Grass, but the ape refused.

However, the Spirit Ape presented a condition of its own: Defeat it. If they could defeat it, they could take all the Reviving Grass they desired. If they failed, no one would leave today.

No one would leave?

The moment Zhang Yang registered this chilling thought, the Spirit Ape suddenly charged toward them. Its speed wasn't fast, but it possessed ferocious momentum. Zhang Yang and Long Feng hastily sidestepped to avoid the charge.

The Spirit Ape thundered past them without slowing, heading straight ahead.

Its direction of travel was clearly toward the mountain cave they had used to enter.

"No!"

Zhang Yang's expression shifted violently. Shouting the warning without time to explain, he bolted toward the cave entrance.

He finally understood the ape's intent. It hadn't been attacking them initially; its true target was the very entrance they used to get in.

If the cave was sealed, escape would be impossible for any of them.

Seeing the monster bearing down on him, Li Wei immediately scrambled away, but disastrously, he ran deeper into the valley instead of toward the exit. No matter how far he ran inside, he could never escape this enclosed, sheer-walled valley.

The ape’s pace wasn't fast, but Zhang Yang had already lost precious time.

Even if Zhang Yang reached the entrance now, he wouldn't be able to escape through the cave, let alone with Li Wei and Long Feng still inside.

He had only just caught up to the ape when it reached the mouth of the tunnel. Ignoring Zhang Yang behind it, the Spirit Ape began violently pounding the rock wall with both arms.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A deep, heavy percussion echoed throughout the entire valley. Massive chunks of rubble fell away under the ape’s relentless hammering, quickly sealing the cave entrance shut.

Upon witnessing this, Long Feng’s face drained of color as he grasped the ape's strategy.

It was a classic move: trap them like turtles in a jar. With their only escape route blocked, none of them could leave this valley surrounded by mountain walls, facing such a powerful Long-Armed Spirit Ape. Their fate looked grim.

"It's over!" Long Feng groaned inwardly when he finally reached the spot and saw the completely barricaded opening.

Zhang Yang, in turn, ceased trying to stop the ape's actions and quickly retreated to Long Feng's side.

In truth, he couldn't stop it. His combat knife was useless against the beast, and a casual swipe from the ape could easily lead to his immediate demise.

They had witnessed the ape's strength firsthand.

This mountain wall, impossibly hard, was shattering under its blows; their own frail bodies stood no chance. Even if Zhang Yang covered his entire body with Inner Strength, he could not possibly withstand such a massive kinetic impact—it was utterly beyond his capacity to resist.

"Long Feng, we are in serious trouble this time!" Zhang Yang said with another wry smile, standing next to him. With the retreat blocked, only one path remained.

That path was exactly as the Spirit Ape had stated: they had to defeat it to survive and claim the Reviving Grass.

............ Hundred-chapter bonus update, 88 chapters remaining. There is more to come, but the update time will be later. Xiao Yu needs some rest; the next chapter should be ready around three o'clock!