With the entrance sealed by the Long-Armed Spirit Ape, it made no further attempts to attack, merely turning its gaze upon Zhang Yang and his companions.

A look of weary resignation crossed Long Feng's face as he nodded silently.

Zhang Yang had been right; this was a serious predicament. This Long-Armed Spirit Ape was no ordinary spirit beast; it boasted formidable defenses, savage strength, and remarkable intelligence. Facing such a creature, Long Feng himself lacked much confidence.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Lightning darted forward again, chattering aggressively at the ape, which roared back in kind.

Through their mental link, Zhang Yang quickly gleaned the essence of Lightning's communication with the beast.

Lightning asked if they truly had to defeat it before being allowed to leave.

Zhang Yang felt a familiar pang of helplessness regarding Lightning's question. Trapped within the valley, how else could they possibly depart if not by defeating the ape? He certainly didn't believe the ape would simply nap or watch them clear the blockade once it had sealed the entrance.

For now, vanquishing the Long-Armed Spirit Ape remained their only viable path.

Lightning repeated the question, and this time, the Spirit Ape confirmed it with a definite affirmation.

Lightning then inquired if they could join forces, employing any method necessary to subdue the ape. Zhang Yang shook his head again at this query.

Hadn't they already joined forces when the initial fight broke out? Now, trapped inside with their fate uncertain, unity was even more crucial.

The ape confirmed this point as well, and only then did Lightning turn back to the creature, declaring that if a fight was necessary, they would fight fiercely and were certain to emerge victorious.

Barely had Lightning finished relaying their resolve than the Long-Armed Spirit Ape charged toward Zhang Yang and the others. Its massive left arm swung the object that looked like an impossibly sturdy, black vine, initiating the attack this time.

The black vine lashed out at Zhang Yang, who reacted instantly, leaping into the air to clear the strike.

This very same vine, which had previously harried Long Feng and put him under immense pressure, was effortlessly evaded by Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang’s speed far surpassed Long Feng’s, and his raw power was significantly greater, meaning the pressure exerted by the black vine was naturally less imposing on him.

As the battle resumed, Long Feng put aside the fact that the ape was overwhelmingly stronger than him and positioned himself on the periphery, his Snow Whip striking repeatedly against the beast.

The Snow Whip struck the ape's hide numerous times, yet the beast didn't even blink, continuing its relentless charge toward Zhang Yang.

It seemed to understand that Zhang Yang was the most troublesome opponent among them; neutralizing him meant neutralizing the threat entirely.

Despite the ineffectiveness of his blows, Long Feng did not cease his assault, instead pouring greater internal energy into the whip, hoping to inflict at least some damage.

Alas, the ape's hide was simply too thick; striking it felt akin to hitting stone—utterly without effect.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The valley echoed with the sounds of the whip lashing out and snapping through the air. Li Wei, standing further away, was utterly dumbfounded. To him, the movements of both the monster and the fighting duo of Zhang Yang and Long Feng were frighteningly fast.

It was too late for him to try and flee; the sealed cave entrance afforded him no escape.

At this moment, all he could do was pray—pray for Zhang Yang and Long Feng to triumph over this monster. Only their victory offered him any chance of escaping alive; otherwise, this place would become his tomb.

The ape's black vine posed little genuine pressure on Zhang Yang.

However, Zhang Yang couldn't afford to simply evade indefinitely; the constant dodging was draining his internal energy at an alarming rate. If this became a contest of attrition, the Spirit Ape would surely outlast him.

While dodging, Zhang Yang grew increasingly anxious. His dagger proved useless against the ape, and he could discern no obvious weak points on its entire body. They were essentially stuck in a defensive posture, unable to launch an effective counterattack.

If this dynamic didn't change, death was the inevitable outcome.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Lightning leaped out again. This time, it didn't try to bite the ape. It too understood that its teeth could not penetrate the creature’s thick hide.

Lightning darted around the ape, spewing visible plumes of black mist from its mouth—it was deploying its newly evolved ability: poison spray. This wasn't the mild mist used during training battles with Zhang Yang; this was its deadliest variant, capable of instantly killing ordinary humans and animals upon inhalation.

After just two sprays, the Long-Armed Spirit Ape shot Lightning a wary glance. It seemed somewhat surprised by the potency of the Fox-Tailed Marten’s venomous breath.

It clearly lacked complete confidence in the poison mist, as it quickly sidestepped away before the miasma could fully envelop it.

Once the ape moved aside, Lightning ceased spraying, its small face reflecting a hint of frustration.

The poison mist required an enclosed space to be truly effective. Given Zhang Yang and Long Feng's current necessity to evade, trapping the Spirit Ape was impossible.

To make the poison effective, they would need to saturate the entire valley with it, which was clearly not feasible, nor did Lightning possess that much toxin within its reserves. For now, it had to pause and reassess the situation.

After dodging the mist, the Spirit Ape abruptly shifted its target, swinging the black vine toward the weakest link: Long Feng. With the ape now focused on him, Long Feng’s pressure increased exponentially.

The disparity in power between Long Feng and the ape was too vast, making his evasion of the vine look strained and labored.

With the black vine diverted, Zhang Yang felt some relief from the immediate danger, but his mood remained heavy; without a viable way to harm the ape, they were all headed toward the same grim conclusion.

The worst possible outcome.

What now?

Zhang Yang’s mind raced, sifting through memories of his clan’s ancient texts. Those records described the Long-Armed Spirit Ape as immensely powerful with impregnable defense, but they offered no mention of any fatal weakness.

Without finding a vulnerability, defeating the Spirit Ape was impossible.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Lightning cried out again, utilizing its superior speed. A white blur shot directly behind the Spirit Ape. It took a calculated risk, spitting a concentrated burst of poison mist right beside the beast’s head before instantly leaping away, putting maximum distance between them. One careless swipe from that massive limb would crush its small body into pulp.

Startled by the sudden poison mist directly in front of it, the Spirit Ape scrambled sideways. As it moved, its massive body swayed slightly, suggesting it had inhaled a small amount. While this dose wasn't fatal, it clearly affected its immediate movement.

Seeing Lightning’s surprise attack yield initial success, Zhang Yang paused only briefly before urgently instructing Lightning to continue using this tactic, stressing the need for extreme caution. This ape possessed high intelligence; one or two surprise attacks might work, but repeated attempts would likely prompt it to devise a countermeasure.

The gap in power between Lightning and the ape was too severe. The ape could withstand several bursts of venom, but it couldn't survive a single direct blow.

While Lightning searched for an opening, Zhang Yang was not idle. He charged toward the Spirit Ape once more. From his canvas satchel, he pulled out a tusk, longer than his dagger—a trophy from a Golden Crown Python he had planned to have refined later. His large bag could easily accommodate such an item.

The tusk remained unprocessed; only the tip held a decent sharpness, while the rest was blunt—hardly an ideal weapon.

But in this desperate moment, Zhang Yang couldn't afford refinement. His military knife was too commonplace; since even channeling internal energy through it caused no real danger to the ape, it was time to resort to this more primal weapon. After all, a tusk harvested from a powerful spirit beast had to be superior to an ordinary military knife.

The ape’s movements were somewhat clumsy; its primary offense relied on the black vine rather than engaging in direct body-to-body combat. It hadn't anticipated Lightning's poison mist. While the mist wasn't a fatal threat to its mighty physique, it was a significant disruption; prolonged exposure to the toxin would undoubtedly cause trouble. The ape could only focus on dodging Lightning’s attacks as best it could.

Zhang Yang had closed the distance. Gripping the tusk, he seized an opportunity and drove it hard into the ape's back.

"Thud!"

A small, muffled sound escaped the impact. Zhang Yang, momentarily stunned by the connection, immediately felt a spark of elation. After channeling his internal energy, the tusk had actually managed to penetrate the ape's flesh slightly.

This moment of surprise was instantly replaced by a prickle of danger, echoed by Lightning's frantic squeals warning him.

Zhang Yang hastily retreated a step. The ape's long arm swept past him, almost grazing his body, the resulting downdraft whipping painfully against his face. Had he been a fraction slower, that blow—charged with immense force—would have left him severely injured, if not dead.

Having narrowly escaped disaster, Zhang Yang put more distance between himself and the ape.

A look of pure joy returned to his face. The tusk hadn't pierced the outer hide completely, but it had entered—a far better result than the dagger achieved. Items sourced from spirit beasts were different; even this unprocessed tusk managed to inflict a slight injury on the Long-Armed Spirit Ape.

It was, admittedly, a minuscule injury, perhaps even negligible to the beast, as it hadn't even left a visible wound.

But that tiny success was a colossal boost to Zhang Yang's morale and confidence. Before this, they couldn't even inflict that minimal level of damage; they possessed no weapon capable of breaching the ape's defense.

"Long Feng, take this! Hold steady!"

Zhang Yang tossed a small box to Long Feng. Inside was an Essence Blood Pill. Long Feng’s constant evasion of the black vine had also severely depleted his internal energy reserves.

In a war of attrition, they would undoubtedly lose to the ape.

But that was before. That was when they were utterly helpless against the beast and incapable of inflicting damage. Now that Zhang Yang could cause even a sliver of harm, his objective was to expand that small injury until it became a wound that significantly impacted the ape.

Until then, their priority was maintaining sufficient internal energy to sustain a protracted engagement.

Possessing multiple medicinal elixirs, Zhang Yang felt quite confident in a long-term fight, not to mention having Wu Ying—a monstrously overpowered support spirit beast capable of full revival—at his side. At this very moment, the dawn of victory seemed visible… Chapter One Hundred bonus update, 87 chapters remaining! (To be continued) RQ