The Spirit Ape stood there, its body trembling slightly. Its legs continued to bleed, and the crimson flowing from beneath its arms stained its forequarters a deep red, its claws also bearing smudges of blood. In its current state, the Spirit Ape looked even more wretched than Zhang Yang had moments before. "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Flash suddenly leaped forward, barking loudly at the Spirit Ape. Zhang Yang, possessing telepathy, instantly understood what Flash was saying. Flash's message was simple: it told the Spirit Ape that it had lost, that it was no match for them, that they had defeated it, and that it must honor its promise not to interfere with Zhang Yang and his companions' actions and to give them the Soul-Returning Grass. Zhang Yang felt a touch of helplessness at Flash's naivety. If they defeated, or killed, the Spirit Ape, it naturally couldn't interfere with the group anymore; saying such things was entirely useless. However, Zhang Yang didn't stop Flash. This was an exchange between spirit beasts, and he would support whatever Flash chose to do.

The Spirit Ape’s large eyes stared down at the small Flash on the ground, a hint of sorrow lingering within them. The Fox-tailed Marten, while a spirit beast, was not one built for sheer power. Had it been at its peak, even several Fox-tailed Martens wouldn't have fazed it in the slightest. Unfortunately, it was old now. Truly old. The Long-armed Spirit Ape theoretically had a lifespan of over five hundred years, but that was merely theoretical. It was like how humans theoretically could reach one hundred years, yet few actually lived past that milestone; most felt ancient by seventy, and reaching eighty was cause for great contentment. The Long-armed Spirit Ape was the same. This two-armed ape had lived for over five hundred years; it was genuinely ancient, deep into its twilight years. If not for this, Zhang Yang and the others would never have been able to defeat it. In its current state, every aspect of its body was far inferior to its prime.

The Long-armed Spirit Ape, standing there with a shaking body, suddenly turned its head to look back. It slowly backed away until it reached the large pit it had been hiding near earlier, then jumped directly into it, settling down inside. Flash followed, standing at a distance and continuing to bark incessantly at the Long-armed Spirit Ape. The Long-armed Spirit Ape finally turned back, issuing low growls from its mouth, as if communicating something to Flash over and over.

Shadow suddenly reappeared from some unseen corner, leaping directly onto Flash's forehead. The two small creatures stared at the massive beast opposite them, sitting motionless, listening intently to the ceaseless low growls emanating from the larger creature. Long Feng stood by Zhang Yang’s side, watching the whole scene with considerable curiosity. After a moment, a look of surprise suddenly crossed Zhang Yang’s face. He shared a telepathic link with both Flash and Shadow, so what the beasts knew, Zhang Yang now knew too. The Spirit Ape was indeed speaking to them, voluntarily admitting its defeat. It had lost. The Soul-Returning Grass henceforth belonged to them; they could take as much as they wished, even all of it. This wasn't even the most shocking part. What truly stunned Zhang Yang were the words that followed.

The Spirit Ape informed them that it had followed a highly accomplished master to this island to live when it was young; one could say it had been brought to the island by that master. The Soul-Returning Grass had already been present when they arrived. That master seemed to use the grass for some purpose, leaving for periods every few years, always taking a certain quantity of the grass when departing. The ape, however, always remained behind to guard the Soul-Returning Grass. At that time, there were other animals on the island, and the spiritual energy emanating from the grass greatly attracted these common creatures. However, none of them were a match for the Long-armed Spirit Ape. Although the ape was not yet fully grown back then, spirit beasts were spirit beasts after all, utterly incomparable to common animals, especially since the Long-armed Spirit Ape was a power-type spirit beast.

The lifespan of that master could not compare to the Long-armed Spirit Ape’s. The last time the master left, he never returned. With the master gone for so long, the Long-armed Spirit Ape grew accustomed to guarding the Soul-Returning Grass and thus remained here, never venturing out. Gradually, besides eating the fruits in the valley, it began consuming some of the Soul-Returning Grass. Long-term consumption awakened its spiritual intelligence, making it increasingly clever. Yet, even with its increased intelligence, it never once considered leaving this place. It was too familiar with the island; it had been here for as long as it could remember. This place was its entire world; leaving it meant having nowhere else to go. Later, it matured, and its strength gradually increased, reaching its peak. During this period, a total of three humans entered the valley. It killed two of them and allowed only one to escape. The clever ape knew from that moment that the human who escaped would surely bring hidden trouble, but it never expected this threat to materialize so late, only arriving at the final stage of its life.

Its previous posture lying on the ground was not feigning death to await a sneak attack; it was preparing its own grave. If Zhang Yang and the others hadn't arrived, it would have died of natural causes within a month in that very pit. It had guarded the Soul-Returning Grass for nearly five centuries; the grass was its everything, and even in death, it wished to lie with it. Just a few days after settling into the pit, Zhang Yang and the others suddenly appeared. Driven by its protective instinct, it leaped out from underground once more to prevent them from taking the Soul-Returning Grass. The Soul-Returning Grass was its very life, and even near death, it refused to let others profane it. If one viewed it this way, it was actually Zhang Yang’s group that had disturbed the Spirit Ape. The ape had already entered hibernation to await death underground; their arrival forced the aged beast to rise and fight once more.

Flash didn't understand any of this, but Zhang Yang clearly grasped everything. Flash was simply transmitting the ape’s words directly from its mind to Zhang Yang’s. Learning all this, Zhang Yang was astonished and felt a touch of helplessness. He had come here seeking the Soul-Returning Grass to save someone. If Elder Qiao hadn't needed the grass, he would never have disturbed the tranquility of this spirit beast. "Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!"

The Long-armed Spirit Ape suddenly cried out again, its face contorted with immense pain. It began frantically beating its chest, its sharp claws tearing a gash across its sternum. Zhang Yang’s expression shifted drastically. He immediately pulled out a jade vial from his person and tossed it directly to Flash. Flash glanced back at Zhang Yang, then clutched the vial and ran to the Spirit Ape’s side. The Spirit Ape raised its head to look at Zhang Yang, suddenly parting its mouth as if smiling. It then let out a few more low growls towards Zhang Yang, communicating that it had given everything it could and only wished to be allowed to lie here peacefully after its death. It had to be said, this spirit ape possessed extraordinary intelligence; if it hadn't been unable to speak, it could have communicated almost as effectively as a human.

Zhang Yang suddenly strode forward, walking straight toward the Spirit Ape. "Zhang Yang!"

Long Feng called out urgently. Zhang Yang turned back and gently shook his head at him. Long Feng could only watch helplessly as Zhang Yang advanced. After a moment of thought, he followed as well. He had already been stunned when Flash ran over earlier, but now seeing Zhang Yang approach was shocking. The ape was injured, but not dead; its power remained, and a single casual strike could end their lives.

Approaching, Zhang Yang squatted down, looking directly at the ape before him. He was less than a meter away from the creature. The Spirit Ape was truly old; its face was covered in wrinkles, and its eyebrows were white. For an ordinary human of this appearance, movement itself would likely be a struggle. The aged face of the Spirit Ape suddenly broke into a smile again, though this smile appeared quite terrifying.

Zhang Yang frowned. Under Long Feng's astonished gaze, he reached out and grabbed the Spirit Ape's arm, actually beginning to check its pulse. The Spirit Ape remained perfectly still, seated inside the pit, offering no resistance or attack toward Zhang Yang. "Rest assured, I promise you, you will remain here forever. No one will disturb your peace!"

After taking its pulse for a while, Zhang Yang gently lowered the ape's long arm and spoke solemnly. The ape’s body was truly failing; its vitality was nearly gone. It might have managed a month of hibernation underground, but the arrival of Zhang Yang's group had altered that outcome. After fighting them and sustaining injury, its life could cease at any moment. This was due to normal aging, a natural phenomenon. While Zhang Yang could give it a restorative elixir to prolong its life by a few days, that wouldn't change the ultimate result. Its situation was different from Elder Qiao’s; Elder Qiao’s body had not reached this terminal stage.

The smile on the ape’s face widened; it seemed very pleased with Zhang Yang’s words. After a few more low growls, the gash on its chest deepened. Flash had already returned with the vial and hopped over to the ape’s wound. The Spirit Ape cried out in pain as a drop of golden-yellow blood slowly squeezed from the wound, falling directly into the jade vial. One drop, then another. After painstakingly squeezing out nearly a full vial of golden blood amidst expressions of agony, the ape finally ceased its efforts.

"Essence Blood!" Staring at the bottle of golden liquid, Long Feng gasped in horror, then looked back at the ape with utter shock. He hadn't expected the ape to squeeze out its own Essence Blood. This was the lifelong quintessence of a spirit beast, and forcing it out oneself must have been an agony beyond measure.

"This is the Immortal Fruit Elixir; it can alleviate your suffering and let you live a few more days!" Zhang Yang took out a box from his person, retrieved a spirit medicine emitting a rich medicinal fragrance, and offered it directly before the ape. The aroma was highly enticing, but this time, neither Flash nor Shadow made any move. Flash had taken back the vial and was now gazing mournfully at the Spirit Ape. They had been adversaries, even mortal enemies. But now their fight was over. The Spirit Ape before them was no longer their foe, merely a spirit beast reaching the end of its life. As fellow spirit beasts, they felt sadness for it. This was a kind of emotion between spirit beasts, one that humans could not comprehend. Just as Shadow had requested the burial of the Golden-Crowned Python, or how Flash had instantly sensed Shadow before, spirit beasts possessed their own language and methods of communication.