Ye Jingyu looked around, his mind filled with questions. It was already noon, and they had reached the fringe of the Tiangang Mountain Range. Here, the trees were extraordinarily tall, each soaring hundreds of meters high, their foliage thick and deep, blocking out most of the sunlight and lending the area a considerably somber atmosphere…
Coupled with the uneven, ragged weeds on the ground, and the occasional scattered bones of animals, it was truly difficult to reconcile this place with the image of beautiful, scenic mountain woods…
Fortunately, this group comprised no ordinary people; moreover, with two Grandmaster-level super experts guarding the entourage—one at the front and one at the rear—the hearts of the group felt considerably more settled…
“Roar…” Suddenly, a massive roar echoed from the depths of the forest. The expressions of those present froze instantly. Some showed visible tension in their eyes, others looked grave, while some were simply curious. Only Qin Yan maintained his usual impassive demeanor…
“Do not panic. That is the roar of a Saber-toothed Tiger…” The Patriarch named Qin Fengbao, who was leading the way, spoke in a cold tone at that moment…
Hearing his voice, the group managed to calm down slightly, continuing to advance. However, every one of them gripped their weapons nervously. Although they were all elites from the White Cloud Villa, they were too young. They were accustomed to practicing martial arts in public view, never having ventured into such a perilous region. Especially when considering the ferocious beasts rumored to be hidden deep within the Tiangang Mountain Range, no one believed this journey would be safe…
After walking a little further, the roar grew louder, interspersed with sharp hissing sounds. At this moment, even the Patriarch who had just spoken wore a heavy expression…
“Swoosh…” Suddenly, a flash of white light streaked past. Without a second thought, Qin Fengbao flicked his finger, sending out a surge of energy that struck the white light directly. With a crisp clang, the white light exploded, scattering onto the ground. Only then did the group realize it had been a fist-sized white spider…
A flying spider?
A chilling sensation rose up the spines of everyone present…
“Bad news! That’s a White Ape Spider. The Sky Luan White Ape must be nearby. We need to detour…” Upon clearly recognizing the true form of the white silhouette, Qin Fengbao’s brow furrowed tightly, and he made an immediate decision, turning to lead them in another direction…
Though perplexed, the others followed him as he changed course…
“Father, are the Sky Luan White Apes very formidable?” Qin Yuting asked her father, confusion clouding her features at this point…
“Indeed. They are one of the fiercest exotic beasts on the outskirts of the Tiangang Mountain Range. The venom of the White Ape Spiders is one of the ingredients they use to brew Sky Luan Wine. They regard these spiders as taboos. Any creature daring to harm a White Ape Spider will face an attack from the entire Sky Luan White Ape clan. No one below the Xiantian realm should even think about killing an adult Sky Luan White Ape,” Qin Yan stated flatly, his expression remaining detached…
Hearing that it took Xiantian realm strength just to kill one, everyone gasped in astonishment. This was only on the periphery of the Tiangang Mountain Range; what awaited them deeper in?
From that moment on, none of them viewed this trip to the Jiang Kingdom as a mere journey…
They simply followed closely behind Qin Fengbao, terrified of falling behind…
Yet, after walking for less than ten minutes, the group noticed that Qin Fengbao, leading the way, had stopped. As they all looked up ahead, their faces drastically changed…
It was an open area spanning the size of two or three football fields. In the center of this clearing squatted over a dozen colossal white apes, each standing at least ten feet tall when upright. Before them lay the corpses of more than ten Saber-toothed Tigers, each over ten feet long…
These massive apes were using their sharp claws to crack open the sturdy skulls of the Saber-toothed Tigers, scooping out and drinking the brain marrow…
Such a gruesome scene almost made the onlookers vomit, especially Ye Jingyu. Having lived his entire life in an era of peace, he had never witnessed such brutality; his stomach churned violently…
“No one move… These White Apes only drink the brain fluid of the Saber-toothed Tigers… They will leave once they finish drinking,” Qin Fengbao transmitted telepathically…
Hearing this, the group was startled again. These giants killed Saber-toothed Tigers merely for their brain fluid—this was… this was too terrifying!
The mighty Saber-toothed Tiger, the king of the forest, had its brain fluid reduced to a mere beverage for these apes…
Recalling the earlier tiger roar, the group seemed to understand: that sound wasn't a display of dominance, but a final, desperate cry at the moment of death.
From this moment on, they deeply grasped the horror of these white giants and understood why Qin Yan had said that without Xiantian realm strength, one shouldn't even dream of killing a Sky Luan White Ape. After all, to single-handedly hunt down a Saber-toothed Tiger was difficult without the strength of a Warrior; yet, these apes dispatched them as easily as slaughtering chickens…
“Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…” Just then, sounds like these emanated from behind them. Qin Fengbao and Qin Yukuan’s expressions changed simultaneously. As Patriarchs of the White Cloud Villa and true Grandmaster-level super experts, they were intimately familiar with these sounds from their past ventures into the Tiangang Mountain Range…
“It seems a battle is unavoidable today. Let’s just hope there aren't too many of these Sky Luan White Apes,” Qin Yukuan said calmly, releasing his right hand to summon a three-foot-long slender sword into his grasp…
In the front, Qin Fengbao also drew his weapon, also a three-foot-long slender sword. Qin Yan and Qin Yunxiao quickly followed suit, clearly sensing what was coming?
Only the remaining disciples remained utterly bewildered, wondering why, when everything was fine moments ago, they were suddenly facing combat?
At this point, the Sky Luan White Apes, having finished their meal, all stood up. The tallest among them reached nearly fifteen feet. Their chests, shoulders, and abdomens were covered in sturdy scales, and their mouths revealed two one-inch-long fangs. Some residual Saber-toothed Tiger brain fluid clung to the soft fur around their lips, making them look utterly savage and dreadful. What shocked the group even more was that they began walking towards them upright, moving in a bipedal fashion…
“Father, didn’t you say they would leave on their own after finishing dinner?” Seeing such massive creatures heading in their direction, Qin Yuting’s face turned pale…
Although she had reached the Martial Master realm, she was still a considerable distance from Xiantian. She ranked among the top experts of the younger generation, but facing these unknown creatures filled her with primal fear, especially after witnessing the apes drinking the tiger brains moments ago—the horror was magnified…
Qin Yan did not speak. He simply turned his head to look in the direction from which they had come. Ye Jingyu and the others instinctively followed his gaze. Every single person sucked in a sharp breath of cold air almost simultaneously…