Chapter 458: A Great Harvest
For Golden Silk Demon Apes, their body size gradually increases with age, but the true indicator of their cultivation level is the length of their tail.
A thousand-year Golden Silk Demon Ape has a tail between one and one and a half meters long. Once the tail exceeds one and a half meters, it has stepped into the ten-thousand-year tier.
Although the Golden Silk Demon Ape charging toward Qi Han looked fierce, its tail was only about 1.4 meters long.
Its cultivation was likely around eight thousand years.
So after a brief moment of frustration, Qi Han not only failed to retreat—his eyes instead burned with fighting spirit as he rushed forward.
An eight-thousand-year Golden Silk Demon Ape would probably be somewhat weaker than the ten-thousand-year Azure-Scaled Dragon Eel he had fought before, but not by much. It was the perfect opponent for practice.
His fourth spirit ring lit up behind him. Blade shadows flickered wildly in his hand as he slashed toward the Golden Silk Demon Ape.
The ape let out a strange cry. Dense golden light surged between the long golden fur on its forearms. Without dodging, it smashed its arms directly into Qi Han's blade.
Boom!
A metallic clash rang out. Under the tremendous impact, Qi Han staggered back several steps. Although the Golden Silk Demon Ape held its ground, two shallow cuts appeared on its arms.
Though only superficial wounds, the ape was clearly dissatisfied with the result. Roaring angrily, it charged again. This time, it extended both hands to clamp down on Qi Han's blade, while one clawed foot lashed viciously toward his abdomen.
Golden light flowed densely across both hands and the attacking foot.
This was the Golden Silk Demon Ape's innate skill—Flowing Gold Shattering Jade. It could greatly enhance the defense and strength of specific body parts, and the enhancement could shift fluidly, making it extremely versatile.
A cold glint flashed in Qi Han's eyes. The second spirit ring on his blade suddenly lit up, and a flurry of blade shadows shot forward, blocking all of the ape's attacks. Some of the blade shadows continued onward, slashing toward the ape's body.
"Shriek!"
The smaller Golden Silk Demon Ape clinging to the larger one's shoulder suddenly launched an attack, swinging its uninjured claw toward Qi Han's face. That claw was also enveloped in the golden glow of Flowing Gold Shattering Jade.
Qi Han's expression didn't change, but Pururu, who had been quietly resting in his arms, moved at that very moment.
"Meow!"
With a soft yet fierce little cry, Pururu teleported instantly behind the smaller Golden Silk Demon Ape. Clamping down on the back of its neck with sharp teeth, Pururu gave a powerful shake, flinging the smaller ape off the larger one's shoulder. Then Pururu chased after it, grappling with it mid-ground.
After consuming high-grade cat food for so long, Pururu had already reached the thousand-year spirit beast level. Combined with its powerful innate abilities, it could even contend with a ten-thousand-year spirit beast for a short time. Dealing with a smaller Golden Silk Demon Ape that had only recently reached the thousand-year level was naturally no problem.
Seeing that Qi Han had completely neutralized its attacks and even counterattacked—while the smaller Golden Silk Demon Ape beside it had been thrown aside—the larger Golden Silk Demon Ape's expression changed drastically. It roared furiously and turned to rush toward Pururu.
A dark glint flashed in Qi Han's eyes. His first and fifth spirit rings lit up simultaneously. In an instant, a blade light dozens of meters long slashed forward, crashing down toward the Golden Silk Demon Ape.
There was no way he would allow this ape to interfere with Pururu's fight against the smaller one. In fact, he had no intention of letting it escape at all.
With a prior lesson learned, who knew what kind of massive beast it might summon if it managed to flee?
The Golden Silk Demon Ape let out a sharp howl, crossing its arms as a shield. Golden light surged wildly as it attempted to block Qi Han's blade light.
But it had no idea just how powerful this strike was.
Slash! Slash!
With two clean sounds, the ape's arms were severed neatly. The remaining force of the blade light did not diminish, carving a deep gash across its chest.
Even Flowing Gold Shattering Jade could not withstand the combined power of Qi Han's three spirit skills layered together—One Cut, Two Breaks, Blade Shadows, and Indestructible.
Looking at the heavily wounded Golden Silk Demon Ape wailing in agony, Qi Han showed no hesitation. He rushed forward and delivered two more swift strikes, completely ending its life.
On the other side, Pururu slammed a claw heavily onto the smaller Golden Silk Demon Ape's head. Its body was covered in bloody wounds, and the light in its eyes gradually faded away.
"Phew!" Qi Han let out a breath of relief. Then, looking at the massive corpse of the Golden Silk Demon Ape, he broke into a grin.
"A great harvest!"
He had just read in the encyclopedia that the heart's blood of a Golden Silk Demon Ape was golden in color and served as the source of its innate skill, Flowing Gold Shattering Jade. As the ape's cultivation increased, the total amount of heart's blood also increased, allowing the golden enhancement to cover more parts of its body.
With both a large and a small Golden Silk Demon Ape here, the amount of heart's blood should be considerable—likely worth over a thousand gold coins.
That was equivalent to selling a single 3 Star dish.
"Pururu, let's begin dissecting the heart's blood."
"Meow!"
…
"Junior Meng, we're about to arrive at the Jing Yang Mountain Range. Have you decided what kind of fourth spirit ring you want?"
Inside a carriage slowly traveling along the road, a rather handsome man—though his brows and eyes carried a somewhat frivolous air—looked at the graceful young girl seated across from him. A trace of desire flickered in his eyes.
"Senior Qi, I've already decided. I'll handle it myself when the time comes. There's no need for you to worry."
Sensing the ill-intentioned scrutiny from the man opposite her, Meng Yun let out a faint sigh inwardly.
This Senior Qi Sen had been relentlessly pursuing her. Because of certain scandalous affairs from his past, she felt disgusted toward him and had no intention of being with him. For years, she had deliberately avoided him.
Unfortunately, their teachers at the Sun Moon Royal Spirit Engineer Academy were close friends. Qi Sen's teacher even had the idea of matchmaking them. So after learning that she was going to obtain her fourth spirit ring, Qi Sen's teacher smilingly arranged for Qi Sen to head to the Jing Yang Mountain Range to test a new spirit tool—conveniently protecting her along the way.
Meng Yun's teacher, considering their friendship, did not say much.
Thus, even though Qi Sen no longer needed to obtain a spirit ring, he inexplicably became her traveling companion.
His constant pestering along the journey had truly troubled her.
"How could that be acceptable? There are plenty of ten-thousand-year spirit beasts in the Jing Yang Mountain Range. As a Fifth-Level Spirit Engineer, and with a level-six spirit tool given by my teacher for testing, I can definitely ensure Junior Sister's safety."
Qi Sen's eyes held a hint of pride, and he indeed had reason to be proud.
Though his character was questionable, Qi Sen was highly talented in spirit tools. He had entered the ranks of a Fifth-Level Spirit Engineer at a young age and was even about to step into the supreme hall of Spirit Engineers: Mingde Hall.
Meng Yun said nothing more. When the carriage stopped, she stepped out first and walked toward the Jing Yang Mountain Range on her own. Qi Sen followed behind with a playful grin, his gaze lingering on the graceful curve of the girl's back, the desire in his eyes growing even stronger.
Both of them wore the uniforms of the Sun Moon Royal Spirit Engineer Academy. After their Spirit Power levels were checked according to regulations, the soldiers guarding the Jing Yang Mountain Range tactfully made way for them.
However, just as they were about to pass through, Qi Sen suddenly heard a soldier mutter quietly:
"Strange, why have so many Fifth-Level Spirit Engineers come today?"
"Oh?" Qi Sen paused, turning back with a smile. "There were other Fifth-Level Spirit Engineers here earlier?"
"Could you tell me about it?"
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