Translator: CinderTL
"Each Foundation Establishment cultivator will lead ten Qi Refining disciples into the mountain to annihilate the Ape Demons, leaving not a single scrap behind," Song Wen declared.
His words had barely faded when sword light flashed across the deck, and spiritual energy surged. One hundred and ten cultivators swiftly formed ten small squads and leaped from the ship.
"Remember, the Ape Demons possess some intelligence. Exercise extreme caution and do not underestimate them," Song Wen warned again.
The squads rapidly dispersed, descending into various parts of the mountain, their sights set on the apes lurking within. Low-tier spells rained down upon the forests, and the roars of Corpse Puppets echoed endlessly through the trees.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, a colossal Giant Ape, towering over twenty feet tall, burst from the dense undergrowth. Its crimson eyes burned with rage, its deafening roar shook the mountain, and its fangs were bared in a savage display of ferocity. This was the Ape King, a mid-Third-Tier powerhouse.
A Wu Ji Sect squad spotted the Giant Ape and immediately panicked. Even from a distance, they could clearly sense the terrifying aura radiating from the massive creature, sending chills down their spines.
"Scatter and flee!" their Foundation Establishment leader shouted.
At that moment, a seven-foot-tall black figure descended from the sky.
It was a Corpse Puppet at the peak of the Third-Tier.
The Corpse Puppet charged toward the Giant Ape.
The moment they clashed, the difference in power became immediately clear.
The massive Giant Ape swung a fist at the Corpse Puppet's rotting face. The puppet barely flinched, a splatter of black, viscous fluid spurting from its features.
The Corpse Puppet thrust a claw into the Giant Ape's chest, easily piercing through its protective Demon Power and sinking into the ape's flesh.
Corpse Qi swirled around the puppet's hand, pulverizing the Giant Ape's chest cavity and instantly extinguishing its life force.
Carrying the Giant Ape's corpse, the Corpse Puppet leaped onto the Giant Flying Ship, delivering the body to Song Wen.
Using a secret technique of the Corpse Dao, Song Wen sealed the Giant Ape's remains and stored them in his Storage Ring.
The corpse of a Third-Tier demon beast would make excellent blood food for the Shadow Gu, which was currently undergoing advancement.
Nearly six years had passed since the Shadow Gu last consumed a Gu Resonance Pill. Song Wen calculated that it should awaken again soon.
"Vice Hall Master, you're magnificent!"
The eleven Wu Ji Sect disciples, having narrowly escaped death, erupted in cheers.
Ignoring the flattery, Song Wen piloted the Giant Flying Ship toward the foot of the mountain.
The entire mountain was home to only one Third-Tier Ape. Jiang Lu had already eliminated even the most powerful Second-Tier Ape Demons, leaving the remaining apes too weak to pose a threat to the Wu Ji Sect disciples.
Soon, the Giant Flying Ship arrived before a stone wall completely overgrown with vines.
"Fellow Daoist Gou Jun, why are we here?" Jiang Lu asked, his voice laced with puzzlement.
Song Wen didn't answer. Instead, a surge of Corpse Qi erupted from his body, transforming into countless razor-sharp blades that swirled toward the wall.
The vines were shredded to dust by the Corpse Qi blades, their fragments drifting to the ground like snow.
In an instant, a ten-foot-tall cave entrance was revealed.
Though narrow at the opening, the cavern within proved surprisingly spacious, stretching roughly a mile in length and width.
"Hmm! A hidden cave! And it's teeming with Ape Demons. How did I miss this earlier?" Jiang Lu exclaimed, his surprise evident.
The cavern housed hundreds of Ape Demons.
Over fifty were pregnant females nearing their term, while the rest were young apes, some newly born and completely hairless, not even a single bristle yet grown.
Their sanctuary exposed, the apes stared at the Giant Flying Ship with wide-eyed terror.
Jiang Lu frowned slightly, a hint of suspicion coloring his voice.
"The stone walls of this cave seem to be infused with a spirit mine that conceals spiritual energy," Jiang Lu said. "I didn't investigate thoroughly enough earlier and completely missed this place. Fellow Daoist Gou Jun, how did you discover it?"
Song Wen replied, "There are over ten thousand Ape Demons on this mountain, yet the number of young apes is shockingly low. This struck me as unnatural. I deduced that the young apes must be hidden nearby. After carefully scanning the entire mountain with my Spirit Sense, I noticed traces of disturbed vines here."
"I see. Fellow Daoist, your reasoning is truly meticulous," Jiang Lu remarked.
As they spoke, the Ape Demons inside the cave had recovered from their initial panic.
Several mother apes, their eyes gleaming fiercely and bellies swollen with pregnancy, charged out of the cave entrance, baring their teeth as they leaped toward the Giant Flying Ship.
The remaining mothers frantically roared at the young apes, urging them to flee for their lives.
However, most of the young apes possessed limited intelligence and failed to grasp the imminent danger. Their eyes wide with confusion, they stared blankly at their frantic mothers.
Song Wen raised his hand and unleashed a wave of black Corpse Qi.
The mother apes leaping toward the ship were instantly severed at the waist, their blood and entrails splattering in all directions.
The mother apes charged fearlessly from the narrow cave entrance, only to meet their deaths one by one.
Soon, only the infant apes remained in the cave.
"Senior, please spare them," Jiang Yan pleaded softly, her voice tinged with desperation.
Song Wen, who was about to strike, frowned and turned to look at her. Jiang Yan gazed with pity at the mewling infants huddled in the cave, their mouths gaping for sustenance.
"You're pleading for their lives?" Song Wen asked, a sardonic smile playing on his lips.
Jiang Yan nodded firmly. "They're just newborn infants. Their hands have never been stained with human blood. They're innocent."
Slap!
Before Jiang Yan could finish, a gnarled hand struck her face with brutal force. Her delicate features instantly reddened and swelled as she flew backward through the air, landing heavily on the deck.
Her attacker was none other than her grandfather, Jiang Lu.
Jiang Lu's eyes blazed with fury as he roared, "Three months ago, the Demon Race slaughtered hundreds of thousands of our Jiang Clan members! Did they spare our children? Your own parents died at their hands! Who knows—the milk feeding these ape cubs might even be drawn from the rotting corpses of your own kin! And you dare defend them, calling them innocent?!"
Jiang Lu's voice was filled not only with a bone-deep hatred for the Demon Race, but also with bitter disappointment at his granddaughter's ignorance.
Tears welled up in Jiang Yan's eyes, the stinging pain on her face jolting her back to reality.
"Grandfather... I was wrong."
Jiang Lu flicked his wrist, using his Spiritual Power to lift her into the air and hurl her into the mountain cave.
"If you want my forgiveness, slaughter every last one of these ape whelps. Otherwise, rot here and die," Jiang Lu snarled.
"I..." Jiang Yan hesitated, her gaze lingering on the young apes huddled within the cave.
"Kill them!" Jiang Lu roared.
Jiang Yan flinched, uncertainty still clouding her eyes. But she dared not defy her grandfather. Instead, she reached for the storage pouch at her waist, and a three-foot-long azure blade materialized in her hand.
Grasping the sword, she surged toward the nearest young ape.
A flash of steel.
The cub split cleanly in two.
A flicker of remorse crossed Jiang Yan's face, but her sword never faltered, rising and falling again and again in a deadly rhythm.
Severed limbs flew through the air, and blood rained down, gradually staining her clothes, face, and hair crimson.
She grew numb, her movements reduced to mechanical swings of the sword.
Soon, hundreds of young apes lay slaughtered. The cave floor ran slick with blood, strewn with dismembered remains.
(End of the Chapter)
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