Xu Mu called for Qiongqi to save him, but his words were drowned out by a rumbling tremor.
RUMBLE!
Beneath the cacophony, the ground shook, and before the great mountain, another mountain rose.
That mountain was no mountain, but a demon.
Nán Fēng gazed at the giant demon shaped like an orangutan and silently swallowed.
They had struggled with all their might to climb the thousand-meter peak.
The orangutan before them, merely by straightening its back from a seated position, was at eye level with him. How tall would it be when it stood up?
And how strong?
"Humans, this is no place for you!"
The great demon orangutan spoke human words, its murky and demonic eyes fixed on the mountaintop.
Its fur bristled, and its demonic energy surged, as if ready to strike at any moment.
The orangutan demon was confident that with just one hand, it could easily crush these insignificant humans.
So, it slowly raised its fur-covered palm, hovering in the air, obscuring the sun and sky, its descent uncertain.
The mountain-like orangutan grinned ferociously. It had been trapped in this tedious place for too long. Finally, there was some entertainment, and it wouldn't end so quickly.
At the very least, it wanted to see these prey struggle.
Seeing this, Nán Fēng and the others despaired.
All of them were already exhausted. This mountain-like great demon was something they might struggle to resist even at their peak, let alone now.
Thus, their fighting spirit evaporated, and they all gave up resistance. Only Yán Yǔ, after a brief exchange with the entity in his sea of consciousness, felt a slight easing of his anxiety.
He grasped his sword, unsure whether to fight or flee.
Yán Yǔ looked at the orangutan and asked,
"This space was created by the Human Emperor. As humans, why should we not be here?"
The orangutan heard this and snorted two long plumes of white air from its dark nostrils. It spoke with mockery,
"There is still a difference between the Human Emperor and humans."
Yán Yǔ shook his head:
"We are all humans, what difference is there?"
The orangutan scoffed, somewhat mockingly,
"Do you think you are no different from Emperor Fú Xī?"
Yán Yǔ nodded:
"Not entirely."
"He was born many years before me, so naturally, there's a difference."
The orangutan had not expected such an answer from a human. Was this not an act of treason?
Curiosity piqued, it leaned forward, wanting to get a clearer look at Yán Yǔ.
Then, it saw a pair of deep blue eyes.
In those eyes, apart from indifference, there was no trace of fear or respect.
The orangutan thus deemed this an insult and became enraged.
Yán Yǔ sensed the danger and turned to look at Xǔ Mù:
"You said that Qiongqi would save us?"
Xǔ Mù heard this, looked at the rippling space in the sky, and nodded:
"Yes, but I don't know if it can beat this orangutan."
Yán Yǔ raised an eyebrow and sheathed his sword: "Then I will not move."
Xǔ Mù gave him a deep look and said nothing further.
...
"Kid, let me tell you the real difference between you and the Human Emperor!"
Suddenly, the orangutan stood up, its height exceeding the mountaintop by half.
It brought its fists together and smashed down with a roar:
"The difference is, I can't defeat the Human Emperor, but I will smash all of you into pulp!!!"
Its joined fists descended, creating a hurricane.
Instantly, everyone on the mountaintop felt an extreme pressure. The wild grass was bent and broken.
Their faces filled with despair. They had no room to struggle and could only pin their hopes on the one-in-ten-thousand chance that Xǔ Mù would save them.
But Xǔ Mù simply stood there, hands behind his back.
Facing the overwhelming onslaught, he remained motionless.
Was it confidence that he wouldn't die, or had he resigned himself to fate?
Fāng Jiǎ sighed inwardly. It was likely the latter. It seemed there would be no opportunity to learn that miraculous Bagua technique in this lifetime.
Changsun Wú Jì also looked up at the sky in panic. If he died here, the Changsun family would undoubtedly fall apart, and the great task of revival his father had entrusted to him would be a distant dream...
Facing death, everyone's mind was in a turmoil, filled with a thousand thoughts. But the only exception was Yǐn Zhòng Xiū.
Although he had not interacted much with Xǔ Mù, the latter had brought him new shocks every time.
He believed Xǔ Mù would not die at the hands of a crude beast, that he would find a way to survive, and thus, they too would live!
All these thoughts flashed by in an instant.
Yǐn Zhòng Xiū looked up at the giant fists descending from the sky, his eyes narrowing.
He seemed to see, beneath those massive fists, a furry paw appearing out of nowhere, swaying slightly in the wind. Then it opened, as if about to collide with the fists.
Yǐn Zhòng Xiū fell silent.
That paw was not large, certainly compared to the mountain-sized fists of the orangutan, it was like a sesame seed against a watermelon.
And if a sesame seed collided with a watermelon, the smaller one would naturally be crushed.
But this principle did not apply on the battlefield, for no one would willingly court death. The sesame seed daring to face the watermelon head-on indicated it had the confidence not to be crushed, or even to crush the watermelon.
Little Qiongqi naturally had that confidence. It emerged from the void and swatted at the orangutan's fists.
*SPLAT!*
The claw met the fists with a thunderous crash.
Then, the world quickly returned to silence.
The mountaintop was unharmed, everyone was alive, and the wild grass remained intact.
Qiongqi, beneath those sky-obscuring fists, did not retreat an inch, still proudly and steadily floating in the air, maintaining its previous posture, as light as a dragonfly touching water.
"Who is it?!"
The orangutan lord roared in fury, retracting its forelimbs.
It wanted to see who dared to intercept a descendant with the bloodline of the divine beast Titan!
Then, it lowered its head and saw a pair of eyes burning with fire.
That fire was no ordinary fire.
It was Samadhi True Fire.
There were many eyes burning with fire, but only one pair of eyes burning with Samadhi True Fire in the world.
Only the divine beast Qiongqi, it was Qiongqi who had stopped him!
The orangutan lord withdrew its forelimbs, its arrogance and brutality vanishing from its eyes, replaced by boundless fear. Thus, it began to retreat.
But in its fear, it accidentally stepped on the shell of a tortoise demon, stumbled, and caused the ground to shake.
*BOOM!*
"No!"
The orangutan lord cried out in terror. It didn't realize it had stumbled; it thought Qiongqi had attacked!
Although it and Qiongqi were both fourth-stage lords, the latter possessed the most noble bloodline in this world, a true descendant of a divine beast.
Among demonic beasts, bloodline was paramount. Even if a true Titan Ape came, it might not have the upper hand, let alone this half-breed...
Seeing Qiongqi, it would tremble uncontrollably and want to submit!
The other great demons were the same. They watched Qiongqi floating in mid-air and fell silent, not daring to advance further towards the mountain.
Thus, Nán Fēng and the others on the mountain suddenly snapped back to reality.
They seemed not to be dead. How was this possible!
At the very moment the orangutan smashed its fists down, a tiger appeared in the sky?
Oh no, it wasn't a tiger, but a beast resembling a tiger. It had blocked the mountain-like orangutan!
"Among these humans, there is my friend."
Little Qiongqi exchanged a glance with Xǔ Mù, then spoke human words, looking around at the great demons.
Its words were clearly a warning.
Among these people, there is my friend.
Therefore, none of you can move.
The numerous great demons in the arena, while fearing Qiongqi, also felt a flicker of anger in their hearts.
Their ancestors had been imprisoned here by humans, never to see the sun again. Therefore, they were the same, natural enemies of humans. Yet Qiongqi said it was friends with humans, how could they not be enraged!
After exchanging glances, the great demons, with solemn expressions, walked behind the orangutan and sat down.
They did not speak, for they feared Qiongqi.
By sitting behind the orangutan lord, they were stating their stance.
—Nothing can stop us from killing humans, not even a divine beast.
With the support of the demons behind it, the fourth-stage orangutan finally regained its composure. It realized that although Qiongqi's bloodline was noble, it was at the same level as itself, and its combat power likely not much higher.
Its reaction just now seemed overly cowardly.
Thus, the orangutan lord lost its reason and shouted,
"Befriending humans, have you forgotten how our ancestors were imprisoned here?!"
Little Qiongqi lazily licked its paw and said,
"That was your ancestor, not mine."
The orangutan, remembering that Qiongqi had come from the outside, felt even more enraged:
"So what?"
"What if you are outside? What if you are a divine beast, are you not still enslaved by humans?!"
"Nominally as guards, but in reality, what difference is there between that space and the prison of this demon god? You are still helping humans now, how foolish!"
The orangutan's furious roar echoed through the space, its words venomous.
Thus, all the great demons in the arena cast extraordinary gazes towards the mountain-like figure.
"To speak to a divine beast like that, truly courageous."
—The demons thought so.
Hearing these words, Little Qiongqi immediately bared its fangs.
Unlike what the orangutan claimed, their Qiongqi clan had not participated in the war between humans and demons in that era; they were neutral, and their ancestor was even a friend of Emperor Fú Xī.
Guarding this place, although perhaps not entirely voluntary, was not akin to being imprisoned as the orangutan claimed.
It was completely distorting the facts, talking nonsense!
Qiongqi was enraged, and the Samadhi True Fire in its eyes overflowed, dripping into the space.
True fire could burn all things in the world.
And the first thing it touched was a vast expanse of wind, sand, and dust.
Then, a great fire erupted from nowhere.
"That's Samadhi True Fire!"
Seeing the great fire rising in the space, the demons looked as if they had seen ghosts, shouting and scattering in all directions.
Although they were all great demons and possessed some divine beast bloodlines, their awakened innate abilities were no match for Samadhi True Fire.
The orangutan lord also knew that Samadhi True Fire was something used by gods. No matter how strong its physical body was, it could not withstand its erosion, so it also began to flee.
But as it turned, a paw gently rested on its arm.
That paw was not large, furry, but it sent a shiver down its spine.
Because on it, a flame burned from red to white!
...