True Target

"Chirp!"

As if sensing that such an impact would injure Gu Sheng, the Jade Azure Serpent streaking toward him abruptly halted in midair several centimeters before him. The transition between extreme motion and absolute stillness was so smooth that it seemed perfectly natural, without the slightest distortion.

"Boom~"

A sonic boom rang beside Gu Sheng's ears. The Jade Azure Serpent stopped right in front of him, finally revealing its body to the two of them.

Gu Sheng gazed at the creature before him, astonishment and delight flashing across his face in a remarkably vivid expression. Behind him, Chu Xin's eyes were already sparkling. She boldly darted forward and reached out with her little hand, wanting to touch it.

The creature that appeared before them was a slender little snake only about three inches long. Its entire body was covered in tiny azure scales, and it had pale-golden snake eyes. A small silver horn about an inch long protruded from its forehead, with faint flashes of thunder and lightning flickering within it. An aura of nobility tinged with otherworldly beauty arose naturally from its form.

"Jade Azure Serpent! Azure Spirit!"

Although he had only glanced at it, Gu Sheng had already recognized the little creature's origin. The Jade Azure Serpent was what a Verdant Python became after growing to thirty feet long and successfully undergoing a transformation. Afterward, it was only three feet long.

The Jade Azure Serpent was a top-tier Demon Beast born after a python transformed into a flood dragon. Its threat was in no way inferior to the Ziguang Flood Dragon in Mount Dayan's Jade Cold Pool. Although its body was small, it was as hard as a divine weapon and could easily be used to kill people as a weapon!

Moreover, the Jade Azure Serpent was extremely venomous—even Innate Golden Core experts could not avoid its poison. Its venom spread incredibly quickly. Even an Internal Fist grandmaster capable of controlling the flow of qi and blood would be unable to suppress it without warning and would die within a short while.

"So this is what Azure Spirit looks like after transforming. It's so pretty!"

After hearing Gu Sheng's words, Chu Xin was no longer timid. Her limpid eyes glittered as she poked Azure Spirit's tiny belly with one finger, then grabbed its entire body in her hands. She rubbed her little cheek against its head and kept murmuring.

"Ah! So cute! So cute!"

"Azure Spirit is really so cute!"

The Jade Azure Serpent did not look fierce. Instead, it was almost excessively beautiful. Unless someone had a deep-seated psychological trauma, any woman would probably forget her fear and dislike of snakes when faced with such a beautiful creature.

Chu Xin was living proof. Her current appearance as she "fawned over" the serpent looked exactly like Tushan Susu encountering "Bai Yueji" again in the Southern Kingdom arc of Fox Spirit Matchmaker—rubbing against it while repeatedly saying how cute it was. They were practically identical.

"Hey! Um, you should give Azure Spirit back to me now!"

Gu Sheng's face darkened. This girl's endless "torment" of the Jade Azure Serpent was challenging Azure Spirit's limits as a flood dragon and was practically courting death! Still, since he had already privately designated the girl as a member of his "crystal palace," he magnanimously represented his Jade Azure Serpent in forgiving her rudeness.

"What do you mean? When did Azure Spirit become yours alone? It obviously belongs to both of us."

Chu Xin shielded the Jade Azure Serpent against her chest, preventing any potential "sneak attack" from Gu Sheng.

"Are you sure about that, Xin'er? Azure Spirit, come back!"

The corners of Gu Sheng's lips lifted slightly. He crooked a finger at the Jade Azure Serpent. With a whoosh, a green blur flashed past.

The Jade Azure Serpent appeared in Gu Sheng's hand as if by teleportation. It lowered its tiny head and gently licked Gu Sheng's palm several times before raising its head. Excitement and dependence danced in its clear, crystalline golden eyes.

Gu Sheng's heart filled with joy. With a slight stir of his thoughts, he cautiously extended his hand and gently stroked the delicate flood dragon's body. His fingers glided over scales no less smooth than warm jade before finally rubbing its tiny dragon horn.

Gu Sheng's actions did not provoke any hostility from the Jade Azure Serpent. It twisted its body slightly without making any attempt to evade him. Instead, it moved its little head and lazily rubbed its dragon horn against Gu Sheng's palm.

"Hahahahaha~~~~"

Gu Sheng burst into loud laughter. Chu Xin had never seen him lose his composure in such excitement before. But seeing him like this, she began laughing as well. She could feel that a great weight seemed to have been lifted from Gu Sheng's heart.

On a steep mountainside cliff in Iron Arm Ape Mountain, Gu Sheng and Chu Xin lay low beside the edge of a platform. The platform was covered in vines and other weeds. Nearly a thousand Iron-Arm Apes were shrieking below it. This was the Iron-Arm Apes' lair, and Ape King Cave was directly beneath the platform where they were hiding.

Inside Ape King Cave, a tall Iron-Arm Ape leader carefully carried two Cinnabar Fruits and continued deeper into the cave. It walked very slowly, extremely nervous about the two Cinnabar Fruits in its hands.

It had no choice but to be careful. During the past month, the Cinnabar Fruits of Iron Arm Ape Mountain had been plundered by a group of Demon Beasts. The Iron-Arm Ape tribe's supply of Vermillion Fruit Wine had been cut off, and they had been entirely living off their reserves.

The drinking gatherings that had originally been held every few days had only happened twice this month. Even the leader received only a small cup each time, and the Iron-Arm Apes were all deeply dissatisfied.

After winding through the passageways several times, the Iron-Arm Ape leader arrived in an open section of the mountain's interior. A square pit lay in the ground there, filled with a large amount of pale-red liquid. The rich aroma of wine spread in every direction. The tall Iron-Arm Ape sniffed, then could not help licking its lips.

Beside the square pit stood an Iron-Arm Ape of the same build as an ordinary member of the species. However... its fur was entirely silver, and its eyes were golden! In front of this golden-eyed, silver-furred Iron-Arm Ape, the tall Iron-Arm Ape was exceedingly docile.

"Gu Sheng, how much longer do we have to wait?"

At the edge of the platform, Chu Xin glanced around. Many Demon Beasts had already gathered nearby.

"Until the Ape King comes out. Because of us, the Iron-Arm Apes have been rationing their Vermillion Fruit Wine lately. Now that they've finally obtained ripe Cinnabar Fruits, they'll definitely drink their fill."

Gu Sheng looked at the growing number of Demon Beasts around them, a trace of pride flashing through his eyes. "With the ones nearby and those we lured here, we're no longer outnumbered by the Iron-Arm Ape tribe. Once the Vermillion Fruit Wine appears, the scene will definitely descend into chaos. That's when our opportunity will come. The Vermillion Fruit Wine has always been my true target."

Gu Sheng's true target had always been the Vermillion Fruit Wine here. For it, he had even prepared a plan with a theoretically very high chance of success. The matter with the Jade Azure Serpent, Azure Spirit, had merely been an accident. If the Jade Azure Serpent had not appeared, he might have already begun carrying out his plan. However, with the addition of the Jade Azure Serpent, his plan had become even more complete.

Gu Sheng glanced back at the precipitous cliff behind them. The cliff rose straight into the mountain, and amid the swirling clouds and mist, something could faintly be seen moving along the mountain wall.

"They're coming out!"

Chu Xin called softly. Gu Sheng turned to look and saw the tall Iron-Arm Ape emerge from the cave. It waved its arms and let out a series of "ya ya ya" cries. The excited, high-pitched calls echoed over the apes' lair.