"Yaa, yaa, yaa..."
"Yaa, yaa!"
"Yaa, yaa, yaa~"
"Yaa, yaa! Yaa, yaa, yaa~"
The Iron-Arm Apes had been playing around noisily, but when they heard the tall Iron-Arm Ape's cries, they all became excited and danced and shouted. Their cries rang out as one. One after another, the Iron-Arm Apes immediately ran to various corners, brought out some stone cups, and those without cups simply used whatever they could find nearby to make their own.
"Yaa~~~"
Amid a high-pitched cry, the Golden-Eyed Silver Ape King walked out of the cave. Its entire body was silver, its pupils golden, and it was about the same size as an ordinary Iron-Arm Ape.
It held a huge stone wine jar in one hand. The jar was filled with pale red liquid, and a rich fragrance of wine spread through the air. The two people, only a little over thirty meters from the cave entrance, caught the scent as well.
"This smell..."
Gu Sheng caught the fragrance of the wine, and his whole body shuddered. A refreshing sensation spread through him.
"Si, si~"
A tiny serpent head poked out from the back of Gu Sheng's neck. The Jade Azure Serpent hissed, its golden eyes filled with excitement.
"What an enticing smell. Is this really wine?"
A trace of intoxication flashed through Chu Xin's beautiful eyes. She lightly sniffed with her little nose, and a hint of moisture appeared at the corners of her lips.
"Yaa, yaa, yaa~~"
As the Golden-Eyed Silver Ape King cried out, more than a thousand Iron-Arm Apes cheered. They had been unable to drink their fill for nearly a month and had long since grown restless.
The Ape King poured the entire jar of pale red Vermillion Fruit Wine into the large jars held by the remaining twelve tall Iron-Arm Ape chiefs under its command. Then, those twelve tall Iron-Arm Apes distributed the Vermillion Fruit Wine from their jars among the other Iron-Arm Apes.
The Iron-Arm Apes moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, all of the more than thousand Iron-Arm Apes had received a cup. The Ape King must have felt that its subjects had been pent up for too long, because it had given them an especially generous amount. The wine nearly overflowed from their cups.
The rich fragrance of wine spread everywhere. The Iron-Arm Apes excitedly savored their monkey wine, smacking their lips as they took small sips. Each cup of Vermillion Fruit Wine would take at least dozens of mouthfuls to finish.
"Roar~"
A low growl caught Gu Sheng's attention. It came from a leopard with a jet-black body and glossy fur.
"Black Wind Leopard, you've got quite the appearance! You'd make an excellent mount!"
Gu Sheng recognized the Demon Beast. The Black Wind Leopard was known for its speed. Its body was jet-black, somewhat resembling the black panthers of the modern world, but it was no smaller than the Black Tiger Gu Sheng had once hunted. Its muscles were well defined, its body well proportioned, and it looked like the embodiment of beauty and strength.
"Roar, roar~"
"Hoh, hoh~"
"Si, si~"
"Chirp, chirp~"
The Black Wind Leopard, Azure-Striped Wolf, Violet Lightning Centipede, Snow-Browed Hawk, and the other Demon Beasts emerged one after another. Every pair of eyes was fixed on the Iron-Arm Apes' wine bowls.
Iron Arm Ape Mountain's largest "cake," the Vermillion Fruits, had long been monopolized by the Iron-Arm Ape clan. Vermillion Fruits were extremely beneficial to Demon Beasts, able to increase their strength and develop their bodies. Once brewed into special Vermillion Fruit monkey wine, they were easier to absorb and twice as effective.
The Iron-Arm Apes regarded the Vermillion Fruits and monkey wine as their lifeblood. On top of that, they were the strongest clan on Iron Arm Ape Mountain, so naturally they had no intention of sharing with the other Demon Beasts. The other Demon Beasts were dissatisfied, of course, and incidents of them stealing Vermillion Fruits or Vermillion Fruit Wine occurred frequently.
Although Iron Arm Ape Mountain was home to many Demon Beasts, its strongest—and only—Golden Core Demon Beast was the Golden-Eyed Silver Ape King of the Iron-Arm Ape clan.
Because the Golden-Eyed Silver Ape King had to guard its lair and protect the Vermillion Fruit Wine in Ape King Cave from being stolen, it remained here year-round and could not leave. The ones who usually patrolled the mountain were the dozen or so Iron-Arm Ape chiefs at the Xiantian Demon Beast level.
Although the Xiantian-level Iron-Arm Ape chiefs were powerful, they were not invincible on Iron Arm Ape Mountain. Thus, the Iron-Arm Apes were not particularly overbearing toward outsiders and maintained a certain balance with the other Demon Beasts.
"Yaa!"
The Golden-Eyed Silver Ape King proudly took a large gulp of Vermillion Fruit Wine and glanced at the lurking Demon Beasts around it with obvious disdain. Today, it planned to stay a while longer and see whether these fellows dared to come and snatch it.
Usually, it left as soon as it finished drinking, giving some Demon Beasts the chance to sneak in and steal the monkey wine. But today, it had finally managed to let the little monkeys drink. It had to let everyone enjoy themselves and could not allow them to ruin the mood.
The Demon Beasts gradually grew restless. They had all been drawn by the Vermillion Fruit Wine, yet not one dared to pounce into the troop of monkeys. They were not afraid of individual Iron-Arm Apes, especially when facing solitary Demon Beasts.
But more than a thousand Iron-Arm Apes were another matter. Anyone who dared to say otherwise would be a fool! Everyone knew that the first bird to stick its head out would be shot. Whoever moved first would surely earn the hatred of the Iron-Arm Apes, and if they deliberately targeted it, it could easily lose its life. Thus, none dared to become the first "brave warrior."
"Let's add another spark!"
The corner of Gu Sheng's mouth lifted. He narrowed one eye and placed his right hand on a stone, taking aim at a small monkey below that was only half the size of an ordinary Iron-Arm Ape.
"Whoosh~"
A sound tore through the air. The little monkey felt as if someone had struck its wine cup. Its two claws jerked, spilling half a mouthful of wine into the air. The rich fragrance spread on the breeze, and the Demon Beasts all around could no longer suppress their movements.
"Cry! Cry! Cry!"
Three sharp cries suddenly rang out. High in the sky, three silver-gray blurs streaked across it and shot into the troop of monkeys like lightning.
"Iron Silver Cranes!"
Gu Sheng looked at the Demon Beasts that had made the first move in surprise. The Xiantian Demon Beast Iron Silver Cranes resembled red-crowned cranes, except they were much larger, and the crowns on their heads were not red but a faint silvery radiance.
The three Iron Silver Cranes diving down had wings more than six meters wide. As soon as they plunged into the monkey troop, they each chose a target. They were clever and did not provoke the Silver Ape King or the twelve Iron-Arm Ape chiefs, who were also Xiantian Demon Beasts. Instead, they specifically picked on the weak.
Bang~
With a flap of their iron-like wings, more than a dozen Iron-Arm Apes were sent flying. Large pits appeared in the mountain walls and ground as shattered stones flew everywhere.
"Whoosh!"
An Iron Silver Crane thrust its sharp beak into a wine cup and sucked. The remaining Vermillion Fruit Wine was instantly drained.
"Yaa~~"
The Silver Ape King became furious at the sight. After gulping down its own wine, it charged fiercely toward the Iron Silver Cranes darting back and forth.
But by then, it was too late. The Demon Beasts that had been lurking immediately sprang into the monkey troop one after another, scrambling to seize and drink the Vermillion Fruit Wine first. The Iron-Arm Apes were unwilling to be outdone either. More and more Demon Beasts joined the battle, and the situation instantly spiraled out of control.
"Let's go~"
On the cliff platform, Gu Sheng's eyes lit up when he saw this. He took Chu Xin's small hand and crossed the platform, moving along the grappling hook to the back of the steep mountain wall.
The chaos in the Iron-Arm Ape lair grew worse and was already nearing the point of complete loss of control. Countless Demon Beasts and Iron-Arm Apes fought savagely. At times there were shouts, at times roars, and the cries of all kinds of Demon Beasts intertwined.
"Rumble~"
A thunderous boom erupted without warning, exploding beside the ears of the gathered beasts like a bolt of lightning.
A scorching wave burst from the top of the cliff where Ape King Cave was located. Accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar, billowing smoke rose into the sky like a vast sandstorm.
The violent explosions continued without end. Large sections of the mountain collapsed one after another, and broken rocks fell like a meteor shower, mercilessly raining down upon the panicked monkey troop and Demon Beasts.
"Rumble~"
Another thunderous boom rang out. The rocks above Ape King Cave trembled violently, and the immense mountain peak and cliff swayed precariously.
Before you continue