Rest in Peace?

"I am the true master of this Vast Mountain Range!!!"

The King-level Demon Ape spread its demonic wings and beat them once. The Blood-colored Gale swept in all directions like lightning, shrouding half the Vast Mountain Range beneath its crimson winds.

This Blood-colored Gale was not merely terrifying to look at. It was like countless imperceptibly fine tendrils, madly absorbing the life essence within the gale.

Plants withered, and birds and beasts perished.

At that moment.

A slender, glowing willow branch emerged from midair. Its faint radiance shielded Stone Village; otherwise, once the tiny tendrils within the Blood-colored Gale spread inside, they would drain everyone in Stone Village dry within minutes, leaving nothing but desiccated corpses.

Seeing this bizarre and horrifying scene.

Shi Yi no longer had the mood to keep watching. He turned and ran, but quickly stopped. It was not that he wanted to court death, but because he discovered that a slender, glowing willow branch had also extended from the void above his head.

A faint glow emerged, transforming into a jade-green curtain of light that protected him.

"Willow Deity?"

Shi Yi touched the jade-green willow branch above his head. It felt as though he had touched the Willow Deity's fingertip, and he could even sense her consciously curling her finger back slightly.

But before he could savor that strange sensation, another jade-green willow branch quietly emerged from the void and viciously lashed him across the backside.

"Even slower than I expected, Shi Yi. You don't seem very capable." The Willow Deity's voice remained the same, gentle yet carrying an absolute sanctity that could not be violated.

"I'm not capable?"

Shi Yi immediately flared up. He selectively forgot the burning pain in his backside, leapt up from the ground, and looked as though he intended to confront the Willow Deity hidden in the void.

"I thought you would return in ten days. I did not expect you to linger for a month and a half," the Willow Deity said calmly.

"My sense of direction was not very good back then. I took a wrong turn and strayed several million li off course," Shi Yi defended himself.

Leaving aside Shi Yi's casual conversation with the Willow Deity, deep within the Vast Mountain Range, the battle between the King-level Demon Ape and the Li Fire Bull Demon had already reached its fiercest stage.

"Moo! You are not qualified to be this mountain range's master! Old Suanni is dead, so this mountain range should naturally be ruled by this old bull. Yet you dare dream of becoming the master of this mountain range?"

The Li Fire Bull Demon looked extremely enraged. Its nostrils constantly expelled heavy breaths, its eyes were bloodshot, and its thick, towering hooves burned with blazing flames as they unconsciously stamped the ground.

The Li Fire Bull Demon did not fear the King-level Demon Ape. Violent, berserk flames ignited around its body, burning away half the sky and successfully blocking the Blood-colored Gale's erosion of the Vast Mountain Range.

Heaven and Earth Lihuo, thunder and wind press against each other, mountains and marshes exchange qi, water and fire cannot merge. Lihuo can burn all things beneath heaven.

Heaven and earth referred to Qian and Kun, thunder and wind referred to Zhen and Xun, mountains and marshes referred to Gen and Dui, while water and fire referred to Kan and Li. Together, they were known as the Innate Eight Trigrams.

Among the Eight Trigrams, Li was the south.

Because the south was where the sun stood at noon and belonged to yang, and among the yin-yang Four Symbols, the south belonged to the fire of Bing and Ding and was guarded by the Vermilion Bird, the Li position among the Eight Trigrams represented fire—Lihuo.

The Li Fire Bull Demon possessed the ability to control Heaven and Earth Lihuo. It was also an Ancient Descendant not to be underestimated, and the potential of its bloodline was not inferior to that of the King-level Demon Ape in the slightest.

"Old bull, if you want to die, I will give you the chance to join Old Suanni," the King-level Demon Ape sneered.

"Arrogant! You and I are evenly matched. Without devouring Old Suanni's true blood, you may not be able to do anything to me," the Li Fire Bull Demon said as the flames around it grew even more scorching.

"Is that so? Then let strength do the talking. Let us see who is the master of this Vast Mountain Range."

The King-level Demon Ape beat its demonic wings. Its body moved like lightning, swift as the wind, and its hand—capable of prying open the skulls of Desolate Variants—shot toward the Li Fire Bull Demon's head.

But the Li Fire Bull Demon was not like that giant bear, which had been intimidated by the King-level Demon Ape into having its skull forcibly opened and being unable to resist even while its brain was eaten like tofu pudding. It lowered its head and charged forward with its horns.

They fought for three days and three nights. The King-level Demon Ape was covered in wounds of all sizes, while the Li Fire Bull Demon was also running out of strength, utterly exhausted even as it moved.

"Old bull, neither of us can truly defeat the other. If we keep fighting, outsiders may take advantage of us. How about we split Old Suanni's true blood equally?"

The King-level Demon Ape spoke with extreme caution. It had sensed several Ancient Descendants outside the Vast Mountain Range, each only slightly weaker than itself.

"I have no objections, but what about the Vast Mountain Range?"

The Li Fire Bull Demon's massive head finally lowered. It chose not to fight the King-level Demon Ape to the death, knowing that neither of them would benefit if they did.

"Simple. Half for each of us. You and I will rule this Vast Mountain Range together," the King-level Demon Ape said as it sat down.

"You are not human, and neither am I. It should clearly be half each," the Li Fire Bull Demon said, collapsing into a seated position as well.

"Human? This old bull is right. In this Great Wilderness, humans are merely our food. After fighting for days, once we have divided Old Suanni's true blood, I will find a few Tribal Clans in the Great Wilderness and properly savor the delicious taste of human flesh."

The King-level Demon Ape did not refute the Li Fire Bull Demon. As it spoke, it seemed to recall the taste of human tofu pudding, and saliva involuntarily slid from the corner of its mouth.

"If you have the ability, leave the Great Wilderness and go capture humans from the Stone Kingdom and Fire Kingdom," the Li Fire Bull Demon snorted.

"Old bull, do you think I am stupid? The Stone Kingdom and Fire Kingdom are ancient kingdoms, both guarded by Human Emperors. Going there would be no different from seeking death!" The King-level Demon Ape shot the Li Fire Bull Demon a disdainful glance.

At that critical moment.

Old Suanni, which had been lying on the ground without the slightest trace of life, suddenly opened its closed eyes. An incomparably powerful golden radiance bloomed within its pupils.

Golden light surged, and golden brilliance spread.

In an instant.

The entire Vast Mountain Range was enveloped in dazzling golden light. Grass, trees, rocks, and everything else turned golden, as though the pure golden radiance had completely assimilated the Vast Mountain Range.

No one had expected that the Old Suanni, long thought dead, would suddenly leap to its feet. Though it was clearly incomparably aged, at that moment its ferocious might seemed as overwhelming as it had been in its youth.

Yet anyone with eyes could see that this was Old Suanni's final battle. Its life had already reached its end. After this battle, it would truly die of old age.

"Rumble..."

Like thunder erupting from the Ninth Heaven, the sound shook the mountains until they trembled chaotically. Old Suanni straightened its body and, like a streak of golden lightning, swiftly pounced toward the two Beast Kings who ruled their domains.

The King-level Demon Ape and the Li Fire Bull Demon both went blank with shock. They could neither understand nor comprehend how Old Suanni, which had clearly died, had suddenly come back to life.

Moreover, judging from its bearing, it was clearly no weaker than during its prime. Back then, Suanni had roamed the Great Wilderness unhindered. It had been the true master of this Vast Mountain Range.

Splash!

It was simply too fast, too sudden.

The golden light Old Suanni had transformed into flashed past. Although the King-level Demon Ape reacted in time, its battle with the Li Fire Bull Demon had already consumed a great deal of its strength.

One of the King-level Demon Ape's arms, along with half its body, was still forcibly torn away. Its blood spurted dozens of feet into the air, instantly leaving it gravely wounded and near death.

Crack!

Before the King-level Demon Ape could beat its demonic wings—no, its single remaining wing—and flee, lightning exploded from Old Suanni's mouth, forming a pillar of lightning that slew the King-level Demon Ape on the spot.

"You actually pretended to be dead—"

Before the Li Fire Bull Demon could finish speaking, a mass of golden light rushed toward it.

The next second.

The Li Fire Bull Demon, whose entire body blazed with towering flames, had its two enormous horns—each several meters long—along with a large mass of flesh from its head, torn off in a single swipe of Old Suanni's claw.

The horns fell, flesh was ripped away, revealing gleaming white bone. Old Suanni showed no mercy. It struck down with another claw, shattering the Li Fire Bull Demon's skull.

This sudden turn of events.

Not only stunned all the ferocious beasts and birds secretly watching outside the Vast Mountain Range, but frightened them so badly that they all collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Shi Yi, protected by the Willow Tree, could not help smacking his lips. He had not expected Old Suanni to act with such decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Not bad.

Worth learning from!

"Why do I feel so much like a battlefield reporter?" Shi Yi rubbed his chin. He felt as though he had gone down the wrong path. He was only so-so at fighting, but he was quite talented at watching others fight.

Roar! A deafening roar rang out.

Old Suanni threw back its head and howled toward the sky. Its terrifying pressure enveloped the entire Vast Mountain Range. Aside from Shi Yi, every ferocious beast and bird secretly watching this bloody battle in the Vast Mountain Range fled.

If Old Suanni could pretend to be dead once, it could do so a second time. None of them wanted to become the next King-level Demon Ape or Li Fire Bull Demon, becoming Old Suanni's prey before its death.

At that moment.

Old Suanni suddenly looked in Shi Yi's direction.

"Young friend, for the sake of our acquaintance, could you allow this old one to rest in peace?"