River Pond

This time, the task Zhang Qingyuan accepted was still one from Area B.

The task was roughly this: near the Spirit Peach Grove outside River Pond Town, a pack of low-level Demon Monkeys had appeared not long ago. Among them, the Monkey King's strength had already approached the Spirit Essence Realm Fifth Level Peak.

That Yao Monkey King led a group of demon monkeys in wreaking havoc around the Spirit Peach groves,

stealing Spirit Peaches, snatching Spirit Fruits by force, and surrounding and injuring Spirit Farmers,

causing enormous trouble for the several small Cultivation Families that managed the spirit fruit lands.

The Cultivation Families managing the spirit fruit orchards had not neglected to organize their Clan Cultivators to strike back, but while entering the mountains, they had been ambushed by the cunning demon monkeys leading their main force.

Under the Monkey King's command,

twenty or thirty low-level Demon Monkeys at the First and Second Levels of Spirit Essence, together with dozens or even hundreds of ordinary monkeys, launched a siege against the cultivators entering the mountains. The Monkey King hid among the monkey pack, launching sneak attacks from time to time amid the chaotic battlefield and dealing fatal blows to those cultivators from the small families.

The result was naturally a complete defeat.

If not for the few cultivators who had reached the Mid Spirit Essence Realm fighting desperately to break out, the elites of those small family powers would likely have been wiped out in that battle!

Yet even so,

the several small Cultivation Families had been severely wounded.

Left with no choice, those small Cultivation Families had to join forces and seek aid from the Cloud Water Sect. They posted a mission in the Outer Sect to exterminate the Monkey King, hoping that a more powerful Esteemed Immortal from the Cloud Water Sect would accept it.

The reward for this mission was eight hundred Contribution Points and one jin of ten-year Spirit Peaches.

Judging by the reward alone,

it could be considered quite generous.

However,

Demon Monkeys, those Demonic Creatures,

had little value all over their bodies, aside from cultivators with peculiar tastes who might wish to sample monkey brains, or certain obscure Pill Recipes that required them.

Demon Monkey meat might be rare demonic beast meat to Ordinary People, and it had some effect in strengthening the body.

But to cultivators like Zhang Qingyuan,

that tiny improvement was simply not enough to make cultivators suppress their disgust and entertain any thoughts about humanoid monsters.

Nor could it fetch much of a price.

Perhaps the Monkey King at the Spirit Essence Realm Fifth Level Peak was worth somewhat more, but it was still limited—its price was even lower than that of other Demonic Beasts at the same realm.

Therefore,

there was truly too little extra profit to be had from this mission,

let alone the fact that

with a monkey pack of over a hundred, twenty or thirty Demon Monkeys at the First and Second Levels of Spirit Essence, and a Monkey King with strength above the Fifth Layer of the Spirit Essence Realm, one needed at least a Late Spirit Essence Realm cultivator to have any real confidence in exterminating them.

This could not be compared to the first mission Zhang Qingyuan had accepted, the extermination of the Spirit Devouring Rat.

For the latter, as long as one found the Spirit Devouring Rat's nest, even a Mid Spirit Essence Realm cultivator could kill and deal with it.

The two were fundamentally different.

The mission was difficult,

and the additional gains were low, so hardly anyone was willing to accept it.

For this reason,

the reward for this mission was somewhat higher than usual. To offer a reward rich enough, those cultivators from the several Cultivation Families had even been forced to produce one jin of ten-year Spirit Peaches.

Ten-year Spirit Peaches

cost at least eight or nine Spirit Stones in the Marketplace, and they were often unavailable even at a price.

Without a doubt,

after Zhao Yuanyang's banquet gathering that day, Zhang Qingyuan had come to understand how Spirit Fruits could improve his cultivation, and his heart was moved.

"Now that I have reached the Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level Mid Stage, with Silver Shadow, the Combination Skill Mountain Collapse, and my other methods, I can contend with cultivators at the Seventh Level Late Stage. Dealing with some low-level Demon Monkeys should not be much of a problem."

After briefly weighing the various advantages, disadvantages, and possibilities,

Zhang Qingyuan made all the necessary preparations and accepted the mission,

then left the Separate Courtyard's Sect Gate.

River Pond Town lay more than two hundred li beyond the Cloud Water Sect's Outer Sect, nestled among the mountains. Lush forests and rolling mountain ranges had nearly sealed off all land routes to River Pond Town.

Fortunately,

a river wound out from the deep mountains and dense forests, its rushing, clear waters serving as the main route connecting the town to the outside world.

Around a hundred years ago,

River Pond Town had still been a wilderness deep in the mountains, without a trace of human presence.

Later, when someone entered the mountains, they accidentally discovered a Micro Spirit Vein nearby. Spiritual energy dispersed through the air, and after more than ten years of development, it had nurtured a Spirit Fruit Grove in the vicinity.

Once the news spread, it attracted more than a dozen cultivator forces.

They drove away and slaughtered all the low-level Demonic Beasts occupying the Spirit Fruit Grove, laid down rules, set all manner of restrictions, and began fighting over this Spirit Fruit Land.

After a round of conflict,

several tiny families, with only around thirty low-level Cultivators in total, formed an alliance and jointly occupied the area. Leveraging their connections, they paid tribute to the Cloud Water Sect and sought to become attached to the sect's sphere of influence.

Of course,

as the price for the Cloud Water Sect recognizing their lawful rights,

the alliance of small family powers had to hand over half of the Spirit Fruit Grove's annual harvest to the Cloud Water Sect.

However,

no matter how small those tiny Cultivation Families were,

they were at least lofty Immortal households in the eyes of mortals.

These Cultivation Powers moved their entire family populations here, and with the help of the cultivators within their clans, cleared out all the Wild Beasts and ferocious animals in the surrounding area, establishing a safe gathering place for their forces.

A great number of mortals settled here, recuperated and multiplied, and served the cultivators.

At the same time,

the soil in the mountains and basins surrounding the spirit fruit territory was fertile. After the beasts in the mountains had been completely cleared away by the cultivators, the mortals farmed and opened up wasteland here, gradually reclaiming vast tracts of good farmland and becoming self-sufficient.

After a century of development,

relying on river transport, this place had gradually gathered into a small town.

Zhang Qingyuan's arrival

immediately received a warm welcome from the local small Cultivation Families. The leader was one Patriarch Zheng, whose cultivation was roughly at the Spirit Essence Realm Fifth Level Early Stage.

His Aura fluctuated somewhat unsteadily, as though he was injured.

After the customary pleasantries of welcome,

Zhang Qingyuan asked about the specific situation.

From the other party, he learned

that during this period of time, for some unknown reason, the hundred-odd monkey pack near the Spirit Fruit Grove had undergone a mutation. The number of ordinary monkeys had increased by more than half, reaching over two hundred.

The low-level Demon Monkeys that had originally numbered only twenty or thirty at the First and Second Levels of Spirit Essence had now increased to at least fifty!

Those rampant creatures had now gathered together, and in huge groups they swaggered about attacking the area around the Spirit Fruit Grove, seizing Spirit Fruits. The Spirit Farmers at the bottom layer were no match for them at all.

If not for the Micro Defensive Formation jointly arranged by the several families near the few precious century-old Spirit Peach Trees at the core of the Spirit Fruit Grove, which had blocked the monkey pack's assault on the most central area,

these few tiny Cultivation Families and Small Factions would likely have suffered a complete loss of this year's harvest.

Yet even so,

they likely would not be able to hold out for much longer,

because during the battle of offense and defense against the monkey pack, whose numbers and strength had surged, the several family powers had poured out all their strength and only then barely managed to drive the monkeys away.

But in that battle,

the other patriarchs had also suffered many injuries and had no choice but to return to their clans to recuperate. That was why only Patriarch Zheng had come here; otherwise, they should all have been present.

For this, Patriarch Zheng and the others expressed their apologies.

Naturally, Zhang Qingyuan did not care about such empty formalities.

After understanding the situation,

his attention was focused more on the mutation within this Demon Monkey pack.