The first was covered in jet-black fur, each strand half a foot long and gleaming with a fearsome sheen.
Two thick, savage black horns rose from its head. A pair of black, fleshy wings slowly folded against its back, and its long arms hung almost to its knees. A casual sweep of its scarlet eyes made every beast in the valley tremble as though crushed beneath an immense weight.
The Demon Ape.
This ape king had emerged from the deepest reaches of the mountains, an existence scarcely inferior to Suanni. It landed on a rock crushed flat by tremendous force and, with leisurely indifference, peeled open a nearby Eagle Bear's skull with one claw. Only after taking a couple of bites did it leap forward and land before Old Suanni.
Close behind it came an enormous crimson bull.
It stood over ten meters tall and nearly thirty meters long. Dim flames burned beneath its four hooves, each step scorching black marks into the mountain stone.
Its hide was red as silk, and faint flames flickered around the two curved horns on its head.
The Lihuo Bull Demon.
These two had been bitter rivals all their lives.
When word spread that Old Suanni was dying, they had rushed out from the depths of the mountains almost simultaneously.
The Demon Ape stared at that golden treasure body, an excited growl rumbling in its throat. The Lihuo Bull Demon pawed the ground and snorted two jets of white vapor.
Yet neither made the first move.
They guarded against each other, and both feared Suanni's dying strike. Even though he seemed to have only one breath left, neither would take that first step.
The three remained locked in a stalemate.
Wang Xuan lay hidden behind the cliff, his pupils narrowed to pinpoints.
He knew