The following afternoon, the gray-white mist deep within the Misty Forest remained thick and viscous.
Fang Han was walking slowly through a patch of low bushes, his eyes scanning the soil and rocks covered with decaying leaves as he searched for precious medicinal herbs.
suddenly--
His steps suddenly stopped.
A very faint tremor came from the air, originating from beneath my feet and from the thick fog, emanating from a great distance.
Immediately afterwards, a deep and resonant roar pierced through the layers of mist, like muffled thunder rolling across the heavens and earth.
The roar was so fierce that even the decaying leaves beneath Fang Han's feet trembled slightly.
Immediately following was another burst of dense roaring sounds, accompanied by the explosive sound of air bursting, which could still be clearly heard even from dozens of miles away.
"Someone is fighting against an extremely powerful demon!"
Fang Han realized something.
With a light tap of his toes, he had already darted several feet away, his gray robe casting a dark shadow in the mist.
They sped off in the direction from which the commotion came.
The fact that the words reached his ears from such a distance indicates that both sides in the fight were exceptionally strong.
The fact that such a large-scale battle could erupt deep within the Misty Forest is most likely related to that Mid-Grade Heavenly Treasure.
"Whoosh--"
Fang Han pushed his speed to the limit, his gray-clothed figure darting swiftly between ancient trees and bushes.
At the same time, he sensed through his < Nether Guide > that people were also moving rapidly towards the battle site from multiple directions.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one who heard the commotion.
However, after a short while, the trees in front of Fang Han suddenly thinned out, and a relatively open valley in the forest came into view.
Everywhere you look, there is devastation.
The once lush forest was broken and felled, and the ground was covered with gullies and pits of varying depths.
The charred marks were mixed with the swirling soil, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burnt and blood.
Several corpses lay scattered across the battlefield, their limbs mangled.
Some looked as if they had been torn apart by sharp claws, some as if they had been flattened by a tremendous force, and one had its entire upper body completely missing.
Fang Han's gaze swept over the corpses without lingering, passing over the mess on the ground and landing in the center.
There, a massive black monster lay prostrate on the ground.
The monster resembled a giant ape, its entire body covered in a layer of coarse, jet-black fur, as if it were wearing a thick suit of iron armor.
His shoulders were over two zhang tall, and his body was covered in bulging, muscular muscles.
Like the gnarled roots of an old tree, covered with crisscrossing scars, each one revealing the ferocity of long battles.
Its eyes were dark red, with pupils that stood upright like snakes, and it was staring intently at Fang Han and the other uninvited guests.
A low, guttural roar, like the rolling of a millstone, came from his throat.
Not far from the black giant ape's feet, a huge gemstone lay quietly beside a broken tree stump.
The gemstone was the size of a millstone, and its entire surface was a deep, inky black, like the night sky.
Inside, faint, star-like lights swirled, as if containing a small patch of starry sky.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the mist and fell on the surface of the gemstone, causing the tiny sparkles to ripple gently, revealing a deep and restrained brilliance.
"What kind of rare and precious treasure is this?"
Fang Han's gaze fell on the gemstone, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He couldn't recognize what kind of gemstone it was.
Even so, he could sense that this gem was completely different from ordinary minerals.
This must be an extremely rare and precious treasure!
"That's... Starry Ink Jade?!"
A slightly hoarse exclamation came from not far away.
Fang Han turned his head and saw an elderly man with gray hair staring wide-eyed.
He stared intently at the black gem the size of a millstone, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Such a large piece of Starry Ink Jade is enough to be worth a High Grade and precious material!"
" Starry Ink Jade? Is that the kind of Mid-Grade Heavenly Treasure that can assist in Internal Qi cultivation and increase the speed of Internal Qi cultivation?"
Upon hearing this, a middle-aged martial artist standing next to the old man's expression changed drastically.
"There's no mistake, this is definitely Starry Ink Jade, but I didn't expect it to be so big."
"When I was young, I once saw a piece of Starry Ink Jade the size of a fist at an auction in the Imperial Capital. It fetched the astronomical price of thirty Low-Grade Heavenly Treasure. But this piece before me is the size of a millstone..."
The old man didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already self-evident.
"There are actually such rare and precious materials!"
Fang Han hearing about the gemstone's miraculous effects, Fang Han's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Mid-Grade Heavenly Treasure that can accelerate the cultivation of Internal Qi, and it is as big as a millstone.
If he can obtain this item, his Internal Qi cultivation speed will increase dramatically.
The time required to break through to the Mid First Grade or even First Grade Late Stage will be significantly shortened.
What has been troubling him is that his Sword Technique is too advanced, but his Internal Qi cultivation is too weak, resulting in poor combat endurance. This problem will soon be solved.
Just as Fang Han, three figures couldn't contain themselves any longer and burst out from the crowd, heading straight for the piece of Starry Ink Jade.
The leader was a burly man with First Grade first-grade cultivation level. He was extremely fast and had already rushed to within a few breaths of the black giant ape.
His hand had already reached for the piece of Starry Ink Jade.
"Roar--!"
The black giant ape suddenly let out a deafening roar, and its thick, pillar-like right arm swept out.
A terrifying gust of wind, Void Sundering, slammed into the person directly in its path.
"Bang--"
The man didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying like a pebble hit by a giant hammer.
It flew backward and crashed heavily into an ancient tree that was as thick as a person's embrace.
The ancient wood cracked open with a loud thud, sending wood chips flying everywhere.
The man's body twisted and deformed at a speed visible to the naked eye, then slumped to the ground, lifeless.
"Oh no, retreat quickly!"
The other two figures' expressions changed drastically, and they tried to retreat, but the black giant ape's movements were astonishingly fast.
Its other Juzhua swept across, Void Sundering with a sharp screech.
Two figures were struck in the waist, blood spurting out, their bodies severed at the waist, their remains flying dozens of feet before crashing into the rubble.
In less than two breaths, the three martial artists who tried to seize the treasure first were all killed.
The figures around them, who had been poised to make a move, froze at that moment.
"He's already extremely close to becoming a Grandmaster!"
Fang Han's gaze fell on the black giant ape.
Judging from its attack just now, although this black giant ape's strength has not yet reached the Grandmaster level, it is already very close to it.
He's just one step away from becoming a grandmaster.
If given a few more months, this black giant ape might have already broken through to become a grandmaster-level demon.
The reason why this black giant ape is so strong must be inseparable from the Starry Ink Jade.
"This beast is only a hair's breadth away from becoming a grandmaster. In a one-on-one fight, no one has the confidence to kill it."
A clear voice came from not far away.
Fang Han looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Dark Gold figure slowly walking out from the crowd.
Qin Yuan, dressed in a Dark Gold outfit, had a long sword hanging at his waist. His face was cold and stern. His gaze swept over the black giant ape before turning to the martial artists who had gathered around him.
Not far from him, Lin Qingyin, dressed in a light blue outfit, her long hair loosely tied up with a jade hairpin, had a serene expression on her beautiful face.
Chu Jinghong stood with his hands behind his back, his moon-white robe motionless in the mist, his cold eyes fixed on the giant ape, revealing no emotion.
Zhen Feixuan stood on the other side, her white outfit accentuating her tall and straight figure, her eyes, as clear as autumn water, also filled with solemnity.
"Let's attack together, kill this monster first, and then each of us can compete for the rare treasures based on our own abilities."
Qin Yuan's voice echoed through the valley, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"Those who do not hunt down the demons are not qualified to plunder. If anyone dares to plunder, we will attack them all."
"Alright, let's join forces!"
The martial artists gathered at the edge exchanged glances. Some agreed, while others had shifty eyes, unwilling to join forces to attack the monster, but equally unwilling to give up.
Qin Yuan glanced at Lin Qingyin, Chu Jinghong, and Zhen Feixuan, then at the dozen or so martial artists who had expressed their willingness to join the siege, and nodded slightly.
The next moment, he moved.
"Clang--"
The moment the longsword was drawn, a Dark Gold Saber Aura suddenly shone forth.
It tore a rift in the grayish-white mist and slashed straight at the chest of the black giant ape.
"Boom--"
Almost at the same moment, Lin Qingyin raised her palm and struck out.
A solid, emerald-green palm print, carrying the force to shatter mountains, slammed into the giant ape's waist and abdomen from another direction.
"Call out--!"
Chu Jinghong drew his sword, its light like a purple rainbow, cleaving through the mist and heading straight for the giant ape's throat.
Zhen Feixuan drew her soft sword, its silvery-white light like a serpent, aiming for the giant ape's vital left eye.
The other dozen or so martial artists also took action, each using their own methods to surround and attack the monster.
Each of them possessed considerable combat strength, having all reached the First Grade, and were considered experts among those at the First Grade.
Fang Han did not join the group of more than ten people.
Because he keenly sensed that something was amiss, and that those who acted now were highly unlikely to ultimately profit.
"Roar--"
More than a dozen attacks, all at least of First Grade first rank, landed simultaneously on various parts of the black giant ape's body, almost without any sequence of attacks.
The giant ape let out a furious roar and swung both arms.
The thick arms, carrying terrifying force, were like two black iron pillars, sweeping away more than a dozen incoming attacks.
"Boom--!!!"
More than ten attacks collided violently with the giant ape's arms, unleashing a deafening roar.
A visible shockwave spread outwards, swirling up rubble and decaying leaves from the ground and creating a murky dust cloud in mid-air.
The giant ape's massive body was shaken and slid backward several feet, its feet carving two furrows a foot deep into the ground.
But the ferocity in its dark red vertical pupils only intensified, and after a roar, it pounced on Qin Yuan, whose attack was the most fierce.
Qin Yuan's expression remained unchanged. He slashed horizontally with his longsword, the Dark Gold Saber Aura clashing head-on with the giant ape's Juzhua.
"Clang--!!!"
Sparks flew as Qin Yuan slid backward several feet, his arm gripping the sword feeling slightly numb.
I suffered a small loss.
Although he was extremely powerful, he was still somewhat inferior to this kind of demon who was very close to becoming a grandmaster.