Demon Ape

[Hanguang Sword]: Entry Level (798/800)

Along the way, Luo Fuyi had been talking nonstop. In the end, thanks to his astonishing comprehension, Yu Xiu had managed to deduce the Hanguang Sword technique Luo Fuyi had just demonstrated.

But it had been a struggle.

The sword art Luo Fuyi had demonstrated was simply too abstract. If Yu Xiu hadn't come from the Sword Sect, practiced dozens upon dozens of sword styles, and possessed a Sword Heart, then even with even greater comprehension, he might not have been able to deduce this sword art.

The main problem was the lack of a mental cultivation method and a Qi Circulation method. Trying to work backward from the abstract swordplay made the task much harder.

Fortunately, after giving it a try, he had managed to master the sword art.

Twenty points of Comprehension and twenty years of lifespan—he had now secured half of each.

"Beyond that mountain is Cloud Mountain Cliff." Luo Fuyi had been in high spirits the whole way. Now she stopped. "I heard there's a master who's reached the first of the Four Great Passes, named Zhu Heng, I think. He's gathered quite a few heroes to exterminate the demons. By now, they should have clashed with those monsters.

"We'd better hurry, or we might not make it in time."

Yu Xiu agreed.

Before long, Cloud Mountain Cliff came into view, and the number of people around them grew. A large crowd of martial artists had been held up at the foot of the cliff, seemingly in a standoff.

"Why won't you let us go up the mountain? You can exterminate demons, and so can we. Move aside!" A burly, bearded man with a broad saber on his back shouted at another group blocking the mountain path.

"Are you really going up there to exterminate demons?" The middle-aged man guarding the path sneered. "You're only after what's on Cloud Mountain Cliff. If we let you up, you'll probably start fighting among yourselves before you even get a chance to kill any demons."

"Bullshit! Zhu Heng gathered all of you together—was it really just to exterminate demons? You're afraid we'll take the good things on Cloud Mountain Cliff, so you want them all for yourselves!

"Move aside, or don't blame us for what happens next!" The bearded man had already begun drawing his saber.

"Move!"

Martial artists at the foot of the mountain shouted one after another. For a moment, both sides were poised to fight.

Luo Fuyi tugged at Yu Xiu and secretly transmitted her voice. "These unaffiliated martial artists are ready to risk their lives over the tiniest bit of resources. We don't need to get mixed up in this. Let's go around."

"Good idea." Yu Xiu praised her without thinking, since he'd had the same thought.

Luo Fuyi couldn't help the corners of her mouth from curling up. She said with studied modesty, "I've been roaming the martial world for a long time. I've picked up some experience."

They circled around the guarded front and reached the back of Cloud Mountain Cliff, only to find a sheer precipice towering over a hundred zhang high.

Luo Fuyi was at a loss. "With my lightness skill, climbing up this cliff might be... a little difficult!"

It wasn't difficult. She simply couldn't climb it!

She considered her swordsmanship peerless, her saber skills decent, and her strength considerable. But when it came to lightness skills, she was hopeless.

Yu Xiu smiled. "My lightness skill is passable."

With that, he grabbed Luo Fuyi by the arm and drifted upward, moving at astonishing speed.

Luo Fuyi was delighted. "Brother Yu, your lightness skill is remarkable. You're almost able to walk on air!"

In just a few breaths, they reached the top of the cliff. Not far away, demonic energy billowed, and the roar of blades and swords rang out. The demons here had clearly already engaged Zhu Heng and the others.

The long sword on Luo Fuyi's back sprang free, and she caught it in one hand. "I'm going to slay demons."

Before she'd even finished speaking, she had already vanished.

"Looks like I won't need to step in."

There were many cultivators gathered here, more than enough to kill a few demons, especially with Luo Fuyi joining the fray.

Yu Xiu didn't follow them. Relying on his keen senses, he began searching for the place where Cloud Mountain Cliff's books had been kept.

He went around the battlefield where the demons, Zhu Heng, Luo Fuyi, and the others were fighting and searched in every direction, but found nothing.

During that time, he saw Luo Fuyi abandon her sword and take up a golden-backed saber. Her saber style was heavy and powerful, and astonishingly formidable. With one swing, she beheaded a demon ape in the Life Spring realm.

Yu Xiu didn't linger to watch. After circling the area without finding anything, he returned to the edge of the cliff.

Going by the novels he'd read in his previous life, the protagonist usually found himself with nowhere left to go, fell off a cliff, and stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter.

So, could the things left behind by the Cloud Mountain Cliff sect be hidden somewhere in this precipice?

Using the Riding the Wind state, he briefly hovered in the air and began searching the sheer cliff face.

Sure enough, before even half an hour had passed, Yu Xiu found a narrow crack, barely a foot wide, in a hidden spot.

Whether viewed from below or above, the angle made the crack impossible to see.

Only someone hovering directly in front of it could spot it.

Yu Xiu stepped into the crack. His vision dimmed, but at the Four Great Passes realm, he could see in the dark, so it didn't hinder him much.

At first, the passage was narrow, but the deeper he went, the wider it became. After walking a hundred or so steps, he reached a natural stone cavern. Bookshelves stood among scattered stone platforms, weapons lined the walls, and one large chest after another lay stacked about.

More importantly, a figure was standing before a row of bookshelves.

It was... an old White Ape wearing a long robe!

Demon ape!

Four Great Passes!

Yu Xiu's gaze narrowed. This was the demon ape Luo Fuyi had mentioned, the one that had reached the first of the Four Great Passes—the Five Viscera realm.

"You're late. The spiritual items here, the advanced cultivation methods and manuals, and all the gold and silver have already been carried off. All that's left are a few manuals below the Four Great Passes realm that no one had time to take." The Old Ape had been holding a book in one hand and studying it. Only now did he casually toss it aside and turn his gaze toward Yu Xiu.

Its eyes glimmered with a faint green light. They looked deep and unfathomable, but buried even deeper was a bloodthirsty, savage cruelty. It was nowhere near as amiable as it appeared.

Yu Xiu didn't even glance at the books around him. He simply looked at the Old Ape and shook his head. "I'm not late."

The Old Ape grinned, baring a mouthful of sharp, yellow teeth. "You're right. A young martial artist brimming with vigor like you would be a great tonic.

"Unfortunately, one person escaped earlier. He even found this place and carried off all the spiritual items and manuals.

"Cloud Mountain Cliff is mine. Everything here is mine. What gave him the right to take it?"

By the end, the Old Ape had lost all its earlier gentleness. Only its raging fury remained.

Demons are demons. Their tempers are fickle, and they know nothing of self-restraint!

Yu Xiu remained calm. As for the person the demon ape said had escaped and carried everything away, it was most likely Jiang Han, the man those martial artists outside had been talking about.

"Cloud Mountain Cliff isn't yours, and neither is this place. The things that belong to our human race should naturally be taken by our human race. You're a demon. What makes you think any of this belongs to you?"

Yu Xiu remained perfectly composed, utterly unbothered by the demon ape's fury.

"I do like sharp-tongued youngsters like you. You'll have more chew to you." The Old Ape's lips curled back, its aged face turning savage and vicious.

Demonic energy surged around it. In an instant, it lunged at Yu Xiu's head with a claw, its speed astonishing and its momentum fierce!

Clang! A sword rang out, and a wash of sword light swept forth, crashing into the billowing demonic energy.

Whatever its momentum, whatever its ferocity, the instant that rolling demonic energy met the sword's radiance, it was shredded to pieces, like snowflakes melting beneath the blazing sun.

"You... sword intent..." The Old Ape's voice changed abruptly as it let out a shrill, piercing cry.

But the cry had barely begun when it cut off. A monkey's head flew into the air and fell to the ground.

It was dead!