Jiuyi Bell, Foundation Establishment Ape

The First Elder was responsible for guarding the vital grounds of Peaceful Sun County. To avoid being ambushed and beheaded before he could activate the City-Protecting Array, he had kept this artifact at his side for years.

To improve their odds on this journey, they not only brought out the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Banner, but even decided to borrow the Jiuyi Bell.

Early the next morning, the five of them left Qingyuan Mountain. They traveled through Peaceful Sun County to retrieve the Jiuyi Bell, then continued toward the Azure Sun Sect.

Azure Province, where the Azure Sun Sect's mountain gate stood, lay deep within the Chu Kingdom, a full two hundred thousand li from Yu Commandery.

They traveled without rest, rushing for nearly half a year before finally arriving before the Azure Sun Sect's mountain gate.

There, they met Chen Qingyuan. Having left the Lineage for more than twenty years, Chen Qingyuan was somewhat unfamiliar with them at first. Seeing their exhaustion, he hurriedly invited them inside to sit.

Looking at the five travel-worn visitors, the youngest elder of the Qing Generation gave a bitter smile. "Because of Qingyuan's affairs, I have troubled several elders to come all this way to help. I am truly ashamed."

"Don't say that." The Third Elder shook his head. "You came from the Lineage. The Lineage is, in the end, your root and your strongest support."

The Second Elder had watched Chen Qingyuan grow up, and he asked with concern, "How have you been these years in the Azure Sun Sect?"

Hearing their concerned words, Chen Qingyuan's eyes could not help but sting. In the end, he swallowed his emotions back down.

Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances and did not ask any further.

They all knew perfectly well what the Azure Sun Sect was like. Ever since the previous sect master of Azure Sun passed away a century ago, the sect had changed.

The current sect master, Xu Patriarch, had plotted against his fellow senior brother to seize his position. Naturally, when the beam above was crooked, the rafters below followed suit.

Still, after Xu Patriarch took control of the sect, he had drained the Clan Treasury to purchase a Golden-Core Formation Pill and break through into the Golden Core realm. He had, at least, preserved the Azure Sun Sect's foundation. Whether that was good or bad, no one could say.

In an Azure Sun Sect like this, a cultivator without backing like Chen Qingyuan could not have had an easy time.

Thinking of this, the Second Elder could only console him. "Endure a little longer. Once you achieve Foundation Establishment, everything will be easier to discuss."

They chatted for a while, exchanging news of the major events that had taken place in the Lineage over the years. Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

Seeing that the moment was right, Chen Nianzhi said, "For this mission to kill a demonic beast, which one have you been assigned to kill?"

Chen Qingyuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "In previous years, we could choose which one to kill ourselves. But this year, Elder Wei, who is in charge of distributing Foundation Establishment Pills, changed the rules and assigned missions directly."

"He said that only three batches of Foundation Establishment Pills were refined this year, and fewer pills came out than in previous years, so the difficulty was increased."

After speaking, he bitterly handed over a bamboo scroll. When everyone took it and looked, their expressions turned rather grim.

The demonic beast Chen Qingyuan had to kill this time was a Tier 2 Azure-Pattern Ape. Azure-Pattern Apes were not especially powerful among Tier 2 demonic beasts, but they were certainly not easy opponents.

They were pack-dwelling demonic beasts. Generally speaking, any troop capable of producing a Tier 2 Azure-Pattern Ape would have at least a hundred Azure Apes in the Qi Refinement Stage.

Chen Qingyuan needed to kill a Foundation Establishment Realm Azure-Pattern Ape, but he would likely have to face the siege of more than a hundred Azure Apes. That was an extremely troublesome matter.

"Looks like someone in the Azure Sun Sect has set their sights on Qingyuan's Foundation Establishment Pill." The Fourth Elder's expression changed as he said, "How about we wait another ten years? Perhaps there will be more Foundation Establishment Pills next time, and the difficulty will not be so great."

"No competition for a Foundation Establishment Pill has ever been easy." The Second Elder, Chen Qinghe, objected. "Besides, how many decades does a cultivator have? If we do not fight for it now, we may regret it for the rest of our lives."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Qingyuan could not help but say, "The Azure-Pattern Apes truly are too dangerous. Perhaps we should wait ten years. It may be easier then."

Chen Nianzhi glanced at everyone before saying, "There is no need to hesitate. The Azure-Pattern Apes may be powerful, but we are not without confidence. If it truly comes to it, I still have the Blazing Sun Divine Flame Talisman."

Hearing this, everyone relaxed slightly. With the Blazing Sun Divine Flame Talisman as their safety net, they would dare challenge even a Tier 2 Mid-grade demonic beast, much less a Tier 2 Low-grade Azure-Pattern Ape.

Having made up their minds, they set off toward their hunt.

The Azure Sun Sect lay deep within the Chu Kingdom, where Tier 2 demonic beasts had become relatively rare. Finding a particular Foundation Establishment demonic beast in Azure Province was no easy task.

However, since this was a mission, the Azure Sun Sect had naturally surveyed the location long ago. The six of them traveled onward, and after two months, they finally found where the Azure-Pattern Apes were hiding.

The Azure-Pattern Apes had concealed themselves deep within a mountain range rarely visited by people. They occupied a Spirit Vein and had clearly multiplied there for many years.

Before entering the mountain range, they first scouted the situation, then gathered to discuss a plan.

The Third Elder spoke first. "I counted them. There are one hundred and thirteen Azure-Pattern Apes here in total."

"Besides one Foundation Establishment Realm leader, there are nine at the Late Stage of Qi Refining. The rest pose little threat."

Chen Nianzhi closed his eyes and recalled the terrain, then used a branch to draw a map of the surrounding area on the ground.

"The Azure-Pattern Apes are numerous, and their strength is not weak. Meeting them head-on would be unwise."

"However, their intelligence is limited. We can try to break them one by one."

As he spoke, he circled a valley on the map with his branch, then smiled.

"The terrain here is perilous. As long as we lure them over and seal the gaps, then set up the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation here, we can catch turtles in a jar."

"Good idea." Everyone agreed unanimously. The Third Elder said, "Then let us begin preparing."

To improve their chances of victory, they began altering the terrain.

They reached the valley, brought out their flying sword artifacts to reshape the landscape, then set down the Formation Flags. Only after working themselves to exhaustion did they finally stop.

After finishing all this, they did not act immediately. They rested through the night to recover their spiritual power, waiting until the next day to make their move.

They entered the Azure-Pattern Apes' territory and began secretly killing the lone Azure-Pattern Apes.

The Azure-Pattern Apes were, after all, pack-dwelling demonic beasts. They had only killed three or four when the ape pack discovered them and gave chase.

The group hurriedly retreated. After running more than ten li in succession, Chen Nianzhi noticed that only a dozen or so demonic apes were pursuing them, and immediately turned back.

"Kill them first."

Before his words had even faded, he sent the Green Leaf Sword soaring through the air and chopped an Azure-Pattern Ape in two.

Several cultivators at the Peak of Qi Refining attacked together. In only a dozen breaths, they had hacked the dozen or so Azure-Pattern Apes into scattered pieces and killed them all.

"Not bad."

Their first battle had ended in victory. Chen Nianzhi smiled. "Continue."

Using the same tactic, they returned once more to the Azure-Pattern Apes' territory, luring out and killing more Azure-Pattern Apes.