Slaying the Tier 2 Demon Ape

At this sight, everyone's pupils constricted, and they could not help wanting to give chase.

But the few remaining Tier 1 High-grade demon apes rushed over, desperately trying to hold them back.

"Protect the Second Elder. Leave that beast to me."

At the critical moment, Chen Nianzhi left those words behind and swiftly gave chase.

The Tier 2 demon ape could not fly. Though the Foundation Establishment demon ape was extremely fast, it had suffered grievous wounds, and its speed gradually slowed.

Chen Nianzhi pursued it for a quarter of an hour, successively activating several artifacts such as the Green Leaf Sword and Golden Light Blade to harass it. Though he had not landed a fatal blow, it bled ever more heavily and grew increasingly weak.

After chasing it for nearly a hundred li, the demon ape could endure no longer. It turned around and came back, intent on fighting him to the death.

Yet Chen Nianzhi did not fight it head-on. He knew perfectly well that the demon ape was merely a trapped beast making its last struggle.

The demon ape had now exhausted its mana, its inner core's power greatly diminished. Its formidable physical body had also lost an arm. The longer this dragged on, the more anxious the demon ape would become, and the greater his chance of catching a flaw. Then, his chances of victory would be even greater.

So Chen Nianzhi simply retreated while activating the Golden Light Blade and Green Leaf Sword to attack. The demon ape could neither catch up nor do anything but passively endure the blows.

They fought like this for another full half-quarter of an hour. Seeing that it could not defeat Chen Nianzhi, the demon ape grew restless again and spat out its inner core.

"Just what I wanted."

A sharp glint flashed through Chen Nianzhi's eyes. He had long guarded against this move.

The moment the demon ape spat out its inner core, he sent out the Scarlet Iron Saber Blank. The saber blank transformed into a crimson saber radiance that cut across the sky and struck the demon ape's inner core squarely.

The inner core had already lost more than sixty percent of its power when it clashed head-on with the Blazing Sun Heavenly Flame Formation. Now that it had been struck by the Scarlet Iron Saber Blank, its light vanished on the spot. It fell to the ground, its power utterly spent.

With its inner core broken, the demon ape lost its final means of long-range attack and could only passively take the beating.

After several dozen more exchanges, the Foundation Establishment demon ape finally could not hold on any longer. Having lost too much blood, it felt its mind grow dim and nearly could not remain standing.

Seeing this, Chen Nianzhi knew the time had come. Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed the Scarlet Iron saber radiance.

The demon ape was horrified and turned to dodge, but suddenly felt its leg go numb. Then the Scarlet Iron saber radiance severed its head.

"Whew..."

With the demon beast beheaded, Chen Nianzhi let out a sigh of relief.

He circulated his true qi and retrieved the Golden Radiance Heart-Locking Needles from the demon ape's leg. It was this artifact's successful strike that had allowed him to deliver the fatal blow.

He did not linger. He placed the demon ape's corpse, inner core, and other items into his storage bag, then headed toward the valley. Halfway there, he encountered the others who had come to support him. Facing their questioning looks, he smiled and nodded.

"I did not fail my mission."

"Good, good, good!"

The Third Elder laughed heartily, and everyone else felt as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Chen Nianzhi put away his smile and looked solemnly at the Second Elder.

"How are Uncle Qinghe's injuries?"

"He has managed to keep his life." The Third Elder sighed. "But his internal organs were injured, and his internal wounds are extremely serious. I fear he will need more than ten years of recuperation."

"And even if he recovers in the future, his lifespan will likely be shortened."

Chen Nianzhi sighed inwardly. Chen Qinghe had repeatedly forced the Jiuyi Bell into action against the demon ape with only Qi Refining cultivation. That he had survived at all was already a very good outcome.

Though the Jiuyi Bell was immensely powerful, the most suitable person to wield it had only been the Second Elder.

Among those present, aside from Chen Nianzhi, only his mana was profound enough to unleash the Jiuyi Bell's full power. Only then could they withstand the demon beast's attacks.

Chen Nianzhi needed to activate the Scarlet Iron Saber Blank and bore the heavy responsibility of slaying the demon ape, so naturally he had no spare strength to activate the Jiuyi Bell. Thus, having him wield the Jiuyi Bell had been the only choice.

No matter what, they had not only won a great victory in this battle, but suffered no casualties. That was already beyond expectations.

The group rested for a night. The next day, once the Second Elder's injuries had stabilized somewhat, they made a stretcher and carried him back.

Because they had to bring along an injured man, they did not return to the Azure Sun Sect until three months later.

The moment they returned to the Azure Sun Sect, they took the records of their demon ape kill to the Contribution Hall to exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

"With just the few of you, you actually managed to slay an Azure-Pattern Ape."

"The younger generation truly inspires awe."

After examining the recording artifact, the Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of the Contribution Hall glanced at them and said with a smiling expression.

"Wait here. I will go ask Martial Uncle Wei for the pill."

With that, he turned and went to the rear hall. Half an hour later, he returned.

Chen Qingyuan eagerly stepped forward and asked with delight, "Martial Uncle Lin, have you brought back the medicinal pill?"

"I have brought it back."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator nodded, but his gaze carried a trace of pity as he looked at Chen Qingyuan. As he spoke, he took out a jade box and handed it over.

Chen Qingyuan accepted the jade box with a delighted expression and opened it. Inside was a pale-green spiritual pill.

"A Foundation Establishment Pill."

Everyone gathered around with delighted expressions, but after Chen Nianzhi took one look, he sensed that something was wrong.

He had seen Foundation Establishment Pills several years ago, and he was an alchemist himself. Naturally, he too noticed the abnormality in this pill.

"Something is wrong."

"This pill seems somewhat off." Chen Nianzhi snatched the jade box over and asked on the spot, "A Foundation Establishment Pill should be a pure pale green. Why does this pill contain a trace of Sha Qi?"

Martial Uncle Lin gave Chen Nianzhi a surprised look, then nodded as he stroked his beard. "This Foundation Establishment Pill does indeed have a slight flaw."

"When Martial Uncle Liu was refining it, he accidentally introduced a trace of Earthfire Sha Qi. This pill was contaminated by a little of it."

"But it is only a trace. Martial Uncle Wei said it should not have much effect."

Chen Nianzhi's expression changed, and he could not help saying, "For a Purple Mansion ancestor, a trace of Earthfire Sha Qi entering the body can naturally be removed. But for a Qi Refining cultivator, the slightest carelessness could cost them their life."

Hearing this, Martial Uncle Lin shook his head. "I know what you mean, but Martial Uncle Wei told me that there are far too few Foundation Establishment Pills this year. This is the last one remaining. If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for arriving too late."

"Do not say I gave you no choice. If you do not want this Foundation Establishment Pill, you may choose to give it up and return in ten years."

As he spoke, Martial Uncle Lin stroked his long beard. "Of course, if you want a Foundation Establishment Pill ten years from now, you will still need to complete the mission again."

"This is unfair!" The hot-tempered Qingyuan could not endure it any longer. He stepped forward and demanded, "Why give us a defective pill? Why should we have to complete the mission again in ten years?"

Martial Uncle Lin's gaze turned cold, and his face darkened. "Are you questioning this old man?"

"Qingyuan, do not be disrespectful before a senior!"

The Third Elder pulled Qingyuan back and hurriedly apologized to Martial Uncle Lin. "Please do not take offense, Senior. This matter is indeed difficult for us to accept for the moment."

"He spoke rashly in his urgency and did not mean any disrespect. I hope Senior will be magnanimous."