Wild Monkeys

Misty Prefecture, Red Peach Ridge.

Red Peach Ridge lay in the southeastern part of Misty Prefecture in Jing Kingdom, more than seven hundred li from Nine Peaks Ridge, where the Zhou Family was located.

This mountain range stretched for over two hundred li. Its terrain was complex, venomous insects and savage beasts ran rampant within it, and demonic beasts often appeared. It was a place where many Rogue Cultivators from Misty Prefecture searched for treasure and ventured into danger.

At this moment, Zhou Chun, Zhou Zhengyong, and Zhou Jiapeng, who had departed from the Zhou Family of Nine Peaks Ridge, stood outside a valley deep within Red Peach Ridge.

"That valley ahead is the one. The Crimson Tail Monkey troop normally lives inside it, and quite a few Mortal Beasts live there alongside them."

Beneath a great tree whose canopy spread like a ceremonial parasol, Zhou Zhengyong pointed toward the valley ahead, enclosed by mountains on three sides with only an entrance twenty to thirty zhang wide, and quietly described what he had previously scouted.

But after hearing him, Zhou Jiapeng shook his head slightly. "Worthy nephew Zhengyong, what you described was the situation several days ago. As for what it is like inside now, we should wait until your uncle has Iron Peng scout it out."

Without waiting for Zhou Zhengyong's reply, he raised a hand and patted his Spirit Beast Pouch, releasing his Spirit Pet, the Iron Feather Eagle.

As a First-grade High-tier Demonic Beast, the Iron Feather Eagle was several times larger than the golden eagles Zhou Chun had seen in his previous life. With its wings spread, it spanned a full zhang and three chi, and every feather looked as if it had been forged from Refined Iron, gleaming with a metallic luster.

After emerging from the Spirit Beast Pouch, it first swept its sharp gaze over Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong, then opened its beak and gave Zhou Jiapeng a low cry.

Once Zhou Jiapeng communicated with it through his consciousness and issued his orders, it immediately beat its wings. A gust of wild wind surged forth as it used the force to dash several zhang ahead, then leapt into the sky.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhengyong said with undisguised envy, "Uncle Peng, your Iron Feather Eagle is truly magnificent. If it bears offspring in the future, you must consider your nephew. Even if I have to smash pots and sell iron, I will buy one to raise!"

Unexpectedly, the moment his words fell, Zhou Jiapeng sighed with a gloomy expression. "Ah, it would have been better if you had not mentioned it. The moment you do, your uncle's heart aches."

"More than two years ago, your uncle had already gathered news that a female Iron Feather Eagle had appeared somewhere in Feng Kingdom. I had planned to take Iron Peng there to find that female eagle and breed with her, but that incident happened before I could set out!"

"Now, if I want to find another female Iron Feather Eagle suitable for breeding, who knows what year or month I will have to wait until!"

Uh...

Zhou Zhengyong did not know what to say either.

In truth, breeding Spirit Pets was indeed a problem that had long plagued beast-taming families like the Zhou Family.

Other than a few types of Spirit Pets, most Spirit Pets of Zhou Family cultivators were either captured in the wild or purchased from other cultivators.

Once these Spirit Pets grew up, it was truly no easy matter to breed them and leave behind offspring.

Usually, one either asked around everywhere for cultivators raising the same kind of Spirit Pet, then visited them and paid for breeding.

Or one searched for demonic beasts of the same kind in the wild, either seducing them with beauty or forcing them into breeding.

Under such circumstances, the rarer the Spirit Pet, the harder it was to find a suitable mate of the same kind.

So much so that, when they could not find one of the same kind, Zhou Family cultivators could only do their best to seek breeding partners from within the broader category.

Just as lions and tigers could actually breed, Iron Feather Eagles could also breed with certain eagle and falcon-type demonic beasts.

But offspring produced through such breeding could not be guaranteed to survive or possess potential.

Most of the time, because the power attributes of the two demonic beasts were incompatible, even if they produced offspring, those offspring were difficult to raise.

Or if they were raised successfully, the conflict between the two bloodlines in their bodies left them with little potential for cultivation.

Cases where breeding perfectly inherited both parents' powers and mutated into a powerful bloodline were exceedingly, exceedingly rare.

Thus, Zhou Zhengyong did not know how to comfort his clan uncle Zhou Jiapeng. He could only hide his embarrassment with silence.

As for Zhou Chun beside them, he had even less intention of speaking.

He was not familiar with this clan uncle Zhou Jiapeng. He had only come here because of Zhou Zhengyong, so it was not appropriate for him to rashly join such a conversation.

After waiting in silence for about a quarter of an hour, the Iron Feather Eagle that had flown out circled down onto the treetop above them and conveyed the results of its scouting to Zhou Jiapeng.

After receiving the intelligence relayed by his Spirit Pet, Zhou Jiapeng quickly spoke. "All right. Iron Peng has confirmed it. There are indeed only those Crimson Tail Monkey demonic beasts in the valley, and no traces of other demonic beasts or cultivators have been seen within several li. We can act without worry."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong could barely contain his excitement. He bowed deeply to him and said, "Everything depends on you, Uncle."

With that, the three immediately entered the valley together under Zhou Jiapeng's lead.

After entering the valley, Zhou Chun looked around and saw that it was rather large, seemingly two to three hundred mu in area. Fruit trees grew in groves throughout it, bearing quite a few varieties of wild fruit.

Therefore, besides the monkey troop, some small beasts and birds that also fed on wild fruit lived here.

As the three human cultivators entered, the monkeys, birds, and beasts in the valley that spotted them immediately began making piercing cries of warning.

Some bold and fierce wild monkeys even stood on the treetops, grabbed wild fruit and branches, and launched attacks at the three of them.

"These wild monkeys!"

Zhou Jiapeng, who led the way, darkened his expression. He immediately formed hand seals with both hands, then flicked his arm and sent strands of green needles shooting toward those wild monkeys.

Every wild monkey struck by the green needles shrieked miserably and fell from the treetops. In an instant, more than a dozen monkeys had been hit.

This immediately frightened the remaining wild monkeys, and they all screamed as they fled toward the depths of the valley.

So this was what they meant by "kill a monkey to warn the monkeys"?

Watching this scene, Zhou Chun chuckled inwardly.

After advancing several dozen zhang deeper into the valley, the group quickly caught sight of the Crimson Tail Monkey troop.

The monkey troop had already been alarmed, and the two sides met on a narrow road halfway through.

The moment the monkey king saw the three human cultivators, it let out a shriek and launched the attack first.

Fireballs and fiery arrows shot at the three from all directions, their momentum truly astonishing.

Seeing this, the three either brought out magic artifacts to block the attacks or took out talismans and activated them, forming protective barriers around themselves.

At the same time, both Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong patted the Spirit Beast Pouches at their waists and released their respective Spirit Pets.

But in this sort of situation, Zhou Chun's Rock Earth Turtle could not actually play much of a role. At most, it could serve as a shield of flesh and draw fire for him.

After all, the Rock Earth Turtle's main means of attack could not reach the Crimson Tail Monkeys jumping about on the treetops.

And the Crimson Tail Monkeys obviously would not be foolish enough to rush right up to it and engage it in close combat.

However, although the Rock Earth Turtle was of little use this time, Zhou Chun's several magic artifacts proved tremendously useful.

Under the urging of his mana, the silver short sword and pale golden flying knife attacked from either side, each locking onto a Crimson Tail Monkey as they shot forth.

These Crimson Tail Monkeys seemed to lack experience fighting cultivators. After failing to evade the incoming magic artifacts despite bouncing about several times, their ferocity flared, and they actually swung their claws directly at them.

As a result, one had its claw severed by the sword light erupting from the silver short sword, then had its chest pierced through by a single strike and died on the spot.

Another had its palm pierced by the pale golden flying knife and fell from the treetop as well.

At the same time, Zhou Jiapeng's Iron Feather Eagle swooped down from the sky and pounced directly before the monkey king. Its talons flashed as it unleashed black Claw Strikes and battled fiercely with the monkey king.

After fighting for roughly half a quarter of an hour, nearly half of the more than ten Crimson Tail Monkeys had died under the attacks of the three Zhou Family cultivators.

This left the monkey king, still locked in battle with the Iron Feather Eagle, greatly shocked and enraged.

It suddenly let out a sharp scream, and the remaining Crimson Tail Monkeys immediately abandoned their attacks and scattered in all directions.

Then it spat out blazing flames to force back the Iron Feather Eagle and likewise bounded swiftly toward the forests outside the valley.

Seeing this, the Iron Feather Eagle originally wanted to pursue and kill them.

But Zhou Jiapeng called out and stopped it. "Do not chase them. Let them go."

Then he warned Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong beside him, "Our Zhou Family established itself through the Beast Taming Arts. Our ancestors often said that wild demonic beasts do not grow easily. Unless there is a conflict of interests, one must not commit such acts of extermination, lest future generations find it difficult to locate suitable Spirit Pets for contracts."

"Those Crimson Tail Monkeys would not yield even a few taels of oil if we killed them. It would be better to leave them here to multiply. Perhaps when worthy nephew Zhengyong's Crimson Tail Monkey needs breeding in the future, they may be useful again!"

Upon hearing this, both men showed thoughtful expressions, then recalled their magic artifacts.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiapeng nodded in satisfaction, then waved a hand broadly. "Let us go. Now we will see what treasure the monkey troop was guarding in the valley. Do not let those wild monkeys beat us to it."

Some readers have said that the plot is somewhat bland and lacks the satisfying highs brought by intense conflict. That is indeed true, but it is also a common flaw in the early stages of most Mortal Cultivation genre stories. Because the groundwork and advancement are slow, they truly struggle in terms of pacing and excitement compared with stories that create a sense of crisis and anticipation through fierce conflict. Still, please bear with it and read patiently. Believe me, I will certainly write a story worth reading. And as long as everyone settles down and reads, you will gradually become immersed in it as well. I believe that, like our protagonist, you can slowly enter this Cultivation World and look forward to tomorrow's changes! I am truly begging you—this is still the free period anyway, so there is nothing to lose by reading!