Too Late, I've Been Short on Time Lately

[Technique: Scroll of Ages (Minor Accomplishment)]

Under the silent night sky, all was still.

The Youth sat cross-legged atop an ancient tree branch, extending his right hand as an invisible ripple blossomed from his fingertips.

It was a wisp of grayish-white, nearly transparent energy.

It flowed around his fingertips, giving off an ethereal air.

At last, it dissolved into his body and returned to the spiritual platform within his heavenly spirit.

Luo Chen's aura gradually steadied. To outsiders, he appeared to be merely at the Muscle Tendon Transformation realm.

Looking at his palm, he touched his cheek.

Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, the reduction in lifespan doesn't affect the life force within my body!"

Luo Chen finally relaxed and looked at the new information on the panel.

[Technique: Scroll of Ages (Minor Accomplishment)]

Scene after scene flashed rapidly through his mind.

When he opened his eyes again, a trace of ancient weariness flickered within them, as though time itself flowed through his gaze.

"The power involved in this technique is far too profound and mysterious. The Scroll of Ages has only barely captured a wisp of the Aura of Years."

Even as its creator, he had only obtained it through a sudden enlightenment between life and death.

That was also why, though he had created the technique, it had not directly reached perfection.

"The flaws are enormous, but its potential is boundless. I must do everything I can to deduce and complete it."

Even if he wrote down the Scroll of Ages now,

no one would be able to cultivate it.

Because entering the technique required a wisp of Aura of Years. The threshold was far too high.

With the Scroll of Ages, forget hiding his strength—his very heavenly secrets were entirely veiled by time.

A weight finally lifted from Luo Chen's heart.

He continued sitting cross-legged, beginning to consolidate the gains from this deduction.

When the rising sun climbed into the sky,

a dazzling red signal rose from the cliff beside his.

Luo Chen abruptly opened his eyes.

"They're here!"

He gripped the hilt of the Golden Scale Blade, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

He released Little Butterfly and ordered it to fly high into the sky, keeping watch over the surroundings at all times.

His figure swiftly leaped across the towering cliffs.

"That's Wang Yue's post."

Luo Chen muttered to himself, quickening his pace.

Ten minutes later,

Luo Chen arrived at the scene. The once-lush forest looked as though a hurricane had swept through it, with trees strewn in every direction.

Wang Yue sat on a fallen tree, breathing heavily with his eyes closed in rest. His right hand trembled slightly, blood flowing from it.

Inside a pit not far from him lay a Demon Ape over four meters tall. Its savage fangs were exposed, its blood-red eyes wide open, dead with resentment still in its gaze.

"Boss, are you alright?!"

The other Demon Suppressing Guards had also arrived. They stepped forward, took out healing medicine, and administered it to Wang Yue.

Luo Chen secretly thought it was a pity. Such a fine amount of lifespan had gone to waste.

He was bankrupt now and desperately needed Demonic Beasts to come knocking at his door.

But that was only wishful thinking.

He walked up to Wang Yue, concern also visible in his eyes.

After all, Wang Yue treated his subordinates well and had taught him quite a few ways to survive in the Demon Suppression Bureau.

A quarter of an hour later,

Wang Yue suppressed the surging blood and qi within his body, opened his eyes, and said gravely,

"These Demon Apes are usually Demonic Beasts that live in groups. Be careful!"

"I've already notified the nearby Demon Suppression Envoys. Reinforcements will arrive soon."

"Hold the line. We can't let a single Demonic Beast escape!"

Wang Yue rose to his feet, drew the Demon Slaying Blade at his side, and his resolute words rang in everyone's ears.

Everyone prepared for battle.

Luo Chen turned his head and looked into the depths of the valley below.

Trees toppled with thunderous crashes.

Accompanied by the roars of giant apes,

more than a dozen giant apes, each at least four meters tall, strode out from the depths of the valley.

At the forefront, four giant apes huffed and puffed as they carried an enormous palanquin.

Upon the huge palanquin,

sat an Old Ape over six meters tall, its entire body covered in black fur.

The Old Ape's fangs were bared. A massive Iron Staff rested beside its legs, and its eyes were filled with ferocity.

Suddenly, as though it had sensed someone watching it, the Old Ape raised its head toward a cliff.

Its gaze met Wang Yue's directly.

Wang Yue tightened his grip on his saber, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The other Demon Suppressing Guards around him also saw the troop of Demon Apes. Their expressions changed drastically, fear flashing in their eyes.

"Isn't this the outermost area?"

"With the great battle about to begin, how could the Demonic Beast cave in the depths allow such a Greater Demon to leave?"

"We can't fight it head-on. That Old Ape is at least at Blood Circulation!"

Wang Yue muttered to himself. Hearing those words, the faces of his subordinates turned grim as well.

"Find a way to hold them back. Reinforcements will be here soon."

As a Demon Suppression Envoy, with Demonic Beasts before him, there was no reason to retreat.

But neither would he blindly throw his life away. They only needed to stall for a moment and await reinforcements.

Wang Yue took the lead, sliding straight down the steep cliff face.

The Demon Suppressing Guards behind him exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed together.

In the heart of the valley, the troop of Demon Apes came to a halt.

The Old Ape sitting on the palanquin licked its lips. Its savage gaze and enormous body brought an overwhelming sense of oppression.

"What? You little bugs think you can block my path?"

The Old Ape chuckled, its voice aged and brimming with malice.

"Great King, leave them to us!"

Behind it, the small Demon Apes at the Bone Forging level roared in unison.

Wang Yue held his saber and spoke calmly.

"Before you lies the Great Gan Human Territory. You should all turn back!"

"Heh heh, what if I insist on going?" The Old Ape did not care in the slightest.

"Then you'll have to ask the blades in the hands of us Demon Suppressing Guards."

As Wang Yue's words fell,

the Demon Suppressing Guards drew their blades. For a moment, even their breathing seemed to freeze.

"You killed one of my descendants, didn't you?!"

The Old Ape reached out and gripped its black Iron Staff, cruelty flashing in its pupils.

The wind howled past.

The black Iron Staff carried colossal force, whipping up a gale as it suddenly smashed toward the Demon Suppressing Guards.

Wang Yue had already prepared himself to die.

Yet he suddenly realized that the Old Ape's killing blow was not aimed at him.

His pupils contracted. He shouted and tried to turn to block it.

"Luo Chen, dodge!"

As the words left his mouth, he stepped in front of Luo Chen, raising his saber before his chest.

Luo Chen watched calmly, and a trace of emotion could not help but surface in his eyes.

Just as everyone's faces filled with despair,

Luo Chen took a step forward and extended one hand.

A surging shockwave erupted from Luo Chen, and the ground beneath his feet burst apart like a spiderweb.

The wind and waves slapped against Wang Yue's face, freezing his expression.

Directly before him, level with his gaze, one hand firmly caught that unstoppable Iron Staff.

Gulp!

With difficulty, everyone swallowed and stared at the Youth's back as he walked forward step by step.

"Luo Chen, be careful!"

Wang Yue knew this was not the time for questions, but he still called out a warning.

Luo Chen did not answer. He drew Golden Scale, his eyes studying the Old Ape as though it were prey.

The Old Ape's brow furrowed deeply.

This man gave it a dangerous feeling. That was why it had been willing to waste words on him.

It had simply never expected him to catch its strike so effortlessly.

Though it had not used its full strength either.

"Human, let us leave. I promise not to harm any humans along the way!"

The Old Ape's departure from Heavenly Severance Mountain at this time meant it was unwilling to fight the Demon Suppression Bureau alongside the White Bone Great Sage.

Now that it had encountered a formidable enemy, it did not want to be delayed any longer.

"Too late. I've been short on time lately!"