The entire valley was filled with smoke and dust, the roars of the demon apes echoing far and wide. Xiao Man's face was etched with anxiety. The demon ape was still summoning its kin. There were many demon apes in the Roland Mountain Range, and if more of them arrived, they would surely be doomed!
Xiao Man suddenly retreated, instantly charging into Jian and his companions' formation. With a single sword strike, she severed the neck of one demon ape, then dashed towards another. The impending threat of death instilled fear in that demon ape, causing it to turn and flee!
"Don't chase it, kill this one first!" Xiao Man charged back. Zhu Qing was pinned to the ground by the high-level demon ape, being repeatedly thrashed. Its snake body was covered in bloody wounds, and blood continuously poured out.
Demon apes were already quite intelligent magical beasts, and high-level demon apes were even more cunning. Seeing that it was no match for them, it immediately turned and fled!
How could Xiao Man tolerate its escape? The dagger in her hand flew out, embedding itself in the demon ape's back. However, the demon ape showed no signs of stopping, quickly disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.
"Your divine weapon!"
Just as Xiao Man was about to pursue, she felt the ground tremble. A large number of demon apes were approaching: "Damn it, retreat!"
The group quickly fled in another direction. The demon ape reinforcements had arrived, and they had to leave as soon as possible and conceal their tracks. If they were caught by a large horde of demon apes, they would lose more than just a layer of skin, even if they survived!
After an unknown amount of time spent fleeing, the group hid in a cave and used medicinal powder to mask their scent, preventing the demon apes from tracking them by smell.
Everyone lay on the ground, panting heavily. The demon apes were not easy to deal with. In pairs, they hadn't even managed to kill a single one, yet Xiao Man had killed two!
"Weren't you told there were only three? How is there a fourth one?" Xiang Jian asked, his breathing evening out.
Xiao Man dragged Zhu Qing out and threw it onto the ground. Zhu Qing immediately curled itself into a ball and huddled in a corner. Covered in blood, it looked utterly pathetic.
Du Niangzi looked at the Bamboo Jointed Snake King in this state. The image of the Bamboo Jointed Snake King relentlessly pursuing her flashed in her mind. Comparing it to its current pathetic appearance, she let out a chuckle. After a moment of laughter, she felt something was amiss: "Why would the Bamboo Jointed Snake King be here?"
"I brought it out," Xiao Man huffed. "If I had known you were such a troublemaker, I would never have brought you along!"
Zhu Qing's appearance became even more aggrieved. The high-level demon ape had been hidden, so it was understandable that it hadn't detected it. However, it dared not say this, especially since its own master had lost her divine weapon!
Xiang Jian leaned in front of the Bamboo Jointed Snake King: "Captain, look at how pathetic it looks, and it's injured. Please don't be angry with it anymore. If it hadn't retrieved the Dragon Spirit Bamboo for us, we wouldn't have even entered Wuji City."
Zhu Qing nodded its snake head repeatedly. While it had craved the Xuan Fruit and caused its master to lose her divine weapon, it had also contributed. Moreover, hadn't they obtained the Xuan Fruit? Master had even taken the entire tree!
"Hey, boss, it can understand what I'm saying. It's truly become a spirit!" Xiang Jian reached out to stroke Zhu Qing's head, but then remembered Zhu Qing was poisonous and quickly took out a pair of gloves from his chest. Hesitantly, he stroked Zhu Qing's head. Zhu Qing pitifully rubbed against Xiang Jian's palm, and Xiang Jian's expression brightened.
"Boss, please forgive it. It knows it was wrong."
Zhu Qing’s eyes shifted cautiously towards Xiao Man, as if saying, Master, I was wrong, please forgive me. The sight made everyone unable to suppress their laughter. Even the usually steady Xi Wen couldn't help but smile. Su Dan Novel Network.
Xiao Man glanced at everyone: "You can still laugh? It's this troublemaker that dragged all of us into fighting demon apes."
Seeing Xiao Man exposing its past, Zhu Qing immediately dove onto the ground and feigned death, secretly opening an eye to gauge Xiao Man's reaction. It had truly become a spirit, knowing how to act cute and play coy.
"Boss, since we're all safe, why not let it off? Look at all its injuries, it's been through a lot. Its tail is still broken and hasn't grown back."
Speaking of its broken tail, Zhu Qing felt wronged. It slithered over to Xiao Man and tentatively rubbed against her leg. Xiao Man glanced at it, then grabbed Zhu Qing and began to apply medicine. To restrain the demon ape, Zhu Qing had been quite injured.
"All of you, tend to your wounds," Xiao Man distributed the medicine to everyone. "This is the hemostatic powder and spiritual recovery medicine I refined. Carry it with you. There's a golden pill inside. This pill is for saving your life at a critical moment. Do not use it unless absolutely necessary."
"Boss, what are the effects of this golden pill?"
"It can temporarily increase a person's abilities by more than three ranks. The effect lasts for only half an hour, used for escaping."
Everyone accepted the medicine and began treating each other's wounds. Xiao Man wrapped Zhu Qing up like a bandage snake and even tied a bow on its head. Everyone found it amusing, but Zhu Qing happily slithered around Xiao Man.
Xiao Man suddenly remembered the Scarlet Xuan Fruit tree she had moved into the Tongtian Tower. It was likely ripe. She immediately found an excuse to go out, entered the Tongtian Tower in a secluded spot, and upon entering, saw Old Qin eating Xuan Fruit.
Xiao Man was somewhat surprised: "Ancestor, aren't you a spirit? How can you still eat?"
"Nonsense, spirits also need to replenish spiritual energy. This Xuan Fruit is rich in spiritual energy and is an excellent nourishing item." Old Qin leaned towards Xiao Man. "Leave a few more for me."
"It's not impossible to leave a few more for you. At least give me something good in return," Xiao Man coaxed. "Look, as your great-great-granddaughter, I was almost killed by a demon ape. Ancestor, do you have any life-saving treasures?"
"You little thing, you never miss an opportunity to gain!" Old Qin grumbled, but he didn't refuse. He pointed a finger at Xiao Man's forehead. "Your current cultivation method is not good enough. You should use my Hunyuan Cultivation Method. Once you cultivate the Hunyuan Cultivation Method to the third level, and then form your foundation, it will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort."
A cultivation method immediately entered Xiao Man's mind. She read through it and memorized it in her heart. "Thank you, Ancestor. By the way, Ancestor, are there any other cultivation methods?"
"The Hunyuan Cultivation Method is enough for you. Other cultivation methods are of little use to you. The Hunyuan Cultivation Method is a perfect match for your Myriad Poison Golden Body. Other cultivation methods cannot bring out the full potential of your Myriad Poison Golden Body."
"No, the people around me have just started cultivating. They also need a good cultivation method."
"You girl, you're so considerate of others, aren't you afraid they won't appreciate it?" Old Qin said disparagingly, but he still transmitted several cultivation methods to Xiao Man. Xiao Man was overjoyed. Among them were cultivation methods suitable for Shan Yun and Du Niangzi. Xiang Jian had his own cultivation method, so there was no need to worry. As for Xi Wen and the others, she would need to assess them further to know what cultivation methods suited them.