◇ 【125】 Snow Ape
"Xiao Juan, it's the Ice Heart Lotus." A flicker of wonder crossed Xi Lang's eyes. Thanks to the jade slip left by the Immortal Emperor Tongde, he and Gu Juan possessed a wealth of knowledge in cultivation. This Lotus in Stone was described in the jade slip "The Carrying Things of Heaven and Earth." The basic principle of its formation is that a lotus seed, for some reason, such as geological shifts or human intervention, becomes trapped in the ice. However, after thousands of years of freezing, absorbing the essence of nature, the seed germinates and blooms. A flower nurtured through millennia of bitter cold is no exaggeration to be called a spiritual creature of heaven and earth.
Gu Juan nodded, his eyes gleaming. "Old man, we'll have to fight for this flower." His space contained many treasures, but none of them included the Ice Heart Lotus. In the "Spiritual Medicine Catalogue," the Ice Heart Lotus ranked in the top ten. It could be said to be truly nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and directly consuming it could instantly elevate one's cultivation to a higher realm. Using the Ice Heart Lotus to refine the Nine Jin Pill was a hundred times more powerful than ordinary Nine Jin Pills. Furthermore, the Ice Heart Lotus could be used as an auxiliary ingredient in all other elixirs. It wouldn't be long before Gu Juan reached the Golden Core Stage, and with the Dan Fire, he could begin refining pills.
However, obtaining the Ice Heart Lotus was no easy task. Besides the Wentian Sect, Qianshan Sect, and others coveting it, the primary threat came from the behemoth beast lurking beneath the Ice Heart Lotus. Legend has it that all spiritual creatures in heaven and earth are guarded by spirit beasts, and it certainly holds true.
It was a massive snow ape, its fur white and speckled with tiny shards of ice. Nearly eight meters tall, its arms as thick as an adult's waist, its humanoid face adorned with a pair of sharp eyes, as large as an ox's, glaring fiercely ahead. Its gaze was like a laser, chilling. Its mouth remained open, absorbing the liquid dripping from the icicles. It was a magical milk brewed from the fragrance of millennia-old black ice and the Ice Heart Lotus.
"Roar—" A threatening roar came from the snow ape's throat.
Even if Yao Qingxue was not afraid of the cold, she would not dare to rush forward rashly.
At this time, Yin Ji also recognized Bing Xinlian.
"This is the Millennium Ice Heart Lotus!"
Zhu Mian asked, "What is the Millennium Ice Heart Lotus?"
Yin Ji glanced at him and said nothing.
Feng Feiye smiled and said, "I heard that taking just one slice of the thousand-year-old Ice Heart Lotus can increase your martial arts skills by a hundred years." He just wanted these people to cause chaos so that he could take advantage of the situation.
But since the giants present here have reached their current position, none of them are stupid.
Bai Xiangnan, the head of the Wentian Sect, and Huang Mingde, the second elder of the Huang family, gradually moved closer; Yin Ji of the Demon Sect and Zhu Mian of the Mengshan Sect stood together. Yao Qingxue hesitated for a moment, then approached Feng Feiye.
As for the other small giants, they were not taken seriously by them.
Feng Feiye looked at Gu Juan and Xi Lang with a smile.
The two seemed unaware.
Yao Qingxue looked up at the Ice Heart Lotus, which had not yet fully bloomed. This was also the reason why the Snow Ape had not taken any action.
Suddenly, a purple shadow flashed by.
Everyone was shocked and looked closely, and it turned out to be Yao Qingxue!
Because Yao Qingxue had just shown an attitude of wanting to form an alliance with Feng Feiye, even Feng Feiye did not expect that she would suddenly take action.
In the world of cultivation, there are no eternal allies or eternal enemies, only interests.
A smug smile played across Yao Qingxue's lips. Although the Ice Heart Lotus hadn't fully bloomed yet, its effectiveness was no less significant. Once she obtained it, she could consume it and advance directly. This way, even Huang Mingde and the others combined would be no match for her.
But she was too impatient and underestimated others.
Before her hand touched the ice cone, several rays of light shot out simultaneously from the direction of Huang Mingde, Bai Xiangnan and others.
The fastest was Huang Mingde. With a flick of his finger, a tiny silver needle shot out like lightning, suddenly growing larger to a meter long. It pierced Yao Qingxue's dantian, then spun around and returned to Huang Mingde's hand.
Yao Qingxue screamed and died on the ground.
A generation of leader passed away in this way.
Tian Yunzhi stared at Huang Mingde intently. Just as he took a step forward, he was stopped by Xi Cong, who glared at him warningly.
Huang Mingde noticed that someone was looking at him, but the situation was imminent and any distraction might lead to missing the opportunity, so he just frowned and didn't look back.
Gu Juan's attention was fixed on the snow ape, a hint of surprise in his clear eyes. When Yao Qingxue attacked just now, the snow ape hadn't even raised an eyelid. This made him suspect that the snow ape possessed a certain level of intelligence, having guessed that the others would stop Yao Qingxue.
He and Xi Lang exchanged glances.
"Snow ape, can you hear me?" Gu Juan tried to communicate with the snow ape through spiritual consciousness.
The snow ape glanced at him.
Gu Juan nodded slightly, indicating that he was the one speaking.
"How about we make a deal? Although your cultivation is higher than everyone here, you are still weak. How about we work together? You help us obtain the Ice Heart Lotus, and we'll give you a Tribulation Pill. It's ten times harder for demon cultivators to overcome tribulations than for humans. I believe you need the Tribulation Pill more than the Ice Heart Lotus."
Tribulation Pill! The snow ape's eyes suddenly fluctuated, and he straightened up slightly, "Why should I trust you?"
Its response made Gu Juan happy.
"It's simple. If we go back on our word, it would be easy for you to kill us with your mid-stage Jindan cultivation."
"Okay, I promise you."
Zhu Mian said loudly, "Everyone, our biggest threat isn't each other, it's the snow apes. How about we work together to get rid of the snow apes first, and then discuss other things?"
Bai Xiangnan, Huang Mingde, Yin Ji, and Feng Feiye all had no objection.
Several people and their men slowly dispersed and surrounded the snow ape.
Yao Qingxue's men stared at Huang Mingde angrily. Suddenly, a strange voice rang out in their minds.
"Waiting for them to start fighting will be the perfect opportunity to avenge your leader!"
These disciples were already filled with anger, and after being provoked by Xi Lang, their rage escalated. They raised their weapons and attacked Huang Mingde and others. Huang Mingde's disciples would naturally fight back.
The melee began like this.
Xi Cong and the other seven quickly retreated to a distance. Remembering the invisibility talisman that Gu Juan had given them, they quickly took it out and hid themselves.
When more than half of the people in the cave were killed or wounded, Gu Juan and Xi Lang looked at each other, flew up, and landed in front of the snow ape.
Feng Feiye had been staring at them and was the first to react when he saw the situation.
"Ride the wind, break the waves, what do you want to do?"
Gu Juan laughed heartily, "What do you think? The Ice Heart Lotus belongs to us. It's not too late for you to let go now."
The snow ape stood up and stood back to back with Gu Juan and Xi Lang.
Yin Ji was very clever. "This snow ape has become intelligent? Have you reached an agreement with it?"
Xi Lang smiled but said nothing.
Everyone suddenly understood. No wonder these two people would go to help the snow ape.
Feng Feiye turned towards Zhu Mian and the others and said bitterly, "Everyone, our Qianshan Sect has an old grudge against Chengfeng and Polang. This Sect Leader will help you seize the Bingxin Lotus, but I hope you can leave Chengfeng and Polang to this Sect Leader!"
Gu Juan quickly understood what he was planning. Gong Bufan and the others had seen the old man's supreme spiritual weapon, the Dragon Scale Blade. If he and the old man fell into Feng Feiye's hands, wouldn't their treasures also belong to Feng Feiye? What a brilliant calculation.
The fact that Feng Feiye had called out the names of Chengfeng and Polang, two strangers, suggested that he did know them. Zhu Mian and the others didn't doubt his words. To them, Bing Xin Lian was far more important than the two of them, and Feng Feiye's willingness to give up Bing Xin Lian delighted them.
Huang Mingde was the first to express his opinion, “No problem!”
Yin Ji and others also nodded.
A hint of smug smile flashed across Feng Feiye's eyes.
Gu Juan and Xi Lang tacitly coordinated and simultaneously used their weapons, determined to make the water even more muddy.
All the monks were shocked.
"Top-grade spiritual weapons! Both are top-grade spiritual weapons!"
You know, in the entire world of cultivation, there are only two top-grade spiritual weapons: the Xuanyuan Sword in the hands of the Xuanyuan family and the Tianwai Feizhen, a top-grade spiritual weapon Huang Mingde recently acquired from nowhere. Of course, this is only the one that is publicly available. As for whether any sects have hidden their top-grade spiritual weapons, it is unknown.
It turned out that Feng Feiye had long known that Chengfeng and Polang had top-grade spiritual weapons in their hands. No wonder he gave up the Bing Xin Lian. Feeling deceived, Bai Xiangnan, Huang Mingde, and Yin Ji looked at Feng Feiye coldly.
Feng Feiye was both angry and happy. He was angry that Chengfeng and Polang had seen through his thoughts, but he was happy that they had more than one top-grade spiritual weapon in their hands. If both of these top-grade spiritual weapons belonged to the Qianshan Sect, their strength would be greatly enhanced, and they would become the leader of the "Five Sects and Two Sects".
The appearance of the two top-grade spiritual weapons was like two drops of water falling into a frying pan.
But for a moment, no one moved. Everyone knew that whoever moved first would become the target of public criticism.
"Crack!" The large icicles fell off the ice. The ice lotus was in full bloom, and its refreshing fragrance filled the entire cave, making people intoxicated.
Gu Juan jumped up, reached out and grabbed the icicle.
"Don't even think about it!" Huang Mingde flew up and slashed at his arm with the magic sword in his hand.
"Hmph!" Xi Lang snorted coldly, raising his Dragon Scale Knife. A flash of silver light passed as the Dragon Scale Knife and the Spirit Sword collided, snapping the Spirit Sword in two with a sharp "crack."
Gu Juan had already put the ice cone and the Ice Heart Lotus into the storage bag on his chest.
Huang Mingde shouted, "Everyone, don't worry about how to distribute the Ice Heart Lotus and the two spiritual weapons. Let's first control Chengfeng, Polang, and the Snow Ape!"
Feng Feiye couldn't care less about that at this point, and replied, "Okay! I'll deal with Polang!" He then set his eyes on Xi Lang's dragon scale knife.
"I'll deal with Chengfeng!" Yin Ji smiled evilly and landed in front of Gu Juan as light as a falling leaf.
Zhu Mian said: "Okay, the rest of you surround the snow ape!"
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