Zhao Lin'er's jade-like hands flashed with prismatic radiance as she sliced toward the luminous barrier. In the same motion, she spun and rose like a rainbow, attempting once more to leap toward the great tree beyond the stone forest.
But the four-armed blood-colored giant ape was even more agile among the stone pillars. It transformed into a streak of crimson light surging skyward, seeming poised to tear the Royal Celestial Maiden apart in midair.
It appeared the royal princess would struggle greatly to evade those demonic claws.
Yet events always defied expectation. At that moment, a silver silhouette shot forth from the depths of the dense forest. In an instant, it collided with the blood-colored giant ape, sending it reeling, caught Zhao Lin'er in midair, then bounded upward and leaped onto a nearby ancient tree.
The several giant apes nearby failed to intercept!
Xiao Chen looked up in astonishment. It was the little unicorn holy beast! It had actually come to rescue Zhao Lin'er!
Its frail body stood less than a meter tall, utterly delicate compared to the four-armed blood-colored giant ape, yet moments ago it had forcibly knocked aside the mountain-like ape. It was difficult to imagine what kind of power dwelled within that small frame.
"ROAR!"
The blood-colored giant ape bellowed in fury, leading over a dozen giant apes in a bound upward, climbing the ancient trees to surround the little celestial horse.
But the little celestial horse moved with inconceivable speed—like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, it broke through the encirclement, racing across the treetops.
"Go quickly!" Zhao Lin'er urged the little unicorn holy beast in a voice as melodious as chimes. They seemed already well acquainted.
Xiao Chen recalled Wang Zifeng's words: only a pure maiden could approach the unicorn holy beast. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Perhaps the little celestial horse had spent its two days of disappearance with Zhao Lin'er, or perhaps they had encountered each other even earlier.
Though the dozen-plus giant apes were swift, they could not match the divine little celestial horse. Finally, the four-armed blood-colored giant ape raised its head and let out a long howl. From its mouth spewed a dazzling burst of prismatic light, shooting toward the little unicorn holy beast's retreating back.
Xiao Chen was greatly startled! He marveled at the giant ape's extraordinary ability—it possessed a divine art nearly akin to sorcery.
The little celestial horse sensed the energy fluctuation behind it. Its jade-like horn blazed with intense light. As it turned its head, a silver lightning bolt lashed out from the horn, striking the pursuing prismatic light directly. The collision erupted in a cascade of brilliant radiance, and both forces dissipated simultaneously!
A powerful surge of energy rampaged through the forest. Where the brilliant light had burst, a wide swath of trees was instantly obliterated. Leaves scattered, splinters flew through the air, and a massive crater appeared in the ground.
Xiao Chen was deeply impressed. An ordinary expert surely could not withstand such an attack. Both strange beasts possessed extraordinary divine arts. The little celestial horse was still so young, yet it already wielded such miraculous power. It was difficult to imagine how strong it would become when fully grown—truly worthy of its title as a holy beast.
The little unicorn holy beast vanished like a silver arrow shot into the distance, disappearing without a trace. The dozen-plus giant apes roared their fury at the moonlit night, but there was nothing they could do.
Xiao Chen also felt a pang of regret. He had had a chance to detain Zhao Lin'er, but in the end, the little unicorn holy beast had rescued her.
At this moment, he sensed that the giant apes had turned openly hostile toward him. It was no longer wise to remain in the stone forest. He withdrew toward his own small peak.
Just then, something happened that startled Xiao Chen. The four-armed blood-colored giant ape dug a glittering crystalline core from the body of the dead giant ape and swallowed it.
Earlier, after spewing that prismatic light to attack the little celestial horse, it had appeared weary and listless. But after devouring the crystal, it quickly recovered its vitality, and a faint luster emanated from its entire body.
Could that be the legendary demonic core? But it didn't seem quite right! Xiao Chen returned to his small peak, filled with doubt and uncertainty.
"Roar..."
The dozen-plus giant apes howled together, then carried the corpse back into the stone forest.
Over the next two days, Zhao Lin'er did not reappear. It seemed she had withdrawn in the face of difficulty. But Xiao Chen dared not let his guard down. He did not believe this Royal Celestial Maiden would give up so easily.
The dozen-plus giant apes had grown noticeably hostile toward Xiao Chen. The harmony of their initial coexistence had faded.
Xiao Chen knew it was time to move on.
As he traveled through the tyrannosaur's territory, he discovered numerous remains of massive primeval beasts. The bones—ranging from three or four meters to over ten meters in length—lay scattered in ghastly white heaps, a terrifying sight that made it clear they were the remains of creatures devoured by the tyrannosaurs.
As Xiao Chen passed by one such bone pile, he happened to notice a red crystal, about the size of a thumb, glittering like a precious gem. His heart stirred. Wasn't this similar to the crystal the four-armed giant ape had devoured? Except the color was different.
When he grasped the translucent red crystal in his hand, he could distinctly feel a pure energy contained within.
Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised. A demonic core? He activated the Qi-Refining method inscribed on the ancient stone stele, guiding this very pure spiritual essence into his body.
After about fifteen minutes, a crisp cracking sound came from Xiao Chen's hand. The originally translucent red crystal had lost its luster and split into pieces. As the final wisp of spiritual energy was absorbed by Xiao Chen, the crystal turned directly to powder!
The spiritual essence contained within the crystal was not weak, and it was exceptionally easy to absorb—many times faster than drawing in the essence of heaven and earth. If it was not a demonic core, it could truly be called a spirit stone.
However, Xiao Chen was deeply puzzled. Only a very small portion of the absorbed spiritual energy nourished his wounded body; the far greater part vanished without a trace, gathering somewhere unknown.
Xiao Chen activated his profound art and examined his meridians internally, searching for traces of that spiritual energy.
Suddenly, he noticed a silver light point within his left foot. That was the vast quintessence of the dragon egg, condensed and fused with the Shangqiu acupoint. Compared to other acupoints, it seemed almost deified, like a bright lamp in the darkness of night!
At the same time, he discovered that a faint, barely visible red tinge had appeared in the Shangqiu acupoint of his other foot. He immediately understood: the same phenomenon was occurring in the opposite foot.
However, the spiritual energy of the crystal was far inferior to that of the dragon egg. He wondered whether, after accumulating enough spiritual essence over time, a similar deification would occur.
Xiao Chen did not venture deeper into the island. He merely moved laterally a few li from the giant apes' habitat, settling near a stretch of stone cliffs still on the edge of the tyrannosaur's territory.
Only within the tyrannosaur's domain were the truly fearsome beasts relatively scarce. In his current physical condition, it was unwise to engage in violent combat with ferocious animals.
It was now dusk. Xiao Chen sat quietly on the stone cliffs, cultivating as he recovered from his injuries.
"Owooo..." From a stretch of forest in the distance came the howling of wolves, mingled with the roars of other beasts.
At first, Xiao Chen paid no attention. On this desolate island, wolves were far too weak compared to the countless more fearsome creatures.
But then came the roars of lions, tigers, and apes, and the distant forest began to tremble, as if many beasts were locked in deadly combat!
Xiao Chen stopped his cultivation and went to investigate.
By the time he reached that woodland, the battle among the beasts was nearly over. The forest floor was littered with a vast expanse of animal carcasses. Blood-mist rose, and the acrid stench of gore permeated the air.
Two lions as large as elephants lay with their necks broken; seven or eight three-eyed black tigers had been torn to pieces, their bodies strewn among the undergrowth; two giant condors stretching five or six meters hung from great trees, their chests and abdomens pierced; three one-horned giant bears, each five to six meters long, lay decapitated, piled upon one another... Several dozen strange beasts had fallen here.
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