216: Chapter 216 Waiting

Ye Tian was pondering how to steal the treasure from under the Double-Winged Dragon Ape's nose when his ears suddenly twitched...

A flurry of messy footsteps came from the distance, rapidly approaching their direction!

"Someone's coming!"

Ye Tian's heart skipped a beat. Reacting with lightning speed, he grabbed the still-shaken Hou Xiaojie and ducked behind a massive nearby rock.

He quickly circulated his breath-concealing technique, suppressing their auras to the absolute minimum, and cautiously peeked half his head out to warily watch the source of the sound.

Hou Xiaojie was also terrified; he didn't dare breathe loudly and huddled closely beside Ye Tian.

Before long, a dense crowd of people marched grandly into this part of the mountain forest.

At a rough glance, there were at least seventy or eighty people. Each wore uniform khaki-colored martial attire with a ferocious bear's head embroidered on the chest, exuding a murderous aura. They clearly belonged to the same Sect.

What made Ye Tian's heart tighten even more were the two middle-aged men leading the group at the front.

Their auras were thick and majestic, with the faint glow of True Yuan flickering around them, giving off an extremely powerful sense of pressure!

They were actually experts at the True Martial Tenth Level!

"Such a large Formation... which Sect is this? What are they doing here at Hedgehog Mountain?"

Ye Tian's mind was full of doubt.

He carefully observed the direction the group was heading and seemed to understand something.

That was the direction of the Double-Winged Dragon Ape's lair!

"Could it be... they also discovered the treasure there?"

Just as this thought emerged, the conversation coming from ahead confirmed his suspicion.

The cold-faced man leading on the left growled in a low voice, "The beast's lair is just ahead! Everyone, stay sharp! Keep your eyes peeled!"

His fierce gaze swept over all the Disciples behind him. Anyone he stared at couldn't help but shudder and instinctively shrink their necks.

"That beast has a cultivation at the half-step Sea Transformation Realm! It even has a damn trace of Ancient Vicious Beast Bloodline in its body! When it goes berserk, it's more troublesome than some old fogies who have just broken through to the Sea Transformation Realm!

Today, if anyone dares to desert or drops the ball and ruins my great plan..."

He gave a cold snort and slightly raised his palm, a cold killing intent spreading out. "I will be the first to personally kill them! Is that clear!"

"Crystal clear!"

The Disciples responded in unison, their voices carrying a hint of trembling.

The leading man on the right, who looked slightly more amiable but had a sharp, restrained glint in his eyes, interjected, "Senior Brother Pang spoke a bit harshly, but it is for your own good.

No need for excessive worry. As long as you strictly follow the plan we've rehearsed and form the 'Crystal Essence Mountain-Shaking Formation' to trap that beast for a while, our chances of success are very high."

His tone softened, carrying a bit of encouragement: "Don't forget the Sect Leader's promise! If we can successfully obtain that innate dao fruit this time, every Disciple participating in this operation will be rewarded with a thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones!

The one with the greatest merit will even have the chance to be taken as a personal disciple by the Sect Leader!"

"innate dao fruit?!"

Hearing those three words, Ye Tian's entire body jolted. His heart began to thud wildly, and his breathing became ragged!

As long as one was a cultivator, who hadn't heard of this item!

This was a Heaven And Earth Treasure that could only be nurtured by Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!

It was completely incomparable to those Spirit Medicines that could only increase True Yuan or boost cultivation.

The greatest effect of the innate dao fruit was to directly enhance a Martial Artist's Martial Dao Will!

This item was simply priceless and unavailable on the market!

In the outside world, people only ever heard its name but never saw the object itself!

Because its enhancement of a Martial Artist's Foundation and future potential was unmatched by any Medicinal Pill that boosted cultivation!

It was even countless times rarer and more precious than those treasures that could strengthen Divine Sense!

Ye Tian's fists clenched unconsciously.

He had gone through countless life-and-death battles before he managed to condense a prototype of Martial Dao Will by chance.

But even if it was just a prototype, it had greatly increased his combat power, far exceeding those of the same rank.

However, after that, no matter how hard he tried, he could never pierce through that thin membrane leading to a higher Realm, and his progress had stalled.

The cultivation of Martial Dao Will was a hundred times more difficult than accumulating True Yuan, and it was divided into three major Realms: Power Realm, Heart Realm, and Concept Realm.

He had only just initially condensed it and hadn't even touched the threshold of the 'Power Realm' yet.

But if he could get this innate dao fruit...

Relying on the pure Dao Rhyme contained within it and his own Comprehension Ability, he was absolutely certain he could break through the Bottleneck in one go and truly push his Martial Dao Will into the Power Realm!

Once his Martial Dao Will reached the Power Realm, his understanding of the Martial Dao and his timing in battle would reach a whole new level!

At that time, it would even be possible to fight enemies across two or three minor Realms!

Immense temptation surged in Ye Tian's chest.

He stared fixedly at the group of people, his eyes flickering as he rapidly calculated in his mind.

"This group should be from the Bear Peak Sect... looking at their attire and the mention of the 'Crystal Essence Mountain-Shaking Formation', it must be them.

With two True Martial Tenth Level Elders leading and dozens of elite Disciples forming a Formation, it seems they are determined to get this Dao Fruit."

Ye Tian analyzed the situation calmly.

"They plan to use a Formation to trap the Double-Winged Dragon Ape and then take the Opportunity to seize the Dao Fruit.

This is indeed a method, but... a half-step Sea Transformation Realm Vicious Beast, especially one with an ancient Bloodline, is it really that easy to trap?

Especially near its own lair?"

The corners of Ye Tian's mouth curled up slightly.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gets the benefit!

A bold plan quickly took shape in Ye Tian's heart.

Trying to snatch it by force definitely wouldn't work. Never mind those two True Martial Tenth Level Elders; even those dozens of Disciples in a battle Formation would be enough to give him a hard time if they swarmed him.

Besides, he was no match for that Double-Winged Dragon Ape either.

The best way was to wait!

Wait until they and the Double-Winged Dragon Ape were both exhausted and injured, then take the chance to strike!

"Xiao Jie,"

Ye Tian lowered his voice and spoke seriously to Hou Xiaojie beside him, "Listen, no matter what happens later, you stay hidden here and absolutely do not come out!

Use the breath-concealing talisman I gave you to hide yourself!

If... if you see things going wrong, don't worry about anything else and run back to the Sect to report as fast as you can!

Do you understand?"

He stuffed a Talisman into Hou Xiaojie's hand.

Seeing Ye Tian's solemn expression, Hou Xiaojie knew things were serious. He swallowed nervously and nodded vigorously: "Un-understand! Senior Brother, you must be careful!"

Ye Tian nodded and said no more, concentrating all his attention on the actions of the Bear Peak Sect people ahead.

The people from the Bear Peak Sect stopped about one li away from the Dragon Ape's lair.

The two Elders quickly gave low-voiced instructions, and the seventy or eighty Disciples rapidly fanned out, taking their positions to form a circular encirclement.

Each of them took out a khaki Formation Flag and planted it in the ground, simultaneously circulating their Cultivation Techniques to pour thick earth-attribute True Yuan continuously into the flags.

"Crystal Essence Mountain-Shaking Formation, rise!"

With a low shout from the Elder surnamed Pang, all the Formation Flags lit up with an earthy glow at once!

The light connected together, forming a massive yellow light shield that covered the area ahead!

On the light shield, phantom images of mountains faintly appeared.

Almost the instant the Formation was formed—

"Roar!!"

A furious roar exploded from the center of the shield!

The entire Hedgehog Mountain trembled from it!

A terrifying aura soared into the sky. Even through the Formation's light shield, Ye Tian could feel that heart-palpitating pressure!

The Double-Winged Dragon Ape had been disturbed!

Through the yellow shield, Ye Tian could see a massive golden figure crashing wildly within the Formation!

It flapped its wings frantically and swung its giant paws. Every attack made the entire Crystal Essence Mountain-Shaking Formation shake violently, with ripples constantly appearing on the shield. Those Bear Peak Sect Disciples in the Formation all turned pale, clearly under immense pressure.

"Hold! Everyone hold it together!"

Elder Pang roared, he and the other Elder each occupying a key node of the Formation, frantically pouring their own True Yuan into the Formation to reinforce the shield.

"Attack! Use 'Earth Spike Art' to harass it! Don't let it break the Formation with full force!"

The other Elder commanded.

Immediately, the ground inside the shield cracked open, and countless sharp stone stalagmites thrust out, attacking the Double-Winged Dragon Ape.

Although most were deflected by the Dragon Ape's hard scales and protective Demonic Qi, it successfully enraged the beast and distracted its attention.

The battle was exceptionally fierce.

The Double-Winged Dragon Ape's strength was peerless; every collision made the Bear Peak Sect Disciples' blood and qi churn.

But the Crystal Essence Mountain-Shaking Formation was indeed profound. By combining the power of dozens of people and with two True Martial Tenth Level Elders presiding, it actually managed to temporarily trap this Vicious Beast.

Ye Tian held his breath, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

He was waiting for the perfect moment.

As time ticked by, the Bear Peak Sect Disciples began to suffer casualties. Some collapsed, vomiting blood as their True Yuan failed, and the Formation's light shield began to flicker unsteadily.

However, the Double-Winged Dragon Ape wasn't having it easy either. Its scales were damaged in multiple places, dripping with dark golden blood, making it even more violent.

Just as the Formation's shield twisted violently once more, seemingly about to be torn open by the Dragon Ape...

The void above the Dragon Ape's lair suddenly distorted. Streaks of rosy light emerged out of thin air, and a wave of Dao Rhyme spread out!

Following that, a fruit shaped like a honey peach, fluorescent green all over with natural Dao patterns entwined on its surface, slowly emerged within the rosy light!

The innate dao fruit had matured and appeared!

At this moment, everyone's gaze was drawn toward it!

Even the enraged Double-Winged Dragon Ape paused its movements slightly, its crimson giant eyes staring fixedly at the Dao Fruit, filled with greed.

"It's appeared!"

A sharp glint burst from Ye Tian's eyes!

The Opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived!