195: Chapter 195 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (143)

Time passed bit by bit, the Great Sun on the horizon gradually sank, orange-red afterglow covered the entire fruit grove, dyeing the bloodstains all over the ground dark red.

The corpses on the ground grew more numerous, but they were all monkey corpses.

Seriously injured Disciples constantly had a flash of white light on their bodies, and they were directly transported out of the Secret Realm; the number of people in the six teams decreased again and again.

In the end, each team only had three or four people left, all of them injured, panting, and having consumed most of their True Qi.

But the Monkey King and the four large male monkeys had finally fallen too.

The scar-faced large male monkey had its throat pierced by a sword from the Ice and Snow Holy Land female cultivator, collapsing on the ground and twitching a few times before it stopped moving.

The black-striped large male monkey had its head smashed open by the Broad-faced Man, spraying red and white matter all over the ground.

The third one died under the military formation of the military forces, being hacked to pieces by blades.

The last one was decapitated by the Youth in Python Robe with a single blade strike, its head rolling far away, its eyes still wide open.

Even the strongest Monkey King, under the siege of the crowd who had freed up their hands, was ultimately unable to resist the many with its two fists, forced to drink hatred on the spot.

Except for the Monkey King nearly escaping the encirclement when it was dying, everything seemed perfectly handled.

The Monkey Tribe completely scattered, the remaining little monkeys squeaked wildly and scampered into the dense forest in all directions, disappearing without a trace, not even daring to look back.

The scene finally quieted down.

Only heavy panting remained, along with the rustling of wind blowing through the leaves.

The leaders of the six teams looked at each other, their eyes filled with exhaustion, vigilance, and suppressed anger.

"That punch just now, you did it on purpose, right?"

The female cultivator from the Ice and Snow Holy Land spoke first, her gaze coldly sweeping toward the Broad-faced Man of the Great Sun Holy Land.

Her sleeve had a tear, and there was a shallow bloodstain on her arm, caused by the grazing wind of that punch just now; it was currently emitting Qi, scorching the area around the wound until it turned red.

Hearing this, the Broad-faced Man snorted coldly, stiffening his neck as he retorted: "Fists and feet have no eyes, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for standing in the wrong place. Instead, it was your Ice and Snow Holy Land's ice needles that almost pierced my Junior Brother's eye just now. What, you are allowed to scheme against others, but we aren't allowed to slip up? And what about you, Four Seasons Holy Land..."

"Bullshit! It was clearly you who deliberately lured the monkeys toward our side!"

The leader of the Four Seasons Holy Land, Zhang, could no longer hold back, his face ugly as he pointed at the Junior Brother next to him whose arm was wrapped in cloth.

"This wound on my Junior Brother's arm was caused by your people. Do you really think our Four Seasons Holy Land is easy to bully?"

"Stop arguing!"

The Youth in Python Robe suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying a hint of majesty that suppressed everyone's dispute.

He swept a glance around the crowd and said in a deep voice: "What's the use of arguing now? The people have already been transported out. If you really want to settle accounts, wait until we leave the Secret Realm and go back to our respective Sect elders to reason it out."

After speaking, he raised his hand and pointed at the golden fruit on the tree, his eyes sharp as he said: "The most important thing now is these three fruits. I think you all know that we have wasted several days here, and there is no telling how many people are hiding around waiting to pick up cheap gains. If we really fight to the death and end up letting others snatch the fruits, none of us will have the face to return to see our Sect elders, and we will have failed the Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who were forced to be transported out of the Secret Realm."

The crowd fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

These words were correct. The fighting had been so intense these past few days, yet there had been no movement in the surroundings; clearly, they were all watching from the shadows.

If they really started infighting, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't rush out to reap the benefits.

By then, not to mention the golden fruit, they probably wouldn't even get a few silver fruits.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

The thin and tall Loose Cultivator toyed with his short dagger, eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"Three fruits, six groups of people; we can't chop them into six pieces, right? If we really rank by strength, us brothers aren't necessarily worse than anyone else."

"Naturally, the capable shall possess them," the Youth in Python Robe said lightly.

"But not by fighting hard. If we really fight hard, we will all be severely injured. By then, let alone making a Breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Copper Bone Realm and going to the snowy mountains to fight for Opportunity, it will be hard to say if we can even walk out of this fruit grove. My meaning is, we set rules, compete for the three spots based on ability, and those who lose take compensation and leave the field. This way, it won't hurt our harmony, and it won't let people come for nothing."

Hearing this, this proposal touched everyone's heart.

Everyone was tired from fighting and afraid of the snipe and clam fighting, with the fisherman reaping the benefit.

If they really fought to mutual destruction, it would only benefit the onlookers in the dark.

"Fine. Then let's say, who gets eliminated first?"

The Broad-faced Man crossed his arms, full of confidence, his gaze sweeping over the Loose Cultivator team.

"You only have two people left. When the Monkey King rushed over just now, you were the ones who retreated first, and it almost broke through our encirclement and escaped. With just this bit of ability, you are qualified to fight for the golden fruit?"

The thin and tall man's face changed, and just as he was about to retort, he saw the gazes of the other five teams fall squarely on him, carrying undisguised oppression.

His heart sank, and he sighed secretly.

He knew that his team now had the fewest people, the weakest strength, and had also taken the blame for almost letting the Monkey King go; if they really clashed head-on, they definitely wouldn't get any benefits.

If things really turned ugly, it was possible the five teams would join forces to send them out.

He gritted his teeth, weighed it for a moment, and finally relented: "Leaving the field is fine, but the compensation cannot be less. Twenty silver fruits, ten for each of our brothers, plus one hundred Low Grade Yuan Stones. Otherwise, we will fight to the death, and no one will be able to pick the fruits in peace! If it comes to that, nobody gets to have them!"

"Fine," the Youth in Python Robe nodded readily.

"The silver fruits and Yuan Stones will come from the public share later. You take your people and retreat a hundred zhang away first; you are not allowed to come near again. If you dare to secretly pull any tricks, don't blame us for joining forces and being impolite."

Hearing this, the thin and tall man took a deep look at the golden fruit on the tree, his eyes full of unwillingness.

In the end, he snorted coldly, put away his short dagger, and led his subordinates to retreat sullenly to the distance, standing behind a tree and staring gloomily at the crowd in the field.

Having resolved the Loose Cultivator issue, five teams remained.

The Youth in Python Robe turned his head to look at the Bearded Man of the military forces, gave him a wink, and the two walked behind a tree to the side to converse in low voices.

"Uncle Wang, it's about time."

The youth's voice was very low, the arrogance on his face gone, replaced by a bit of steadiness and a fawning expression, a completely different person from the spoiled prince who would scold his subordinates at the drop of a hat.

"The three Holy Lands are banding together externally. I want to securely obtain one golden fruit, so you guys shouldn't fight for it."

The Bearded Man frowned, his bell-sized eyes full of unwillingness:

"Your Highness, this isn't appropriate, is it? The brothers have risked their lives accompanying me, and several have even been lost. To just retreat empty-handed like this, I fear the men below won't be convinced."

Hearing this, the Youth in Python Robe calmed down, his eyes firm as he spoke solemnly.