58: The Iron-Boned White Ape King

On both sides of the empty valley, several white apes were moving through the trees.

Their leaping speed was even faster than wild horses galloping on land.

Ahead of the white apes, a tattered martial artist was fleeing frantically.

He ran while constantly looking back, his delicate face already filled with panic.

He clutched a package tightly in his hand, never letting it go no matter how panicked he was.

It was precisely because of this item that he was being pursued by the white apes behind him.

The exit of the valley was getting closer and closer; once out of the valley, he would be free from the territory of the White Ape Clan.

He seemed to have already seen the hope of escaping with his life.

However, at this moment, a bolt of lightning struck in front of him with lightning speed, and the impact of the lightning raised a large amount of dust from the ground.

This scene not only made him temporarily stand still, but even the white apes pursuing him stopped.

When the smoke and dust dispersed, a giant Three-Headed Dog appeared in his line of sight.

He retreated several steps in horror, only to run forward in surprise again when he saw two human martial artists beneath the monster.

Lin Mu was teleported here by the teleportation array, and as soon as he landed and stood firm, he saw a handsome human running towards them with an excited expression.

Before the newcomer even got close, he anxiously said, "Junior from the Wind and Snow Country..." He was about to introduce himself when he suddenly widened his almond eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Is that you?"

The newcomer's tone seemed to indicate that he recognized Lin Mu.

However, Lin Mu searched his memory but couldn't recognize him.

"You know me?" Lin Mu asked.

The newcomer caught his breath slightly and said, "Junior once had the honor of witnessing Senior strike the heavenly dao bell on Heavenly Saint Mountain."

Lin Mu had already noticed that the newcomer was a woman disguised as a man as soon as he got close; even though she used special cultivation techniques to hide her feminine features, Lin Mu could tell from her movements that she was a woman.

At Heavenly Saint Mountain, although there were many people, Lin Mu remembered that there were only a few women.

There was only one woman with an outstanding appearance, and that was the woman standing beside the Ninth Prince of Yan Country.

Lin Mu compared them in his mind, and upon closer inspection, they indeed bore some resemblance.

In fact, Lin Mu's guess was correct; this person was indeed Yan Ruxue, who had participated in the heavenly dao bell trial back then.

Yan Ruxue felt a bit unnatural under Lin Mu's gaze, and she awkwardly spoke again, "I don't know why Senior is here. Junior is being pursued by several demonic apes. Please, Senior, help me. Junior will be eternally grateful."

Yan Ruxue didn't actually trust Lin Mu much; she had witnessed Lin Mu's ruthless methods on Heavenly Saint Mountain.

Her words were merely a tactic to use one danger to ward off another.

Lin Mu looked at Yan Ruxue and said unequivocally, "Give me what you have in your hand."

He sensed the aura of the Power of the Heavenly Dao within that package.

Yan Ruxue hadn't expected Lin Mu to ask for the item she had risked her life to obtain; this item was extremely important to her.

After much hesitation, her attitude became a bit more humble, and she slowly bowed with her hands raised above her head, saying,

"Senior, this item is crucial to me. Junior can exchange it for something else."

"In front of me, you have no right to bargain," Lin Mu's tone grew a bit colder.

The Three-Headed Dog, as a loyal henchman, heard Lin Mu's slightly displeased tone and, understanding his meaning, lowered its massive head.

Its lantern-like eyes stared at Yan Ruxue, and it impatiently said, "Hand over the item. Say one more word, and this great master doesn't mind having another meal."

Yan Ruxue had never experienced such a situation before; she was so scared by the Three-Headed Dog that she fell to the ground, not even realizing that the package in her hand had been flung away.

The Three-Headed Dog was quick-eyed and quick-handed, picking up the package and delivering it to Lin Mu's hand.

Lin Mu took the package and gently opened it.

A bronze triangular cauldron/censer appeared before his eyes; the cauldron/censer was only the size of two palms. The space inside the furnace wall could only fit a heavenly dao stone.

The faint Power of the Heavenly Dao seemed to seep out from the inner wall of the cauldron/censer.

Lin Mu observed it for a while, found nothing special about the cauldron/censer, and casually tossed it back beside Yan Ruxue.

Yan Ruxue was about to reach for the cauldron/censer when a white figure suddenly flashed past, and the cauldron/censer on the ground disappeared.

Looking again, it had actually appeared in the hands of that white figure.

After a moment of stunned surprise, Yan Ruxue looked up and realized that the Demonic King of the White Ape Clan had caught up.

The White Ape King carefully put away the cauldron/censer, then looked at the people in front of him with an unfriendly expression.

When he saw the Little White Tiger behind Lin Mu, he suddenly pounded his fists against his chest several times, and his expression became furious.

"How dare you, Tiger Clan, collude with humans to steal our White Ape Clan's sacred artifact!"

The Little White Tiger poked out his head and innocently said, "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. If I say I was coerced, would you believe me?"

The White Ape King bared his fangs and roared, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child? From today onwards, my White Ape Clan and your Tiger Clan will be sworn enemies until death!"

While the White Ape King was pounding his chest and stamping his feet, Lin Mu interrupted him, "I don't even care for your broken thing, but I am curious, where did you get that cauldron/censer from?"

The White Ape King was immediately enraged when Lin Mu called his clan's sacred artifact a broken thing.

He let out a roar, conjured a long staff from somewhere, and smashed it towards Lin Mu.

"Die, human! How dare you covet my clan's sacred artifact? You deserve to die!"

This strike was like Mount Tai pressing down, with a force of tens of thousands of pounds, twisting and deforming the air with its terrifying power.

Yan Ruxue, who was within the attack range, was now pale with fright, her delicate body pressed to the ground by the huge air current, unable to move.

Lin Mu, however, faced the White Ape King's attack without changing his expression, calm and composed.

He merely extended two fingers and flicked them onto the long staff.

The White Ape King, holding the long staff, felt a massive, overwhelming force transmit from the staff to his hands.

He was instantly shaken by this force, causing his hands to release the long staff.

The long staff broke free from the White Ape King's hands and shot backward like a meteor, flying thousands of meters away until it embedded itself in a mountain peak.

Yan Ruxue suddenly felt the terrifying force disappear, and she abruptly looked up, seeing this scene, utterly stunned.

This man was actually so terrifying.

Her group of ten, including her master and two Venerable Realm experts, had all died under the White Ape King's staff.

Only she had escaped by relying on a protective treasure.

Yet, this man before her had merely flicked his fingers and repelled that terrifying blow.

Suddenly, she let out a bitter laugh; she had previously wanted to recruit him into her ranks, which was simply overestimating herself.

Lin Mu flicked away the long staff and calmly said, "I'll make an exception and give you one chance. Tell me where you got that cauldron/censer, and I'll spare your life."

Lin Mu's tone was like that of a lofty emperor issuing an imperial decree to his subjects.

The White Ape King's blood immediately rushed to his head upon hearing Lin Mu's condescending tone.

"My White Ape Clan has been passed down for ten thousand years; we have never had the habit of living on our knees."

After speaking, he extended his right hand and beckoned, and the long staff, thousands of meters away, flew straight back into his hand.

"Children, attack! Today, either they die, or my White Ape Clan perishes!"

Following his roar, hundreds of white apes leaped out from the jungle.