180: Chapter 180 The Persistent Black Ape

Great Elder Jian Sanyuan took a deep breath, his voice as cold as ice shards: "Pass the order, all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, enter the mountain immediately."

Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Xuanqingzi turned to look at him: "What about the rules? The seven-day time limit for the Qi Refinement Stage has not yet passed."

"Rules?"

Great Elder Jian Sanyuan turned his head in surprise, looking into Sect Leader Xuanqingzi's eyes, unable to comprehend for a moment what kind of twisted logic Sect Leader Xuanqingzi was using.

"Look for yourself at how many people have died on the mountain, and you still want to talk about rules?"

The news spread.

The camp had already descended into complete chaos.

The leading Elders of various Sects rushed out of their tents one after another, each with an expression uglier than the last.

The camp had completely exploded.

All Sects began to advance toward Taiyue Mountain.

...

At this moment.

In the middle section of Taiyue Mountain, the bamboo forest.

The emerald green bamboo was denser than it had been three years ago, with stalks as thick as arms and layers upon layers of bamboo leaves completely blocking out the sky.

Mist surged between the bamboo, but it thinned out once it reached this place, as if it had been absorbed by the bamboo.

Lady Hua sat on a bluestone, her pale green dress spread across the stone surface, the hem stained with a few bamboo leaves. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady, as if she were waiting for something.

At the entrance of the bamboo forest.

A black figure strode in.

The Black Ape King's footsteps were heavy; he arrived here with a menacing Aura.

"Madam Hua!"

The Black Ape King walked up to Lady Hua, looking down at her as she sat on the bluestone, his fists clenched tight, knuckles cracking.

"I previously only thought that you wanted to avenge Zhu Feng and kill some of the Human Race to vent your anger."

The Black Ape King's voice was very low, but every word carried irrepressible rage, "But what are you doing now? You are actually condoning your subordinates to interfere with the trial and slaughter the Human Race!"

His chest heaved violently, his short black fur standing on end, and his Demon Power surged within his body like a volcano about to erupt.

"Do you know what this means?!"

Lady Hua did not open her eyes.

"I know what you are thinking."

"I remember Zhu Feng's vengeance, and I also want to spill the blood of the Human Race. But not like this! You are dragging the entire outer Yao Race to their graves with you!"

Lady Hua finally opened her eyes.

Those pale green pupils were as calm as a stagnant pool of water, without a single ripple.

"Black Ape, every Third-Rank Great Demon in Taiyue Mountain now has their own goal."

"Only you..."

"I am truly very disappointed in you as well."

"It is useless to say more to you, but I can tell you that from now on, the Yao Race of Taiyue Mountain will no longer live in such humiliation."

The moment the words fell, Madam Hua raised her hand, and the entire bamboo forest came alive.

"Hum~"

Those emerald green bamboos seemed to have been injected with life; the stalks shot up violently, the bamboo leaves grew wildly, and the bamboo roots burst from the ground like countless green pythons, surging toward the Black Ape King from all directions.

The speed was astonishingly fast; before the Black Ape King could even react, the bamboo had already wrapped around his ankles, calves, thighs, waist, chest, arms, and neck.

The bamboo stalks intertwined, like a cage, trapping him in place.

The Black Ape King's pupils constricted violently.

"Madam Hua!"

He let out a roar, and his Demon Power exploded from within his body.

Black light enveloped his entire body. He thrust his arms outward violently, veins bulging and muscles swelling, wanting to break the bamboo on his body.

But the bamboo did not move an inch; it even wrapped tighter.

He looked down at the bamboo wrapped around his arms; the bamboo stalks were as thick as arms, their surfaces shimmering with a layer of pale green spiritual light, and fine bamboo thorns had grown from the bamboo joints, their tips gleaming with a cold light as they pierced into his fur.

"How is this possible!!"

The Black Ape King gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, concentrated all his Demon Power into his arms, and thrust outward violently.

"Break for me!!!"

"Boom~"

The bamboo made creaking sounds, and the stalks were bent slightly from the strain, but they did not break.

Furthermore, for every ounce of strength he exerted, the bamboo tightened by an equal amount, as if an invisible hand were controlling everything.

A few breaths later.

The Black Ape King panted heavily, his deep black pupils filled with disbelief. He was a Third-Rank Great Demon, and he considered himself the strongest existence besides the Mountain Master.

But at this moment, he was trapped by a few bamboo stalks and unable to move, unable to even unleash his Demon Power.

Those bamboo stalks did not just trap his body; the spiritual light attached to the bamboo was also suppressing his Demon Power, pushing the surging strength within his body back down bit by bit.

He looked up, watching Madam Hua with eyes full of disbelief.

Madam Hua sat on the bluestone, her hand already withdrawn and resting back on her knees.

Her expression had not changed at all; one could even say she had not taken this conversation seriously at all.

"Madam Hua!" The Black Ape King's voice was no longer as tough as before, "You should know that if this continues, the Mountain Master will definitely awaken."

"You should also know that we all have restrictions on us..."

"So what!"

The bamboo forest returned to silence; the bamboo leaves stopped rustling, and the bamboo roots stopped squirming. Only the Black Ape King, trapped in the bamboo cage, panted heavily, his body wrapped in green bamboo, like a flying insect trapped in a spider web.

He struggled a few times, but the bamboo cage remained motionless.

The bamboo forest was quiet. The wind had stopped.

Subsequently.

At the entrance of the bamboo forest, a wisp of black mist seeped out from the ground, slowly spreading like a water stain, condensing, surging, and gathering within the mist, finally transforming into a slender figure.

The person who arrived was none other than Su Wanyue, who had been missing for a long time.

She wore a black dress, the hem trailing on the ground without gathering a speck of dirt, her long hair draped behind her shoulders.

Su Wanyue walked up to Lady Hua, stopped, lowered her head, and bowed.

Her movements were light and slow, but every detail was executed meticulously. Her black dress spread out before the bluestone like a black flower blooming in the night.

"My Lady."

Her voice was deeper than it had been three years ago, lacking the youthful innocence of a girl, and possessing a bit more of the coldness that did not belong to the living.

"The Power of Incense has all been prepared according to your instructions."

Lady Hua opened her eyes and looked at Su Wanyue without speaking. Those pale green pupils lingered on Su Wanyue for a few breaths, as if observing her cultivation, or perhaps observing her determination.

Su Wanyue did not look up, maintaining the bowing posture, motionless.

"Mm."

"I will abide by the agreement I made with you back then."

"If you can survive this tribulation, I will return your freedom."

Su Wanyue's body trembled slightly upon hearing this.

"Thank you, My Lady..."

Su Wanyue straightened her body, then raised her right hand.

Golden light surged in her palm, and three incense sticks condensed from the light; they were as thick as chopsticks, about a foot long, golden throughout, with three thin wisps of smoke drifting from the tips, very faint, barely perceptible.

She held them in both hands and presented them to Lady Hua.

"My Lady, the Power of Incense of Lord Tunming is all here."

"Mm."

Lady Hua nodded and looked up at Su Wanyue.

"From now on, just follow my orders."

Su Wanyue nodded: "Understood."