"WHOOSH!"

Qin Feiyang's expression darkened as he took Lu Xingchen back into the ancient castle.

"If it keeps guarding outside, we might be trapped here forever," Lu Xingchen said.

In that case, let alone finding Ren Duxing, even getting to the mountaintop would be a fool's dream.

"It's fine," Qin Feiyang said. "We both have plenty of resources. Let's see who can outlast the other."

With that, he walked to the offering table and continued to trace the ninth stroke of the War Technique.

Every moment was precious and couldn't be wasted now.

Lu Xingchen watched Qin Feiyang's back, his lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, he said nothing and also sat cross-legged to meditate.

The Monkey King remained squatting outside, apparently determined not to leave until it had killed them both. However, as time passed, the Monkey King began to grow restless. After waiting for a full month, it finally lost patience, turned, and returned to the mountaintop.

「The following day.」

Qin Feiyang stopped tracing and muttered, "A month has passed. It must have left by now!"

WHOOSH!

In a flash, he appeared at the bottom of the sinkhole.

Seeing no trace of the Monkey King, he quickly returned to the ancient castle and closed the iron box.

After a month of tracing, the final stroke of the War Technique was more than halfway complete. He estimated that in another month at most, he would be able to master the War Technique!

He looked at the Pangolin Beast and said, "Don't rush to your cultivation. Help me with something first."

Five months had passed since they entered the Land of Ruins. The cultivation of Fatty and the others had been skyrocketing, and the Pangolin Beast was no exception. It had now reached the War Emperor realm—a Two-star War Emperor, no less. Its speed was worlds apart from before.

The Pangolin Beast opened its eyes and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Lu Xingchen also opened his eyes, looking at Qin Feiyang curiously.

"Your specialty," Qin Feiyang said. "Digging."

The Pangolin Beast immediately grew angry and roared, "Let me declare again, my specialty is *not* digging!"

"ER..." Qin Feiyang was taken aback and teased, "Then what is your specialty?"

The Pangolin Beast said proudly, "This king has many specialties! For example, in battle, taking on ten opponents at once is no problem at all for me."

Qin Feiyang's face twitched. He chuckled, "Then you go deal with that monkey."

"HA!" The Pangolin Beast gave a dry laugh. "Such a trivial matter is best left to you. It would be an utter waste of this king's talents."

"Shameless!" Qin Feiyang rolled his eyes at it, too lazy to waste more words. He took the Pangolin Beast and Lu Xingchen and appeared inside the deep pit.

The two humans and one beast flew out of the pit, hovering in the air above the jungle.

Qin Feiyang pointed to the distant mountaintop and said to the Pangolin Beast, "Dig your way there!"

"Piece of cake." The Pangolin Beast chuckled smugly, landed on the ground, reverted to its true form, and began to dig.

In less than five breaths, a huge, dark hole appeared in the ground.

Qin Feiyang said to Lu Xingchen, "You go in first. Remember to conceal your aura."

Lu Xingchen swooped down and entered the dark hole.

After about a hundred breaths, a cold light flashed in Qin Feiyang's eyes. He tapped his index finger in the void four times.

Immediately, four Invisible Forces roared out in four directions, slamming into the nearby mountain range.

BOOM!!!

Accompanied by a series of tremendous rumbles, everything within a radius of several thousand meters was instantly turned to dust!

At the same time, many Blackrock Monkeys also had their blood spilled on the spot!

"ROAR!" The Monkey King's furious roar resounded from the mountaintop.

Immediately after, Qin Feiyang saw a streak of light shoot out from the peak, streaking violently towards his position.

Damn monkey, the real show is yet to come. Qin Feiyang sneered, then whirled in mid-air and darted into the dark hole like lightning.

As he entered the dark hole, he waved his hand, and his Battle Intent surged in all directions. The ground around the entrance instantly caved in and fissured. The entrance was immediately buried under earth and rock!

When the Monkey King arrived and saw that Qin Feiyang had vanished again, it flew into a rage.

「Inside the tunnel!」

Qin Feiyang concealed his aura and, after pursuing for about a hundred breaths, finally caught up with Lu Xingchen and the Pangolin Beast.

Lu Xingchen asked, "Did you just fight the Monkey King?"

"No." Qin Feiyang shook his head.

Are you kidding? The Monkey King is incredibly strong. Fighting it would be asking for death!

Lu Xingchen asked, "Then what was all that commotion just now?"

"I killed some Blackrock Monkeys and sealed the entrance as well," Qin Feiyang replied.

"Why kill them?" Lu Xingchen was puzzled.

"To lure the Monkey King out, of course," Qin Feiyang explained. "If the Monkey King were on the mountaintop, we wouldn't dare show ourselves even if we reached it. But now, it will surely think we're still hiding in the ancient castle and will definitely wait there for some time. This period is our chance to sneak onto the mountaintop."

Lu Xingchen was secretly amazed. He plans everything so meticulously, leaving no loose ends. This Qin Feiyang's mind is truly beyond compare to that of ordinary people.

The Pangolin Beast's digging ability was also unparalleled. No matter how hard the rock it encountered, it could dig a passage straight through.

Qin Feiyang watched curiously for a while, then asked, "Pangolin Beast, can you dig directly to the mountaintop?"

"Obviously," the Pangolin Beast snorted disdainfully. "This king could dig there with my eyes closed."

Qin Feiyang smiled and said no more.

About an hour later, the Pangolin Beast began to dig upwards at an incline.

A while later, after less than another hour of digging, the Pangolin Beast suddenly broke through the surface, and light reappeared.

The two humans and one beast darted out, landing on a large boulder and scanning their surroundings.

This was indeed the mountaintop! All around were scattered boulders and overgrown weeds. Verdant ancient trees, with dense foliage, stood like giant umbrellas along the edge of the peak.

The Pangolin Beast's gaze suddenly fixed on a certain spot. It exclaimed in surprise, "Quick, look! There's a cave over there!"

"A cave?"

Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen turned to look. About a hundred meters behind them, they saw a dark cliff face. Moss grew on it, and a kind of emerald green vine crisscrossed over the surface, covering every nook and cranny.

And right in the center of the cliff face was a gaping cave entrance, easily ten feet wide!

"Let's go check it out! Maybe there's some treasure inside," the Pangolin Beast said.

"Treasure?" Qin Feiyang was dismissive. This cave is probably the Monkey King's Cave Mansion. The Alchemist is very likely inside.

"Just in case, you should return to the ancient castle first," Qin Feiyang said to the Pangolin Beast.

"Alright, this king will go back to cultivating," the Pangolin Beast replied readily. It knew that with Qin Feiyang around, even if there were treasures in the cave, it wouldn't get a share.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Feiyang sent the Pangolin Beast into the ancient castle. He then turned, walked to a large tree at the edge of the mountaintop, and peered down.

Although he couldn't see the Monkey King from this vantage point, he could clearly sense its ferocious aura.

Lu Xingchen walked over to Qin Feiyang's side and said with a smile, "It really fell for the trick."

Qin Feiyang gave a faint smile. "Let's go. We'll go inside and take a look."

The two turned and walked to the cliff face.

Lu Xingchen took a deep breath and whispered, "Be careful."

Qin Feiyang nodded.

Just as Lu Xingchen was about to enter the cave, Qin Feiyang glanced at the ground. His pupils suddenly contracted. He quickly grabbed Lu Xingchen, saying sharply, "Hold on!"

The sudden development startled Lu Xingchen, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Look there," Qin Feiyang pointed to the ground beside the cave entrance.

Lu Xingchen looked, his eyes filled with confusion. The ground was inlaid with some kind of black stone, which had become worn and damaged by the erosion of time. Vines crawled over the stones, and there were many dead leaves; he couldn't see anything strange.

No, wait! There's a patch of ground, about three to four meters across, with no vines, no moss, and no dead leaves! All the other places have them, but this spot alone doesn't. That's clearly illogical!

Qin Feiyang pondered for a moment, his gaze suddenly flickering. He said in a low, solemn voice, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be where the Monkey King usually sits."

"What?" Lu Xingchen paled in shock.

If that's true, doesn't that make the Monkey King the Guardian of this cave? We originally thought the cave was the Monkey King's Cave Mansion. We never expected it was merely *guarding* this cave. What on earth is lurking inside?

They stood before the cave entrance, not daring to advance another step, their gazes flickering.

Qin Feiyang gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "Damn it, we're going in!"

"Right! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Lu Xingchen nodded.

Mustering their courage, the two stepped into the cave. It was lightless inside, creating a gloomy and dim atmosphere.

Qin Feiyang opened his palm, and fiery Battle Intent surged forth, illuminating the area.

So, it's just a passage. The passage sloped downwards. The two proceeded cautiously along it.

Soon, they felt the air turn cold. The further they advanced, the colder the temperature became!

After about a dozen breaths, a faint crystalline glimmer suddenly appeared ahead.

They weren't mistaken! It wasn't firelight, nor the glow of a Luminous Pearl or a Moonlight Stone; it was like the subtle radiance emitted by crystals in the darkness.

Holding their breath, the two moved forward silently. The temperature continued to plummet! A layer of frost had already formed on their eyebrows and hair. It was a shivering, bone-chilling cold! As they drew nearer, the crystalline glow became more distinct.

After a few more breaths, the two finally saw the source of the light clearly.

It was ice!

About a dozen meters ahead lay an ice grotto, formed entirely of ice blocks. Reaching this point, an icy chill assaulted them, bringing a piercing, bone-deep pain!

Gritting their teeth, the two walked to the front of the ice grotto, surveying it all with shock and doubt.

It doesn't snow in this place, and the weather outside isn't cold, so how could an ice grotto exist here? Moreover, this ice shows no signs of melting. This clearly defies common sense. And even if it were just ice, it shouldn't be able to glow in the dark! Could it be that this isn't ordinary ice?

"EH!"

Suddenly, Qin Feiyang's gaze focused as he peered deep within the ice.

There was a blurry figure deep inside! Am I seeing things?

Lu Xingchen noticed it too and found it utterly incredible. Both of them rubbed their eyes simultaneously and looked again intently. The blurry figure was still there.

Not an illusion! It's really there! The figure is about 1.7 or 1.8 meters tall. Judging from its silhouette, it appears to be a person.

Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen stood there, staring at the figure within the ice, completely unsure of what to do next.

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