The four little ones rapidly entered the Elder Ape's cave dwelling, and Mo Zhui, an "old Jianghu" who had blended in with Immortal Mountain, dueling wits and bravery with humans and beasts for ten thousand years, keenly smelled the stench of brain matter and blood.

As they searched further into the cave, indeed, they saw human skin wrapped around a skeleton on the ground.

"This person had their skullcap opened from the top, and had their essence energy and fresh blood all sucked away in one breath, killing them; otherwise, the skin wouldn't look like this, still so lifelike."

They were all Plant Spirits, accustomed to absorbing decaying organic matter for sustenance, so they felt no fear at all. Instead, they gathered around the skin to analyze the cause of death.

"Who killed him?" Jin Moxiang, still very naive, asked innocently.

"Do you even need to ask? It was definitely that old ape we saw earlier!" Mo Ying, the youngest and yet quite shrewd, replied.

"How do you know that?"

"Didn't you see that old ape's eyes? And the fangs beneath his lips? Didn't you hear the sound of him quietly swallowing when he looked at us?" Mo Ying rolled his eyes dramatically.

The Ganoderma Immortal also expressed concern: "I also feel that Elder Ape is not right, as if he is under some demonic influence."

Mo Xiang said, "But Daddy told us to come find him if we encountered danger. He couldn't have intended to harm us deliberately, to lead us into a trap to be eaten by him, right?"

"Daddy only told us to find him if we were in danger; he didn't say he had to be a good person! A bad one might also help us escape danger!" Mo Ying gave another dismissive glance.

The gazes of the three young ones finally fell on Mo Zhui, who held the highest Dao Level and the strongest mana among them, and whose wits and Jianghu experience were unmatched even by the millennial Queen Mother Grass.

He said, "This old ape indeed does not seem trustable. Daddy sent us to him, probably knowing he has a grudge against those chasing me. We'll wait for them to fight, then sneak away..."

Before he could finish his sentence, fighting broke out outside. The Elder Ape extended his ten fingers, releasing Taiyin Heavenly Gang Sword Qi. The Taiyin Heavenly Gang Sword Qi, usually stored within the body and merged with the Elder Ape's essence energy, became an even more formidable weapon than real blades when used, lying somewhere between spell and magical treasure.

The Demon Sword swallowed the Elder Ape's Primordial Spirit and essence blood, and naturally, it had to swallow these ten strands of Sword Qi too. But the sword itself was a treasure sword that had acquired the Elder Ape's spiritual energy. It felt innately connected to these ten strands, which it then assimilated with its own Sword Qi. Although it was not yet perfectly refined for use, it was still functional. While not as varied as when the Elder Ape was alive, its inherent power had nonetheless increased considerably.

The ten strands of Sword Qi, no longer five blue and five white, now glowed with a crimson light. The blood-red beams shot straight forward, striking directly at the masses within the dark clouds. Astonishingly, the Ape Demon attacked Xuanyuan Dharma King's disciples, not just outnumbered but fearless, and seemingly intending to dominate decisively!

Blood Rock Hermit and Poison Hand Mo Shen were startled to see these ten strands of blood-red Sword Qi. They knew of the Elder Ape's Taiyin Heavenly Gang Sword Qi from hearsay, familiar with its supposed composition of five blue and five white beams of light. Yet, to witness it transformed into such an evil-red intensity was shocking, even more sinister than anything of their own!

Both hastily released three Flying Forks and the Seven Killings Demon Saber, while their junior disciples released their own flying knives and flying swords to collectively block the ten strands of Sword Qi.

The Ape Demon, with violent rage and blood-red eyes, howled ferociously, launched into the air, and directed the ten strands of Sword Qi upwards into the sky. Poison Hand Mo Shen led his junior disciples wielding swords and treasure swords in an intense battle with the Ape Demon.

As for Blood Rock Hermit, noticing the abnormality of the Elder Ape, capturing the four Immortal Herbs was their original mission; dueling with the Ape Demon was merely an interlude.

He hurried into the Elder Ape's cave dwelling, where he encountered the Elder Ape's five adopted sons – little apes selected from among the mountain apes, whom he cultivated diligently. Having developed intelligence, each was capable of wielding Flying Swords and possessed some mana. Known as the "Five Immortal Apes," they performed feats before local villagers, hailed as miraculous.

The five apes, originally gathering herbs in the rear mountain, rushed over upon seeing the commotion in front to understand what was happening. The Elder Ape had cultivated and managed multiple cave dwellings for hundreds of years at Yellow Dragon Mountain, indulging in comfort. Desiring the Vitality of the Southeast in spring, he would open a dwelling in the southeast. To escape the summer heat, he'd make another in the shaded valley to the north. When seeking the harsh Qi of autumn to sharpen his Sword Qi, he'd choose a sunny spot on the mountain peak, and in winter, to avoid the cold, he'd pick a well-lit southern location.

With numerous tunnels interconnected within the belly of the mountain, the Five Immortal Apes did not cross the mountain, out of natural fear of the rumbling dark clouds and the frequent flashes of Golden Light Thunder, but took a tunnel instead. Thus, at one of the cave entrances, they happened to run into Blood Rock Hermit.

The Five Immortal Apes didn't recognize Blood Rock Hermit and asked, "Who are you..."

Suddenly, from behind them, Mo Zhui's voice erupted, "Brother Ape, retreat quickly! He's a villain!"

Mo Zhui cried out, but as he did, Blood Rock Hermit had already made his move. With a flick of his hands, his right hand threw out a cluster of Blood Flame Flying Needles, and his left spewed out a stream of black gold smoke like a floating ribbon, flying forward and enveloping the Five Immortal Apes within it.

This fellow was also of Sect Leader Level, and the Five Immortal Apes' mana paled in comparison. Now taken by surprise and attacked furiously, how could they withstand it?

Just as the Five Immortal Apes were about to lose their lives on the spot, suddenly, three light rings flew from behind them.

Back in the day, Shi Feiyang obtained four magical treasures from the Shaqing Immortal Mansion in Golden Stone Gorge and gave the Heaven and Earth Qingning Ring to the Mo brothers.

He had told them that if he directly passed the usage method to them, they could only barely use it, like a three-year-old child wielding a Myriad Jin Iron Hammer, carelessly risking both body and soul being destroyed. Shi Feiyang taught them the principle behind it, letting them comprehend the usage on their own.

These three rings contained the major principles of the Heavenly Dao, Earth Dao, and Creation Path.

After listening, the three brothers had been constantly contemplating and nourishing the rings through sacrificial refinement over the years, and now they had become one with the persons and the treasures, able to exhibit boundless mystical uses.

The Heavenly Phenomenon Circle that Mo Zhui received emitted a ring of azure light, shooting out ten thousand azure streaks, within which wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning appeared.

Mo Xiang's Earth Spirit Circle released a golden light ring, spewing out Infinite Golden Stars, transforming into wind, thunder, and the Five Escapes.

When Mo Ying's Matter Spirit Circle was released, it transformed into dragons, tigers, phoenixes, and a multitude of Immortal and Saint figures from Ancient Times.

The three rings, each only the size of a bowl, flew from behind the Five Immortal Apes to their front. Spinning furiously and spraying colorful light, they generated a powerful suction. First, the Earth Spirit Circle on the right sucked in all the Blood Flame Flying Needles shot by Blood Rock Hermit, the multicolored thunderbolts producing and countering one another. Like everything was confined within the bowl-sized golden light ring, there was a dense succession of explosive bursts, and in an instant, all the Demon Needles blew up into dust.

On the other side, the Heavenly Phenomenon Circle continuously absorbed the black gold Evil Qi. Inside, winds rushed and clouds surged as if another universe existed within. The black gold Evil Qi was quickly scattered by the churning storm clouds and vanished altogether.

The Matter Spirit Circle in the center was the most powerful and had the most divine effects. While the other two were primarily defensive, Mo Ying's was offensive. Dragons, tigers, phoenixes, and vermillion birds flew out one after another, directly attacking Blood Rock Hermit.

Blood Rock Hermit's magical treasure was indeed formidable, but unfortunately, it met these three circles and was caught off guard. In the blink of an eye, it was all destroyed. The Matter Spirit Circle emitted light upon encountering the opponent, shining directly onto him. He hastily spread out a Seven Treasures Blood Butterfly Robe on his body, waved his sleeves, turned into a streak of blood light, and flew backwards several dozens of feet away.

The three brothers had previously used the Heaven and Earth Qingning Ring, and Blood Rock Hermit knew its tremendous power. He did not directly charge at it. Instead, he sneered coldly, dodged, turned into streaks of blood light, and scattered in all directions, vanishing within the dense Evil Qi surging in the air.

The Five Immortal Apes were startled; they hadn't even recovered when suddenly, they found themselves walking a thin line by Ghost Gate.

Looking back and seeing four tiny figures, they were all very surprised and quickly asked, "Who are you? Could you be the Immortal Medicine Sprites sent by our master?"

Mo Zhui, with a serious face, hurriedly ushered the Five Immortal Apes into the inner cavern and, pointing at the human skin and bones on the ground, asked, "Do you recognize this person?"

The Five Immortal Apes chattered and came over to pull the skin apart, "Judging by the clothes on the ground, it seems like our eldest brother, but he wasn't this slack. This face stretched out is so big; it doesn't quite look like him."

Mo Zhui said, "He had already been harmed when we came in. Your master... must have encountered some misfortune."

The Five Immortal Apes refused to believe it, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Our master is endowed with great divine abilities and has boundless mana! Apart from that little monk and little girl who came some time ago, our master never suffered a defeat. What could have possibly happened to him? Those who came from outside, what were they?" They were still shaken recalling the head-on blow from Blood Rock.

Mo Zhui said, "They are disciples of the ancient freak of Xuanyuan, with high mana, and we cannot defeat them either. Your master... We should have helped him and joined forces to fight them, but given the state of your master, it doesn't look right, and we dare not act rashly now. So, have a careful look. Your master, Elder Immortal Ape, does he usually look like this?"

The Five Immortal Apes went outside, looked left and right, finding the world filled with dense Evil Qi like thick ink. With their vision, they could only see about ten feet away. They heard the loud bangs and sharp cries mixed with shouts of anger and screams of agony from the sky, but they couldn't see what was happening clearly. They couldn't even determine where their master was.

Mo Zhui saw a flash of red light within the nearby black clouds, hurried everyone back into the cave, and set up three prohibitions at the entrance.

Once inside, he stretched out his small hands, forming a spell and grasping towards the ground. He pulled out a stream of cool underground water, drew it into his mouth, mixed it with his own mana, and sprayed it back out. In front of everyone, it formed a water curtain, suspended like a clear mirror, and within it was a ball of pitch-black clouds. Elder Immortal Ape was fighting inside, his eyes blood-red, his fingers emitting blood light, grinding his teeth, battling back and forth.

He asked the Five Immortal Apes, "Is this your master?"

The Five Immortal Apes scratched their heads, "By appearance and dress, he looks like our master, but his eyes were never this red, and the color of his Sword Qi is also wrong. Our master's is both green and white, but this is all red."

Mo Ying felt these five little apes were all fools, "Clearly apes are smarter than other animals, so why are you five so stupid? Just now, that one was clearly your eldest brother being drained of all his Essence Blood by a demon, leaving only a flayed skin! And now this old ape is evidently your master who has entered the Demon Path! Can't you even recognize this? You've been studying the Dao for more than a day or two, yet you are a bunch of fools, unable to recognize your own master!"

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