The ruyi’s black light struck the long tail and instantly knocked it backward. Then an enormous figure more than two zhang tall suddenly revealed itself.
Boom! Boom!
Two thick lower limbs slammed heavily onto the ground, making the earth groan dully beneath them.
Only then did everyone realize that the demon beast was an Iron-Hide Giant Ape. Its eyes were blood-red, its entire body dark gray-black, and its arms were so long that they hung well below its knees.
Behind the giant ape was an enormous tail as thick as an adult’s thigh, like a heavy weapon in its own right. Even the slightest brush from it would split skin and flesh and leave blood pouring freely.
The ruyi had knocked its tail away without injuring it in the slightest. Instead, the blow enraged the Iron-Hide Giant Ape. It planted itself squarely in front of them, and its red eyes filled with both fury and greed.
That single exchange had at least won Wang Yingwu a chance to catch his breath. He immediately retreated several steps and raised a hand to recall the ruyi.
That had already been his full-strength attack, yet it had failed even to damage the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s hide. It was deeply discouraging.
Wang Yingwu exclaimed, “What kind of demon beast is this?”
Wang Xing was widely experienced and naturally knew the answer. “It is indeed a second-rank demon beast, called an Iron-Hide Giant Ape. When it advances in rank, its fur turns golden. Young Master, look. Its fur is still black-gray, without a single golden hair, so its cultivation is only at the early stage of second rank. There is no need for concern.”
Wang Yingwu nodded. “I see. I’m two levels below it now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I can’t fight it.”
Wang Xing said, “In that case, we will stand by and guard the Young Master.”
Wang Yingwu drew a breath, gripped the ruyi in his hand, and leaped back into the fight to confront the Iron-Hide Giant Ape.
The three Wang family cultivators spread outward so they would not obstruct the clash between Wang Yingwu and the ape.
Nian Hongzhi said to Xu Ziqing, “Fellow Daoist Xu, Young Master Wang’s cultivation is still somewhat below the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s. We should make some preparations.”
Xu Ziqing thought this reasonable as well. “What does Fellow Daoist Nian suggest?”
Nian Hongzhi said, “Second Brother and I mainly use offensive techniques, but we do have a set of formation flags that can lay down a mist formation. If the Iron-Hide Giant Ape tries to escape, it will certainly become trapped inside. Unfortunately, the formation cannot withstand much impact. Does Fellow Daoist Xu have any method that could help?”
Xu Ziqing thought for a moment. “I do have a method I can use. If it charges over, I should be able to stop it for a while. Fellow Daoist can then change the formation flags accordingly, and there should be no problem.”
Nian Hongzhi glanced at Wang Jun and showed a faint smile. “Excellent.”
Taking the hint, Wang Jun immediately pulled a set of seven palm-sized flags from his storage pouch. Each had a blue field patterned in white, with spiritual light blazing across its surface.
Nian Hongzhi cupped his fists. “The two of us brothers will set up the formation first. Fellow Daoist Xu, please make your preparations quickly as well.”
Xu Ziqing replied, “Please go ahead, Fellow Daoists.”
Nian Hongzhi and Wang Jun each took several of the small flags and began murmuring incantations, occasionally sending one flying toward a different position. A thin layer of white mist immediately rose from the flags, almost present yet almost invisible. The formation had been successfully laid out but had not yet been activated. Once everything was in place, they would only need to send spiritual power into it for the formation to take effect at once.
Seeing the two brothers working diligently, Xu Ziqing naturally did not hold back. Wang Yingwu’s safety was already protected by several Wang family cultivators, so Xu Ziqing’s task was to prevent the Iron-Hide Giant Ape from escaping and allow Wang Yingwu to gain as much training as possible.
He pressed his palms together. Green light shimmered between his fingers, and dozens upon dozens of vines quickly shot forth.
The vines were bright green and full of life. At a movement of Xu Ziqing’s thoughts, each stretched longer and gradually interwove into a dense net.
The green net swept backward close to the ground, then spread open in every direction. It hung in front of the formation and behind the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s escape route.
More vines immediately sprang from Xu Ziqing’s palms and wove into a second great net, which he hung to the ape’s left. Then he formed a third and placed it on the right.
Apart from the path behind Wang Yingwu, the ape’s other three directions were blocked by enormous nets, while farther back the still-unactivated formation waited like a predator. The Iron-Hide Giant Ape was practically surrounded so tightly that not even wind could pass through.
Xu Ziqing exhaled and lightly wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.
Although his cultivation was already fairly good, producing so many vines in succession and weaving them into upright nets still cost him a fair amount of effort.
Nian Hongzhi and Wang Jun did not miss this. Both smiled, then quickly finished arranging their formation as well. However, they had sent very little spiritual power into it, so naturally they had expended very little themselves.
Meanwhile, Wang Yingwu stood facing the Iron-Hide Giant Ape. A layer of black light flickered around the ruyi, appearing and withdrawing unpredictably yet giving off considerable power.
This ruyi was called the Eight-Star Ruyi. It was a middle-grade magical artifact shaped like a lingzhi mushroom, with a cloud-shaped head. Eight unusual stars were carved into that cloud head, each possessing a different function, which was how the artifact received its name.
Wang Yingwu’s cultivation was still insufficient, so he could activate only three of the eight stars, but even those already held tremendous power.
“First Star: As Refined Steel!”
Black light wrapped around the entire ruyi and formed a protective shell. When it had clashed with the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s long tail earlier, that had been the effect of the First Star.
Activating the First Star now likewise turned the ruyi into a weapon that could directly contend with the Iron-Hide Giant Ape.
The Iron-Hide Giant Ape was already furious. Two streams of white vapor blasted from its nostrils as it looked down at the weak cultivator below. It clenched both hands into fists, swung its arms up, and smashed them down with all its strength.
Bang! Bang!
Dust exploded into the air. The Iron-Hide Giant Ape possessed astonishing strength, and the strike actually smashed two huge pits into the ground.
Wang Yingwu leaped by reflex, retreating a full half-zhang before barely escaping the shock through the ground. He was horrified. Seeing the might of those iron fists, how could he still dare block them directly with the ruyi? Even with the protective shell around it, the artifact could not withstand such power.
A vicious grin appeared on the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s face, its eyes filled with savage bestial cruelty. After the strike, it did not raise its arms again. Instead, it abruptly twisted its waist, bent both legs slightly, braced one hand against the ground, and whipped the other arm outward with all its strength. Smack!
The arm seemed to lengthen by several chi in an instant and was about to strike Wang Yingwu. Wang Yingwu had only just felt relieved that the ruyi had survived the previous blow. Now, thrown into confusion, he could only trade the artifact for a chance to survive. With a flick of his hand, he sent the ruyi flying out once more, directly colliding with the giant ape’s iron fist.
Crack! Crack!
A sharp sound rang out. The protective shell around the ruyi split, and several cracks appeared across its cloud-shaped head under the giant ape’s tremendous force. It could no longer be used with such brute force. If the cloud head shattered, the magical artifact would be ruined.
Wang Yingwu had escaped disaster, but seeing the ruyi suffer such severe damage made his heart ache terribly.
Still, the Iron-Hide Giant Ape was no easy opponent. Since Wang Yingwu had chosen it for training and his life was not in immediate danger, he could not simply stop. He still had to use the ruyi.
Using the Wind-Riding Art to float a little higher, Wang Yingwu gritted his teeth and activated another of the ruyi’s unusual stars.
“Second Star: As Blazing Fire!”
The giant ape’s entire body was covered in iron hide. Iron belonged to metal, and fire overcame metal. This should work!
Red light flashed from the Second Star. Flames instantly wrapped around the ruyi, turning it from pitch-black to glowing red as the surrounding air rapidly grew scorching hot.
Wang Yingwu held the ruyi by its handle. No longer willing to throw it out, he murmured several phrases, suddenly blew a mouthful of spiritual power onto the artifact, then raised it high.
Whoosh!
A column of fire shot from the cloud-shaped head and rushed straight toward the Iron-Hide Giant Ape.
Rolling heat struck the ape squarely in the chest.
The Iron-Hide Giant Ape immediately released a furious roar so loud that everyone’s eardrums buzzed.
When the difference in cultivation was not too great, fire overcoming metal was indeed an absolute principle.
Scorched by the flames, the Iron-Hide Giant Ape retreated rapidly while slapping both hands against its chest. It quickly extinguished the fire, but by then it had already backed away several chi. No longer willing to continue fighting, it turned as though to flee.
Nian Hongzhi called out, “Fellow Daoist Xu, please act!”
Xu Ziqing had already noticed the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s intention to escape. He immediately raised his right arm and swept it lightly toward the left.
The enormous green net behind the ape instantly obeyed, shifting forward to block its retreat. The ape tried to flee left, but the net on that side moved across as well. When it turned right, the right-hand net came rushing toward it.
The giant ape could not fly and could only seek an escape route along the ground. With three directions blocked, its only remaining path was to eliminate the little third-layer Qi Refinement cultivator in front of it.
Seeing that the Iron-Hide Giant Ape feared fire and now had nowhere to escape, Wang Yingwu was delighted.
If he could keep the ape here and defeat it, he would have overcome an enemy two levels above himself. Regardless of whether others were guarding the field for him, it would still count as a major gain from this training.
He seized the opportunity at once, raised the ruyi again, and sent another blast of fire from the cloud-shaped head straight toward the Iron-Hide Giant Ape.
This wave of flame was even more astonishing, turning the surroundings fiery red as it surged forward.
With nowhere to flee, hatred showed on the Iron-Hide Giant Ape’s face.
Yet it was not stupid. Its enormous body suddenly rolled across the ground with startling agility, dodging the fire and causing the flames to rush instead toward the vine net behind it.
“Not good!” everyone cried out.
The Iron-Hide Giant Ape was extremely cunning. Knowing that fire could overcome it, it deliberately guided the flames toward the vine net. If the fire caught, not only would the ape avoid the attack, it could also use the flames to burn itself an escape route.
For a second-rank demon beast to possess such intelligence, it seemed they might truly lose it.
Nian Hongzhi was displeased as well. He had only laid down the formation for show. His real intention was to force Xu Ziqing to expend spiritual power. He had not expected the giant ape to be so crafty. Did he really have to activate the formation? If he did, he too would expend a considerable amount of spiritual power, and his earlier plan would have been wasted.
But if he refused to activate the formation, would that not openly reveal to Xu Ziqing that his earlier words had been false? That might alert their target.
While he hesitated, Wang Jun hurriedly reminded him, “Big Brother, there will be plenty of other opportunities. Don’t let irritation ruin the plan!”
Nian Hongzhi nodded heavily and suppressed his impatience, deciding to act. Yet when he looked over, Xu Ziqing was smiling faintly without the slightest trace of unease. Something stirred in Nian Hongzhi’s mind, and he stopped his hand.
The flames roared across the vine net, instantly turning it into a net of fire.
The vines should have burned to black ash. Instead, although the flames spread across the entire enormous net, after a single breath they rapidly weakened and went out.
Only then did everyone realize that the vine net gleamed with moisture and was thoroughly wet. No matter how fierce the fire was, it could not ignite the vines in that state and could only die away unwillingly.
The vine net had not burned, which delighted Wang Yingwu.
Xu Ziqing raised a finger again. The three vine nets closed in from all sides and completely bound the Iron-Hide Giant Ape, leaving it unable to move or exert its tremendous strength.
Naturally, Wang Yingwu would not miss such an excellent opportunity. He immediately chanted, “Third Star: As a Thunder Spear!”
The ruyi abruptly changed form, actually creating the phantom of an ancient-looking long spear wrapped in lightning. It stabbed forward with tremendous force.
There came the unmistakable sound of flesh being pierced. The spear crackled as it penetrated the giant ape’s iron hide and drove straight into its vital organs.