Chapter 569

Shh!

Chen Mu's figure glided like a ghost through the valley mouth littered with bleached bones.

A piercing wind howled like the chorus of countless vengeful spirits, raging wildly within the narrow, deep gorge, slamming against the ears and spirit of any intruder.

Thick, gray-black demonic energy flowed slowly like a living thing through the valley path, obscuring vision and eroding the protective true qi.

Chen Mu suppressed his aura to its utmost limit, blending into the shadows, moving soundlessly along the rugged, slippery valley path toward its depths.

He did not follow the route marked on Hong Luan's map exactly; instead, relying on his acute perception of sword intent and energy fluctuations, he chose paths where the demonic energy was relatively thinner yet still retained faint traces of sharp dao resonance.

After advancing about three or four li, the gorge ahead suddenly widened, revealing a gourd-shaped depression.

In the depression, strange rocks stood like a forest, piles of white bones formed small mounds, and at its center lay a dark pool emitting bone-chilling cold.

Just as Chen Mu was about to step into this depression—

Boom—!

A thunderous, earth-shaking roar erupted from deep within the depression.

Accompanied by violent tremors of the earth and two terrifying bestial roars filled with savagery.

"Roar—"

"Ssiiiaaang!!"

The roars shook the cliff walls, causing rocks to crumble and fall; even the ever-present wailing wind was momentarily silenced.

Chen Mu's eyes hardened, he halted instantly, his body clinging like a gecko to the shadow of a protruding boulder, completely concealing his aura, merging with the surrounding rocks, shadows, and demonic energy.

Quietly extending his spiritual sense, like the softest of tendrils, it spread toward the source of the roar.

There, at the deepest part of the depression, near a cliff wall pockmarked with battle scars—especially the massive, dark-purple lightning-flowing sword mark—he saw two colossal beasts locked in furious combat.

One was a giant ape over ten zhang tall, its body covered in dense, needle-like dark-gold fur, muscles knotted like hills, fangs bared, eyes blazing crimson as blood.

The ape wielded no weapon; with only a pair of fists the size of houses, each swing carried the power to split mountains and shatter rocks, its punch winds churning the surrounding demonic energy into chaos.

Its aura was wild and domineering, brimming with pure force—clearly at the early stage of the Tiangong realm.

Yet its body bore several deep wounds, down to the bone; its dark-gold fur was soaked in blood, clearly having suffered grievous injuries in prior battles.

Opposing the ape was a giant one-horned serpent over thirty zhang long, its body as thick as a water barrel, covered in dark-blue, metallic-gleaming rhombic scales, crowned with a single horn, its triangular serpent eyes glinting with cold cunning and cruelty.

The serpent moved like lightning, its massive body weaving nimbly through the depression, striking with its horn, lashing with its tail, and occasionally spewing dark-green venom mist laced with poison and corrosive power.

Its aura was icy and malevolent, equally at the early stage of the Tiangong realm; many of its scales were shattered or fallen, revealing raw, bloody wounds beneath—clearly it too had suffered greatly under the ape's terrifying strength.

These two Tiangong beasts had erupted into a sudden, violent battle for reasons unknown.

Each collision shook the earth and sky; the residual energy waves pulverized the strange rocks and white bones within the depression.

Chen Mu held his breath, watching silently.

He had no intention of interfering in the beasts' fight; he only wished to wait until one prevailed or both were wounded and departed, then investigate the Purple Thunder Sword Mark.

But the battle did not last long.

Though the ape's strength was ferocious, its wounds were severe, and it seemed wary of the serpent's venom mist and agility.

The serpent, though cunning and venomous, struggled to withstand the ape's relentless, death-defying onslaught.

"Roar!"

The ape seized an opening, smashing one fist hard into the serpent's whipping tail, shattering several scales and bending the tail into an unnatural angle.

Meanwhile, the serpent's venom mist sprayed again across the ape's face, causing it to roar in pain and fury, its vision momentarily blurred.

Both colossal beasts let out frustrated roars, realizing neither could defeat the other in the short term.

The serpent retreated first, its massive body sliding like liquid into a dense fog of demonic energy at the depression's edge, its cold serpent eyes locking onto the ape with a threatening hiss.

Then its form vanished entirely into the mist, its aura swiftly receding.

The ape panted heavily, standing in place, scanning the surroundings warily—especially the direction where the serpent had disappeared—confirming it had truly withdrawn, not hidden in ambush.

Only then did it slump to the ground, leaning against a massive rock, extending its palm-sized hands to press against its deepest wounds, dark-gold blood oozing steadily between its fingers.

It breathed heavily, its crimson eyes filled with exhaustion, pain, and a sliver of relief after victory.

At that moment, the ape's keen beastly senses seemed to sense something amiss.

It spun its head sharply, its crimson eyes like two searchlights instantly locking onto the boulder where Chen Mu hid!

Though Chen Mu had concealed his aura perfectly, the residual shockwaves and scent of blood from the battle had still alerted this keen-sensed beast to an anomaly.

"Hrrr?"

The ape emitted a low, questioning, wary growl; its massive body tensed slightly. Though wounded, the terrifying pressure of a Tiangong beast still slowly spread outward.

Chen Mu knew he could no longer hide.

He had no desire to clash with this wounded beast, but since he'd been discovered, there was no need to panic.

Slowly stepping out from behind the rock's shadow, his figure appeared minuscule beside the ape's colossal form, yet his aura remained steady, showing not a trace of fear.

The ape stared at Chen Mu, its crimson eyes flickering with surprise—it had not expected the hidden figure to be such a tiny human.

But the faint aura emanating from Chen Mu, one that even this beast found subtly oppressive, caused it to hold back from attacking immediately, watching him warily instead.

Chen Mu's mind raced; his gaze swept over the ape's grotesque wounds and the weariness and longing for recovery in its eyes.

A thought struck him—he recalled the several spirit fruits he'd casually plucked in the Spring Hall of the Four Seasons Secret Treasury.

One of them, the "Shengsheng Zao Hua Fruit," had extraordinary efficacy in healing wounds, restoring blood and qi, and replenishing primordial energy; its nature was mild, offering great benefit even to beast-kind.

Instantly, his hand flicked, and in his palm appeared a fist-sized fruit, emerald green and dripping with vitality, radiating rich life force and a fragrant aroma.

It was the "Shengsheng Zao Hua Fruit."

Chen Mu said nothing; he merely flicked his wrist, tossing the fruit toward the ape.

The motion was casual, yet precise—the fruit landed squarely before the ape.

The ape froze, instinctively extending its massive paw to catch the tiny emerald fruit, no larger than a bean in its sight.

As the fruit touched its palm, the pure, vast life force and enticing fragrance instantly revived its spirit!

It could sense that this tiny fruit would greatly aid its recovery.

The giant ape glanced at the fruit in its palm, then at Chen Mu; its wariness lessened slightly, but its confusion deepened.

Yet instinct and the craving for recovery drove it to bring the fruit to its nose, sniff it, confirm it was not poisonous, then swallow it without hesitation.

Gulp.

The moment the fruit entered its belly, a warm, mellow, and immensely vitalizing heat surged forth from within, racing swiftly through its limbs and bones.

The deepest wounds tingled and itched; blood flow slowed noticeably, and fine tissue buds began to wriggle and grow.

Its depleted blood qi and primordial qi were clearly replenished.

The giant ape let out a comfortable low growl; its exhaustion faded significantly, and its gaze toward Chen Mu shifted from wariness to unhidden longing.

"Roar! Roar!"

The giant ape growled twice, extended its massive palm toward Chen Mu, making a "more" gesture, its crimson eyes brimming with anticipation.

Chen Mu smiled faintly, not withholding, and pulled out two more "Shengsheng Zao Hua Fruits," tossing them over.

These two fruits would stabilize the giant ape's injuries and restore a substantial portion of its primordial qi.

The giant ape rejoiced, swiftly catching them, and swallowed them whole.

Even greater vitality unfolded within its body; its wounds improved at a visibly rapid pace, and its aura recovered considerably.

It excitedly pounded its thick chest, producing a dull "thump-thump," and its gaze toward Chen Mu now carried traces of familiarity and gratitude.

"Roar?"

The giant ape growled once more; this time, its voice held less bestial fury and more of an intent to communicate.

Though it could not speak human words, having reached the Heavenly Palace Realm, its spirit had awakened, allowing it to convey intent through simple mental fluctuations.

Chen Mu clearly received its meaning.

"Human, you gave me such fine fruit—what do you want? This territory? Or..."

The giant ape's gaze flicked toward the dark purple lightning-streaming sword scar on the cliff face nearby.

Chen Mu shook his head and transmitted his intent directly into the giant ape's mind via spiritual sense.

"I have no interest in territory. I seek only to comprehend the sword intent within this scar. I must remain still and focused. Could you guard me for a while? In return, I will give you another spirit fruit afterward."

Chen Mu's request was simple: he merely wanted this powerful giant ape, which had just received his favor, to deter any other disturbances while he meditated on the sword scar.

For the giant ape, this was an easy favor—and it would earn another spirit fruit. Why not?

Upon hearing this, the giant ape blinked its crimson eyes, as if pondering.

Soon, it nodded its massive head firmly, letting out a low growl; a mental pulse transmitted its reply.

"No problem! You helped me, I'll watch for you! Whoever dares disturb you, I'll crush them with one blow!"

Saying this, it swung its massive fist in a show of force, stirring up a gust of wind.

Chen Mu nodded in thanks and kept his word, pulling out another "Shengsheng Zao Hua Fruit" and tossing it to the giant ape.

The giant ape happily caught it; this time, it did not eat it immediately, but carefully cradled it in its claws, as if planning to savor it slowly—or take it back to its den.

It wasted no time, dragging its greatly improved bulk to the opposite side of the cliff where the scar lay, finding a relatively flat rock, and settling down comfortably.

As it licked its scabbed wounds with a rough tongue, it widened its crimson eyes, vigilantly scanning the entrance to the depression and the surrounding area, fulfilling its duty as guardian.

With this Heavenly Palace Realm giant ape standing guard, no ordinary beast or evil spirit would dare approach unless another being of equal level arrived.

Seeing this, Chen Mu no longer hesitated; he turned and walked toward the dark purple lightning-streaming sword scar.

The closer he drew, the clearer and heavier the overwhelming sword intent pressure became.

Dark purple lightning swirled within the scar; each flicker seemed like a heavenly thunderclap exploding in Chen Mu's spiritual sea, shaking his soul.

Facing the sword intent's assault, Chen Mu sat cross-legged three zhang away from the scar.

Closing his eyes, he sank all his spirit into comprehending the sword scar.

He ceased resisting the sword intent's pressure, instead attempting to use his own sword intent as a guide—to touch, resonate, and decipher the purple thunder sword intent contained within the scar.

In an instant, countless thunderclaps exploded within Chen Mu's spiritual sea.

Countless fragmented images, insights, and rule patterns surged into his spiritual sea like a flood, pouring through the channel of resonating sword intent.

Chen Mu "saw" a towering figure wreathed in purple lightning, wielding a divine sword, as if a thunder god descended from heaven, summoning myriad thunderbolts and slashing his sword toward an endless darkness that engulfed heaven and earth!

That single slash was so swift it transcended time, so fierce it shattered space; it carried not merely the destruction of thunder, but also the will to judge evil and purify the cosmos.

He "saw" the swordlight pierce the darkness, collide with and annihilate an even more terrifying and bizarre force, until both faded into stillness, leaving behind only this scar—imbued with fragments of both forces' essence and battlefield miasma—unworn for three thousand years...

Countless truths of sword dao flowed into Chen Mu's sword foundation like the purest nourishment.

His own sword intent, stimulated and nourished by this external force of supreme yang and hardness, began to boil, transform, and ascend.

The fifth-level sword intent, previously stable and nearly complete, now trembled and expanded under this external infusion.

Time flowed swiftly within deep comprehension.

Around Chen Mu, faint golden-red sword light began to radiate involuntarily; within the light, purple lightning serpents flickered and slithered.

His aura grew steadily more refined and elevated.

The guarding giant ape, sensing the intensifying sword intent emanating from Chen Mu, flickered with surprise in its crimson eyes, then watched the surroundings with even greater vigilance.

How long passed—perhaps a day, perhaps several days—no one knew.

The Chen Mu seated before the scar suddenly drew in all his aura.

All golden-red sword light and purple lightning serpents vanished into his body.

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.

In the instant his eyelids parted, two razor-sharp sword lights—so refined they seemed capable of slicing through space—flashed and vanished from within his pupils.

A sword intent, purer and more complete, now subtly infused with the qualities of "thunder-purging evil" and "invincible penetration," erupted from his body and surged skyward.

Though not as vast or ancient as the scar's three-thousand-year-old sword intent, its purity and sharpness signaled a qualitative leap.

Sword intent—Sixth Level!