Chapter 747: The Daoist Descends, Taming the Mind-Ape; Demonstrating Martial Arts in the Mysterious-Yellow Realm (Combined Chapter)

"Knows when to bow and when to stretch, eh?"

Looking at the natural smile on that hairy face, Li Yuan felt a surge of genuine respect well up within him.

Over the years, he had not been idle in gathering intelligence on Yuan Yuan Changsheng; contact with the bronze coffin spirit had been lost, but within the nether realm he had reaped some gains.

It was a mission posted several dozen epochs ago, long since expired, something Ying Mo Shen had spotted while reviewing past mission notes—only a few words and phrases, yet they had startled him greatly.

Yuan Yuan Changsheng had not been boasting before; this violent ape truly bore the title of the foremost demon renowned across ten epochs!

Such an overlord of demons, bowing his head just like that…

"Many thanks, senior."

Li Yuan's thoughts whirled, yet he cupped his hands in thanks before accepting the two immortal peaches.

The moment those two radiant-gold immortal peaches landed in his hands, a strange fragrance seeped into his very soul; the slight fatigue from his recent fierce battle against the Five Dragon Immortal was swept clean, his divine realm trembled faintly, and his magic power grew lively and agile.

"What senior?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Yuan Yuan Changsheng's eyes; then, in a flash, his towering frame shrank to a height of about seven chi: "If little brother doesn't mind, just call me Brother Ape!"

"Brother Ape!"

Li Yuan seized the pole and climbed at once.

'This little Wang Ba is no pushover!'

A glint of something unusual flashed in Yuan Yuan Changsheng's eyes, but he flung out his sleeve and cupped his hands: "It's been long since your brother saw anyone; I was somewhat Tang Tu last time—pray don't take offense, little brother."

'This old monkey won't be easy to tame!'

Li Yuan muttered inwardly, swiftly adjusted his mindset, cupped his hands in return, and repeatedly said he wouldn't dare.

He hadn't taken the ape's words at face value. Apart from anything else, this old monkey spoke of brotherhood yet hadn't even asked his name—clearly appearing humble while in truth remaining as fierce and untamed as ever.

"This peach is called the 'Law Peach.' It is a great medicine and spirit root your brother obtained in years past; later, that old gentleman transplanted the tree here to serve as my daily rations."

Yuan Yuan Changsheng sat down on the ground.

At this moment, not a trace of savagery could be seen on him; his fur had even grown smoother, and though his clothes were tattered, he carried quite the air of a true cultivator of the mystic gate.

"Law Peach?"

Li Yuan was naturally one who could keep his composure; he too sat down on the ground, seemingly very curious about the tree.

"This peach has many wondrous uses—boosting magic power, strengthening one's origin need not even be mentioned, most great medicines can do that. Its greatest wonders are two: one is seclusion from the world, the other is extending lifespan."

Yuan Yuan Changsheng casually plucked a peach from the tree and slowly gnawed on it.

"Seclusion from the world, extending lifespan?"

Li Yuan didn't rush to taste the peach, but followed his gaze toward the peach tree.

This peach tree was not within any seal; it appeared to be rooted in the Eternal Suppression Star, but in truth its roots probed into the void. Focusing closely, one could see the tree breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, even drawing in divine patterns to strengthen itself.

"For us cultivators, regardless of race or realm, yang-lifespan is but twenty thousand years—but that twenty thousand is the limit achievable only by cultivating Shan Xuan Gong and consuming great medicines.

Without the aid of great medicines and Shan Xuan Gong, even the Origin Divine Race has a yang-lifespan of only sixteen thousand."

By the time Yuan Yuan Changsheng finished speaking, the two great peaches had been eaten down to nothing but pits, which he twirled in his hand: "As for seclusion from the world…"

He paused briefly, saw that Li Yuan was quite interested, then said:

"Take little brother you, for example. If your cultivation has neared a bottleneck and you don't wish to expend yang-lifespan, you need only hold an immortal peach in your mouth and feign death beneath the tree. You can lodge your lifespan in the tree, and through the long passage of time break through the bottleneck—yet without any loss to your own lifespan."

"This peach is actually that precious?"

Li Yuan was greatly shocked, and hesitated as if wanting to return the immortal peach: "Brother Ape, I cannot accept this peach…"

Though it was partly an act, he was genuinely somewhat astonished within.

If Yuan Yuan Changsheng's words were true, the value of this Law Peach tree was likely far beyond what he had anticipated.

"You and I, brothers, hit it off at first sight—a mere few peaches, what are they worth?"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng waved his hand, quite generously: "If little brother likes them, you may take the entire tree of Law Peaches!"

"This…"

Li Yuan appeared deeply moved, seeming quite torn with longing and hesitation; then, in a flash, he gritted his teeth and stood up:

"When an elder bestows, one dare not refuse… in that case, many thanks to Brother Ape for gifting the peaches!"

Having said that, he swept his wide sleeve, about to gather the entire tree of Law Peaches into his sleeve.

"?!"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng's eyelid twitched, and he slapped out at once—but then caught himself, converting the slap into a press, pinning down the cuff of Li Yuan's sleeve:

"There are specific techniques for picking these Law Peaches; don't be hasty, little brother—later, your brother will personally pick them for you..."

This little Wang Ba actually wants my whole tree of Law Peaches?!

The smile he squeezed out was no longer quite natural; Yuan Yuan Changsheng nearly failed to suppress his fangs, knowing full well he had still underestimated the lad before him—the latter clearly intended to bargain with him.

"In that case, many thanks to Brother Ape."

Li Yuan sat down with evident reluctance, then in a flash took a bite of the immortal peach.

The immortal peach entered his mouth; the juice was sweet, and an intensely rich fragrance surged into his soul, leaving him somewhat intoxicated, as if drinking fine wine.

"Hum~"

The divine realm trembled faintly in response.

Li Yuan split his attention to sense within, and felt his magic power surging—the speed was actually over a dozen times that of the Dao-Comprehending Tea; in just a few breaths, he actually felt as though his magic power had greatly increased.

However, compared to the surge in magic power, the immortal peach's nourishment of spell techniques was negligible; but the three Shan Xuan Vine trees all stretched out their branches and leaves, gaining tremendous benefit.

Especially the smallest one, which had actually grown taller by nearly a thousand zhang!

'That was just one bite!'

Li Yuan's eyes lit up greatly; in two or three bites he stuffed the entire peach into his mouth, and just then came a 'plop'—the Shan Xuan Vine mother tree's branches and leaves swayed, and the third tree-seed matured and fell to the ground.

"How is the taste?"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng's expression was natural, masking the ache in his heart.

Apart from the old man and that old ox, he had never let anyone eat his peaches, not even those great demon kings who called him brother.

"Truly a great medicine!"

Li Yuan praised it effusively, then ate the remaining one as well.

*Splash splash~*

Within the divine realm, magic power surged and churned. The mystic vine mother tree swayed once, and two more tree seeds dropped down.

Li Yuan's mind stirred, and he tossed the three tree seeds into Wang Yang according to their positions. With several thunderous booms, three young mystic vines burst from the ground.

Nurtured by the immortal peach tree, they shot up rapidly—in the blink of an eye, they had grown over three thousand zhang, and the other two child trees were already as tall as the mother tree!

The mystic vine mother tree did not break past the ten-thousand-zhang limit, but its branches and leaves grew ever more lush, and the Mystic Vine Island visibly expanded by several great rings!

The azure dragon and sun nest coiled around the mother tree also received tremendous benefit—especially the azure dragon, whose body swelled and contracted from time to time, as if undergoing a metamorphosis.

"……"

Watching Li Yuan gulp down two law peaches like that, Yuan Yuan Changsheng's face twitched. Even he, with his eight-zhang-tall body, ate peaches in small bites.

Seeing Li Yuan look back at the immortal peach tree again, Yuan Yuan Changsheng forced a smile:

"Has little brother eaten his fill?"

"This peach is sweet and delicious, but sadly I ate too fast and didn't get to savor the flavor…"

Li Yuan was truly still unsatisfied: "Forgive me, Brother Yuan. Truly, I've never tasted anything this fine."

"Hehe~"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng couldn't help scratching his cheek, then gritted his teeth and plucked two more immortal peaches to hand over.

Li Yuan accepted them all, but no longer gulped them down—instead, he savored them in small bites.

The efficacy of these law peaches was staggering; his divine realm churned restlessly, hard to digest.

"No matter how fine a peach, eat too many and it loses all flavor."

Yuan Yuan Changsheng sighed long: "Eternally imprisoned in the stars with no passing years, I've already forgotten what the spirit cuisine of the outside world tastes like…"

That sigh of his carried deep emotion.

Despite his wariness, Li Yuan couldn't help being moved—sourness, grievance, and a sudden emptiness welled up all at once, nearly bringing tears to his eyes.

*……*

Cursing inwardly, Li Yuan decisively switched his control. Relying on the shock the Supreme Mystery Sword Scripture dealt to his mind, he pulled free—and then, under Yuan Yuan Changsheng's startled gaze, rose to his feet.

"Brother Yuan, wait a moment. This little brother will go outside right now to buy some spirit cuisine…"

"?!"

Do I look like I want to eat?!

Yuan Yuan Changsheng felt a surge of unholy fury rise in his chest. His tusks instantly flared outward, and a savage, murderous aura shook the entire starry sky.

"How dare you toy with me?"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng's eyes blazed like fire as he stared at Li Yuan, each word bitten off slowly, as if he would unleash thunderous wrath the next instant.

"Whatever makes Brother Yuan say so?"

Li Yuan was startled but not flustered, feigning surprise while sneering inwardly.

An old ape that his patriarch had imprisoned here—no need to think, it had to be an extremely dangerous great demon king. For a fierce brute like this, any attempt at friendship or flattery was utterly useless.

He had come precisely to provoke this old ape's fury—and then, with overwhelming force, extinguish that fury!

Otherwise, this peerless demon king wouldn't even look at him properly.

"Fight me!"

Yuan Yuan Changsheng's voice was hoarse and low: "Beat me, and every law peach on this tree is yours!"

He was forcefully suppressing his killing intent, because beyond driving this boy back, it served no purpose.

"Good!"

Knowing the moment was ripe, Li Yuan uttered a "Good!" and strode toward the stone stele inscribed with the Dao character "Three."

"Hm?"

His swift agreement made Yuan Yuan Changsheng's heart tighten inexplicably, but he felt himself overly suspicious. Cutting off the stray thoughts, he strode after him.

……

*Hum~*

Inside the bronze coffin, all was silent. The bronze coffin spirit was carefully choosing words to advise her when, suddenly hearing an odd sound, it looked toward the source—and saw ripples flowing across the light screen.

The next instant, Li Yuan's figure appeared.

"He's gone again to… no, that's not right!"

The bronze coffin spirit froze, then immediately woke Yu Yu Xuanji, who had not yet fallen asleep: "My lord, Li Yuan is going to fight that monkey!"

"Hm?"

Yu Yu Xuanji looked at the light screen and saw a ferocious ape with bared tusks—and her heart tightened inexplicably.

She felt a vague unease.

Previously, the bronze coffin spirit had tried many times but could not glimpse the second trial of Mi Jing—yet now it had suddenly appeared…

"Yuan Yuan Changsheng—that monkey!"

Before the light screen, the black cat's fur bristled just at the sight of that monkey.

This was a peerless great demon who had attained the Dao through an unorthodox path, suspected of having lived a second life. Once it broke free, even she wasn't sure she could escape.

"Little Black."

Yu Yu Xuanji soothed it briefly, then focused intently on watching the battle.

Compared to the day-after-day desolation inside the bronze coffin, even the fighting and killing she had once disliked gave her a feeling of being alive.

……

"Vroom~"

The instant he touched the stone stele, Li Yuan felt the void before his eyes resemble a multi-layered, wrinkled sheet of paper, flattened by immense force and stretching infinitely in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a vast starry sky, where countless falling stars crisscrossed and flowed, dreamlike and illusory.

At the same time, he felt an indescribable spiritual pressure descend; in an instant, he felt a wave of weakness, from within to without, from his soul and spiritual realm to his magic power, Gu Gu Shentong, and physique.

All were suppressed back to the Third Realm!

"Roar!"

The next instant, a ferocious and violent ape roar exploded directly in his sea of consciousness.

Li Yuan spun around abruptly, feeling the starry sky brighten as if two great suns had suddenly risen, a most ferocious spiritual pressure driving straight to his brow.

That supreme demon king from the Tenth Epoch of Origins launched his first strike, which was, in fact, a sneak attack!

Its speed was extremely fast; Li Yuan had only a moment of daze due to his realm's fall, and that giant ape had already traversed ten thousand li of void, its five fingers splayed wide, as if it intended to crush his skull along with the ten thousand li of starry sky into pieces!

Ferocious, cruel, and brimming with murderous intent!

"The momentum is even above that of the Old Sword Lord..."