This place is fun

Chapter 188 Ghost Ape
Su Daoshan put away the map and entered the depths of the chaotic land, heading towards Shijing Town.

The scenery of the Chaotic Lands is unique and magnificent. There are waterfalls hanging upside down from the sky, colorful clouds spreading out at your feet, lava flowing like rivers, and hills floating in the air...

The difference between the different spaces is enormous. The previous place was sunny and peaceful. The next place was swept by raging winds, and the world was desolate.

However, with the gyroscope compass guiding the way, these chaotic spaces with their upside-down directions and numerous illusions completely lost their mystery in Su Daoshan's eyes.

To others, this was an insurmountable maze of death. But to him, it was like his own backyard, where he could wander as he pleased and even pick some fruit at will.

Because of his promise to Song Xier, Su Daoshan noticed many spirit fruits along the way, but he was not greedy. Apart from picking them casually as he passed by, he ignored any that were off course or too far away.

Even so, he had already collected more than two hundred spiritual essences before he was even halfway there.

Especially after entering the depths of the Chaotic Land, in a chaotic space several miles in length and width, one could often find two or three Spiritual Essence Fruits. This gave Su Daoshan the feeling of Ali Baba opening the door to a treasure trove.

However, while there are no extraordinary martial artists deep within the Chaotic Lands, there are quite a few spirit beasts and spirit demons. And these creatures are Su Daoshan's biggest competitors for the Spirit Essence Fruit.

Earlier, in a chaotic canyon, Su Daoshan had just found a ripe spirit fruit by following its scent, but before he could get close, a level four silver-eared spirit fox snatched it away first. Even when Su Daoshan released Xiao Hei, he couldn't catch it in time.

What's most infuriating is that this guy actually looked back at Su Daoshan as he escaped up the ridge. Then, he skipped and hopped away, smugly carrying the spirit fruit in his mouth, and disappeared.

And from that time on, the spirit beasts along the way were in for a terrible misfortune.

It's important to know that Xiao Hei was born with the [Devour] skill, which allows it to increase its growth rate by devouring other spirit beasts or spirit demons.

In short, the more you eat, the stronger you become.

Moreover, Xiao Hei is currently just a juvenile demon, which is exactly the time when it needs a lot of nourishment. Only when Xiao Hei grows from a juvenile demon into a fully grown demon will its combat power truly take shape.

In this situation, Su Daoshan, enraged, had no time for politeness. He immediately released Xiao Hei, letting it go on a killing spree.

The spirit beasts deep within the Chaotic Lands are already numerous and clustered together. When a battle spirit with a combat strength of twenty meters and wielding two Gatling guns plunges headlong into them, the outcome is predictable.

In less than an hour, Little Black devoured over a hundred level-two spirit beasts and thirty level-three spirit beasts, much like eating broad beans. It even hunted down three level-four spirit beasts.

Beyond the realms, level four spirit beasts are the highest level among all spirit beasts. Because they have already developed a certain level of intelligence, they usually stay away from dangerous areas. In places like Xianlai Town, where powerful demons reside and a large number of human martial artists gather, one might not see a single level four spirit beast all year round.

Deep within this chaotic land, almost every chaotic space harbors a level-four spirit beast that reigns supreme. For Su Daoshan, the only difference lies in whether they are unlucky or not, whether they run into trouble.

And so, one person and one pet, one picking spirit fruits and the other hunting spirit beasts, left a trail of devastation in their wake, leaving not a blade of grass growing.

However, to Su Daoshan's dismay, the level four spirit beasts that Xiao Hei devoured were of similar quality to the previous Crimson Scale Demon Crocodile, lacking any particularly impressive characteristics or skills.

Su Daoshan urgently needs to give Xiao Hei a new battle spirit form—after all, Xiao Hei's tree form and giant crocodile form have long been synonymous with "if you can't reach an agreement, cut it down." It would be inappropriate for him to leave Xianlai Town and change his appearance elsewhere while continuing to use these two battle spirit forms.

Especially the black tree form; revealing it was practically an admission of guilt. Therefore, Su Daoshan had already decided that he would never use this trump card unless absolutely necessary.

"We still have to cross two mountains and pass through about six or seven different chaotic spaces to get to Shijing Town. I wonder if we'll have a chance to encounter a powerful spirit beast."

After finishing a battle, Su Daoshan put Xiao Hei into his Dao Seed Space, took out a map, and gazed into the distance while thinking to himself.

Putting away the map, Su Daoshan continued onward, entering a new and chaotic territory.

This chaotic space is a wide valley. Both sides of the valley are lined with primeval forests, towering trees reaching for the sky. In the middle flows a peculiar river. In the river, fiery red lava and clear water intertwine, yet coexist harmoniously.

Su Daoshan's spiritual senses stirred, and he smelled the familiar fragrance of the Spirit Essence Fruit.

He walked slowly forward for about 500 meters, then went down a small slope to the riverbank, where, as expected, he found a newly ripened Spirit Fruit in the lava river.

But just then, a threatening roar suddenly came from the colorful jungle beside them. Su Daoshan turned his head and saw a huge figure rushing out like a roaring train.

"Huh?" Su Daoshan was somewhat surprised.

You see, on his way here, he had been carefully observing his surroundings, and he had glanced at this jungle several times.

To his surprise, he hadn't noticed such a massive spirit beast at all. Even after it had issued a threat and revealed itself, all he initially saw was a distorted mass of air, like steam rising in the sweltering heat of summer.

The enormous figure continued to approach.

After a few steps, when it was completely separated from the dense forest background behind it, Su Daoshan was shocked to find that what appeared in front of him was a colorful giant ape.

It stood a full four meters tall, and one of its arms was almost the size of two people. Its two enormous hands, which braced against the ground, were as big as millstones, inspiring awe in all who beheld them.

"Ghost Ape!" Su Daoshan recognized the spirit beast and instantly held his breath. He never expected that just when he was regretting not encountering a spirit beast suitable for transforming into a battle spirit, such a pleasant surprise would come knocking on his door.

The Ghost Ape is a well-known and highly regarded level-four spirit beast, renowned throughout the outer realms. It possesses excellent characteristics and growth potential. Its most famous feature is its unique skill – [Color-Changing Camouflage].

It is this innate skill that makes the Ghost Ape unique among ape-like spirit beasts, making it a prized possession recognized by extraordinary martial artists for transforming into battle spirits. Not to mention newcomers to the Spirit Realm, even many veterans who have entered the Fifth Spirit Domain aspire to own a Ghost Ape.

However, to date, very few people have been able to successfully capture the Ghost Ape.

One reason is that this type of spirit beast is extremely rare. It ranks first in rarity among level four spirit beasts. Many extraordinary martial artists may never even encounter one in their entire lives.

On the other hand, this spirit beast is cunning and cautious by nature, and it usually hides deep within the chaotic lands. In addition, its color-changing fur makes it virtually extinct from the sight of human martial artists.

At that moment, the ghost ape roared at Su Daoshan while pacing anxiously back and forth. Clearly, it too had been attracted by the aroma of the ripening spirit fruit.

The ape's fur was fluffy and dense, appearing from a distance like pixels on a monitor. At times, it would display terrifying patterns, like a cobra or a poisonous spider. At other times, it would become translucent, as if it might melt into the air and disappear at any moment.

"Tsk...you want it? Fine, I'll let you have it!"

Su Daoshan stopped and began to slowly back away, looking cautious and fearful. He had already set his sights on the ghost ape and didn't want to make any rash moves that would scare it away.

In reality, he was only about fifty meters away from the Ghost Ape, while the maximum distance he could release Little Black was around thirty meters—meaning the Ghost Ape was already within Little Black's attack and control range. Let alone using a pulley bow and a Gatling gun, even simply using vines to wrap around it would have been enough to catch it.

However, the ghost ape was too close to the jungle behind it, and this guy not only had the ability to change color, but was also known for his speed. Su Daoshan didn't want any accidents to happen and let the other party escape.

He needed a foolproof opportunity.

As Su Daoshan retreated, the ghost ape's roar grew increasingly ferocious. Initially, after charging out, it had stopped far away, merely pacing left and right, constantly baring its teeth and threatening. Now, seeing its opponent retreat in fear, it began to advance again, adopting an even more aggressive stance.

This made Su Daoshan chuckle to himself, thinking that this ghost ape was only a level four spirit beast after all. Although it had a certain level of intelligence, it wasn't very high.

"Come on, a few more steps..."

As Su Daoshan pondered this, he continued to retreat and lure Su Daoshan.

The Spirit Fruit was originally positioned between Su Daoshan and the Ghost Ape, so with this back-and-forth movement, the Ghost Ape quickly reached the shore closest to the Spirit Fruit.

Just as the Ghost Ape's gaze involuntarily shifted to the Spirit Fruit in the lava river, Su Daoshan's divine sense stirred, and a large black tree suddenly appeared twenty meters in front of the Ghost Ape. The Ghost Ape reacted with lightning speed; almost the instant Xiao Hei appeared, it leaped up like a startled deer, performing a backflip in mid-air before darting into the jungle behind it. Simultaneously, the color of its fur began to change, blending seamlessly with the surrounding scenery, almost becoming transparent.

Su Daoshan had no doubt that if he let it run a few more steps, he would lose sight of it in a moment.

However, the ape was too slow. Almost as soon as it took to the air, two sharp "whoosh" sounds rang out, and two arrows pierced its body one after the other, pinning it to the ground. Immediately, more than a dozen vines, like the tentacles of an octopus, shot out and bound it tightly.

The poor ghost ape was merely a level four spirit beast, with a combat strength of only twelve meters. Su Daoshan's calculated strategy, coupled with Xiao Hei's smooth combo attack with its twenty-one-meter combat strength, resulted in its surrender in just two seconds. Throughout the entire process, it didn't even have the slightest chance to resist.

"Buzz..." Little Black's Gatling gun spun twice in the air before stopping, much to its dismay.

Little Black used its vines to entangle the ghost ape and dragged it back. Immediately, the tree canopy parted, and a large hole split open at the top of the trunk, swallowing the ghost ape like a giant mouth.

With a thought, Su Daoshan synchronized the information with Xiao Hei.

Under normal circumstances, the devoured spirit beasts are simply transformed into pure spiritual essence, which is then absorbed by Xiao Hei. However, to solidify the spirit beast's form and retain its characteristics and skills, a large amount of spiritual essence is required.

The stronger and rarer the skills of a spirit beast, the more spiritual energy it consumes.

According to the information transmitted by Xiao Hei's divine sense, it would take at least three thousand spiritual essences to completely replicate the form, characteristics, and skills of the Ghost Ape.

This made Su Daoshan's heart bleed.

"No wonder they say there's never enough spiritual energy. Refining weapons in the Heart Furnace, nurturing battle spirits—aren't they all bottomless pits..."

Of course, we still have to spend the money.

As Su Daoshan poured in his spiritual energy, Xiao Hei completed the absorption a few minutes later, transforming into a giant ape with vibrant colors.

Its appearance is exactly the same as the Ghost Ape, but it is twice as big, standing a full five meters tall. It looks majestic and imposing.

Immediately afterward, Xiao Hei activated the giant ape's color-changing camouflage skill. So Su Daoshan watched helplessly as the giant ape gradually disappeared from his sight. First its head, then its body and limbs, and finally its feet.

Su Daoshan quickly began circling around Xiao Hei, constantly changing the distance and angle to observe it.

To his disbelief, no matter how he changed his angle, Xiao Hei blended in perfectly with its surroundings, making it almost impossible to spot any flaws.

"The rumors were indeed true."

Su Daoshan grew increasingly excited as he looked. He had long heard that the reason the Ghost Ape was so sought after by extraordinary martial artists was primarily because of its unique ability to change color.

Actually, among all the methods of disguise and concealment, color-changing is the crudest one.

This method works somewhat in dense forests, but it becomes ineffective in open or monochromatic areas. It's like placing a rough-skinned chameleon against a smooth, monochrome background; no matter how it changes color, people can still spot it immediately.

In fact, most of the spirit beasts in the spirit realm possess color-changing skills that are only at this level.

However, the ape's color-changing ability is somewhat unique. Its countless fine hairs can not only change color like pixels, but also simulate the texture of objects by brushing, swaying, bending, gathering, and sticking together.

Whether it's rocks, trees, soil, grass, snow, or even dust, sunlight, and shadows... everything is imitated perfectly.

Just like now, the giant ape was clearly standing in front of Su Daoshan, but its feet blended into the grass, the real wild grass mixed with the wild grass that the hair on its feet had conjured, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. On its body, bushes and trees materialized, completely merging with the surrounding reality.

A large tree grows out from behind it, half of its trunk and branches are real, while the other half is made up of its hair. When the wind blows, the branches sway, the real and the fake are perfectly synchronized, and there is not a single flaw in terms of depth of field or perspective.

Besides these, other parts of its body also show sunlight filtering through the trees, and a bird hopping around...

It's no exaggeration to say that it's like a 360-degree holographic screen with no blind spots. Even though it's right in front of you, it presents you with everything that should be in your field of vision.

In the process of this presentation, it disappears imperceptibly, as if it were transparent. It's difficult to spot the flaw unless you get within three to five meters.

That's impressive enough, but what's most impressive is that the Ghost Ape's color-changing skill also has a passive attribute—that is, within ten minutes of activating the color-changing disguise, its own presence is reduced to the minimum.

No one understood what this meant better than Su Daoshan.

It's important to know that the Spirit Realm is not lacking in stealth skills. In fact, [Invisibility] and [Stealth] are two separate skill categories.

However, most of the spirit beasts possessing this stealth ability are small to medium-sized spirit beasts, such as leopards or wolves. And perhaps as a price to pay for their talent, these spirit beasts all share a common weakness—while their attack power is decent, their defense and endurance are pitifully low.

This is why assassin-type battle spirits have always been a niche class.

Unless you can raise your battle spirit's attack power to an extremely terrifying level, capable of killing any opponent in one hit, you can expect to be exposed and utterly crushed by your opponent.

But what if this assassin-type battle spirit is actually a gigantic ape-like battle spirit with terrifying strength, high attack and high health, capable of both fighting and taking damage, and possessing many practical combat skills?
What if its color-changing skill seems low-end, but its actual effect is no less than [Invisibility] and [Stealth]?

The answer is self-evident.

This is precisely why countless extraordinary martial artists flock to the Ghost Ape.

"No wonder that among ape-like spirit beasts, a level four Ghost Ape is far more valuable than a level six Golden Mountain Giant Ape. This color-changing skill is a huge plus."

Su Daoshan continued to examine the area.

In the Spirit Realm, even spirit beasts of the same species have different attributes and skills when captured. What pleased Su Daoshan was that the rare ghost ape he had captured possessed above-average aptitude. It already had four innate skills that it had learned and activated.

Besides changing color, there are three other effects: [Throw], [Swing], and [Shock].

[Throwing] and [Leaping] are both basic skills of ape-like spirit beasts. The former allows them to attack opponents with weapons such as stones, while the latter enables them to leap and bound through the forest, soaring high and low. These talents make the jungle the domain of ape-like battle spirits, giving them a significant advantage in combat.

As for [Shock], it is an advanced special skill that can only be learned with a certain probability.

This skill works by slamming a fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that throws the opponent off balance and interrupts all their actions and skills. Su Daoshan had seen the same skill used by Bu Chi's Golden Mountain Giant Ape during their fight.

"These three skills are all good. They are the most important core skills for ape-type spirit beasts. It's a pity that there are no defensive skills among them..."

"But that seems normal. Although they are all apes, different species have different talent paths. For example, the Golden Mountain Giant Ape can learn [Golden Armor] 100% of the time, but rarely learns [Leap], while most other apes can learn Leap, but the probability of learning armor-type defensive skills is pitifully low..."

"However, these are not problems. As long as it is something that other spirit beasts of the same kind have, Little Black can replenish it by devouring it."

"Hmm, it seems I should go to the Fifth Spirit Realm and capture a Golden Mountain Giant Ape as soon as possible. After all, giant ape spirit beasts must be built like heavy tanks, so defense is of paramount importance."

"Besides the golden armor, the ape-like spirit beasts also possess skills such as [Tear], [Slap], [Ghost Hand], [Swiftness], and so on... However, these can wait. After all, absorbing a skill costs a considerable amount of spiritual energy..."

In the blink of an eye, Su Daoshan had no idea how many thoughts had crossed his mind.

Finally, he stared at the giant ape's [Throwing] skill, pondering whether he should forge a cannon first, after opening the furnace later...

(End of this chapter)