With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

As the two Supreme Elders, Liang and Ning, rushed out of the dense forest, their view suddenly opened up.

Only now did Lin Ye see the true appearance of the Water Ape.

These three demonic beasts were massive, standing nearly ten feet tall, with the male one exceeding twelve feet. Even the smallest of them, the young ape, was over two meters tall when standing.

They were originally besieging a crocodile-like spirit beast on the riverbank, but now the spirit beast had been devoured and its flesh was mangled, with its remains scattered all over the ground.

Hearing footsteps coming from the dense forest, the three water apes simultaneously raised their blood-stained heads, their turbid eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching group.

The male aquatic ape reacted the fastest, its thick legs suddenly pushing off, instantly standing upright, pounding its thick chest, and letting out a terrifying roar that reverberated, making even the air seem to tremble.

Seeing that the crowd showed no sign of stopping and instead accelerated their charge, the three water apes leaped into the river without hesitation.

Before the huge splash of water could even settle, their figures had already disappeared beneath the waves.

It is not difficult to see from this series of actions that the intelligence level of a beast in the acquired realm far exceeds that of an ordinary wild animal.

For such high-grade monsters, the instinct and wisdom to seek advantage and avoid harm are the cornerstones of survival, and they should never be measured by the same standards as ordinary animals.

Seeing this, the two Supreme Elders, Liang and Ning, were not afraid at all. With a swift movement, they followed closely behind and broke through the water to enter.

Lin Ye and his disciples gritted their teeth, took up their weapons, and entered the water, swimming with all their might towards the blooming jade-green lotus in the middle of the river.

The lotus flower was completely translucent, resembling a ball of emerald flame burning on the water's surface; it was the very object of their journey—the Jade Lotus.

The male aquatic monkey in the water immediately saw through the group's intentions. It let out a furious roar from deep in its throat, stirring up the water, and charged straight at the group. The other two aquatic monkeys followed closely behind, launching their attack.

As their demonic power surged, the river surface instantly lost its calm. Huge waves, driven by the demonic beasts' innate abilities, rose out of thin air and crashed down on the people who were swimming across the river like an avalanche.

The two Supreme Elders, Liang Feiyu and Ning Wuji, attacked almost simultaneously, each thrusting out their long swords.

The powerful and abundant acquired true energy condensed at the tips of their swords, transforming into two sharp energy blades that slashed fiercely into the surging waves.

With a muffled boom, the wave that was powerful enough to capsize a small boat was actually cleaved and smashed through.

Using the force of the recoil, the two elders burst out of the water and nimbly met the male water ape.

The male aquatic ape saw two human experts break through the water curtain and rush towards it, and its scarlet eyes revealed a fierce glint.

It casually grabbed a short, crystal-clear stick, as if carved from jade, and swept it mercilessly towards the two of them. This strike was imbued with heavy demonic power, and its momentum was terrifying.

Although Liang and Ning were in the water and their movements were restricted, they were, after all, martial artists who had acquired their skills.

They unleashed their inner energy, as if stepping on invisible steps, and burst out of the water, narrowly avoiding the powerful blow. Then, they thrust out their swords, aiming straight for the monster's vital points.

However, since the Water Ape is an acquired demon beast, its physical defense is naturally extraordinary.

Even a sword blade infused with acquired true energy, after piercing its thick skin, would only leave a shallow blood hole, oozing a few drops of blood, before being stopped by the surging demonic power.

The male aquatic monkey roared in pain, and thanks to its innate ability, it could walk on the water as if it were flat land.

Its jade staff moved with impenetrable speed, attacking the two like a storm.

Despite its exceptional agility in the water, in a two-on-one situation, Elders Liang and Ning coordinated perfectly, unleashing a continuous barrage of sword strikes, gradually forcing it into a disadvantageous position.

Meanwhile, the battle on the other side of the river was quite intense.

Liu Zhenghua and the other nine first-rate elders faced the female Ginseng Ape head-on.

Although they exerted their utmost effort, using their inner energy to forcefully break through the waves and create a path, the difference in their cultivation levels was ultimately too great. The impact of the giant waves made them sway and their energy unstable, making each attack exceptionally difficult.

In the chaos of battle, an elder was unable to dodge in time and was struck hard in the chest by a female water ape's staff.

With a muffled thud, the elder was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the river surface. He slid for several dozen feet using the momentum and was about to sink to the bottom of the river.

Fortunately, he was also a first-rate martial artist with rich experience. In the critical moment, he subconsciously crossed his longsword to parry.

This block absorbed most of the force, saving his life.

After choking on some water, the elder struggled and soon surfaced again, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes remained resolute as he turned and continued charging toward the battlefield.

The formation of Lin Ye and the other eight second-rate disciples was shattered the moment the giant waves were stirred up by the Water Ape.

The raging torrent of water crashed down like a wall of water, and Lin Ye felt a tremendous force hit his back, causing him to sink uncontrollably into the water.

When he finally mustered all his strength and broke through the water with his true energy, he saw the young Ginseng Water Ape pounce from the side, its jade short staff whistling as it slammed into another disciple who had just surfaced.

"boom--"

The water surface exploded under the tremendous impact, splashing water everywhere.

The disciple was a beat too slow to react and took a solid blow to the head. His skull shattered instantly, and red and white matter mixed with river water splashed everywhere.

The water ape, seizing the opportunity, lifted the headless corpse high and, with a burst of strength, tore it in two, staining a large area of ​​the water red with blood.

This bloody scene made Lin Ye and the remaining disciples' eyes widen in horror. They didn't even have time to catch their breath, and they attacked from all sides, trapping the baby ape in the middle.

Lin Ye thrust his spear straight forward, the spear like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, aiming directly for the young ape's chest.

However, the young ape, though small, possessed astonishing strength. Unperturbed, it raised the jade staff and precisely blocked the spear tip.

With a loud clang, the vibration of metal clashing traveled from the gun barrel to Lin Ye's arm, instantly causing his entire arm to go numb and tingle, and a tearing pain shooting through his hand.

He gritted his teeth and barely managed to steady himself, preventing the spear from flying out of his hand.

The remaining seven formed a simple circular formation and took turns attacking.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult for seven carefully trained disciples of the sword sect to work together to kill a first-class demonic beast.

But now, being in the river, their disadvantages were stark. The water resistance greatly slowed their movements, making each swing and thrust much slower than on land.

Even more deadly is that the skin of the Water Ape is exceptionally tough; without pouring all one's strength into it, the sword cannot penetrate its defenses at all.

This means that each attack must exhaust most of the body's internal energy, and the rate at which internal energy is consumed is astonishing.

The group quickly found themselves in a precarious situation. Before long, two more disciples were caught off guard and struck on the shoulder or back by the young ape.

Fortunately, their teammates reacted quickly and immediately stepped in to intercept, managing to block the subsequent deadly attack for them.

Therefore, although the two were seriously injured and their clothes were stained with blood, they were lucky enough to survive.

At this moment, Lin Ye's hand was already split open, and blood dripped into the water from his wrist.

Compared to the longswords used by the other disciples, his spear was more focused and posed the greatest threat to the Water Ape.

That's why the clever young ape tried several times to bypass the others and launch a fierce attack specifically on him.

At such times, the other six disciples would disregard their own exhaustion and desperately move closer, using their bodies and weapons to form a defensive line and protect Lin Ye's vitals.

Otherwise, Lin Ye would probably have suffered the same severe injuries as his two seriously wounded companions, or even died on the spot.