Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

A light rain fell from the sky, gradually extinguishing the fiery path left by the red serpent.

"What a reckless fool!" Huai Nian followed the ape's cry and sped toward the location of the Golden Ape King.

Even it itself initially found a rock to lean against to dissipate heat, and only after truly experiencing the power of the sun's essence did it use a small amount of the sun's essence to temper its body with the help of mountain streams.

Only after the Yin-Yang vortex took shape and a method for harmonizing it was found within the body could one formally absorb the essence of the sun and begin cultivation...

This reckless fellow, couldn't he have just started using Thunder Tempering to gradually increase his strength until he could withstand the essence of the sun before figuring out a solution?

The red snake's scales undulated rapidly, like waves surging and sweeping across damp soil, leaving winding and deep marks.

The torrent swept through the mountains and forests, leaving behind a scene of devastation.

They crossed mountain streams and flew over valleys, finally arriving at a valley.

"Woo-woo-ow-ah-"

Hearing the commotion coming from the mountains and forests, countless golden apes raised their heads and roared, their cries filled with an indescribable sorrow, echoing through the mountains.

The golden ape that had guided Huai Nian here suddenly leaped down from the treetop, rolled twice on the ground, and pointed its long arms toward the valley.

"Ooh-ooh..."

"roar!"

Suddenly, a loud shout interrupted the golden ape's lament, and the sound waves visibly dispersed the continuous drizzle in the sky.

"I'm going down, you all wait here."

The red serpent's scales clenched tightly, and the muscles beneath its skin, like springs compressed to their limit, suddenly burst forth—

The next instant, a streak of crimson lightning shot straight down into the valley.

Upon entering the valley, a strong stench of blood assaulted the senses.

"This is bad!"

"This brute's blood is about to evaporate!"

Huai Nian's heart sank. He stuck his tail into the rock wall, dug out a huge rock, and smashed it towards the source of the loud shout.

The powerful energy directly dispersed the blood mist.

"Roar!" A huge fist smashed the boulder.

The Golden Ape King looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and tears of blood streamed down his face. When they hit the ground, they made a "splat" sound like boiling water and evaporated in an instant.

Its body was covered with scratches, and the scalding blood vapor from the sun's essence seeped out of the wounds, which in turn burned the flesh.

The unreleased heat within his body, combined with the excruciating pain spreading throughout his entire being, directly shattered the last vestiges of reason in the Golden Ape King's mind.

As soon as the red serpent landed, the Golden Ape King roared and charged forward.

The two colossal beasts clashed violently.

The rocks in the valley shattered with a crash, and cracks crisscrossed the cliff face, rising like lightning.

The mountains collapsed and the earth cracked, and the golden apes guarding the area fled for their lives.

From the smoke composed of rock fragments, countless powerful gusts of energy surged forth, striking the sky and scattering the continuous drizzle, preventing it from falling even a fraction into the valley.

As the moon rose, the battle between the two giant beasts subsided, and the smoke and dust were washed away by the rain.

Below the valley, the Golden Ape King, already bound by the Red Serpent, resembled a mummy that was not fully wrapped up, with its head and one arm still exposed.

"This is really difficult." Huai Nian shook off the dirt and dust covering her body, switched her perspective to the cold and hot vision that snakes are naturally gifted with, and opened her mouth to reveal four rows of white fangs.

The primordial Yin Moon Essence was drawn into the body by the vortex, circulated twice, and then transformed into a gentle moonlight power that gathered in the hollow of the teeth.

It bit down on the Golden Ape King's arm.

The snake tensed its jaw muscles to the limit, its teeth aching from the pressure, before slowly piercing the skin and embedding themselves into the flesh.

The Golden Ape King cried out in pain and struggled frantically.

The large snake's abdominal muscles writhed, then suddenly tightened and coiled. The sound of cracking bones echoed, but the snake paid no heed.

Once the teeth were firmly embedded in the flesh, the vortex of energy circulated, sucking up the heat generated by the golden ape forcibly breaking apart the sun's essence, while simultaneously injecting the cool power of the moon.

The persistent heat within my body finally found an outlet, and a cool sensation traveled along the pain in my arm and penetrated deep into my meridians.

The Golden Ape King's struggles gradually weakened, and his eyes, which had been filled with blood red, returned to their original clear appearance with black background and red pupils.

"Candle..." it sighed softly.

The giant snake remained silent until it had sucked away all the heat and dryness before it relaxed its mouth muscles. It moved a couple of times, only to find that its teeth were fixed in place by the muscles and could not be pulled out.

So exert force—

With a popping sound.

"My teeth!" The giant snake loosened its grip on the Golden Ape King's body, looking at the snake teeth left on its arm, and was on the verge of tears.

"You reckless bastard, absorbing the essence of the sun is one thing, but you actually dared to use lightning to shatter the essence of the sun and forcibly absorb it..."

Huai Nian licked his upper and lower gums with his forked tongue, feeling a third less pain, and immediately lashed the Golden Ape King's butt with his tail.

"You're just looking for trouble. If this happens again, you're as good as dead."

"Candle..." The Golden Ape King propped himself up against the cliff face, "How did you transform your entire body?"

"I never expected that the first thing you asked me after being rescued was this..." The giant snake swam to the moonlight and coiled up.

"Endure the pain and diligently practice the techniques recorded in that ancient book."

"Is that so?" The Golden Ape King turned his head, his tone unusually desolate. "In the end, I am no match for you..."

Before Huai Nian could reply, the Golden Ape King said again, "I have always felt that you have great strength but are extremely weak, and are not worthy of being called the son of the Snake God."

"But now, you can endure the burning of the sun's essence, but I can't, and in the end, I still need you to save my life."

"Black Bear and I have the same aptitude, so we both obtained 'Thunder God's Bone Forging.' Yours is different, isn't it?"

"It's different. What it gave me was 'The Three Qi Return to Nature,' and a book similar to yours called 'The Thousand Hammers and Hundred Refinements,'" the great serpent replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Ape King remained silent, raised his arm, and pulled out the snake fangs embedded in his flesh one by one.

"You used lightning to shatter the essence of the sun in an attempt to accelerate your absorption. So eager to increase your strength, what are you trying to do?" The Red Serpent, watching its teeth fall into the dirt, suddenly asked, "Just to prove you're stronger than me?"

"Just one item."

"I also want to prove that without consuming mediums, not being the son of a serpent god, and not relying on the offerings of the people, one can still rise to prominence on one's own."

The Golden Ape King said quietly, "Bloodhound and I are friends."

"You mean, like the Prison Wolf, it also wants offerings from the living?" The serpent's eyes narrowed.

"That's right, Bloodhound... has no intention of staying in Zhongshan anymore." After pulling out the snake fangs, the Golden Ape King clenched his fists, his flesh writhing as he squeezed out the remaining tooth fragments.

"It says that there are better, more suitable paths to advancement for humans."

"Bloodhound, Crimson Immortal Sect..." The giant serpent bathed in moonlight, its face obscured and difficult to discern, only its eyes flashing with cold light.

"There's a saying among humans: everyone has their own ambitions. Since Bloodhound believes that humans have a better, more suitable path to advancement—I won't stop him."

The giant serpent raised its head, its massive shadow looming over the Golden Ape King against the moonlight: "But if it were to cooperate with the Crimson Immortal Sect and incite a war between Zhongshan and the human race..."

"I'll kill it first."

Upon hearing this, the Golden Ape King remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding and then asking, "Candle, what path do you intend to take? The Serpent God will give you..."

"I don't intend to follow the path my mother laid out for me completely."

The giant snake turned and slithered away, its voice low and calm:

"My views on Zhongshan, and even nature, differ from my mother's."