Chapter 1061

Chapter 1061: Hunting (Part One)

The Fulong Mountain, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles, stands as one of the most renowned mountains in the Haotian Realm.

This vast mountain range boasts towering peaks and countless deep valleys, intersected by deep gorges and wide rivers. It is home to an innumerable multitude of magical beasts, as countless as the sands of the Ganges, and harbors many hidden caves left behind by ancient practitioners.

For centuries, human cultivators have established dozens of immortal cities of varying sizes around this majestic mountain, engaging in hunting, gathering, and mining to secure resources for their cultivation.

They have also waged countless battles against the demons.

To this day, human cultivators and demons have reached a sort of tacit understanding within the Fulong Mountain Range, and no large-scale wars have erupted between the two races for nearly a century.

However, this does not mean that venturing into Fulong Mountain is safe.

As the saying goes, life and death are fated, and wealth comes from the heavens; to seek riches, one must be prepared to face the possibility of a death without a burial place.

If it weren’t for the need to gather materials to forge the Seven Ultimate Sword, Wang Chen would have no desire to risk delving deep into these treacherous mountains.

How much more comfortable it would be to cultivate peacefully at home!

Yet, the power of the Seven Ultimate Sword Formation is truly formidable; this swordsmanship enables him to defeat enemies beyond his level, providing Wang Chen with a crucial trump card for self-preservation in the Haotian Realm, where Golden Core cultivators are as common as dogs and Yuan Ying practitioners roam freely.

Thus, risks must be taken!

Folding away the Fulong Mountain Map, Wang Chen’s gaze pierced through the gaps in the leaves, settling on the distant gorge.

According to the annotations on the map, this unnamed gorge is the habitat of the Fire-Eyed Long Ape.

The Fire-Eyed Long Ape is classified as a Second-tier Magical Beast; its thick, resilient skin renders it impervious to blades and spears, and its ferocious temperament is matched by its immense strength. These apes dwell in the mountain gorges in large groups, with a single tribe often numbering in the hundreds.

The leader of the Ape Clan is a Third-grade Giant Ape, whose strength rivals that of a Golden Core cultivator and who possesses formidable talent abilities.

Within a group of Fire-Eyed Long Apes, one to three Giant Apes may emerge!

Fire-Eyed Long Apes themselves are not highly valuable magical beasts; only their hides and claws fetch a modest sum of spirit stones. While the materials harvested from Third-grade Giant Apes are more abundant and costly, they still do not hold significant worth.

Simply hunting Fire-Eyed Long Apes is hardly a profitable endeavor.

However, like many spirit monkeys, these magical beasts possess the remarkable ability to gather fruits and brew fine wine.

The wine they produce, known as Monkey Wine, is extraordinary; it is not only rich in spiritual energy but also possesses detoxifying and healing properties, making it highly prized in the market.

Yet, obtaining spiritual wine from hunting Fire-Eyed Long Apes is a matter of sheer luck.

Due to frequent raids, Fire-Eyed Long Apes conceal their magical beer pools in exceedingly secretive locations. If they sense that they cannot protect their wine, they will destroy it without hesitation.

For instance, by tossing feces into the pool, they can render a vat of Monkey Wine, worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, utterly ruined.

Moreover, when faced with an unbeatable foe, Fire-Eyed Long Apes will immediately scatter and flee.

Even if human cultivators manage to capture them, they cannot extract the location of the magical beer pools from these apes.

This makes hunting Fire-Eyed Long Apes a rather futile endeavor; it is neither rewarding nor entirely dismissible. After expending great effort, one might end up with nothing more than a few tattered monkey hides.

It is utterly meaningless.

Wang Chen’s decision to target the Fire-Eyed Long Ape as his first quarry in Fulong Mountain stems from his desire to test his luck!

Though luck is intangible and elusive, Wang Chen has a method to enhance his fortune.

This is the confidence he gained from his earlier transaction with the Four Seas Trading Association.

Otherwise, if he couldn’t secure the remaining seventy percent of the spirit stones in three months, all the spirit stones he had paid upfront would have been wasted!

[Heavenly Merit – 10,000]

Determined to make a strong start, Wang Chen couldn’t afford to miss his mark; he immediately expended a full ten thousand points of Heavenly Merit.

In the next instant, Wang Chen felt an ethereal presence descending upon him, subtly enveloping his entire being.

Though there seemed to be no visible change, he experienced a strange and profound sensation.

Without hesitation, Wang Chen activated the Leisurely Courtyard of Thousands of Miles and swiftly moved towards the gorge ahead.

He chose not to use the more energy-efficient sword flight.

This decision was due to the inherent dangers of sword flight within the Fulong Mountain Range, particularly in its deeper regions.

If a cultivator inadvertently trespassed into the domain of a beast king or even a beast lord, unless they possessed overwhelming power, flying a sword over their heads would be tantamount to courting death.

Such wisdom was gleaned from the tragic fates of many cultivators.

Wang Chen had no intention of testing this perilous boundary.

After deploying the Leisurely Courtyard of Thousands of Miles three times, he stealthily entered the gorge.

The gorge was profoundly deep, encircled by towering trees whose dense canopies blotted out the sun. Countless vines hung down, creating an intricate web.

The ground was strewn with moss-covered rocks, leaving no clear path. Ferns of various kinds filled the gaps between the rocks, serving as habitats for numerous insects.

As soon as Wang Chen ventured into the gorge, he was immediately besieged by a dark cloud of flying insects, their menacing buzz filling the air.

Despite their small size, no larger than a thumb, these flying insects possessed sharp claws and beaks capable of piercing armor and skin, injecting toxins, and sucking blood.

An adult man surrounded by a swarm of these bloodsucking insects could be drained of all his blood within ten breaths!

Thus, only the strongest Qi Training cultivators dared to enter Fulong Mountain; even low-level Purple Palace cultivators were considered expendable. Hunting parties here typically comprised Golden Core and high-level Purple Palace cultivators.

Solitary adventurers were a rare sight.

For the dangers in Fulong Mountain were omnipresent!

However, the formidable swarm of flying insects posed little threat to Wang Chen.

Clang!

With his sword in hand, he flicked his finger against the blade.

The resonant clang of the sword caused the flying insects within a hundred steps to drop as if struck by lightning, falling like rain.

None escaped.

"Roar! Roar!"

At that moment, a furious roar erupted above Wang Chen.

He looked up to see a yellow-brown monkey, clinging to a branch of a towering tree, baring its teeth and growling menacingly at him.

This monkey, as large as an adult human, had robust limbs, was covered in thick fur, and had fiery red eyes that radiated ferocity.

Fire-Eyed Long Ape!

Wang Chen’s eyes lit up immediately.

The expenditure of ten thousand points of Heavenly Merit and the boost of a thousand points of luck had indeed borne fruit!

Without a second thought, he formed a sword gesture and summoned his life treasure flying sword.

The sword light flashed, and the Longyuan Sword soared into the sky, instantly severing the right arm of the Fire-Eyed Long Ape.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed as the Fire-Eyed Long Ape’s roar turned into a piercing scream.

Its remaining left arm clung desperately to a nearby branch, shaking it violently, its cries echoing for miles.

The entire gorge could hear it clearly!

Moments later, the monkey’s screams rose and fell, countless branches shook violently, and fallen leaves flew like rain!