Chapter 22

After coming out of the training base, Li Mang fell into bed and slept until he was awakened by hunger in the early hours of the morning. He then decisively took out the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* from his chest and nimbly entered it.

After eating a roasted chicken, Li Mang finally regained his strength. At the same time, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the power which had not advanced for several days now showed signs of increasing again.

"Being beaten can actually enhance one's strength!" Li Mang felt conflicted, but his face showed a hint of joy. This incident proved that he could improve his strength through hard training. However, he did not realize that the significant improvement in his strength was not entirely due to the hard training, but also because of the effect of eating the wild chicken after the training.

Li Mang then went to the Lijishui Riverbank, where there was a bamboo raft tied with Xiangfei bamboo. This was the result of his tireless efforts over the past few days.

"Hall Mountain, I'm coming!" Li Mang suppressed his excitement, carefully moved the bamboo raft into the water, and took along his mountain cleaver and other defensive weapons. Only then did he step onto the raft and slowly push forward with a bamboo pole.

The water at the source of the Lijishui was very clear and beautiful, like a fairyland. Standing on the bamboo raft, Li Mang felt refreshed and invigorated, with all his pores feeling smooth.

Unconsciously, he approached the fifty-meter distance, and the bamboo raft was now less than ten meters from the opposite Hall Mountain.

"Chirp! Chirp..."

The sudden monkey calls from ahead startled Li Mang, and he quickly stopped the raft with the bamboo pole. Looking up, his expression changed dramatically.

At the shallow water area near the source of the Lijishui, it was rare to see the white apes, which was why Li Mang chose to cross here. However, he had not expected that the white apes of Hall Mountain had already discovered him before he even landed. At first, there were only a few, but soon the entire forest was in turmoil, and a white mass of figures appeared on the shore, baring their teeth and waving their arms to warn Li Mang not to approach.

These white apes were huge, each as large as a tiger, with blood-red mouths and sharp, terrifying teeth. Their fierce appearance was extremely intimidating, and Li Mang did not dare to move forward any further, standing still on the bamboo raft.

"Ooh ooh chirp..."

Even so, these ancient white apes would not stop. They walked back and forth on the shore, their fierce appearance causing Li Mang to feel slightly panicked.

However, what shocked him even more was that the monkeys on the shore suddenly parted to form a path, and a more robust male ape walked to the end of the path, looking at Li Mang.

"Is it going to jump over?" Li Mang was greatly startled. Regardless of whether this male ape had such an ability, he had to leave quickly. He immediately pushed the bamboo pole into the water.

At the same time, the male ape on the opposite side also began to move. With a powerful step, he ran quickly toward the shore, his speed incredibly fast. In an instant, he reached the shore and leaped high, forming a beautiful parabola, reaching a height of five or six meters!

"Damn!"

Li Mang was startled. His bamboo pole had just touched the bottom of the lake. Without hesitation, he pushed with all his might—“Swish!”

The bamboo raft quickly moved backward, but his action was still a step too late. A white figure approached, and then Li Mang felt the raft sink. Water splashed through the gaps in the bamboo, soaking his clothes and making him feel cold.

"Ooh!" The male ape on the raft was very excited, pounding his chest like a gorilla, while the white apes on the opposite shore cheered for him!

"Damn!" Li Mang was greatly startled and instinctively let go of the bamboo pole, picking up the mountain cleaver on the raft.

"Ooh!!" The male ape seemed to sense the danger and, without further excitement, let out a roar and lunged at Li Mang with its blood-red mouth open wide!

"Get lost!" Li Mang, enraged, swung the mountain cleaver in his hand—“Crack!”

Two ape paws flew out, splashing into the lake with a thud, and the clear water was instantly stained red with fresh blood.

"Ooh!!"

The male ape let out a tragic cry, its voice piercing. The blood from its severed hands instantly dyed its white fur red!

Despite his soft heart, Li Mang did not stop. He dared not and immediately kicked the male ape with all his strength!

"Thud... Splash!"

The male ape fell into the lake, struggling desperately in the water. The clear water was instantly stained red with blood, creating a tragic scene.

White apes could not swim, otherwise they would not have been trapped on Hall Mountain. Not to mention that its two paws had been cut off, it struggled a few times on the surface and then gradually sank. Due to the clear water, Li Mang could still see the situation of the male ape in the water. What made his scalp tingle was that, possibly due to the smell of blood, the normally docile strange fish in the Lijishui suddenly went mad, swimming frantically toward the white ape, forming a large, dark mass of various shapes and sizes!

"Splash... Splash..."

Several meters deep in the water, the strange fish were crazily pecking at the white ape's body... It should not be called a body, as the white ape still had a faint breath, but it could not resist the onslaught and gradually died.

What made Li Mang's scalp tingle even more was that as the number of strange fish increased, it did not take long for the white ape at the bottom of the water to become a bloody mess, gradually revealing its skeleton.

But it did not stop there. Some of the strange fish that arrived later even began to gnaw on the bones, and the faint sound of "crack" could be heard. Perhaps it was just his imagination!

"..." Li Mang's body hair stood on end, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He had a new understanding of the terror of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* world!

"Chirp ooh..."

The ancient white apes on the opposite shore, seeing their companion die, were filled with rage, baring their teeth and showing their fangs in warning.

"Ooh!"

A huge ancient white ape suddenly appeared in Li Mang's line of sight. Compared to the other white apes, this one was twice their size, with a fierce appearance and exposed fangs. With its roar, the frenzied ancient apes immediately calmed down.

"Ancient Ape King!" Li Mang thought to himself, snapping out of his daze and quickly looking for the bamboo pole. However, when the male ape landed on the raft, he had been too nervous to pick up the bamboo pole, which was now floating downstream.

"Damn!" Li Mang's face changed, but he was not overly anxious. At least he was still safe for now. However, what troubled him was that there were only two large knives on the raft, and no other tools to propel the raft.

Using the knives to paddle? It was possible, but undoubtedly very slow. The bamboo raft itself was heavy, made of undried bamboo, and the blades were not wide enough to create much resistance, so the speed would naturally be slow.

"Whoosh..."

The sound of something breaking through the air alerted Li Mang to danger. With nowhere to hide, he could only crouch at the end of the raft. A gust of wind brushed past him—“Splash!”

The sound of something breaking the water came from behind. It was a large rock, thrown by the Ancient Ape King on the opposite shore. This made Li Mang's heart sink, and he knew it was not good!

Sure enough, with the Ancient Ape King leading the way, the other ancient white apes began to pick up rocks. If Li Mang continued to stand on the raft, he would surely be buried under a mountain of rocks!

"Whoosh whoosh..." With a series of faint sounds, the ancient white apes on the opposite shore began to throw rocks, and hundreds of rocks of various sizes rained down from the sky!

Li Mang knew he could not stay any longer. He gritted his teeth and jumped into the water—“Splash!”

Shortly after Li Mang entered the water, the sky was filled with rocks. Some missed and fell into the water, but many hit the raft. The raft could not withstand the pressure and began to sink, threatening to fall to the bottom of the lake.