Chapter 32

The black-eyed apes, their eyes red with rage, were so furious that they didn't care about the hard sandy ground below; their eyes were fixed only on Gu Xuyao!

As the saying goes, it was slow in words but quick in action. Gu Xuyao's descent was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was only a foot away from the ground. At this point, even if he wanted to slow down, it was impossible!

"Zibi!" At the critical moment, Gu Xuyao's face showed no fear; he just roared, his voice piercing the darkness and reaching the ears of the one he loved!

At this moment, Zibi was no longer on the hill. She had come down from the mound later than Gu Xuyao and had been following him slowly. When she heard Gu Xuyao's shout, Zibi suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly appeared beside him. She gently embraced Gu Xuyao, and with her other hand, she lightly touched the ground. The two of them then floated forward as if they had lost their weight!

When the dull sound of landing behind them rang out, the two had already landed safely. They didn't even look back at the miserable state of the black-eyed apes and took off into the air, rushing towards the direction of Taiheng Gate!

Everything happened very quickly, but the black-eyed apes were not so easily fooled. They quickly realized what was happening and collectively let out a strange cry, jumping down from the hillside and chasing after the two with their hands as feet.

"Gu Gu, try to avoid such dangerous things next time..." The ape cries continued behind them, but Zibi still had to vent her pent-up feelings. "What if I couldn't catch you...?" At such a height, if Gu Xuyao hit the ground at such high speed, the outcome would be obvious.

Gu Xuyao glanced at Zibi. At this moment, he had no mood for such talk. "We can talk about these things later when we are safe. Do you remember that the book mentioned that the black-eyed apes don't leave their lair too far? The Great Wild Forest is their lair. I think if we fly another thirty miles, these black-eyed apes won't chase us anymore..."

Before Gu Xuyao could finish speaking, the originally faint moonlight suddenly dimmed completely. Gu Xuyao felt a chill, knowing that something bad was about to happen.

Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw a massive boulder, large enough for five people to barely encircle, right above his head!

"Quick, stop!" Gu Xuyao grabbed Zibi's hand and stopped the flying technique!

"Boom!" The boulder almost brushed past Gu Xuyao and landed five feet in front of them, the dust rising in the night like a huge shadow, blocking their way back.

The shock wave from the boulder's landing forced them to stop in their tracks. When they came to their senses, the black-eyed apes were already not far behind.

"Zibi, you go first, I'll hold them off!" The black-eyed apes moved faster than Gu Xuyao, but not as fast as Zibi. No matter how you looked at it, Zibi had a much better chance of escaping.

Zibi didn't move, but instead assumed a fighting stance.

"Zibi! If you don't hurry, there won't be any time left!" Gu Xuyao couldn't help but be angry.

Zibi remained silent, just quietly approaching Gu Xuyao.

There was nothing Gu Xuyao could do; if Zibi was stubborn, he had no way to deal with her. Since they were already in this situation, it might not be a bad idea to fight these apes.

The black-eyed apes quickly caught up, and Gu Xuyao pulled Zibi to stand with his back against the boulder. This way, they reduced the possibility of being attacked from one side, but also blocked their escape route.

"Zibi, are you afraid?" As Gu Xuyao had thought, these black-eyed apes treated them as prey, and surrounding prey was the most effective and least harmful method for themselves.

Looking at the apes surrounding them, Zibi pursed her lips and shook her head. However, no matter how hard she tried to remain calm, she couldn't make her pale face return to normal. The moonlight, however, provided a cover for her.

How could Gu Xuyao not know Zibi's fear? Just like many novice hunters he had seen entering the forest for the first time, they were often so tense that their limbs were stiff and they couldn't move freely.

"If we survive tonight, you have to sing for me when you get back, okay?" Zibi was previously a tavern owner, and singing a few songs was not a difficult task.

"I want to hear 'Rain on the West Lake at Night' or, um, 'Beating the Drunkard'?"

Zibi couldn't help but laugh, giving Gu Xuyao a scolding look, but her tension was greatly reduced.

"Roar!" At this moment, a powerful roar came, and the black-eyed apes tightly surrounding Gu Xuyao parted to make way for a monkey twice the size of an adult black-eyed ape to walk out.

"Oh?" Gu Xuyao was very familiar with the habits of these social animals. Looking at the monkey, he immediately understood. "It seems our luck is really bad. The group of apes we encountered is led by the ape king on a 'stroll.' Look, it's this big guy. I think this boulder was thrown by him. If he weren't here, we would have escaped by now." Gu Xuyao sighed inwardly, knowing that encountering the ape king meant they were in grave danger.

A 'stroll' is a necessary habit of the black-eyed apes, usually led by the ape king, taking some newly adult apes out of the Great Wild Forest to see the outside world.

After being teased by Gu Xuyao, Zibi's fear was greatly reduced. Seeing this, she couldn't help but put her hands on her hips and stomp her foot, getting angry.

"Why are these wild monkeys attacking us? Aren't monkeys vegetarians? We don't look like trees, do we? Or do we look like some kind of fruit?"

Gu Xuyao was taken aback by Zibi's quick recovery, and with his nerves still on edge, he didn't react.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why are you bringing your little monkeys to cause trouble for us? We are humans, cultivators! You should go back to your Great Wild Forest and behave like a big ape!" Zibi had already vented her anger by complaining to Gu Xuyao, and now she was angrily scolding the ape king.

The ape king, who ruled a tribe of apes, was usually treated with respect by all its subjects. How often had it been scolded so loudly? Although it didn't understand what Zibi was saying, it could tell from her tone and fierce expression that it wasn't good. Anger rose in its heart, and the ape king let out a thunderous roar, scaring Zibi into jumping.

Gu Xuyao quickly shielded Zibi behind him. Although his cultivation was not as high as Zibi's, he had faced more wild beasts than she had.

"Zibi, don't think this is a game. These apes aren't attacking us to eat us, but because they like to attack humans. Isn't that written in the books?" Gu Xuyao frowned, looking at Zibi, who was still shaken. This was probably her first time experiencing such a primal roar up close.

The ape king, meanwhile, was breathing heavily, clearly very angry. It slowly retreated, and the other black-eyed apes began to tighten the circle.

"Roar!" A roar was a command!

The black-eyed apes, receiving the order from the ape king, launched an attack together!

There were at least twenty apes attacking, and a simultaneous attack would be fatal. However, fortunately, Gu Xuyao had positioned himself in front of the boulder, and with Zibi protected, he quickly converted his yuan force. With a thunderclap, lightning descended again!

"Boom!" Countless electric snakes sprang from Gu Xuyao's skin, creating a wave of air. These black-eyed apes, who had just come out of the Great Wild Forest for the first time, had never seen such a sight. Without exception, all the black-eyed apes stopped their attacks.

"Roar!" The ape king, seeing this, was furious and issued another attack command!

However, this momentary pause gave Gu Xuyao a great opportunity. The lightning on his body grew stronger, and the veins on his skin swelled like small snakes.

"Ha!" As if holding his breath for a long time, Gu Xuyao let out a long roar to the sky!

"Second Roar, Unceasing!" The second technique of the Five Roars of Thunder, a skill Gu Xuyao had not yet fully mastered!

The electric snakes, following Gu Xuyao's roar, re-entered his body. His arms rapidly grew, soon becoming thicker than those of the black-eyed apes!

"Gu Gu, you..." At this moment, Zibi finally came to her senses, looking at Gu Xuyao in front of her, not knowing what to say.

How could Gu Xuyao talk to her at this moment? His eyes shot out lightning, and his swollen arms trembled as if they contained an uncontrollable force!

The ape king, seeing this, finally realized the danger. It raised its head and instantly saw Gu Xuyao's plan!

However, it was too late by the time it gave the order.

"Break!" The lightning on Gu Xuyao's body had completely sunk into his body. With his lightning-filled eyes, he punched the boulder behind him!

A dull sound echoed, and the boulder shattered. The massive boulder, which required five people to barely encircle, began to collapse under Gu Xuyao's punch!

The black-eyed apes surrounding the two were completely stunned. By the time the boulder shattered into smaller rocks, they were too late to avoid them.

The ape king let out a roar, quickly smashing the larger pieces of rock with its arms. The smaller pieces of rock, hitting the thick fur of the black-eyed apes, had no effect.

Although it didn't cause fatal damage to the black-eyed apes, by the time the ape king finished dealing with everything, Gu Xuyao and Zibi had already flown away.

"Gu Gu, I'm sorry..." Looking at Gu Xuyao beside her, Zibi felt an indescribable sense of guilt. Even in the moonlight, she could see his pale face.

Gu Xuyao shook his head, about to say something, but a mouthful of blood spurted out, staining his white robe.

"Gu Gu!" Zibi let out a cry, not knowing what to do.

Gu Xuyao wanted to wave his hand to indicate that he was fine, but he couldn't even manage this small gesture. The exhaustion caused his yuan force to rapidly decrease, and the side effects of his overworked body began to show. Dizzy and disoriented, he felt his consciousness slipping away!