Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race

After some idle chat, Xu Lei brought up the matter at hand, "We've discovered a Purple Apricot Fruit Tree, but it's guarded by a late-stage, first-order Strong Ape."

"Purple Apricot Fruit? How many are there?" Qin Qing asked excitedly.

Purple Apricot Fruits were known to enhance mana, making them suitable for Qi Refining Cultivators to consume.

"When we found the Purple Apricot Fruit Tree, there were more than twenty, but it's unclear now," Xu Lei explained that the Strong Ape had been guarding the Purple Apricot Fruit Tree, and it wasn't certain that some fruits hadn't been eaten during this period.

"We shouldn't delay, let's set off immediately! Fairy Ye can set up a formation, and once we lure them into it, we will certainly catch them easily," Xu Wu urged.

Shen Long had no objections, feeling that it was better to secure the Purple Apricot Fruits sooner.

"Then let's set off! I hope everything goes smoothly," said Xu Lei, and the group left Qingzhu Courtyard.

After leaving the marketplace, Xu Lei summoned the Green Cloud Boat, stepped onto it, and Shen Long followed suit with the other seven people.

With a wave of a spell, Xu Lei caused the Green Cloud Boat to gently ascend and start flying into the sky.

Five days later, the Green Cloud Boat descended onto an open plain, not far from a bamboo forest of green hue.

Shen Long and the others disembarked from the Green Cloud Boat; Xu Lei stowed away the vehicle and cast a defensive layer over himself as he headed toward the bamboo forest.

A thought crossed Shen Long's mind, and a water-blue light screen appeared, encasing his entire body, as he followed.

Ye Yuqing, along with the other five, cast their own defenses and followed suit.

They weren't moving quickly, their gazes constantly scanning their surroundings with expressions full of vigilance.

After half an hour, they stood at the foot of a steep mountain, with a cave several zhang wide midway up the slope, the vegetation above dense and lush.

"The Strong Ape is in that cave," Xu Lei pointed toward the cave midway up the slope.

Ye Yuqing and Ye Yutang took out their Formation Flag and Disk and began array setting, waiting for them to complete the formation.

Qin Qing's feet shone with green light as he rushed up the mountain.

Ye Yuqing pulled out a green command flag, channeled her mana into it, and the flag radiated an eye-catching green light, releasing a vast expanse of green mist to envelop the group of seven.

As the green mist dissipated, they too vanished from sight.

Before long, a loud roar echoed from within the cave, and the tall mountain peaked trembled faintly. Qin Qing burst out of the cave with a look of panic on his face.

He was adorned in yellow armor, the product of an Earth Armor Technique.

Qin Qing rapidly descended the mountain, and before he'd gotten very far, a massive, yellow-furred Giant Ape emerged from the cave, standing over a zhang tall, baring its teeth and snarling, its body covered in yellow bristles.

The Strong Ape possessed immense strength and was not easily dealt with.

The Strong Ape lifted its right foot and stamped it hard on the ground, causing a slight tremor, as more than a dozen thick, yellow Earth Cones burst from the soil, heading straight for Qin Qing.

The yellow Earth Cones struck the yellow armor, resulting in a series of dull thuds; yet the yellow armor remained unscathed, though Qin Qing's pace slowed down.

He quickly took out a green flying knife, cutting through the yellow Earth Cones. At this moment, the Strong Ape caught up, closing the distance to just about a zhang away from Qin Qing.

A green vine as thick as an adult's arm burst out of the ground, entwining the Strong Ape's right leg. The Strong Ape tore at the vine violently, snapping it, but soon thereafter, another nearly as thick green vine burst from the ground, wrapping around the ape's left leg.

It easily broke the green vine again, but yet another thick green vine emerged and twined around the Strong Ape's right leg.

The green vines were getting nowhere with the Strong Ape, but this provided Qin Qing with the opportunity to escape to the base of the mountain.

The Strong Ape had no intention of continuing the chase, it turned and headed toward its cave when suddenly a red fireball the size of a water jar descended from the sky, smashing onto its body and engulfing it in raging flames.

The Strong Ape let out a roar of rage, turning back with a ferocious glint in its eye.

Qin Qing maneuvered a green flying dagger at the Strong Ape, which showed no fear and met the attack with its right fist.

The green flying dagger struck the Strong Ape's right fist, producing a muffled clang like metal clashing with iron and rebounding through the air.

Qin Qing conjured a Fireball Talisman, transforming it into a red fireball the size of a millstone and hurling it at the Strong Ape.

The Strong Ape, sensing the high temperatures radiating from the red fireball, dared not take it head on and attempted to dodge, but a thick green vine burst out of the ground, entangling its left leg. Just as it snapped the green vine, the red fireball smashed onto it.

The fur of the Strong Ape had been scorched off in large patches, thoroughly enraging it, prompting it to charge down the mountain.

Qin Qing's feet shone with green light as he sped off into the distance. The Strong Ape relentlessly pursued him, but upon reaching the foot of the mountain, several thick green vines emerged from the ground, ensnaring its feet.

The Strong Ape struggled mightily but to no avail.

Shen Long and his group of eight also revealed themselves, each either wielding a Magic Artifact or casting spells, attacking the Strong Ape.

Ye Yutang released a Lihuo Falcon, and Ye Yuqing released a Green Wind Tiger.

Outnumbered and trapped by the formation, the Strong Ape became a living target and stood no chance against Shen Long and his party. In less than fifteen minutes, its head was severed by a green short sword.

"We've finally dealt with it."

Xu Wen's face showed delight.

They collected the Strong Ape's carcass, retracted the formation, and walked up the mountain.

Entering the cave, they found it dark and damp inside.

Sun Yang took out a piece of Moonlight Stone for lighting, and soon, they arrived at the end of the cave, entering a chamber about an acre large.

In the lower-left corner stood a purple fruit tree about three meters tall, with nineteen oval-shaped purple fruits hanging on it.

"Purple Apricot Fruits!"

Qin Qing's face lit up with joy.

"It ate quite a few, but nineteen are left."

Sun Yang frowned and remarked.

They plucked all of the Purple Apricot Fruits. Xu Lei, Ye Yutang, Ye Yuqing, and Sun Yang each took three; Shen Long, Qin Qing, and Xu Wen each took two; Xu Wu got one Purple Apricot Fruit.

While the Purple Apricot Fruit tree was also worth many Spirit Stones, their Storage Bags didn't have enough space, and it was inconvenient to carry, but it could be transported with the Green Cloud Boat.

They carefully excavated the Purple Apricot Fruit tree and Xu Lei summoned the Green Cloud Boat, placing the tree on top of the boat.

They one by one boarded the Green Cloud Boat as Xu Lei cast a spell, causing the boat to shine with green light and fly towards the exit.

After flying out of the cave, the Green Cloud Boat soared into the high sky.

A piercing screech echoed through the air. A massive Green Giant Eagle appeared above them, rapidly closing in on their position.

"This is bad, it's a second-tier demonic bird,"

Ye Yuqing's face turned pale as she quickly conjured more than a dozen Fire Serpent Talismans, turning them into several meter-long red fire serpents that charged towards the Green Giant Eagle.

Xu Lei cast a spell, causing the Green Cloud Boat to descend rapidly, landing on the ground.

A sharp sound of slicing air ensued as dozens of green Wind Blades descended from the sky, slashing towards them.

Shen Long's mind stirred, and a blue water curtain appeared around him, while he also summoned the Xuangui Shield, spinning non-stop around him.

He took out an Earth Escape Charm and slapped it onto his body, a flash of yellow light, and a yellow barrier appeared, enveloping him as he burrowed into the earth and escaped underground.