The gold ape was a total coward. Once the broadsword was held at its throat, it instantly became as tame as a dog and showed Li Mu the way with an ingratiating smile.
It had no alternative, for it had bumped into its nemesis.
When it met Li Mu’s Third Eye, all its tricks and disguises disappeared at once.
Although it was proud of its speed, it turned out that it could not overtake Li Mu when his Broadsword-commanding Skill was in use.
Li Mu was practically a natural ape-buster.
With Li Mu on its heels, the ape treaded carefully to the depths of the dilapidated Taoist field.
Li Mu saw traces of animal activities around the area. Apparently, this was the ape’s “home”, but it looked even messier than the ramshackle buildings they passed by. At first glance, Li Mu knew that the ape was a poor bachelor.
With the tip of Li Mu’s broadsword directed menacingly at its back, the ape gingerly steered clear of a tree and came to the foot of a mountain at last. It hoisted two withered huge trees about a thousand years old out of their way to reveal a stone door at the rear. Then, it grunted and pointed a hand at the stone door, implying that the treasure was right behind the door.
But how could Li Mu walk into its trap?
He compelled the ape to open the stone door itself.
Behind the door was a stone chamber with several rooms, which were quite bright and spacious. A luminous pearl hung from the ceiling. It not only glowed but also repelled dust, so the whole place was free of dirt. All those rooms were connected by a hall in the middle. Li Mu saw that at one side of the hall stood a purple bookshelf, on which lay rolls of scriptures, brush pots, booklets, and bamboo slips for writing. They all hand an antique air, giving off the aura of a reclusive life. Aside from that, there was a pouf on the ground with a strikingly distinct indentation left by the sitter…
“What’s in there?” demanded Devil Li with a ferocious look.
The ape responded by howling.
Li Mu directly took several swings at it and then ordered, “Speak like a man!”
The ape went speechless.
“All right, I forgot it can’t talk like a human.”
So, Li Mu adopted another strategy. “Go in there and take the treasures out for me.”
The ape hastily shook its head, looking rather terrified. It gesticulated with both hands, as though trying to explain that there were traps at the entrance of the stone chambers.
“You f*ck… You want me to go in even though you know it’s dangerous…” Li Mu snapped. He immediately raised his broadsword and thrust it at the ape.
The ape gave a series of high-pitched shrieks, imploring him to stop.
Li Mu deliberated it for a moment and came to the conclusion that the ape was not trying to trick him, given that it was completely subdued by his violence. “So, is it because its cultivation is not high enough to go in but mine is way higher than its own and so I might have a shot?
“But the thing is, what on earth is in the stone chamber?
“Are those things worth the risk or not?”
In truth, Li Mu had not yet run short of any Cultivation Methods or magic instruments.
The Cultivation Method he had been practicing was the Sea of Stars, which allowed him to refine all the weapons he needed. The old faker had told him that saviors or supernatural beings that could come to one’s aid would never exist for him and he had to rely on himself in all aspects… Well, that sounded like the remarks of the old faker. Anyway, under the influence of the old faker, Li Mu seldom engaged in risky investments that he had zero assurance of.
Nevertheless, it was likely that the place was really the Taoist field of Master Puti.
The stone chamber in front of Li Mu was built at the highest place in the Taoist field. Taking a closer look, if ignoring the mess that the slothful single ape had created, this area had the best geomancy in the entire field. Considering that the stone chamber possessed such a simple and modest air, it could by no means be the dwelling of an ordinary man. Then, it perhaps was the precise place of residence of Master Puti.
Li Mu’s eyes soon were riveted on the booklets and bamboo slips on the bookshelf in the stone chamber.
“What if it is?”
Thinking of the miraculous techniques like the Somersault Cloud and the Seventy-two Metamorphoses… Li Mu involuntarily drooled over the stone chamber.
Moments later, without any hesitation, he gave the ape a hard kick and sent it through the door of the stone chamber.
“Crack! Crack!”
A fit of thunderclaps and bolts of lightning bolts swept across the entrance. In a trice, the mountain ape began to smoke. Its golden fur turned pitch-black. A faint smell of roasted meat started to permeate the place. Then, accompanied by its shrilling screeches, it was thrown through the doorway again by a mysterious power.
“The Taoist Thunder Magic Restriction?”
Li Mu’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Although years had passed by, the Taoist Thunder Magic Restriction was still so impeccable and could be set off so promptly. Could it mean… Well, since the things in the stone chamber were well-kept, those were at least the precious ones in the entire Taoist field. If not, the Taoist Magic Restriction there would not have been so flawless when those in the other parts of the region were all ruined.
Li Mu drooled more wildly at that thought.
He was truly intrigued.
The ape yelped weakly. It lay in the doorway of the stone chamber, foaming and twitching just like someone having a seizure after they got high.
Li Mu bent over to examine the ape. He found that the poor thing was just a little stupefied after being hit by lightning. Though its muscles were jerking in quick spasms, it was not badly injured.
That meant the thunder and lightning at the entrance of the stone chamber were not very powerful.
The ape had a strong body. It could finish off many new Celestial Beings purely with its physical strength. But compared to Li Mu, it had a long way to go. Seeing that the ape had survived the restriction, Li Mu probably could also hold himself together under the attack of the thunder and lightning. The corridor leading the stone door to the inside hall was about five meters in length. Even if he had to inch forward, it would take him no more than 10 minutes. It was no problem for Li Mu to handle the thunder and lightning for that short amount of time.
Such being the case…
Li Mu laughed, then started to peel off his clothes.
That was the only suit of clothes he had in his storage space. Of course, he could not let it be burned by lightning. Otherwise, he would have to walk out of the Everlasting Heaven naked. That would be a huge humiliation. He was known as a Semi-Sage, the Western Qin Empire’s Lord Taibai. If he were to be spotted running around without clothes, his reputation as a psychopath would bandy across the Divine Land within half a day… Even that thought made him shudder.
After getting undressed, Li Mu also took off that hula skirt. It was pointless to wear it in these circumstances.
He did a little warm-up and headed for the door of the stone chamber.
That ape was still twitching uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth as if it had been poisoned.
Li Mu reached out a hand. When his fingers crossed the stone door, thick curves of electricity emerged as he expected. He only felt a little numb but it did not hurt. That kind of thunder and lightning was nothing fearful to Li Mu. Therefore, after casting a glance over his shoulder at the ape having a seizure, he clenched his Samsara Knife and strode through the doorway.
Instantly, thunder and lightning descended upon him.
A paralyzing numbness swept through Li Mu. Smoke rose from his mouth. Extreme pain shot through his body. Even so, he could still hang in there and continue to trudge toward the other end of the corridor step by step.
With every step he took, the power of the thunder and lightning grew stronger.
Li Mu felt like he was being gnawed by 10,000 ants at the same time.
But he could still stand it.
He steeled himself to go on.
Just at that time, the ape suffering a seizure on the ground suddenly sprang up to its legs. It mopped the foam from its mouth and became full of life again, not showing any sign of fatigue. Staring at Li Mu, who was wrapped in the flashes of lightning down the corridor, it cackled jubilantly and put on a grin.
Hearing the noise, Li Mu looked back and his heart skipped a beat.
“Crap! I’ve been tricked!”
“Haw-haw-haw…” The ape roared with gloating laughter. Next, it lifted several large rocks and threw them at the door.
“Rumble!”
When the rocks smashed against the door, strips of eccentric Taoist patterns swiftly soared into the air. After that, the power of the thunder and lightning in the corridor was promptly boosted several-fold. Li Mu felt like a storm had abruptly descended on the already raging sea. Waves rose up right away, aiming to engulf him.
“Fu*k…” Before Li Mu finished that swear, his mouth was already full of lightning and his tongue became too numb to speak.
Thousands of bolts of lightning bit into Li Mu’s body, penetrating his insides.
He started twitching right on the spot, shaking as violently as having a seizure.
The ape leaped up gleefully outside of the door. It finally got its revenge.
However, halfway through its celebration, the ape suddenly widened its eyes and stood thunderstruck on the spot.
Because although Li Mu was convulsing while smoke was rising out of his ears, mouth, and nostrils, and his limbs were wobbling as if made of marshmallow, he kept inching his way to the other end. He did manage to resist the attack of the thunder and lightning and plow on toward the hall.
The ape was petrified.
Next, it panicked.
Because the stone chamber did house a load of treasures. It had been dying to get those treasures for years, but every approach that it took had failed.
It never knew this abhorrent human being could really withstand the most violent bombarding of the thunder restriction at the stone door.
The ape just stood there, watching Li Mu edge down the corridor in several weird postures with an open mouth. In the end, it took Li Mu a whole hour to cross that corridor.
The dazzling flashes of lightning in the corridor suddenly vanished.
Li Mu was standing in the hall of the stone chamber. He was burnt all over. His hair was already reduced to ashes, his scalp charred, and his eyes scarlet, while black smoke was rising from his ears, nostrils, and mouth. His skin had become a black crust due to carbonization, which soon began to crack and fall off, revealing the sizzling flesh beneath…
He looked as if he had been cooked in the oven.
…
By that time, Li Mu only had half of his vigor left.
“Who knew that the ape could be so good at acting?
“I almost had the least unexpected setback!
“But it’s all right. I made it anyway.”
Thanks to the Zhenwu Boxing that kept strengthening his body, Li Mu survived the last few seconds of the torture with the first four styles of Zhenwu Boxing. Moreover, as the flashes of lightning carrying Taoist patterns emerged, Li Mu’s body was refined even more thoroughly. The whole suffering turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for it helped him to fully master the fourth style—Grasping the Bird’s Tail—and gain a thorough understanding of the art after breaking through the bottleneck that he had been stuck at for a long time.
Li Mu started to operate the Xiantian Skill. Internal qi began to circulate in his body. In less than half an hour, all the burns left by thunder and lightning were cured.
At that moment, he felt like a new-born.
His strength had been increased tenfold or more.
Li Mu flexed his ankles, paying no attention to the ape that was crying, shouting, thumping its chest, and stamping its feet in regret on the other side of the stone door. Then, he dashed straight to the bookshelf in the hall and opened the first book he saw. As he caught sight of the two ancient seal characters born on the cover, he quivered despite himself, almost unable to catch his breath.
“Somersault Cloud!
“Is this truly the secret method that enabled the Monkey King to travel hundreds of miles with a somersault over the cloud?
“Is this really the place of M-M-Master Puti?”