[As the Demon Spirit Ape appeared and began slaughtering the cultivators.]
Ye Yu immediately hid behind a large boulder, concealing his presence.
He quietly observed as his teammates were killed one by one by the Demon Spirit Ape.
When silence returned to the battlefield, Song Xuanhan’s sudden voice broke through, yet it didn’t surprise Ye Yu.
After all, Song Xuanhan was a Nascent Soul cultivator, capable of sensing everything within a range of dozens of miles. Naturally, he would have detected Ye Yu’s presence.
But Ye Yu hadn’t planned to stay hidden forever.
He calmly stepped out from behind the boulder.
Just then, he noticed the Demon Spirit Ape standing not far away, its mouth slightly agape.
From the mutilated corpses scattered around, a dense blood mist began to rise, swirling into the Demon Spirit Ape’s mouth.
As the blood mist thickened, the golden fur on the Demon Spirit Ape’s head shone brighter, and the spiritual energy surrounding it surged dramatically.
Seeing this, a playful smile appeared on Ye Yu’s face.
"A spiritual beast that can absorb blood essence? That’s quite rare. So, this is why Song Xuanhan gathered so many cultivators? Interesting."
At the same time, Song Xuanhan was observing Ye Yu.
When he noticed that Ye Yu showed no signs of fear, he felt a twinge of surprise.
He remembered Ye Yu—a late addition to the group, merely at the Qi Refining stage.
Although Ye Yu’s cultivation was weak, his blood essence was barely passable to sustain the Demon Spirit Ape.
But a typical Qi Refining stage cultivator would be terrified by such a scene.
"Is he scared stiff?" Song Xuanhan furrowed his brows slightly and commanded, "Kill him!"
The Demon Spirit Ape, still absorbing blood essence, growled in displeasure, as if to say, What’s the rush over such a low-level Qi Refining cultivator?
Song Xuanhan’s eyelid twitched violently. Something about Ye Yu felt increasingly odd.
As he was about to urge the Demon Spirit Ape again, he abruptly noticed Ye Yu’s cultivation level skyrocketing at an alarming rate.
From late Qi Refining to early Foundation Establishment, then mid Foundation Establishment...
Finally, Ye Yu’s cultivation stabilized at mid-Golden Core.
This outcome didn’t particularly please him.
"Over a hundred teammates died, and I barely advanced two major realms. The efficiency isn’t great," Ye Yu muttered inwardly.
"Still, it’s reasonable. Most of these cultivators were too low-leveled. The power gained depends on their strength, after all."
He sighed. "Next time, I’ll need higher-quality teammates."
Song Xuanhan’s expression turned grim. Within just two breaths, Ye Yu had advanced from late Qi Refining to mid-Golden Core.
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"This kid must have been hiding his true cultivation level. Perhaps mid-Golden Core isn’t even his real strength. Otherwise, why would he remain so calm in front of me, a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
After careful thought, Song Xuanhan asked coldly, "Are you from Taiping City?"
Taiping City was the royal city of the Demon Lord Bai Xichu’s faction, the orthodox force of the Demon Clan, located tens of thousands of miles away from Fenghun Pass.
Ye Yu had heard of Taiping City in passing but had never been there.
Why would Song Xuanhan suddenly think he was from Taiping City?
Ye Yu chose not to dwell on the question and remained silent.
But his silence only heightened Song Xuanhan’s sense of danger.
"Unbelievable. Even here, in this remote borderland, someone from Taiping City found me," Song Xuanhan muttered, scanning the surroundings with his spiritual sense to confirm there were no other cultivators nearby.
Resolving to take a gamble, he signaled the Demon Spirit Ape.
Receiving the order, the Demon Spirit Ape dashed toward Ye Yu with lightning speed.
The Demon Spirit Ape wasn’t concerned. So what if this person’s strength had suddenly surged?
Having absorbed the blood essence of over a hundred Demon cultivators, its power had reached late-Golden Core.
In its mind, tearing apart a mid-Golden Core cultivator was a trivial task.
However, just as it was about to reach Ye Yu, a formation suddenly appeared beneath its feet.
Golden chains emerged in an instant, binding the Demon Spirit Ape tightly and constricting it further with immense force.
The Demon Spirit Ape fell to the ground, howling in pain.
Ye Yu didn’t spare it a glance.
Instead, he turned sharply, raising his right hand to form a sword finger.
A sharp burst of sword energy erupted.
Before Song Xuanhan could react, the sword energy pierced his shoulder, causing him to stagger and collapse to the ground.
Ye Yu stepped on his wound, his gaze icy.
"Trying to distract me with a feint? How childish."
Pale-faced and suppressing the searing pain, Song Xuanhan quickly pleaded, "Spare me! I’ll give you the Demon Spirit Ape! And all my spirit stones and techniques—they’re yours!"
As he spoke, he removed his storage ring and held it up high.
He had realized by now that he was no match for Ye Yu. Begging for his life wasn’t shameful if it meant survival.
The Demon Spirit Ape, however, growled resentfully at Ye Yu, its hatred evident in its eyes.
Ye Yu’s expression remained cold.
With a single thought, the golden chains constricting the Demon Spirit Ape tightened further.
In the next instant, its body began to deform, blood streaming from its orifices.
Two breaths later, the Demon Spirit Ape was crushed into a mist of blood, which dispersed in the wind.
Song Xuanhan froze, his face pale, and exclaimed in disbelief, "You... You’re not from Taiping City. Who are you?!"
"I’m the one who’ll kill you," Ye Yu replied coldly.
With a wave of his hand, a streak of sword energy ended Song Xuanhan’s life.
But Ye Yu didn’t leave.
Instead, he used the Myriad Souls Art to extract Song Xuanhan’s remaining soul.
The moment it appeared, the soul instinctively tried to flee, but Ye Yu caught it effortlessly.
He began a soul-searching technique to uncover the truth.
He was genuinely curious why Song Xuanhan initially thought he was from Taiping City, only to later deny it.
Within mere moments, Ye Yu had absorbed all of Song Xuanhan’s memories and learned the truth about the Demon Spirit Ape’s origins.
It turned out that, ten years ago, Song Xuanhan had been a guard cultivator in Taiping City.
He had lived a diligent life, planning to marry his childhood sweetheart, a junior disciple.
But before their wedding, a powerful man’s son took a liking to her and forcibly violated her.
Ashamed and unable to face Song Xuanhan, she disappeared, leaving him devastated.