Chapter 587: Impasse

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*Hong…* The giant ape landed in a pitiful manner, its massive body stirring up the dust around it.

A surprising sight emerged. As it landed, an intense tremor ran through the solid Spirit Essence that enveloped its body!

Before this moment, neither Wards nor the attacks from the cultivators could shake its protective barrier in the slightest. However, with just a simple fall from the air now, that such a strong tremor would appear was clearly abnormal.

It was reaching its limit!

This thought popped into the minds of all the cultivators who witnessed this scene.

“Kill it!” a furious roar sounded, and even more intense and concentrated attacks covered the area where the giant ape landed.

The already turbulent Spirit Essence shook even more violently.

The giant ape struggled to climb up and roared in a frenzy. Sound waves spread out, causing severe pain and bleeding to the ears of nearby cultivators. But they didn’t retreat, instead circulating their own Spiritual Power madly and attacking the giant ape.

The giant ape leapt from the ground once again, but under the envelopment of the Aerial Lock Ward, the higher it went, the greater the pressure it had to endure. For an elite-level Spirit Beast like itself, jumping a hundred meters at a time should usually be an effortless ordeal. However, this time, it barely managed to jump less than three meters before quickly descending under the pressure of the Aerial Lock Ward.

It clearly sensed that something was wrong and no longer wasted its efforts. Instead, it charged fiercely in a particular direction, clearly intending to force its way out of their encirclement.

“Don’t let it escape!” the Fox Mutant shouted.

At once, more than ten cultivators rushed out to block the giant ape’s path of escape. The forefront of the group consisted of several stalwart Body-Tempering Cultivators wielding Spirit Artifacts and large shields.

Spells and telekinetic techniques bombarded the area, but they still couldn’t stop the giant ape from trying to break through. When it came close, the body cultivators roared, raising their shields in front of them, and their blood surged as they forcefully resisted its charge.

With a sweep of its hand, the giant ape struck the cultivator at the very front, causing them to groan as they were swept into the air, constantly spitting out blood as he turned in the air. By the time he landed, he had already fallen unconscious.

Following that was a second Body-Tempering Cultivator, then a third…

The giant ape was like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, and no cultivator could resist it.

Just as the giant ape was about to break free, a violent burst of fire erupted, accompanied by deafening explosions. Flames surged, enveloping the beast.

The remaining few Explosive Wards emitted their final brilliant shine of light.

In the next moment, the towering figure of the giant ape tore through the flames and charged out. However, before it could move more than a few steps, another Grand Ward was activated, and a dome of light enveloped it in an instant. The giant ape rammed into the dome, causing ripples to spread on its surface, but it did not break through. Instead, it was pushed back a few steps by the impact of the Grand Ward.

Trap Ward!

This was originally intended to help the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley flee, but it unexpectedly played an unforeseen role at this moment.

Roaring in anger, the giant ape clenched its enormous palm into a fist and pounded at the Trap Ward’s barrier. With just a few simple punches, the barrier shattered with a loud crash.

However, during this delay of a few breaths, the surviving cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley had finished surrounding it.

As the barrier shattered, attacks from all directions engulfed the giant ape, submerging it in colorful rays of light.

Painful roars resounded from the center of the chaotic Spiritual Power, accompanied by the faint sound of something shattering.

After a full five breaths of time, the giant ape finally broke free from the onslaught.

But its current appearance shocked all the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley.

The once invincible solid protective Spirit Essence that enveloped it had completely vanished, and its red fur was heavily damaged. Not only that, it had numerous wounds all over its body that were dripping with fresh blood!

“Good!” The Fox Mutant, who had been observing the scene, showed a delighted expression. [Master, do you see this? After so many years of waiting and perseverance, the day when Xian’er can avenge you has finally come.]

After the Spirit Essence protecting the giant ape was shattered, the elite-level Spirit Beast that used to be so arrogant was now in a pitiable state. Seeing that victory was within reach, the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley unleashed even fiercer attacks.

The giant ape roared furiously, raising its arm to block its front, but it couldn’t withstand the onslaught of spells and telekinetic techniques, and its injuries only increased.

If it were an ordinary Spirit Beast, then it would have long been reduced to dust under such an intense assault without the protection of its Spirit Essence. However, an elite-level Spirit Beast was truly astonishing in terms of its physique. Despite its numerous injuries, they were barely breaking through its skin.

It had lost its former imposing demeanor, and it could sense the precarious situation it was in. The once invincible beast on the Cloud River Battlefield had now smelled the scent of death.

This made it panic.

Instinctively, it attempted to break through in one direction, but every time it tried, it was forcefully driven back by the cultivators’ relentless attacks. No matter which direction it chose, the outcome was the same.

Though the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley had suffered heavy casualties, there were still around fifty cultivators remaining. Facing an elite-level Spirit Beast whose Mutant powers were depleted, they naturally had the upper hand!

If nothing unexpected happened, it wouldn’t take long before the Berserk Giant Ape would be slain by the cultivators!

Killing an elite-level Spirit Beast was something unimaginable before, but at this moment, victory was within their grasp. In this situation, even without the Fox Mutant’s command, the cultivators in the valley spared no effort to attack it.

However, at this moment, the Berserk Giant Ape suddenly let out a furious roar. When it opened its mouth, a brilliant earth-coloured light burst forth.

The light transformed into a straight line, shooting forward and obliterating all the spell techniques and telekinetic techniques in its path, crumbling everything it touched.

The first cultivator in its path froze in place, only looking down in realization at his chest after the earth-coloured light disappeared from his sight.

What he saw caused his pupils to contract.

A fist-sized hole had been pierced through his chest. His vision blurred, then he collapsed to the ground.

As if triggering a chain reaction, after the first cultivator fell, seven or eight cultivators behind him who were all standing in the same direction, fell to the ground as well. Each of them had a fist-sized hole in their bodies, their vitality fading away.

Most people had no idea what had just happened.

Lu Ye, who closely monitored the battlefield from the air, saw it clearly. The earth-coloured light was unmistakably the color of its Mutant Core. The raging giant ape had directly sacrificed its Mutant Core to attack.

He had heard of Spirit Beasts attacking with their Mutant Cores as a last resort in dire situations, but not every one of them possessed such an ability. After all, the Mutant Core was the crystallization of a Spirit Beast’s strength, and once separated from the body, it would cause severe damage to their vitality and even lead to immediate death. So, even if some Spirit Beasts had this ability, they wouldn’t dare to use it unless it was absolutely necessary.

For the Berserk Giant Ape to unleash its Mutant Core at this moment indicated that it had been pushed to its limit, resorting to making desperate moves.

The result was the demise of the seven or eight cultivators in the direction of its Mutant Core attack!

This scene sent shivers down his spine.

Fighting against an elite-level Spirit Beast was absolutely unforgiving. Although it was already on its last legs, it could still retaliate with such terrifying means.

He was grateful that his position in Fox Immortal Valley was that of a Ward Cultivator and that his participation in this deadly battle was not required. Otherwise, he could very well have been among the deceased cultivators.

This was not something that could be avoided just by being cautious. The cultivators who managed to survive were not necessarily stronger, but rather luckier.

Originally, the encirclement was airtight, and no matter which direction the Berserk Giant Ape tried to break free, it would be driven back by the cultivators. However, with the Mutant Core attack, a gap had appeared in the encirclement.

Almost in the moment when the earth-coloured light vanished, the Berserk Giant Ape charged through the front and halfway through, retracted its Mutant Core and fled into the distance.

The surviving cultivators were obviously shocked by the previous attack and were unable to react for a moment.

“What are you standing there for?” the Fox Mutant yelled, her once beautiful face now twisted and hideous, and venomous words spewed forth from her mouth. “If it escapes today, all of you will die here!”

As soon as she spoke, the faces of the cultivators changed drastically.

Zhou Yuntian, who was covered in blood, raised his arm and shouted, “Chase after it!”

Immediately, he soared into the air and rushed towards the direction where the giant ape was fleeing, followed closely by the surviving cultivators.

The giant ape had already depleted its Mutant power after being attacked, and it was forced to use its Mutant Core once again. At this moment, it could be said that it was severely injured, so even though it escaped the range of the Aerial Lock Grand Ward, its speed was not fast. In just a moment, the cultivators caught up to the giant ape.

A new battle erupted, but this time, the cultivators had the absolute upper hand.

The Fox Mutant also joined the chase. Seeking revenge and settling grievances naturally required her personal involvement in order to be meaningful.

Xie Yunhan called out to Lu Ye and flew over there as well.

Lu Ye lagged behind, taking advantage of everyone’s lack of attention to raise his hand and tap the Battlefield Imprint, sending out a message.

By the time Lu Ye arrived at the battlefield, the situation had become clear.

The Berserk Giant Ape, though struggling desperately, had exhausted its Spirit Essence. The devastating strike of its Mutant Core had further depleted its vitality, leaving it covered in wounds. Its strength now was not even half of what it was at its peak.

Even though the number of cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley had been reduced by more than half, there were still nearly forty people left. With the giant ape unable to fly, how could it be a match for them?

As time passed, the giant ape’s momentum weakened, and its wounds multiplied. The blood flowing from its body dyed the ground beneath it red.

Until a certain moment, it could no longer hold on and its large body fell to the ground with a loud crash.

It wasn’t dead, but it had lost the ability to fight.

The surviving cultivators surrounded it in a tight formation, but there was no cheering nor excitement, only a profound sense of awe. The losses in this battle were truly devastating.

The Fox Mutant parted the crowd and walked forward with a seductive stride, her eyes filled with palpable hatred.

“Be careful, Mistress!” Zhou Yuntian called out to her as he and several other cultivators followed the Fox Mutant closely.

The Fox Mutant took to the air and stood ten meters above the giant ape, overlooking the scene below with a cold expression. Though her eyes were icy, there was a sense of satisfaction in them. “Even you will one day fall!”

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