Whether it was provocation or intimidation,
Ye Chen would not be scared off, nor would he flee the valley like those Great Demons.
The Fire Elemental Spirit Stone had to be obtained!
If previously the allure of this Legacy Treasure for Ye Chen wasn't too great, the emergence of such a powerful Willow Demon from the nourishment of the Fire Elemental Spring revealed the preciousness of the Fire Elemental Spirit Stone that had bred the Spiritual Spring.
Ye Chen, of course, would not pass up such a treasure!
"Fight those three Willow Demons a few more times, and see if they have any weaknesses."
Even though he had been injured in the previous exchange, the fighting will in Ye Chen's eyes was not shaken in the slightest, having opponents only meant he needed to improve his strength even more!
Boom!
Gang Yuan True Qi once again burst forth from within Ye Chen as he lunged at the three Willow Demons again.
This time, as the Gang Yuan True Qi was released from around Ye Chen, an enormous golden monkey phantom hundreds of meters tall suddenly burst into brilliance around him!
This was unmistakably the phantom of the golden monkey from the Third Transformation of the Nine Transformation Fighting Body.
Facing the incredibly powerful Willow Demons, Ye Chen unleashed this technique as well!
Gang Yuan True Qi roared out, and the golden monkey phantom burned furiously. Wrapped in the silvery and golden glows, Ye Chen once more charged into the range of tens of meters surrounding the three willow trees.
At the same time, ninety-six Swords of True Qi burst forth from around him, forming the most powerful of the four major sword formations he controlled, the "Star Gathering Sword Formation"!
As Ye Chen arrived in front of the three willow trees, the ninety-six Swords of True Qi instantly converged to form a single dazzling point of starlight, thrusting towards the trunk of the Willow Demon.
Pu! Pu! Pu!
As Ye Chen launched his attack, thousands of willow branches, out of tens of thousands on the trees, suddenly shot out like thousands of fiery red arrows, aimed directly at Ye Chen.
At the same time, hundreds of willow branches fused into a single massive branch, blocking the dazzling point of starlight that had emerged from the Star Gathering Sword Formation.
The Star Gathering Sword Formation, which combined dozens of profound sword intents from ninety-six Swords of True Qi, collided violently with the combined attack of hundreds of willow branches. Amid the endless splatter of True Qi light, the formidable Star Gathering Sword Formation was actually blasted apart by the merged willow branches!
Meanwhile, the thousands of willow branches attacking Ye Chen once again enshrouded him within their endless barrage.
Even the roiling Gang Yuan True Qi and the burning golden monkey phantom around Ye Chen could not withstand the assault of these thousands of branches!
Boom!
Just as Ye Chen was about to be pierced through by the thousands of willow branches, a "whoosh" sounded from the center of his forehead, suddenly emitting a dazzling crimson sword light.
Crimson Fire Flying Sword!
When neither the Gang Yuan True Qi nor the Nine Transformation Fighting Body's golden monkey light could withstand the Willow Demon's assault, and when the sword formation's power fell short against the strength of the branches, Ye Chen finally unleashed his life-bound flying sword.
The tiny streak of the Crimson Fire Flying Sword expanded to dozens of meters in size in an instant upon being released. Then, it swirled around Ye Chen's body and swept towards the thousands of willow branches flying at him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Crimson Fire Flying Sword, which Ye Chen had nurtured for nearly half a year, now wielded the might of a top-notch Spiritual Artifact. With one sweep, it slashed a large swath of willow branches away.
However, many more branches continued to shoot towards Ye Chen, and even the Crimson Fire Flying Sword could not cleave through all the myriad branches in the sky.
"Retract!"
"Instant Change!"
Having exhausted various methods and still unable to contend with the three great Willow Demons, Ye Chen instantly retracted the Crimson Fire Flying Sword back into the Sword Palace Acupoint, and used his Instantaneous Movement ability to transport himself dozens of miles away.
"Eeya!"
As soon as it emerged, the little monkey sprang onto Ye Chen's shoulder, rubbing its small head affectionately against Ye Chen's neck.
At the same time, its gem-like, dazzling black eyes also stared at the three Willow Demons and the Fire Elemental Spring enveloped by countless willow branches.
"Eeya, eeya!"
The little fellow still couldn't speak; it pointed at the Fire Elemental Spring with its small finger and kept calling out to Ye Chen.
Having spent some time together after leaving the ancestral lands' secret realm, Ye Chen knew how clever the little monkey was. From its gestures, he could tell it was trying to say it wanted to retrieve the water from the Spiritual Spring.
Could it be that while in the Heaven Spirit Ring, the little monkey had noticed the situation with the Willow Demons and the Fire Elemental Spring, and now it was volunteering to contend with the Willow Demons?
"Little monkey, those three Willow Demons are formidable. Don't go; you might get hurt."
Although the Artifact Spirit had once mentioned in the ancestral lands' secret realm that this little monkey was no common creature and was a powerful offspring of something called a 'True Spirit,' Ye Chen wouldn't let it take any risks.
After all, he had promised the Artifact Spirit to take good care of the little monkey on behalf of Heavenly Saint Di Kong.
"Eeya!"
Of course, the exceptionally clever little monkey understood Ye Chen's words. Seeing Ye Chen's disapproval, it gestured anxiously with its tiny fingers, and at last, its body suddenly flashed with golden light. In an instant, it shot upwards hundreds of meters high, then in the next moment, it was back in front of Ye Chen.
"Such speed!"
Witnessing the little monkey's action, Ye Chen's eyes widened in shock.
He found that the monkey's speed surpassed even that of the Willow Demons' attacks—much faster than his own ability for Instantaneous Movement!
Ye Chen knew from the Artifact Spirit that the little monkey had only been born a few months ago. Could it have reached such high speeds in just a few months after being born?
Could the offspring of the divine 'True Spirit' actually be so incredibly powerful?!
This was the first time the little monkey had shown its strength to Ye Chen, and it astonished him profoundly!
Seeing Ye Chen's amazement, the little monkey was thrilled beyond measure and began calling out "eeya" excitedly—it seemed quite proud that its show of strength had frightened Ye Chen!
The next moment, the little monkey pointed at the Fire Elemental Spring and disappeared instantly.
By the time Ye Chen had recovered from his surprise, the little monkey had already shot toward the Willow Demons.
"Little monkey!"
While he was astounded by the little monkey's speed, Ye Chen was more worried that it might be at a disadvantage against the Willow Demons.
He was not unable to deal with the Willow Demons, for he possessed the Heavenly Saint Bracelet. With it, he could easily slay the Willow Demons, but the Heavenly Saint Bracelet was far more valuable than the Fire Elemental Spring, so of course, Ye Chen wouldn't deplete it just to obtain the spring water.
At that moment, Ye Chen took out the Heavenly Saint Bracelet while moving instantly toward the Willow Demons.
He wouldn't let the little monkey get hurt; if it truly came under attack from the Willow Demons, Ye Chen would be prepared to expend the Heavenly Saint Beads on the bracelet to kill the Willow Demons!
During Ye Chen's instant movement, he heard an "eeya" from the little monkey as it shot back to his side, holding in its tiny palm more than a dozen drops of water from the Fire Elemental Spring!
When Ye Chen looked again at the three Willow Demons, he saw that they were furiously thrashing their branches, clearly enraged at the theft of the spring water. Yet even so, they couldn't harm the little monkey, which meant that their attacking speed was ineffective against the little monkey's extreme velocity!
The little monkey had indeed breached the containment of the three Willow Demons and secured water from the Fire Elemental Spring!
"Eeya!"
Amidst Ye Chen's astonishment, the little monkey let out a soft call, and then Ye Chen saw the little creature, as if presenting a treasure, offer the dozen drops of Fire Elemental Spring water it held in its palm to him.
Clearly, the little monkey intended to give the spring water to Ye Chen!