Chapter 169: A Large Club

Chapter 169: A Large Club

"Outrageous!"

As the officials and Chu Liang's group gathered, other cultivators surrounded them to watch the commotion. Among them was a tall old man with sharp features, round eyes, and a keen gaze, quietly observing everything from the shadows.

This was the human form of that Old White Ape in the valley.

Having lived in the valley for many years, it considered all the spirit plants in the valley as its own possessions. When Chu Liang took away the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower earlier, it felt intense resentment. It followed silently and made plans to frame Chu Liang for a crime.

According to its plan, the ideal outcome would be framing Chu Liang for the murder. If that wasn't possible, it just needed to wait until the Golden-Furred Hou was restrained before seeking revenge from the two youngsters. It could obviously reclaim the treasure of nature.

However, it hadn't anticipated that Chu Liang would face this dangerous situation with no fear and swiftly investigated the truth of the matter.

Then, the city official cleared the Golden-Furred Hou of suspicion in front of everyone.

It had initially planned to witness the success of its scheme at the crime scene, only to find that the plan had completely failed.

And it then felt nervous.

Those two young cultivators, upon a moment of contemplation, would likely figure out the mastermind behind this incident, and they might come back for revenge.

If it had to deal with this situation alone, it would be difficult.

With these thoughts in mind, it left in a hurry, walking a considerable distance before revealing its true form. Then, like a swirling white wind, it returned to the Black Whale Mountain and retreated to its dwelling in the valley. Yet, it didn't stop there. It continued on and reached the other end of the valley.

There was another cave dwelling.

Inside lived a fox demon who had been cultivating for centuries, also at the peak of the fourth realm. Its cultivation prowess matched, if not surpassed, that of the Old White Ape.

Back then, the Old White Ape had been a follower of an elder of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion. It picked up numerous martial skills and had impressive combat abilities. Among demonic creatures, none could rival its strength.

Following the death of the elder, the Old White Ape parted ways with the Celestial Pivot Pavilion. While journeying, it stumbled upon this place by chance. At that time, the fox demon had already been cultivating in the valley and had settled down before the Old White Ape had arrived. However, with its formidable combat prowess, the Old White Ape claimed the fox demon's dwelling as its own.

The fox demon had a bunch of powerful divine skills, hence why the Old White Ape had not been able to kill it completely. Additionally, the fox demon threatened to wreck all the medicinal herbs in this mountain. So, in the end, the Old White Ape decided to make an agreement with the fox demon.

The agreement stated that both demons would coexist in the valley and could use its spirit plants as needed. However, anyone else approaching the valley would face severe attacks.

Given their complex relationship, both demons remained cautious around each other. The fox demon couldn't live too close to the Old White Ape, prompting it to establish another cave dwelling at the opposite end of the valley. Generally, they upheld a respectful distance, minimizing interference and avoiding direct contact.

However, the Old White Ape took the initiative to visit today.

"Huh?" Lin Bei wondered, "Where did it go? Could it have guessed that we were coming for revenge and fled in advance?"

"Definitely not," Chu Liang replied, pointing to several intact spirit plants around them, "If the Old White Ape had escaped, it would have harvested these mature spirit plants. It would have never left it here for us."

"That's strange," Lin Bei remarked.

"Stay alert; it could be avoiding the Golden-Furred Hou and planning a surprise attack from the dark," Chu Liang warned. He then spoke loudly, "If it doesn't show up, let's start gathering these spirit plants!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden burst of white mist appeared from all directions. In an instant, it filled the entire valley. At the same time, a strong wind kicked up, making it hard for anyone to see!

"Fly up and take a look," Chu Liang sensed something was amiss and immediately signaled Lin Bei and the Golden-Furred Hou to take flight.

However, just as the two humans and the beast were about to ascend simultaneously, a swift white figure suddenly shot out from the side. It was the Old White Ape!

With a big club in its hand, it raised it high and swung the club down with a loud roar, shouting, "Down you go!"

This powerful strike packed a tremendous punch, shaking the very foundations with an incredibly intimidating force that could be felt across the entire landscape!

The two people going up suddenly felt a strong force pushing them down into the mist below. Yet, the Golden-Furred Hou boldly lifted its head and took the impact with its big skull!

Bang!

Despite the thick and tough fur of the Golden-Furred Hou, being left hanging in the air with no solid ground beneath its feet resulted in it getting swiftly pushed down by the club, and it landed back on the ground.

As they moved back and forth, the distance between the two humans and the Hou creature increased slightly. The dense fog made it impossible to see anything within a foot in front of them.

"Golden-Furred Hou!"

A voice suddenly called out from among the mist.

The Golden-Furred Hou raised its big head and saw a figure in the distance that kind of looked like Chu Liang. But because the surrounding was very hazy, it was hard to tell. So, the Big Head decided to move closer to get a better look.

The figure who was supposedly "Chu Liang" then took a few steps back, creating some distance, which prompted the Golden-Furred Hou to follow. After several repetitions of this, "Chu Liang" eventually led the Hou to the edge of the fog.

Deep within the dense fog, the real Chu Liang contemplated altering his course and trying to escape. Suddenly, a sense of impending danger washed over him.

He sensed that some kind of energy or presence was focusing on him.

"You will soon realize how wrong it was to come here." A sinister and chilling laughter reverberated through the fog.

Once again, a large club approached!