Chapter 234: Chapter 234. Tracking the Jue Apes

On the other side of the underground network, the sound of the siren stone was also heard. Xian Mei stopped when she heard the sound. She was still chasing Amon, but she was not as hurried as before. By now, she knew Amon wasn’t trying to flee from her. Even if she stayed put, Amon would remain close.

When she turned in the direction of the sound, a bolt flew by. It cut a nearby vine, which Xian Mei was not aware of. A boulder lined with sharp spikes swung toward her. She reacted by swinging her saber. The boulder split in two. This natural trap was nowhere near enough to threaten her life.

Amon only used the trap as a diversion. While Xian Mei’s attention was on the swinging boulder, he threw his Poison Cloud Bullet. The bullet exploded near Xian Mei, releasing purple smoke. Amon also used the Silent Swift Shadow Fist. He was invisible when he executed this martial art, but Xian Mei was sensitive enough to feel the rush of the air coming at her. She jumped away just as Amon’s fist came punching.

Xian Mei evaded the first punch but not its follow-up strikes. Trails of fists rushed toward Xian Mei while she was in mid-air. Her saber danced in front of her to parry the strikes. But since she wasn’t prepared, she couldn’t block all of them. Two energy fists slammed into her abdomen. Loud clanking sounds resulted from the impact. She was thrown back by the force.

She wasn’t unbalanced by the impacts. She safely landed on her feet. There were cracks on the wooden layer that protected her abdomen, but they were not broken. The energy fists failed to penetrate her defense.

Amon was impressed. This martial art managed to beat Abdu, a Beginning Transformation Stage cultivator, when Amon was still a Peak Strength Stage cultivator. Yet, it failed to deal damage to Xian Mei. A senior student of the royal academy was indeed in a different league compared to a common bodyguard of a clan.

Not only that, but the poison from the purple smoke didn’t seem to affect her. She probably had a natural resistance to poison, or her wooden skin art also gave her resistance to poison. Whatever the reason, airborne poison didn’t work on her.

Amon didn’t stay for long. He turned around and dashed away. He might win in a one-on-one fight, but it would not be fast enough. He had seen Xian Mei leaving signs along the path. The other seniors might catch up. He needed to keep moving. If only Xian Mei didn’t have that wooden-skin defensive art, his poison would have made short work of her.

Amon contemplated while running. This was not working. One-quarter of his traps had been broken. It was pointless to use the same tactic. He needed to improvise.

After thinking, he decided to take the risk. At the next branching paths, he took the path he hadn’t ventured before. This was the path he had avoided during his exploration. The reason was that this path was where the tracks of the Jue Apes led to.

*

Back on the other side, Wu Di met teacher Yong Ling and Gao Xi on his way out. He told them about what had happened. The three quickly ran back into the cave’s depths to help Wu Chun.

When they arrived at the place where Wu Di encountered the Jue Apes, they saw Tuang Yin and Wei Cao. The cave Tuang Yin and Wei Cao were in was also part of the underground network. They followed the sound of the Siren Stone and arrived here.

“Where did Wu Chun run to?” Yong Ling asked.

“That side,” Wu Di pointed.

“Stick together!” Yong Ling told everyone.

The five went in the direction indicated by Wu Di. Gao Xi wasn’t concerned about Wu Chun. What was in his mind was the wish that Amon didn’t sound his Siren Stone at this time. It would only complicate the situation. One of these five might offer to accompany him if he volunteered to go to Amon’s aid.

They ran into a branching path soon after.

“Where to go?” Tuang Yin asked.

“This way,” Yong Ling pointed.

“How do you know?” Gao Xi asked.

“There are fresh scratches on the wall and the ceiling. These should be from the Jue Apes that were chasing her,” Yong Ling answered.

The five resumed their pursuit.

“How many Jue Apes attacked you?” Tuang Yin asked Wu Di while running.

“Five,” Wu Di answered.

Five Jue Apes were no problem. During the past few days, they learned that teacher Gao Xi had the cultivation of the Beginning Mystic Stage, while teacher Yong Ling was at the Intermediate Mystic Stage. If they found those Jue Apes, the two teachers should make short work of those spirit beasts. The problem was finding Wu Chun within this vast network of caves.

After several turns, they paused at another intersection. This time, they stopped longer. When they still didn’t move after one minute passed, Tuang Yin asked, “Teacher Yong Ling, which way should we take this time?”

“I can’t tell…,” Yong Ling answered. “This intersection has many tracks of the Jue Apes, but they go in all directions. I think we have entered an area with heavy traffic by the Jue Apes.”

“Heavy traffic… That doesn’t sound good,” Tuang Yin remarked.

“It’s not. Stay close,” Yong Lin reminded again. “The Jue Apes will attack en masse. Teacher Xi and I can handle them, but it will be difficult to protect you if there are too many.”

“So… Which way to take?” Wei Cao asked.

Yong Ling couldn’t answer. At this rate, any path she chose would be a gamble. When she was still unsure, she heard approaching footsteps. She immediately put herself before everybody facing that direction. A long white spear appeared in her hand.

“Who is there?” She called while preparing an attack.

“Teacher Yong Ling…?” A voice called back. Two figures came out of the darkness. They were Lin Fung and Xa Jien.

“Why are you all here?” Lin Fung asked.

“We are looking for Wu Chun. Have you seen her?” Gao Xi asked.

Lin Fung shook his head. Xa Jien didn’t respond.

“What about you two?” Yong Ling asked. “Did you come here because of the Siren Stone’s sound?”

“Partly,” Lin Fung answered. “We spotted two Jue Apes hanging about. We thought about following them to find out the location of their nest. When the Siren Stone sounded, the Jue Apes ran. We followed but lost them near here.”

“We will move together from now,” Yong Lin instructed. “From the signs, it seems the number of Jue Apes is more than expected.”

“So…? Which way to go?” Wei Cao asked again.

“This way…,” Xa Jien was looking at one of the available paths.

“Why? Do you see something?” Gao Xi asked.

“There is a stench coming from there,” Xa Jien answered. “If we are looking for the Jue Apes, we should be going this way.”

“Stench…?” Gao Xi asked.

“I don’t smell anything,” Wei Cao said after inhaling the air.

“Well, we don’t have a better clue anyway. Let’s go with Xa Jien’s suggestion,” Yong Ling decided.

The group, which had now grown to seven people, resumed walking. They crossed a few intersections again. They again followed Xa Jien’s suggestion on which path to take. They marked their ways to ensure they weren’t lost and knew which way to exit.

After a while, Wu Di said, “I also smell it now.”

“What stench is that?” Tuang Yin said while holding her nose.

Most of them were skeptical about Xa Jien’s claim about the stench. They knew now he was telling the truth. As they followed the smell, they came upon a cavern full of creature’s droppings.

“F*ck! Now, we know where the Jue Apes’ toilet is,” Wu Di cursed.

“If their dropping is here, they should be nearby…,” Tuang Yin said.

“Look… These are not just droppings,” Lin Fung pointed. At one side of the cavern was a pile of bones. They also saw human parts there. Some were not too decayed yet. Several had their heads intact.

“Those must be the kidnapped villagers,” Gao Xi said.

“They eat humans too…?” Wei Cao asked. There were shivers in his voice.

“They do,” Yong Ling answered. “They even eat their own kind if it is too weak to survive.”

“All the heads look like men’s,” Wu Di said.

“Where are the women…?” Tuang Yin asked.

“Listen,” Xa Jien told the others.

They focused on their hearing after Xa Jien’s remark. They heard noises.

“Let’s go and check it out,” Yong Ling said. She then added in a low voice, “Stay quiet!”

The seven sneaked slowly in the direction of the noises. As they approached the source of the sound, they identified it as animalistic grunts and howls, along with the sounds of slapping flesh. When they peeked into the cavern where the sound came from, their eyes went wide at the scene.

Inside the cavern was an orgy. Twelve Jue Apes were raping six women. The women were naked, and they were pinned to the ground by one or more Jue Apes. The women were too weak to fight back. They just lay unmoving as the Jue Apes pounded them. One was even unconscious. It was not clear if she had fainted or was already dead. The Jue Ape raping her didn’t seem to care.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep