Xie Ziyin was just about to put away the fasting pill when his brow furrowed slightly. With lightning speed, he retreated and stowed the entire alchemy furnace into his storage ring.
A furry hand materialized out of thin air right where he had been standing a moment ago, grasping at empty air. The hand twisted deftly, attempting another grab.
Snap!
A fiery-red whip lashed out, its tail coiling around the furry hand in quick, precise loops.
Wen Shuangbai had waited so long for this very moment!
Without hesitation, she tightened her grip on the Fire Plume Whip and yanked with all her might.
"Ow!" A strange cry echoed from the dense forest in the distance.
Branches rustled violently, revealing the faint silhouette of a monkey.
A monkey?
This wasn’t what Wen Shuangbai had expected, but no matter—she’d deal with it first and ask questions later.
As she pulled harder, the monkey’s arm stretched unnaturally long before snapping off like a fragile flower bud.
Caught off guard, Wen Shuangbai stumbled forward.
From the depths of the forest, the monkey rolled on the ground, cackling: "Hehehe, hehehe."
From all around, rustling bushes echoed with the same eerie laughter: "Hehehe, hehehe..."
Before the illusion crystal, the elders gasped in surprise.
"They’ve attracted the Long-Armed Monkey horde?"
"Though these monkeys are only seventh-tier, they swarm in numbers. And their leader is no ordinary Long-Armed Monkey—it’s not something you can just kill off easily. Even seasoned elders would find themselves in trouble if they encountered them."
Elder Qian, overseer of the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm, stroked his beard with hidden delight. "Just watch. They’ll be forced to withdraw from the trial soon."
The other elders murmured in agreement. One sighed, "What a shame. I was looking forward to seeing what they’d do next..."
Inside the secret realm, Wen Shuangbai regained her balance mid-air, but her expression darkened as she took in the scene before her.
More and more vine-like monkey arms shot toward them from every direction.
Their target was clear—Xie Ziyin.
Or rather, the storage ring containing his alchemy furnace.
These damned monkeys were after the fasting pills.
Everything happened in a flash—barely three seconds had passed. Yin Xuan, Shen Hefeng, and Lu Jiayao hadn’t even reacted yet. Dozens of monkey hands were already upon them.
Xie Ziyin suddenly raised his hand, and in an instant, the storage ring flew off his finger, hurtling toward Yin Xuan.
But in the shadows, unseen by most, he quietly palmed the shrunken alchemy furnace, tucking it safely into his sleeve with a practiced motion.
Then, with nimble footwork, he ducked behind Wen Shuangbai, who had just steadied herself.
Wen Shuangbai, witnessing this: "…?"
A few slower monkey hands still lunged for him, only to be ensnared by Wen Shuangbai’s whip.
The majority of the hands swarmed Yin Xuan, who cut them down with his sword as he darted through the trees.
But the monkeys hidden in the forest were countless, their severed limbs regenerating endlessly. When Yin Xuan grew tired, he tossed the storage ring to Shen Hefeng.
Shen Hefeng, after a brief struggle, passed it to the senior disciple.
Meanwhile, Wen Shuangbai finished shredding the monkey hands with her whip and shot a disdainful glance at the man leisurely hiding behind her. She shoved him toward Lu Jiayao. "You protect him."
Lu Jiayao, who had been left out of the action until now, brightened instantly. "Understood! I’ll keep Brother Xie safe!"
Wen Shuangbai left without another word, joining the fight alongside the senior disciple and Shen Hefeng.
Lu Jiayao pulled out his flute and began playing with great enthusiasm.
The moment the first note sounded, Xie Ziyin’s composed expression cracked.
It was awful.
Even the monkey hands recoiled, creating a small safe zone around the two.
Clearly, the flute’s assault spared no one—friend or foe.
Wen Shuangbai nearly tripped, her whip slipping from her grip.
Yin Xuan grimaced, covering one ear while swinging his sword with the other.
Shen Hefeng bellowed, "Lu Jiayao! Are you trying to send us straight to the underworld with that noise?"
But Lu Jiayao was beyond hearing.
Lost in his own musical world, he played with increasing fervor, completely absorbed.
Under the assault of his flute, the monkeys’ regeneration slowed—but only slightly.
The fasting pills were too enticing. The horde pressed on, relentless in their pursuit of the storage ring.
Though the ring belonged to Xie Ziyin, every storage ring was crucial during the trial.
The trio dared not slack off, passing the ring between them like a game of keep-away, leading the monkeys in circles.
The elders: "…"
Soon, the ground was littered with severed monkey hands.
With nothing better to do, Xie Ziyin borrowed Lu Jiayao’s storage ring during a brief lull in the flute’s torment and began collecting the hands.
The elders: "???"
The Medical Pavilion elder sighed. "They won’t be retreating anytime soon. I think they might actually escape."
Elder Qian’s face darkened. "Nothing but cheap tricks!"
Elder Shentu, who had never gotten along with Elder Qian, sneered. "Oh? I’d call it resourcefulness. Cultivation requires brains as much as brawn—don’t you agree, Elder Qian?"
"…"
After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Wen Shuangbai noticed the monkeys’ regeneration slowing significantly.
Sure enough, soon after another wave of hands was severed, no more emerged from the forest. But the rustling grew louder—the horde was approaching.
Exchanging glances with Yin Xuan and Shen Hefeng, Wen Shuangbai made the call. "Retreat!"
Facing the horde head-on would be a battle of attrition they couldn’t win.
The only escape route was toward the lake.
Apart from Yin Xuan, none had fully stepped into the Enlightened Aperture Realm and couldn’t fly.
But Yin Xuan’s narrow sword could carry, at most, two more people.
Four people, two spots…
Well, with the trial talismans on them, death wasn’t a real concern.
Yin Xuan tilted his head, shaking out his messy silver hair, and made his decision swiftly.
He grabbed the most important person first—his second junior sister—then swooped down to snatch Xie Ziyin, the fasting pill provider and Wen Shuangbai’s nominal fiancé, before soaring into the sky.
Sorry about this, he thought idly. Back then, I was too poor to afford a wider sword.
Now, even if he could, he was too used to this one.
Elder Qian seized the opportunity to criticize. "Abandoning their comrades in danger! A team without camaraderie, discarding allies so easily, lacks the very essence of the Dao! They’re unworthy of being Qingling Mountain disciples!"
Elder Shentu countered sharply. "I see it as pragmatism. Should all five have stayed and been eliminated together? As long as someone survives, there’s still hope."
Elder Qian scoffed. "You’re impossible!"
Elder Shentu immediately slammed the table and stood up. "Elder Qian, you old dog, I’ve had enough of you! Who’s being unreasonable here?"
"Can you two stop arguing? You’re ruining our view of the Illusion Crystal Ball!" The other elders, who had been engrossed in watching, snapped in anger.
The main hall of Qingling Mountain descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, within the secret realm of Taihua Mountain, Shen Hefeng suddenly realized something and froze in disbelief.
It had always been him abandoning others—never the other way around. How had he ended up being the one left behind?
Panicking, Shen Hefeng shouted to prove his worth, "Don’t leave me behind! I’m useful! You’ll get lost without me!"
Hearing this, Wen Shuangbai quickly leaned over her sword and lowered her Fire Plume Whip.
Without hesitation, Shen Hefeng mustered all his strength and leaped, grabbing onto the whip.
Before he could even catch his breath, his right leg suddenly felt heavy. His grip loosened instinctively, and he nearly slipped off the whip. Fortunately, Wen Shuangbai swiftly manipulated the tip of the whip, coiling it around his wrist to secure him.
Shen Hefeng’s face darkened as he looked down—only to see Lu Jiayao clinging to his thigh!
Both were lean young men, but their height and weight added up. The combined force of two grown men nearly yanked Wen Shuangbai off balance, threatening to drag her down.
As she faltered, Shen Hefeng, still hanging mid-air, lurched downward.
Below them, long-armed apes emerged from the jungle, splashing into the lake one after another. They bared their teeth, treading water as they screeched up at the group.
Not far away, ripples spread across the lake’s surface—something was swiftly approaching.
Shen Hefeng’s eye twitched. "Lu Jiayao, you deadweight! Let go! Use your exit talisman and leave the realm. I’ll avenge you if it comes to that!"
Lu Jiayao opened his mouth, but his voice was gone from overblowing his flute. Instead, he tightened his grip on Shen Hefeng’s leg, resolute.
No! He would live or die with his team!
Witnessing this, Wen Shuangbai couldn’t hold back. "Dammit! Xie Ziyin, are you dead or what? Pull me up, you idiot!"
Xie Ziyin: "?"
Had he just heard that right?
Was that... a classic curse from the distant East?
In a flash of realization, Xie Ziyin swiftly grabbed hold of Wen Shuangbai.
In the Illusion Crystal Ball’s projection, the elders couldn’t hear the commotion. All they saw was a narrow sword straining under the weight of three people and a fiery red tail.
When Shen Hefeng latched on, the sword dipped precariously.
Then Lu Jiayao joined, and the sword wobbled again, nearly capsizing.
At the helm, Yin Xuan’s face was pale as he silently chanted sword-control mantras, struggling to steady the overloaded blade. The sword trembled violently as it lurched toward an unknown destination in the distance.
