Zhang Ergou ambled along leisurely, occasionally popping pills to replenish his depleted spiritual energy.
The scene on Li Xun's side, however, was vastly different from his.
After leaving the previous area, Li Xun continued his search for demon beasts.
Before long, he indeed encountered a colossal ape in a forest.
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Xun drew his sword and charged forward.
Fierce sword energy cut through the air, forming a gust of wind that swept towards the ape, which had its eyes closed.
The expected tearing of flesh and splitting of skin did not occur. In fact, Li Xun's attack only managed to dislodge some of the fur on the ape's chest.
Li Xun was shocked. Although he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he had still exerted five-tenths of his power.
Yet, he couldn't even penetrate the opponent's defense.
He wasn't one to dither. Seeing his attack ineffective, he turned to flee.
However, at this moment, though he wished to leave, the ape he had startled was not about to let him.
Roar!
The ape let out a furious roar and slowly stood up.
Hearing the sound, Li Xun quickly turned around, only to see a palm rapidly expanding in his vision.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of blood spurted out, and Li Xun was sent crashing to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
"So painful."
Li Xun cried out in agony, lying on the ground unable to get up. Fortunately, he decided to pretend to be dead.
Li Xun was somewhat knowledgeable about the habits of apes.
These large creatures seemed to cease attacking opponents they perceived as dead.
Lying on the ground, Li Xun couldn't help but marvel at his own cleverness.
Luckily, he was well-informed and understood the behavior of such demon beasts. Otherwise, he would surely have perished here today.
Acting on his thought, before the great ape approached, Li Xun tilted his head, held his breath, and closed his eyes.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
The ape's massive feet struck the ground with a thunderous sound. Each impact made Li Xun feel closer to death.
Having lost all ability to resist, he forced himself to calm down.
"Hiss!"
Li Xun couldn't help but gasp. The ape had placed its enormous foot on his chest.
His previously damaged ribs were now completely fractured.
Then, as if it had found a good toy, the ape proceeded to stomp on Li Xun repeatedly. Li Xun not only endured excruciating pain but also felt utterly dejected.
Was everything he had read in the "Record of Demon Beasts" false?
Otherwise, why wasn't this ape letting him go?
As Li Xun was lost in thought, he suddenly felt the pain vanish. But before he could rejoice, a foul, pungent odor wafted directly towards his face.
Li Xun felt a wet heat slide across his cheek, something damp moving back and forth on his face.
His eyes rolled back, and the stinging, pungent smell directly knocked him unconscious.
However, even unconscious, Li Xun did not escape the ape's monstrous claws. It lifted Li Xun, who lay on the ground, with one hand.
It then threw him into the air as if he were a stone...
Zhang Ergou finally emerged from the area surrounded by stone monsters.
After a day and a night of clearing, the stone monsters in that area had been completely eliminated.
If those stone monsters were still alive, they would surely regret provoking Zhang Ergou, such a ruthless individual.
"With so many points, I should be first. I'll go find the others."
Zhang Ergou glanced down at the points on his wrist. The vast number of stone monsters had contributed a significant amount of points.
This also transformed his previous hatred for them into gratitude.
Casually surveying his surroundings, Zhang Ergou headed towards a forest.
As he approached the forest, he found it strange that he hadn't encountered a single demon beast on the path.
It was as if the demon beasts in this area had vanished.
Frowning, Zhang Ergou became vigilant.
When something is out of the ordinary, there is usually a reason. The absence of other demon beasts here must mean a great demon was present.
Its cultivation would definitely not be below the Nascent Soul stage.
After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, demon beasts would claim a territory for themselves.
Presumably, this forest was the territory of such a Nascent Soul stage demon beast.
Zhang Ergou proceeded cautiously. However, he still encountered no demon beasts. He even extended his divine sense, but found nothing.
The forest was eerily quiet.
Finding nothing after his search, Zhang Ergou walked straight through the forest.
Just as he was about to step out, Zhang Ergou suddenly sensed a powerful aura emanating from ahead.
Focusing his gaze, Zhang Ergou saw a colossal creature seemingly playing with something in its hand.
Indeed, Zhang Ergou's first impression of the scene was that the colossal creature was indeed playing.
Zhang Ergou immediately stopped, preparing to choose a direction to evade.
The powerful aura was something he, in his current state, could not afford to provoke.
For safety's sake, retreating was the best course of action.
Just as he was about to turn and flee, Zhang Ergou glanced back, and his pupils widened infinitely.
Because the thing the ape was tossing around was actually a person.
"No way, who's this unlucky?"
Zhang Ergou decided to find a place to observe the situation before rushing to escape.
Fortunately, the ape was currently engrossed in its game and hadn't noticed Zhang Ergou's arrival.
Due to his caution on the way, he had concealed his aura, preventing the ape from detecting him immediately.
Zhang Ergou soared up a large tree and sat on a branch, looking down.
The figure being tossed repeatedly by the ape was now covered in blood and unrecognizable. Even Zhang Ergou couldn't immediately discern who it was.
"He must be one of the disciples participating in the assessment. Should I save him?"
At this moment, Zhang Ergou was conflicted.
The ape before him was a monster he couldn't possibly contend with. The aura it exuded without any concealment indicated it was at a significantly higher level than him.
His attempt to save that person would be akin to snatching food from a tiger's mouth.
Yet, if he didn't save him, Zhang Ergou couldn't bear it. These young disciples were the future pillars of the alliance.
The survival of even one would be beneficial for the alliance's development.
Zhang Ergou fell into a state of profound indecision.
"Save? Or not save?"
Zhang Ergou plucked leaves from the tree, seeking an answer.
During this time, he did not relax his observation of the ape.
It seemed the ape had grown tired of playing and finally tossed the human figure high into the air.
Bang!
With a loud thud, the figure landed precisely beneath the tree where Zhang Ergou was perched.
"A good opportunity."
Zhang Ergou rejoiced. The ape was still some distance away.
He quickly stood up and flew down, grabbing the person. Without even looking, he again soared up the tree.
Roar!
After he had done all this, the ape arrived beneath the tree. But upon discovering its toy was missing, it became utterly enraged...