Volume Two, Chapter Eighty-Four: Advancement

The mother monkey’s strength was clearly far greater than that of the young one. Even a casual swipe of her claws tore through the bear’s hide and wounded the muscle beneath.

“It seems that Yan Xiaosan’s injuries are much worse than they appear,” Yu Mu thought anxiously.

With a single strike, the mother monkey realized that this strange black-and-white bear was not an opponent she could kill swiftly. So she ceased her attacks on Yu Mu and once again focused her full fury on Yan Xiaosan, who carried the young monkey’s demon crystal.

Beasts are most sensitive to demon crystals, as they usually devour each other’s crystals to enhance their own power. The bond between mother and child made this link even stronger—otherwise, she would never have tracked them through this wind-torn forest.

Rip—

Another tearing sound rang out, this time as a piece of Yan Xiaosan’s sleeve was ripped away. Though he was unhurt, all three broke out in a cold sweat.

For now, Yan Xiaosan could rely on Yu Mu to dodge, but Yu Mu’s size was limited. Oftentimes, the mother monkey could attack over or around his body, making defense nearly impossible. Yan Xiaosan’s situation was little improved from before.

Seeing that Yan Xiaosan was in grave danger, Yu Mu could no longer hold back. He let out a furious roar. Suddenly, a towering ancient tree appeared, standing proud upon the grassland.

“Hurry! Get on me!”

The sudden appearance of the ancient tree left everyone stunned—even the mother monkey was startled.

Hearing Yu Mu’s voice, Yan Xiaosan didn’t hesitate. He darted up and hid among the branches.

Next, Yu Mu said, “Hide the demon crystal somewhere else.”

Yan Xiaosan followed his instructions, tossing the crystal to the far side of his hiding spot. The moment the crystal left him, the mother monkey grew wary. She circled the tree, unwilling to approach for the time being.

The tree was laden with plump, dewy peaches, making the mother monkey salivate and momentarily forget her pursuit of the demon crystal.

Ye Yu was completely dumbfounded. She gazed at the intoxicating peach blossoms and the fragrant fruit, feeling as if she were in a dream.

“What on earth is he?” The question rose once more in her heart. Yu Mu had given her so many shocks and surprises. How many more secrets was he hiding?

The lure of the peaches was irresistible to any monkey, and with the young monkey’s demon crystal hidden in the tree, the temptation was doubled.

After long hesitation, the mother monkey could not resist. Carefully, she moved closer to the tree.

At that moment, something strange happened. The pure wood spirit energy of the plain surged toward the ancient tree. Before their eyes, the tree grew by a third, and over a dozen peaches appeared among its branches.

The mother monkey was startled by this sudden change. The courage she had just mustered collapsed instantly, and she circled the tree, screeching in agitation.

Yu Mu, however, grew even more anxious. He hadn’t expected that, after transforming into a tree, the dense wood spirit energy of this place would trigger the advancement of power within him, making it impossible to suppress any longer.

He was being forced to advance!

The mother monkey, already caught in their trap, was frightened away just like that.

Yu Mu hardly had time to be annoyed. The immense wood spirit energy around him flooded into his body, causing it to grow at a tremendous rate. The spirit energy cleansed and transformed his body, and was eventually absorbed entirely by the peach pit at his core.

The advancement, which should have taken some time, was accelerated by the special energies from the Bull Spirit Grass and Bull Immortal Grass. It was over before he knew it.

Just like that—it was finished?

Yu Mu was left bewildered. His sensitivity to those two grasses seemed even keener than Brother Meng’s.

He examined his tree form. It had grown by roughly a third. The trunk was thicker, and the branches even denser.

The peach pit that had absorbed the most energy had changed little. It had merely grown larger, and the mysterious spiritual aura swirling around it had thickened. The golden thread was now clearly a golden filament, coiling around the pit.

Yu Mu’s advancement was quite different from Meng Fang’s. His inner core never emerged from his body; everything happened within, so no one outside had any idea what had taken place. Such an advancement was extremely rare.

After the advance, the tree’s peach blossoms were brighter than ever, and the peaches more enticing, exuding a faint fragrance of wine. Even Ye Yu couldn’t help but long for a taste.

The mother monkey could resist no longer. Watching for a while and seeing no further movement, she finally let her urge overcome her caution and leapt up into the tree.

She moved cautiously, bounding from branch to branch toward the crown. The tree was utterly still except for the sound of wind in the leaves, and the mother monkey met no resistance as she climbed.

She avoided the side where the demon crystal was hidden, clearly wary of Yan Xiaosan’s tricks—never guessing that her chosen path led her straight into danger.

She kept a wary eye on the demon crystal as she edged closer to a large peach. Just as she reached out to pluck it, Yu Mu, who had been waiting for this moment, acted.

The peach branch trembled, and a cloud of pink mist sprayed from the blossoms, covering the mother monkey’s face.

Achoo—

Unable to help herself, the mother monkey sneezed and then rubbed her eyes. That made things worse—her eyes swelled up like rotten peaches, and scarlet tears of blood ran down her cheeks.

At that moment, the peach branch transformed into a vine that wound tightly around the mother monkey, binding her fast. At the same time, a shadow flashed, and the mother monkey screamed as a bloody hole was pierced in her left eye.

In her berserk state, the mother monkey’s abilities were greatly enhanced. She narrowly avoided a mortal wound, broke free of the vine in an instant, and even managed to strike back.

Her paw landed squarely on Yan Xiaosan’s ribs, sending him flying over ten meters before he crashed to the ground, motionless.

Yu Mu instantly resumed his bear form and, together with Ye Yu, rushed to Yan Xiaosan’s side. Blood gushed from Yan Xiaosan’s mouth and nose, his face pale, his breath faint—he was at death’s door.

Ye Yu was frantic, tears streaming down her cheeks as she muttered, “What do we do? What do we do? I don’t have any more Revival Pills, what should we do?”

Yu Mu, calm and steady, whispered, “Fly up to the cliff—I’ll follow you. Go, now!”

“But Xiaosan—” Ye Yu began, but before she could finish, Yu Mu shot two streams of pale green energy into Yan Xiaosan’s body. Immediately, the bleeding stopped and his breathing stabilized.

“What is that—”

Yu Mu cut her off. “No time for questions! Go, now!”

Ye Yu snapped out of her daze. Looking up, she saw the mother monkey, now blind in one eye and grievously wounded in the other, stumbling about in a blind rage, searching for her prey.

She didn’t know what had happened to the mother monkey, but Yu Mu understood perfectly: his mist was both poison and medicine to beasts. It could rob the mother monkey of reason while temporarily boosting her strength. If they didn’t run now, and she found them, they would all be doomed.

Ye Yu, quick-witted as ever, guessed the situation and wasted no more words. She summoned her flying artifact and soared toward the cliff. Yu Mu scooped up Yan Xiaosan and sprinted after her.

Their movement made a sound, immediately alerting the mother monkey. She let out a mournful cry and gave chase.

But this time, her cry was answered. From within the forest came an echoing call.

The two were terrified—where there was a mother monkey, surely a father monkey would not be far. Had her mate arrived as well?

One monkey had nearly destroyed them; two meant certain death. They dared not hesitate and ran for their lives.

Ye Yu reached the top of the cliff first. Yu Mu shouted from below, “Go down, don’t wait for me!”

Ye Yu hesitated only a moment, then obeyed and flew down the precipice. By the time Yu Mu reached the top, the mother monkey was already upon him, arms outstretched to seize him.

He could neither block nor dodge—if she caught him, he would never escape. In desperation, he repeated his earlier trick and unleashed a fear spell.

It was a low-level technique, with little real power, but on monkeys—so easily startled—it had a miraculous effect.

Sure enough, the mother monkey recoiled in instinctive terror. Yu Mu seized the opportunity and leapt off the cliff.

By the time the mother monkey recovered and reached the edge, there was no longer any sign of Yu Mu.