Chapter Seventy-Five: Emerging from the Cave

Glancing over the territory that he had nearly collected in its entirety, a satisfied smile appeared at the corner of Ye Cheng's lips. He marveled at the tremendous gains of this journey into the ancient cave, then nodded toward Nangong Xue.

Seeing Ye Cheng’s response, Nangong Xue’s slender hand brushed over her storage ring, and a palm-sized, hexagonal, black iron plate appeared in her fair, outstretched palm.

“This is the small teleportation array. Can this thing really send us out of the territory of the Demon Ape Clan?” Ye Cheng’s eyes flickered as he stared at the pitch-black object in her hand, unable to suppress a soft inquiry. He hadn’t expected such an expensive, small teleportation array to look like this—it was quite beyond his imagination. In fact, it resembled nothing more than a scrap of iron found by the roadside, revealing nothing remarkable about it.

“Yes. Although it can only transport us a hundred li, the Demon Ape Clan’s territory hardly extends beyond that. It should be enough to send us outside their domain and help us avoid encountering those demon apes.”

Catching the faint trace of suspicion on Ye Cheng’s face, Nangong Xue’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. With a wave of her petite hand, the six-pointed star array rose into the air, expanding rapidly in the wind. Mere moments later, it landed on the ground, already transformed into a six-pointed star formation, appearing right before the two of them.

As if by magic, a palm-sized piece of iron had turned into a formation over ten feet wide, leaving Ye Cheng inwardly astonished at the wonders of this vast world. He realized these were merely the techniques of those with great skill, still beyond the reach of his current cultivation.

While Ye Cheng was still in a daze, the graceful figure beside him was the first to step forward, entering the formation. Noticing that Ye Cheng hadn’t moved, Nangong Xue arched her willow brows and said coolly, “Aren’t you coming in? Why are you just standing there?”

At her words, Ye Cheng hurriedly followed, his figure vanishing into the formation. Once Ye Cheng entered, Nangong Xue bent slightly, her fair hand emerging from her sleeve to press against a mysterious pattern within the formation. Instantly, an astonishing surge of blood energy erupted from her seemingly delicate body, pouring forth like a raging river, flowing continuously from her jade arm into the unknown pattern beneath her palm.

As Nangong Xue kept channeling her blood energy into the pattern, Ye Cheng sensed a special fluctuation emanating from the six-pointed star array—something unlike blood energy or even spiritual energy. The unfamiliar nature of this energy made it seem extraordinarily mysterious.

“This is spatial power—an extremely advanced form of energy!” Just as Ye Cheng was bewildered by this force, Old Mu’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

Previously, due to the presence of the ancient cave’s master, Old Mu had remained silent, not wishing to attract trouble. If Old Mu had made any move, the master—whose cultivation was already half a step into the Nascent Soul stage—might have detected his presence. Given Old Mu’s current unstable state, he could hardly guarantee he’d go unnoticed.

Now, however, with the cave master truly vanished from this world, Old Mu no longer had to worry about his aura being exposed. As for Nangong Xue, whose cultivation was still inadequate, as long as Old Mu did not appear, she would remain unaware of his existence.

“Spatial power… What kind of energy is that?” Ye Cheng wondered in his heart. He was completely unfamiliar with such a force—he had never even heard of it.

“You are not yet at the stage to touch this kind of energy. Its mysteries cannot be explained in words. When your martial path reaches a certain level in the future, you will naturally come to understand it.” After a few moments, Old Mu’s voice sounded again, then fell silent.

Ye Cheng nodded imperceptibly, saying nothing more. As long as he kept working hard, he believed that one day he would truly come into contact with such power.

After Ye Cheng’s conversation with Old Mu ended, a formless energy instantly coalesced into a beam of light from the six-pointed star array beneath their feet, enveloping both Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue.

As the energy pillar shot forth, the air around the formation immediately grew chaotic. Then, with a thunderous boom, a spatial rift was torn open, splintering like glass and shattering into countless fragments.

The entire pillar of energy surged skyward, making the whole cavern tremble. Violent energy waves raged and swept through the cave.

Just like that, after a brief but fierce eruption, the energy fluctuations quickly subsided. The six-pointed star array and the pillar of light vanished, and with them, the figures of Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue.

Beyond the ancient cave, at the edge of the Demon Ape Clan’s territory—

In a densely wooded area, there stood an exceptionally tall old locust tree. Its branches formed a rounded canopy, and the thick limbs were covered with dark green leaves. The foliage was so dense that it resembled a natural tent, and the fierce western sunlight managed only to scatter fragmented spots of light onto the ground below.

Looking closely, one could see, amid the coiled branches of the old tree, a black figure sitting quietly, eyes closed, concealed by the thick leaves.

Centered on the old locust tree, subtle movements could be detected in the surrounding undergrowth. The breeze bent the grasses, exposing a number of hidden figures in ambush. Though scattered in various positions, their gazes were all fixed in the same direction—toward the territory of the Demon Ape Clan—as if waiting for something.

After a long while, one agile figure emerged from the cover of the grass, flashing a few times before landing under the old tree, dropping to one knee with a respectful expression before the black-clad figure sitting above.

“Third Elder, we have waited here for two days already, but that junior from the Ye family still hasn’t appeared. Could it be that he’s already left?”

At these words, the black figure seated in the tree remained perfectly still, not even so much as lifting his eyelids. After a moment, a deep voice emerged from his lips:

“Continue to wait. I can faintly sense an astonishing surge of energy coming from the Demon Ape Clan’s territory. Perhaps that boy is the one causing it. If we leave now, wouldn’t that be a pity?”