Chapter 9: The Prime Demon Ape & First Spirit Ring

The absorption of the Spirit Ring has always been a time-consuming affair, even if the absorption goes quite well, sometimes it still takes most of the day.

Tang San's First Spirit Ring, Datura Snake, was about 400 years old, and the spirit ring's power was quite overbearing, so it wasn't that easy to absorb.

It was already afternoon when Lu Yuan and the others had entered the Spirit Hunting Forest, and they had spent some time searching for the spirit beasts, so it was less than an hour since Tang San started absorbing his spirit ring, and the sky was already dark.

Grandmaster and Lu Feng had already set up their tents, which was a basic skill for those familiar with wilderness survival.

Lu Yuan took the snake-repellent powder that Grandmaster had given him and meticulously sprinkled it around the area.

As night slowly fell, Grandmaster and Lu Feng lit a bonfire and prepared a pot of snake soup with the datura snake meat.

When burying the corpses of the Datura Snake and the Fiery Mountain Pig, Grandmaster had taken some of the Datura Snake's meat and used it to make soup.

Although the Datura Snake was very poisonous, its own meat was not and tasted delicious. Lu Yuan drank three large bowls in a row before he closed his eyes and began to meditate.

The darkness in the Spirit Hunting Forest was not synonymous with tranquility at all, and the sound of various Soul Beasts kept coming from afar.

While some weak Spirit Beasts were afraid of flames, some powerful ones were very fond of them.

It was also because the Spirit Beasts in the Spirit Hunting Forest were only a few years old and Lu Feng had the cultivation of a Spirit Ancestor, if it was Grandmaster alone leading the group, he would never dare to light a campfire in the Spirit Hunting Forest.

While spending the night in the forest, someone has to keep watch. Grandmaster was worried about Tang San, so he took on the responsibility of keeping watch.

Lu Feng was glad to be free and lay down in the tent, and in a short time, his snoring sounded.

Lu Yuan, after hearing the snoring did not know whether to laugh or cry, so he just shook his head with a smile.

In the light of the campfire, Grandmaster's eyes glanced at Tang San from time to time, and only when he saw that his appearance was normal and that he was breathing normally did he slowly relax.

The weather was like water, and it was slowly becoming midnight.

The temperature in the Spirit Hunting Forest dropped in the late evening hours, and the breeze added a bit of coolness to the air.

Grandmaster yawned deeply, the night watch was always very tiring.

As the night progressed, the sounds of the beasts gradually faded away, and the whole forest fell silent at once.

Grandmaster moved a little closer to the campfire, taking advantage of the warmth of the flames to chase the cold away from his body.

Suddenly, Grandmaster's eyes snapped open, 'Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?'. There were many spirit beasts in the Spirit Hunting Forest, even late at night, there should be a faint sound coming from the spirit beasts.

Grandmaster instantly became alert, his eyes scanned, and suddenly his gaze focused on a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the darkness of the night less than two hundred meters away from the camp.

"Get up quickly, Lu Feng and Lu Yuan!" Grandmaster shouted, waking up Lu Yuan from his meditation and Lu Feng from inside the tent.

"Where is it?" Lu Feng's martial soul instantly possessed his body, and the air around him crackled with energy.

"Roar!" A deafening beast roar echoed as a black figure charged towards Lu Yuan and the others.

"Be careful!" Everyone scrambled to avoid the incoming attack.

The figure landed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, they finally saw the source of the commotion.

"Incredible, it's the Prime Demon Ape!" Grandmaster exclaimed in surprise. This Prime Demon Ape was a formidable creature, surpassed in power only by the Titan Giant Ape among the ape-like Spirit Beasts. Alongside the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Trembling Giant Ape, it was one of the most powerful of its kind. It was unexpected for them to encounter it in this place.

"Lu Feng, we must move the battlefield, Tang San is still nearby". Grandmaster stated urgently. The location was too close to Tang San, and he couldn't risk the Prime Demon Ape affecting him.

<First Spirit Skill, Scorching Fire> A ball of blazing fire struck the Prime Demon Ape's body, causing it to lash out in pain and charge towards Lu Feng.

"Grandmaster, can my father handle this Prime Demon Ape?" Lu Yuan watched as the battle moved further away, concern etched on his face as he knew the Prime Demon Ape was no ordinary spirit beast.

"It's uncertain," Grandmaster said gravely, "This Prime Demon Ape is almost three meters tall and has a cultivation level close to 1000 years old. Its estimated age is between 850 to 900 years."

"Even though it's not as powerful as the Titan Giant Ape, who can withstand a normal 1000-year-old spirit beast with only 100 years, its power is comparable to a 3000 to 4000-year-old spirit beast. Lu Feng is a Spirit Ancestor, but his Martial Soul is not powerful and his spirit rings are not high. The outcome of the battle is uncertain."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan's resolve strengthened and he summoned an iron spear with a wave of his hand. "Grandmaster, please look after Tang San. I'm going to help my father."

"Wait!" Grandmaster reached out to stop him but remembering the impressive strength Lu Yuan had displayed earlier, reluctantly withdrew his hand.

"Be careful," he said.

Lu Yuan nodded, his Golden Dragon Martial Soul possessing his body as he executed the Phoenix Dance Six Illusions and charged towards the battlefield with his spear. The Golden Dragon was like a bright light in the darkness, dazzling as he joined the fight.

"Red Flame Wild Howl!" Not far away, Lu Feng unleashed his fourth soul skill, leaving a deep wound on the Prime Demon Ape's body.

"Roar!" The Prime Demon Ape roared in rage as it endured the pain, at this moment the Prime Demon Ape was only thinking of using its arms to tear at the human in front of it, and although Lu Feng dodged in time, he was still brushed by the wind caused by one of the blows and was thrown straight towards a tree at high speed.

"Old man!" Lu Yuan's body moved and turned into six afterimages, finally catching Lu Feng in his arms before he hit the ground.

"Old man, are you alright?" asked Lu Yuan with concern.

A trace of blood appeared at the corner of Lu Feng's mouth as he laughed, "Well, this beast is extremely powerful, let's do it together as father and son!"

"Hehe, old man, you never change". Lu Yuan smiled and nodded, and the grip on the spear in his hand tightened.

<Third Spirit Skill, Hellfire> Lu Feng unleashed the Spirit Skill of the 800-year-old Red Devil Mastiff, carrying a blazing hellfire.

"Hanhai Spear Technique!" Lu Yuan's spear shot at full speed towards the Prime Demon Ape's eyes, causing a rippling sound of the wind breaking.

The Prime Demon Ape's eyes were its only weakness, and Lu Yuan's attack pierced straight through one of them. The intense hellfire burned the Prime Demon Ape's fur, instantly making it even more furious.

The damage to one of its eyes caused the Prime Demon Ape to enter a state of madness, regardless of the gushing blood, it rushed straight towards Lu Yuan, its thick arms seeking to shatter him into ten thousand pieces!

"Beast, you dare!" The four spirit rings were Lu Feng lit up at the same time, and the raging flames flew towards the Prime Demon Ape with enormous energy.

However, the Prime Demon Ape did not back down and withstood Lu Feng's attack. Despite the injuries on its body, it still managed to strike Lu Yuan.

'Dammit!' Lu Yuan quickly dodged, but the huge fist still hit the spot where he was standing, causing the ground to crack and break.

Lu Yuan had barely regained his footing when another blow came. This blow was so fast that he could only hold his spear in front of him before he was hit again.

His body was sent flying more than ten meters, and he expelled a large mouthful of blood. As he struggled to get up, he felt a burning pain in his organs, and his entire body felt as if he had been hit by a truck.

If it weren't for the powerful physical attributes granted to him by the Golden Dragon's Martial Soul, that blow would have left him half-dead. Looking at the thin iron spear in his hand, the spearhead had completely bent, and there were still traces of blood on it.

"Little Yuan!" Seeing Lu Yuan's miserable state, Lu Feng's eyes widened in anger as he continuously sent spirit skills towards the Prime Demon Ape.

"Dad, I'm fine!" Lu Yuan coughed, with a trace of blood at the corner of his lips, and said, "Attack its eye!".

Lu Yuan pierced one of Prime Demon Ape's eyes, and the spear tip caused damage that was difficult for it to heal.

Seeing that Lu Yuan was fine, Lu Feng relaxed greatly and quickly focused on the Prime Demon Ape's wound.

"Beast, go to hell!" Using his speed when casting spirit skills, Lu Feng attacked the Prime Demon Ape from a distance. With blood continuously flowing, its attacks were getting weaker and weaker, and it was already difficult for it to pose any threat to Lu Feng!

Finally, after another ten minutes or so, a loud "dong" was heard and the Prime Demon Ape's huge body collapsed on the ground, blood flowing from its neck.

"Little Yuan!" Lu Feng reminded him.

Lu Yuan, despite the pain in his body, took his already bent fine iron spear and ruthlessly stabbed it into the Prime Demon Ape's eye, reaching deep into the skull with tremendous force and pulverizing the Prime Demon Ape's brain.

In the end, the Prime Demon Ape, who was strong enough to take on a 3000 or 4000-year-old Spirit Beast, lay defeated at the hands of the two. It was not an easy battle, even with the combined strength of the two, one of them a Spirit Ancestor and the other an Innate Full Spirit Power Spirit Scholar with a Golden Dragon Martial Soul, whose strength far exceeded that of their counterparts, both were still wounded. This was a testament to the power of the Prime Demon Ape.

As the Prime Demon Ape lay dead, a bright yellow spirit ring with a hint of purple appeared from the corpse and floated above it.

"Little Yuan, are you sure about this? The energy of this spirit ring can go beyond your imagination." Lu Feng, who had known Lu Yuan since he was a newborn baby, believed that he could absorb spirit rings that surpassed the limits of ordinary people, but this Prime Demon Ape was not that simple, and the battle had been quite an odyssey.

"Hm!" Lu Yuan nodded and said, "This Prime Demon Ape's Spirit Ring suits me."

This spirit beast's spirit ring was not easy to find, and they were lucky to have come across this still juvenile Prime Demon Ape in the Spirit Hunting Forest. None of the several spirit beasts suggested by Grandmaster could compare to the Prime Demon Ape.

It was similar to the Titan Giant Ape, only slightly inferior, with excellent strength and defense, and not weak in speed either, almost flawless. It could be said that it was perfect for Lu Yuan, so how could he give up at this crucial moment?

"Then be careful, don't try too hard!" Lu Feng knew that once Lu Yuan had made up his mind, it was impossible for anyone to stop him, so he could only agree.

Lu Yuan nodded and walked over to the Prime Demon Ape's corpse, sat down on his knees, and with a wave of his palm, the Prime Demon Ape's spirit ring flew over his head.

Powerful and explosive energy kept entering Lu Yuan's body from the top of his head, causing his meridians to swell and ache a little.

'I wasn't even afraid of you when you were alive, will I still be afraid of a mere spirit ring?' With a ruthless heart, Lu Yuan forcibly mobilized the Golden Dragon's soul power within his body and began to forcibly refine the power of the spirit ring.

It was unquestionable that the Prime Demon Ape was a dominant and powerful spirit beast, but the Golden Dragon is the true pinnacle of beast-like Martial Souls. Its great dominance hardly has any rival in the world.

The soul power of the Golden Dragon in Lu Yuan's body and the spirit ring power of the Prime Demon Ape began a fierce collision, which caused Lu Yuan's body, which was absorbing the spirit ring, to tremble slightly.

The Prime Demon Ape's death was quite tragic, so the residual resentment was very strong, which invariably made it harder for Lu Yuan to absorb the spirit ring.

In Lu Yuan's sea of consciousness, a huge Golden Dragon and a black Demon Ape engaged in a fierce battle.

This Golden Dragon was the convergence of the spirituality of Lu Yuan's Martial Soul, the Golden Dragon. Every Martial Soul actually had its own spirituality, it was just that many spirit masters were unable to discover it in their lives, Martial Souls were not dead things!

And that Black Demon Ape was the resentment left inside the Prime Demon Ape's spirit ring.

Despite the Prime Demon Ape's formidable energy, Lu Yuan's willpower surpassed that of his peers. Additionally, the Golden Dragon Martial Soul held a certain level of intimidation for spirit beasts.

As time passed, the Prime Demon Ape's resentment gradually dissipated. As the Golden Dragon Martial Soul emerged victorious, Lu Yuan's body began to steady, his trembling ceased, and his breathing returned to normal.

The spirit ring absorption had successfully entered a stable state. Upon observing Lu Yuan's stabilization, Lu Feng let out a sigh of relief, confident that there would be no further issues.

As he looked at the Prime Demon Ape's massive body, standing nearly three meters tall, Lu Feng pondered for a moment before summoning a long sword and proceeding to dissect the Prime Demon Ape's body. A distinct cutting sound caught his attention, and upon closer inspection, he discovered a piece of crystalline bone emitting a ghostly light on the Prime Demon Ape's left palm...