On Ape Peak.
Ye Qinghe happily sipped the Monkey Wine filled in the gourd, her pretty face glowing with a blush, dispelling all her previous gloom.
"Hiccup."
She hiccupped and mischievously said to Ning Qi:
"Jiu, this Monkey Wine is a good thing, drink more of it, it will greatly benefit your Bone Refining."
Ning Qi looked at Ye Qinghe's body filled with bamboo tube wine bags, and couldn't help but hold his forehead.
However, it was true that during his foundational refinement, Monkey Wine would accelerate the process.
He turned to glance at the Iron-Armed Ape and many Long-armed Apes. He clearly saw the lament in their eyes.
This had been their accumulation over the years, but now it was swept away by Ye Qinghe.
"Thanks, monkeys! I'll visit you next time when I have the chance!"
Ye Qinghe waved her hand to the monkeys behind her.
The group of apes was moved to tears.
Ning Qi smiled and shook his head; sometimes his senior sister truly had a mischievous nature, acting impulsively.
The Little White Ape also carried several bamboo tubes on its body. It turned around and made faces at the apes, gloating in their misfortune.
Upon seeing Ye Qinghe and Ning Qi moving further away, it hurriedly caught up.
The little creature exemplified the art of borrowing influence to the fullest.
"Alright, Little White Ape, give us the bamboo tube now, and we'll take our leave."
Ning Qi said with a smile.
The White Ape suddenly panicked.
It scratched its ears and cheeks, jumping up and down, desperately trying to express something.
Ye Qinghe watched with keen interest.
Ning Qi quickly understood its meaning; with his perception, it wasn't hard to deduce from the recent exchange between the White Ape and Iron-Armed Ape. He said in curiosity:
"You're saying, there's something you want to give us, asking us to follow you?"
Upon hearing this.
The White Ape was overjoyed, nodding repeatedly. If not for the bamboo tubes on its body, it would have somersaulted.
Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe exchanged a glance.
Both saw the curiosity in each other's eyes.
Anyone with eyes could see the peculiarity of this White Ape; although it wasn't an Exotic Beast, it seemed just like one.
"It's still early, should we take a look?" Ye Qinghe said, intrigued.
Ning Qi looked up at the sky; although the sun was setting, there was still time before darkness fell completely.
"Let's go."
The White Ape became even more excited and hurriedly led the way.
The two humans and one ape maneuvered through the forest, with the White Ape occasionally glancing back, seemingly worried they might leave suddenly.
Soon.
The White Ape stopped before a cave, signaling for them to enter, as if returning home.
Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe glanced at each other; Ye Qinghe raised her guard slightly and stepped in first.
The cave was somewhat dark. Ye Qinghe lit a firestick to see the inside clearly.
Ordinary, with nothing peculiar.
She felt a bit disappointed.
Originally, she thought a chance encounter was upon her.
But soon.
Her eyes brightened.
The White Ape was fumbling around in some corner, and then came over holding something. As it got closer, they realized it was a roll of parchment.
"Is this really a chance encounter?"
Ye Qinghe laughed.
Ning Qi found it quite amusing too, not expecting the White Ape to bring a surprise.
Both of them looked at the parchment.
Immediately attracted by the three characters at the start.
"Ice Silkworm Strength."
"This is a Stacking Strength Skill."
Ye Qinghe's interest grew stronger, reading line by line. Ning Qi was also watching, reading even faster, but since he hadn't yet reached the Inner Essence Realm, this cultivation technique wasn't useful to him. It could only enhance his foundation.
A moment later.
Both came back to their senses.
"Ice Silkworm Strength, once the force is formed, it's continuous and bone-chilling. Moreover, the senior who created it ingeniously got inspiration from the ice silkworm's cocoon breaking and rebirth, each rebirth signifying another stacking of strength."
"Nine rebirths equal nine stackings, achieving Great Success in the Divine Skill, hard to find a match in the same realm."
"Wonderful!"
Ye Qinghe couldn't help but exclaim, her eyes shining with admiration.
This Ice Silkworm Strength is in no way inferior to the True Martial Sect's several top Stacking Strength Skills, even surpassing them in thought.
But then, her eyes showed regret.
"Unfortunately, this parchment only has the first three stages."
If it was a complete nine-stage Ice Silkworm Strength, this would indeed be a significant fortune, but with only three stages, its value is greatly diminished.
"Little White Ape, is there only this piece of parchment?"
Ye Qinghe asked expectantly.
The White Ape shook its head.
Ye Qinghe sighed in regret but soon smiled; to receive such fortune was already quite good, even if not usable, the feeling of surprise was immensely satisfying.
She looked at the White Ape with kinder eyes.
Good ape.
Ning Qi also felt a little regret, but not much.
When he ascends to the Inner Essence Realm in the future, he can attempt to complete this incomplete Ice Silkworm Strength, possibly even surpassing the original version.
Instead, the intent behind the Ice Silkworm Strength surprised him.
Both were in high spirits.
"Thanks, Little White Ape."
Ning Qi stored the parchment, planning to place it in the Scripture Pavilion later, to enrich the sect's foundation.
The White Ape grinned excitedly.
Then pointed further inside the cave.
Both grew more curious.
They continued forward.
Unexpectedly, the cave was so winding and deep, the further they went, the more they could hear a muffled sound.
At the end.
A water curtain filled with rainbow light appeared, with vines hanging down.
The roaring sound came from beyond the water curtain.
The White Ape took off the bamboo tube from its body and placed it on the ground, then cheered excitedly, swinging along the vines, and rushed through the water curtain in front of their eyes.
Both were startled.
Then on the opposite side, a faint sound of the White Ape calling came through.
Ye Qinghe was eager to try.
"I'll go first."
She laughed heartily, without using the vines, just a light tip on her toes, she soared over like a swallow.
"Jiu, hurry up, it's beautiful here!"
Ning Qi no longer hesitated; he too didn't use the vines, exerting on his toes like a tiger crossing a stream.
Once past the water curtain, he found himself standing on a stone platform.
A whole new world appeared before him.
Beside him, waterfalls plummeted, sunset angled in the sky, water and light merged here, creating a magnificent spectacle.
In the distant sky, birds soared, and vast vistas stretched far and wide, displays of boundless expanse.
Ning Qi gazed at this scene, as still as a sculpture, his mind bursting with spiritual enlightenment.
Initially captivated by the scene, Ye Qinghe's attention was then drawn by the White Ape's calls; looking over, she saw the White Ape excitedly pointing at the red fruit on a small tree by the water cliff. Ye Qinghe couldn't recognize what exotic fruit it was.
"Could this red fruit be the reason the White Ape is so intelligent?"
She instinctively thought, noticing two more small trees below, but they were barren.
Soon Ye Qinghe understood the White Ape's intention.
"You sly White Ape, pretending to give me a secret technique, actually wanting me to help you pick the red fruit."
She couldn't help but laugh.
Also feeling that the White Ape was overly innocent, if it were more cunning, it wouldn't have risked both losing the lady and the soldiers.
But Ye Qinghe was clearly not such a person.
She exerted her force lightly, then gracefully picked one red fruit, tossing it to the White Ape.
The White Ape's eyes carried gratitude, it bowed in thanks, then hurriedly ate the red fruit.
Under Ye Qinghe's astonished gaze, the White Ape's fur seemed to flash with a peculiar light, becoming even smoother and pure white.
She couldn't resist wanting to share this oddity with Ning Qi.
Turning to look, the call on the tip of her tongue stopped abruptly.
Because she realized.
Her little junior seemed to have entered a marvelous state.