The Crimson Crystal

Zhao Lin'er's jade-like hand sliced through the air like a blade, flashing with seven-colored radiance as it cut toward the light barrier. At the same moment, she spun and rose like a long rainbow, once more attempting to leap toward the great trees beyond the stone forest. But the Four-Armed Blood Ape was even more agile among the stone pillars, transforming into a flash of blood light that shot into the sky, on the verge of tearing Zhao Lin'er apart midair.

The Royal Celestial Maiden seemed to be in grave danger of falling to those deadly claws. But events always took an unexpected turn. At that instant, a streak of silver light shot from the depths of the dense forest, slamming into the blood ape with incredible speed. It caught Zhao Lin'er in midair, then bounded up and landed atop a nearby giant tree. The several giant apes nearby could not even block it!

Xiao Chen looked up in astonishment. It was that little Unicorn Holy Beast! It was actually saving Zhao Lin'er!

Its small body was less than a meter tall, utterly frail compared to the mountain-like Four-Armed Blood Ape. Yet it had just managed to shove the colossus aside. It was hard to imagine what kind of power was hidden within that tiny frame.

"Roar!" The blood ape bellowed in fury and led over a dozen giant apes in bounding leaps, scaling the giant trees to encircle the little celestial horse. But the little horse was incredibly fast, swift as lightning, and in an instant it broke free by stepping across the treetops.

"Go, quickly!" Zhao Lin'er urged the young unicorn in a melodious voice. They seemed already acquainted.

Xiao Chen remembered Wang Zifeng's words: only a pure maiden could approach a Unicorn Holy Beast. In that flash, he understood. The little unicorn had disappeared for two days; perhaps it had been with Zhao Lin'er the whole time, or even earlier they had met.

The dozen giant apes were fast, but they could not match the miraculous little celestial horse. Finally, the Four-Armed Blood Ape raised its head and let out a long howl, spitting a brilliant, multicolored light from its mouth toward the back of the young unicorn.

Xiao Chen was shocked! He marveled at the ape's supernatural ability—it possessed a divine art almost like sorcery.

The little celestial horse sensed the energy fluctuation behind it. Its jade-like horn blazed with intense light. Turning back, a silver bolt of lightning shot from the horn, meeting the pursuing multicolored light. The collision erupted in a dazzling explosion, and both forces dissipated!

A powerful wave of energy raged through the forest. Where the radiance burst, large swaths of trees were destroyed—leaves flew, wood splinters filled the air, and a massive pit was gouged into the ground.

Xiao Chen was deeply astonished. An ordinary expert would never be able to withstand such an attack. Both beasts possessed extraordinary abilities, especially the little celestial horse. Still so young, it already wielded such miraculous power. When it grew to maturity, its strength would be unimaginable. Truly worthy of the title "holy beast"!

The young unicorn shot away like a silver arrow, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The dozen giant apes raised their heads and roared under the moonlight, seemingly furious but helpless.

Xiao Chen also felt great regret. He had had a chance to finish Zhao Lin'er, but in the end, that little holy beast had saved her.

Now he sensed the giant apes' clear hostility toward him. It was no longer safe to stay in the stone forest, so he withdrew toward his own small peak.

Just then, something astonishing happened. The Four-Armed Blood Ape dug a glistening crystal out of the body of the dead giant ape and swallowed it down.

Earlier, after spitting that light attack at the little celestial horse, it had seemed listless, but after swallowing the crystal it quickly recovered its vigor, and a faint luster emanated from its body.

Could that be the legendary demonic core? It didn't seem quite like it. Xiao Chen returned to his small peak, uncertain.

"Roar…" The dozen giant apes howled together, carrying the corpse back into the stone forest.

Over the next two days, Zhao Lin'er did not appear. She seemed to have retreated in the face of difficulty. But Xiao Chen dared not let his guard down. He did not believe the Royal Celestial Maiden would give up so easily.

The giant apes grew noticeably hostile, no longer as amicable as at first. Xiao Chen knew it was time to move on.

As he passed through the Tyrant Dragon's territory, he discovered many large beast carcasses—skeletons ranging from three to ten meters in length, stark white and terrifying. They were clearly remains of creatures the Tyrant Dragon had preyed upon.

While passing by a bone pile, Xiao Chen noticed a red crystal, about the size of a thumb, glittering like a gem. His heart stirred. Wasn't this similar to what the Four-Armed Blood Ape had swallowed? Only the color was different.

Gripping the translucent red crystal, he could clearly feel a pure, concentrated energy within. Circulating the Qi-Refining technique recorded on the ancient stone stele, he guided the pure spiritual essence into his body.

After about fifteen minutes, a crisp crack sounded from his hand. The once-glowing red crystal grew dim and split apart. As the last wisp of energy was absorbed, the crystal turned to powder.

The essence contained within the crystal was considerable and surprisingly easy to absorb—far faster than drawing in the essence of heaven and earth. If it wasn't a demonic core, it could truly be called a spirit stone.

However, Xiao Chen was puzzled. Only a tiny fraction of the absorbed energy nourished his wounded body; most of the spiritual essence had vanished without a trace, gathering somewhere unknown.

He activated his mystical art to inspect his meridians, searching for the lost energy. Suddenly, he spotted a tiny silver light point in his left foot—a manifestation of the vast refined essence from the dragon egg, coalesced with the Shangqiu acupoint. Compared to other acupoints, it seemed almost divinized, shining like a lamp in the dark night!

At the same time, he noticed a faint, almost invisible red tinge in the Shangqiu acupoint of his other foot. Understanding dawned on him immediately—the same phenomenon was occurring in the opposite foot. However, the energy contained in the crystal was far inferior to that of the dragon egg. He wondered if, after absorbing enough spiritual essence over time, it would produce a similar divinization effect.

Xiao Chen did not venture deeper into the island. He merely moved a few li laterally from the giant apes' territory to a rocky cliff, still at the edge of the Tyrant Dragon's domain. Within the Tyrant Dragon's territory alone were there fewer terrifying beasts, and given his current physical condition, he was not suited for fierce combat with savage monsters.

It was already dusk. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on the cliff, quietly cultivating and recovering his wounded body.

"Awooo…" From a distant forest came wolf howls, mingled with the roars of other beasts. At first, Xiao Chen paid little attention, for on this desolate island, wolves were too weak compared to the countless fiercer beasts.

But then came lion roars, tiger growls, ape cries, and the very forest trembled as if many beasts were locked in mortal combat! Xiao Chen stopped his cultivation and went to investigate.

When he arrived, the battle was nearly over. The forest was littered with beast carcasses. Blood mist rose, and the acrid stench of gore permeated the woods. Two lions as large as elephants lay dead, their necks snapped; seven or eight three-eyed black tigers had been torn apart, their bodies strewn through the undergrowth; two giant eagles, five or six meters long, hung from trees with their chests and abdomens pierced; three unicorn bears, also over five meters long, were piled together, their heads severed from their bodies… Several dozen strange beasts lay slain in this place.