Chapter 68: The Eight-Armed Golden Ape

This blow carried a terrifying force!

Redcloud looked up at the staff descending directly toward him. With a quick calculation, he felt his breathing hasten, his mind stirring as layers of baleful energy coalesced to shield his head. Yet, unexpectedly, the baleful aura enveloping his body offered no resistance at all. As the staff made contact, it was as if a pebble had been dropped into water—his defenses were effortlessly dispersed, the impact landing squarely before him.

Escape was no longer possible. A silvery moonlight shimmered over Redcloud’s body as he raised his hand and seized the oncoming staff. The moment his powerful palm gripped the pitch-black rod, his expression changed—an immense force surged into his body.

Redcloud did his utmost to channel the force downward into the earth, but he still absorbed nearly thirty percent of the impact. Beneath the soft, white snow, the hard layer of ice and snow cracked under the pressure, spiderwebbing outward from where he stood at the center. As the fissures widened, the ground could no longer withstand such power. With a loud crack, it collapsed beneath him.

Boom!

Amid flying shards of ice and snow, a figure stood atop the ruined ice. Leaning on the inky-black staff in his hand, he gazed excitedly at the shattered ground before him.

Redcloud placed his palm against the pit left by the blow. With a surge of strength in his arm, he leapt skyward.

Clatter—

He shook the ice fragments from his body, his gaze heavy as he looked at the figure radiating battle lust from across the broken ground. Narrowing his eyes, Redcloud spoke:

“I am but a nameless wanderer—Zhao Jingcheng. May I ask your name?”

“Zhao Jingcheng... Truly nameless indeed. Never heard of you.”

The figure lifted his head, revealing an unruly, defiant face—a simian demon. His fur was gray, but the most striking feature was the tuft of golden hair atop his head.

As he finished, a flicker of battle intent flashed in his eyes. He leveled the staff at Redcloud and launched himself skyward.

“No matter how unknown, I’m still far superior to those so-called Nirvana experts in this half-demon kingdom. Enough talk—fight me! Let’s have a proper battle!”

This fellow…

Redcloud watched the simian demon charge toward him, frowning. He had no desire to fight without cause, but since the other had already closed in, he could not afford to show weakness.

With this thought, he let loose, drawing his crescent moon blade and slashing downward. This blade light, empowered by his full strength, was his first true offensive strike of the day—so ferocious it seemed intent on cleaving open the icy ground itself.

The simian demon, countering from below, suddenly manifested a pair of massive golden hands that clapped together, dispersing the blade light. As they closed the distance, instead of swinging his staff, the demon hurled it like a javelin.

Redcloud saw the baleful energy in the air silently parted by the strike and knew he could not block it with aura alone. He drew a deep breath, tightened his core, and punched out.

Boom!

With an explosive roar, a surge of energy crashed toward his opponent. The simian demon crossed his arms, currents of mysterious golden baleful energy rising to block the blow. Redcloud’s form, originally eight feet tall, suddenly swelled to over twenty feet as moonlight swirled around him. He charged downward.

Not only that—at his attack, a great river appeared, surging from the horizon, the bright moon overlapping his own form as they joined forces in a single strike.

Redcloud had long since understood: unless this fight dragged on, it would be a battle of momentum—one surge, then decline, then exhaustion. This attack, if not his ultimate move, still carried ninety-nine percent of his power.

The simian demon’s eyes shone with excitement as he faced the oncoming blow. He roared, sitting cross-legged with palms together. As mystical golden aura flowed around him, a colossal golden ape, more than thirty feet tall, materialized behind him. Its hands unfurled, its arms splitting into eight, all striking toward Redcloud’s lunar avatar.

This golden ape apparition, like Redcloud’s own, was nearly at the point of manifesting physically.

The phantom river surrounded the golden ape, but the creature was unmoved, as if seeing through the truth: Redcloud’s moon avatar was the key.

In a flurry, eight arms reached for the moon.

When Redcloud saw the apparition revealed, he finally understood his foe’s identity. The answer was clear as day.

This simian demon was one of the legendary Eight-Armed Golden Apes!

Golden Apes, with their eight arms, are born with monstrous strength—in the Bottle World, their physical might is unrivaled.

In that split-second distraction, the moonlight avatar was shattered by the golden ape apparition’s eight arms, dissolving into motes of lunar light.

Seeing this, Redcloud did not hesitate. He dispersed both the river phantom entwining his opponent and the lunar power, the flowing water gradually wearing down the golden ape’s apparition.

At last, the two combatants finally confronted each other directly, fighting like martial masters from the tales of the jianghu. But unlike those duels, each strike between them could send a side hall flying or gouge a massive crater in the icy ground.

...

After thirty exchanges, Redcloud sensed several gazes fixating upon him. He knew the commotion had already drawn the attention of interested parties. When the two clashed again and separated, Redcloud positioned himself near Chai Xiaoyue, his voice cool:

“Have you had your fill?”

He no longer wished to continue the fight; staying any longer would only invite further trouble.

“What, you want to settle this in one move?” The simian demon planted his staff in the ground, his eyes shining. “That’s just what I was thinking.”

As he spoke, his aura began to burn. The golden tuft on his gray fur grew ever more brilliant.

Redcloud, seeing the other’s Nirvana-peak power rising even further, sighed inwardly and turned his focus to the depths of his own mind.

Panel, show yourself. How many Tribulation Points do I need to break through to the peak of Nirvana?

He had no choice—he had already used nearly all of his strength. Without a new method, he would soon be forced onto the defensive.

The panel trembled lightly, projecting a prompt into his mind: “To break through, the host must sacrifice ten percent of this world’s physical lifespan and spend forty Tribulation Points. Proceed?”

Sacrifice lifespan?

Redcloud was startled by the panel’s message, sensing something unusual—a vague insight within his heart.

Before he could act, a pair of massive hands reached out, neutralizing the simian demon’s fighting spirit and seizing all the Nirvana great demons present, taking Redcloud and his companions along as well.