"A gold-attribute demon beast core?" Yang Kai was visibly surprised. "Why does it have to be gold-attribute specifically?"
"Young Brother Yang wouldn't know this," Pang Duo said, sidling closer. He kept a wary eye on the raging Gold Ape King while unconsciously tugging at his beard. "I'm not too sure how demon beasts work on the outside, but I've heard they're a bit different from ours. The demon beasts here can swallow the cores of other beasts that share the same attribute to replenish and strengthen themselves, growing more and more powerful."
"Demon beasts here can advance like that?" Yang Kai was first startled, then understood.
Setting aside the beasts in this place, even on the outside there were plenty of cases of demon beasts seizing each other's cores. The way demon beasts cultivated was entirely different from humans—humans had their own techniques and secret arts, but demon beasts had none; they relied purely on instinct. If a beast decided another's core would be of great use to it, and it could win easily, it would certainly not show mercy.
The only difference was that demon beast cores on the outside had impure, mixed attributes, unlike the pure, singular-attribute cores found within the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
"Indeed. When the Gold Ape King first appeared outside Dingfeng City, it was nothing more than a freshly promoted Sixth-Grade demon beast. But after all these years—with Dingfeng City supplying it with tributes year after year—it can't be far from the Seventh-Grade now." Pang Duo's eyes held a look of dread. They were no match for an ordinary Sixth-Grade beast, let alone one at the pinnacle like the Gold Ape King. Never mind that it was currently gravely wounded—if it really came to a fight, the several thousand people of Dingfeng City probably wouldn't even fill the gaps between its teeth.
Yang Kai asked curiously, "You were actually able to reach an agreement with the Gold Ape King and supply it with tributes?"
Yuan Lang smiled bitterly. "It was the only choice. If we hadn't offered it tributes, Dingfeng City would have ceased to exist long ago. Over the years, there have been several crises that only the Gold Ape King helped us fend off. It knows we have value, which is why it allows us to live here. If it ever decided we were worthless…"
The thinking of demon beasts could not be judged by common sense. If they failed to produce tributes this time, no one knew what the consequences would be.
Dingfeng City and the Gold Ape King existed in a relationship of mutual dependence. Dingfeng City was clearly the weaker party, but it could provide the Gold Ape King with a great many gold-attribute demon beast cores—which was precisely why the beast offered its protection at certain times.
While the group was speaking, the Gold Ape King grew ever more furious, roaring ceaselessly, its foul breath washing over them in gusts.
Mo Mei shouted sternly, "Gold Ape King, I'll say it one last time—Dingfeng City has no tributes to offer right now. No amount of rage on your part will change that. You would do better to calm down and focus on healing your wounds!"
The Gold Ape King turned its head toward her, its crimson eyes brimming with savage light. Suddenly, it raised its massive palm high and slammed it downward.
"Everyone, be careful!" Mo Mei cried.
As she spoke, she struck upward to block the blow. The warriors of Dingfeng City all wore grim expressions as they unleashed their techniques and secret arts in unison.
The moment they acted, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged violently. Techniques of every attribute transformed into torrents of differently colored energy, all surging toward the Gold Ape King.
Yang Kai and Qu Huashang exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
Strictly speaking, the people of Dingfeng City were not particularly strong. Suppressed by the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, they had no way of advancing to the Open Heaven stage. Whether it was Mo Mei, the several Elders, or any of the other warriors, their cultivation topped out at the half-step Open Heaven realm—still within the bounds of the Emperor Realm.
But their Emperor Realm was vastly different from that of the outside world.
Mo Mei and the Elders like Pang Duo, in particular, all possessed Yuan Qi that was both immensely abundant and extraordinarily pure. The techniques they unleashed carried tremendous power.
During the earlier clash with Tan Luoxing, Yang Kai had already noticed—at the half-step Open Heaven level, even Qu Huashang might not have been Tan Luoxing's match. After all, Qu Huashang had condensed a Sixth-Grade power, while Tan Luoxing had only a Fifth-Grade. There should have been a clear gap between them.
Now it seemed Tan Luoxing was not some unique case. Mo Mei and those Elders were all the same.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai understood.
On the outside, people like Mo Mei and Pang Duo would have long since attempted to advance to Open Heaven. Success meant soaring to the heavens; failure meant total annihilation. There was no third option.
But the people of Dingfeng City, suppressed by the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, could not advance at all. They had been trapped at the half-step Open Heaven level for hundreds or thousands of years, perhaps even longer, with no choice but to find ways to increase their strength within that very stage.
Such long accumulation and tempering naturally resulted in power far more abundant and refined than that of ordinary warriors, and the techniques they wielded carried correspondingly greater force.
Yang Kai was quietly stunned. If Mo Mei, Pang Duo, and the others could find an opportunity to advance to Open Heaven, it should pose little difficulty. With such a solid foundation of accumulated power, their chances of failure would be far lower.
While his thoughts churned, countless techniques had already collided with the Gold Ape King's massive palm. A blinding golden radiance erupted, and razor-sharp streams of gold-attribute energy shot outward like blades of light, slashing in every direction.
The hissing and tearing of air was relentless. In the blink of an eye, a large swath of Dingfeng City's warriors collapsed, their blood staining the earth red.
Mo Mei and the others' techniques had managed to stall the descending palm for a brief moment, but they could not hold. Seeing the palm about to crash down, Mo Mei, Pang Duo, and the rest darted forward without hesitation, burning their power to its fullest to position themselves beneath it.
With a thunderous boom, golden energy exploded outward, tearing through the void. Thin, shallow wounds appeared across everyone's bodies. Mo Mei and the others buckled at the knees, nearly driven to the ground by the Gold Ape King's strike.