Chapter 214 - 211: Mysterious Daoist, Talent Divine Techniques

"Lead the way."

"Yes." The White Ape looked dejected, apparently still brooding over its loss to Ning Jiang.

"You’re quite interesting. Have you had contact with the Human Race before?" Ning Jiang asked.

Whether it was his tone of voice or his actions, the White Ape had a very human-like air about him. It was clear he’d been in contact with humans and had been influenced by them.

"You could actually tell?"

A flash of pride appeared in the White Ape’s eyes. "To tell you the truth, I have a master—a powerful expert from the Human Race. You’d better not hurt me, or my human master will come looking for you to settle the score."

"Is that so?" Ning Jiang watched him with a faint, unreadable smile.

"W-well... of course." The White Ape’s eyes darted around.

"It’s true you must have had contact with humans, but when you saw me a short while ago, you could barely speak coherently. That suggests you haven’t interacted with anyone for a very long time."

"So what? My master... he just had some business to attend to and had to leave for a while, that’s all." The White Ape’s gaze faltered, and he sounded a little guilty.

"Your eyes tell me you’re lying."

Ning Jiang said faintly. No matter how clever this White Ape was, it couldn’t deceive his eyes.

"I’m not lying! When I was young, I really did follow an old Taoist. He taught me for a few months. Of course, he hasn’t been back in several years," the White Ape retorted, disgruntled.

Hearing this, Ning Jiang fell into thought.

It wasn’t that he thought the White Ape was lying. Rather, the fact that the old Taoist had stayed here for several months pointed to a specific problem.

One had to understand that even an expert at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm couldn’t stay for several months without being eroded by the deathly aura. There was only one possibility: this old Taoist was at least an expert of the Earth Martial Realm, perhaps even stronger.

"Was this old Taoist a Sword Cultivator?"

Ning Jiang asked meaningfully. If he was a Sword Cultivator, then there was only one possibility: the one from the Star Sword Sect.

Currently, the only known Earth Martial Realm expert in Qing Province was the Old Sect Leader of the Star Sword Sect.

"Not a Sword Cultivator." The White Ape shook its head.

’Looks like it was some other Earth Martial Realm expert,’ Ning Jiang thought. ’Besides the Old Sect Leader of the Star Sword Sect, there must be a few other hidden ones in all of Qing Province.’

’Of course, there’s another possibility: he came from one of the other provinces.’

Qing Province was the weakest of the Six Eastern Provinces. Its overall strength was not high, unlike the other five major provinces, all of which had Top Grade Sects.

"But you were still lying about one thing. You can’t possibly be his disciple. Otherwise, he would have taken you with him long ago. Why would he leave you here?"

Ning Jiang flicked a fingernail. An expert at the Earth Martial Realm wouldn’t so casually take a White Ape as a disciple, let alone abandon him in the Death Mountain Range to fend for himself.

According to his speculation, the old Taoist was probably just bored and casually taught the White Ape a few things. It probably couldn’t even be considered a disciple in name.

"He taught me things, so he is my master," the White Ape said bluntly.

Ning Jiang shook his head and didn’t argue.

「An hour later」

Under the White Ape’s guidance, they arrived at a valley.

"We’re here. That damn lion’s territory is just ahead." The White Ape bared its teeth, looking fierce.

"It seems you have a grudge against this lion. Did you bring me here to do your dirty work for you?" Ning Jiang said faintly.

"It’s true we have a bit of a grudge, but I wasn’t lying about the great treasure. There really is one inside."

The White Ape admitted it freely, knowing it couldn’t hide the truth from this young man.

This young man’s eyes gave him a feeling even more terrifying than the old Taoist’s. It was as if they could see through all his thoughts in a single glance.

None of his crooked thoughts could escape this young man’s notice.

"In that case, let’s go in."

Ning Jiang was bold because of his great skill and wasn’t afraid of any traps.

As he was now, even if he couldn’t win a fight, he could just fly away with his Heaven-Devouring Sparrow Dharma Body, and no one would be able to stop him.

Unless there was some kind of Array here to trap him and prevent his escape. But he could feel no presence of an Array.

"Hey, you damn lion! Get your ass out here! Your Lord Ape has arrived!"

The White Ape shouted arrogantly as it walked into the valley.

The corner of Ning Jiang’s mouth twitched.

The White Ape looked like a lackey who’d brought his master to get revenge, basking in borrowed glory.

"ROAR."

An angry roar echoed, shaking the surroundings. The immense sound wave caused the surrounding forest to tremble and rustle.

SWISH.

A huge figure rushed out. It was a cyan-colored lion with a single horn on its forehead. Its body was as large as an elephant’s, exceptionally sturdy.

"You dare come here again? Are you looking to die?" the lion growled, but it spoke not in human tongue, but in the demon language.

"Damn lion, don’t be so arrogant! I may have lost to you last time, but today I’ve brought someone with me. This young master here will teach you a proper lesson!"

Facing the Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion, which was stronger than itself, the White Ape still felt instinctively timid.

As it spoke, its body swayed and it ducked behind Ning Jiang.

"See that? Hurry up and submit to this young master! Otherwise, he’ll beat you until you’re on your knees begging for mercy, black and blue!" the White Ape shouted at the top of its lungs.

"Are you trying to sow discord?" Ning Jiang glanced faintly at the White Ape, sending a chill down its spine. "I’ll deal with you later."

It had to be said, its instigation was very effective. The Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion stared menacingly at Ning Jiang. A moment later, with a roar, a bolt of electricity shot out from its mouth.

CRACKLE!

It was actually a Thunderbolt! This Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion was a Thunder Attribute Demon Beast!

"A little interesting."

Ning Jiang raised his hand and sent out a bolt of Purple Thunder. After the two Thunderbolts collided, they annihilated each other, but in the end, the Purple Thunder was superior and shot toward its opponent.

"ROAR."

The Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion was enraged. The fur all over its body stood on end. Then, from within its cyan fur, electric currents appeared with a sizzling sound. In the blink of an eye, its entire body was wreathed in cyan lightning, enveloping it completely.

ZAP!

It charged forward, so fast that one couldn’t react. In a blink, it appeared before Ning Jiang, its claw swiping down, accompanied by crushing Thunder Power.

’When it comes to Thunder Power, I won’t lose to you.’

Completely unfazed, Ning Jiang summoned his purple Celestial Tribulation Thunder and engaged the Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion in a fierce battle.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The valley erupted with earth-shattering thunder.

’This is his true strength?’

The White Ape was astonished. Only now did it realize that Ning Jiang had just been playing with it before and hadn’t used his full strength.

’If he had used these thunder techniques, my defeat would have been even more miserable.’

’This Purple Thunder is actually so powerful! Even that damn lion is being suppressed.’

The more the White Ape watched, the more frightened it became. It had fought the Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion many times and knew just how tyrannical its cyan thunder was. A single bolt could shatter a large mountain.

It had suffered greatly from that thunder, yet now, before Ning Jiang, the lion was being pushed back step by step, completely outmatched.

’It’s about to use its strongest Talent Divine Technique.’ The White Ape’s heart tightened.

The Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion, continually suppressed and beaten back by Ning Jiang, unable to gain any advantage, finally let out a furious roar and began to go all out.

The single horn on its head began to shine as lightning surged violently, weaving over it layer by layer until there were a full nine layers. In the end, its entire horn became incomparably brilliant, releasing a light so bright the White Ape couldn’t open its eyes.

Demon Beasts were different from humans; most of them could not cultivate Martial Techniques.

But they also had a strength that humans couldn’t match: Talent Divine Techniques.

Essentially, all Demon Beasts possessed Talent Divine Techniques.

The White Ape was no exception, but it felt that even if it used its Talent Divine Technique, it would still be no match for Ning Jiang, which was why it hadn’t used it earlier.

"Die, human," the Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion growled in the demon language.

BOOM!

The entire world suddenly lit up with a blinding flash.

The cyan thunder, now ten times more condensed than before, shot toward Ning Jiang like a bolt of silk.

"So what if it’s a Talent Divine Technique? I’ll let you see the Talent Divine Technique of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Body!"

Ning Jiang laughed loudly and fearlessly launched his attack.