If it were an ordinary disciple of the White Cloud Temple, they might not necessarily defeat this mountain mandrill. After all, its body had reached a formidable level, brimming with vitality and as tough as iron.
But Lu Zheng was different. His greatest strength was his versatility.
When he realised even the Binding Spell was ineffective against the mandrill, he recalled how it avoided Hu Cai’niang’s gaze.
Could it be that its spiritual realm was lacking?
With the thought, he acted, unleashing a Golden Palace Heart Sword strike.
No harm in trying. If it worked, great. If not, he had other methods.
The Golden Palace Heart Sword targeted the spirit. The mandrill felt a gleaming golden sword appear in its mind, slashing at its soul.
“Screech!”
The mandrill’s expression changed, guarding its soul tightly, then paused, turned, and fled.
“Well, well?”
Lu Zheng’s lips curled. That confirmed it.
“Your soul is that weak!”
While the mandrill’s body allowed it to fight above its level against warriors, demons, or even qi cultivators, its soul was relatively frail. Against a spirit cultivator, it was helpless.
In that case…
“Golden Palace Divine Hall, Suppress!”
Lu Zheng decisively cast a spell from the *Golden Palace Mysterious Art*.
The Heart Sword broke defences, but the Divine Hall crushed directly.
The mandrill felt a radiant golden palace appear in its consciousness, emitting light. Beams of gold pierced its soul, eroding its spirit bit by bit.
“Screech!”
Fear flashed in the mandrill’s eyes. It kicked off, fleeing into the forest at a speed faster than when it arrived, crashing through with earth-shaking force, snapping trees, and raising dust.
“Can you escape?”
Lu Zheng sneered and gave chase.
…
“Screech!”
A clear cry echoed through the forest, followed by no small commotion. It was as if a dump truck roared through the deep woods, shaking the ground, breaking trees, and stirring clouds of dust.
“Golden Palace Heart Sword, Slash!”
“Golden Palace Divine Hall, Suppress!”
“Golden Palace Treasure Mirror, Scatter!”
“Golden Palace Illusion, Bewilder!”
Lu Zheng tested various techniques from the *Golden Palace Mysterious Art* as he pursued.
The mandrill could only guard its spirit, turning back several times to kill Lu Zheng, but he countered with cloud techniques and flying swords, leaving it thwarted.
Helpless, the mandrill felt its head splitting, its soul wearing down, unable to fight back, fleeing deeper into the forest.
…
Thirty miles into the mountains, Lu Zheng sensed the mandrill had no strength left to resist and was about to deliver the final blow when it suddenly turned a corner and entered a valley.
Following, Lu Zheng saw the mandrill dive into a cave and vanish.
In the valley, mist swirled. Perhaps due to the terrain, the air felt lighter, more ethereal.
Looking around, Lu Zheng noticed broken trees and human bone fragments.
This was the mandrills’ lair.
“Screech!”
From the cave, the mandrill’s clear voice rang out, “Human! We ate everyone in that village. Come in and avenge them, haha!”
Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed.
The voice came from deep within, indicating a sizable cave.
But Lu Zheng couldn’t attack its soul from such a distance.
The mandrill likely hoped he would enter, using the cave’s confines to counterattack.
At the cave’s entrance, Lu Zheng peered inside. It was pitch black, turning left after ten feet, obscuring what lay beyond.
“Tch, think I won’t go in?”
“Then come in!”
“As you wish, I’m in!”
With that, Lu Zheng stepped into the cave.
Not only did he enter, but he drew his Seven Star Sword, slashing at the surrounding rock, sealing the entrance.
As he ventured deeper, he kept swinging, collapsing the passage behind him, sealing the cave tighter.
“What are you doing!” The mandrill panicked. Was this human planning to die with it?
“Heh, guess?”
Lu Zheng chuckled, moving slowly, destroying as he went.
After advancing dozens of feet, sealing an equal distance, the mandrill couldn’t hold back. It charged.
In the ten-foot-high cave, the mandrill nearly filled the space, leaving Lu Zheng no room to dodge or retreat.
“Die!”
The mandrill roared, as if already seeing Lu Zheng smashed to a pulp.
But Lu Zheng waved, stepping back.
“Boom!”
The mandrill couldn’t stop, crashing into the sealed rock behind Lu Zheng.
“What?”
“Golden Palace Heart Sword, Slash!”
“Ah!”
The mandrill screamed, trying to flee deeper, but Lu Zheng appeared on its path, swinging again.
Sword qi crisscrossed, rocks shattered, and debris fell, blocking its retreat.
“Earth Travel Technique!”
“Correct!” Lu Zheng laughed, making an outdated joke, “No prize!”
The mandrill didn’t get the humour, only punching the blocked rocks, trying to break through.
Logically, escaping outward was safer, but it knew Lu Zheng had sealed dozens of feet of the path.
So it turned back, hoping to break through before Lu Zheng sealed more, delving deeper.
Unfortunately…
Lu Zheng was no weaker, retreating with Earth Travel Technique, blocking the path with shattered rock, and attacking with spiritual techniques.
The mandrill couldn’t reach him, utterly suppressed, unable to fight back.
“Screech!”
“Aaah!”
“Huff… huff…”
“Ugh… whimper…”
“Thud!”
Finally, the mandrill collapsed like a toppled pillar into the rubble, breathing its last.
Confirming its soul was annihilated, Lu Zheng appeared, storing its body in his storage gourd.
“Buzz!”
One hundred forty-one strands of fate light were gained.
“Wrong!” Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed.
Despite the mandrill’s strength, its cultivation was modest. Even with potential, it should yield seventy or eighty strands at most, never over a hundred.
But the jade seal recorded one hundred forty-one strands, suggesting vast future potential and an opportunity already seized.
Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered, glancing at the dark passage, then silently proceeded inside.
After another dozens of feet, he emerged from the tunnel into a slightly open space.
Faint red light illuminated the cave, revealing the scene at its heart.
“I see!”
