Chapter 166: A Turn of Events

"Harvesting the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower barehanded..."

The Old White Ape pondered for a moment, a trace of a cold smile crossing its face.

Despite its demonic body and resilient flesh, coupled with years of martial arts cultivation, it still didn't dare to straightforwardly harvest the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower.

The Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower's sword-leaves alone could be used to refine formidable artifacts. It was exceptionally sharp! Who would casually attempt to pluck it with bare hands?

But the Old White Ape was puzzled by Chu Liang's attitude. If Chu Liang wasn't confident, why would he say such words?

Upon reflection, even if there were some divine skills capable of enhancing the physical body, it was undoubtedly not some technique that could be performed by a third-level cultivator like him.

He was just bluffing!

The Old White Ape simply believed that Chu Liang was trying to trick it into plucking the leaf with its bare hands. Once it was hurt, it would not be able to fight the Golden-Furred Hou.

For a moment, the Old White Ape felt that it had seen through the opponent's trickery, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of its mouth. "Alright," it responded, "I admit that I cannot harvest the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower barehanded. If you can do it, you can take it with you. If not, leave now."

The Old White Ape had intended to gain the upper hand with this move, and in its view, this young man definitely would not dare to accept the challenge.

Yet, Chu Liang, with a slight smile, said, "Alright!"

Before the words had even settled, he had already stepped forward!

"

Hmm?

" The Old White Ape's face, resembling that of a human, showed a hint of confusion.

Chu Liang ascended a large stone and gazed at the cluster of Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflowers in front of him. The dazzling flowers, as radiant as the sun, were surrounded by several seemingly loosely arranged sword-shaped long leaves.

Just as Lin Bei and the Old White Ape had directed their attention toward him, he suddenly extended two fingers and grabbed the stem of the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower at a lightning-fast speed!

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Twist!

The eight long leaves straightened almost simultaneously, transforming into blade-like edges and rotating slightly as they closed. Even iron hands would be twisted upon touching them.

Clang!

But when the sword-leaves wrapped around Chu Liang's fingers, a metallic clang sounded. The leaves couldn't close tightly together!

What?

The Old White Ape's eyes narrowed. It couldn't believe what it had just seen.

The fingers of apes and monkeys were incredibly strong, each one robust and powerful. Yet, it couldn't achieve this with the two of its fingers!

Upon closer inspection, those sword-leaves had embedded themselves into Chu Liang's fingers, piercing through his skin and flesh. However, upon reaching his bones, they encountered formidable resistance.

What could be the reason for this?

In the perplexed gaze of the Old White Ape, Chu Liang exerted force with his two fingers, breaking and plucking the Dark Sunflower stem. Instantly, scalding liquid flowed out of it.

"Excuse me," he said as he smiled at the White Ape. Then, he landed gracefully on the ground.

"You..."

The Old White Ape was unhappy with the outcome, but with the Golden-Furred Hou guarding by its side, it couldn't take any action.

Upon seeing Chu Liang's return, Lin Bei approached and asked, "How did you do that?"

"

Hehe.

" Chu Liang raised his two fingers and gestured, saying, "My fingers are quite extraordinary."

Back when he was at the Valley of Bewildering Fog, he had strengthened the bones of these two fingers. They were said to be as tough as gold and stone, but this description was merely an estimate of their resilience. With the infusion of spiritual energy, the bones of these two fingers would be even harder than gold and iron.

Chu Liang and Lin Bei didn't linger around the area. They were constantly keeping an eye out for any sudden moves from the Old White Ape. After they left the valley, they rode on the Golden-Furred Hou and flew away.

Little did they know that after their departure, the Old White Ape revealed a sinister gaze.

...

After this series of activities, dusk was already approaching.

The Mount Shu Sect was quite a distance from their current location, and flying back would likely mean traveling well into the night. After a brief discussion, Chu Liang and Lin Bei decided to find a place to stay for the night and return to Mount Shu early the next morning.

The area was near Yanzhou City near the East Sea.

The cities in the Eastern Regions were very different from those in the Southern Regions. Though each city thrived with prosperity, in comparison to Taotie City, there were fewer cultivators, and it lacked the same bustling atmosphere.

The last time Lin Bei was here, he was in a hurry to head back and consume the Fiery Lingzhi, so he didn't have time to explore. And now, both of them wanted to tour around and check out the scenery of the Eastern Regions.

However, upon reaching the city gate, they were confronted with a harsh reality.

"A spirit beast at the fifth realm of cultivation is too fierce," the soldier guarding the city was a martial arts cultivator at the second realm. Despite this, he displayed no fear when facing the Golden-Furred Hou and continued saying, "According to the laws, this creature is not allowed to enter the city."

To safeguard the common people, large-scale demonic beasts were typically prohibited from entering cities. Chu Liang and Lin Bei, primarily residing in the Mount Shu Sect and not having owned a mount before, were not very familiar with these rules.

"

Ah...

"

The two were extremely disappointed. It wasn't feasible to leave the Golden-Furred Hou outside the city on its own, and they couldn't let its Big Head fly back to Mount Shu alone; they wouldn't feel at ease on the way.

As night was approaching, they had no choice but to find an inn outside the city and settle down.

Since large demonic beasts weren't permitted to enter Misty Waters City, there were naturally inns outside the city that catered specifically to cultivators with such companions. The inn they chose had a designated courtyard at the back specifically for accommodating these big creatures.

They tied the Golden-Furred Hou to the courtyard and left it to be taken care of by the dedicated personnel. Chu Liang and Lin Bei then went upstairs to rest.

After this series of activities, when they finally lay down to sleep, the moon had already reached its zenith.

However, not long after, a roar echoed! All the demonic beasts in the courtyard were startled!

Chu Liang instantly woke up; it was the roar of the Golden-Furred Hou!

He quickly leaped out of the window, only to see that the iron chain around the Golden-Furred Hou's neck had somehow loosened. The Big Head was now ferociously threatening a small figure, who was sitting on the ground, trembling with fear.

Beside them lay a headless figure and a pool of blood covered the ground

Oh no!

At first glance, it seemed like the Golden-Furred Hou had killed someone. However, Chu Liang immediately realized that while it might be fierce towards outsiders, it was not a wild animal. It was a spirit beast!

With it being a spirit beast, It would never arbitrarily take another person's life! Something else had happened.

Chu Liang was not the only one who had gone out to see what was happening. Soon, people from all directions gathered. There were many cultivators in this inn, and a crowd instantly formed.

Upon seeing more people, the man sitting on the ground quickly mustered his courage and shouted, "This ferocious beast eats people! It's a man-eating beast! Quickly, go call the officials!"

"

Roar—

"

When the man yelled at the Golden-Furred Hou, the creature became even angrier. It opened its mouth and let out a roar that seemed to convey its intention to kill the man on the spot.

"!" Chu Liang quickly shouted.

If that person were to die, they would have no way to explain the situation. If the Golden-Furred Hou killed another person in front of everyone, the situation would escalate beyond his ability to salvage.

"What's going on?" Lin Bei also arrived at his side.

At this point, nearly all the guests at the inn had emerged. Many were pointing and discussing, while others had gone to report the incident to the authorities. If it weren't for the recognition of the Golden-Furred Hou's formidable strength, someone would have likely stepped forward to try to restrain it.

Regardless of whether it was a spirit beast at the fifth realm or if the owners were disciples of the Mount Shu Sect, if laws were violated, the authorities of the Yu dynasty would not let them off easily.

In recent years, it was a great taboo for disciples from the sect in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten to harm ordinary people!

Chu Liang was also unaware of what had happened, but the urgency of the situation demanded immediate action. Without hesitation, he raised his hand, causing a red light to swiftly wrap around the man, binding him securely.

"Golden-Furred Hou, guard the door!" Chu Liang lifted the man bound by the tortoise-shell bondage method and said, "Let's find out what exactly happened before the officials arrive!"

In the courtyard, the various cultivators observed as Chu Liang lifted the man into a room. With the Golden-Furred Hou standing guard, no one dared to utter a word of accusation. Many of these cultivators had lower cultivation levels and didn't dare provoke a fierce spirit beast at the fifth realm.

"Chu Liang, what are you doing?" Inside the room, Lin Bei was also surprised and confused about everything that had just happened. "Isn't he the victim?"

"I believe the Golden-Furred Hou wouldn't harm people without any reason," Chu Liang stated, his brow furrowing. "Our priority is to quickly determine what happened. If he's truly a victim, we won't hesitate to take responsibility, but for now..."

With a thud, he threw the man to the ground and said coldly, "I will ask the question and you will answer."

While saying this, he also retrieved a black candle from his pocket and lit it.

Lin Bei glanced at the tightly bound man before turning his attention to the candle in Chu Liang's hand. He then glanced at the Demon-Binding Rope and at the candle again...

Lin Bei couldn't help but feel a chill rising from his spine.

Has Chu Liang's cultivation reached such a staggering level that it's shocking even to me?

Lin Bei pondered silently.