“A magical gem tree?” Not just the students but even Teacher Du were surprised.
“The fruits of that tree are magical, capable of changing one’s constitution. Just one fruit can fetch a sky-high price on the market.” The student from the alchemy clan said.
“Magical indeed.” The teacher nodded: “Yes, it’ll change a young cultivator completely.”
He himself was tempted after hearing about the fruit.
“Teacher, should we go take a look?” One student became eager.
“Brother Du, it should be good.” The old man invited the students from Duality in order to foster a good relationship. He smiled and said: “The tree is still uncaptured due to a dichromatic ape. No one can get close.”
“Let’s go, Teacher!” The other students lost their patience.
Teacher Du glanced at them and said: “It’ll be a waste of time. That ape is a famous monster here at the heaven level. It’ll kill you with one slap.”
The students shuddered, especially the younger classmates like Yang Ling. Just one high earth-level was enough to make them pee in their pants. Maybe Teacher Du himself wouldn’t be able to handle this creature.
“We’ll just watch from a distance, no need for the fruit.” One student still didn’t give up despite fearing the monster.
“Brother Du, it’s fine to let the young ones see the world. We’ll just stare enviously at that fruit.” The old ghost smiled.
“Alright, alright, we can go.” Teacher Du saw the eagerness in the students and said: “When we get there, you must listen to me, don’t do anything stupid or be tempted by the fruits. Otherwise, don’t blame me for dying.”
The students applauded. Of course, they only wanted to go for fun. They didn’t dare to think about stealing the fruits from such a mighty creature.
They followed the members of the ghost tribe and crossed several more peaks. A big crowd gathered ahead.
In front was a cliff with a tree growing beneath. It had plenty of branches and leaves, causing it to have the shape of an umbrella. The older branches looked like bridges while the leaves were green and shiny.
This was a magical gem tree. It had plenty of fruits the size of a peach. It had different color glows. A red color was a sign of maturity.
It exuded a unique fruity scent that could be smelled from far away. People couldn’t help wanting to take a bite.
When the students from Duality got close enough, they heard groanings and moanings. Blood stained the area near the tree along with corpses and dismembered body parts.
The stench and corpses made people tremble.
There were a thousand or so cultivators present from all over the region – Necropolis, Heavenly Dragon, Mortal King, Buddha Emperor…
The various tribes and races were here as well – humans, ghosts, blood members, heavenly devils…
None of these experts dared to get close due to the presence of a large ape. It leaned on the tree like a tiny hill.
Its fur was black from top to bottom with a luster. The thick hair looked like black needles draped on its body – adding to its power and ferocity.
The only other color it had were its eye sockets. They had hair as white as snow around the outline, looking quite eye-grabbing.
Thus, it was obvious that this was the famous dichromatic ape. It lazily leaned on the tree while glancing at the experts gathering around the tree. It seemed to have nothing but disdain for these weak cultivators.
“This isn’t a regular heaven chaos primal beast, it’s at the high level already…” The students became startled.
The heaven classification was naturally divided into three levels – low, intermediate, and high. The gap between the low and high level was immense. This ape could easily massacre everyone here.
“That’s why an ancestor from the Yinmoon Ghost Tribe earlier got killed after one smash.” An old cultivator shook his head, not daring to get close.
The students were smart enough to keep a distance as well.
“It’s not just the ape.” A student noticed more chaos primal beasts resting beneath the tree – coiling serpents, the roosts of massive birds, a leopard, other aggressive apes…
They were weaker than the dichromatic ape but still strong enough to intimidate the cultivators present.
“They’re the ape’s underlings.” Teacher Du concluded.
“Underlings?” Many students found this strange.
“Primal chaos beasts have intelligence after reaching a certain level.” Teacher Du said: “Most preferred to be alone but some would team up. Moreover, the hierarchy was strict too, the strongest rules while the weak serve. A large group would be just as powerful as a minor dynasty.”
The students learned another thing today after listening. They then stared at the beasts again.
The beasts on both the branches and on the ground kept a certain distance from the dichromatic ape, not daring to overstep their authority. They stared at the beast with great reverence. The ape’s dominant status in this group was abundantly clear.
“Has anyone gotten a fruit yet?” The old ghost who led them here asked while looking at the fruits.
Obtaining them would be extremely beneficial for a sect. The scent of the mature ones was irresistible as well.
“No one can break through that defense. People have tried and failed.” Someone who was here for a while elaborated: “A high monk from Heavenly Dragon fought several beasts earlier. Eventually, the dichromatic ape joined in and sent him flying with one palm strike. He ran away with grievous injuries.”
The students became more impressed at this ape’s power, capable of defeating a high monk from the great temple.
Alas, people still didn’t want to leave. They thought about waiting for someone else to try then they could take advantage of the distraction and grab a fruit or two. This opportunity was just too tempting to pass up.
“Should we try again?” A few experts from a clan in Necropolis wondered. They were wounded from a previous attempt.
“Forget it, this ape is just too strong.” The leader shook his head: “We’ll lose our lives before getting to eat those fruits.” With that, he led his group away.
“Poof!” A mist of blood manifested on the horizon. It disappeared, revealing a dozen or so cultivators.
They were quite strong. The leader was young but the old men behind him had billowing vitality.
“Experts from the Nightwalker branch.” Many recognized them due to their unique mist of blood.