"All or nothing!"
Under this kind of pressure, only a fight to the death offered a sliver of hope for survival.
Ling Chen's fighting spirit ignited, and he wasn't intimidated in the slightest. The Ling Tian Sword Scripture began to circulate wildly within him. His muscles and bones swelled, releasing a Righteous, majestic sword qi that could deter Demons across Thousands of Mountains and Rivers.
Drawing the Long Sword from his waist, Ling Chen stabbed directly at the Demon Ape's throat.
The Demon Ape was taken aback, its face filled with shock. It could feel the Righteous Qi emanating from Ling Chen's sword, a kind of True Qi that oppressed its very soul.
BAM!
Despite the Demon Ape's large size, it reacted quickly. It swiped its palm, unleashing a fierce force that sent Ling Chen flying tens of meters away.
The Long Sword in Ling Chen's hand almost slipped from his grasp, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The horrific force had infiltrated his meridians, ruthlessly assailing his Dantian, crackling chaotically as it attempted to wreak havoc within his body.
Lingtian True Qi! He roared inwardly, his True Qi flowing like dozens of small snakes, dissolving the dark energy in his meridians.
HISS, HISS, HISS!
Then, an astonishing change occurred in Ling Chen's body. His meridians expanded under the circulation of the Lingtian True Qi. It wasn't just the meridians; his blood vessels and bones were also strengthened by True Qi, becoming thicker, denser, and more powerful.
Under this terrifying pressure, Ling Chen managed to complete the first cycle of the Ling Tian Sword Scripture, "Forging Muscles and Bones." His physical constitution increased dramatically, and his body filled with power.
If Ling Chen previously possessed the strength of one tiger, he now had the power of at least three—a threefold enhancement.
"Haha, I really have to thank you, beast! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to master the first cycle in such a short time."
With his strength multiplied, Ling Chen's confidence surged. The Demon Ape possessed great brute force but seemed constrained by something, unable to unleash its full power. Otherwise, he would have been killed by that last blow.
ROAR!
The Demon Ape was enraged. No matter how dull-witted it was, it could see Ling Chen had suddenly achieved a breakthrough. Far from dying, his strength had actually increased.
Simultaneously, Ling Chen leaped like a great bird. The four ultimate killing techniques of the Da Feng Sword Song were unleashed, each strike aimed directly at the Demon Ape's vital points.
SLASH!
Sword light danced, and in the blink of an eye, Ling Chen carved a deep gash into the Demon Ape's neck. The wound was horrific, nearly exposing the arteries within.
The Demon Ape felt incredibly aggrieved. Enraged, it uprooted a large nearby tree and swung it wildly. Instantly, it deflected all the force from Ling Chen's attacks before the tree collided heavily with Ling Chen's Long Sword.
CLANG!
As expected, the Long Sword was knocked from Ling Chen's hand, shooting out in a straight line and impaling itself deeply into the trunk of a large tree.
Damn it.
Before Ling Chen could react, a fierce gust of wind struck his face, engulfing him instantly.
BAM!
The Demon Ape landed a fierce punch on Ling Chen's chest, instantly sending him flying.
His body crashed against a thick tree. Ling Chen felt as if his insides were churning violently, and he couldn't stop himself from vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood.
However, the Demon Ape didn't cease its assault. The moment Ling Chen stabilized himself, another furry giant palm swept down.
"Beast, you dare?!"
Ling Chen dodged the massive descending paw, clenched his right hand into a fist, and ruthlessly slammed it into the Demon Ape's chest.
This punch was powerful, yet it only left an imprint on the Demon Ape's chest and didn't cause significant damage.
BAM!
His punch having missed, Ling Chen quickly dodged. The giant palm shattered the tree trunk he had been leaning against; its strength was astonishing.
This beast's hide is too thick; ordinary attacks are ineffective.
As this thought crossed his mind, Ling Chen's thoughts raced. He noticed the bloody sword wound on the Demon Ape's neck. Gritting his teeth, he formed a palm knife and struck fiercely at the Demon Ape's throat.
SMACK!
His palm strike never fully connected, as the Demon Ape grabbed his hand in mid-air, preventing it from reaching the wound.
HEE-HEE-HEE...
The Demon Ape let out a strange, mocking laugh, as if to say, You're dead now.
CRACK!
Unexpectedly, a sharp sound rang out. Ling Chen, his palm knife rendered ineffective, had bitten directly into the artery on the Demon Ape's neck.
With a ferocious bite, he severed the exposed artery.
A shrill scream instantly echoed, filling half the Demon Forest.
GULP! GULP!
The Demon Ape's artery was severed. Waves of blood gushed from the wound into Ling Chen's mouth, flowing down into his body.
Ling Chen couldn't stop the Demon Ape's blood from entering his mouth. The Demonic Ape Blood Essence felt as scalding as boiling water. Wherever it flowed, intense, searing pain flared up in his body.
In an instant, Ling Chen's entire body heated up, his skin flushing crimson as if he were being roasted over a fire.
Furthermore, the Demonic Ape Blood Essence seemed to contain some kind of Violent Factor that could disturb one's mind and drive one to madness.
There's something wrong with this Demon Ape's blood!
Ling Chen felt as if his body was about to explode and was just about to pull back when the Ling Tian Sword Scripture suddenly began to circulate. A strong surge of True Qi actually accelerated his absorption of the Demonic Ape Blood Essence.
It's over, it's over. This time, I won't die at the hands of treacherous people, but I'll be killed by this Cultivation Technique instead.
Ling Chen's heart turned cold. The Demonic Ape Blood Essence was brimming with extremely violent Energy. Even a small sip could cause an ordinary warrior to explode. Such reckless absorption—wasn't that simply courting death?
THUD!
As Ling Chen frantically drank its blood, the last trace of life in the Demon Ape's eyes slowly dissipated. Its body, over two men tall, crashed to the ground, devoid of any breath.
Ling Chen quickly sat down cross-legged, desperately circulating the Ling Tian Sword Scripture to suppress the Demonic Ape Blood Essence rampaging within him, threatening to make him explode.
SIZZLE... SIZZLE... SIZZLE...
The violent Energy caused Ling Chen's skin to crack inch by inch. From within these raw, gaping wounds, wisps of green smoke began to rise.
The intense pain was like having his bones scraped and his skin flayed; Ling Chen was on the brink of fainting.
Meanwhile, the Violent Factor within the Demonic Ape Blood Essence continuously assaulted Ling Chen's mind, trying to make him lose his sanity.
A flicker of red light shimmered erratically in Ling Chen's pupils, exuding a violent aura. The slightest lapse, and he risked succumbing to qi deviation, becoming a madman.
With his astonishing willpower, Ling Chen held on. However, large beads of sweat continuously rolled down his forehead.
The body's internal skin and organs are its most vulnerable parts; damage to them causes pain far more intense than external injuries.
A common person would have died from the sheer agony.
「After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea」
Ling Chen's pain finally began to subside.
His mind also gradually stabilized.
"I've finally suppressed it."
Only then did Ling Chen slowly exhale a breath of relief. He inwardly rejoiced that he cultivated the Ling Tian Sword Scripture. This powerful Cultivation Technique was able to suppress the Demonic Ape Blood Essence; otherwise, he would undoubtedly have died.
SIZZLE... SIZZLE...
The Lingtian True Qi within Ling Chen's body began to circulate, slowly refining the rampant Demonic Ape Blood Essence inside him.
Part of this violent Demonic Ape Blood Essence was refined by Ling Chen and integrated into his Bloodline. However, a considerable portion, like a stubborn stone, couldn't be refined by even the Lingtian True Qi in a short time. It could only be driven into his Dantian, where it coalesced into a blood-red crystal the size of an egg.
This blood-red crystal contained eighty to ninety percent of the Demonic Ape Blood Essence's power. What Ling Chen had absorbed so far was merely one or two tenths of it.
I never expected to find a blessing in disguise.
Feeling the immense Energy surging within his body, Ling Chen was pleasantly surprised. This Demonic Ape Blood Essence was practically a top-tier Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, a potent tonic that improved his Bloodline and greatly increased his physical strength.
Such an improvement was even more crucial than an increase in his Cultivation.
However, Ling Chen couldn't recklessly absorb and refine this power from the Demonic Ape Blood Essence. It contained an extremely Violent Factor that, if mishandled, could cause a backlash and drive him mad.
I have to leave.
Ling Chen dared not linger. This place was too strange. If another monster appeared, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
It wouldn't be too late to slowly digest his gains once he reached a safe place.
With this thought, Ling Chen retrieved the head of the Evil Blood Blade, turned, and left the Demon Forest.