"SWISH!!!"
Lin Feng's Crimson Soul Sword swept horizontally.
"SSSSSZZZ…!!"
The blade tore through the "vine net" effortlessly. A sharp, sizzling sound erupted as the severed tendrils writhed—like flesh scorched on a grill. The stench of charred matter filled the air.
"SCREEEEE—!!!"
An even shriller shriek tore through the cavern. Instantly, the vines constricting Lin Feng recoiled like whipped snakes, vanishing into the shadows.
Lin Feng's vision cleared. There, in the cave mouth, stood the source of the ambush:
A colossal ape, over two meters tall, its body matted with dark green fur. It had scrambled backward, eyes wide with panic.
But the true horror lay behind it.
Dozens of thick, vine-like appendages—each as wide as a thumb and stretching ten meters—thrashed from its lower back like a monstrous tail. Seven or eight hung severed, oozing dark crimson fluid from their charred stumps. Wisps of green smoke curled upward.
Not vines.
Its tail.
"Vine-Tailed Giant Ape!"
Lin Feng's gaze hardened. This matched Loong Xin's description perfectly.
Blood—dried and crusted—stained the beast's fur. Yet, bizarrely, no gaping wounds marred its hide. Its aura, however, betrayed severe weakness. Once Tier-3 Late-stage, it now barely scraped Tier-3 Early.
Superficial healing. Internal ruin.
Relief flickered in Lin Feng's mind. This was survivable.
"ROAR!!!"
The ape's eyes locked onto the Crimson Soul Sword. Fear flashed—then fury. With a final snarl, it spun and vanished deeper into the cave.
"Running?!"
Lin Feng lunged forward, sword blazing.
The tunnel stretched three meters wide. After a hundred meters, it jagged sharply left. The ape disappeared around the bend.
Lin Feng charged after it—
"GRRRAAAAH!!!"
The roar exploded in his ears. The ape's massive form erupted from the shadows beside the turn, fists like boulders aimed at Lin Feng's skull!
Ambush.
"CRUNCH!!!"
Twin hammer-blows slammed onto Lin Feng's raised left arm. Golden light flared—the Spirit Light Bracelet's shield held. Stone cracked under the impact.
Shock widened the ape's eyes. Blocked?
Before it could recoil, Lin Feng's sword slashed upward!
The beast hurled itself backward—
"SHIIIING!"
A streak of crimson light detached from the blade. The Flying Sword shot forth, homing on the ape's face!
The ape twisted mid-air, evading—
The sword curved, piercing after it!
"RAAAWR!!!"
Desperation ignited in the ape's eyes. It stopped retreating. Viridian light erupted around its right fist—a blinding emerald sun—and smashed downward onto the pursuing sword!
"CLAAAAANG!!!"
Metal screamed. Lin Feng staggered.
His Flying Sword—knocked clean out of control!
The crimson blade tumbled wildly before embedding itself deep into the cave wall with a "THUK!"
Across the cavern, the ape clutched its ravaged fist. Blood poured from a bone-deep gash. Pain contorted its face—then contorted further into rage.
It locked eyes with Lin Feng, thirty paces away.
And ROARED.
"HUUUUUUM…"
The cavern trembled. Stones rained from the ceiling.
Green light—incandescent, blinding—engulfed the giant ape. Power surged, thick and suffocating, pressing against Lin Feng's skin.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
Sinister snaps echoed. All around Lin Feng, fissures tore open in the cave walls.
Thick, dark-green vines—real ones this time—surged outward like serpents awakening. They slithered, coiled, and lashed toward him with mindless hunger.
Within seconds, Lin Feng stood entombed. A living prison of thrashing vines sealed every exit. The ape vanished behind the writhing curtain.
"SHIIING!"
The Crimson Soul Sword tore free from the wall, slicing back to Lin Feng's side. Blade flashed—
"SHWICK! SHWICK! SHWICK!"
Vines fell severed. More surged instantly to replace them. The space around him shrank relentlessly. The walls of vegetation pressed closer, inch by crushing inch.
Too many. Too tough. Even an artifact-grade blade struggled.
Suffocation. Crushing. Shield failure. The grim outcomes flashed through Lin Feng's mind as the green tide advanced.
He stopped the sword. Closed his eyes.
Concentrated.
If cutting fails…
Burn it all.
Lin Feng's right palm snapped open. Above it, a small, seething orb of dark crimson flame materialized.
Lava Flame.
"WHOOSH!"
With the sword stilled, vines rushed in like a tsunami.
"Go!" Lin Feng hurled the flame.
"FWOOM!"
The fist-sized fireball struck a thick vine—
—and detonated.
Molten heat erupted. Embers sprayed. Where they landed, vines ignited like parchment soaked in oil.
Fire exploded outward.
Left. Right. Ceiling. Floor.
A roaring inferno consumed the prison of vines. Tendrils blackened, curled, vanished into ash in an instant.
"KRAKOOM!!"
A ten-meter-thick barrier of vines vaporized. A searing tunnel opened before Lin Feng.
Through the flames and falling cinders, he saw it—
The Vine-Tailed Giant Ape, frozen mid-snarl, its eyes wide with primal terror.
How?! its expression screamed.
Lin Feng's gaze turned glacial.
Now.
"KILL."
The Crimson Soul Sword streaked forward—a bolt of red lightning.
"SKREEE—!" The ape jolted awake. It scrambled sideways—
Too slow. Its right shoulder exploded in a spray of blood and bone. Agony ripped through its body.
Then—
Soul-deep torment.
The Crimson Soul Sword's hidden power struck: SOUL DAMAGE!
The ape shrieked, its mind blanked by the psychic scalpel tearing through its spirit. Its body locked rigid.
"SHIIINK."
In that frozen heartbeat, the crimson blade pivoted mid-flight.
And punched clean through the giant ape's chest.
"THUK."
Silence.
The flames guttered. Ash drifted like black snow. Lin Feng stood amidst the devastation, hand outstretched.
The Crimson Soul Sword quivered, embedded to the hilt in fur and flesh.
The Vine-Tailed Giant Ape sagged. Its vine-tail went limp. Those furious green eyes dimmed, faded…
…and emptied.
A wet rasp escaped the beast's throat. Its massive frame trembled once—
—then collapsed like a felled oak.
The cavern breathed again. Only the crackle of dying flames broke the stillness.
Lin Feng lowered his hand. The sword slid free, returning to hover beside him, stained dark. He surveyed the scorched walls, the smoldering vines, the cooling corpse.
Deep in the valley's heart, the hunt was over.