Yuan Ming pole-vaulted so that the piece of wood beneath his feet flew forward rapidly, while he frequently looked back over his shoulder. Fortunately, that tentacle-like black shadow did not reappear.

He still didn't dare to relax the slightest bit and continued to vault quickly. Simultaneously, he invoked the Exorcism Technique to aid his escape and soon completely left the area where the anomaly had occurred. Unknowingly, he had arrived near the center of Qianlu Lake, where Huo Chan'er had intended to go earlier.

In the mist ahead, a shadowy outline barely visible, looked rather like an island. Yuan Ming, seeing this, cast a puzzled gaze toward the little creature lying on his shoulder.

Huo Chan'er, however, had lost its earlier excitement and was nervously looking around. The whirlpool and the black tentacle had frightened it considerably.

Yuan Ming patted Huo Chan'er to soothe it then, after a moment's thought, decided to check out the shadowy place.

If it was an island, it would offer a place to stop and make another wooden raft.

"Squeak squeak..." Huo Chan'er suddenly looked behind, letting out a sharp cry, its body trembling incessantly.

Yuan Ming followed the sound and his pupils shrank sharply.

A thick, long black shadow was rapidly approaching from under the water. It seemed to be the main body of those black tentacles from earlier.

"This damn thing is still chasing us!" Yuan Ming's face darkened as he formed a hand sign and pointed.

The Green Fish Sword flashed out of the Storage Bag and into the water, darting toward the black shadow.

Seemingly aware of it, the shadow swiftly sidestepped, moving with astonishing speed.

However, the Green Fish Sword abruptly changed direction, speeding up even more, leaving a "之" pattern of clear sword light in the water.

It was too late for the shadow to avoid it; the Green Fish Sword slashed a foot-long wound into it, and blood gushed out, tainting the water nearby red.

A piercing roar erupted from the lake, akin to the lament of an owl, sounding utterly desolate and chilling to the bone.

Splash!

An even thicker black tentacle shot out of the water, heading straight for Yuan Ming and wrapped with blue lightning arcs, seemingly intending to crush him into a meat patty.

Yuan Ming, however, was quite calm. He leaped into the air once again and held up the incense burner with one hand suspended midair.

The black tentacle coiled around the tree trunk, effortlessly crushing it into smithereens.

Yuan Ming's brows raised; the black tentacle not only held the power of thunder and lightning, but its strength was also immense. If it had caught him in the water, he would have been facing a situation with no escape from death.

He drew a spell with his hand, and the Green Fish Sword burst out of the water, returning to his grasp.

The blade of the sword, struck by electric arcs, showed no marks. He promptly stowed it in his Storage Bag and then urged the incense burner to fly toward the shadowy area ahead.

The lake monster beneath the water was powerful but seemed only capable of moving within it, unable to do anything to an enemy in midair, and could only follow persistently in the water.

The incense burner flew quite fast and soon arrived at the shadowy area.

As Yuan Ming had guessed, it was an island. The island was shrouded in thick white fog, reducing visibility to an extreme. Within the range of his sight, the island was covered with verdant trees and luscious greenery.

After glancing at the shadow in the water at the shore, Yuan Ming dared not stop and continued flying toward the depths of the island, disappearing behind a dense canopy of trees.

Finally, with an aggrieved roar, the shadow turned and dove back into the water, disappearing from sight.

Not long after, a figure flitted past the treetop of a large tree, revealing Yuan Ming. Seeing that the shadow at the distant shore had completely disappeared, his tense face relaxed, and he landed next to the big tree, staggering slightly.

The flight of that moment had drained over half of his mana.

"It seems this method should not be used lightly," Yuan Ming muttered to himself as he put away the incense burner and surveyed the surrounding environment.

He looked surprised, as the island was filled with an exceptionally rich spiritual energy, almost on par with Biluo Cave's mountain gate.

He had heard from Chen Wan that the entire Biluo Cave's mountain gate was situated above a Spirit Vein, which, combined with special arrangements, formed the environment rich in spiritual energy. Could it be that underneath this island lay another Spirit Vein?

Huo Chan'er, lacking Yuan Ming's complex thoughts, was lively again without the threat of the water monster. It excitedly looked around for a few moments, and taking advantage of Yuan Ming's inattention, jumped out.

"Come back!"

Yuan Ming was quick to react, stretching out his hand to grab the Fire Mink's nape, yanking it back. Ignoring Huo Chan'er's screaming protest, he directly put it into the Spiritual Beast Bag.

He was no longer the simple Fur Beast Slave he had been before his time in Biluo Cave. He had gained quite an understanding of the Cultivation World, and with the island's spiritual energy so rich, there were bound to be mysteries; caution was necessary.

Yuan Ming cautiously explored the vicinity for a while to make sure there was no threat. Then, he finally sat down cross-legged against the big tree, starting to practice the Nine Elements Technique.

The island, rich in spiritual energy and lush in vegetation, was especially abundant in wood attribute spiritual power. It only took him a moment to fully recover his mana.

Yuan Ming stood up, gazing into the island, silent and contemplative.

After a short pause, he took out the White Ape Skin, wrapped it around his waist as before, and held the Green Fish Sword tightly in his other hand as he began to walk into the island's interior.

Apart from the occasional sound of lake waves, everything was peaceful, not even the sound of bird calls.

Yuan Ming proceeded with exceptional caution, making as little noise as possible. He quickly advanced over a hundred yards, where the vegetation grew even more lush and towered above him, shrouding everything beyond three or four yards in mystery due to the fog. Nobody knew if a fierce beast might be lurking within.

He had seen many sights within the Ten Thousand Mountains before, but for some reason, he felt a bit uneasy at this moment.

"It seems my mind is still not stable enough," Yuan Ming shook his head and continued forward.

Suddenly, a strange fragrance wafted from up ahead, refreshing and penetrating, as if it could seep into one's viscera.

Yuan Ming's eyes lit up and he quickened his pace. He soon arrived at a peach tree that was several dozen feet tall, which bore over a dozen fist-sized purple-red peaches. The exotic fragrance was emanating from these Immortal Peaches.

Now that he was closer, the scent was even more intoxicating. Having not eaten for a long while, Yuan Ming couldn't help but salivate. He leapt up and plucked one of the peaches.

Before he could peel and eat it, there was a rustling from the bushes ahead and out leapt a monkey that was about ten feet tall.

This monkey was golden all over, with its fur emitting flickers of golden light. It had a broad mouth and large ears, but the most peculiar feature was its four eyes—two large and two small—aligned on its face, creating an extremely bizarre appearance.

The Four-eyed Golden Ape's eyes also twinkled with threads of golden light, different from the light of its body, giving off a sense of tangible transformation.

Seeing Yuan Ming and the purple-red peach in his hand, the Ape was immediately enraged, roaring furiously and pouncing without a word.

Yuan Ming didn't panic; if anything, he felt a sense of relief. After pocketing the Immortal Peach, he raised his right hand and fully unleashed his mana.

A hissing sound ensued!

The ground in front of the Golden Ape cracked open as four large Wooden Thorns shot up, swiftly aiming for the Ape's lower legs.

During this time, he had diligently practiced the Moonlight Technique and Exorcism Technique, but he also had not neglected his cultivation of the Nine Elements Technique. He had become especially skilled at controlling the Wood Stabbing Technique; with his current level of mana, he could now summon four Wooden Thorns at once. Tо suppоrt оur wоrk, plеаsе rеаd оn

The Golden Ape seemed to anticipate the Wood Stabbing Technique's assault, leaping high into the air to easily dodge the sneak attack and landing with a strong gust right in front of Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming had already deployed the Shadowless Step, leaving two afterimages as he instantly reappeared behind a nearby large tree.

He raised his arm and a green Sword Shadow shot out, piercing the Golden Ape's back—it was the Green Fish Sword.

There was a crisp "clang"!

The Green Fish Sword penetrated only an inch before stopping, as if the Ape's body was cast from golden iron, which slightly startled Yuan Ming.

The Golden Ape roared in fury, with a golden light shining from its thick arms as it swung its arm around.

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the Green Fish Sword was knocked flying backward.

Yuan Ming tried to catch the Green Fish Sword but felt a tremendous force transmitted from the blade, shaking his whole body and forcing him to stagger several steps back, his heart growing more alarmed.

The strength of this suddenly appearing Golden Ape was indeed terrifying, surpassing even his White Ape Transformation, and its body was more solid than iron, making it an insurmountable opponent for him at the moment.

Yuan Ming recalled the Green Fish Sword and without any hesitation, fled into the nearby forest.

The White Ape Skin at his waist unfurled and instantly took the form of a White Ape.

The Golden Ape seemed to be enraged by Yuan Ming's theft of the Immortal Peach and chased after him immediately.

The Ape moved like the wind, with incredible speed. Even in the form of a White Ape, Yuan Ming was still no match; in just over a dozen breaths, the Ape had closed the distance to less than two yards.

Violent rage filled the eyes of the Golden Ape. Its right arm, shining like a magical artifact, emitted a material-like golden light which shot out over a dozen feet long, forming a blade and slashing horizontally.

"What kind of Divine Skill is this?" Yuan Ming's hairs stood on end as he hastily ducked low and rolled away, narrowly avoiding the golden light's cleave.

Whoosh...

In the expanse before him, where the golden light passed, all trees and bushes were severed, clearing out a significant open space.

Yuan Ming inhaled sharply and struck the ground while forming a hand seal.

The grass behind him hissed chaotically as four large Wooden Thorns surged up, not to attack the Golden Ape, but to form a wooden wall in front of it.

The Ape's arm swung, and the golden blade lanced out once more, effortlessly severing the four Wooden Thorns.

However, just at that moment, there was a faint "bang" from the ground and a cloud of dense grey smoke billowed out from nowhere, engulfing the area for several yards around.

The Golden Ape let out another roar, the airflow it created dispersing the smoke as a violent storm.

But even a moment's delay allowed Yuan Ming to make his escape, his figure almost disappearing into the woods.

The eyes of the Golden Ape were fixed firmly on Yuan Ming's increasingly blurred silhouette, filled with raging fury, and it immediately pursued, covering dozens of yards in a single leap, rapidly closing the distance between them.

While Yuan Ming's thoughts raced, he pushed the Shadowless Step to its limit, his entire being transforming into a white blur zigzagging through the forest, constantly changing directions to prevent the Golden Ape from using its incredible speed, barely maintaining a gap between them.

"What exactly is this Four-eyed Golden Ape? I've never heard of it before. Its strength definitely reaches the First-level Upper Stage, and it might well be at the Peak of Upper Stage. No wonder I felt so inexplicably nervous earlier!" He thought as he ran, trying to figure out how he could get away unscathed.

But after all, he had just arrived at this small island, completely in the dark, and had already used up most of his tricks. With no good plan in mind, he could only take it one step at a time.