Outside the ancient tower, Multi-armed King Kong stood with its hands behind its back.

It glanced at the big bamboo rat and asked in a muffled voice, "Master has been in the ancient tower for such a long time. Why hasn't he come out yet?" At this time, the sun had set below the horizon for some time, and the sky was already dark. The Forest of Death became even quieter like a massive grave as though terrifying ancient corpses would climb out at any time.

After ringing the big bell, the shackles on the big bamboo rat's heart were removed. Its mind was smooth and clear, and its body emitted waves of zen energy.

Similar to an eminent monk, its words and actions were in accordance with the principles of Heaven and Earth.

The big bamboo rat did not care about Multi-armed King Kong's resentful words. It chuckled and answered, "Soon. Look—those 2 light spots are already flashing on the ninth level. It means that they will come out soon."

"Oh," Multi-armed King Kong responded faintly and stopped talking.

When the night wind blew, the big bamboo rat looked up at the hazy stars in the sky through the dead Qi. It asked in a low voice, "How did you and Lil' Friend become acquainted?" The king kong knew it meant Ou Yangming.

After hearing its question, Multi-armed King Kong laughed softly. Its smile was simple and honest, and it began to tell the story vividly.

It was extremely proud and did not have any conflicting thoughts as it knew Ou Yangming's achievements in the future would definitely reach a level that would make everyone look up to him. Especially after the king kong overcame the 6 Heavenly Thunderbolts and became a Venerable One, it could feel the Heavenly Phoenix Fire's domineering power, which seemed to be able to burn everything in the world. Even as a Venerable One, it felt small and insignificant under the raging flames.

The big bamboo rat did not say a word and just listened quietly.

It was then when the old ancient tower shook slightly, and a strange ripple spread out in all directions.

By the time the ripple spread out, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow had arrived at the bottom of the ancient tower.

Multi-armed King Kong looked simple-minded. It swallowed the words it was about to say and took the initiative to welcome them. It rubbed his head habitually and asked with an embarrassed smile, "Master, did you find anything?"

Ou Yangming shook his head with a slight regret then cupped his hands at the big bamboo rat.

The big bamboo rat's eyes were like 2 whirlpools that kept collapsing inward. Its eyes lit up as it nodded at Ou Yangming.

Afterward, it stared at the horns on the top of Big Yellow's head. Its eyes looked hollow, and no one knew what it was thinking about.

Ou Yangming approached the big bamboo rat and asked, "Senior, can I talk to you for a moment?"

The big bamboo rat's body was filled with zen energy. It nodded hard without thinking.

With that, the young fellow and the beast went to a wooden house not far from the ancient tower. It was clean and tidy without a speck of dust.

The bamboo rat was extremely wise and asked, "What do you want to drink? There's tea and liquor. After living in the Forest of Death for thousands of years, my life has been lonely and boring. Apart from refining my heart, I can only rely on these things to pass time."

Ou Yangming leaned back against a stool and looked a little lazier. The candlelight was dim and yellow, giving off an ancient feel like a painting that had been sealed for 100 years and showed distant vicissitudes of life. The young fellow glanced at the candlelight and said in a neutral voice, "Liquor—I haven't had liquor in a long time, so I'd like to have some."

Even after drinking 3 cups in a row, neither the young fellow nor beast spoke.

When Ou Yangming was about to finish his fourth cup, he rubbed the cup with his fingers and finally blurted, "Senior, how much do you know about the Forest of Death?" After all, he was far less patient than the big bamboo rat, which could sit for 100 years.

The big bamboo rat took a sip of its drink. A rare look of solemnity appeared in its eyes as it replied to the young fellow seriously, "I don't know much about it, but it is said that the Forest of Death's formation is related to the Big Ruins."

"The Big Ruins?" Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows and placed his cup on the table. He tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

"Yes, the Big Ruins! But many traces have been erased, and many things are half true and half false. Who can say for sure?" When the big bamboo rat spoke, it looked more like it had seen through the secular world. Even the candlelight in the wooden house gave off a stronger charm than before.

Ou Yangming did not talk much about the topic with the big bamboo rat. He cleverly diverted the topic and asked in a low voice, "Senior, now that you've completed the mission that was inherited in your bloodline, do you have any plans for the future?"

The big bamboo rat looked meaningfully at Ou Yangming. It smiled and answered, "I'll take Lil' Purple for a spin. It has accompanied me in the Forest of Death for hundreds of years, so I should also fulfill my responsibility as a father and teach it to settle its heart and life. I'll watch the colorful mountains and rivers to nurture Lil' Purple's majestic momentum. If it doesn't like it, it can come back to the Forest of Death to spend the rest of its life. Everything will be plain and simple."

There was a hint of kindness in its eyes, but its expressions had unknowingly become slightly older.

Nonetheless, this was precisely the reason it seemed more real.

Ou Yangming nodded slightly. Seeing as the big bamboo rat no longer spoke, he did a fist salutation and bowed then left.

He suddenly sensed something when he reached the door, thus he looked up and saw the couplets stuck on both sides of the wooden house: [When you're rich, you can help the world; when you're poor, you can only help yourself.] On the horizontal scroll: [Do things within your abilities.]

"Do things within your abilities!" Ou Yangming repeated it several times, and a different look appeared in his eyes.

He anyhow found a tree hole and spent the night inside. The next day, without saying goodbye, he and his companions headed toward the Forest of Death's periphery.

This was also the day the big bamboo rat brought Lil' Purple to the west and disappeared.

In the depths of the forest, Ou Yangming walked slowly and walked gently on fallen leaves. He held the Blood Spear Dragon Slayer in his hand and probed with his mental power to look for top-grade ferocious beasts. Multi-armed King Kong followed by the young fellow's side and curbed its aura. As for Big Yellow, it was only a middle-rank spirit beast, so it did not matter whether it restrained its aura or not.

Even in the morning, there was not a single drop of dew in the forest.

Ou Yangming looked calm. The Blood Spear Dragon Slayer flashed with a red light as his Qi momentum surged, and his Qi was smooth as one when it charged forward. A red spear-light broke the silence and blasted a high-rank fierce beast into pieces. The young fellow did not look up at all. Based on his strength at the moment, it was a piece of cake for him to kill a high-rank savage beast without intelligence.

He clenched his spear with his fingers and asked softly, "Big Yellow, how long have we been out?"

Big Yellow revealed a mouthful of sharp white teeth and replied to him, "More than 2 months!"

"It has been so long. I wonder how they're doing..." He looked like he was reminiscing while a look of warmth could be seen in his eyes.

Just as Ou Yangming was replaying his memories in his head, a vicious beast's roar stirred up a violent wind and reverberated from afar. The sound was so loud that it was not something that it could not have come from a high-rank fierce beast. Big Yellow and Multi-armed King Kong looked at each other and were pleasantly surprised. "Master (Lil Ming), it's a top-grade ferocious beast!" They shouted at the same time. To them, such a ferocious beast that could startle cultivators in Huixun City was merely prey that could be exchanged a reward.

Ou Yangming's eyes were also filled with joy. Without saying anything, he unleashed the speed of an Advanced Spiritualist, and he traveled at a top speed like a white wind blade that cut through space.

He already disappeared from where he was in the blink of an eye and moved into the distance.

Multi-armed King Kong and Big Yellow flashed as well. They hid in the dark and followed him.

After about 15 minutes, a mountainous single-horned rhinoceros appeared in Ou Yangming's sight.

The rhinoceros' body was covered in closely packed spurs as if countless broken swords were stabbed into its body. It was at least 66 to 130 meters tall, and it had red eyes. Every breath it took could set off a strong wind. In particular, the single horn on the beast's was at least 6 to 10 meters long, and it was like the sharpest bone knife.

Upon seeing this, not only was Ou Yangming not surprised, but he also looked ecstatic. He thought, 'It's a top-grade ferocious beast indeed. After searching for so long, I finally found one.'

A vast fighting will soared into the sky. The Blood Spear Dragon Slayer seemed to have sensed Ou Yangming's tyrannical will. It let out a light ring and stirred up spiritual Qi.

"Kill!" Ou Yangming let out a muffled roar. He utilized his step technique and thrust his spear toward the single-horned rhinoceros' heart.

A blood light flashed in the rhinoceros' eyes, making it look bloodthirsty. It widened its mouth at Ou Yangming as it wanted to swallow the detestable insect in one bite.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming forcefully changed his direction in mid-air and prodded his spear forward. It was abrupt, which was unexpected yet within reason. As a result, the spear roared and pierced into the single-horned rhinoceros' back. The young fellow did not activate the Devouring attribute to absorb the essence in the beast's flesh and blood. Instead, he pulled his spear down. In an instant, a blood pool mark of tens of meters long appeared on the rhinoceros' body.

Black blood splattered out and released a nauseating smell.

At the same time, the single-horned rhinoceros howled in pain. It suddenly seemed agile as it swung its tail and stood up to kick Ou Yangming with its front leg. It was as though a bolt of black lightning was wrapped around its foot, and its power was exceptionally magnanimous.

"Good timing!" Ou Yangming's eyes lit up.

With a flash of thought, he channeled his mental power and the surging spiritual power in his dantian. With his mental power as the guide and his spiritual power as the origin, he wrapped them around his fist and punched the rhinoceros'. This resulted in the most hot-blooded collision.

"Boom..."

A thunderous sound was heard as if the sky collapsed.

All of the spiritual Qi within a 33-meters radius exploded, and a gust of strong wind swept outwards.

Vicious beasts within 3 kilometers cried out in pain and escaped as fast as they could.

As for the trees, sand, stones, and even some slow beasts, they were torn apart by the strong wind.

Ou Yangming could only feel a powerful force traveling from his fist to his arm, his heart, then to every corner of his body. He staggered and took 3 to 4 steps back, and a sweet taste filled his throat.

Despite that, the ferocious beast was in an even worse situation. Its humongous body was directly blown 6 to 10 meters away, and it almost fell to the ground.

Once, twice—these were physical collisions. Ou Yangming adopted this method to stabilize his boundary. With each punch, his control over his spiritual power became more subtle. This boundary, which should have taken several months to stabilize, was unreasonably stabilized by him in only an hour.

At the spur of the moment, a blood light flashed in Ou Yangming's eyes as he thought, 'This ferocious beast without intelligence is no longer my match. Besides, I'm even more familiar with the usage of spiritual power, so I'll just kill it!!' It was as if killing such a top-grade vicious beast was as easy as eating and drinking to him.

Without further ado, the blood light on the tip of the Blood Spear Dragon Slayer circulated.

Ou Yangming shouted coldly, "Stone Awl Art!" Numerous stone awls instantly flew out from all directions like a spinning compass and surrounded the ferocious beast. The young fellow placed his hands together, then the stone awls contracted towards the center and stopped the beast from moving.