Red Peach Ridge, Monkey Valley.
Following the path from which the Red-Tailed Monkey Group came, Zhou Family's trio delved deep into the valley and soon arrived at the monkeys' usual dwelling place.
It was a cliffside near the mountain, with few trees around. Judging from the various burn marks on the ground, it seemed the monkeys had played with fire and burnt down the nearby trees.
And on the cliff about ninety feet high, a tree resembling an orange tree was firmly rooted to the precipice, bearing fruits of various sizes, some red, some yellow, some green.
"It's indeed the Vermilion Sun Fruit. It's a pity none of them are fully mature!"
Looking at the round fruits on the tree, Zhou Jiapeng first nodded, then shook his head, sighing in disappointment.
Vermilion Sun Fruit is a strange fruit that blooms and bears fruit irregularly, normally taking decades to mature.
Only mature Vermilion Sun Fruits could purify the bloodline of beasts like the Red-Tailed Monkeys and enhance their Cultivation Levels.
All the mature Spirit Fruits on this Vermilion Sun Fruit tree had already been eaten by those monkeys. The one closest to maturity would still need at least another year or two to possibly ripen.
This was clearly a heavy blow to Zhou Zhengyong, who immediately showed extreme disappointment on his face.
At this moment, Zhou Chun suddenly spoke up, "I remember reading in the classics that Vermilion Sun Fruits can be transplanted. If we transplant the fruit tree back to our family, Brother Yong, waiting another year or two shouldn't matter much, and it's certainly better than coming here for nothing!"
Hearing this, the disheartened Zhou Zhengyong's eyes lit up, and hope was rekindled.
However, Zhou Jiapeng quickly poured cold water on the idea by slightly shaking his head and saying, "Transplanting the fruit tree is certainly feasible, but after the transplant, I'm afraid those Red-Tailed Monkeys will abandon this place. Also, the transplanting process can damage the tree's Essence Energy significantly, and it's uncertain whether the Spirit Fruits on it can be preserved."
"This..."
Zhou Zhengyong's brow furrowed again, his face filled with conflict.
Seeing this, Zhou Chun gently patted his shoulder and whispered in consolation, "Brother Yong, there's no need to fret. Even if the Spirit Fruits on the tree can't be saved after transplantation, it would still add to our family's heritage. The Clan Leader and the Elders will surely reward you."
With these words, he softly added, "When the time comes, if you just explain your original intention, I'm sure the Clan Leader and the others would be willing to do you a favor!"
Not only did Zhou Zhengyong regain his confidence and show a relieved and happy expression upon hearing these words.
Even Zhou Jiapeng looked at him with a surprised expression, nodding in approval and saying, "That's a sensible suggestion. I wouldn't have expected you, Zhengchun, to see things so clearly at such a young age."
Indeed, with Zhou Jiapeng's experience and wisdom, he would have thought of this eventually.
But because Zhou Zhengyong was eager for his Spirit Pet to break through, he too had focused only on the Vermilion Sun Fruits and hadn't thought further.
It was Zhou Chun, a clear observer by the sidelines, who immediately saw the advantages and disadvantages, thinking of an indirect approach.
This quick wit instantly made Zhou Jiapeng see the family junior in a new light.
Recalling the Magic Artifacts used by Zhou Chun during the spell battle and the Spirit Pets he had tamed, all of which were quite impressive,
he silently took note of Zhou Chun's name, and his attitude quickly shifted from before.
Afterward, the three discussed and decided that Zhou Jiapeng would return to the family first riding the Iron Feather Hawk to seek a Family Elder for transplanting the Vermilion Sun Fruit tree.
Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong would stay to guard the tree, preventing the Red-Tailed Monkeys from returning and also keeping a lookout for other Cultivators who might intrude and pick the valuable fruits.
With a distance of over seven hundred miles, the Iron Feather Hawk could carry Zhou Jiapeng back to the Zhou Family in half a day.
Even considering the time it would take for the Family Elder to come here, a day was more than enough.
Therefore, Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong didn't perceive any danger while waiting in Monkey Valley.
What they didn't expect, however, was that just over two hours after Zhou Jiapeng left, the Red-Tailed Monkeys returned.
And it wasn't just a return—they had brought reinforcements.
In Monkey Valley, including the Monkey King, six Red-Tailed Monkeys followed behind a golden-furred monkey, surrounding the two with threatening momentum.
"This is bad, it's a Vajra Monkey of the first grade superior Demon Beast level!"
Both pairs of eyes fixated on the golden monkey, their expressions darkened as they inwardly cursed the dire situation.
Although both were first grade superior Demon Beasts, the Vajra Monkey's strength was more than a notch above that of the Red-Tailed Monkey King.
This was similar to how both Qi Refinement level nine and level twelve belong to the latter stages of the Qi Refinement realm.
And compared to the average battling capability of Red-Tailed Monkeys, the Vajra Monkey was a warrior among its tribe—very skilled in fighting, its strength not comparable to ordinary beasts of the same level.
In fact, just the Vajra Monkey alone would require both Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong to work together to handle it.
"There's no other way, I'll try to hold off the Vajra Monkey for a while, Brother Yong, you lead the Red-Tailed Monkeys away from the valley, then find a way to escape. I will have my own means of escape when the time comes."
Zhou Chun's thoughts raced as he spoke urgently, laying out his plan before the Vajra Monkey and the six Red-Tailed Monkeys could make a move.
The Demon Monkeys were formidable; a head-on conflict would leave them with no chance of victory, so the only option was to flee for their lives.
Therefore, as soon as Zhou Chun voiced his plan, without waiting for Zhou Zhengyong's response, he threw his silver short sword magic artifact into the air. With a surge of mana, he directed the sword to transform into a streak of silver light, aiming straight for the Vajra Monkey.
At the same time, the Rock Earth Turtle lying beside him slammed its limbs against the ground, and sharp stone spikes immediately burst from the earth, impaling and pinning a mid-grade, first-tier Red-Tailed Monkey to the ground through its belly.
This savage display, as expected, instantly drew the attention and enmity.
The Vajra Monkey's eyes flashed with rage, and it let out a piercingly angry roar. A protective golden glow burst from its body, and it swatted toward the incoming silver short sword.
At the clash of gold and silver, a crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Soon enough, the silver short sword grew weak, wailing as it was smacked away.
Yet, the Vajra Monkey remained unscathed, simply shaking its palm, then with a fierce glare, it lunged furiously towards Zhou Chun.
It was not until then that Zhou Zhengyong came back to his senses, shouting at Zhou Chun, "Thirteenth Brother, take care of yourself, I'm leaving first!"
After he spoke, he and his own Red-Tailed Monkey ran towards the outside of the Monkey Valley in escape.
As Zhou Chun had anticipated, upon seeing Zhou Zhengyong's escape attempt, the Red-Tailed Monkey King immediately led the other Red-Tailed Monkeys in pursuit.
Meanwhile, faced with the oncoming charge of the Vajra Monkey, Zhou Chun commanded the Rock Earth Turtle to use its thick shell as a shield positioned at the front.
The Vajra Monkey, confident in its strength, didn't even consider going around when it saw the large turtle blocking its way.
It leaped onto the back of the Rock Earth Turtle and raised its palm, slamming down furiously at the reptile's head below.
But the Rock Earth Turtle recoiled its head like it had eyes in the back, tucking it instantly into its shell.
Zhou Chun in the meantime empowered the silver short sword that was swatted away by the Vajra Monkey, directing it to slash fiercely at its head.
The Vajra Monkey, seeing the attack, had to continue to swat at the silver short sword, unwilling to let the sharp weapon actually land on its body.
In this manner, Zhou Chun, with the cooperation of the Rock Earth Turtle, managed to exchange blows with the Vajra Monkey, not falling too far behind.
However, the intense battle was consuming his mana significantly.
With his current level of mana, he estimated that he could not maintain such fierce combat for more than around two hours before it would be depleted; a protracted battle was simply not possible.
So, nearly two hours into the struggle with the Vajra Monkey, figuring that Zhou Zhengyong should be far away by now, Zhou Chun immediately took out a mid-grade first-tier talisman, the "Thorn Entanglement Talisman", and launched it at the Vajra Monkey.
The talisman burned up in mid-air and instantaneously transformed into several wrist-thick black-green thorns that twined around the Vajra Monkey, holding it in place.
While seizing this opportunity, Zhou Chun quickly collected the Rock Earth Turtle into his Spirit Beast Pouch, then waved his sleeve and summoned a bamboo-leaf-shaped flying artifact, stepping onto it and soaring into the sky.
Boom boom boom!
Just as Zhou Chun had ascended not more than thirty zhang into the sky, the Vajra Monkey forcibly broke all the binding thorns and, with an angry roar, swatted at him. A faint golden blade light then streaked through the air towards him.
But just then, a black iron shield appeared out of nowhere, blocking the attack of the faint golden blade light.
Zhou Chun took the chance to further increase his flying altitude, soon climbing to a height of several hundred zhang.
At this altitude, the Vajra Monkey's long-range attack spells, even if they could reach, no longer had the ability to lock onto the target for attack.
And because of the distance, Zhou Chun was also able to dodge more easily.
Therefore, after reaching this height, Zhou Chun did not continue to climb any higher.
He had tried before and knew the flying artifact could carry him several hundred zhang high.
But flying at such high altitudes required constant shielding spells to resist the wind, which greatly drained mana.
However, at a height of one or two hundred zhang, unless caught in strong winds, flying did not require any additional shielding spells.
At that moment, seeing Zhou Chun controlling the artifact and flying away from the valley, the Vajra Monkey also ran wildly through the woods in furious pursuit, like a determined Kuafu chasing the sun.
But Red Peach Ridge was treacherously complex in its terrain; without the ability to fly, it couldn't possibly keep up with Zhou Chun.
Zhou Chun skillfully flew through the dangerous lands of steep gorges and ravines, quickly shaking off the Vajra Monkey, then landed on a mountain peak to rest and recover.