At the entrance to the mountain valley.
Yusu and others quietly approached, counting the number of golden-tailed monkeys guarding the entrance.
"There are a total of six, not difficult to deal with."
Yusu summoned vines, which crawled on the ground. Taking advantage of the inattention of the six golden-tailed monkeys guarding the valley entrance, the vines suddenly surged, covering their mouths and tying them up.
In the blink of an eye, the six golden-tailed monkeys at the valley entrance disappeared without a sound.
Yusu and the others smoothly passed through the valley entrance without attracting any attention.
...
Inside the valley, Yusu immediately sensed a faint aura of bloodthirst in the air.
The Little Black Bird told Yusu, "I found a mountain of bones inside. The Monkey King in this valley enhances its strength by devouring the essence of living beings' blood and flesh, extremely brutal. Be cautious."
Yusu and Luyan added vigilance, relying on the scanning of the entire elf team as they infiltrated toward the center of the valley.
The closer to the center of the valley, the more pungent the smell of bloodthirst.
Yusu said, "This was originally a gathering place for spiritual energy, but now, swept by this bloodthirst, what was once a blessed place has become a sinister one, truly a waste."
However, Luyan didn't find it surprising. He said, "On this land, powerful monsters, like the Black Bear King in Black Bear Valley, the Winged Serpent in Black Flame Valley, and the beasts in the mountains to the east, all consume blood and flesh to enhance their strength."
Luyan paused and continued, "Even the human race, during the harsh winter when the mountains are snowbound and food is scarce, resorts to cannibalism."
Yusu was momentarily stunned.
Luyan's words reminded Yusu that this was a savage land.
Most beings in the wilderness were extremely fierce.
Monsters devour flesh and blood, savage beasts devour flesh and blood, and even humans hunt.
Similarly, they had no concept of heavenly blessings; they only understood territorial concepts.
In his eyes, this valley was a precious place for cultivation, but in the eyes of those monkeys, it might just be an ordinary hill that they happened to occupy.
Yusu said, "You're right; I forgot that they don't understand these things."
Luyan moved his lips; he actually wanted to say that people as kind as Yusu were a rare breed in this land. Yusu was unique.
"Up ahead is the center of the valley."
At this moment, the Little Black Bird chirped twice, communicating with Yusu.
The entire elf team also informed Yusu that they had reached the true nest of the golden-tailed monkeys.
Yusu said, "Show me the scanning map of the nest."
The entire elf team worked diligently and handed the scanning map to Yusu.
After examining it, Yusu found that the main nest of the golden-tailed monkeys was a cave, and the Monkey King was currently inside the cave.
It was not convenient to fight inside the cave, so they had to lure the Monkey King out first.
Creating a disturbance was the easiest way to attract the Monkey King. Yusu and Luyan discussed their plan. They would rush in together, lure out the Monkey King, and then Yusu would deal with the Monkey King while Luyan and the Panther King dealt with the monkey groups.
Luyan nodded, "Alright."
The Panther King also roared lowly, eager to try.
...
The Monkey King of the golden-tailed monkeys had a cluster of black fur on its forehead.
It was as sturdy as a small mountain, with a fierce expression.
It had just finished patrolling its territory and was returning to the cave to rest.
However, as soon as its eyes closed, it heard a commotion outside. A monkey came to report, "Great King, frightening humans have entered, and they captured many of our kin!"
The Monkey King stared angrily, daring humans to disturb it?!
The Monkey King stood up and rushed out of the cave.
Its body was huge, causing the ground to tremble slightly as it walked.
Just as it reached the entrance of the cave, it roared angrily, mouth wide open.
Yusu and the others, who were fighting the golden-tailed monkeys, immediately knew the Monkey King had come out.
"Be careful, stick to the plan!"
"Understood."
After Yusu and Luyan finished speaking, Yusu turned to face the Monkey King as it charged.
Taking a closer look, the Monkey King's body was comparable to the Black Bear King.
Yusu wielded a magic sword and engaged in a battle with the Monkey King.
After a dozen rounds, Yusu felt his tiger's mouth vibrating, and his arm went numb.
When the Monkey King roared, the pressure and sonic attacks made him dizzy.
He secretly alarmed; indeed, it was a powerful monster close to the fifth rank. If he confronted the Monkey King head-on, unless he fought to the death, victory would be challenging.
He didn't waste any more time and said to the Little Black Bird in his backpack, "Little ancestor, it's your turn. Quickly suppress the Monkey King!"
The Little Black Bird chirped from behind, and the terrifying bloodline pressure of the divine bird spread out.
The Monkey King's attacks on Yusu paused, and a look of fear appeared on its face.
Taking advantage of its hesitation, the Little Black Bird emerged from the backpack and spewed out divine fire.
Yusu took out a fan and waved a gust of wind.
Whoosh! The divine fire was blown onto the Monkey King.
"Roar!"
The Monkey King roared in fear, attempting to resist the divine fire.
However, since this divine fire was unique, even a water snake demon equivalent to a human infant-stage cultivator couldn't withstand it, let alone the Monkey King.
In no time, the raging flames engulfed the Monkey King.
All the golden-tailed monkeys in the valley were startled and scattered in fear.
Under the burning of the divine fire, the Monkey King couldn't last long before turning into ashes.
Including the Monkey King's inner core, everything was incinerated.
The golden-tailed monkeys, witnessing this scene, were terrified and disappeared in no time.
The entire valley suddenly fell silent.
Yusu, panting, first surveyed the surroundings and then walked towards Luyan.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
Luyan also breathed heavily. He and the Panther King were surrounded by those monkeys for only a short while before the Monkey King was burned by the divine fire, causing the monkeys to flee in panic.
Yusu sighed in relief, "As long as you're okay. Take a rest, and I'll check this valley."
Their goal was the spirit stone mine. Now that the Monkey King was dead and the monkeys had fled, it was time to check the spirit stone mine.
Yusu instructed the entire elf team to initiate a scan and search for traces of the spirit stone mine.
[Masters, it's inside the cave.]
"Are there still monkeys inside?"
[No, the cave has another exit, and they all ran away.]
These golden-tailed monkeys were very opportunistic. As soon as their leader was killed, they immediately abandoned the fight and fled at an impressive speed, as if they had rehearsed it.
Seeing Yusu going into the cave, without resting, Luyan followed.
The space inside the cave was quite large, with many animal skins and bones piled up, as well as many treasures that the monkeys had hoarded.
There was also a large and luxurious throne, presumably the Monkey King's seat.
Yusu and the others searched through it, collecting valuable items into their storage space.
Then, following the guidance of the entire elf team, they walked deeper into the cave.
Finally, after wandering through the twists and turns of the cave for a while, they arrived at the location indicated by the entire elf team.
"Is this a pool of water?"
[Masters, it's a spiritual spring.]
Yusu was slightly surprised; the spiritual energy here was indeed rich, but he hadn't expected this pool of water to be a spiritual spring.
Looking at the scattered arrangements around the pool, it was likely the bathing place of the Monkey King.
"The Monkey King really knows how to enjoy, but where is the spirit stone mine?"
[It's right below the spiritual spring pool; you need to dig deeper.]
Yusu raised an eyebrow. Under the water?
...
Several days later.
Jian Yunchuan, leading a team of warriors and riding on beast mounts, arrived in the valley.
The beast mounts had long since dug up the red iron ore. During this idle time, they heard there was work to do, and they were very eager.
The water from the spiritual spring pool was stored in large clay jars, crashing on the cart pulled by the beast to be transported back to the village for irrigation.
Originally, Yusu was a bit hesitant about taking the spiritual spring, considering it was the Monkey King's bathwater. However, he thought about using it for irrigation, so he allowed Jian Yunchuan to bring people to transport the spiritual spring water back.
After draining the spiritual spring, the pool revealed its bottom.
Jian Yunchuan glanced at the side and asked, "Is there really spirit stone underneath?"
Yusu replied, "Yes, let the tunneling beasts dig a hole first."
The tunneling beast eagerly expressed its readiness to work.
Yusu said, "Go ahead, but be careful."
The tunneling beast made a joyful chirp, leaped into the pool, and started digging. In no time, it dug out a hole.
Yusu and the others stood at the edge of the hole and looked down. After waiting for about ten minutes, a dense spiritual energy suddenly gushed out from the hole.
The tunneling beast was also sprayed out by the spiritual energy. Jian Yunchuan quickly caught it, preventing it from falling.
Even so, the tunneling beast felt a bit dizzy, but it recovered after a while. It immediately signaled to Yusu that there was indeed a spirit stone mine below!
At this point, Yusu and the others could confirm it without the tunneling beast's explanation.
The surging spiritual energy almost immediately filled the cave.
Breathing in the rich spiritual energy, Yusu and the others radiated vitality, with big smiles on their faces.
"So rich in spiritual energy!"
"My goodness, this spiritual energy is milky white. It's the first time I've seen it with my naked eyes."
"Hurry, meditate and absorb it. Don't waste it!"
The Five Elements warriors who followed quickly began meditating.
Yusu and the others didn't waste any time and also sat down to absorb the energy.
After absorbing for a whole day, the spiritual energy in the cave became slightly thinner.
The main reason was that it dispersed.
Everyone benefited greatly, but the one who gained the most was Luyan.
Having absorbed so much pure spiritual energy, he was even closer to Foundation Building. He could feel that he was just one step away!
Yusu exclaimed, "It looks like you'll be able to build the foundation in a short time."
Luyan nodded vigorously, joy evident on his face.
After saying this, Yusu felt a bit regretful, "It's just a pity for the dispersed spiritual energy."
Jian Yunchuan asked him, "Are we starting to mine the spirit stone now?"