"Lìliáng! That girl who has already married outside the family—when did she arrive here? Well, then," the middle-aged man with a golden face flashed a spark of keenness in his eyes and issued the command with unwavering authority. Lóngjiā's household was struck with a sense of urgency and promptly responded respectfully. Though he was the head of the Lóng family and the eldest child of the elder ancestor, since the elder ancestor had mastered an extraordinarily powerful technique known as the Way of Unfeeling, even this familial bond had become negligible. Every day, the head of the household had to remain vigilant and cautious, never daring to slacken in his duties. "Is this truly the half-dragon form born of the true dragon's blood? It's remarkable indeed that she can hold her own in a physical confrontation against an immortal cultivator of the spirit realm—this truly astonishes me!" The noble maiden of the Qi Ling clan gracefully descended and remarked, smiling gently from a distance. "My lord, you are a cultivator at the late Consolidation stage. You've yet to defeat even a cultivator of the initial stage of the spirit realm. What could possibly be worthy of celebration? Does the noble maiden perhaps find me amusing "The elder of the Long family heard this and, instead of showing any joy, merely remained expressionless, saying, 'Hah! Master Long, why ask such a question again and again? By nature, immortal cultivators are renowned for their robust physical strength, and the ape-type cultivators are especially outstanding among them. Master has not even used any of his treasures—only relying on his physical form to contend against a senior-level ape cultivator. That alone speaks volumes, doesn't it? If Master employs any other divine techniques, this ape will be unable to withstand Master's presence for very long.'" The Thousand-Autumn Maiden paid no attention to the elder's expression, instead smiling warmly in reply. "Hm, unable to withstand for very long? If the Maiden thinks so, then she is entirely mistaken." Upon hearing this, the elder of the Long family frowned slightly, a touch of surprise evident on his face. "Ah, has Master discovered something?" The yellow-robed maiden blinked, her expression now one of mild astonishment. "All of you go down. I would like to have a private conversation with Master Thousand-Autumn." Master Long didn't immediately respond to the young woman with any words. Instead, he shook his broad sleeve and issued a single command to all the Long family cultivators nearby. At the same time, the dragon horns atop his head and the golden scales on his face faded away, and his golden eyes returned to their usual dark brown. Naturally, the cultivators—including the Master of the Long family—respected his command and took off toward the castle. In a moment, only the middle-aged man and the yellow-robed young woman remained in the sky. "You've been so cautious. Does that mean the ape spirit is someone of considerable standing?" The Qianqi Princess didn't stop the others from departing, but gently asked this question now. "I suspect it's one of the inhabitants of the Sacred Island!" As soon as the elder of the Long family spoke, the Qianqi Princess was momentarily startled, then her expression turned surprised. "The Sacred Island? The holy land shared by both the human and spirit clans?" the young woman murmured. "Exactly so." Otherwise, it's hard to explain how a combined-stage yao-jun has suddenly emerged among the yao clan. The Sacred Island selects talented disciples from both our clans every millennium to populate the island. Over such countless years, it's natural that we have no idea how many combined-stage beings remain unknown on the island. Based on my estimate, there are at least twenty or thirty combined-stage beings residing there. Unless it involves a matter of existential importance for our two clans, these combined-stage beings living on the island rarely leave the island unattended. It is precisely because of this island that the human and yao clans can stand and move together in times of external threats. Although Master Long's face remains as expressionless as ever, a sense of gravity passes through his eyes... "Ah, it sounds as though your two clans' Sacred Islands are quite similar to our Ling Clan's Sacred Temple. I myself have no idea how many Sacred Spirit-level beings currently reside within our Ling Clan's Temple. The yellow-robed young lady sighed upon hearing the elder of the Long family's words. "There is another reason why I believe this immortal ape originates from the Sacred Island. As I know, among the long-standing guardian troops of the Sacred Island, there exists a rare lineage—the Golden Jiao Immortal Ape clan. The colossal ape that has arrived here bears a striking resemblance to members of this clan. Moreover, it is not merely an ordinary evil compound-stage immortal cultivator. Even without summoning any other divine powers, this great ape far surpasses the capabilities demonstrated earlier. Should I exert my full strength, I would still have little confidence in securing its defeat. Thus, I naturally would not wish to provoke the Sacred Island." After a brief pause, the elder of the Long family finally revealed the true source of his apprehension. "This ape truly is that formidable! Though I have not personally engaged it, I find it difficult to gauge its full strength. However, the layer of silvery flame it left behind upon departing—capable of directly melting the void—has left me with a significant sense of threat." "The young lady's smile finally settled, and she spoke slowly. "As far as I know, the Jin Gang Yāo Yuán clan possesses a natural divine ability known as the Nine-Infant True Fire. Though this ability is indeed extraordinary, it is rare among the Jin Gang Yāo Yuán that such a power can be awakened and fully cultivated. The very nature of this True Fire, however, remains largely unknown to most." The elder of the Long family said with a flicker of his gaze. "So, you're certain this golden-mantled giant is a member of the Jin Gang Yāo Yuán clan?" The Thousand-Seasons Princess frowned. "It's not merely my judgment—I am certain of it, with no less than ten out of ten chances." The elder of the Long family clearly expressed his unwavering confidence. "Ah, well, as a member of the Sacred Island, this embarrassment of being silent must be accepted." After gazing at the elder of the Long family for a while, the young lady chuckled softly. "Hmph. I'm not afraid of the Jin Gang Yāo Yuán clan at all. It's merely a matter of giving the Sacred Island a little face." Moreover, hearing the words of the ape as he departs, it seems there's still more to the matter. I intend to investigate further before making any final decision." The elder of the Long family emitted a light scoff, her eyes flashing with cold light as she spoke. "Since Master Long has already made up his mind, I shall refrain from further comments. As for the matter at hand—though our families have been in communication for a full day and night, we still haven't reached a unified agreement. Shall we continue to wait any longer? I have come to your homes not merely to engage with the Long family, but also to attend to several other matters of my own." The young lady with the yellow robe said, her expression instantly turning cold. "Our Long family's terms are not simple at all. We merely require each of your war vessels to provide us with ten unconscious, spent spirits. In return, we will divide our newly forged celestial giant vessel equally among you—three parts for each of you. Is this not a generous offer?" As far as the old patriarch is aware, the Spirit-Container Clan never treats discarded spirits as members of their own kin—thus, exchanging so many such spirits for such a large number of sky-riding warships should be a resounding success. The old patriarch replied without expression. "Hmph. Ten absolutely won't do. Although the Spirit-Container Clan does not regard discarded spirits as fellow clan members, according to the general regulations of the entire spirit realm, it constitutes a breach of clan loyalty to voluntarily hand over discarded spirits to another clan. Each warship can only be obtained by exchanging five discarded spirit containers. Moreover, we have taken this great risk to enter into this agreement with your Lóng family, yet we have only secured one-third of the warships—our risk and returns are simply not balanced. To be blunt, the young lady, had I known your family was so stingy, I would have preferred that the sky-riding warships had ended up in the hands of the Three Emperors and those great beast kings instead. I am certain that the larger powers would have been more generous." The young lady in yellow robes gently twisted a strand of her flowing hair with her pale wrist. "Why, then, does Master Qianqiu You should be well aware of the Indifferent Way cultivation technique I've been practicing—my emotional vulnerabilities are entirely absent. Yet, since the Saint Princess has made this request, I shall yield one step further. From now on, each of your spiritual vessels shall exchange eight useless spiritual essences for each one, and I shall personally deliver four-tenths of the total to your Clan of Spirit Instruments. The elder of our family gazed at the Saint Princess for a long while before speaking in a solemn tone. "Four-tenths, eight useless essences—this is acceptable, but still rather demanding. I can only promise to settle for seven useless essences per war vessel." The young lady in yellow robes expressed her cautious stance. "Seven, seven only. Then I accept. Now, we must swiftly discuss further cooperation matters before the arrival of the Demon Cataclysm." The elder of the Long family paused briefly, then agreed without hesitation. "Of course. As long as the initial exchange proceeds smoothly, our Clan of Spirit Instruments is fully willing to pursue further cooperation with the Long family." "Upon seeing the other truly accept her terms, the Immortal Maiden was overjoyed, her smile blossoming like flowers. "Then, Madam Maiden, please. This is not a place suited for prolonged conversation. Let us go to the tower and continue our discussion there," the elder of the Long family nodded, then extended a single hand in a gesture of polite invitation. At that moment, the elder of the Long family seemed entirely forgotten the golden-hued giant ape that had just disrupted the proceedings. After all, the disturbance caused by a mere early-Stage Consolidation-level immortal ape could hardly compare to the significance of the Long family's alliance with the Spirit-Resonance Clan—the latter being vital to the Long family's very survival during the coming magical calamity. Meanwhile, the golden-hued giant ape had already descended gently onto a remote mountain peak far beyond, thousands of miles away. When it had forcefully pierced the outer defenses of Yingxian Palace with a silver flame, it naturally alerted several nearby guards. Yet, thanks to its unusual speed and grace, it vanished almost instantly upon a single flicker of movement. Those guards at the Divine Spirit or Immortal Void level could not even come close to catching up. Once they saw that there was no hope of pursuit, they naturally lost interest and stopped trying. They sent a few inquiries to the Long family on the ninth level, only to be stunned upon learning that the fleeing figure was actually a fully evolved immortal cultivator. They promptly repaired the damaged seal and then pretended to have no knowledge of the matter at all. However, the news of a massive disturbance caused by a golden-hair giant ape at the Long family's residence spread swiftly like a gust of wind to the other fully evolved elders. Many of them were deeply surprised and dispatched personnel to investigate the incident in detail. Yet, this previously unheard-of golden-hair giant ape vanished completely, leaving no further trace or news. This left many feeling frustrated, and several even began to wonder if the matter might be connected to the Sacred Island. Naturally, the golden-hair giant ape was entirely unaware of all this. Now standing atop the mountain, it scanned the surroundings with its eyes, and suddenly its entire body shimmered with golden light, transforming in an instant into a young man of ordinary appearance. —End of month! Requesting next month's tickets from everyone! Also, a few updates to share!