Chapter 20: Ice Silkworm Force |
On top of Ape Peak.
Ye Qinghe happily drank the Monkey Wine from her gourd, her pretty face slightly flushed, and all the earlier frustration had vanished without a trace.
“Hic.”
She hiccupped, then grinned at Ning Qi and said,
“Little Nine, this Monkey Wine is great stuff. Drink more of it—it’ll really help with your Bone Refinement.”
Ning Qi looked at the various bamboo wine flasks hanging from Ye Qinghe’s body and couldn’t help but facepalm.
But what she said was true. When he reforged his foundation later, Monkey Wine could speed up the process.
He glanced back at the Iron-armed Ape and the many Long-armed Apes. He clearly saw sorrow in their eyes.
This was the fruit of their years of accumulation, but now it had been wiped clean by Ye Qinghe.
Ye Qinghe waved at them cheerfully.
The apes looked like they were about to cry.
Ning Qi chuckled and shook his head. His Senior Sister really had a mischievous streak—once she got an idea, she’d act on it immediately.
The little White Ape also had bamboo flasks hanging from its body. It turned around and made faces at the other apes, eyebrows dancing, clearly gloating.
Once it saw Ye Qinghe and Ning Qi walking far off, it shivered and quickly caught up.
This little guy really embodied the saying "bullying others by relying on powerful friends."
“Alright, little White Ape, hand over the flasks. We’ll be on our way.”
Ning Qi smiled.
The White Ape immediately panicked.
It scratched its head, jumped up and down, frantically trying to explain something.
Ye Qinghe looked on with interest.
Ning Qi quickly caught its meaning. With his level of comprehension, it wasn’t hard to pick up the pattern from the earlier interaction between the White Ape and the Iron-armed Ape. He said curiously,
“You mean, you have something to give us, and want us to follow you?”
At that,
The White Ape was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. If not for the bamboo flasks strapped to it, it would've flipped in the air out of excitement.
Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe exchanged a glance.
They both saw the curiosity in each other’s eyes.
Anyone with eyes could tell this White Ape was unusual. It might not be an exotic beast, but it was more remarkable than one.
“It’s still early—why not go take a look?” Ye Qinghe grew interested.
Ning Qi looked up. The sun was setting in the west, but there was still time before it fully disappeared.
“Let’s go.”
The White Ape got even more excited and quickly took the lead.
The two humans and one ape weaved through the forest. The White Ape glanced back now and then, seemingly afraid they might leave.
Soon.
The White Ape stopped in front of a cave and motioned for them to enter, acting like it had just come home.
Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe shared a glance, and Ye Qinghe slightly raised her guard before stepping in.
The cave was a bit dark. Ye Qinghe lit a firestarter and took a good look around.
It was completely ordinary—nothing strange at all.
She felt a little disappointed.
She had expected some kind of lucky encounter.
But then—
Her eyes lit up.
She saw the White Ape rummaging in some corner and then walking over with something in its hands. As it got closer, they realized it was a roll of sheepskin parchment.
“Is this really a lucky find?”
Ye Qinghe smiled.
Ning Qi also found it amusing. He hadn’t expected the White Ape to actually bring a surprise.
The two of them looked at the parchment.
Immediately, they were drawn in by the three characters at the top.
Ice Silkworm Force.
“This is a force-stacking technique.”
Ye Qinghe grew even more interested, reading through at lightning speed. Ning Qi was reading too, even faster than her. But since he hadn’t stepped into the Inner Origin Realm yet, the technique wasn’t immediately useful to him—it could at most deepen his foundation.
After a while.
The two of them snapped out of it.
“Ice Silkworm Force—once the force is formed, it flows continuously, chilling to the bone. What’s more amazing is that the senior who created it drew inspiration from the rebirth of the ice silkworm. Every time it breaks out of its cocoon, it’s a new layering of force.”
“Nine rebirths, nine layers—when that’s complete, the technique is fully mastered, and no one at the same level can match you.”
“Brilliant!”
Ye Qinghe couldn’t help but praise it, her eyes sparkling.
This Ice Silkworm Force could easily rival the top force-stacking techniques of the Zhenwu Sect—it might even be conceptually superior.
But then, her eyes showed a trace of regret.
“Too bad… this sheepskin only contains the first three layers.”
If it had all nine layers, this would be a massive stroke of fortune. But with only three, its value was greatly reduced.
“Little White Ape, is this the only parchment?”
Ye Qinghe asked hopefully.
The White Ape shook its head.
Ye Qinghe sighed in disappointment, but then smiled again. Getting something like this was already a rare stroke of fortune. She couldn’t complain—it was still thrilling.
Her look toward the White Ape grew gentler.
Good ape.
Ning Qi also felt a bit of regret, but not too much.
Once he broke through to the Inner Origin Realm, he could try completing the missing parts of this Ice Silkworm Force—maybe even improve on the original.
What truly impressed him was the concept behind the technique.
Both were in a good mood.
“Thanks, little White Ape.”
Ning Qi put the parchment away, planning to store it in the Scripture Pavilion to enrich the sect’s foundation.
The White Ape grinned excitedly.
Then it pointed deeper into the cave.
The two grew even more curious.
They continued forward.
They hadn’t expected the cave to be so winding and deep. The farther they went, the more they could hear a muffled rumbling sound.
At the end.
A curtain of water glowing with rainbow light appeared, with vines hanging down.
The rumbling sound came from beyond the water curtain.
The White Ape took off its bamboo flasks and set them down, then let out a cheer and, in full view of the two humans, swung on the vines and leapt through the water curtain.
The two were startled.
Then they vaguely heard the White Ape calling to them from the other side.
Ye Qinghe was itching to go.
“I’m going first.”
She laughed, didn’t even use the vines, just tapped her toes—and her body, light as a swallow, flew across.
“Little Nine, come on! It’s beautiful here!”
Ning Qi didn’t hesitate anymore. He didn’t use the vines either. With a powerful toe push, he soared like a tiger crossing a river.
Once he passed through the curtain, he found himself standing on a stone platform.
Before him stretched a brand-new world.
Beside him, waterfalls plunged from high cliffs, the last rays of sunlight slanting from the sky—water and light blended into a breathtaking scene.
Birds flew in the distance, the view vast and endless, a wide-open land beneath heaven.
Ning Qi stood there like a statue, inspiration welling up in his mind like a spring.
Ye Qinghe was first drawn by the scenery, then by the White Ape’s calls. She looked over and saw the White Ape excitedly pointing at a red fruit on a small tree near the waterfall. Ye Qinghe didn’t recognize the strange fruit.
“Could it be that the White Ape is so smart because it ate that red fruit?”
She thought instinctively. There were two more small trees below it, but their branches were bare.
Then she understood the White Ape’s intention.
“You little rascal, so the scroll was a ruse—you just wanted me to pick your fruit.”
She laughed helplessly.
At the same time, she admired how innocent the White Ape was. If it had met someone more ruthless, it might’ve lost everything.
But Ye Qinghe was clearly not that kind of person.
She released a burst of force, body light as a swallow, and gracefully plucked the red fruit, tossing it to the White Ape.
The White Ape looked grateful, bowed in thanks, then immediately gobbled down the fruit.
In Ye Qinghe’s amazed gaze, the White Ape’s fur seemed to shimmer strangely—it became even smoother and snowier.
She couldn’t resist the urge to share this wonder with Ning Qi.
She turned to call him—but stopped mid-sentence.
Because she realized.
Her Little Junior Brother…
Seemed to have entered a mysterious state.