Chapter 20: Ice Silkworm Force

Atop Ape Peak.

Ye Qinghe sipped the monkey wine poured to the brim in her gourd with great delight. A rosy flush crept onto her pretty face, and her previous frustration had been completely swept away.

"Hic."

She let out a drunken hiccup and said to Ning Qi with a grin, "Xiao Jiu, this monkey wine is the real deal. Drink more of it; it will be of great help to your bone tempering."

Looking at the various bamboo wine skins hanging all over Ye Qinghe's body, Ning Qi couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead.

However, what she said was the truth; when it came time to re-forge his foundation later, the monkey wine could accelerate the process.

He looked back at the long-armed apes and the many gibbons, clearly seeing the lamentation in their eyes.

This was the accumulation of many years for them, yet it had been swept clean by Ye Qinghe.

"Thanks, monkeys! I'll come play with you again when I have time!" Ye Qinghe waved behind her.

The apes were left in tears without any tears to shed.

Ning Qi shook his head with a smile. His Senior Sister truly had a mischievous temperament, acting on every whim.

The little white ape also had bamboo tubes hanging from its body. It turned around, winking and making faces at the other apes in schadenfreude.

Once it saw that Ye Qinghe and Ning Qi had grown distant, it gave a start and hurriedly followed them.

This little creature was demonstrating the concept of "borrowing the tiger's prestige to intimidate the fox" to the fullest extent.

"Alright, little white ape, give us the bamboo tubes, and we shall part ways here," Ning Qi said with a smile.

The white ape immediately grew anxious.

It scratched its head and jumped up and down, desperately trying to express something.

Ye Qinghe watched with great interest.

Ning Qi quickly grasped its meaning. With his level of comprehension, it wasn't difficult to deduce the pattern through the communication between the white ape and the long-armed apes just now. He asked curiously, "Do you mean you have something to give us, and you want us to follow you?"

Upon hearing this, the white ape was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. If it hadn't been for the bamboo tubes hanging on its body, it would have surely performed a few somersaults in excitement.

Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe exchanged a glance, both seeing the curiosity in each other's eyes.

As long as one wasn't blind, one could naturally see the uniqueness of this white ape. Although it wasn't a spirit beast, it was better than one.

"It's still early. Shall we go take a look?" Ye Qinghe grew interested.

Ning Qi looked up at the sky. Although the sun was setting, there was still time before it disappeared completely.

"Let's go."

The white ape became even more excited and hurriedly led the way.

The two humans and one ape trekked through the mountain forest. The white ape turned back from time to time, seemingly afraid that the two would suddenly leave.

Soon, the white ape stopped in front of a mountain cave. It beckoned them to enter, as if returning home.

Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe exchanged glances. Ye Qinghe heightened her vigilance slightly as they stepped inside one after the other.

The interior of the cave was somewhat dark. Ye Qinghe lit a fire starter to see the scene inside clearly.

It was ordinary, without a hint of anything strange.

She felt a bit disappointed, having originally thought a fortuitous encounter was imminent.

But immediately after, her eyes lit up.

She saw the white ape fumbling around in some corner, eventually coming over holding something. As it drew near, she realized it was actually a scroll of parchment.

"Is it truly a fortuitous encounter?" Ye Qinghe smiled.

Ning Qi also found it very interesting; he hadn't expected the white ape to actually bring a surprise.

The two looked at the parchment.

They were immediately drawn by the first three characters.

*Ice Silkworm Strength.*

"This is a stacking internal strength technique."

Ye Qinghe's interest deepened as she skimmed through it rapidly. Ning Qi was also reading, and he read even faster, though since he had not yet stepped into the Inner Yuan Realm, this technique was of little use to him—at most, it would increase his foundation.

A moment later, the two snapped out of it.

"Ice Silkworm Strength... once the force is formed, it is continuous and unending, with a chill that pierces the bone. Even more marvelous is the ingenious idea of the predecessor who created it; they used the concept of an ice silkworm breaking out of its cocoon to reborn as inspiration. Every rebirth from the cocoon is a layer of stacked strength."

"Nine rebirths mean nine layers of stacked strength. Upon reaching that point, the divine technique is perfected, and one will find no match within the same realm."

"Brilliant!" Ye Qinghe couldn't help but cry out in admiration, her eyes sparkling.

This Ice Silkworm Strength was not inferior to the top stacking techniques of the Zhenwu Sect, and its underlying concept was even of a higher order.

But immediately after, a look of regret appeared in her eyes.

"A pity, this parchment only contains the first three layers."

If it were the complete nine layers of the Ice Silkworm Strength, this would definitely be a massive stroke of luck, but with only three layers, its value was greatly diminished.

"Little white ape, is this the only parchment?" Ye Qinghe asked expectantly.

The white ape shook its head.

Ye Qinghe sighed in regret, but then she smiled. To gain it was luck; to lose it was fate. Being able to have such a blessing was already quite good. Even if she couldn't use it, the sense of surprise was immense.

Her gaze toward the white ape became even more kind.

What a good ape.

Ning Qi also felt some regret, but not much.

When he eventually ascended to the Inner Yuan Realm, he could attempt to complete this fragmented Ice Silkworm Strength; it wouldn't even be a problem to surpass the original version.

On the contrary, the concept of the Ice Silkworm Strength was refreshing to him.

Both were in high spirits.

"Thanks, little white ape."

Ning Qi put away the parchment, intending to place it in the Scripture Pavilion later to strengthen the sect's foundation.

The white ape grinned excitedly.

Then, it pointed further 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 further they went, the more they could hear a muffled, booming sound.

At the end, a shimmering, colorful water curtain appeared, with vines hanging down through it.

The booming sound was coming from behind the water curtain.

The white ape took off the bamboo tubes from its body, placed them on the ground, and then let out a cheer. Under the gaze of the two, it swung along a vine and dashed through the water curtain.

The two were startled.

Then, the faint sound of the white ape calling out drifted from the other side.

Ye Qinghe was eager to try.

"I'll go first."

She laughed and, without using the vines, simply tapped her toes. Like a light swallow, she rushed through.

"Xiao Jiu, come quickly, it's so beautiful here!"

Ning Qi did not hesitate. He also did not use the vines; instead, he exerted force through his toes, leaping like a tiger across a stream.

Crossing the water curtain, he discovered he was standing upon a stone platform.

A brand-new world suddenly appeared before his eyes.

A waterfall cascaded beside him, and the setting sun slanted from the horizon. Water and light converged here in a magnificent display.

Birds soared in the distance, and the view was vast, presenting a scene of boundless space.

Ning Qi stood like a statue before this sight, sparks of inspiration erupting in his mind like a spring.

Ye Qinghe was first captivated by the scenery, but then her attention was drawn by the white ape's call. She looked over and saw the white ape excitedly pointing at red fruits on a small tree by a water cliff. Ye Qinghe couldn't even recognize what kind of wondrous fruit they were.

"Could it be that this white ape is so intelligent because it ate these red fruits?" she thought instinctively, because there were two other small trees below, but they were bare.

Then, Ye Qinghe understood the white ape's intention.

"You little rascal! Giving me the manual was just a ruse; you really just wanted me to help you pick the red fruits!" She couldn't help but laugh.

At the same time, she marveled at how pure this white ape was. If it had encountered someone more ruthless, wouldn't it have lost both the "wife" and the "soldiers"?

But Ye Qinghe was clearly not that kind of person.

She released her internal strength, her body as light as a swallow. She spun through the air, deftly plucked the red fruits, and tossed them to the white ape.

The white ape's eyes were full of gratitude. After bowing in thanks, it impatiently ate the red fruits.

Under Ye Qinghe's astonished gaze, the white ape's fur seemed to flash with a strange light, becoming even smoother and whiter.

She couldn't wait to share this wonder with Ning Qi.

She turned her head to call out, but the words died in her throat.

Because she discovered...

Her Junior Brother seemed to have entered a profound, wondrous state.