The red mist which still crackled with electricity parted and cleared up, revealing Shi Mu’s powerless figure on the ground.

　　Around him, the four reddish monsters stepped in closer, surrounding him as their eyes flashed. They opened up their bloody mouths and produced a humming sound. It seemed that they were ready to devour him alive.

　　Shi Mu wondered to himself. At first, there was only one monster who was able to sneak up and followed him into the gap of the cave, but what was with the other three? Where did they come from?

　　He seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

　　“Shadow Clone Technique!”

　　The beasts not only looked identical, but their auras were exactly the same as well. Even the wounds they sustained by Shi Mu’s Wishful Steel Staff were exactly the same.

　　Shi Mu did not have time to think too much and began to channel the power on his left arm. His arm gradually lit up with blazing radiance that covered his entire body.

　　Shi Mu only felt a warmth in his body as the numbness dissipated.

　　Roar!

　　All four of the monsters saw this and immediately roared as they charged toward him.

　　“Hah!”

　　Shi Mu squatted on one knee. He lifted his left arm and slammed hard onto the ground with a deafening crash.

　　Boom!

　　With Shi Mu in the center, a circle of blazing white light rose from the ground. Like ripples, it whistled and swept in all directions.

　　In an instant, the entire cave was filled with white light!

　　The imposing aura of the white light sent all four monsters tumbling down.

　　Seeing this opportunity, Shi Mu quickly stood up. With a sweep of his hand, he held the staff once more.

　　A blazing ray of light hung from his left hand, and a flaming circle of entanglement appeared on the longstaff.

　　The four monsters climbed up and growled at the white light with blazing eyes that revealed a fearful sight.

　　The golden light of Shi Mu’s eyes flashed and the beasts backed away quickly. He wanted to find out their true body of the beast. There was no difference in their appearance or aura.

　　Just then, the four beasts snorted again and leaped toward Shi Mu at the same time.

　　“Art Of Total Annihilation!”

　　Shi Mu’s arms twisted and the longstaff in his hand trembled. With a big sweep around his entire body, it set off a black and white whirlwind that spread around, forcing the four monsters to back away.

　　When he was about to chase after the monster in front of him, his shadow on the ground suddenly shook as he heard a noise above him.

　　A monster jumped from the bronze brazier that was hanging from the top of the cave. With its front paws, it leaped down onto Shi Mu.

　　Chicha!

　　The sound was like the friction of metal grinding against Shi Mu’s golden scales.

　　Shi Mu had relied on the golden scales covering his body to resist the attack of the monsters, but his upper body was held down by their claws. Even with the strength he possessed, he was still unable to break free.

　　One beast opened its huge mouth and roared at Shi Mu before trying to bite his neck.

　　Shi Mu was shocked and began channeling the power of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. His left hand shined in white while his right hand glowed in black. The aura of yin and yang was unleashed.

　　The red monsters seemed to have sensed the aura and held back. Their golden-red eyes showed a hint of doubt.

　　Shi Mu took this opportunity. His arms jerked and his body flicked down from the claws of the beast as he climbed out of their grasp on the ground.

　　His body suddenly burst into flames as his hands held the staff that was now blazing in black and white light. He swayed it and slammed it down.

　　Peng!

　　The reddish monster was hit on the skull by Shi Mu’s steel staff, and black and white light burst out of its head. As soon as the brain cracked, its entire body embedded onto the ground. It twitched for a few moments before finally dying without a sound.

　　The other monsters fell to the ground one by one. In just an instant, they turned into a group of red clouds that soon dissipated.

　　Shi Mu sighed with relief and walked forward. He used his staff to take out the slightly damaged demon pill with glory and joy in his eyes.

　　Just then, there was dazzling white light in the skull of the reddish monster.

　　Shi Mu saw it and his body swayed as he retreated ten feet. He held the Wishful Steel Staff defensively in front of him.

　　The white light blurred and turned into a huge white tiger with a height of more than twenty feet. It floated in front of Shi Mu and then stood up.

　　The tiger’s eyes sparked with electricity while its tail remained unmoving It looked like it had a life of its own and its surface was somewhat faint, giving off an unstable feeling.

　　The guardian demon spirit?

　　Shi Mu’s brows wrinkled and he subconsciously held onto his longstaff tighter. After a second, he charged at the white tiger demon spirit.

　　“Stop right there and don’t make a move!” the white tiger demon spirit said.

　　“What kind of monster are you? How do you possess the shadow clone ability?” Shi Mu immediately slowed down as he asked.

　　“I am Bai Kui. Seeing as you have displayed the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art and have the aura of the azure ape, you must be the successor then? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” the white tiger demon spirit said happily, its eyes showing a bitter smile.

　　“Waiting for me?”

　　This white tiger demon spirit seemed familiar but he could not recall from where.

　　A flash emerged in his mind and he suddenly thought about it.

　　A long time ago, when he was still on the Cerulean Sea Star, he once dreamt of a white tiger demon spirit. It seemed to be the same spirit guardian right in front of him right now.

　　“I am one of the four devil guardians under the azure ape ancestor. I was ordered to safeguard the treasure and wait for its successor to retrieve it. I’ve waited for nearly a thousand years now and the wait is finally over,” the white tiger demon spirit said with a relieved smile.

　　Shi Mu was now more convinced of his guess.

　　“You said that you’ve been waiting for me. If so, why did you attack me? Was it to test my strength?”

　　When they battled each other, the golden eyes of the monsters were fierce and brutal. It was a fight to the death, and there was no sign of it being a test.

　　This was not right!

　　Shi Mu’s expression changed greatly. This demon spirit was obviously a white tiger monster but the strange beast that battled against him was not the body of the tiger demon spirit.

　　“It was not my wish for the golden-eyed monster to attack you. I was merely waiting for the order given to me by the white azure ape ancestor. I’ve been around for thousands of years now and eventually faded away. I had no other way but to coexist with it. To guard this place, the monster would remain here and never leave. After you killed it, I was woken up from within the beast.”

　　“It turned out this way.”

　　Shi Mu carefully thought about it. The white tiger’s words did not seem to have any holes, so he was convinced.

　　“Elder Bai Kui, my name is Shi Mu. Since you’re the demon spirit under the order of the white azure ape ancestor, you must know the ancestor very well. I have quite a number of questions to ask you.”

　　“So you are Shi Mu. Since you’re the successor, feel free to ask me regarding your doubts.”

　　“Who is the white azure ape ancestor, to be frank?”

　　This question had been hidden in his heart for a long time now. Although he had been passed down by the ancestors, his understanding of his predecessors was still vague.

　　“The azure ape ancestors came from the Azure Ape Star. Since you’re here, you should already know that they once worshipped the Holy Land of Qinglan and studied there as holy disciples. When the ancestor’s cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art was a success, he left the Holy Land and traveled to other galaxies. He even conquered countless demon tribes in the process.”

　　The white tiger’s eyes looked wistful as he spoke. Shi Mu was stunned.

　　“This is all old news. Don’t mention it anymore,” the white tiger demon spirit sighed and shook his head.

　　“Since the ancestors completed their cultivation, why did they fall later? The white azure ape ancestors once ordered me to destroy the celestial beings in the sky. What is the meaning of this? Do such people even exist?”

　　“What immortal? It was just those celestial beings in the heavens boasting,” the white tiger demon spirit said coldly.

　　“As for the fall of the azure ape, I have no specific answer to your question. However, I’m sure they’re somehow related to the celestial beings in heaven.”

　　The tiger spirit’s body flashed a few times and became a little dim.

　　“Heavenly Lineage of the Celestial Palace? What and where is that?” Shi Mu asked quickly.

　　“It seems that you’re still weak in your knowledge. Knowing all this information isn’t going to make much of a difference. It’s better for you to use this time to train instead. When the time comes, you will know about it yourself.”

　　Before Shi Mu could ask another question, the white tiger demon spirit turned around and walked toward the depths of the cave.

　　“My time is running out and my spirit is about to dissipate. Follow me quickly. I will take you to where the treasure lies.”

　　Although Shi Mu still had a lot to ask but hearing what Bai Kui had said, he swallowed his doubts and followed closely behind.

　　After a while, both of them arrived at the depths of the cave. In front of them was a seemingly inconspicuous sapphire wall.

　　“The treasure is here. Channel the power of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art and you’ll be able to head in,” the white tiger demon spirit said as he turned around and looked at Shi Mu. By now, his body had faded even more. He was almost transparent.

　　Shi Mu heard his words and came over to take a look at the cyan stone wall as he waved a ray of red light with his hand.

　　A layer of black and white light emerged on the cyan stone wall as it gathered, then condensed into a black and white mask. There were countless patterns of runes on it, like a night sky flowing continuously.

　　Shi Mu’s narrowed his eyes and raised his arms. His left and right arm emitted black and white light, attaching itself to the light curtain.