Shi Mu’s heart shook. He pulled out his black meteoric-iron blade.

　　‘‘Ahhh!’’

　　The grey ape roared as he pounced at Shi Mu at an extremely fast speed. It was so fast that it almost turned into a grey shadow. And, it had reached extremely close to Shi Mu in a blink of an eye.

　　Two furry claws moved forward to grab Shi Mu. One of them grabbed his waist; the other grabbed his throat.

　　Suddenly, its nail turned flexible – like a sickle’s hook. It seemed that the Ape had acquired an absolute control over the claw.

　　A golden glow flashed in Shi Mu’s eyes. Two shadows of the black blade emerged as he shook his wrist. Suddenly, a light flashed and chopped the claw-shadow.

　　‘Clang!’ The sound of clinging metals was heard. The sparks from the collision were scattered in all directions.

　　It seemed as if the shadows of the black blade had struck an iron pillar. But, the grey ape’s body wasn’t greatly affected; it was just sent flying in the air.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion changed. The hairy claws of the grey ape seemed to be as hard as iron. And, the ape had surprisingly blocked the attack of the black blade with its bare hands.

　　Shi Mu thought for a moment. He then jumped forward to catch-up with the grey ape.

　　Thirteen blade-shadows flashed out of the black blade. The shadows got wrapped around the grey ape’s body. It seemed that the ape was about to be chopped down into several pieces.

　　However, the ape was shocked since the black blade suddenly changed its direction. The blade turned around, and struck the ape from the back.

　　‘Bang!’

　　The grey ape was sent flying in the air like a dead leaf. It bumped against several huge trees, and collapsed on the ground upside-down.

　　The beast grimaced in pain. It crawled in an effort to get up. However, it was pushed to the ground as a foot forcefully pressed on its back.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion became cold as he looked down at the struggling grey ape. Then, his eyes fell upon the black blade.

　　The weight of the black meteoric-iron blade had greatly increased in the last two years. Now, it weighed around three-hundred-and-twenty kilograms. Therefore, it had been successful in defeating the grey ape.

　　The black blade turned into black light as Shi Mu waved his arm. And, the light went past the grey ape’s shoulder.

　　A small part of the ape’s fluffy grey hair was peeled-off. It revealed a piece of blue clothing that hung on the corner of the ape’s body.

　　“As expected…”

　　Shi Mu put-down his other foot on grey ape’s palm. He then started to peel-off its grey hair. He noticed a black iron-glove on its slightly exposed fingers.

　　Suddenly, the grey ape stopped struggling, and yelled loudly. Then, its body started to tremble.

　　Shi Mu was surprised.

　　The trembling in the grey ape’s body was getting more and more ferocious with each passing moment. Moreover, the long and grey hair on its body had started to shed one-by-one. And, the skin and the ragged clothes under the grey hair had started to get exposed. The sharp claws then fell-off of the hands, and the claws changed into human-hands.

　　The grey ape gradually transformed into a human. He lay on the ground… gasping for breath.

　　There was a dark-red tattoo of a totem barbarian warrior on his back. It resembled an ape. And, it was wiggling like a living animal.

　　“A barbarian!”

　　Shi Mu wrinkled his brows.

　　He then poked the body with his foot and turned it over. He was suddenly rendered speechless.

　　“Feng Li!”

　　The ape on the ground was none other than Feng Li.

　　The red color in his eyes was fading away at a very fast speed. And, his eyes were restoring their usual brightness.

　　Suddenly, Shi Mu’s pupils shrank. He moved his arm and placed his blade on Feng Li’s neck.

　　Feng Li’s expressions changed. He had finally regained his consciousness. So, he couldn’t help but move his body.

　　“Don’t move. Otherwise, I’ll not be concerned about what you have to say,” Shi Mu pressed his arm down and said.

　　Feng Li’s heart bubbled with emotions. However, he felt as if a mountain had been placed on his shoulder. He felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on him. In fact, his shoulder-bone had almost given away. Finally, he saw that it was Shi Mu who had stepped on him. His complexion turned pale. And, his expressions looked as if he had started to beg for forgiveness, “Brother Shi… please, have mercy on me.”

　　“Mercy?” Shi Mu’s face became expressionless. He again pressed down his foot.

　　“Ah!”

　　Feng Li screamed loudly.

　　“Brother Feng, I could’ve never imagined that you’d turn out to be a Barbarian spy. Do you still have to say anything?” Shi Mu stated in a cold manner. He then leaned his black blade slightly. He only needed to move it a little, and it would cut Feng Li’s throat.

　　“Brother Shi, you must believe me… I swear… Please don’t think that I’m a barbarian spy. If I was… then I would’ve certainly been more careful while hiding… I don’t know how I got here at this time of the night… to do this kind of a thing…” Feng Li gasped for breath. His throat felt the ice-cold metal of the blade against it. And, this stimulated his neck; so much so that he got goose-bumps.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flashed a thoughtful look as he heard this. However, his hand and the black blade remained motionless.

　　“There is indeed a barbarian totem on my body. But, my body is different from ordinary humans. But, I can explain…” Feng Li looked at Shi Mu. He then said hastily.

　　“Well, I’ll give you a chance. Tell me, who are you?” Shi Mu slightly wrinkled his brows. Then, he lifted the black blade.

　　Feng Li’s face revealed an expression of struggle. He started to speak slowly after a moment, “I’m a hybrid – half human and half barbarian. My mother was a human and my father was a barbarian.”

　　Shi Mu didn’t look surprised. He had guessed something like that from what he had seen.

　　Feng Li slowly narrated the story of his life. His mother was from the Da Qi Kingdom. She was taken as a prisoner by the barbarian tribe at the time of the first Barbarian invasion. Then, she had become his father’s slave.

　　The humans didn’t have any way out once they became captives of a barbarian tribe. Then, Feng Li’s mother became pregnant, and it made her life even more difficult. She gave birth to a barbarian-blood child – Feng Li, but the mother and the child had been kept separated from everyone.

　　However, the mother and the child finally found an opportunity to escape from the tribe as time passed. And, they underwent several hardships in order to return to the Da Qi Kingdom. However, his mother became depressed, and died several years ago.

　　Feng Li narrated these experiences with a painful look on his face. And, a deep-rooted hatred would penetrate his eyes when he’d mentioned the barbarians; he didn’t seem to be pretending.

　　The coldness in Shi Mu’s eyes had been greatly reduced by this time. He felt that he had some resemblance with Feng Li’s background as he remembered the bitter experience of his own childhood. And, he realized that Feng Li’s life had been far more miserable than his own. So, he couldn’t help but take a pity on Feng Li.

　　“So, you’re half-human. What were your intentions when you joined the Black Turtle Sect?” Shi Mu asked in a heavy voice.

　　“I needed strength! I had to become strong. These barbarians owe greatly to my mother. So, I wish revenge for her sake. A debt of blood… must be paid in blood.” Feng Li’s face became red in anger. He couldn’t help growling.

　　“Then, why did you lose your consciousness? Your body had such kind of a mutation…” Shi Mu didn’t express an opinion as he asked.

　　“Brother Shi, you’ve just seen my totem. This was implanted on my body in a sacrificial offering in my clan when I was very young… ‘The seal of the animal soul’ – I didn’t know what it was back then. It didn’t have any effect on me until a few years ago. But, it started to mutate two years ago. It erupts after every few months. Then, I reincarnate into an ape of a monster. It corrodes my sanity… and I become a bloodthirsty maniac. Then, I need to drink blood to calm myself down.” Feng Li’s face exposed a trace of suffering. He gnawed his teeth and said.

　　Shi Mu looked at Feng Li in a calm manner. A thought flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he retrieved his foot and took down his black blade.

　　Feng Li let out a sigh of relief. He then sat up and shot a nervous look at Shi Mu.

　　“Even if whatever you said is true… then how can I believe you?” Shi Mu asked.

　　Feng Li was startled. But then, his complexion changed. It seemed as if he had decided to do something. Suddenly, he stomped his foot. Then, his hand reached out to his neck and pulled out something. It appeared to be a strange kind of a necklace. He handed it over to Shi Mu and said, “This is a magic device that my mother gave me in her last days. She told me that this necklace had an important connection with me and the totem on my body. She asked me to take good care of this. Moreover, I’ll sink into certain circumstances with no hope of survival if it gets damaged… I didn’t think anything of it until two years ago… But… I’ve taken good care of this thing, and I’ve worn it next to my skin ever since. It’s as precious as life to me. I know that verbal statements aren’t guaranteed. So, I wish to give the custody of this magic device to Brother Shi to prove my innocence.”

　　Shi Mu’s heart moved as he heard these words. He received the necklace and carefully examined it.

　　The necklace seemed to be made up of some kind of soft jade. It looked quite old from its appearance. There was a carved inscription on it – of an ape-like terrible beast. Surprisingly, it was very similar to the totem on Feng Li’s back.

　　However, a layer of restriction was formed on its surface when Shi Mu tried to use his spirit power in order to invade into it. And, his divine knowledge reached it, and bounced back. His spirit power could only touch it for an instant. He could faintly feel that it contained the aura of a bloodthirsty and violent anger. It seemed as if it wanted to rush out of the restrictions.

　　What startled Shi Mu even more was that… Feng Li shouted loudly as soon as he touched the restrictions. He put his hands on the ground, and the flow of blood in his eyes increased. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with craziness once again.

　　Shi Mu was astonished as he saw this. He then read the spell from the necklace, and Feng Li started to regain his original state.

　　Feng Li had fully regained his consciousness by this time. But, he was gasping for breath. He forced a smile on his face, and crawled to stand up.

　　“Well… Brother Feng has willingly handed over this thing to me. So, I’ll trust you for the time being,” Shi Mu thought for a while and said. He then raised his eyebrow, and put the black blade back into its sheath.

　　“Thank you, Brother Shi.” Feng Li bowed towards Shi Mu.

　　“It’s not needed. If you have any abnormalities later on… then I won’t let you go. Besides, I’ve nothing to do with what you wish to do. I’ve no interest in it.” Shi Mu looked at the full moon in the sky. His expression became tranquil. He then started to walk in the direction of the stronghold.

　　Feng Li looked at the departing figure of Shi Mu, and let out a long breath. He then started to follow after him.

　　*** ***

　　Three months went by in a flash…

　　The battle between human and the barbarian race was still in a deadlock. The battles continued to erupt between the two sides from time-to-time. And, there were mutual victories and defeats.

　　However, the rat’s nest remained unaffected since it was in the rear. But, the demand for paper charms was increasing day-by-day. The days passed by in tranquility.

　　Shi Mu’s pain was greatly reduced during the Blood and Marrow Cleansing process since he had come to practice the Soul Comforting Spell. So, he wanted to practice it the fifth time with the help of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape.

　　Shi Mu’s body had already reached an inconceivable stage by this time. The Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape had turned out to be stronger than before. And, it had promoted his strength to over double its previous level. Now, his strikes weighed around two to three-thousand kilograms.

　　Therefore, Shi Mu could easily twist and fold an iron rod. In fact, he could even split several-feet-wide giant stones without the help of the Stone Breaking fist.

　　The tenacity of his body was far superior to what it had earlier been. Moreover, ordinary swords or spears couldn’t harm him if they weren’t used under the influence of one’s real Qi.

　　However, Shi Mu needed more Demon Qi and tempering pills every time he practiced the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape. The Yin Qi had also accumulated significantly in his body; it couldn’t be underestimated.

　　Shi Mu was overjoyed. However, he needed more essence of the blood of apes and monkeys to cultivate his arts further. So, he had to suspend his practice for the time being.

　　Shi Mu felt gratified due to his high cultivation. However, he didn’t know that a disaster was approaching him at a fast pace.