NOVPUBOn regular days, the Demon Ape would be in deep slumber, waking only for hunting, and on every full moon night.
"Roar!"
On the night of the full moon, the Demon Ape appeared almost insane, possessing extraordinary strength that could uproot mountains and cleave hills, roaring and rampaging without restraint. Its long ape arms constantly reached for the sky, causing whole swathes of the space to twist!
"It wants to pluck the stars and seize the moon..."
Su Changkong silently remarked, understanding the Demon Ape’s purpose, to take the stars down from the sky.
However, naturally, this was an impossible dream. The stars were situated high above in the sky, separated by an immeasurable distance. Even though this Demon Ape was the overlord of the Savage mountain range and had the body of a True Beast, capable of rivaling a Martial Saint, it was still unable to pluck the stars.
But the Demon Ape was persistent. Whenever the full moon shone brightly and the stars seemed a little closer, it would continuously stretch its ape arms, grasping at those bright stars.
"This Paint Saint Bai Xingzhi really is an odd character..."
Su Changkong couldn’t help but exclaim. The Demon Ape was so terrifying, and yet Bai Xingzhi managed to observe it closely and paint this picture, something ordinary people could not achieve.
In fact, Bai Xingzhi was also one of the eternal Martial Saints!
"Examine closely... The seemingly chaotic movements of the Demon Ape are actually a unique method of cultivation belonging to it. It wouldn’t hurt to try integrating them into my own martial arts!"
Su Changkong also understood that the Demon Ape wasn’t engaging in futile action, but was cultivating. His eyes shone brightly as he observed the cultivation of the True Beast Demon Ape through the Demon Ape Picking Star Picture. He intended to attempt to comprehend its mysteries, requiring both contemplation and practice.
With just a slight move of his intention, a golden Giant Ape standing ten feet tall emerged behind him, the embodiment of the Five Animal Frolics.
"Hoo hoo hoo!"
The Giant Ape Illusion mimicked the Demon Ape from the picture, its arms capturing and grappling in a lifelike manner!
Gradually, Su Changkong fell into a wondrous state. The Giant Ape Illusion behind him appeared lifelike but was in fact a manifestation of his own intention, devoid of life.
However, as he practiced, the Giant Ape Illusion seemed to acquire a spirit of its own; its eyes grew more luminous, its body more solidified, and every move overflowed with a natural charm.
Five Animal Frolics (Level 10 - Shock the world and horrify the public 10%)
"My Five Animal Frolics... have made progress!"
Su Changkong could not help but show a delighted expression.
The Five Animal Frolics was the first martial arts technique learned by Su Changkong and the one he had practiced for the longest, the first to reach Level 10. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
But after reaching Level 10, even though Su Changkong had been diligently practicing for years, his progress had been exceedingly slow.
Su Changkong knew that his proficiency in the Five Animal Frolics had long surpassed that of its creator, and to achieve a breakthrough on this existing foundation was extraordinarily difficult, necessitating innovation and turning the impossible into the possible.
And now, this Demon Ape Picking Star Picture had led Su Changkong to an epiphany!
The Five Animal Frolics itself was created from observing the movements of five different animals, a Health-preserving Fist technique. Observing a ’True Beast’ was similarly a method to reach a higher realm!
Of course, True Beasts had long been extinct, with sightings within the Great Flame Empire once every thousand years. Through this unparalleled painting created by the Paint Saint, Su Changkong was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of a True Beast’s true form.
"If my Five Animal Frolics reach Level 11, not only will my lifespan drastically increase, but its mysteries and power will assuredly far surpass what they are now!"
Su Changkong was full of energy, concentrating intently on practicing the Five Animal Frolics.
Time ticked away second by second, and Su Changkong’s understanding and gains grew more and more as two to three months flashed by.
At night, when the full moon hung high in the sky, at the bizarrely-shaped hill behind the Spirit Taoist Sect, Su Changkong sat quietly, the air behind him stretching with the limbs of a Giant Ape Illusion!
"Crack!"
The Giant Ape Illusion reached out with its right hand, and a boulder several meters in diameter ten zhang away cracked and burst apart as if squeezed by tremendous force, with rocks flying about.
"Zzzt!"
With a tug from the Giant Ape Illusion’s left hand, a large tree thick enough to be embraced by one person twenty zhang away was yanked straight out of the ground like a carrot, roots and all, bringing up a great amount of soil.
Su Changkong felt a connection in his heart. He seemed to transform into that True Beast, the Demon Ape, his hands coming together unconsciously, fingers pinching together, and the Giant Ape Illusion behind him mimicked the action.
"Boom!"
The air before him burst with a muffled sound, and the space there distorted as if it were the surface of a lake, caving in. Su Changkong had snatched that entire area of space into the palm of his hand, with not a trace of air able to escape!
"Amazing... This move has the essence of the True Beast, the Demon Ape. With both hands capturing space, everything within a hundred meters is within grasp, for the taking at will."
Su Changkong opened his eyes and, looking at his own hands, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Five Animal Frolics (Level 10, Shock the World and Horrify the Public, 20%)
The True Beast, the Demon Ape, possessed the mighty power of moving mountains and uprooting trees. Over the past three months, Su Changkong had been observing the ’Demon Ape Picking Star Picture,’ imbibing its essence into his own Five Animal Frolics Ape Play, which led to tremendous improvement, mastering a technique resembling the power of moving mountains and uprooting trees!
Of course, Su Changkong couldn’t reach the terrifying level of the Demon Ape that seemed to want to pluck the stars from the sky, but it was still wondrously arcane. Within a hundred-meter radius, even the void seemed to be imprisoned. It was a very profound grappling and capturing technique!
"I’ll call this technique Demon Ape Capturing Space!"
Su Changkong named the move he had created from observing the Demon Ape Picking Star Picture - Demon Ape Capturing Space!
If Su Changkong had mastered this technique earlier, that black-robed elder would not have found escaping with Kuotuo so easy.
Even when facing Qi Gang, deploying it to imprison him and prevent any dodging, Su Changkong might have been able to crush him with absolute power and strike him dead within a move or two!
"If... I could obtain other paintings related to the Five Animal Frolics by Paint Saint Bai Xingzhi, observe and understand each one, and catch a glimpse of the true form of the True Beasts, perhaps my Five Animal Frolics could make a great breakthrough and step into an entirely new level! Alas... it’s not that simple..."
Su Changkong couldn’t help but think this way.
Tiger, deer, bear, ape, bird – Bai Xingzhi’s forte was painting birds and beasts. The several dozen surviving paintings he left behind were all based on his observations of True Beasts, and many depicted these five types of True Beasts.
Just one Demon Ape Picking Star Picture allowed Su Changkong’s Five Animal Frolics Ape Play to improve significantly. If he observed the other four types of True Beast Pictures, with his potential and comprehension, he could undoubtedly take the Five Animal Frolics to the next level!
But Bai Xingzhi was a figure from the ancient past, a time when many True Beasts roamed the world. Today, with the True Beasts extinct, Bai Xingzhi’s reputation was known only to a few well-informed individuals, and the whereabouts of his paintings were even more obscure, possibly lost to the sands of history.
It was indeed extremely difficult to obtain the paintings related to the Five Animal Frolics that he left behind!
(To be updated on Qidian Chinese Network, next chapter will be updated at 22:00 on the 5th)
