The giant ape's slap did not hold back at all, directly sending its own head spinning. Seeing this, Qin Xiao made another leap and landed upon the giant ape's back.
Just like humans, giant apes always have a blind spot that they cannot reach, and that is the center of the back. No matter how powerful one might be, it is impossible to scratch one's own back.
"Disciple, stop watching! Strike quickly at my position!"
Qin Xiao shouted urgently to Yun Man.
"Master, I understand."
Hearing Qin Xiao's call, Yun Man acted instantly, locking onto Qin Xiao's aura and unleashing a powerful sword qi directly toward his location.
Qin Xiao did not remain idle either. He drew his Top Grade Spirit Weapon and began stabbing frantically into the giant ape's back.
Regrettably, the giant ape's skin was thick and its flesh tough; even a Top Grade Spirit Weapon could not pierce its defense. This was also because Qin Xiao lacked Spiritual Qi, forcing him to use the artifact merely as a sharp blade.
Realizing something was irritating its back like an itchy tick, the giant ape swung its arm backward in an attempt to scratch, but failed to reach.
However, because Yun Man's sword qi was locked onto Qin Xiao's position, the giant ape's sweeping arm directly collided with the incoming sword qi.
Instantly, a deep bloody gash opened across the giant ape's arm, and blood gushed out.
Qin Xiao had originally intended to dodge at the very last moment so the sword qi would strike its back, but this outcome was acceptable too. Although blocked by the arm, the attack still inflicted a severe wound.
Stung by the pain, the giant ape flew into a frenzy. Knowing it could not reach the pest on its back, it charged directly toward Yun Man.
Yun Man was no fool; she immediately began circling the giant ape. The beast had no choice but to spin in place, otherwise it could never keep her in its sights.
"Disciple, stop spinning! Your master is getting dizzy."
After spinning for some time with no resolution, Qin Xiao, clinging to the giant ape's back, felt his stomach churn and shouted in haste.
"Master, this disciple has no other choice. If I run in a straight line, it will pursue us relentlessly. If we happen to encounter other Demon Beasts along the way, the situation will become even worse."
Yun Man was equally helpless. She kept searching for an opening, but the giant ape matched her movements step for step in the endless circle.
"Wait a moment. I will climb up onto its head so it turns its attention to me. Then you must seize the opportunity to attack."
Qin Xiao simply could not endure any longer. If the spinning continued, he would lose consciousness first, completely ruining the fight.
Sensing a shift upon its back, the giant ape abruptly halted its rotation and slammed a backhand blow toward its own shoulder, determined to crush Qin Xiao into paste.
The moment the beast stopped, Qin Xiao anticipated the blow. He deliberately lingered on its left shoulder for a split second before executing a powerful leap straight onto the crown of its head.
"If you have the guts, smash your own skull!"
Qin Xiao gripped the thick fur on the giant ape's head and roared.
Ignoring the provocation, the giant ape brought its massive palm down directly upon its own head.
"Damn, that is ruthless!"
Qin Xiao scrambled frantically, shifting his position to the beast's nape. Fortunately, the giant ape had not exerted its full strength, which bought Qin Xiao just enough time to evade.
Seeing her opening while the giant ape and Qin Xiao were tangled together, Yun Man unleashed a fully charged sword strike straight at the center of the beast's back where Qin Xiao had been moments before.
A deep, gaping wound instantly tore open across the giant ape's back.
Overwhelmed by pain, the giant ape abandoned Qin Xiao entirely, spinning around to charge at the far more dangerous Yun Man.
Seizing the moment, Qin Xiao scrambled back to the massive wound on the beast's back. Without hesitation, he thrust his Top Grade Spirit Weapon deep into the flesh and began stabbing wildly.
"My sword could not pierce your defense before, but let us see if you can survive this!"
Before the giant ape could reach Yun Man, the agony erupting from its spine caused it to let out a piercing howl.
"This will not do; I must speed up. The beast is calling for reinforcements."
Hearing the howl, Qin Xiao quickened his pace. Yet against the giant ape's colossal frame, his sword felt no larger than a toothpick in a vat of water. While it caused intense pain, it could not strike a fatal blow.
Yun Man attempted to close in and assist, but the giant ape kept its fierce gaze locked onto her, denying her any approach.
"Dammit, dignity means nothing now. Since conventional methods are useless, let us resort to the Biological Structure Method."
With that, Qin Xiao squeezed directly through the open wound on the giant ape's back, plunging into its body and feeling around in the dark.
"Found you."
After a brief search, his fingers brushed against the giant ape's spine.
"No matter how mighty a Demon Beast you are, I refuse to believe you can still move once your spine is severed."
Drawing his High Grade Spirit Weapon, Qin Xiao located a vital joint and drove the blade down with all his might.
As he cut, he muttered aloud, "Time for paralysis, my giant monkey."
The blade met with little resistance and sheared straight through the bone.
Instantly, the rampaging giant ape collapsed. Its four limbs went entirely limp, robbing it of all movement.
The sudden collapse startled Yun Man. How had the formidable beast frozen so abruptly?
"Master, how did you pull that off?"
Only when Qin Xiao crawled back out from the bloody wound did Yun Man realize he was the one who had subdued the creature.
"There is no time to explain. The beast is immobilized, but not yet dead. Finish it off quickly before it summons its companions."
Following Qin Xiao's prompt, Yun Man drew her sword and delivered a fatal blow to the giant ape's head. Rendered utterly helpless, the beast could only watch as its life came to an end beneath her blade.
once Yun Man finished, Qin Xiao activated his garment's self-cleaning function, instantly erasing all traces of blood and filth from his person.
Then, to Yun Man's utter astonishment, he waved a hand and stored the colossal carcass directly into the System Space.
"Master, just how vast is your storage space?"
Yun Man could hardly believe her eyes. A corpse of such monumental proportions had vanished in an instant.
A standard primary Storage Bag offered less than a zhang of internal space, while an intermediate bag provided three to five zhang. Only advanced bags exceeded ten zhang, which was the grade of her own storage artifact.
Even with an advanced bag, storing such a massive carcass was unheard of. Storage space was far too precious to waste on whole corpses; cultivators routinely harvested valuable materials and discarded the rest. The fact that Qin Xiao stored the entire body without a second thought implied a storage space of unimaginable proportions.
"Why must you ask so many questions? Adults are speaking; children should mind their own business."
Naturally unwilling to reveal the secret of the System Space, Qin Xiao brushed the question aside.
"Then Master, why was your movement art so bizarre? Not even the giant ape could lay a finger on you! And what kind of attack did you use to instantly paralyze it?"
Yun Man stared at him with wide, curious eyes, captivated by everything he had just done. After all, this was a peak Nascent Soul stage Demon Beast.
"Well, that movement art is called the Stop-Short Movement Art, focusing entirely on counter-inertia and prediction. As for the attack, I call it the Biological Structure Method."
Having no legitimate explanation, Qin Xiao simply spouted complete nonsense.
"Master, can you teach me that movement art? Was it called Stop-Short? I want to learn it."
Yun Man asked with eager anticipation.
"Ah, you cannot learn this. Your master had no other choice, but you are already at the Nascent Soul stage-you can simply crush enemies with raw power."
How could Qin Xiao possibly teach her something he had invented on the spot under extreme duress, backed by a bit of predictive reflex?
"Very well then... But if there is anything else suitable for me in the future, you must teach me, Master."
Yun Man pouted slightly, looking aggrieved.
"Quiet. Do you hear that?"
Qin Xiao was about to reply when a faint sound caught his attention, echoing from the direction of the stone wall.