After Qin Xiao stopped her, Yun Man seemed to hear the noise as well.
The two examined the stone wall carefully, but found nothing unusual.
"Master, could there be some formation or illusion technique?"
After thinking for a moment, Yun Man asked.
"Even if there is, we have no way to deal with it. Your master knows nothing about formations. The only formation I have is the one your grandmaster left in the courtyard, and even that relies on a token to operate."
Qin Xiao said helplessly.
"Master, I have a way. Last time, Sister Ling gave us items worth four million Spirit Stones, remember? Among them is something that can break formations."
Yun Man said quickly. She had transferred everything into her own Storage Bag earlier and remembered what was inside.
"What is it?"
Qin Xiao didn't understand these miscellaneous items. He had given the Storage Bag directly to Yun Man at the time without looking through it himself.
"Master, it's called a Formation-Breaking Flag. It can break ordinary formations. The only drawback is that it's single-use."
Yun Man pulled a flag-like object from her Storage Bag and explained.
"Oh? There's such a thing? We should buy more next time."
After hearing Yun Man's explanation, Qin Xiao was quite pleased with the item. If he had a whole stack of these, what formation master could pose a challenge?
"Master, it's not that powerful. It only works on ordinary formations. Against anything stronger, it's useless."
Yun Man guessed what Qin Xiao was thinking and quickly tempered his expectations.
"Ah, I thought it was something incredible. So it only handles ordinary formations. Can this Formation Flag break whatever's here?"
Hearing it could only break ordinary formations, Qin Xiao lost much of his interest.
"We'll find out if we try."
Yun Man channeled Spiritual Qi into the Formation Flag and threw it toward the stone wall.
Before long, the stone wall began to change. The lower section slowly turned translucent, revealing a large opening.
"I'll be damned, it actually worked."
Qin Xiao watched the opening appear, surprised it had truly broken through.
"Master, there's a Demon Beast aura inside this cave. The noise is coming from within."
After sensing for a moment, Yun Man told Qin Xiao.
"No matter. Even if there are Demon Beasts, they can't be too formidable, or they wouldn't be hiding. Come, follow your master inside for a look. If it's truly dangerous, we can always retreat."
Qin Xiao thought for a moment and decided to investigate. What if there was treasure inside? After all, nothing worth hiding would be concealed behind a formation.
The two walked toward the opening.
On the other side of the secret realm's second layer, the giant ape was digesting the corpse it had just consumed. Fan Hongfei, who had been meditating with closed eyes on its shoulder, suddenly opened them.
"Not good. My formation has been broken. We need to return immediately."
After sensing the disturbance, Fan Hongfei's brow furrowed. The formation he had laid had lost its connection-which could only mean one thing. It had been breached.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiao and Yun Man ventured deep inside for quite some time before finally discovering another space. Behind the opening lay a small forest, completely enclosed by stone walls.
The second layer of the secret realm had a height limit-cultivators and Demon Beasts alike could not fly too high. That was why this small forest had remained preserved and undiscovered.
Just as they emerged from the opening, a group of small apes suddenly appeared from the side, regarding Qin Xiao and Yun Man with curiosity.
"Hm? What's going on? Why are there so many apes? Did we stumble into a monkey den?"
Qin Xiao was momentarily baffled by the sheer number of apes.
These small apes were roughly human-sized. Though they possessed cultivation, they were merely Qi Condensation stage Demon Beasts.
"Oh, I understand now. No wonder that giant ape held back from attacking me earlier-it was afraid of damaging the formation during combat. This is their lair. These small apes are all its offspring."
After careful thought, Qin Xiao suddenly grasped the situation.
"Their lair?"
Yun Man was still confused, unsure what Qin Xiao meant. She had arrived after Qin Xiao was already fighting the giant ape and didn't know about its earlier restraint.
"Disciple, tie up all these little monkey cubs for me. We've broken through the formation, so that person definitely knows. He'll arrive soon. Our only chance of survival lies with this group of young apes."
After working it out, Qin Xiao instructed Yun Man to bind all the monkeys.
"Ah? All of them?"
Yun Man didn't quite understand what Qin Xiao intended, but she could only comply.
Qin Xiao was gambling, in truth. Since the other party had used a formation to protect this place, either they valued these small apes, or they simply didn't want this location exposed. If it was the former, he and Yun Man might survive. If the latter, they could only curse their bad luck.
Still, Qin Xiao believed his luck had been terrible for long enough-surely he was due to win a bet. No child cries forever, and no gambler loses every hand.
After their work was done, they had captured fifty to sixty Qi Condensation stage apes and more than ten Foundation Establishment stage ones. Beyond that, they found a cave dwelling. Qin Xiao emptied everything inside.
It was all miscellaneous items-Spirit Weapons, Pills, protective gear-none of particularly high quality. These were likely the belongings of disciples who had disappeared in the second round over the years.
There were quite a few Spirit Stones, though. Even though Qin Xiao didn't lack them, he took them all.
"Master, I've caught them all. Seventy total."
Just as Qin Xiao emerged from the cave dwelling, Yun Man walked over, leading a group of bound apes.
"There should be quite a few spiritual herbs here as well. Forget it, we're out of time. If fate permits, we'll return for them later. We should leave now."
Qin Xiao estimated that the evil cultivator and giant ape would be returning soon, so he abandoned any thought of continuing the search.
The two slowly walked out of the opening, pulling seventy apes behind them.
Sure enough, Fan Hongfei and the giant ape had already surrounded the opening with all their Demon Beast subordinates.
"Hey, we meet again."
Qin Xiao greeted Fan Hongfei with a bitter smile.
"Young man, how did you discover this place? In three hundred years, you're the first to find it."
Though Fan Hongfei wanted to strike, he had questions on his mind and decided to ask them first.
"Ah, pure accident. I wonder if Senior might spare us?"
Qin Xiao pointed at the group of apes behind him.
"And what if I refuse?"
Fan Hongfei's expression remained unchanged as he spoke coldly.
"If you refuse, then I can only have these little monkeys accompany me in death."
Qin Xiao couldn't read anything from the other's face, so he could only gamble boldly.
"Young man, do you truly believe that if I strike, you'll have the chance to kill them?"
Fan Hongfei couldn't gauge the situation either, but he maintained his indifferent demeanor.
"You don't think this is ordinary rope, do you? With a single thought, this rope will contract instantly. In one moment, all seventy monkeys will be severed at the waist. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to test it."
Qin Xiao gripped the rope and spoke with confidence.
"Bring them up."
Fan Hongfei didn't answer Qin Xiao. Instead, he had his Demon Beasts drag forward three barely conscious humans.
"You recognize these three, don't you? If you don't release my monkey descendants, I'll kill all three of them immediately."
The three people Fan Hongfei brought forward were none other than Ling Wushuang of the Immortal Dao Merchant Association, Cang Xing of the Pure Yang Sect, and Su Lin of the Mysterious Yin Sect.
Fan Hongfei hadn't killed them because he recognized they were the three with the highest cultivation. Keeping them alive had its uses-first, to gather intelligence about the outside world, and second, to torture them slowly and vent his hatred.
"Ah, don't know them. First time seeing them today. Kill them if you want."
Qin Xiao's expression was utterly indifferent.
It wasn't that he didn't want to save them, but he was barely clinging to life himself. His only leverage was these monkeys. If he traded hostages, they would all die anyway-so what would be the point?
"So there's nothing to discuss?"
After speaking, Fan Hongfei had his subordinate Demon Beast directly rip off one of Cang Xing's arms. Cang Xing, already unconscious, jolted awake from the pain. Though he didn't cry out, sweat streamed down his forehead.
"Oh, so you want to play rough? Disciple, kill one."
Seeing the other act directly, Qin Xiao had to respond in kind.
Yun Man's sword rose and fell. The small ape at the very back was beheaded in an instant.
Seeing the young ape killed, the Soul Formation stage giant ape roared in fury.