Chapter 155: Dim

Although King Macaque was tempted by the Blood Spirit Pill handed over by Yuan Wuji, he was also aware of its side effects. In his severely injured state, he was unable to refine the pill, so he prepared to put it away.

"There is no need for that. The side effects of the Blood Spirit Pill have already been removed by me."

Upon hearing Yuan Wuji's words, King Macaque took the pill out once more. With Yuan Wuji's guarantee, he swallowed it without hesitation.

"Wonderful."

King Macaque's sensation was identical to that of Tiger Baisheng. Furthermore, the Blood Spirit Pill repaired a portion of his injuries, and his complexion improved significantly.

Seeing the actions of King Macaque and Tiger Baisheng, the hesitant King Macaque (of the long-armed ape lineage) also swallowed his Blood Spirit Pill and began refining it.

"This... what a formidable elixir!"

Feeling the benefits brought by the Blood Spirit Pill, King Macaque's gaze inevitably fell upon the remaining two pills in Yuan Wuji's possession.

However, he knew that he had no deep relationship with Yuan Wuji. Being given one pill was likely granted out of regard for King Macaque.

"Let us go!"

Seeing that King Macaque's injuries had improved to a certain extent under the recovery of the elixir, Yuan Wuji motioned for them to follow him back to the palace—not the bear demon's palace, but Yuan Wuji's own.

Tiger Baisheng and King Macaque naturally had no reason to refuse and closely followed behind Yuan Wuji. As for King Macaque, since he was not Yuan Wuji's subordinate, Yuan Wuji did not care to ask where he intended to go.

The bear demon's palace was quite decent for King Macaque, but his current condition was far from good. Moreover, the previous battle would inevitably attract the attention of nearby demon kings. If he continued to stay here, once Yuan Wuji departed, King Macaque would likely become the next bear demon.

King Macaque guessed correctly; there were quite a few pairs of eyes lingering upon him.

In the distance, King Macaque shivered slightly, then immediately hurried to catch up with Yuan Wuji. At present, the safest course of action was to stay close to him.

Tiger Baisheng noticed King Macaque following closely behind, but since Yuan Wuji gave no command, Tiger Baisheng said nothing.

"As expected of the Great King, the palace you occupied is the closest to the very center."

Tiger Baisheng knew that the closer one was to the center, the greater the strength required. The fact that Yuan Wuji could occupy a palace so close to the heart of the territory spoke volumes about his standing among the demon kings.

"Occupied? It was given to me by the Second Master of Thunderclap Mountain."

"This..."

This revelation surprised Tiger Baisheng even more. If Yuan Wuji had seized the palace purely through brute force, it would merely prove his strength. However, since it had been arranged by Thunderclap Mountain, it signified not only his power but also a strong affirmation from them. It indicated that Thunderclap Mountain held high hopes for him, and that Yuan Wuji stood a very good chance of becoming their son-in-law.

"You have only just swallowed the Blood Spirit Pill, and the greater part of it remains unrefined. The martial arts competition for marriage is about to begin. Are you not planning to use this opportunity to recover your injuries?"

Yuan Wuji roused Tiger Baisheng from his astonishment and led them into his palace, followed closely by King Macaque.

"King Macaque, you do not stay in the palace you conquered, yet you continue to follow me. Does that not seem rather inappropriate?" Yuan Wuji asked sideways.

"This... Divine Ape King, I was always following my brother King Macaque earlier. Now that you have taken him away, I naturally followed along."

King Macaque could only pin his hopes on King Macaque. He had heard rumors of the relationship between King Macaque and Yuan Wuji, and thus believed that if King Macaque put in a good word, Yuan Wuji would not drive him away.

Indeed, King Macaque did want to intercede for him, but knowing Yuan Wuji's temperament all too well, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.

King Macaque was momentarily stunned, though Yuan Wuji had no intention of making things difficult for him.

"Then you may follow inside! However, there may not be a place for you."

"Very well."

Seeing that Yuan Wuji had no intention of chasing him away, King Macaque unceremoniously followed behind him, yet he seemed not to grasp Yuan Wuji's true meaning.

At the entrance of the palace, Yuan Wuji had set up a barrier. Under his control, King Macaque could not enter at all and was left standing outside the barrier.

"Divine Ape King, what is the meaning of this..."

King Macaque wanted to question him, but under Yuan Wuji's gaze, he obediently closed his mouth, not daring to act rashly.

Knowing the fate of the bear demon, King Macaque lacked the courage to act arrogantly in front of Yuan Wuji, let alone in his current severely injured state.

If he were to be turned into an elixir himself, that would be far too absurd.

"Great King, you have returned."

Upon seeing Yuan Wuji return, the three fox maidens immediately came forward to welcome him, but their movements paused when they caught sight of King Macaque and Tiger Baisheng.

Yuan Wuji had grown rather fond of the service provided by these three fox maidens over the past few days, and so he bestowed the remaining two Blood Spirit Pills upon them.

"Here, these are for you."

However, there were three fox maidens and only two pills. Having always shared a bond of solidarity, none of the three stepped forward first to accept the pills bestowed by Yuan Wuji.

Yuan Wuji could perceive the longing in their eyes, yet the affection among them clearly surpassed the temptation of the Blood Spirit Pill.

It was precisely because he appreciated such character in them that he allowed them to continue attending to him. To maintain such beauty amidst a world of the jungle law was exceedingly rare.

Perhaps there was the protection of Thunderclap Mountain behind them, but Yuan Wuji could not understand why Thunderclap Mountain, despite risking the offense of numerous demon kings to protect the fox maidens of their clan, would still bring them out during this martial arts competition for marriage to be enjoyed by the demon kings.

Through his observations of them over the past few days, Yuan Wuji discovered that they had had very little contact with male living beings, the most frequent being humans. Protected all along by Thunderclap Mountain, these fox maidens could not help but yearn to travel the outside world.

Yet, with their low cultivation bases, whenever they ventured into the human world, they were invariably discovered. Having never encountered mortal men before, many of the fox maidens were captivated by their sweet words, which quickly breached their innocent hearts and caused them to fall in love.

This had given rise to many tales of romance between humans and fox maidens in the mortal realm.

Seeing them hesitate to make a move, Yuan Wuji did not press them. Instead, he evenly divided the two Blood Spirit Pills into three portions and infused them directly into their bodies.

By refining the two pills into three streams of pure energy, he spared them the time and effort required for self-refinement, allowing them to absorb the medicinal power much faster.

However, due to the weak cultivation bases of the fox maidens, a side effect arose: the earth-attribute Blood Spirit Pill would plant earth-attribute magic power within their bodies. When they eventually cultivated to the Taiyi Loose Immortal realm, their first elemental breakthrough would inevitably be the earth element.

The advantage, however, was that their current magic power would be imbued with the earth attribute, granting them an edge against peers of the same level.