Chapter 1832: Saint Island

**Volume Ten: War in the Demon Realm**

“Li Niang! That girl who married outside the clan? When did she arrive here? Never mind, tell me the details later.” A glint flashed in the golden-masked middle-aged man's eyes as he commanded in an unquestionable tone.

The head of the Long family's heart jolted, and he hurriedly agreed respectfully.

Although he was the head of the Long family and even the elder's own flesh and blood, this familial bond had become utterly insignificant since the Long family elder began cultivating that immensely powerful 'Ruthless Dao' divine ability.

In his interactions with the Long family elder, the head of the Long family was always on edge, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

“Is this the semi-dragon transformation of true dragon blood? To be able to physically contend with a demon cultivator without falling behind in the slightest, it truly broadens my horizons.” The Saintess Qianqiu of the Spirit Race slowly flew over, speaking from a distance with a smile already on her face.

“I am a late-stage Integration cultivator. What is there to be happy about when I couldn't even subdue an early-stage demon cultivator? Is the Saintess mocking me?” Hearing this, the Long family elder's face showed no joy, but instead a blank expression as he spoke.

“Hehe, Fellow Daoist Long, why ask the obvious? Demon cultivators are known for their physical strength, and apes are among the strongest. You fought against an Integration-level ape demon cultivator with only your physical body, without using any treasures. I don't need to explain what that implies. If you had used other divine abilities, that ape demon certainly wouldn't have lasted long before you.” Saintess Qianqiu replied with a smile, unconcerned by the Long family elder's expression.

“Heh heh, wouldn't last long, you say. If the Saintess thinks that, then she is gravely mistaken.” The Long family elder scoffed, a strange expression appearing on his face upon hearing her words.

“Oh, has Fellow Daoist discovered something?” The young woman in yellow robes blinked, revealing a slightly surprised expression.

“You all may leave. I wish to speak with Fellow Daoist Qianqiu alone for a while.” The Long family elder did not immediately reply to the young woman but instead waved his sleeve and ordered all nearby Long family cultivators.

At the same time, the dragon horns on his head and the golden scales on his face instantly receded, and his golden eyes returned to the normal dark color of a human.

The cultivators, including the head of the Long family, naturally obeyed respectfully and flew towards the castle.

In the blink of an eye, only the middle-aged man and the young woman in yellow robes remained in the sky.

“You are being so cautious, Fellow Daoist. Does that ape demon have some significant background?” Saintess Qianqiu did not stop the others from leaving, but at this moment, she asked lightly.

“I suspect it is from the Sacred Island!” The Long family elder's words startled Saintess Qianqiu, who then showed a surprised expression.

“Sacred Island! That sanctuary that both your human and demon races claim?” the young woman murmured.

“Exactly. Otherwise, it's very difficult to explain how such an Integration-stage ape demon suddenly appeared among the demon race. Every thousand years, the Sacred Island selects highly talented disciples from both our races to reside on the island. After so many millennia, naturally, no one knows how many unknown Integration-level beings exist on the Sacred Island. But I estimate there are at least twenty to thirty Integration-level beings there. And unless it's a matter concerning the survival of our two races, those Integration-level beings living on the Sacred Island are not permitted to leave even a single step. It is precisely because of this island that both the human and demon races can advance or retreat together when facing a powerful enemy from outside.” Although the Long family elder's face remained unusually blank, a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes.

“Hehe, it sounds like the Sacred Island of your two races is similar to our Spirit Race's Sacred Temple. I also don't know how many Saint Spirit-level beings currently reside in our Spirit Race's Sacred Temple.” The young woman in yellow robes sighed after listening to the Long family elder's words.

“There's another reason why I believe this ape demon is from the Sacred Island. To my knowledge, a contingent of demon soldiers who guard the Sacred Island year-round includes the rumored extremely rare Golden Adamant Ape race. The giant ape that appeared here closely resembles this type of demon ape, and it's not an ordinary, evil early-stage Integration demon cultivator. Even if I didn't use other divine abilities, this giant ape definitely possessed more than just the techniques it showed earlier. Even if I had used my full power, I wouldn't have been very confident in subduing it. Therefore, naturally, I wouldn't do anything to provoke the Sacred Island.” After a moment of silence, the Long family elder finally revealed his true apprehension.

“Is this ape demon really that formidable? I couldn't accurately gauge its power without personally engaging it. However, the layer of silver flames on its body when it finally left, which could directly melt the void, gave me a significant sense of threat.” The smile on the young woman in yellow robes finally faded as she spoke slowly.

“As far as I know, among the innate divine abilities of the Golden Adamant Ape race, there is a type of 'Nine Infant True Flame'. While this innate ability is incredibly powerful, it's rare for Golden Adamant Apes to awaken it and cultivate it to mastery. Few truly know what kind of true flame it is.” The Long family elder said, his eyes flickering.

“So, you're certain this golden-furred giant ape is a Golden Adamant Ape?” Saintess Qianqiu frowned.

“It's not just my assertion; there's an eighty to ninety percent chance it's correct.” The Long family elder, clearly a very confident person, affirmed with unusual certainty.

“Well, if it's someone from the Sacred Island, then we can only accept this disadvantage quietly.” After staring at the Long family elder for a while, the young woman in yellow robes let out a soft chuckle.

“Hmph, I am not afraid of the Golden Adamant Ape race. I am merely showing some respect to the Sacred Island. Moreover, judging by what that ape said as it left, there seems to be more to this matter. I intend to investigate it thoroughly before proceeding.” The Long family elder snorted lightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he spoke.

“Since Fellow Daoist Long has made a decision, I won't say more. However, regarding *that* matter, our two families have been negotiating for an entire day and night, yet we still haven't agreed on terms. Are we to continue wasting time? I took a risk coming here to your place, and my purpose isn't solely to deal with the Long family; I have several other important tasks to attend to.” As the young woman in yellow robes spoke, her expression suddenly turned cold.

“Aren't our Long family's terms quite simple? As long as you provide ten disabled spirits without independent consciousness for each warship, our Long family will give you one-third of the colossal sky-reaching warships we forge. Are these terms not generous enough? As far as I know, your Spirit Race doesn't consider disabled spirits as fellow kin. Exchanging them for so many sky-reaching warships should be an extremely profitable venture for you.” The Long family elder replied expressionlessly.

“Hmph, ten is absolutely unacceptable. Although our Spirit Race doesn't regard disabled spirits as kin, according to the strict prohibitions of the entire Spirit Race, handing them over to foreign races without authorization is a grave crime of treason. We can exchange at most five disabled spirits per warship. Furthermore, we are taking such an immense risk to conduct this transaction with your Long family, only to receive one-third of the warships. The risk we're taking is completely disproportionate to the gain. To be frank, if I had known the Long family would be so stingy, I would have preferred the blueprint for the sky-reaching warships to have fallen into the hands of the Three Emperors and those Demon Kings instead. I imagine those major powers would be more generous than your Long family.” The young woman in yellow robes said indifferently, pushing a strand of hair from her forehead with a fair wrist.

“Fellow Daoist Qianqiu, why resort to such tactics? You should know very well that the Ruthless Dao cultivation method I practice leaves no emotional weaknesses. However, since the Saintess has said as much, I will make the decision to concede one more step. You shall provide eight disabled spirits for each spirit boat, and I will hand over forty percent of the total quantity to your Spirit Race.” The Long family elder gazed at Saintess Qianqiu for a long moment before speaking in a deep voice.

“Forty percent, eight disabled spirits! No, the percentage is fine. But at most, I can agree to seven disabled spirits per warship.” The young woman in yellow robes said, also showing a cautious expression.

“Seven, then seven it is. I agree. Now, we must quickly discuss other aspects of our cooperation before the coming of the demon tribulation.” The Long family elder pondered briefly, then surprisingly agreed without hesitation.

“Naturally. As long as the initial exchange proceeds smoothly, our Spirit Race is very willing to continue cooperation with the Long family in other areas.” Seeing that the other party had truly agreed to her terms, Saintess Qianqiu was overjoyed and spoke with a radiant smile.

“Then please, Saintess. This is not a place for a prolonged discussion. Follow me to the tower, and we can continue our detailed talks there.” The Long family elder nodded, then made a welcoming gesture with one hand.

At this moment, the Long family elder seemed to have completely forgotten about the golden-furred giant ape from earlier.

Indeed, how could the disturbance caused by a mere early-stage Integration ape demon compare to the Long family's cooperation with the Spirit Race? The latter concerned the Long family's very survival when the demon tribulation arrived.

Meanwhile, almost simultaneously, the golden-furred giant ape had already slowly descended onto an uninhabited mountain peak tens of thousands of miles away.

When the ape had forcibly pierced through the outer barrier of the Welcoming Immortal Palace with its silver flames and flew out, it naturally alarmed some nearby guards. However, with the ape's mysterious escape technique, it vanished instantly with a single flash. Even the Nascent Soul and Void Refinement level guards couldn't possibly keep up with it.

Moreover, once these guards realized pursuit was futile, they naturally wouldn't bother chasing further.

They sent people to inquire briefly with the Long family on the ninth level. Upon learning that the escapee was actually an Integration-level demon cultivator, they were naturally greatly surprised. They promptly repaired the damaged barrier and then pretended to know nothing about the incident.

However, the incident involving an Integration-level golden-furred giant ape causing a disturbance at the Long family residence quickly spread like wildfire among other Integration-level old monsters.

Many of them were greatly astonished and sent personnel to investigate the matter thoroughly.

But that golden-furred giant ape, of which no one had ever heard before, completely vanished without a trace, and no further news of it emerged.

This left many feeling frustrated, and quite a few also began to think about the Sacred Island.

However, the golden-furred giant ape was naturally unaware of all this.

At this moment, atop the mountain, after scanning its surroundings with its eyes, its entire body flashed with golden light, and in a blink of an eye, it transformed into an ordinary-looking young man.