Chapter 1606: Special Talent

The ape demon opened its large mouth and spewed several bursts of green fire at it. This fire was sinister and could incinerate anything, but the grey-robed figure didn't even attempt to dodge, letting the flames spray directly onto its face. As soon as the ape demon closed its mouth, the green fire extinguished simultaneously, failing to burn even a single thread of the grey robe. Having twice spewed fire at its enemy tonight with no effect, the ape demon was enraged and began slamming its staff down furiously.

Dong Rui's suspicions grew: Fire-resistant tree demons were rare, especially since the ape demon's venomous fire was the bane of plant-based creatures. Even stones would melt when exposed to it, so why was it that only the grey robe had been blackened?

Several times, the grey-robed figure attempted to capture Dong Rui, but it was repelled by the ape demon. The latter could conjure a third arm to hold Dong Rui safely against its body while still using its two primary hands to wield its staff against the enemy.

Meanwhile, the attacks from the bat demon puppet left Cao Wendao struggling. In the midst of the chaos, he violently shook his demon-subduing staff and roared, "Get back here!" The grey-robed figure's form immediately rippled, like a reflection on water disturbed by ripples.

Dong Rui's gaze sharpened: *This thing's form isn't fixed?*

As the surrounding scenery blurred, the grey-robed figure instantly returned to Cao Wendao's side. Its speed was akin to teleportation, even faster than the bat demon puppet! Having been defeated by it before, the bat demon puppet was unwilling to challenge it again and thus paused its attack. However, Dong Rui also keenly observed that the grey-robed figure lacked an inherent instinct to protect its master. It wouldn't return unless Cao Wendao commanded it.

Cao Wendao snorted, "Your demon puppets are no match for me. If you surrender now, I might spare your life."

The bat demon puppet, originally intending another sneak attack, hesitated upon seeing this. Without waiting for Dong Rui's command, it landed on a branch and lowered its head to lick the wound on its belly. The grey-robed figure's previous strike had pierced its abdomen, but fortunately, its spine was unharmed.

Dong Rui grinned, pointing at the grey-robed figure. "I've recognized this thing. Do you really think you can spare me? Aren't you afraid the news will reach the Heavenly Palace?" The grey robe had the appearance of a Heavenly Demon, making it highly improbable that Cao Wendao had received official approval for it. Therefore, it was ninety percent certain that Cao Wendao had forged this item in secret, keeping the Heavenly Palace in the dark.

From the moment Dong Rui saw Cao Wendao, he knew this person was far from conventional. Thus, if Cao Wendao managed to capture Dong Rui and extract vital information from him, he would most likely kill him without hesitation!

Cao Wendao's expression remained unchanged. "Just tell me Xiao An's whereabouts, and not only will I not kill you, but I'll promote you. I, Cao Wendao, always keep my word! The existence of Ashmona is not necessarily unknown to the higher-ups."

*So Wei Yishan had been worrying for nothing?*

"So this grey-robed puppet had a name: Ashmona?" Dong Rui's heart stirred, but he said aloud: "Alright, first make Ashmona spit out what it ate of mine and give it back!" He stared intently at the demon-subduing staff in Cao Wendao's hand. Ever since the grey-robed Ashmona appeared, Cao Wendao had not let go of the short staff; Ashmona was initially disobedient, but Cao Wendao could compel it to comply by shaking the demon-subduing staff.

Cao Wendao casually told Ashmona, "Whatever you just ate, spit it out." He knew this creature's stubborn nature; for it to defy orders just to keep something in its belly, it had to be something extraordinary.

Ashmona, however, shook its head violently. The meaning was clear: it wouldn't spit it out. Even if its master commanded it, it adamantly refused.

Dong Rui remarked sarcastically, "Your demon puppet doesn't seem very obedient." In his opinion, a demon puppet didn't necessarily have to be powerful, but it absolutely had to be obedient.

Cao Wendao was seething, but it was not the time to show it. The priority was to capture Dong Rui and escape from here. Since Qingyang had sent him a message, the forces from Yongquan Villa might arrive soon. He shook the demon-subduing staff, and Ashmona vanished from its spot. It reappeared directly in front of the ape demon, reaching out to grab Dong Rui. Compared to before, its speed had increased yet again, becoming almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

The ape demon was startled. Too late to raise its staff, it swung out with an open palm. If struck by its massive, cushion-sized palm, Ashmona would likely be sent flying several yards backward again. However, it was prepared. Its figure blurred, and the ape demon's strike missed.

"So slow," Dong Rui heard another taunt inside his mind.

Then, Ashmona appeared behind the ape demon's head, extending its five fingers into sharp claws and aiming directly for its nape. The ape demon was a creature of flesh and blood; if struck in a vital spot, its strength would be greatly diminished. However, just as its fingertips grazed the ape demon's fur, another monkey face suddenly materialized from the back of the ape demon's head, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Ashmona's attack ended up sending its fingers directly into the ape demon's mouth.

With a snap, four of Ashmona's fingers were bitten off by the ape demon. The large monkey even extended a fourth hand from its back to grab its head! Ashmona countered by extending its other hand, its nails elongating and piercing through the gaps in its hand armor, stabbing into the ape demon's hand. The ape demon's fur was impervious to blades and spears, but with a forceful stab, Ashmona still managed to pierce a small hole. Immediately, centered on the bleeding point, the ape demon's hand began to turn bluish-white, and this discoloration spread towards its fingers and palm!

"Roar?" It immediately noticed the front part of its palm losing control. It lifted its hand to look, and its palm had become stiff and rigid, with every monkey hair feeling hard and brittle!

Petrification. Ashmona possessed a divine technique that could turn injured creatures into stone. Dong Rui had previously witnessed the Jindu Ghost Child's lignification technique, which could transform living people into hard wood. However, that effect was far less potent than Ashmona's petrification. It was important to note that the ape demon was also a demon puppet that had undergone multiple transformations with divine blood, and thus had strong resistance to divine techniques.

Without delay, under Dong Rui's control, the ape demon decisively raised its injured hand and slammed it violently onto the ground— With a loud thud, the petrified part was instantly shattered. Blood spurted out, red in color. But both Dong Rui and the ape demon breathed a sigh of relief; the severing of the hand was timely, and the petrification poison had not spread to the upper arm.

In the blink of an eye, the ape demon recovered its spirits and resumed battling Ashmona for several more rounds. Fortunately, it had four hands, so even with one severed, it still had three hands to defend itself.

Meanwhile, Dong Rui carefully examined the few incessantly twitching finger bones he held. These were the fingers bitten off Ashmona by the ape demon, an even exchange of injuries. These finger bones still had no trace of bloodstains, and their fractured surfaces were uneven, looking more like they had been snapped off rather than bitten off. Under the faint light, the fractured surfaces appeared whitish, even exhibiting a subtle, faint glimmer.

*Quartz or mica?* Dong Rui held it under his nose, sniffed it, and even licked it. "'It's mud, but with the scent of solidified divine blood, and it's evenly distributed!' He smeared some fresh blood onto the finger bones, and it was absorbed in less than two seconds."

Dong Rui patted the ape demon. "You still have some of those cactus fruits you were eating, right? Give me one." Battling a formidable foe like Ashmona while simultaneously having to fulfill its master's unreasonable request, the ape demon was quite exasperated. It took a moment to reach into its pouch, pull out a small fruit, and pop it into its master's mouth. The cactus fruit was slightly larger than a plum and perfectly ripe. Dong Rui bit into it, juice spraying out and staining his mouth red. Its juice was as red as blood. Dong Rui took a sip of the juice and forcefully sprayed it onto the finger bones. The bones instantly turned red.

As soon as Dong Rui released them, the finger bones wriggled free from his palm and flew back towards Ashmona. In mere moments, Ashmona's fingers had regrown on their own. And when these finger bones flew back, they reintegrated into its body. Soon after, a red blotch appeared on Ashmona's arm and neck. It was stained red by the cactus fruit juice; what were originally finger bones had now become part of its body. This was what Dong Rui wanted to observe.

This seemed to be Ashmona's inherent special ability, not something designed by Cao Wendao. When its body fragments flew back, they didn't simply reattach; instead, they instantly disintegrated and reintegrated, filling the areas where they were most needed.

*What kind of living creature would possess such characteristics? No, rather, no normal creature possesses this ability.* Dong Rui's thoughts raced.

At this point, the ape demon's severed hand also began to heal. Though its speed couldn't match Ashmona's, it was visibly regenerating. Once fully healed, it would once again be able to pummel its opponent's two fists with its four hands.

As soon as Ashmona and the ape demon began fighting, the bat demon puppet went back to harassing Cao Wendao. It had to be said that Cao Wendao's own cultivation was much higher than Dong Rui's, and with the aid of a few demon puppets that had returned from the jungle, he was fighting quite impressively for a time. But Cao Wendao's forehead was sweating, and his complexion and breathing grew heavier.

Since the battle began, he had been carrying an invisible yet heavy burden: Controlling so many demon puppets simultaneously in combat was exhausting even for him. The more demon puppets dispatched and the stronger their combat power, the greater the mental energy consumed. The flatfish demon was manageable, but Ashmona was practically a rebellious child; simply dividing his attention to control it took up seventy percent of Cao Wendao's focus. At the same time, he also had to personally engage the bat demon puppet. It had been a long time since he had engaged in such high-intensity combat. In this regard, Dong Rui was much more relaxed than him.

Human energy is limited, and the number of demon puppets a puppet master can control simultaneously is not infinite. This was an unwritten rule among puppet masters, which is why Dong Rui adhered to the principle of 'quality over quantity.' He rarely released more than four demon puppets in any battle, but each one was high-quality... except for that egg!

"Ah, his egg! Damn it!" Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth again, but accidentally pulled at his wound, causing excruciating pain: "Hiss—this demon-subduing staff isn't metal or iron; it seems to be bone? Hmm, divine bone! Divine bone that hasn't been well-preserved."

With such a large staff waving about in front of him, he naturally took a closer look. He then noticed that although the precious staff's surface was smooth and had a slight bronze sheen, a careful inspection revealed it was not metal. Dong Rui himself had used divine bones—the skeletons of Heavenly Demons—so he knew that some divine bones had a metallic luster. However, this precious staff's color was much heavier; if it was made of divine bone, then it might not have been well-preserved.

Cao Wendao gave him a surprised look. *This guy knows a lot. Indeed, what kind of wild puppet master would one be if they couldn't acquire divine blood or divine bone?* Thinking of this, he felt a slight itch of desire. Although his research was publicly funded, the allocation of precious divine blood was always insufficient, sometimes even stalling his research progress. If he could extract more information about the source of divine blood from Wei Yishan, that would be a huge gain!