Chapter 289: Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape

"No." Jiang Fan calmly refused, shaking his head.

The claw had been publicly displayed at the entrance of the Joyous Union Sect, and Sun Chaozong was present at the time. If Jiang Fan were to trade it now, his identity would be immediately exposed. Given Sun Chaozong's tendency to report, he would likely reveal Jiang Fan's presence to the Joyous Union Sect on the spot. Therefore, this transaction could only be done in secret.

Ouyang Jun looked disappointed. After inquiring with the other attendees, he found no one else could make the exchange either. Greatly disappointed, he wrapped the iron box in a cloth strip and said, "All right, then please let the next person present their item for sale."

He did not reduce the price further. Everyone had to extinguish their lingering hopes and focus on the subsequent exchanges.

All present were elite disciples, and the treasures they presented were quite impressive. Many of them even tempted Jiang Fan. However, considering he already possessed a considerable number of items, he had to suppress his budding desire to acquire more.

"It's your turn, brother," Ouyang Jun reminded him.

It was late at night, and it was finally Jiang Fan's turn. Ouyang Jun had been speculating about Jiang Fan's identity; he carried two swords and a wooden box on his back, which, by its size, seemed to contain a zither. Could one person truly master both swordsmanship and musical cultivation techniques simultaneously? This made Jiang Fan somewhat difficult to fathom.

He could only deduce Jiang Fan's identity and background from the items he offered for sale. Jiang Fan, having prepared in advance, took out a bottle of dark red pills.

It was the remaining Three-Step Drunkenness pills, only a dozen or so of which were left.

Everyone looked on curiously, but seeing they were pills, their interest waned. Previous elite disciples had already sold many similar pills, which were all largely the same.

They were either for healing or for enhancing cultivation. Ever since the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion issued the notice to resist the beast tide, everyone had been frantically stocking up on these two types of medicines. Most had already accumulated enough and no longer needed additional supplies.

Ouyang Jun also shook his head slightly, his expectations for Jiang Fan plummeting. Nevertheless, he maintained his role as host and politely inquired, "What kind of pill is this?"

Jiang Fan didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Did any of you bring a demonic beast? The fiercer, the better."

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. What did he mean by that? And why specifically "the fiercer, the better"?

Ouyang Jun looked surprised. It wasn't a pill for healing or cultivation enhancement? He became somewhat interested and said, "What a coincidence."

"My Thousand Refinement Sect recently captured a fierce demonic beast in the Myriad Mountains," Ouyang Jun replied. "It possesses the strength of a first-layer Core Formation realm and is incredibly ferocious and difficult to tame. I'm currently escorting it to the Spirit Beast Sect to have them help tame it. It's right downstairs."

Jiang Fan nodded, then, holding the jade bottle, stood up and went to the window. The others followed him.

Looking down through the window to the first floor, they saw a tall, ape-like demonic beast confined within a massive iron cage. Its four limbs were securely bound by chains as thick as arms. Even so, it remained incredibly fierce.

It breathed heavily through its nostrils, its bloodshot eyes coldly surveying its surroundings. Periodically, it would let out a low growl, causing the entire cage to shake violently. Four disciples from the Thousand Refinement Sect guarded it with extreme caution, their faces etched with deep unease.

"What a fierce creature; it's still so unruly even in this state," someone remarked. "Ape-type demonic beasts are always the most rebellious and difficult to tame, extremely ferocious. No wonder it needs to be sent to the Spirit Beast Sect; ordinary cultivators truly can't tame this kind of demonic beast."

Jiang Fan showed a trace of surprise. "It's a Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape!" he exclaimed. "This is the fiercest type among ape-kind demonic beasts; they always prefer death over submission. Very few people can capture one alive."

Ouyang Jun replied, surprised, "Brother, you have excellent eyesight to recognize this beast! No one else we've met along the way has been able to identify it by name."

Jiang Fan had identified it at a glance, making Ouyang Jun feel even more that he was extraordinary. "To be honest, brother," Ouyang Jun continued, "this Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape was captured by our sect leader himself, and only with great luck. Previous attempts to capture it, as you've mentioned, always resulted in it preferring death over submission, making it almost impossible to capture alive. Even now, its fierce nature remains unchanged."

"Along the way, we've suffered considerably transporting it; one of our disciples even lost an arm to it." Jiang Fan nodded slightly. From the jade bottle, he poured out a single Three-Step Drunkenness pill and accurately tossed it into the cage.

Ouyang Jun chuckled wryly. "Brother, there's no need to try," he said. "This beast is incredibly stubborn. It has been on a hunger strike ever since we captured it. It refuses anything we offer. Even if we force-feed it, it will vomit it out. If it truly can't, it will trigger its own gag reflex to empty its stomach completely." He looked exasperated as he spoke.

"I'm genuinely worried it won't survive the journey to the Spirit Beast Sect and will starve or die of thirst midway." Everyone present gasped in amazement.

However, someone quickly noticed something amiss. "Hunger strike? Then what is it doing now?" Ouyang Jun looked down and froze. The red pill lay in the cage, and the Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape, as usual, was raging, struggling, and waving its chains, resisting any attempts at feeding. But suddenly, it sniffed. Then it lowered its head and began to search. When it found the Three-Step Drunkenness pill, it angrily raised its foot, intending to crush it.

However, it couldn't bring itself to crush the pill. A pained, struggling expression appeared on its face. Finally, it retracted its foot, slowly bent down, and picked up the Three-Step Drunkenness pill. For a moment, it brought it to its mouth, then seemed to want to throw it away again. After several internal struggles, it could no longer resist; it suddenly threw the pill into its mouth and gobbled it down. Ouyang Jun was utterly astonished. "It... it actually ate it willingly?" he stammered.

"Brother, is your pill truly so miraculous? Demonic beasts seem completely unable to resist its allure!"

Jiang Fan remained expressionless. "Keep watching," he instructed.

Indeed. The pill's effect was still unknown. Ouyang Jun watched with intense curiosity, mentally speculating about its properties. "It's most likely a sedative for demonic beasts, isn't it?"

"However, it probably won't be very effective on an extremely fierce demonic beast like the Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape." Along the way, he had used several sedatives on it, even spending a fortune to buy top-tier drugs that could incapacitate a demonic beast within half an hour.

Yet, none of them had managed to render it unconscious. Now, what effect could Jiang Fan's single small pill possibly have?

The outcome would likely be unsatisfactory.

However, just as he thought this, less than ten breaths passed since the Black-Backed Blood-Eyed Ape swallowed the pill. It suddenly began to stagger. It seemed to realize what was happening, gripping the cage and vigorously shaking its head to prevent itself from falling unconscious. But the overwhelming dizziness proved irresistible. Finally, with a heavy thud, it collapsed.

The elite disciples present were utterly dumbfounded. "It knocked out a Core Formation realm demonic beast in just ten breaths?" one exclaimed. "And an extremely violent ape-type one at that?" another added. "The most terrifying part is that the demonic beast couldn't resist the pill's temptation at all; it knew it wasn't good but still couldn't help but eat it!" "If you took these pills and scattered them on the front line of the beast tide, the effect..." A collective gasp rippled through the room as many disciples stared intensely at the few remaining red pills in Jiang Fan's hand.

Their eyes burned with desire. "This is excellent!"

It was currently the best item, second only to the Frost of Sorrow!