1525 A Secret and Slaying the Sapient Giant Ape!
The valley was wide and overgrown with moss. A faint and mysterious white mist hung around the place, pulsating with energy. Even more special was the row of wooden houses built in the valley, looking like there were inhabitants out here in the wilderness.

Just as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were wondering about all this, the door of a wooden house suddenly opened, and a man came walking out. This person looked very strange, as his entire body was covered in brown fur, with sunken eye sockets. He was actually an ape!

The ape looked just like a large gorilla one might find in a zoo, except he was standing upright like a human being. His white fangs were half-exposed, and he had a fierce gaze in his eyes.

“My God. What sort of creature is that?!” Traveling Buddha yelped in consternation.

When the ape heard that there was sound coming from beyond the valley, it instantly let out a ferocious roar. Turning his huge head, his gaze was filled with killing intent as he stared in the direction Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were hiding.

“Who’s there?! Foolish humans! To actually dare barge into the territory of the Beast King! Are you looking to restart the war?!”

This huge humanoid ape was absolutely savage, and when he roared, the entire valley shook, causing gravel and small rocks to roll off the cliffs on both sides.

“Is that thing trying to threaten me?” Traveling Buddha was pissed. The Little Old Buddha was born noble, and a monkey would actually dare threaten him?! He was bristling in indignation.

Nevertheless, Traveling Buddha was focused on being mad, but he had missed the more important point; it was an ape, so how could it speak a human language? Was that not very strange?

Xia Fan was in deep thought. He had no idea what he had just encountered, but that was when Pearl suddenly blurted out, “Catch him! He’s Awakened with demonic attributes!”

Xia Fan did not understand what demonic attributes meant, but he saw the ape lift his head up and come charging toward them with great ferocity, still roaring wildly and, stirring up a horrific atmosphere, as if he was about to begin a massacre.

Traveling Buddha stared incredulously. “F*ck me, this creature actually dares bellow at me, Little Old Buddha? Is he tired of living?”

Without another word, Traveling Buddha went charging on the attack. His entire body was covered in his golden light from head to toe, looking like a reincarnated Buddha, impervious to all physical attacks. His hardened fists slammed down again and again, and it did not take too much effort for him to beat the ape down into the ground.

Looking at the creature now, the ape was a little pathetic. He was bleeding from his mouth, nose and ears, trembling uncontrollably as he lay there. He was most likely concussed after being on the receiving end of such a violent beating from Traveling Buddha.

*Bam!*

Traveling Buddha sent a kick his way, striking the ape right in his belly. This kick sent the creature flying, all the way until it crashed into the cliff wall. The rock wall exploded layer by layer before the ape slumped down on the ground. His furry paws were clutching his head, no longer daring to look at the two ferocious humans, clearly terrified to the extreme.

Xia Fan then heard Bright Pearl’s voice in his ear, “This creature is both sapient and possessed of demonic attributes. That’s definitely not a good sign!”

Xia Fan did not understand, so he asked Pearl to explain, “We of the Dragon race have reached sapiency. Because we have consciousness, we are able to be intelligent like humans, capable of thought just like you, and even transform into a human form.

“We Dragons are a species that stands at the apex of the food chain, already possessing sapiency, but look. Even a lowly creature like a monkey can gain their sapiency! This shows that there must be some sort of subversion happening that’s causing living creatures to suddenly mutate!

“Furthermore, this damned ape is not only sapient, but it even possesses demonic attributes, making it an existence similar to the Demonic Ants!”

Xia Fan nodded slightly, understanding what that meant. This monkey had developed sapiency like Dragons, which left Pearl feeling threatened.

“Force him to divulge everything he knows,” Xia Fan told Traveling Buddha.

“You got it!” Traveling Buddha answered as he picked the monkey up. He stared at the creature sinisterly, making the monkey tremble unceasingly.

…

In no time at all, the monkey began to spill everything. It turned out that this valley was occupied by a group of mutated monkeys. From the treetops down to the ground, they had learned how to build with their own hands, mastered fire, and subsequently discovered how to cook with it. But none of this was what made them frightening. What made them absolutely terrifying was the immense combat strength they possessed!

“The Four Great Clans once laid siege on us, but they did not succeed, and were beaten back. From that point on, Planet 4 has been under our rule, and humans rarely come here!” the monkey declared.

Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stunned. They knew just how powerful the Four Great Clans were, yet they were actually beaten back by a bunch of monkeys? Were these b*st*rds that heaven-defying!?

The monkey explained quickly, “It was not just us! There are also plenty of other animals who developed sapiency, and there were plenty among them who were very powerful. Furthermore, the Four Great Clans needed our strength to suppress the more severe planet fissions, which was how we reached an agreement.”

Xia Fan slowly understood the situation. Due to the increase in animal sapiency, it created an extremely unique phenomena in God Metropolis space. These biological creatures evolved here and had then cooperated with the Four Great Clans!

It was like the giant pangolin that they had met before, except the pangolin was just a physical mutation and had yet to reach sapiency. The moment a creature reached that point, they would become like humans, able to become a bipedal living thing, and freely change between their humanoid form and their beast form.

Xia Fan allowed the monkey to transform for them to see.

They heard a loud rumble and a rainbow glow shot forth from his body. Sure enough, it was very similar to the Dragons. Their physical size could vary, but possessed terrifying strength. The only aspect that the Dragons were more developed than the beasts in was their ability to assume a more human form. After Pearl transformed, she would look like a well-mannered little girl, and was far more advanced than the giant ape.

No matter the case, sapiency was no longer unique to just Dragons. This was quite daunting to Xia Fan. If countless existences that were comparable to a Dragon’s combat strength were to appear in this universe, who knew how frightening the situation would become!

“Though we’ve not yet reached that stage, other species have already learned how to pilot spaceships, and I heard it isn’t difficult at all!” that big ape boasted.

Xia Fan was shocked. There were already beasts who had learned how to pilot warships? Then would the next step be the emergence of plenty of beast scientists, researching weapons capable of destroying planets?

“Oh heavens…” Traveling Buddha sighed. Even he could tell that the age of humanity might be at its end. How terrible would it be if beasts could understand science, and form fleets of their own! This universe might very well descend into chaos!

Pearl whispered into Xia Fan’s ear, “Right now, what I’m worried about most are the Skywings, as well as my fellow Dragons.”

Xia Fan froze, while Pearl said gravely after a pause, “Right now, they are fighting out in the Great Chiliocosm, and their foe is mainly the Demonic Ants. Now it looks like the Demonic Ants aren’t the only ones out there, and that there are other species out there that are swiftly gaining sapiency and demonizing.

“According to the history of the Four Great Clans, this space is very close to the Cosmic Gate, and was formed from the power that drifted out from the Cosmic Gate. That is to say that what’s happening here in Ashen Moon isn’t the exception. I’m afraid your clan and my fellow dragons are in a grueling battle with countless sapient enemies in the Great Chiliocosm!”

Xia Fan’s expression turned severe as he questioned the big ape, “Speak. How many others of you are there, and where are they all?”

Xia Fan’s eyes were chilling and filled with killing intent. They scared the ape so much that he was trembling hard, not daring to lie.

“Follow along this valley and you’ll reach a mysterious garden. There is a Sapience Plant growing there. Everyone is currently vying to own the crystal that it will form!”

Xia Fan nodded and with that, casually made eye contact with Traveling Buddha.

*Boom*

Traveling Buddha struck abruptly, his hardened fist containing the Holy Buddha’s might, which exploded in glaring gold light as it shot up into the sky. A pillar of holy light instantly penetrated through the big ape’s skull, and his head exploded as fresh blood splattered everywhere.

The big ape collapsed to the ground with a loud slamming thud that echoed across the valley, shaking the place with a powerful tremor.

Xia Fan grit his teeth. “Just now that big ape mentioned a Sapient Plant. That should be the natural crystal that Hidden Wind mentioned. Let’s go and take a look!”

“Got it!” Traveling Buddha answered.