Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 167: The Ape King’s Ascension and the Musk Dog’s Trail

Golden River City. North City Courtyard.

Inside the pavilion.

Clack.

Clack.

Lin Xiwen held a black Go stone between his fingers, staring at the board where he was locked in a game with Li Qu. Suddenly, he slammed the stone down onto the grid with a violence that shook the table.

A flash of barely suppressed rage distorted his refined features.

He stood abruptly, his gaze piercing toward the distant horizon.

“Damn those Demonic Path cultivators!”

“And damn that Sword Cultivator!”

It was no wonder he had lost his composure. Just moments ago, he sensed the connection to another Yin Food Worm larva snap into silence.

There was little doubt it was the work of the demonic cultivators who had been running rampant lately. But at the root of it all, the blame lay with that sword cultivator surnamed Zhao who had suddenly migrated from the Song Kingdom.

Not long ago, news had spread from Canglan City in the northwest of Yan Kingdom: a cultivator named Zhao, undefeated among the Foundation Establishment realm in Song, had settled in the area.

This news immediately drew the gaze of numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Among them, the demonic practitioners were the most interested. Rumors claimed that this ‘Zhao’ had slaughtered many powerful experts back in Song and possessed an exorbitantly wealthy fortune. To the demonic path, he wasn’t just a threat; he was a walking treasury—a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Consequently, the northwest region of Yan, and even their current location, had seen a surge in demonic activity.

These practitioners knew no taboos. They were unscrupulous, especially toward low-level cultivators. They would refine living bodies into zombies or extract souls to fuse into Magical Artifacts. Their philosophy was simple: wring every drop of value from their victims until nothing remained.

This scorched-earth policy had been disastrous for Lin Xiwen. The Yin Food Worm larvae he had been secretly nurturing inside the bodies of local rogue cultivators were being wiped out as collateral damage. In just over ten days, he had lost more than 30 hosts.

Only a few lucky larvae had managed to escape and return to him the moment their hosts died.

Counting the dozen or so snatched by the Heavenly Gate Sect cultivators some time ago, and previous losses, the number of functional larvae had plummeted to less than 40.

This shortage was catastrophically impacting his cultivation speed.

Yet, he was powerless. The demonic cultivators were elusive, striking and vanishing like smoke. Even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn’t catch them. He could only stand there, seething, feeling the phantom pain transmitted from the mother worm.

Opposite him, Li Qu appeared unfazed, as if accustomed to these outbursts.

In reality, however, Li Qu’s eyes flickered with calculation.

The only reason he remained here was to uncover how Lin Xiwen had achieved such rapid, successive breakthroughs. It was practically unheard of for a cultivator to split their focus on alchemy yet still elevate their cultivation base so quickly. Such efficiency wasn’t impossible, but it was virtually unseen among Rogue Cultivators.

Lin Xiwen definitely held a massive secret.

Unfortunately, Li Qu had gleaned little over the past weeks. But seeing Lin Xiwen’s current agitation, the pieces began to click into place.

A few days ago, he lost his composure like this… and immediately after, news arrived of low-level cultivators being slaughtered.

Lin Xiwen is a cold, indifferent man. He wouldn’t mourn strangers. Wait—Zhu Jianyi. He reacted the same way when Zhu Jianyi died.

Could it be… the secret to his rapid progress is hidden inside these people?

Li Qu’s thoughts drifted to the Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator who had killed and robbed Zhu Jianyi. A bold, dangerous hypothesis began to form in his mind.

If my guess is right, that Heavenly Gate cultivator might now possess the very secret Lin Xiwen uses to cultivate!

My Lifespan is waning. If I cannot break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage within ten years, my path ends here.

That Heavenly Gate kid is only in the early Foundation Establishment stage. His aura is unstable; he broke through recently. He is the perfect target.

It’s worth the gamble.

The more he analyzed it, the more convinced he became. This was a Fated Chance.

The only problem was that the target had entered the Sword Billow Garrison days ago and hadn’t moved since. Li Qu had no opening to strike.

Seeing Lin Xiwen still simmering in his bad mood, Li Qu seized the opportunity to bid farewell.

Back in his own cultivation chamber, he lightly tapped his Spirit Beast Bag. A Musk Dog, slightly smaller than average, leaped out.

“Easy, easy.”

Li Qu stroked the dog’s head and tossed it a chunk of spirit beast meat. Then, he carefully retrieved a pinch of fine black powder from his Storage Bag.

It was Musk Horn Incense. He had secretly scraped it from the horn of the Musk Dog he had gifted to Lin Xiwen earlier.

The Musk Dog was a miraculous creature. It could not only track the scent of its own incense but also resonate with the incense of other dogs of its kind. It was a secret few knew, a trick Li Qu had stumbled upon by pure chance.

It was exactly why he had been so generous in gifting a rare spirit beast to Lin Xiwen.

You cannot catch a secret without sacrificing a dog.

The Musk Dog finished its meat and sniffed the black powder. Immediately, it let out a series of sharp barks.

Li Qu nodded, his eyes narrowing.

“Understood. It seems that kid is still holed up. Stay here and keep watch. The moment you catch his scent moving, notify me immediately!”

Sword Billow Garrison, Outskirts. The Newly Enclosed Territory.

Wang Ba was deep in the process of preparing materials.

The materials required for a Mountain Moving Ape to achieve a Bloodline Breakthrough—advancing from Second-Rank Low Grade to Middle Grade—were not easily sourced.

The auxiliary agents could be scavenged from the Exquisite Ghost Market with enough patience, but the primary catalysts—the Third-Rank Immortal Jade Monkey Peach, the Third-Rank Formless Immortal, and the Second-Rank Jade Nurtured Begonia—were treasures that even Golden Core True Persons would struggle to locate.

Wang Ba had only obtained them by leveraging his success with the Spirit Poultry. He had made the request to Bai Yu while his value was at its peak, securing the resources from the Heavenly Gate Sect’s vault.

Now that Cheng Shu was on the verge of breeding Second-Rank Top Grade Spirit Poultry, Wang Ba’s strategic value was depreciating. He knew he would likely never get his hands on such high-tier resources again.

Failure was not an option.

Lacking the funds for premium stabilizers, Wang Ba synthesized a batch of Spirit Poultry essence himself. The purity was suboptimal, but it was sufficient for the ape’s physiology.

He began the regimen: systematic feeding of essence paired with the slow infusion of Lifespan. This ensured the ape’s biological age synced with its accelerating physical strength.

Simultaneously, he formulated a bloodline-activation paste, which had to be applied topically to the ape’s entire body daily. Fortunately, the Mountain Moving Ape possessed decent intelligence; after Wang Ba demonstrated the application once, the ape learned to smear the paste on itself.

Then came the critical phase. Wang Ba took the primary reagents—the Immortal Jade Monkey Peach and the Formless Immortal—and processed them into a concentrated serum, feeding it to the ape in large, regulated doses.

This was supplemented by medicinal baths steeped in the essence of the Jade Nurtured Begonia.

Days turned into weeks.

Half a month passed.

The Mountain Moving Ape King showed no external changes.

Just as disappointment began to set in, and Wang Ba worried the experiment had failed, the reaction triggered.

The ape, which had developed a peculiar habit of meditating, finally underwent a shift in aura.

It became sharp. Tyrannical.

As the energy signature spiked, the creature’s biology inverted. Instead of growing larger, its mass compressed.

Originally standing as high as Wang Ba’s shoulder, it shrank until it barely reached his waist. The bulging muscles withered away, leaving behind a lean, compact frame that looked less like a brutish ape and more like a refined monkey.

Its fur transitioned from dull brown to a vibrant crimson.

The only constant was its demeanor. It remained perpetually calm. Whenever it wasn’t undergoing treatment, it would find a high perch, cross its legs, and close its eyes in meditation.

Its focus was so absolute that even Wang Ba found it unnerving.

Finally, after another ten days, the fluctuation stabilized.

Wang Ba scanned the creature with a Spirit Light Talisman. The reading was clear: the ape had successfully advanced to the Second-Rank Middle Grade.

Bloodline Breakthrough had only one downside—the cost. In every other metric, it was superior to Lifespan Breakthrough, specifically at higher tiers where the effects of mere aging diminished.

Meanwhile, the other six Mountain Moving Apes, having received their own infusions of Lifespan, successfully stepped into the Second-Rank Low Grade.

Wang Ba didn’t stop there. He continued to catalyze their growth with Spirit Poultry essence and body-strengthening agents, ensuring their physiques were at absolute Perfection before the inevitable Minor Heavenly Tribulation arrived.

Since one was going to undergo Tribulation Transcendence, he might as well have them all do it together. The plan was to let the six subordinates face the lightning first, allowing the newly evolved Ape King to observe and accumulate experience.

To distinguish his test subjects, Wang Ba formally named the leader the ‘Wu Ape King’.

The others were designated Wu-One through Wu-Six. The first two were male; the latter four, female.

The Wu Ape King seemed genuinely pleased with the designation. For the first time in weeks, it broke its meditation to circle Wang Ba playfully.

Their synergy had deepened significantly during the treatment process. Even without a Spirit Beast Ring, the Wu Ape King was docile in Wang Ba’s presence. They had developed a rapport through training games, a tacit understanding that bordered on telepathic.

Of course, this wasn’t just the power of friendship. Wang Ba was a master of beast taming; he utilized subtle psychological anchors alongside genuine care.

The other six apes were also submissive, heads bowed and movements gentle. But Wang Ba knew this was a facade. The Wu Ape King had been raised by him from infancy; their bond was built on years of imprinting. The others merely feared him and the constraint of the Spirit Beast Rings.

If those rings were removed, their feral nature would surface instantly. They might even try to tear him apart.

But Wang Ba wasn’t concerned. Between his Second-Rank Middle Grade robe and the Substitute Death ability bound to his Green Water Male Spirit Turtle, his defense rivaled a Second-Rank High Grade artifact. He wouldn’t capsize in a gutter facing a few monkeys.

Soon, the aura of the final ape stabilized.

Wang Ba wasted no time. He packed his equipment, gathered the apes, and swiftly departed the Sword Billow Garrison, disappearing into the endless forests, navigating the danger zones, the low jungles, and the grasslands.

Golden River City. An Unused Cultivation Chamber.

Woof.

A low, guttural bark echoed in the silence.

Moments later, a figure hurried in from the outside. Hearing the dog’s alert, Li Qu’s face lit up with a predatory delight.

“He’s finally come out!”

Updated and realized I forgot to write the title… I have a social engagement tonight, so the update might be later.