How can I have a heart of a demonic god in my body?!

Chen Yu and Lu Ling turned to look at the three people who had suddenly appeared.

Among them, a burly middle-aged man with slightly dark skin had the strongest aura, having reached the Peak of Early-stage Sky Sea Realm.

Close to him was a well-proportioned woman dressed in black, who was at the Early-stage Sky Sea Realm.

About six or seven steps away from them was a slightly chubby man with a pot belly, with a restrained aura, his face calm and composed.

"I didn't expect others to have ventured deep into the mountain's hinterland."

The dark-skinned middle-aged man, dressed in a loose robe, glanced at Chen Yu and Lu Ling.

Seeing that both Chen Yu and Lu Ling appeared to be injured, with Chen Yu only a Half-step Sky Sea and Lu Ling an old monk, he didn't take them very seriously.

The woman in black clung close to the chest of the dark-skinned middle-aged man, her eyes carrying a faint smile.

In this deep part of the mountain, the temperature was extremely high. Chen Yu and Lu Ling shared a blood soul connection, both sustaining double the damage. Even though Chen Yu had the Secret Pattern Demon Body, he still felt burning pain all over his body.

Meanwhile, that dark-skinned middle-aged man and the woman in black each had a True Essence Shield around them, resisting the high-temperature flames around.

However, the Early-stage Sky Sea man with a pot belly appeared relaxed, his calm eyes continuously scanning the surroundings.

"Could there be some secret hidden in these hot mountains?" Chen Yu asked, pretending to be ignorant.

In reality, he sensed a strong aura of a fire-type Holy Beast directly ahead. The closer they got, the stronger it felt, as if there was a fire-type Holy Beast right behind that metallic door.

"Who knows," the dark-skinned middle-aged man said dismissively.

There was a very strong and apparent fire-type Holy Beast aura here. Either a Holy Beast lived here, or it once stayed in this place.

Lu Ling stepped forward to the sealed entrance and reached out to touch the red, murky rockwall.

He activated his golden body to touch it, only to have his palm scorched black, instantly retracting it.

"The scent of a fire-type Holy Beast!" Lu Ling murmured inwardly, maintaining a poker-face.

According to his guess, this place didn't seem like the residence of a fire-type Holy Beast—if it had already left, it wouldn't have left such a strong scent behind.

Also, he sensed the smell of blood...

If there really was a Holy Beast here, it must be extremely powerful.

Suddenly, the calm and composed chubby man spoke, "Back Mountain Fire Ape?"

Everyone present paused, turning to look at him.

Under normal circumstances, if the chubby man suddenly mentioned these words, they would have thought it was nonsensical.

But given the current situation, a wave of shock surged through everyone else's hearts.

Was the chubby man suggesting that the aura of the fire-type Holy Beast came from a Back Mountain Fire Ape?

"Impossible!" Lu Ling inwardly exclaimed.

As part of the Blood Race, even he couldn't determine exactly, so how could this chubby man know? He must be guessing wildly.

"Back Mountain Fire Ape?" Chen Yu murmured softly.

The Back Mountain Fire Ape was a powerful combatant among the Holy Beasts.

Legend had it that this ape was immensely huge, possessing great strength, carrying a giant mountain on its back—not just any mountain, but one formed by the ape using a special method.

Once provoked, the Back Mountain Fire Ape would lift the mountain and smash it down with terrifying destructive power.

If indeed a Back Mountain Fire Ape was slumbering within this great mountain and they accidentally woke it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, the entrance ahead was sealed by a metallic door.

Back Mountain Fire Apes wouldn't do such a thing. This only indicated that someone had entered before them and then sealed the entrance.

"Black Lian, go check that door," the dark-skinned middle-aged man instructed.

The woman in black, who had been clinging to him, slowly moved towards the unbearably hot rock wall and approached the metallic door.

Her jade fingers traced over the patterns on the metal door, seeming to understand some mechanism art.

"Folks, if Black Lian can unlock the mechanism door, we'll take sixty percent of whatever's inside. You can share the remaining forty percent," the dark-skinned middle-aged man, puffing out his chest, negotiated.

Chen Yu and Lu Ling exchanged glances, unwilling to communicate, being enemies.

At least Chen Yu figured out that the chubby man and this couple were not on the same team.

The dark-skinned middle-aged man's eyebrows slightly furrowed; he had made a suggestion, yet none of the other three responded.

He glanced at the chubby man, then withdrew his gaze, seeming slightly wary.

Then, his eyes turned to the old monk Lu Ling, realizing the latter's cultivation was on par with his own.

Subsequently, his gaze shifted to Chen Yu and he harrumphed lightly.

"Don't you agree with my distribution proposal?" the dark-skinned middle-aged man walked over slowly and asked coldly.

He had also noticed that Chen Yu and Lu Ling didn't seem to be allied.

"Each relying on their own abilities," Chen Yu stated.

He, Lu Ling, and the chubby man were each from separate factions.

If the three of them teamed up, they definitely wouldn't fear the dark-skinned middle-aged man.

Lu Ling, being a cunning member of the Blood Race, naturally wouldn't stick to the deal and didn't give an answer. Chen Yu was unsure about the chubby man's situation.

But clearly, the dark-skinned middle-aged man was here to bully Chen Yu.

"Hmph, every man for himself, do you have the skill?"

The dark-skinned middle-aged man didn't expect Chen Yu to be alone and still so arrogant. His expression turned unpleasant as the pressure of the Peak of Early-stage Sky Sea Realm descended upon them.

However, Chen Yu stood his ground, his body radiating a dark gleam; an authoritative and strong demonic aura dispersed in all directions.

The opponent's prowess was not only slightly inferior to He Yunwang's, but also far behind Lu Ling's; thus, to Chen Yu, this was merely a minor disturbance.

A flicker of surprise briefly crossed the dark-skinned middle-aged man's eyes as he looked at Chen Yu.

"Brother Chang, it can't be solved."

Just then, the voice of the woman in black robes arrived.

Immediately, the dark-skinned middle-aged man's momentum deflated.

His suggestion had been predicated on the woman in black robes breaking through the metal door. Now that she was powerless, he no longer had a reason to press Chen Yu.

"Since it can't be resolved, we'll have to attack it by force."

The dark-skinned middle-aged man's gaze shifted from Chen Yu to the metal door.

Lu Ling maintained a faint smile, shaking his head slightly.

He did not approve of a forceful approach either, unsure of what might occur; nonetheless, no one present could decipher the metal door, leaving them no alternative.

Suddenly, the voice of a corpulent man sounded, "Let me have a look."

The dark-skinned middle-aged man and the woman in black robes turned in surprise, their expressions seeming to question, "You know mechanics?"

Following that, the corpulent man stepped forward, his pale, broad palms groping over the surface, appearing to fumble around aimlessly.

"Can you actually handle it? Don't waste time."

The dark-skinned middle-aged man seized the opportunity to shout.

Clearly, he wasn't on the same side as the corpulent man, and they even had a slight rift.

But at that moment, the entire metal door flickered with a faint light and soon emitted a strange sound. The metal door rapidly transformed and shrank into a small square iron block, falling to the ground.

This scene made the dark-skinned middle-aged man's face darken further, while the woman in black robes stared with her mouth slightly agape. She somewhat understood mechanics but couldn't grasp how the corpulent man had managed to solve this difficult problem.

The moment the metal door vanished:

Boom!

It was as if a roar from ancient times echoed from within, mixed with an intense, ferocious aura that burst forth, intimidating everyone present.

In that instant, Chen Yu even doubted whether there truly was a powerful fire-related Holy Beast inside.

The corpulent man stepped inside, followed quickly by the others, fearful that he might claim all the treasures.

Passing through the cave, the temperature inside was even higher, as if they were in a world of blazing light, with dazzling red firelight sparkling all around.

Upon reaching this point, everyone's gaze simultaneously turned forward.

There lay a massive mountain of dark red hue, the aura of a fire-related Holy Beast emanating from this somber giant mountain.

From the shape of the mountain, it was identifiable as a giant half-kneeling ape!

"Back Mountain Fire Ape!"

Lu Ling, Chen Yu, the dark-skinned middle-aged man, and others gasped in shock.

They hadn't expected it was really a Back Mountain Fire Ape!

"The fall site of the Back Mountain Fire Ape?"

Tremors ran through Lu Ling's mind.

This Back Mountain Fire Ape had fallen who knows how many years ago, its body becoming part of the mountain, standing here, emitting a powerful and ancient aura of a fire-related Holy Beast.

It was hard to imagine how strong the Back Mountain Fire Ape had been when alive as even after death, its presence was so formidable, making the underground intensely hot, forcing even regular Early-stage Sky Sea practitioners to uphold their True Essence Shield.

Observing closely, people almost envisioned the ape smashing the earth with its mountainous back, sending trembles through their spirits.

However, they were here not to worship the dead Back Mountain Fire Ape, but to hunt for treasures.

Yet, looking around, no treasures were in sight.

"Look, there's another metal door over there."

The woman in black robes pointed.

The Back Mountain Fire Ape had transformed into a giant red mountain, and at the foot of the mountain, a small hole was blocked by another metal door.

"It seems someone got here before us."

The dark-skinned middle-aged man's voice was low, his annoyance apparent.

Having come all this way, but someone had already scavenged the treasures, how could he not be furious?

Now, all eyes turned to the corpulent man, hoping he could unlock that mechanism.

The person who had arrived first must still be inside the mountain transformed by the Back Mountain Fire Ape!

The corpulent man, keenly aware, walked over and randomly groped with his hands.

Thump—

The metal door transformed into an iron block and fell to the ground; the corpulent man walked inside.

Chen Yu and others quickly followed, darting inside.

Within the giant peak formed by the Back Mountain Fire Ape, the atmosphere was dark and desolate, the dramatic change in environment feeling bizarre.

It was then that several sounds of breaking the air came from the gloomy place.

Dozens of oddly shaped puppet machines rapidly approached.

There were plain square puppets, numerous-legged spider puppets gleaming with cold light, and extremely ugly puppets that resembled dirty discarded dolls...

The quantity of puppets was enormous, reaching eight, and with their strange designs, they created an absurdly bizarre impression.

"You actually managed to decipher the trap set by 'Brother Dong' to get here! But this is where your journey ends."

A calm and steady voice sounded.

Looking up, on the shoulder of a tall but somewhat shabby mechanical puppet sat a clown that appeared somewhat sinister and eerie.

"Brother Dong?"

Chen Yu found the name eerily familiar.