Chapter 13: Hundred Fruit Wine

"Crap!" Ling Yue cursed as she tumbled downward. She hadn't expected the ancient tree trunk to be hollow inside.

Panicked, she instinctively curled up, cradling her head with both hands as she rolled down into the darkness.

Thankfully, having already reached the third level of the Constitution Domain, her body was as tough as copper. The fall didn't seriously injure her. She kept rolling until she finally landed on soft ground and relaxed her arms.

The bottom of the tree hollow was relatively flat, and the air held a strong pine scent. The only problem was the low visibility—dim and gloomy, making it hard to see her surroundings.

Fortunately, she still had her flint lighter.

(Though not truly a "flint," it was a bamboo tube lighter—once ignited, it kept smoldering under a small cap. A few puffs of air could reignite the flame into a small torch.)

Using the mini torch to illuminate the space, Ling Yue discovered that she had landed in what looked like a makeshift storage room. Animal bones, decayed fruit, and scattered debris covered the ground.

"…Wait a second." Her brows furrowed. "Did I just hide myself in the metal-armed ape's den?"

Shining the torch around cautiously, her eyes fell on several jars placed in the left-hand corner, each covered with large banana leaves.

Curious, she opened one.

A thick, sweet aroma instantly burst out, flooding the entire cave. Even though she wasn't used to alcohol, Ling Yue couldn't help but gulp. Just a few breaths of the scent, and she could already feel the Yuan energy in her dantian surging back.

"This wine… it's something special!"

Eyes gleaming, she didn't hesitate. Dipping her face directly into the jar, she gulped down mouthful after mouthful.

The wine was smooth, fragrant, and shockingly tasty. Before she realized it, she had drunk more than half the jar.

Soon, her vision grew fuzzy, her limbs turned heavy, and she staggered forward a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground—completely knocked out.

While unconscious, her body began to expel dark, foul-smelling impurities.

What Ling Yue didn't know was that the wine she had just consumed was the legendary Hundred Fruit Wine—a special brew made by the metal-armed ape from herbs and fruits it collected across the mountains.

This wine could strengthen the drinker's physique and renew their bones. It was the secret behind the ape's terrifying strength.

For martial artists below the Celestial Realm, the Hundred Fruit Wine was an incredibly rare tonic, as precious as ginseng or other spiritual herbs. But Ling Yue had just chugged it down like some wild pig.

The result? A three-day, three-night sleep.

When she finally opened her eyes, she immediately sat up, startled.

The first thing she noticed was the foul stench.

She was covered in a thick, muddy film of expelled impurities. Even she could hardly bear the smell.

But something had changed.

Her body felt lighter. Her arms and legs more agile. She could sense the Yuan energy in her dantian pulsing with new strength.

"No way… Did I directly reach the fifth level of body training?"

Circulating the newfound Yuan energy through her body, she felt a powerful, uncontrollable flood of strength coursing through her veins.

Thrilled, she wanted to test it immediately.

She clenched her fist and struck out with a Lightning Burst Fist.

Boom!

Five brilliant blue bolts of lightning exploded from her hand, punching straight through the ancient tree trunk and burning a gaping hole in it.

"Five streaks of lightning?" She stood frozen, shocked.

The Lightning Burst Fist, a ninth-grade technique—the lowest tier—usually required five to six years of dedicated training before a martial artist in the Ye family could produce five bolts.

She had done it in under a month.

"Haha! Metal-armed ape, I seriously owe you one this time!" Ling Yue laughed aloud in pure delight.

Her eyes turned back toward the remaining five or six jars of wine in the cave.

With her Grand Mist Sky dimensional space, she didn't need to worry about weight or space. She happily stored the remaining jars inside.

Just as she was preparing to leave, an enraged roar shook the area.

The metal-armed ape had returned.

The explosive sound from her earlier strike had led it straight back to its den.

Now it stood there—eyes bulging with fury—staring at the destroyed cave, the stolen wine, and its murdered peace.

With a bellow of rage, the ape charged toward Ling Yue, determined to smash her into pieces.

"Huh… only three days and it's already so much slower?" Ling Yue blinked in surprise.

She didn't realize it yet, but her body had undergone a transformation. After drinking the Hundred Fruit Wine and having her bones refined, her speed and strength had improved dramatically.

Planting her feet firmly, she dashed forward—not to run, but to kill.

Finding a blind spot, she charged the enemy head-on.

With all her might, she unleashed a Lightning Burst Fist directly at the ape's skull.

CRACK!

The blow shattered the ape's head like a watermelon. Not even a sound escaped its mouth. The two-hundred-jin body collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless. Blood and brains spilled across the floor.

Ling Yue stared at the corpse, stunned.

She had killed the fearsome metal-armed ape with just one blow.

Only after several moments did she finally exhale and release her clenched fist.

"…The fur of this guy should be worth something," she muttered. "But the meat's probably too tough."

Then another thought struck her.

She had been in this cave for three days.

The baby fox—still in the Grand Mist Sky—must be starving by now!