Chapter 473: Releasing the Three Ape-men

“What’s in that forest, and why didn’t you pass through it?” Li Ziyu continued his questioning.

“There are too many Void Creatures in the forest. We’ve sent out several teams, but few made it back alive. We couldn’t even cross it.” Gangben Black Ridge shared this information with Li Ziyu. Since he’d already talked about the Void Crystals, this little bit more wouldn’t hurt.

“What do the Void Crystals look like?” Li Ziyu stopped dwelling on the forest and changed the subject.

This time, Gangben Black Ridge didn’t speak. Instead, he used his thick index finger to draw on the ground, sketching a crooked prism, just like a natural crystal. He then pointed at the drawing.

‘So they really are crystals.’

Li Ziyu had thought ‘Void Crystal’ was just a name, not that they were actually shaped like crystals.

‘All right, I get it now. I’ll just have to find them myself.’

“All right, you can leave. I’ll have the Undead escort you out. If we have the chance, we’ll meet again.” Li Ziyu had promised to let them go and wouldn’t break his word. He wouldn’t stoop to deceiving a few Apes.

Gangben Black Ridge couldn’t believe his ears. ‘This easily?’

He had expected some trouble, that the King of Skulls would at least give them a hard time. He never imagined the other party would just ask two questions and then let them go.

‘This guy is… an idiot!’

However, when a Black Knight came before them and gestured for them to leave, Gangben Black Ridge turned to his two companions and gave them a meaningful look. The three Apes immediately became wary.

‘The King of Skulls said he’d let us go, but can we really walk out of here? Is he planning to kill us on the way?’

The three of them, filled with suspicion, followed the Black Knight out of the Great Tomb. Just as when they arrived, Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Undead were standing outside. They surrounded the three Apes, silently flanking them as they moved forward.

When the Undead dispersed, the three Apes discovered they were back on the grasslands. They turned to see the massive Undead Fortress behind them, expressions of disbelief on their faces.

‘He actually kept his word and just sent us out like that, showing no intention of making a move. Is there really such an idiot in the world?’

The three Apes looked at each other. They felt they had obtained a very important piece of intelligence: this King of Skulls could be exploited!

A man of honor is easy to fool!

…

‘What lies beyond the forest?’

After the three Apes left, Li Ziyu pondered this question.

The origin of the Void Crystals was related to the forest. But according to Gangben Black Ridge, the forest was filled with too many Void Creatures to pass through, which naturally meant it was impossible to investigate the true source of the Void Crystals.

‘The Apes don’t know, but what about Guli Geli? Does she know?’

‘I’ll ask her!’

With a thought from Li Ziyu, a figure materialized in the room. Who else could it be but Guli Geli?

Guli Geli had been wandering around the Great Tomb when her vision suddenly blurred. When it cleared, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. Her pupils contracted, but then she saw Li Ziyu and relaxed.

“Master?” Guli Geli called out in confusion.

“I have a few things to ask you, so I summoned you here directly,” Li Ziyu said with a gentle smile.

Guli Geli was startled. Although she didn’t know how it happened, the fact that Li Ziyu could casually bring her before him was a shock to the Leopard Woman.

“Please ask, Master. I will tell you anything I know,” Guli Geli said decisively after composing herself.

“How much do you know about the forest?” Li Ziyu asked, getting straight to the point.

“The forest is too dangerous, and there are few Tribes there, so I rarely went in. It has many Void Creatures, far more than on the grasslands,” Guli Geli said simply after a moment of thought.

She had been to many places, but her main sphere of activity was still the grasslands. The grasslands were the place she knew best.

At the mention of Void Creatures, Li Ziyu grew curious again and asked, “Do all Void Creatures look the same?”

Guli Geli shook her head in surprise. “Of course not. Void Creatures come in all shapes and sizes, but most look like insects. There are also some that look like Humans. The Human-like Void Creatures are very intelligent and seem to be able to command the insect-like ones.”

Li Ziyu nodded at her words. He had been in the Void Land for too short a time and had only seen one type of Void Creature: the Paddle-shaped Void Beetle. He hadn’t seen any others.

The Paddle-shaped Void Beetles had provided him with the material needed to make a Soul Energy Collector—the Energy Conversion Organ. He wondered what kind of Void Creature might yield the other material, the Energy Condensing Organ.

“Master, are you thinking of entering the forest?” Guli Geli couldn’t help but ask when Li Ziyu fell silent.

“Yes, I have that in mind. Or rather, I plan to cross the forest.” Since they had already signed the Soul Contract, Li Ziyu didn’t intend to hide it from her and just said it outright.

“Cross the forest?!” Guli Geli’s eyes widened as she exclaimed in astonishment, “I’ve never heard of anyone crossing the forest! It’s too dangerous. Forget crossing it, I’ve never even heard of anyone reaching the depths of the forest.”

She had lived in the Void Land her whole life. Traveling far and wide, the news she gathered wasn’t always precise, but she was well-informed and naturally knew a great deal.