The Eastern Wilderness — lush vegetation, towering mountain ranges. A monkey that appeared to be cast entirely from gold moved through the land, gazing upon the mountains and rivers, reminiscing, a sense of deep feeling rising within him.
He was not especially tall in stature, yet he carried an innate dignity — like a god of war. His aura was powerful and imposing. Amid his golden fur, there were traces of blood not yet dried, clearly a sign that he had just emerged from a great battle.
As he walked through the wilderness and marshlands, many ferocious beasts and savage birds fled in panicked confusion before him — as though a supreme sovereign were making his rounds, making all living creatures tremble with dread.
This was the Holy Prince. He had returned as well, and made no effort to conceal his whereabouts. The moment he set foot in the Eastern Wilderness, many people had already taken notice, causing no small stir.
“Holy Prince!”
From the sky above, someone cried out his name. Mist rolled and billowed, and radiant light surged as a group of people came riding the clouds toward him, calling out his name.
The monkey’s fiery golden eyes gleamed. Though his golden fur bore traces of blood, it did nothing to diminish the grandeur of his bearing. He looked up and immediately burst into a great laugh, shooting up into the sky.
It was Ye Fan, Ji Zi, Li Heishui, Dongfang Ye, Ji Ziyue, and others — all arriving together to welcome him.
Ye Fan’s brows furrowed slightly. On the mountains and rivers below, there were footprints left one after another, with traces of blood. The monkey was injured — he was drawing upon the dragon energy of the great earth to heal his original source!
No one had expected the Holy Prince to have been injured, and not lightly at that. It was genuinely alarming.
“Brother Monkey, what happened? How did you get injured?” Li Heishui asked.
“Martial Uncle, who hurt you? Tell this Buddha, and I’ll go collect all of them and vent your anger for you!” Hua Hua called out dramatically, pressing forward eagerly.
Smack!
Without ceremony, the monkey landed a light slap on the bald head, telling him to go cool down somewhere else.
“Monkey, what great trouble did you run into? Without something like that, you would absolutely never have taken a loss like this,” Dongfang Ye said with a big laugh, flashing a mouthful of brilliant white teeth. He was as rough and bold as ever — bare-chested above the waist, his upper body bronzed and muscular.
“I did indeed run into a tough one — but it’s nothing serious. Sooner or later, I’ll settle the score with him!” the monkey said fiercely.
“Brother Monkey, don’t force yourself. We’re not outsiders here. Just tell us, and we’ll go take care of it together!” Li Heishui said.
Ji Ziyue smiled softly, flowing light dancing in her large eyes. “I’d wager,” she said, “that Brother Monkey was badly bullied by someone, and wants to get even on his own, but couldn’t manage it in the short term — so he came back in frustration.”
Everyone laughed.
“Whatever’s happened, we move together,” Ji Zi said. Brief as always.
Ye Fan asked as well. He and the monkey were no strangers — anything could be said between them. If the monkey had truly run into grave trouble, no matter what, they would help him fight through it.
The monkey’s expression turned sorrowful. The golden fur all over his body stirred without wind. His eyes filled with killing intent. “I made some friends out in the star void,” he said. “Every one of them was killed.”
Everyone’s expressions changed. This must have been a powerful enemy. For the monkey to show such grief, the fury in his heart must have reached its absolute limit.
“They died miserably. Their flesh was cut to pieces by a thousand blades. Their primordial spirits were refined alive in Extreme Yin Fire for a hundred days — slowly tormented to death,” the monkey said, his rage beyond measure.
“What kind of person could do this? You carry an imperial weapon — and even you couldn’t deal with them?” Dongfang Ye asked.
“He is not a Quasi-Emperor, yet he has almost attained Quasi-Emperor combat power. He was impossible to guard against. At the time, I and a few friends had set out separately, and before I knew it, they had each been done away with, one after another.” The monkey clenched both fists. The golden fur all over him burned brighter and brighter, and a wound split open, sending blood trickling down.
Ji Ziyue produced a jar of ancient Celestial Venerable Life Spring Fluid, poured some out, and applied it to his wounds, then made him drink what remained.
“Was this a powerful enemy you encountered during your trials on the ancient road?” Ye Fan asked.
“If I say the name,” the monkey said, “you will recognize it — and they share a deep enmity with you as well.” He bit down on his teeth, and revealed the origins of this person.
This was the most powerful figure of the Soaring Snake lineage — an unparalleled expert who had very nearly become a Quasi-Emperor. Overwhelmingly powerful, domineering beyond measure, this figure swept across star domains and made all tremble with dread.
Ye Fan had slain four young lords of the Golden Serpent Clan, forging a bitter enmity with that bloodline. And the monkey had once stood up for a mountain of god-ape carcasses he had witnessed at the ancestral star of the Soaring Snake lineage — inadvertently disturbing the elder Soaring Snake in closed cultivation and causing the attempt to become a Quasi-Emperor to fall just short at the critical moment. These were blood feuds between them.
Now, that supreme existence of the Soaring Snake lineage had recovered from his injuries. He was not yet a Quasi-Emperor, but had nearly achieved combat power at that level — terrifyingly powerful beyond measure.
Any great sage who stood before him was like a child — not worth a single strike.
Moreover, in his possession were two Quasi-Emperor weapons, as well as an unparalleled killing formation — all passed down from his ancestors. In combination, their divine might was world-dominating. He came and went without a trace, impossible to guard against — one never knew when he might come calling to slaughter you and send your blood spraying across the heavens.
“To think he actually survived,” Ye Fan said, genuinely shocked. At such a critical moment — with the attempt to break through the Quasi-Emperor threshold interrupted by an imperial weapon — an ordinary person would have been utterly annihilated.
Yet the supreme existence of the Soaring Snake lineage had not only survived but had also repaired his body. Full of life and vigor, he had been hunting the monkey across the star void. This was truly alarming — he was clearly a great enemy. Once someone achieved Quasi-Emperor combat power, everything was different. They were beings of another world entirely. No matter how stunning one was, it was impossible to contend with such a person. Had the monkey not possessed the iron staff left behind by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he would surely have died beyond the outer region.
A group of people walking through the Eastern Wilderness naturally drew astonished gazes — especially as one after another recognized Ye Fan, Ji Zi, and the Holy Prince. It made people’s hearts pound, for in years past these three had caused a storm that shook the heavens when they slew the Heavenly Prince.
What was more, they were now great sages!
When the ancient clans learned of this, every one of them fell completely silent, afraid of inviting trouble upon themselves and drawing the wrath of these three great sages.
Times had changed entirely. The three young sons of emperors from the past had all grown to full power. Any one of them could sweep through an entire domain. If they truly had a target in mind and came after a clan, that clan would be annihilated without question.
“If we could confront this enemy head-on, that would be manageable. The real problem is that he can appear at any moment and launch a sudden lethal strike,” the monkey said, brows deeply furrowed. Being watched over by someone with Quasi-Emperor-level power meant that even with an ancient imperial weapon in hand, there was the constant danger of sudden death — nothing could be guarded against.
Otherwise, given the monkey’s personality, he would never have come back!
The elder Soaring Snake was in a particular state. He had not yet crossed his tribulation, but in those years past, he had very nearly made it through that threshold — ninety-nine steps completed, lacking only the final trembling push — when the accident had occurred. Thus now that he had recovered to his peak, he was a match for Quasi-Emperor power.
He could no longer be called a great sage, and was not yet a Quasi-Emperor — yet he was nearly the equal of one.
“Troublesome — but there is no need to fear him. Let us act together and eliminate this great threat.” Ji Zi spoke. Since this was a blood enemy with an irreconcilable feud, the path was clear: strike, and end it for good.
“Exactly. He still isn’t a true Quasi-Emperor — are we afraid of him?” Dongfang Ye was eager to join the battle, itching to try his hand and take the opportunity to go experience the star void for himself.
“How dare anyone bully Brother Monkey! We’ll beat him until his own mother can’t recognize him!” Li Heishui shouted.
“That’s right! How dare he oppress Martial Uncle! We’ll beat him all the way to his grandmother’s house!” Hua Hua cried out, his bald head gleaming, filled with righteous fury.
The monkey’s heart was deeply warmed. Facing a Quasi-Emperor-level threat, not one of these old companions had backed down — every single one of them wanted to lend their strength and help him eliminate this great threat.
“Let’s go then. I’ll set out right now,” Ye Fan said simply. This was a blood feud, impossible to resolve — better to deal with it sooner rather than later. If the enemy were allowed to break through to true Quasi-Emperor level, his power might surge even further, and at that point even having an imperial weapon might prove inadequate.
The monkey went to observe the immortal domain rift, staring at it in a daze for a long time. If his old father could have seen such a rift in those years, he could have used it to break straight through.
But regrettably, he had missed this lifetime in the end. Instead of that, he had reversed fate to transform into a war immortal — paying an unimaginable price, sitting in stillness to perish in the Northern Region, leaving behind only undying ancient regret.
When determining who would go, the group fell into disagreement — everyone wanted to take part in the battle. But considering reality, in the end only Ye Fan, Ji Zi, and the Holy Prince set out.
Just as they were about to depart, Ji Ziyue came running breathlessly, her speed barely inferior to Ye Fan’s Word Art. She wiped the glittering beads of sweat from her pale forehead, pulled the little ancestral forefather Ji Zi aside, and pressed the Void Mirror into his hands.
In those years, even when she and Ji Haoyue had been deemed the most treasured by the family and set off on the trials of the ancient road, they hadn’t been given the slightest opportunity to take the mirror with them. Now that they had reached this level of cultivation, they naturally had the right to wield it — and now she was entrusting it to him to take along.
The Ji Family dispatching an imperial descendant, and sending out an immortal mirror at the very moment the great upheaval of heaven and earth was on the verge of beginning — this was truly extraordinary.
“Don’t worry,” Ji Ziyue said with a light smile. “The family’s foundation has been moved away in these recent years. Only a few elders with little lifespan remaining are left, waiting to take their gamble on the immortal path.”
Three great powerhouses, each bearing an imperial weapon, stepped onto the star road together and set off for the deep reaches of a distant cosmos. If news of this spread, it would certainly cause an enormous uproar — absolutely earth-shaking.
This was a small star. In ages past it had been lush with vegetation, the air rich with spiritual energy — but now it had become a dead land.
Everywhere were white bones. Everywhere was black mist. Everything had been corroded clean away. Every living creature on this small star had died, leaving behind nothing but a dead wasteland.
The monkey’s eyes went wide with fury. He couldn’t help but throw his head back and let out a long, piercing howl. The golden fur all over his body stood fully on end. He would have devoured the entire universe if he could — and his eyes had turned red.
“This was the home world of one of my sworn brothers — a powerful clan of spiritual apes. I never thought not only would he die, but even his mother star would suffer because of it,” the monkey said, his rage beyond measure. This was a blood feud drenched in the sea.
In those years past, it had been the sight of that mountain of carcasses — most of them belonging to ape-kind — at the ancestral star of the Soaring Snake lineage that had moved him to act. Now, seeing this tragedy again, his grief and fury had reached their limit.
Though it was only a very small star, it had housed tens of millions of living creatures — and every single one had been exterminated. It was a weight too heavy to bear.
When they came to yet another small pure-land world, the monkey shattered his own teeth and let blood drip from the corners of his mouth. Here too, living creatures had been massacred. Corpses covered everything. Not a single soul survived.
“By the look of it, this happened only within the last day or two. We should go directly to the ancient star of the Soaring Snake lineage and launch an attack — use the threat to force their hand. Otherwise, more catastrophes may still come,” Ye Fan said.
The elder Soaring Snake was doing this to vent his rage and to force the Holy Prince into the open. If the Holy Prince did not show himself, the slaughter would continue down the line.
The Divine Light Platform activated once more. They shot straight into an ancient domain, plunging deep into its heart — and immediately felt a surging, boundless vitality. Great stars thrived here, teeming with the force of life.
The moment Ye Fan, Ji Zi, and the Holy Prince drew near, their hearts simultaneously tightened. They felt a killing intent permeating the air, utterly undisguised.
Hiss!
Sky-piercing killing light erupted, blasting out into the outer region. Their hearts sank. The power of a Quasi-Emperor formation was in operation!
“He’s really being too careless — making no attempt to hide it, just expecting us to walk straight in?”
On the stars of the Soaring Snake lineage, a world-class Quasi-Emperor killing formation had clearly been laid down, with a heaven-spanning net spread wide and waiting — hoping to lure them in and capture them.
“No — someone has already been caught. They stepped on the Quasi-Emperor formation markings and are now trapped on this ancient star.”
“This Quasi-Emperor killing formation has flaws. Otherwise, the killing intent would be even more powerful than this.” Ye Fan had witnessed the power of a flawless Quasi-Emperor formation at the ten thousand dragon’s nest.
Who was this? Someone caught in a Quasi-Emperor killing formation and still holding on — truly remarkable.
Each of them bearing imperial weapons, they approached with extreme caution, slowly making their way to this ancient star and drawing near the zone of formation markings.
Ahead, great mountains soared, clouds and mist rolled, and imperial energy filled the heavens. From somewhere within, there came a succession of barking — and with every single bark came a string of the most colorful curses imaginable, cycling through an endless variety.
“Wait a moment — why does this sound somewhat familiar?!” the monkey said, greatly puzzled.
“It sounds like… the Black Emperor,” Ye Fan said, looking slightly dumbstruck.