NOVPUBSeeing the response from the Golden Monkey Statue, Xu Zimei hurriedly took it out.
Its brilliance shone forth, dispersing all the mist.
This allowed Xu Zimei’s vision to become much broader.
Xu Zimei felt as if the Golden Monkey Statue had formed a connection and was guiding him forward.
The spatial turbulence roared and howled around him, growing stronger and stronger, and with each step, Xu Zimei could feel the struggle.
Following the guidance of the Golden Monkey Statue in his hand, he moved forward with difficulty.
In this world, he had lost his direction and could not even find the entrance from which he came; he could only follow the statue in his hand.
He followed this guidance that seemed to come from the depths of fate.
After what felt like a very long time on this path with no return, Xu Zimei sensed the pressure on his body increasing.
It was as if he was carrying a mountain on his back, moving forward.
His head was heavy, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead, making it difficult to move.
Moreover, in this place, Xu Zimei had lost track of time; he could only move forward without any opportunity to choose.
Thus, he did not know how much time had passed when the spatial turbulence around him became stronger and the pressure became greater.
Several days, several months, or some indefinite amount of time went by.
Finally, one day, Xu Zimei, dragging his tired body, came to a valley.
In front of the valley, the light from the Golden Monkey Statue suddenly dissipated, and the previous guidance vanished as well.
Xu Zimei slowly walked into the valley, feeling as though he had stepped into a different world.
Before, his journey felt like walking through a desert, barren and dry.
But after entering the valley, not only did the spatial turbulence disappear, but the pressure on him vanished as well, and he was surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, as well as flowers and trees.
Though there were no bird songs, the fragrance of flowers was overwhelming.
Dozens of birch trees, mixed with poplars, were scattered throughout the valley, with violets and green foxtail flowers intertwining among them, covering the ground with a thick layer of green foxtail.
The whole valley was vibrant with greenery and fragrant with flowers.
A stream flowed from the mountain cliffs of the valley, clear to the bottom, with goose-egg-sized smooth stones at its bed.
Xu Zimei, feeling groggy, kneeled by the river, dipped his head into the water.
He drank, trying to become more alert.
The stream was sweet and clear, like a wave of refreshing coldness, invigorating his heart and spleen.
After a long while, he lifted his head and, feeling much better, began to look around.
The valley was vast, with jagged rocks strewn about, and a shady path lay ahead.
On both sides of the path, peach trees were planted.
It was springtime, and the peach trees bloomed profusely, blanketing the ground with thick layers of pink petals.
The fragrance of the flowers was rich and spread throughout the air.
Xu Zimei walked down the shady path, and directly in front was a large Peach Grove.
In these peach groves, large, ripe red peaches hung plentifully.
The scent of peaches mingled with the fragrance of flowers, creating a shower of peach blossoms.
"Squeak squeak," a strange cry erupted from the depths of the peach grove.
Xu Zimei’s expression changed and he quickly dashed towards the deep part of the grove.
Peach blossoms fell all around as he ran for about fifteen minutes, finally spotting a waterfall in the distance.
The sound of the "whooshing" river reached his ears, where he saw a golden monkey jumping around on the smooth stones that had been continually washed by the waterfall.
Holding a few peaches, it seemed thoroughly enjoying itself.
The monkey appeared quite chubby, somewhat resembling a gorilla, with golden eyes and red pupils within.
Its muscles were bulging, filled with an explosive sense of power.
At the moment Xu Zimei appeared, the golden monkey also saw Xu Zimei.
Their eyes met, and the golden monkey let out a cry of surprise as its figure quickly escaped into the void.
All the peaches it was holding fell, "plop plop," into the river below the waterfall.
Then the void fluctuated again, and the golden monkey reappeared, holding a stout wooden staff and staring at Xu Zimei with a tiger’s gaze.
"Human, how did you get here?" the golden monkey inquired.
"Void Spirit Monkey?" Xu Zimei asked uncertainly.
"You know the name of my tribe?" the golden monkey asked, puzzled.
"To find you, I’ve really gone to great lengths," said Xu Zimei with a smile.
"What do you want with me?" the golden monkey asked.
"I want you to become my pet," replied Xu Zimei.
"Pah, I, Heaven-reaching Great Saint, have roamed freely and lived joyfully across all lands in my life.
I only seek the Way of Inquiry, aspire for eternal life, how can I stoop to serve under others."
With a slam of its wooden staff, the golden monkey crushed half of the horizon.
It roared furiously, "You little thief dare to insult me, take this blow from my staff first."
As the staff came at him with mighty power, Xu Zimei drew Tyrant Shadow and slashed directly at it.
With a "boom," space around them fluctuated, and countless peach blossoms fell like rain from the trees.
Under this blow, Xu Zimei staggered several steps backward.
Yet the golden monkey did not move an inch.
"Such immense strength," exclaimed Xu Zimei in surprise.
"My peaches," cried the golden monkey tragically as it watched the falling peach blossoms and red peaches.
Then the monkey brandished its staff with impressive force and again struck at Xu Zimei.
"Heaven-shaking Skill," bellowed Xu Zimei.
All the power in his body gathered to one point and with Tyrant Shadow, he struck again.
At this moment, as sword and staff collided, the space all around shattered.
A deafening "rumble" explosion echoed around them, and the golden monkey was sent flying backward.
Though Xu Zimei had the advantage with this strike, after the blow, his entire body ached immensely, as if drained of all strength.
"Indeed strong," he muttered to himself.
"Take another hit from me," said the golden monkey as it stood up unharmed and leapt dozens of meters high.
This strike stirred the heavens and earth into chaos, shattering the firmament.
Xu Zimei waved his hands, and behind him, the True Fate World appeared.
A blue planet emerged with supreme might, and at this moment, a mighty Creation Force surged forth from the blue planet.
When the staff landed on the blue planet, it did not even cause a ripple.
"What is this?" exclaimed the golden monkey.
"Suppress," Xu Zimei uttered lightly, and the planet fell from the sky, heading straight for the golden monkey to crush it beneath.
At this moment, the golden monkey’s expression grew solemn as the planet fell heavily onto its back.
The golden monkey roared, bearing the blue planet on its back, its face ferocious and two sharp fangs protruding from its mouth.
"I am the Heaven-reaching Great Saint," he howled.
Despite the planet’s heavy weight.
