Just as that troop of Spirit Monkeys concealed their presence and followed Zhui Feng to sneak back into the cavern entrance, the old man outside the woods gritted his teeth and once again charged into the dense growth.

The old man ultimately chose not to seek aid from the Li family of Mount Shu to break the strange gate illusion formation; this time, he advanced with extreme caution. He firmly believed that if even a single Spirit Monkey could break the formation, there was no reason for him to remain trapped within it, unable to escape.

Outside the Dragon Family Plain, the Grand Completion realm masters from various clans had rarely gathered before the Shaolin encampment.

“Brother Hua, Brother Li, you’ve come too!”

The Martial Dragon Grand Completion master was struggling with how to persuade the stubborn Monk Shi Ming to finally set off for the Dragon Family Plain when Grand Completion masters Hua Feitian of the Hua family and Li Jianyi of the Li family arrived.

“Gentlemen, with such an unusual energy fluctuation, we must at least go take a look before we can rest assured. We cannot wait until the Ten Thousand Year Peach is picked early while we are still kept in the dark.”

The Martial Dragon Grand Completion master looked at Li Jianyi and Hua Feitian, then added quickly, realizing that persuading these two was far easier than convincing that monk, Shi Ming.

“The preceding energy fluctuations surely mean a Spirit Beast has successfully broken through to the Grand Completion realm; the two subsequent fluctuations, I suspect, indicate a battle ensued with someone. At this point, it is indeed necessary for us to go see exactly what transpired.”

Hua Feitian strongly agreed with the Martial Dragon Grand Completion master’s words. He held nothing back, telling everyone everything he knew.

“A Grand Completion Spirit Beast!” Hearing Hua Feitian’s words, the Martial Dragon Grand Completion master was utterly astonished.

“Benefactor Zhang has entered that forest!”

Monk Shi Ming, who had remained silent until now, suddenly raised his head, gazed forward, and spoke.

Li Jianyi, Hua Feitian, and the Martial Dragon Grand Completion master all looked up simultaneously; they too sensed that the aura of the Zhang family Grand Completion master had left the Dragon Family Plain and entered the forest.

This meant the old man, Zhang Pinglu, had finally broken through the strange gate illusion formation guarding the woods and successfully entered.

The Grand Completion masters exchanged glances and rose to leave. Since the Zhang family Grand Completion master had already entered the woods, what more was there for them to discuss?

As the Dragon Family Plain was protected by a grand defensive array, the masters did not enter through it. Instead, they took a slight detour and entered directly from the jumble of rocks on the other side.

After traversing the rocky terrain and entering the forest, the Grand Completion masters encountered the same strange gate illusion formation protecting the area. Unfortunately for the formation, the combined effort of four Grand Completion masters easily shattered it.

Meanwhile, Zhou family Grand Completion master and Mo Men Grand Completion master Di Wanfang trailed far behind Li Jianyi and the others, taking advantage of the situation. They saved time by not engaging the formation and followed Li Jianyi’s group straight into the forest.

Underground, Zhang Yang spotted the Spirit Monkeys and knew his initial suspicions were correct: these monkeys were precisely the ones who had first snuck in to attack the Three-Eyed Beasts and steal the immature Ten Thousand Year Peach. Upon sensing the monkeys’ auras, the gray-white Three-Eyed Beast abandoned all other concerns, its violent rage soaring skyward, causing the natural world energy it had managed to recover in that short time to leak out once more!

However, this time, all its savage fury was directed behind Zhang Yang, not at him.

Zhui Feng had been burning with anxiety, only slightly relaxing upon tracing the aura of Wuying and Shandian here to find Zhang Yang safe. He hadn't even noticed the Spirit Monkeys following behind him.

“Roar…”

With a low growl, the golden Three-Eyed Beast looked at the Spirit Monkeys behind Zhang Yang. Its third eye, which had been slightly closed, snapped wide open. It was naturally filled with immense anger toward these creatures.

Zhang Yang turned toward the monkeys emerging from behind Zhui Feng, then glanced at Zhui Feng. Zhui Feng let out a sharp cry, recounting how these Spirit Monkeys had helped it pass through the dense forest earlier. However, being in such a rush to get here, it hadn't paid attention to them.

These Spirit Monkeys had not helped Zhui Feng pass through the dense forest for free. Having been driven away by the two Three-Eyed Beasts earlier, they held a grudge. Seeing a fourth-tier Spirit Beast like Zhui Feng, they were naturally willing to assist it in reaching this place.

The monkeys’ plan had been simple: follow Zhui Feng from a distance. They assumed Zhui Feng was rushing into the woods for the Ten Thousand Year Peach, so they figured they would let Zhui Feng test the waters with the two Three-Eyed Beasts. To their surprise, the male Three-Eyed Beast had broken through to Grand Completion, skyrocketing its power and instantly detecting them.

With the addition of the Spirit Monkeys, the situation underground shifted once again.

These Spirit Monkeys feared the Grand Completion Three-Eyed Beast and dared not approach. The three main Spirit Beasts adopted a defensive posture, protecting Zhang Yang and urging him to recover quickly. As for the gray-white Grand Completion Three-Eyed Beast, having to constantly monitor Zhang Yang while remaining vigilant against the monkeys, it lacked the focus to gather the underground spiritual energy needed to heal its injuries.

“Squeak squeak!”

The Spirit Monkeys had noticed that the Grand Completion Three-Eyed Beast was severely wounded and extremely weak. But to be safe, the leader, the strongest fourth-tier Spirit Monkey, stepped forward and chirped several times toward Zhui Feng.

It then looked at Wuying and Shandian beside Zhui Feng and chirped at them as well. Zhang Yang, temporarily stripped of his ability to attack, was completely ignored.

“Chirp chirp chirp!”

Shandian barked a few times in response. The opposing Spirit Monkeys paused, seemingly surprised by Shandian’s reply.

Zhui Feng and Wuying also signaled their stance. The monkeys looked at each other, expressions of confusion etched on their faces. The leading Spirit Monkey raised its voice and chirped several more times, hopping and pointing toward the two Three-Eyed Beasts in the distance.

Shandian glanced back at the Three-Eyed Beasts this time, not rushing to reply to the monkeys, but looking toward Zhang Yang. Wuying and Shandian also looked at him; they were awaiting Zhang Yang’s decision.

It turned out that after discovering the Grand Completion Three-Eyed Beast was gravely injured, the Spirit Monkeys had rekindled their desire to seize the Ten Thousand Year Peach. Seeing that Wuying, Shandian, and Zhui Feng were all fourth-tier Spirit Beasts, they conceived the idea of forming an alliance. The leading monkey was currently negotiating with the three fourth-tier beasts to join forces against the two Three-Eyed Beasts. As for the Ten Thousand Year Peach, distribution could be handled after they dealt with the beasts.

Furthermore, fearing the three Spirit Beasts might refuse, the leading monkey preemptively promised that after killing the two Three-Eyed Beasts, the beasts themselves would count as their interest payment and not be included in the subsequent peach division.

The Three-Eyed Beasts were treasures themselves; the monkeys didn't want the bodies of the two beasts. They offered them entirely to the three Spirit Beasts, specifically emphasizing that one of the beasts had reached Grand Completion and thus must possess an inner core. They would not claim that either.

An inner core was the supreme spiritual medicine for any Spirit Beast, let alone that of a Grand Completion creature. Therefore, this monkey was certain that Wuying, Shandian, and Zhui Feng would never reject its proposal!

With the addition of the three Spirit Beasts, they would have a hundred percent certainty of victory against one pregnant Three-Eyed Beast and one severely wounded Grand Completion Three-Eyed Beast.

“Roar!”

Seeing that the group of Spirit Monkeys intended to ally with the three Spirit Beasts beside Zhang Yang, the gray-white Three-Eyed Beast grew anxious. If those three fourth-tier Spirit Beasts joined the fray, given its current condition, the outlook was grim. At that point, the Ten Thousand Year Peach might not be protected, and even its wife and child could be endangered.

“We will absolutely not join forces with you!”

However, contrary to expectation, Zhang Yang coldly sneered and rejected the monkeys’ proposal for an alliance. Although he was pale, still weak, and had recovered less than ten percent of his strength, the pride of a Grand Completion master remained.

These Spirit Monkeys naturally lived near Kunlun Mountain and knew that the impending maturation of the Ten Thousand Year Peach had attracted many powerful cultivators. Under such circumstances, the monkeys understood clearly that once the peach ripened and appeared, they had zero chance of obtaining it.

This was why they had gathered together to sneak in early and forcibly pluck the Ten Thousand Year Peach before it matured.

Since they couldn't get it when it was ripe, they might as well seize it while immature. Moreover, the Three-Eyed Beast guarding it was pregnant and much weaker than usual—this was an opportunity that came once in a millennium, one they naturally wouldn't miss.

How could Zhang Yang ally with such a despicable opportunist?

Furthermore, Zhang Yang had already seen through the treacherous Spirit Monkeys’ plan: they had only helped Zhui Feng enter so that Zhui Feng could scout the path for them; they harbored no good intentions.

The three main Spirit Beasts followed Zhang Yang’s lead; Zhang Yang’s refusal was their refusal.

The Spirit Monkeys erupted in fury, hopping and scratching in place, baring their teeth at Zhang Yang.

They hadn't expected such a weak human to dare to look down on them like this. However, Wuying, Shandian, and Zhui Feng stood guarding Zhang Yang in a circle, so the monkeys dared not make any rash moves.

Seeing Zhang Yang reject the monkeys’ proposal for alliance, the gray-white Three-Eyed Beast finally calmed down slightly. It positioned itself in front of the golden Three-Eyed Beast, staring menacingly at the troop of Spirit Monkeys, as well as Zhang Yang and his three Spirit Beasts.

Behind it, the golden Three-Eyed Beast’s gaze, however, fell upon Zhang Yang—how could a human command the loyalty of three fourth-tier Spirit Beasts? This truly baffled it.

The troop of Spirit Monkeys, seeing Zhang Yang and the three Spirit Beasts refuse the alliance, finally revealed their ferocity.

Of the eight Spirit Monkeys present, the leader had already reached the late fourth-tier, while two others were mid-fourth-tier and one early-fourth-tier; the rest were all late third-tier. Four of the late third-tier monkeys were left to watch the three Spirit Beasts guarding Zhang Yang, while the four fourth-tier monkeys charged again toward the Ten Thousand Year Peach above the underground lake.