Just as Yuan released his world, far away in the southernmost reaches of the Celestial Realm, within a gorge utterly inaccessible to ordinary beings, the sky-piercing Jianmu tree stood tall at the canyon's center. The nine-headed Kai Ming Beast lounged lazily at its roots, while a massive, gorilla-like monster respectfully carried a Mamenxi Dragon, the size of a small mountain, and presented it before the Kai Ming Beast.

This giant ape was naturally the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, whom Ye Jingyu had subdued. That ancient fierce beast, rumored to have lived in the Abyss, had accompanied Ye Jingyu and the others to the Savage Forest that day. However, when the wars between the Earth Alliance and the Heaven Alliance intensified, the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King led its entire race to hide here. Still, this gorge was a place of such profound sanctity that no other members of the Dragon-Swallowing race were qualified to enter.

The Kai Ming Beast languidly lifted its head, glanced at the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, and then suddenly thrust out a paw, tearing open the Mamenxi Dragon’s skull. The Mamenxi Dragon had only been knocked unconscious by the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, but this immense blow instantly revived it. Its colossal body instinctively thrashed, yet it could not resist the Kai Ming Beast’s power. Its very brains were scooped out by the Kai Ming Beast’s grip and devoured. After convulsing briefly, the massive body settled completely still—it seemed thoroughly dead.

As the Kai Ming Beast slowly finished consuming the Mamenxi Dragon, dazzling rays of light suddenly erupted from the towering Jianmu tree. The entire great tree began to shake violently, as if it were about to collapse. Both the Kai Ming Beast, having just finished its meal, and the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, who had been standing respectfully nearby, sprang to their feet, staring at the shuddering Jianmu with looks of profound horror.

What had happened? Why was the Jianmu, silent for so many years, suddenly shaking so violently?

Under the astonished gaze of the two beasts, a golden light descended straight down from above the Jianmu. Vaguely, they perceived a golden figure landing upon the ground.

When the golden radiance gradually dissipated, the Kai Ming Beast and the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King realized it was a golden monkey—a monkey covered entirely in golden fur, yet clad in a simple Taoist robe. The monkey was not tall, standing shorter than the average man, but its eyes were filled with an unrestrained and arrogant defiance; a powerful fighting spirit that surveyed the world, refusing ever to submit.

With a mere sweep of its gaze over the two beasts, both the Kai Ming Beast and the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King felt their bodies tremble.

However, as the guardian of the Jianmu—a tree that had accompanied him since his birth—the Kai Ming Beast could not tolerate the sudden appearance of this monkey. Despite clearly sensing the monkey's extraordinary nature, it roared mightily and lunged toward the newcomer.

This was its territory; everything here was its domain. Even an expert of the Yu-level held no fear for it. As it charged forward, the Kai Ming Beast mobilized the immense surrounding power, attempting to imprison this strange monkey.

Seeing the Kai Ming Beast engage, the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, now acting as the Kai Ming Beast's subordinate, dared not lag behind. Its body suddenly swelled to a height of ten thousand zhang, and it too charged toward the monkey with heavy strides.

As the two strange beasts bore down upon him, the monkey grinned, revealing two ferocious fangs. Facing the vast power bearing down, he simply unleashed a single punch.

"Bang..." The invisible force filling the void was instantly shattered by the blow. That potent field of energy was effortlessly torn apart. Not only that, but both the charging Kai Ming Beast and the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King were violently thrown back by the sheer intent of the punch. All nine heads of the Kai Ming Beast simultaneously spewed a mouthful of blood. The Dragon-Swallowing Beast King fared worse; it hadn't even registered the impact, yet half its body was nearly pulverized.

The Kai Ming Beast was shocked. The Dragon-Swallowing Beast King... well, it was unconscious now, deprived even of the chance to be shocked.

The Kai Ming Beast scrambled back to its feet. The dense, verdant energy of wood surged into its body, rapidly mending its injuries. Yet, its eyes were filled with terror. Even Ye Jingyu and his peers, so powerful, had been repelled by a single move from him! Though his own cultivation hadn't reached the Yu-level, within this domain, even Yu-level masters were supposed to be at his mercy! But why couldn't his world power restrain the monkey? His world power was rooted in the Jianmu itself—meaning he had activated the power of the entire Jianmu!

When Ju Mang had only taken a tiny fraction of the Jianmu, it possessed such terrifying might. The full extent of the tree’s power was unknown even to the Kai Ming Beast, yet that power had been shattered by a single punch.

Who was this creature? There was no mention of such a monkey in the Celestial Realm!

Despite the overwhelming shock, the Kai Ming Beast began to marshal the power contained within the Jianmu. Its nine heads simultaneously let out tremendous roars, and its body erupted in waves of golden light...

Eighteen beams of divine light shot forth simultaneously from its eyes, weaving into a net that tightly enveloped the monkey, completely sealing off any avenue of escape. The Kai Ming Beast was certain that under its divine light, even if it couldn't kill the monkey, it would at least severely wound him.

The monkey truly could not dodge, but it seemed to have no intention of trying. Facing the divine beams shooting toward it, it didn't even bother to defend itself, allowing all eighteen rays to strike its body.

Chhhh...

All eighteen beams of divine light struck the monkey, but far from inflicting a heavy wound, they failed to damage even a single strand of its fur...

Witnessing this, the Kai Ming Beast sank into utter despair. For the first time, a trace of fear flickered in its eyes...

The monkey grinned again at the Kai Ming Beast but showed no inclination to attack further. Instead, it somersaulted once, transformed into a streak of golden light, and vanished without a trace...

Long after the monkey’s figure disappeared, the Kai Ming Beast slowly got back up. Gazing in the direction the monkey had vanished, its eyes were filled with astonishment. Such terrifying cultivation, capable of completely ignoring its world power—had he come from above?

The Origin World? The place where the Primordial Saints had ascended past the Immortal Realm? They were supposed to be long dead, yet after so many years, were they returning to the Celestial Realm?

The thought of such a terrifying monkey appearing in the Celestial Realm, one that could potentially bring immense trouble to its master, filled the Kai Ming Beast with anxiety...