A streak of divine light shot out from the central head of the Kaiming Beast, hurtling towards the direction of Man Lin...

Deep within Man Lin, Xuan Yuanjing was sent flying by a strike from Yuan's staff. Only then did he regain his senses. With a flick of his Xuanyuan Sword, he managed to parry the Abi Yuantu Sword in Yuan's hand. But Yuan possessed eight arms, each wielding a weapon or magical artifact, which crashed down upon him with a deafening clang. Even with his incredible speed, blocking the assault from so many weapons proved nearly impossible. After only a short while, his body was once again hurled away by Yuan.

Not only that, within the Buddhist realm manifested by Yuan, the Heavenly Dragons and Eight Legions, along with the Bodhisattvas and Arhats, all charged toward Xuan Yuanjing, wielding weapons conjured from pure mental energy. While their destructive power paled in comparison to Yuan's own, they made up for it in sheer numbers. How could one man, Xuan Yuanjing, possibly fend them all off?

Xuan Yuanjing, who had moments before held a clear advantage, was now being battered back and forth by Yuan, much like a helpless cur.

Scars, large and small, began to appear all over his body.

Witnessing this, Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke felt a surge of excitement. If the two combatants ended up mutually devastating each other, it would be a massive boon to them both.

Ye Jingyu was already contemplating whether, if he and Liang Xiaoke attacked with full force now, they might seize the opportunity to strike down both combatants in one decisive blow.

At this critical juncture, Xuan Yuanjing unleashed the Taiji Diagram, once again releasing the power of his World. Aided by the four strands of primal energy emanating from the Taiji Diagram, he finally managed to withstand Yuan's terrifying onslaught.

Both sides were pushing themselves to their absolute limits, their World powers constantly colliding. Just as Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke prepared to intervene, a beam of divine light suddenly pierced into Ye Jingyu's mind, causing his expression to shift dramatically.

"What happened?" Liang Xiaoke asked, noticing the sudden change in Ye Jingyu's face.

"A terrible premonition..." Ye Jingyu's brow furrowed deeply. At this moment, the Samsara Eye flickered with streams of silver light, seemingly trying to peer through something.

Yet, all he could perceive were glimmers of golden light sprinkling down from the Jianmu tree; nothing else was visible.

Could it be...

"This is bad, I need to go to the Jianmu Canyon immediately!" Ye Jingyu had clearly seen Gui Jianchou before, but now he could see nothing, which could only mean the power of that entity far surpassed his own. Moreover, the golden light seemed to be descending from above the Jianmu, suggesting it might originate from that plane.

The moment he considered that legendary plane—the very realm rumored to house many Primordial Deities—Ye Jingyu could no longer remain composed.

Seeing Ye Jingyu's intense tension, the others understood the matter must be of grave importance. Without further comment, they stopped watching the battle and followed Ye Jingyu toward the canyon. Liang Xiaoke, however, turned towards his own main camp; from Ye Jingyu's expression, he understood that immense chaos was about to erupt in the Celestial Realm, and he needed to return to stabilize things.

Not long after the others departed, the two Fiend Gods of the Earth Alliance and several Celestial Lords from the Heaven Alliance arrived almost simultaneously. The most intense battle in the history of the Celestial Realm officially erupted.

Neither Xuan Yuanjing nor Yuan noticed that directly above their heads floated a cloud of seven colors, upon which sat a monkey shimmering with golden light. The monkey was happily gripping a wine gourd in its right hand and gnawing on a roasted leg of some beast held in its left.

"Alas, this fellow, look how he's treated the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree; I wonder if the Teacher will vomit blood if he finds out. And that other one—the Taiji Diagram! To use it like that... I bet that old official will curse up a storm. Well, you two go on, keep fighting, take your time!" The monkey ate and drank while casually critiquing the grandest war in the Celestial Realm, treating it as nothing more than a mere game.

Ye Jingyu remained unaware of the unfolding situation after he left. When he arrived at Jianmu Canyon with Bing Ming and the others, they found the Dragon Devouring Beast King lying weakly to the side, its wounds slowly mending. But even with the rich essence of Azure Wood enveloping it, full recovery would take a long time, indicating the severity of the injuries sustained.

As for the Kaiming Beast, while its injuries were completely healed, its eyes held no spirit; it simply stood there blankly until Ye Jingyu and the others arrived, at which point a flicker of awareness returned to its gaze.

With a single bound, the Kaiming Beast rushed before Ye Jingyu. Without preamble, it recounted everything that had happened from the moment the monkey appeared until its departure.

Hearing about the golden, shining monkey and contemplating its terrifyingly extreme cultivation level, Ye Jingyu’s brow knitted tighter. He glanced up at the towering Jianmu, considering the plane it might lead to, and his mood refused to lift...

Up until now, he had believed everything was within his grasp. Although his strength hadn't reached the Universe Level, nor matched Xuan Yuanjing or Yuan, he was confident that in a one-on-one fight, his combat prowess was not inferior to theirs. With his current power, he even felt capable of challenging those eight old undying ones. His long period of infiltration within the Earth Alliance was designed to continuously bolster his own strength. Everything he and Liang Xiaoke had done was to see their power greatly enhanced; it was all proceeding according to their plan.

But now, an entity beyond his control had emerged from that plane. How could he possibly be happy about that?

"Feng'er, take this..." Anticipating the variables that might arise in the future, Ye Jingyu directly pulled out the Chiyou Banner and handed it to Jiu Feng.

"A'Yu, this..." Seeing Ye Jingyu entrust the Chiyou Banner entirely to her, Jiu Feng's expression changed.

"With the protection of the Twelve Heavenly Witch Annihilation Grand Array, I can rest easier about you. Besides, I no longer need the protection of the grand array..." Ye Jingyu stated with firm resolve.

"Hm?" Upon hearing Ye Jingyu declare such a thing, everyone present was astonished. Did he now possess the confidence to confront the eight figures above?

"Kaiming Beast, fully activate the power of the Jianmu to assist me in condensing my Wood Golden Core!" Ye Jingyu ignored the others' reactions and addressed the Kaiming Beast directly.

"Ah, but Master, that will damage the source essence of the Jianmu. If we accidentally destroy it completely, none of us might reach that plane..." the Kaiming Beast cautioned.

"I don't care; I need strength now. Extremely powerful strength..." Ye Jingyu had made his final decision. Even a single monkey descending from above had exceeded his control. If a few more appeared, the situation would be dire. The most crucial thing now was to elevate his own power. Once he condensed the ninth Golden Core and perfected his Chaos Body, Ye Jingyu would fear no one...

(Two more chapters this afternoon, so they will be released later. Everyone had best read them tonight. I am quite exhausted now and need to rest during noon before I can continue writing!)D