A Chance to Break Through to True God, The Monkey

In the North Sea Dragon Clan. Five old dragons gathered, their words laced with fury. "Has his identity still not been uncovered?" The leader, draped in a golden robe, wore a fierce and sinister expression. "No," another old dragon replied, his voice filled with helplessness. "Taking the title of Dragon Subduing—what arrogant audacity!" "Sigh, our North Sea Dragon Clan has suffered such a devastating blow. It is truly suffocating!" It could be said that Jin Jiao and the six flood dragons were already the North Sea Dragon Clan's most presentable pillar of strength. Apart from the Dragon Venerable present, who stood at Step Three Sky Treading, the remaining old dragons were merely at Step One Sky Treading, and moreover had exhausted their potential. The gold-robed Dragon Venerable's eyes burned with rage. "Snapping the spine of my dragon clan... Even if his father is a Great Venerable, this matter cannot simply be swept under the rug!" "This matter indeed cannot simply be swept under the rug." Right then, a flat voice echoed as space rippled. A group of Ancient Gods materialized within the palace. Qi Yuan looked at the five old dragons with a faint smile in his eyes. "You haven't paid compensation yet." Seeing them, Dragon Venerable's pupils shrank violently. "You... Great Venerable Qionghua, how are you awake?!" He understood in an instant that it was Great Venerable Qionghua who had brought this group into his palace. His mind trembled with shock. He had never expected Great Venerable Qionghua to actually awaken. "Whether she wakes or not is none of your concern. "I came here today to demand compensation from you. "That so-called Jin Jiao offended me. Today, unless you hand over some treasures, my anger won't subside," Qi Yuan said lazily, sounding every bit like an overbearing, pampered scion. "This Venerable is speaking with Great Venerable Qionghua—what right do you have to interrupt?" Dragon Venerable could not hold back from snapping. "To speak insolently to the Celestial Venerable warrants death." Great Venerable Qionghua struck without hesitation, deploying her Divine Domain in that very breath. Inside the Divine Domain, Dragon Venerable, despite being at Step Three Sky Treading, became as powerless as a mortal. Great Venerable Qionghua lightly pushed forward with her pale hand, sending a palm formed of divine spiritual power crashing into Dragon Venerable's body. No sound accompanied the strike. Dragon Venerable coughed up a mouthful of blood as one of the divine apertures within his body burst apart. "Destroying one of your divine apertures serves as your lesson." Having spoken, Great Venerable Qionghua withdrew her Divine Domain and stood quietly beside Qi Yuan, resembling a loyal maidservant. Qi Yuan shot Great Venerable Qionghua an appreciative glance, then turned to Dragon Venerable. "You don't have the slightest tact, do you? Didn't you see that the four old dragons beside you haven't dared to utter a word since seeing me?" With one of his divine apertures shattered, Dragon Venerable's aura crumbled. He stared at Qi Yuan, terrified of speaking another word. Confusion gnawed at his heart. Why did Great Venerable Qionghua treat Qi Yuan like this? Could Qi Yuan be Great Venerable Qionghua's son? Yet seeing how deferential Great Venerable Qionghua was toward Qi Yuan, being a mother and son could not possibly explain it. Qi Yuan looked at the five old dragons. "You offended me. So, speak up: open your treasury and let me pick out a few things, and we'll consider this matter settled." Dragon Venerable lay sprawled on the ground, not daring to utter a sound. In truth, the five old dragons were frantically conversing through secret transmissions, seeking a way to break the deadlock. After a few breaths, an old dragon stepped forward, adopting an exceedingly humble posture. "Celestial Venerable, Jin Jiao brought about his own ruin. He provoked the Celestial Venerable and was slain by the Celestial Venerable's subjects—he got what he deserved." A wise man submits to circumstances. How could these old dragons still dare mention revenge? "Lead the way to the treasury." Qi Yuan had no interest in their grudges and feuds; all he wanted was to grab supreme treasures. "If your supreme treasures cannot satisfy me, heh heh..." Qi Yuan gave a chuckle, but it sent a chill through the five old dragons, making them feel an imminent threat of death. The green-robed old dragon hunched his back, stripped clean of any draconic arrogance. "Celestial Venerable, please follow me." Qi Yuan looked at Dragon Venerable, who was sprawled on the ground like a dead fish. "Actually, I still preferred your earlier recalcitrant attitude." Hearing that, Dragon Venerable felt his blood surge to his chest. Spitting out another mouthful of blood, he seemed to faint directly from sheer indignation. "Let's go, to the treasury." Qi Yuan waved his hand. The group followed the green-robed old dragon toward the treasury. At this moment, Great Venerable Qionghua spoke, "Dragon Venerable likely harbors resentment. Should I find an opportunity to kill him?" She did not speak via divine sense, but said it aloud right in front of the green-robed old dragon. Hearing her words, the green-robed old dragon's body trembled violently. "If he doesn't behave, feel free to kill him," Qi Yuan replied nonchalantly. "Understood." Hearing his reply, Great Venerable Qionghua felt relieved. Under the guidance of the green-robed old dragon, the group soon arrived at the North Sea Dragon Clan's treasury. Qi Yuan felt somewhat surprised. "Building a treasury inside a prison—that's quite creative. Aren't you afraid the thieves locked inside might abscond with the funds?" The North Sea Dragon Clan's treasury was not an independent palace, but situated deep within their prison. The green-robed old dragon hastily explained, "I heard from other Ancient Gods that the Celestial Venerable favors supreme treasures capable of breaking through to the True God realm. "Such supreme treasures are all kept within the Dragon Prison. "Inside the Dragon Prison, there is a spring eye capable of giving birth to supreme treasures." This spring eye was similar to the North Sea God Eye. Most of Qionghua Palace's supreme treasures had also been obtained in this manner. Soon, everyone arrived before the spring eye. Qi Yuan looked toward it. [North Sea Spring Eye: Occasionally, supreme treasures erupt from here.] "Only seven? That's a bit meager." Qi Yuan took the seven supreme treasures, his expression showing neither surprise nor joy. Having just received twenty-five dazzling gems earlier, seven truly could not stir his heart. Seeing that Qi Yuan seemed dissatisfied, beads of sweat threatened to break out on the green-robed old dragon's forehead. "Don't you have other treasuries?" Qi Yuan asked. "We do!" the green-robed old dragon answered in a hurry, terrified of displeasing Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan looked at the Eighteen Arhats and the Four Heavenly Kings. "Go take a stroll through his other treasuries and see if there are any suitable treasures." "As you command!" Receiving their orders, the Four Heavenly Kings and Eighteen Arhats left under the lead of the green-robed old dragon. Qi Yuan looked down at the treasures in his hands and gave them a try, only to show a look of disappointment shortly after. "Still no good." Indeed, even with thirty supreme treasures, he could not break past the restrictions to reach True God. "Great Venerable Qionghua, do you know of any way to break through to the True God realm without using these supreme treasures?" Qi Yuan asked. Seeing this, Great Venerable Qionghua felt astonished. She roughly understood: the Celestial Venerable's talent was far too terrifying, exceeding the Holy Mother of Inedia's by a vast margin. That was why he could not break through to True God. Without hesitation, she answered, "Ever since the Heavenly Pillar snapped, one can only break past the restriction in the Mortal Heart Realm by relying on supreme treasures. "If one wishes to reach True God otherwise, only two paths exist. "One is to leave the Mortal Heart Realm, and the other is to repair the Heavenly Pillar. "However, both paths... are extraordinarily difficult. "I once heard that beyond the boundary wall of the Mortal Heart Realm lurks... an existence above True God." "Above True God?" Qi Yuan was astonished. He raised his head toward the star-filled sky and immediately spotted that blood-tinged celestial body. "If I recall correctly, isn't there also an existence above True God inside the Heavenly Pillar? "Is the Mortal Heart Realm some sweet pastry, that so many Yang Gods are fixated on it?" "This involves deep secrets; perhaps only experts on the level of the Holy Mother of Inedia know the true reason," Great Venerable Qionghua said, her eyes filled with boundless uncertainty, appearing worried for the future of the Mortal Heart Realm. "Sigh, why didn't anyone give me a plot summary for this game?" Qi Yuan said helplessly. "Could it be that I really can't break through to the True God realm?" At that moment, Great Venerable Qionghua thought of something and pondered aloud, "I have also heard of a few secrets that might be of use to the Celestial Venerable." "Speak." "There is a clan known as the Ancient Clan. "Their lineage stretches back to antiquity, existing even before the Hongtang Great War. "Within their clan lies an Ancestral Land. In the past, a peerless prodigy mistakenly wandered into it. "That prodigy's talent also exceeded the Holy Mother of Inedia's, making it impossible to advance his realm through supreme treasures. "Yet when he emerged from the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land, he had remarkably stepped into the True God realm. "Later, this person was abducted by an evil god and became an evil god's lackey. "Nowadays, the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land is entirely under his control. This person is known as Great Venerable Aoshi." Mentioning him brought fury to Great Venerable Qionghua's eyes. After all, this person possessed peerless talent, yet betrayed the Mortal Heart Realm to serve the evil gods. "How did he break through?" Qi Yuan asked curiously. "Unknown." Great Venerable Qionghua shook her head. "Even Great Venerable Aoshi himself does not know how he managed to break through. That is why he surrounded the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land on three sides, leaving one exit open, and continuously experimented with Ancient Gods to uncover the reason." "Looks like when I have time, I should pay a visit to this Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land," Qi Yuan said. Naturally, he would not go right now. At present, his wings were not yet fully fledged. Qi Yuan chatted with Great Venerable Qionghua as they walked. Suddenly, Qi Yuan paused in his steps. He glanced at a nearby cage, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "A monkey? What a coincidence." In the North Sea Dragon Clan's prison, Qi Yuan spotted several monkeys, much to his surprise. Two of them looked ordinary, either meditating or sleeping. The third was bound head to toe in chains. The moment it shifted, the chains clanked loudly. He studied the chained monkey with curiosity. Inside the cage, the monkey looked back at Qi Yuan, baring its fangs and grimacing. A dragon clansman hastily hurried over. "Celestial Venerable, this monkey belongs to the Ancient Ape Clan. Born wild and unruly, it once attacked our dragon clan, so we captured it and confined it here." "Let it out so I can take a look," Qi Yuan said casually. If he had encountered a monkey somewhere else, it would have just been an encounter. Encountering one in the North Sea Dragon Clan naturally invited associations. Seeing this, the dragon clansman quickly went inside and unlocked the cage. At once, the three monkeys walked out. Two of them eyed Qi Yuan warily. Only the chained monkey brazenly scrutinized Qi Yuan with an unbridled gaze. The dragon clansman said hurriedly, "Celestial Venerable, this monkey possesses extraordinary talent. He is the most gifted of the Ancient Ape Clan's younger generation. Though only at late Purple Mansion strength, he has the potential to become a Great Venerable." It was precisely because this golden-furred monkey possessed immense talent as the foremost prodigy of the Ancient Ape Clan's younger generation that, even after he offended the North Sea Dragon Clan, they did not execute him. They merely held him captive while waiting for the Ancient Ape Clan to ransom him. Moreover, precisely because of his great talent and innately mischievous nature, this golden-furred monkey acted completely fearless no matter what trouble he caused. The golden-furred monkey glanced at Qi Yuan and spoke swaggeringly, "Did the patriarch send you to rescue me?" "No," Qi Yuan replied. "Oh, I get it." Having said that, the golden-furred monkey couldn't be bothered to say more. In his view, Qi Yuan had simply rescued them to curry favor with the Ancient Ape Clan. Beside him, the other two monkeys stepped forward. "I will remember the grace of saving our lives!" a skinny monkey said. "Thank you!" the other monkey also expressed its gratitude. "Don't mention it. I just felt it was fate." Qi Yuan had always acted purely on a whim. The golden-furred monkey said impatiently, "Xiao Liu, Xiao Qi, what are you babbling for? Get over here!" To the golden-furred monkey, the other two monkeys were nothing more than sidekicks. Seeing this, Qi Yuan chuckled. "He really is wild and unruly." The accompanying dragon clansman remarked, "This young one possesses remarkable talent. A Great Venerable once wished to accept him as a disciple, but he refused. "Nurturing a prodigy like this properly will surely yield a powerful True God. "It is only natural for him to possess some arrogance and act a bit overbearing." Qi Yuan smiled, not caring about such trivial matters in the slightest. The group walked toward the exit of the North Sea Dragon Clan. The golden-furred monkey was not polite at all as he looked at Qi Yuan. "I smell the scent of supreme treasures on you. Give me a few?" "I have use for them," Qi Yuan refused calmly. The golden-furred monkey wanted to say more, but noticing the unfathomable Great Venerable Qionghua beside Qi Yuan, he swallowed his words back down. "Celestial Venerable." Right then, a group approached. It was the Eighteen Arhats and the Four Heavenly Kings. At this moment, they held treasures from the Dragon Palace, smiles adorning their faces. Four graceful maidens stood beside Qi Yuan like handmaidens. Their auras were thoroughly concealed; unless one was a True God, nobody could tell they were True Gods. The two monkeys looked at the treasures held by these twenty-odd people, their eyes gleaming. The golden-furred monkey, however, fixed his gaze on the treasure in Wang Wenqi's hands—a spear that was entirely crimson. "Hey, since you won't give me supreme treasures, I want the treasure in your maid's hands!" The golden-furred monkey stared at the spear in Wang Wenqi's hands with burning desire. Qi Yuan paused. "What did you say?" "Don't you want to build ties with my Ancient Ape Clan? "If you want to build ties with my Ancient Ape Clan, you must flatter me. "I am the future king of the Ancient Ape Clan. "That spear, I want it!" the golden-furred monkey declared. Because of his great talent, whenever he stirred up trouble, people generally did not harm him; they merely captured him and awaited the Ancient Ape Clan's ransom. As a result, the golden-furred monkey's personality had grown increasingly arrogant and unruly. "Don't think that just because you released me, I will be grateful and view you as my benefactor. "Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? "Even without you, given my formidable talent, the North Sea Dragon Clan wouldn't dare do anything to me. "Don't even dream of holding this favor over my head to threaten me!" the golden-furred monkey continued. Hearing this, Qi Yuan could not help but remark, "Of all the things a monkey could learn, you had to learn how to jump to conclusions, turning yourself into an online keyboard warrior. "How strange. You clearly don't have a keyboard, so how can you spout such nonsense? "In reality, shouldn't idiots like this not exist?" Qi Yuan had released the monkey not because he valued its talent or wished to befriend any Ancient Ape Clan. It was purely because running into a monkey in the dragon clan felt like quite a coincidence. Did talent matter to him? The talents of just the Dragon Subduing Arhat and Tiger Taming Arhat alone surpassed this realm's foremost figure, the Holy Mother of Inedia. Yet this monkey was hopping around, utterly nauseating. The golden-furred monkey was somewhat stunned, not expecting Qi Yuan to respond like that. "Even if you freed me from the North Sea Dragon Clan, don't think you can use this to befriend my Ancient Ape Clan. I will personally tell—" "I don't want to befriend the Ancient Ape Clan; in fact, I'd rather offend them," Qi Yuan interrupted. "Instead of being a proper monkey, you insist on acting like Tang Sanzang from *A Chinese Odyssey*, rambling on without end. "You're not even as handsome as the Great Sage, yet you have quite a temper. "I'm not your father; why would I spoil you?" The moment Qi Yuan's voice fell, he drew his sword. The crimson blade cleared its sheath, and with lightning speed, slew the golden-furred monkey with a single strike. After the kill, Qi Yuan felt thoroughly refreshed. He pointed his sword at the corpse on the ground. "I've been sick of you for a long time. Go on, let's hear you run your mouth again?" Unfortunately, the golden-furred monkey was already dead and could not answer him. The talent and backing he had taken such pride in were completely worthless before Qi Yuan. Seeing this, cold sweat broke out on the dragon clansman's forehead. Hadn't they only met less than fifteen minutes ago? How could he have been sick of him for a long time?