Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Yaochi asked curiously, "Why is Jiao'er in such a hurry this time?"

Yang Jiao was, after all, Haotian and Yaochi's nephew, and their relationship had grown stronger over the years. They often reminisced about their friendship, and Yang Jiao treated them with great respect.

Haotian squinted. Having been the ruler of the Heavenly Court for so many years, he keenly sensed the changes in Yang Jiao.

"Perhaps Lei Ming said something to him," Hao Tian said. His attitude towards Lei Ming had changed, mainly because of Lei Ming's increased strength.

Yaochi nodded and said nothing more.

The Heavenly Court's invitation was delivered to various major powers, including Guang Chengzi and the Buddha Tathagata, and most of them accepted.

Haotian and Yaochi also knew the significance of this Peach Banquet, so they sent people to prepare long ago. They prepared tens of thousands of purple-veined peaches that ripen only once every nine thousand years!

News of the Peach Banquet spread throughout the celestial realm, and many newly ascended immortals were discussing it enthusiastically. To them, the Peach Banquet was a legend, and the peaches were the divine medicine they longed for.

The Peach Banquet's allure also reflects the current influence of the Heavenly Court.

In the Eastern Continent of Divine Victory, on Flower Fruit Mountain, a Taoist priest in black robes emerged from a spatial rift and arrived at the mountaintop. At the summit stood a five-colored divine stone, within which a luminous stone monkey was being nurtured. Judging by the time, this stone monkey was about to be born.

The black-robed Taoist smiled at the five-colored divine stone, and silently, he extracted a wisp of the essence from the spirit monkey within it. Afterward, the black-robed Taoist disappeared, and when he reappeared, a monkey with six ears lay beside him—the Six-Eared Macaque, whose essence he too had extracted.

After the black-robed Taoist left, the Six-Eared Macaque slowly awoke, realizing that his fainting spell had been quite strange. The naturally clever Six-Eared Macaque searched around and eventually found a jade scroll containing a cultivation technique. After reading it, the Six-Eared Macaque excitedly jumped up and down.

The black-robed Taoist ignored the Six-Eared Macaque and went to the Huai River. Directly below the Huai River was a well, cast by Yu the Great to imprison the Red-Bottomed Macaque Wuzhiqi, who had once caused trouble. Wuzhiqi was bound by divine iron by Yu the Great and suppressed at the bottom of the Huai River well.

The black-robed Taoist entered Huaijing and was immediately detected by Wuzhiqi. Wuzhiqi was already a Great Luo Golden Immortal in the era of Yu the Great, possessing unparalleled strength.

"Who are you?" Wuzhiqi sized up the black-robed Taoist. "Judging from your aura, you should be a demon. Are you here to save me? No, demons wouldn't do that. No one would risk being devoured by the human race's fortune to save me."

"As expected, you are a Red-Bottomed Macaque who understands Yin and Yang, knows human affairs, is good at entering and exiting, and can avoid death and prolong life." The black-robed Taoist laughed. "No need to guess anymore. I am neither here to save you nor to kill you. I only need a trace of your essence."

Upon hearing this, Wuzhiqi stared at the black-robed Taoist with bloodshot eyes. For him, the damage to his essence was almost the same as death.

"If you cooperate obediently, you can suffer less," the black-robed Taoist said, shaking his head.

"What an arrogant bastard!" Wuzhiqi, fearless as he was, said, "You're hiding your true form, trying to steal your grandfather's essence. First, take a blow from your grandfather!"

Wuzhiqi's body swayed, and the huge chains rattled, one of them lashing out at the black-robed Taoist.

The black-robed Taoist priest was enraged: "You're the first person to dare call me grandfather."

Wuzhiqi remained unmoved as the chains struck the black-robed Taoist. These chains were forged from the divine iron of Yu the Great, imbued with the merits of Yu the Great's flood control efforts; their power was no less than that of a primordial spiritual treasure. However, when the chains struck the black-robed Taoist, he didn't budge. Two streaks of dark yellow light flashed around his body, blocking the chains, and then he reached out and grabbed them.

"Just a mere iron chain," the black-robed Taoist said, as the sturdy chain slowly began to decay in his hands, finally snapping in his hands. In reality, he had absorbed the essence of the chain, and the chain, now reduced to ordinary iron, naturally could not withstand his power.

Wuzhiqi was shocked. He looked at the black-robed Taoist again and found that he could no longer see through the other party's aura.

"Who exactly are you?" Wuzhiqi asked repeatedly.

The man in black robes did not answer. He teleported to Wuzhiqi's side, and Wuzhiqi immediately felt his magic power rapidly fading.

"The law of devouring! You are a demon master!" Wuzhiqi exclaimed in surprise.

"You mean that old guy Kunpeng?" the black-robed Taoist sneered. "He wouldn't dare show his face in front of me."

Wuzhiqi then realized he had offended an old monster. He hurriedly begged for mercy, but the black-robed Taoist remained unmoved. After absorbing Wuzhiqi's magical power, the Taoist began to devour his very essence. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wuzhiqi, this powerful Grand Luo Golden Immortal, vanished into thin air.

"Who in this world, besides saints, dares to insult me?" the black-robed Taoist said coldly. The black mist on his face dissipated, revealing him to be Mosquito Taoist. Mosquito Taoist was one of Lei Ming's avatars, born with the ability to control the Devouring Law. With the help of the Five Elements World, his control over the Devouring Law had reached 35%, making him a genuine quasi-saint.

Lei Ming instructed Mosquito Taoist to retrieve the essence of the Four Chaotic Monkeys, including the essence of the Tongbei Ape, which he had already obtained during the Investiture of the Gods. After obtaining the essences of the other three monkeys, Lei Ming combined them with the Tongbei Ape's essence and infused them into the Nine-Aperture Stone Man. This Nine-Aperture Stone Man was one he had brought from the world of *Covering the Sky* and subsequently nurtured. Now that the Nine-Aperture Stone Man possessed the essence of the Four Chaotic Monkeys, it was inevitable that it would evolve towards an ape-like form.

A hundred years have passed in the Five Elements World. The Nine-Aperture Stone Man has finally completed his evolution. His previous memories have been erased, and now he is a newly born Chaotic Demon Ape.

The birth of the Nine-Aperture Stone Man shook the Five Elements World. Although newly born, the Nine-Aperture Stone Man had already awakened the bloodline of the Chaos Demon Ape. Behind him appeared a phantom ten thousand feet tall, which was none other than the Chaos Demon Ape. The Chaos Demon Ape roared to the sky, as if expressing its fighting spirit.

"Not bad. With the bloodline of the Four Chaotic Monkeys, the Nine-Aperture Stone Man's potential has greatly increased," Lei Ming said with satisfaction.

After the Nine-Aperture Stone Man took human form, he was taken in by Lei Ming. Lei Ming named him Yuan Zhantian and then taught him skills. In less than a hundred years, Yuan Zhantian became a Golden Immortal, and once he became a Golden Immortal, he was an invincible existence among Golden Immortals.

A thousand years later, Yuan Zhantian became a Taiyi Golden Immortal. The reason it took him so long to break through was not because he lacked talent, but because he was comprehending the Law of War, which required real battles to grow rapidly.

Lei Ming brought Yuan Zhantian to Liyuan Island and then forged a supreme acquired treasure, the War God Spear, for him.

"Zhan Tian, ​​I have taught you the skills I needed to teach you. The rest of the journey is up to you," Lei Ming said. "You possess the inheritance of the Chaos Demon Ape, making you a born war god. However, once you leave the island, you will experience many hardships. You should think it through carefully."

Yuan Zhantian has a very calm and composed temperament, which is also a result of Lei Ming's education.

"Disciple understands, disciple will be careful," Yuan Zhantian said.

Lei Ming nodded and said, "When you leave the island this time, you are not allowed to reveal my name to outsiders. Unless you encounter a life-or-death battle, you are not allowed to ask me for help."

"Yes, Master!" Yuan Zhantian did not ask Lei Ming why he did this.

"In that case, you should leave," Lei Ming said.

Yuan Zhantian kowtowed to Lei Ming several times, and then leaped away from Liyuan Island.

After seeing Yuan Zhantian off, the Peach Banquet was about to begin, so Lei Ming went to Jin'ao Island to meet up with several of his senior brothers and sisters.

"Congratulations to Senior Sister Wudang and Senior Sister Yunxiao on attaining Quasi-Sainthood." Upon seeing his fellow disciples again, Lei Ming congratulated them with a smile, and Wudang Holy Mother and Yunxiao quickly returned the greeting.

After decades of seclusion in Shangqing Heaven, the Holy Mother Wudang and Yunxiao broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and successfully severed their corpses.

"Senior Sister Jinling and Senior Brother Wuyun, there's no need to be anxious. Perhaps the time hasn't come yet." Lei Ming then looked at Holy Mother Jinling and Wuyun Mountain. The two nodded without saying anything more.

"Senior Brother Wuyun, have you found out where Senior Brother Ma Sui is?" Lei Ming asked.

Wu Yunxian shook his head. They had been scattered in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and had lost contact with each other ever since.

"However, I can confirm that Junior Brother Ma Sui did not join Buddhism, nor was he listed on the Investiture of the Gods," said Wu Yunxian.

"This is already good news. Perhaps Senior Brother Ma Sui felt the time wasn't right, which is why he didn't show himself," Lei Ming said. "Never mind that, the Peach Banquet is about to begin. Let's go to the Heavenly Court first."

The Heavenly Court was bustling with activity. Haotian and Yaochi had put in considerable effort to ensure the success of the Peach Banquet. Outside the South Heavenly Gate, immortals continued to descend, exchanging greetings before leisurely entering and heading towards the Yaochi Wonderland. Most of these early arrivals were independent cultivators, but many were also highly skilled.

Yang Jiao was the Ziwei Emperor and also the nephew of Haotian. He represented the Heavenly Court to entertain these people.

"Fellow Daoist Chisongzi!" Yang Jiao recognized a familiar face—it was none other than Chisongzi, a member of the human race. Yang Jiao had received guidance from Chisongzi during his sword practice years ago. Later, after returning to Liyuan Island, Yang Jiao learned that Chisongzi was actually an old friend of Lei Ming's.

When Chisongzi saw Yang Jiao, he couldn't help but smile.

"Many years have passed since we last met, and you remain unchanged. However, your cultivation has become increasingly refined, reaching the late stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, and you are on track to become a Quasi-Saint in the future," Yang Jiao said.

Chisongzi said, "Fellow Daoist Yang has changed a lot. Not only has his cultivation improved, but he has also become one of the Six Emperors of the Heavenly Court."

"This was all planned by my master," Yang Jiao said. "I mentioned you to my master before, and he was very happy. My master will also be attending the Peach Banquet this time, so you can catch up properly then."

"Lei Zu...?" Chi Songzi thought of the days of the human race, shook his head, and said nothing more.

After the numerous independent cultivators, the major forces finally began to appear. The first to arrive was the demon race of Beiju Luzhou, represented by the demon saint Bai Ze, who had now cultivated to the level of a quasi-saint.

Yang Jiao knew that Lei Ming and the demon race had a bad relationship, so he did not greet him, but this angered the demon race.