The chimpanzee's appearance was rather peculiar.
It wore a large straw hat on its head and held a thick cigar in its mouth.
A pair of oversized sunglasses were perched on its nose.
Its lips seemed to be painted with women's rouge, a vibrant red that looked incredibly comical.
It was clad in a Taoist robe, its origin unknown.
Due to its incredibly sturdy physique, the loose robe was stretched to resemble a form-fitting outfit.
The robe was strained so severely that it looked like it might tear apart at any moment!
It even wore shoes on its feet.
One was a cloth shoe, the other a straw sandal…
Most strikingly, it had four arms!
In the hands of two of its arms, it clutched two bananas.
The chimpanzee took a puff from its cigar and skillfully blew out a smoke ring.
The action was so practiced, it was clear it was an old smoker.
Then, it tossed one of the bananas through the gaps in the cell bars.
Gao Ming looked at the banana on the ground before him, then at the gorilla outside.
He was utterly bewildered…
A bizarre gorilla appearing outside his cell was strange enough, but now it was throwing him a banana – what did that even mean?
He then watched as the chimpanzee began to peel the other banana in its hand.
As it peeled, it gestured towards him, as if urging him to do the same…
Circumstances dictated surrender, so Gao Ming complied.
After all, his current physical condition was no different from that of a weak mortal.
If he angered this master outside, he wouldn't be able to withstand even a single blow…
Seeing Gao Ming start to peel a banana, the chimpanzee nodded excitedly.
Then, it continued to peel the banana in its own hand…
Soon, both bananas were peeled.
The chimpanzee took a bite of the banana in its hand and then gestured to Gao Ming.
Gao Ming, still confused, took a bite as well.
The chimpanzee immediately burst into laughter, dropped its banana, and began to clap!
"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"
After clapping, the chimpanzee even gave Gao Ming a thumbs-up.
Then…
The chimpanzee left…
Gao Ming stared blankly, lost in thought…
After a long while…
So…
Was that demonic beast teaching him how to peel and eat bananas?
And that final thumbs-up was a compliment for him???
At that moment, Gao Ming’s eyes welled up with tears…
Because he realized that perhaps the ape outside was human, and he was the ape being watched…
Not long after, something else appeared outside the cell door.
All of them were clothed demonic beasts, their appearances increasingly bizarre…
What they all had in common was that they held something in their hands, or rather, claws.
Peanuts, sunflower seeds, watermelon, apples, pears…
Gao Ming had already fallen into utter despair.
But when he saw a dung beetle, barely a foot tall, struggling to push a ball of dung more than two feet tall…
Gao Ming finally understood what true despair meant…
…
High in the sky above the Imperial City.
"Sect Leader…" the elder said with concern, "Gao Ming hasn't returned yet. Something feels off, doesn't it?"
As he spoke, he took out a communication jade and sent a message.
But after sending several, he received no response…
"It seems things are indeed not as simple as they appear…" the Sect Leader murmured softly, "After all, it has something to do with that object…"
At these words, everyone's eyes sharpened!
They were indeed not local cultivators; they had traveled from afar.
Their reason for being here was for an object.
Long ago, when several sects in their vicinity jointly explored an ancient ruin, they discovered a book.
It contained an earth-shattering secret!
It was said that a powerful ancient being, after ascending, left behind a terrifying artifact in the cultivation world!
Rumor had it that this artifact could easily annihilate cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage!
And it required almost no cultivation level from the user; even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator could wield it!
This meant…
Anyone who obtained this object would absolutely be able to walk unhindered in the cultivation world from then on!
Fame, status, wealth…
All would be theirs!
Faced with such temptation, no one could refuse!
Although it all sounded incredibly far-fetched, the several sects decided to investigate.
After all…
The lives of cultivators were long, and they had nothing better to do…
As a result of their research, they actually discovered some things!
It turned out the book also recorded something else.
The terrifying artifact was stored in a particular place.
To enter that place, one needed to find three keys!
The clues to the keys were hidden within obscure sentences, as if the person who hid them deliberately intended to add an air of mystery.
It took them hundreds of years to finally find one of the keys.
Once they confirmed that this matter was truly viable, they fully committed themselves to the grand plan of finding the keys.
As for how they would distribute it…
They hadn't even found all the keys yet, let alone knew the exact location of the place!
Such ancient matters could be discussed later.
Perhaps others would perish along the way!
This group of theirs had followed clue after clue, eventually leading them to the Great Liang Kingdom!
Although they were not sure of the exact location, narrowing the scope down to a single country was almost as good as finding it!
Now that something unexpected had occurred concerning the place where the keys were hidden, it wasn't entirely surprising.
"Continue the investigation," the Sect Leader commanded.
"Li Fei," the Great Elder nodded and called out to his eldest disciple.
Li Fei was the best among all his disciples, and his strength had reached the peak of the tenth level of Void Return!
As the saying goes,
When there's work, the disciple goes; when there's nothing…
It was too undignified for an elder to scout ahead; it was better to leave it to the disciples.
"Master, rest assured!" Li Fei confidently said, "Leave it to your disciple!"
Although Gao Ming seemed to have encountered some trouble, Li Fei paid it no mind.
As his master's most prized disciple, his own strength was far beyond what a weakling like Gao Ming could compare to!
It was merely a small country in a remote region; he would go and investigate it right away!
Great Liang Imperial Palace.
Li Fei was lucky.
As soon as he landed, two people walked towards him.
It was De'an and Chun Hong…
At this moment, they looked incredibly normal, no longer possessing their former air of wisdom.
"This is bad, we've lost the item," De'an said anxiously, "The Empress specifically requested it; we're doomed this time…"
"De'an, please stop talking…" Chun Hong was trembling all over, "I'm so scared I could lose my head…"
Mid-sentence, they saw Li Fei before them.
The two exchanged glances.
An unfamiliar face.
Suspicious demeanor.
Potentially an assassin!
"Excuse me, are you an assassin?" De'an asked nervously.
Perhaps it was due to excessive nervousness.
As he spoke, he fiercely squeezed the flesh of his thigh.
The pain made Chun Hong beside him wince…
Li Fei glanced at De'an with a strange expression.
Why did this person speak so oddly?
Did he lack some screws loose?
"If you consider me one, then I am," Li Fei said indifferently, "Quickly take me to see your Emperor, and I might spare your lives!"
Li Fei was unconcerned about his identity being exposed.
Because he had no intention of hiding himself!
He, a cultivator at the Half-step Out-of-Body stage, still needed to play hide-and-seek with these trash mortals?
He wouldn't stoop to such a level!
Chun Hong glanced at Li Fei.
There was apprehension in her eyes.
And also expectation.
"Then… are you here to assassinate His Majesty?"