"Where in the Void Valley did you find this monkey?" Xu Zimei asked.
"You should know about the Way Back Road, shouldn’t you?" Leader Pi inquired.
"Yes, it is said that the Space Turbulence there is severe, to the point where even the Void Trees cannot survive there.
Hence, it’s called the Way Back Road," Xu Zimei nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. After you enter the Void Valley and continue heading north for several hundred kilometers, you will arrive at the border between the Peaceful Area and the Way Back Road.
The valley where I found this statue is right there on the boundary," Leader Pi nodded as he spoke.
"Then, may I have this Golden Monkey Statue?" Xu Zimei asked.
"It’s no big deal to give it to you, but I have a guess. Do you want to hear it?" Leader Pi posed the question.
"Let’s hear it," Xu Zimei nodded.
"If the creature you’re seeking, the Void Spirit Monkey, really exists, and this Golden Monkey Statue I picked up somewhat confirms it,
then why has nobody encountered it in tens of thousands of years?" Leader Pi said.
"The only explanation for this situation is that it has been hiding in a place inaccessible to living creatures," Leader Pi continued.
"You mean the Way Back Road," Xu Zimei nodded and said.
"That’s just my speculation," Leader Pi nodded in response.
"If it were in the Peaceful Area, it would eventually be encountered by someone.
Unless it is in the Way Back Road, where it could remain hidden for tens of thousands of years.
If that’s the case, then it’s troublesome because we simply can’t enter the Way Back Road."
"I’ll find a way to handle this myself," Xu Zimei said with a smile, taking the Golden Monkey Statue from Leader Pi before making small talk and taking his leave.
He found the statue rather heavy in his hands, but felt nothing else out of the ordinary.
Since it was constantly radiating a brilliant golden glow, Xu Zimei could only keep it in his True Fate World to avoid drawing unnecessary trouble.
Xu Zimei did not linger; he had already stored Nightmare’s carriage inside his True Fate World.
Taking advantage of the darkness, he arrived at the entrance to Void Valley.
There were guards watching over the place twenty-four hours a day, and even though it had grown dark, people were still entering in twos and threes.
"Passage token," a guard dressed in blue, looking somewhat listless, asked Xu Zimei at the entrance.
Xu Zimei handed over his token, and the guard allowed him to pass.
Looking at the twisted spatial vortex in front of him, Xu Zimei walked straight into it.
At that moment, he felt a sense of weightlessness, as if he were floating in mid-air, sinking endlessly downwards.
This feeling of weightlessness lasted for quite a while, and Xu Zimei only felt space softly enveloping him before a bright light appeared in front of his eyes.
He crashed to the ground, feeling the solid impact against his body.
He raised his head and looked around, and the barrenness of the environment was indescribable.
Not a single blade of grass grew, and at the edge of his vision, not a single creature could be seen.
Not even a single grass was present, the ground was bare, and from time to time a "rumbling" sound came from beneath the crust.
Xu Zimei discerned his direction and headed straight to the north.
After climbing over a high slope and walking just a few steps, Xu Zimei saw a figure rushing towards him from the void.
With quick reflexes, he punched directly at the dark shadow.
The shadow cried out in pain and was sent flying backward.
Before Xu Zimei could get a clear look, the shadow disappeared into the void once more.
"A Void Beast," Xu Zimei thought with a slight frown.
With a grasp of his right hand, spiritual energy surged forth, solidifying the surrounding space completely.
Immediately after, the space in front of him shattered, and a gigantic beast lunged at him with its gaping maw.
Xu Zimei snorted coldly, grabbed the foreleg of the beast with his right hand, and shifted slightly to one side to dodge the attack.
The Creation Force flowed in his hand as he lifted the beast’s foreleg and smashed it fiercely onto the ground.
After several consecutive slams, the gigantic beast had already lost the strength to fight back.
It wasn’t until it lay on the ground, breathing its last, that Xu Zimei could clearly see the face of the Void Beast.
It was a pale white creature, somewhat transparent, and it resembled a fish with a body covered in hard scales but with four short legs.
Its eyes were as small as beans, and atop its nose was a pointed horn.
Before Xu Zimei could take any further action, the Void Beast lay dead where it was.
After its death, its body astonishingly transformed into wisps of gas and merged into the void, leaving nothing behind.
Xu Zimei had conducted investigations before, and people here, besides their fear of the Void Turbulence, also deeply detested these Void Beasts.
Because the Void Beasts hid in the void, striking unexpectedly, those of lower cultivation could not at all restrain the void.
The main issue was, killing these Void Beasts yielded no rewards.
Since their true nature was part of the void, they were born from nothingness and returned to nothingness after death.
Xu Zimei didn’t concern himself too much; he hurried toward the northern border with all his might.
Over the course of the entire night, the sky within Void Valley also began to brighten significantly.
This place looked even more barren than a desert. On his way, Xu Zimei, apart from encountering some temporarily constructed and now abandoned tents, had seen almost nothing else.
So he traveled for seven days within Void Valley.
That afternoon, the sound of combat not far ahead caught Xu Zimei’s attention.
This was the first time he had encountered other people since his arrival here.
The flashes of swords and blades, accompanied by a furious shout, echoed from afar.
"Qin Yuan, this Void Tree was discovered by me first, do you really want to fight me to the death?"
"Zhang Qihao, heavenly treasures are destined for those with fate.
Since when do the things you see automatically become yours?"
Two voices were confronting each other. Xu Zimei advanced and from a distance he saw two figures engaged in battle.
One shadow was black, the other white.
Both wielded swords, and their cultivation appeared to be of the Esteem Vein Realm. Their Sword Intent was high and violent, causing turbulence around them.
And right in front of the two men, three trees stood upon the earth. Because of the distance, Xu Zimei couldn’t see very clearly.
He approached step by step, and the two men did not notice his arrival.
In a few strides, Xu Zimei had already reached the front of the Void Trees.
Only three Void Trees grew here, surrounded by a dense Space Force swirling around them.
The degree of spatial distortion was not intense; the trees were over one meter tall, still retaining that semi-transparent pale white color.
Each Void Tree had only one branch, and on each branch, there was only one green leaf.
The trunk’s surface was etched with curving lines that wrapped around the Void Tree, extending from top to bottom.
"Someone is stealing the Void Trees," the two men finally noticed Xu Zimei’s presence and cried out, rushing at him all at once.
"Noisy," Xu Zimei casually gestured, and the two men were directly blown away.