Chapter 154: Accidentally Wandering into the Forbidden Grounds

"There's no other choice, it's come to this! I have no choice but to bite the bullet..."

By now, Cao He no longer cared whether he exposed Ye Qiu. If he didn't show up now, the situation probably wouldn't end well.

"Haha... Erlang Sage, whatever skills you have left, just use them! The Great Sage is waiting right here for you, haha..."

The monkey's smug laughter echoed across the firmament. Arrogant as it sounded, only the monkey itself knew that if Qingcheng advanced again, it would drop its staff and run for its life without a second thought.

It was gambling that Qingcheng wouldn't dare! Because from that last clash, both of them had suffered severe injuries and could no longer continue fighting.

Therefore, it deliberately pretended to be fine, trying to scare Qingcheng into not daring to approach.

Right at that moment, a red glow suddenly lit up the horizon, and a figure flew swiftly through the air. With that familiar melody and that familiar figure, the monkey felt a tremor in its heart.

"Th-this, who on earth is this? Why do they look so familiar?"

Even from afar, the monkey felt an intense sense of familiarity, though its blurred vision prevented it from seeing the person's face clearly.

However, the tune the person was playing was extremely well-known; back at the tavern, Ye Qiu used to play these exact melodies every single day.

A figure descended from the horizon, and a stern shout rang out.

"Monkey, do you still remember me?"

That ethereal voice resonated like the grand truths of the Dao, lingering and far-reaching, piercing straight into the heart.

Upon hearing this, a wave of fear welled up within the monkey's heart. Catching sight of the newcomer's appearance, it panicked completely.

"C-Cao, Boss Cao?!"

Oh damn, why is it him? Shouldn't he be back at the tavern managing his endless bad accounts? How does he have the time to run out here?

The moment it saw Cao He, the monkey panicked entirely! In this world, the two people it feared the most were Ye Qiu and Cao He.

One taught it its skills, while the other raised it from a little one! It dared not provoke either of them...

Carefree and fearless as it was, courting disaster everywhere it went, deep down... the monkey actually held a profound respect for Ye Qiu and Cao He.

Seeing that the newcomer was Cao He, the monkey's arms seemed to lose all strength. The staff slipped right out of its grip, its jaw dropping wide open.

"Boss Cao, what brings you here, old man!"

The monkey said with a guilty conscience, its legs beginning to tremble! It was instantly flooded with childhood memories of the terror of being forced by Cao He to call him "Boss Cao."

That guy couldn't become a real boss, so he appointed himself the boss and even forced the monkey to address him as such.

"Hmph, it seems you haven't forgotten me yet!"

Cao He said with an indifferent expression, maintaining his composure from beginning to end, leaving the onlookers gasping in astonishment.

"Why is this monkey showing such deep respect to this senior?"

"Hiss... Incredible. This fearless demon monkey actually has someone it fears. It seems this senior must be an unfathomable figure."

Whispers and speculations rippled through the crowd, filling them with even greater reverence for Cao He.

An opponent even Qingcheng couldn't handle had been scared into dropping his weapons by just a few words from Cao He. Wasn't this intimidation factor a bit too overwhelming?

"Senior is mighty! Senior is supreme..."

Cao He subjugated the demon monkey with a single sentence, stunning the entire audience and leaving Qingcheng utterly bewildered.

"Damn it, you can't play it like this! I fought for my life for half a day and didn't get to look cool at all, and you show up, do absolutely nothing, and steal all my thunder with just a few words?"

Too infuriating! Did I just become a stepping stone on your path to looking cool?

Without comparison, there is no harm! Compared to Cao He, Qingcheng was simply not in the same league.

The monkey didn't fear him at all—not only was it unafraid, but it had also beaten him half to death. Cao He, on the other hand, arrived and terrified the monkey out of its wits with a single sentence.

Who was strong and who was weak was instantly clear.

Qingcheng was practically on the verge of tears! He had once again paved the way for Cao He to show off, elevating Cao He while humiliating himself.

If you play like this, you won't have any friends, you know that?

If I had known cleaning up the monkey was this easy, I wouldn't have had to fight so bitterly.

Seeing the crowd's reaction, Cao He felt a surge of joy. Ignoring Qingcheng's resentful gaze beside him, he suppressed the laughter rising in his chest and looked at the monkey.

He thought to himself: "Haha, this monkey is so sensible. Raising you wasn't a waste; you really know how to save face for your big brother! Ah, not bad, not bad. I didn't expect to effortlessly score a chance to look cool..."

Cao He was feeling utterly delighted inside, yet he maintained a placid exterior and continued, "Monkey, do you know your crimes?"

At Cao He's stern reprimand, the monkey dropped straight to its knees. Panic-stricken for a moment, it still hadn't completely lost its reason.

It hadn't expected to disturb Cao He, a man who had remained hidden inside the tavern for over twenty years without stepping out. It seemed it really had gone too far this time.

Yet it also felt fortunate that the one who came was Cao He; if it had been Ye Qiu, its fate would have been far more miserable.

Even having attained the realm of a Terrestrial Immortal, the monkey still dared not cross Ye Qiu, because that man was simply not someone a mere Terrestrial Immortal could shake. Not even a Great Luo Golden Immortal could make him budge an inch.

Know my crimes?

No, if I get dragged back by him, at the very least I'll be skinned and de-tendoned. I can't go back!

A memory of Ye Qiu's enigmatic, evil smile flashed through the monkey's mind, making it shudder involuntarily. It gritted its teeth and said, "Boss Cao, old Sun respects you and dares not fight you. Farewell!"

With that, it instantly activated its somersault cloud and vanished in a flash.

Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best! No matter why Cao He had come, it could not afford to stay here any longer.

"Want to leave?"

Seeing the monkey about to flee, Cao He panicked instantly. After putting in so much effort, he couldn't let it all go to waste at the finish line.

"Stay right where you are!"

In a flash, his fingers plucked the immortal zither, sending a sword Qi slicing through the miles-long sky, giving chase...

Without hesitation, Cao He followed close behind with his "Strolling Song," moving at an extreme speed as he rapidly closed in on the fleeing monkey.

With no heart to battle and not daring to cross swords with Cao He, the monkey focused solely on escaping, and in its panic, it accidentally blundered into a vast, gray sea.

Cao He did not hesitate; knowing the monkey wouldn't dare confront him, his excitement mounted, and he followed it into the gray sea.

"Stop right there!"

Before the Universe Mirror, the moment he saw Cao He charge in as well, Ye Qiu instantly panicked, cursing the idiot for daring to rush into such an ominous forbidden place.

"Damn it!"

Watching Cao He's figure vanish into the sea surface, Ye Qiu stood up like a madman, cursing incessantly.

"This ignorant fool, just to look cool, he's throwing his life away?"

For all of Ye Qiu's meticulous calculations, he never anticipated that Cao He would actually believe he was invincible.

This was the only flaw in his grand play. Now that Cao He had entered the ominous realm, if he continued to sit here, from then on, only he would be left in this mortal world.

Ye Qiu could not bear such parting. When Ye Dong went missing all those years ago, it had taken Ye Qiu twenty years to recover; he had no desire to endure such sorrow again.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Ye Qiu rise in a rush, Yuechan asked with a trace of tension. She caught the murderous intent in his eyes and knew matters had spiraled completely out of control.

Without looking back, Ye Qiu replied coldly, "The East Sea..."

With those words, his figure transformed into a streaking meteor, shooting straight toward the East Sea...