60: Fleeing to the open sea! I became the boss in a monster's lair!

“Audacious Maniac! How dare you cause trouble in the Star Palace!”

Three powerful streaks of Escape Light, like meteors, streaked across the sky and instantly halted above Gu Yang's head.

The Star Palace Law Enforcement Squad, three great Cultivators in the Early Nascent Soul Stage!

They looked at the “ice sculpture” below, which was frozen solid with blue ice while maintaining a swallowing posture, and the surrounding land frozen into an ice plain. Their eyes flashed with shock, anger, and greed.

tian yi divine water!

That was a supreme water-type Origin treasure! How could this Brute swallow it? This is an utter waste of resources!

“Capture him! Before the divine water is fully refined, throw him into a Pill Furnace! Perhaps we can still extract the divine water!” the leading Law Enforcement Elder shouted sharply.

“Crack... snap...”

Just as the three Nascent Soul Cultivators prepared to act, a crack suddenly appeared in the lifelike “ice sculpture.”

Gu Yang's eyes moved. Although his body was stiff, his mind was extraordinarily active.

“Want to refine me? Dream on!”

The Five Viscera Furnace inside him was operating frantically, trying to digest the extremely cold energy that was almost bursting his Physical Body.

“If I have indigestion, then I'll just spit some out!”

Gu Yang suddenly opened his mouth, and a beast-like growl erupted from deep within his throat.

He stopped suppressing the violent water-type Origin within his body and instead guided it to burst outwards!

Extreme Dao Burst Step—Ice Burst Spell (Self-Created Version)!

Boom—!!!

A terrifying white cold tide instantly exploded outwards from Gu Yang, spreading in all directions.

This wasn't just cold Qi; it was Origin power compressed to the extreme!

The space within a ten-mile radius was instantly frozen. Water molecules in the air condensed into countless sharp ice shards, bombarding the surroundings indiscriminately like a destructive blizzard.

“This is bad! Retreat quickly!”

The expressions of the three Law Enforcement Elders changed drastically, and they quickly activated their Protective Magic Treasures.

But the cold tide was too fast and too fierce. Even the Nascent Soul Stage shields cracked and groaned upon contact.

Taking advantage of this chaotic moment, the ice layer on Gu Yang's body shattered.

Although he hadn't fully recovered his mobility, it was enough.

“See ya later!”

Gu Yang didn't hesitate. He turned and plunged into the turbulent sea next to him like a cannonball.

Plop!

The moment he entered the water, Gu Yang felt as if he had returned home.

The originally violent and untamable tian yi divine water energy inside his body suddenly became docile the moment it touched the seawater.

[Water-Type Origin Resonance! Acquired Temporary Water Escape Extreme Speed!]

A faint blue light appeared on the surface of Gu Yang's Physical Body. His speed underwater instantly increased tenfold. Like a slippery fish, he vanished into the darkness of the deep sea in a few blinks.

“Chase him! We absolutely cannot let him escape!”

In the sky, the Star Palace Elders were exasperated, frantically sweeping the sea surface with their Divine Sense.

But in the vast sea, trying to find a Body Cultivator who possessed water-type Origin and was determined to flee was like searching for a needle in a haystack... Three days later, at the edge of the Chaotic Star Sea, the Outer Sea.

This place was a Restricted Area for Human Race Cultivators, a paradise for Yao Beasts. The sea surface was perpetually shrouded in mist and thunderstorms, and beneath the surface lurked countless terrifying giant beasts that had lived for who knows how long.

On a solitary Deserted Island.

Gu Yang crawled up from the beach and spat out a mouthful of saltwater.

“Finally shook them off...”

He slumped onto the sand beach, checking his status.

After three days of desperate fleeing and gradual absorption, he had digested more than half of the tian yi divine water's energy.

[Water-Type Origin Completed! Five Elements Gap Completion 4/5!]

[Acquired new Physical Body characteristic: Sea God Physique!]

[Effect: Infinite Breathing underwater, immunity to deep-sea water pressure, possesses the Ability to Control Water. In a marine environment, strength and recovery rate are increased by 100%!]

“Not bad. Although the process was a bit perilous, this wave was worth it.”

Gu Yang clenched his fist, feeling that even without activating the Golden Body, he could now shatter a small mountain with a single punch.

“Now, only the final Metal Attribute is missing.”

He remembered the taiyi essence gold held by the Five Elements Sect Sect Master, and a Cold Glint flashed in his eyes.

“Old Fool, your head and that gold nugget are temporarily deposited with you. Once I complete the Five Elements, we'll settle the final score.”

“But before that...”

Gu Yang's stomach uncooperatively started rumbling again.

“I need to find something to eat first.”

He stood up, his gaze directed toward the depths of the Deserted Island.

He could sense an extremely violent and powerful Yao power fluctuation, filled with the aura of thunder, coming from the center of this seemingly desolate island.

“Thunder Attribute Yao Beast? It should taste quite crispy and numbing.”

Gu Yang carried the heavenly demon meteor hammer and strode toward the depths of the island.

Passing through a dense rainforest, a huge mountain valley appeared before him.

The sky above the mountain valley was perpetually covered in thunderclouds, and lightning struck down occasionally.

Living in the valley was a group of giant apes, three meters tall, covered in blue-purple fur, with exposed tusks.

Thunderstorm Ape!

A pack-dwelling Yao Beast. Adults possess Golden Core Stage cultivation, are extremely irritable, possess infinite strength, and can control lightning.

“Roar!”

The moment Gu Yang appeared, the two Thunderstorm Apes on guard spotted him. They let out an angry roar, pounded their chests, and charged over.

“How polite, bringing me takeout right upon meeting.”

Gu Yang casually slammed the meteor hammer onto the ground. He didn't use a weapon, instead reaching out with his bare hands.

Slap! Slap!

Two crisp sounds.

The two charging Thunderstorm Apes were sent flying by a slap from Gu Yang, knocking them unconscious as they hung in the trees.

“Too weak.” Gu Yang shook his head.

“ROAR—!!!”

Just then, an earth-shattering roar came from the depths of the mountain valley.

A terrifying figure, five meters tall, wreathed in purple lightning and radiating a dreadful aura, slowly walked out of the cave.

Thunderstorm Ape King!

A Yao Beast Overlord at the Half-Step Nascent Soul level!

It looked at Gu Yang, its eyes filled with tyranny and murderous intent. This tiny Human dared to trespass into its territory and injure its monkey kin?

“You're the boss here?”

Gu Yang looked at the majestic Ape King. Instead of fear, he showed appreciation.

“This size, these muscles... its brain matter must be very nourishing.”

He stuck the meteor hammer into the ground and stretched his wrists.

“Come on, let's ignore Spells and just compete in strength.”

“If I win, I'm the Big Brother. If I lose... well, I can't possibly lose.”

Although the Ape King couldn't understand human speech, it understood Gu Yang's provocative gesture.

It roared in fury, enveloped in lightning, and charged forward like a battle chariot.

Gu Yang Advanced instead of retreating. He activated the Primordial Golden Body, and the black-gold light violently collided with the purple lightning.

Boom! Bang! Crack!

The most primal and savage melee battle erupted in the valley.

There were no flashy techniques, only the dull thuds of fist meeting flesh.

Ten minutes later.

Gu Yang sat astride the neck of the bruised and swollen Ape King, one hand gripping the tuft of hair on its head, the other holding a piece of lightning-struck wood snapped off from who knows where, pointing at the group of trembling monkeys below.

“From today onward, call me Great King!”

The Ape King whimpered mournfully, completely submitting. This Human's skin was too thick; the lightning strikes felt like tickles, and his strength was ridiculously immense.

Just like that, Gu Yang inexplicably became the “Monkey King” of this Deserted Island.

He commanded this group of Thunderstorm Apes to completely strip the island of Spirit Medicine and Ore.

“Great King! Great King!”

One day, a clever little monkey ran over, holding an ancient stone slab as if presenting a treasure.

Gu Yang took the stone slab. The writing on it was archaic and difficult to understand, but it vaguely mentioned a word that made his heart race—“Spirit Realm.”

He followed the little monkey to a hidden underwater cave beneath the island.

There, shockingly, stood a dilapidated Ancient Teleportation Formation.

Next to the Formation was a stone tablet, engraved with several vague large characters:

[Leading to... Spirit Realm... Fragment...]

“Spirit Realm Fragment?”

Gu Yang stroked his chin, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

“Is that a higher-level place than the Cultivation World? Are the Yao Beasts there... perhaps tastier?”

“But this Formation seems to be lacking energy...”

He looked at the empty sockets on the Formation; those were places for Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

“Top-Grade Spirit Stones? I don't even have Low-Grade Spirit Stones right now.”

Gu Yang sighed.

“It seems I have to continue 'working' in this world to save up money.”

He looked out at the vast Outer Sea and formulated a new plan:

“I'll hunt Yao Beasts right here in the Outer Sea, save money, and wait for that Five Elements Sect Sect Master to be alone so I can reclaim my taiyi essence gold!”