The Golden-haired Long-armed Ape’s heart was as clear as crystal and still beating faintly.

Song Changsheng quickly retrieved a Jade Box to seal it away. He then picked up the wooden club the ape had been using, which turned out to be the extremely rare Tier Two Golden Silk Spirit Wood.

This type of Spirit Wood grew extremely slowly, only one inch every ten years. This piece was ten feet long and as thick as a thigh, meaning it had been growing for at least a thousand years.

A Spirit Wood like this was more than enough to serve as the main material for a Tier Two Top-Grade artifact. If the Law Power of this world weren’t incomplete, it would have long since reached the Tier Three Level. ’What a shame. To be ruined by a monkey... such a colossal waste.’

After cleaning up the battlefield, Song Changsheng licked his lips. ’This must be the Golden-haired Long-armed Ape’s territory. I wonder if there’s any Monkey Wine.’

The territory of a Tier Two Demon Beast was vast, and searching it would surely take a considerable amount of time. He would inevitably fall even further behind Xia Qingxue and the others.

But in Song Changsheng’s opinion, while the Exotic Treasure was tempting, the competition for it would be fierce. ’A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I should secure what I can here first.’

"I hope you can save me some time," Song Changsheng muttered. He plucked a tuft of the ape’s fur, held it to his nose to sniff, and committed the scent to memory. Then, he closed his eyes and focused on the lingering scents in the air.

As he expected, this entire area was the ape’s territory. Its scent permeated everything, indicating that it moved about the vicinity frequently.

The scent was faint in most places, but much stronger in a few spots. Song Changsheng followed the trail toward these stronger concentrations and, a few miles from the battlefield, finally spotted a colossal, towering tree so thick it would take five or six people to encircle its trunk.

About five or six feet from the ground, there was a large hole in the center of the trunk. The opening was plugged with a piece of some unknown log, and a faint aroma of wine wafted from it. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"I knew it!" Song Changsheng was overjoyed. He quickly pulled out the log and peered inside. The trunk was almost entirely hollowed out and filled more than halfway with a cloudy liquor. Numerous Spirit Fruits and Spirit Medicines floated within, and the potent aroma of wine rushed to his nose.

This was the legendary Monkey Wine. To be honest, Song Changsheng was a little disappointed. The brewing method was incredibly crude; even the rough wines brewed by mortals were better than this.

’I guess I expected too much. While the Spiritual Wisdom of a Tier Two Demon Beast might be comparable to a human’s, a beast is still a beast. My expectations can’t be too high.’

Song Changsheng shook his head and chuckled at himself. With a flick of his hand, the liquor in the tree hollow formed a thin stream that flowed directly into his mouth.

The taste was surprisingly good. A single sip left a pleasant fragrance on his palate. The various fruit flavors mingled together, creating a complex aroma that was a delightful surprise.

’It’s a completely different experience from the Spirit Wine my mother brews,’ Song Changsheng thought, feeling quite satisfied. ’While not as miraculous as the legends claim, it contains immense Spiritual Power and Medicinal Power. Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn’t drink much of it.’

The quality of this wine was much better than he had imagined. It must have aged for quite some time; it certainly wasn’t brewed by the Golden-haired Long-armed Ape he had just slain.

’So-called Monkey Wine is really just a crudely made fruit wine. I just wonder what special ingredients were added to produce such a magical effect.’

’In the future, I could try finding some rare Spirit Medicines and Spirit Fruits to add. I might be able to improve the quality and take it to the next level.’

At this thought, Song Changsheng formed his fingers into a blade and sliced the ancient tree in half. He then uprooted the massive trunk and placed it into a separate Qiankun Bag. Gauging its weight, he estimated it was no less than a ton.

After confirming this was the only tree containing wine, Song Changsheng wasted no more time and continued deeper into the Small World.

Elsewhere in the Small World, three barren mountains, each thousands of feet high, stood in a tripod formation. In the center, they formed a massive valley. At this moment, the sky above the valley was thick with dark clouds that rumbled with thunder and flashed with lightning, a destructive aura brewing within them.

In the valley beneath the dark clouds, a vine-like plant struggled to emerge from a crack in the rock. It had revealed less than an inch of its length when a sudden clap of thunder boomed from the leaden clouds above, startling the new sprout so much that it trembled and nearly retracted.

After a long moment, seeing no further disturbance from the dark clouds, it tentatively began to grow outward again. It quickly shot up to a foot in length, swaying gently in the wind.

Its once-curled leaves unfurled, revealing nine in total. They were a vibrant, glistening green, like the palms of a small child.

But it seemed unsatisfied with just nine leaves. It strove to push out a new sprout, attempting to grow another leaf.

BOOM—

The instant the new leaf appeared, the dark clouds in the sky abruptly unleashed a golden Thunderbolt, instantly submerging the vine in a sea of golden lightning.

When the Thunderbolt dissipated, the vine still stood tenaciously, but its newborn shoot and leaf had been turned to ash.

Having learned its lesson, the vine no longer dared to grow new leaves. It silently absorbed nutrients and began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye. It quickly reached a length of nine feet and nine inches, but as it approached ten feet, it was once again engulfed by a golden Thunderbolt.

This time, it did not escape so easily. The vine collapsed onto the rock, barely clinging to life. Its once-rich life force had dwindled significantly.

If anyone had been there to witness this, their jaw would have dropped in shock. What kind of plant could possibly warrant repeated warnings from a "Thunder Tribulation"?

After a long time, nourished by a ceaseless supply of energy, the vine once again regained its former vitality. This time, however, it did not continue to grow. Instead, a white, thumb-sized flower bud emerged from beneath each of its leaves.