When Henry Clark saw that monkey strutting out of the Lingxiao Hall, full of pride, he knew that the real show was about to begin.

Sure enough, after entering the Great Sage’s residence and changing his clothes, the monkey wanted to go into the garden to have a look. At the same time, the crane that Henry Clark had transformed into spread its wings and flew toward the Peach Orchard. Normally, Henry Clark would have been a bit more cautious, but today, the monkey was so pleased with himself that he didn’t bother to check if anyone suspicious was following him.

Once inside the orchard, they ran into the local earth deity, and as usual, there was a round of chatter. Henry Clark used an invisibility spell, hiding in the shadows and secretly following the two, listening carefully as the earth deity introduced the orchard to the monkey.

There were a total of 36,000 peach trees in the orchard: the first 1,200 trees at the front bore small flowers and fruit, ripening every 3,000 years. Eating them would grant immortality and a healthy, light body. The middle 1,200 trees had sweet blossoms and fruit, ripening every 6,000 years. Eating them would allow one to ascend to the heavens and live forever. The last 1,200 trees at the back had purple-striped, yellowish pits, ripening every 9,000 years. Eating them would grant a lifespan equal to heaven and earth, as long as the sun and moon.

Henry Clark wasn’t interested in the first 2,400 trees; what intrigued him most were the last 1,200. After circling the orchard, he finally understood why no one ever came to steal peaches.

First, the peaches were extremely hard to ripen—each batch took at least 3,000 years. That was one thing, but the real issue was that the peaches weren’t as miraculous as he’d imagined. Think about it: anyone who could enter the heavenly court and the Peach Orchard was already immortal and ageless. The peaches did nothing for them; to them, these peaches were just like ordinary fruit to mortals—just something to taste.

The only peaches that were actually useful to immortals were the ones that ripened every 9,000 years, with purple stripes and yellowish pits. Even though they weren’t fully ripe yet, Henry Clark could still sense the rich immortal energy within them. For Henry Clark right now, these would be incredibly beneficial, since what he lacked was the primordial energy of heaven and earth—immortal energy. These peaches could help him replenish his spiritual energy and enhance his demonic power. But then again, eating too many wouldn’t help; one or two would be enough. So, in the end, the Peach Orchard didn’t mean much to Henry Clark.

This realization left Henry Clark a bit disappointed. He’d always been awed by the reputation of these peaches, but never considered that their fame was only relevant to mortals. Now that his cultivation had reached the earthly realm, he was no longer in the category of mortals.

But soon, he let it go. No matter—if there were no peaches, weren’t there still golden pills? Those were elixirs personally refined by a sage! Surely, they would be of great benefit to him. Since he couldn’t get what he wanted here, he set his sights on the Grand Supreme Elder Lord.

Chapter 14: Havoc in Heaven—The Spirit Bird’s Gain (Part 4)

From then on, the monkey seemed like a changed person. He no longer spent his time making friends and playing around as he used to, but focused all his attention on the peaches.

Whenever Henry Clark saw how anxious the monkey was, he couldn’t help but laugh. Who knew what the old Jade Emperor was thinking, actually putting the monkey in charge of the orchard? Wasn’t that just inviting him to steal?

Sure enough, not long after, most of the peaches reached maturity, including the 1,200 trees that ripened every 9,000 years. The monkey began scheming to steal and eat the peaches. At first, the earth deity, the strongmen, and the celestial officials from the Qitian Mansion all followed him around. But after he tricked them a few times, they stopped following him. Then, he started stealing peaches himself. Henry Clark wanted to steal peaches purely to change his constitution and improve his cultivation, but the monkey was different—he was simply greedy for the peaches. Maybe it was just his monkey nature; he couldn’t stand seeing ripe peaches on the trees. Whenever he saw one, he had to pick and eat it. So, in just a few days, all the ripe peaches in the orchard were eaten clean by him. Even Henry Clark only managed to sneak two medium peaches while the monkey was asleep, fulfilling his own wish and nothing more.