Wait a minute, where is my master?

Even though the elder of Kunlun Immortal Palace, Elder Chi, had roamed the Cultivation World for many years and braved countless storms, at this moment, in this place, seeing half a strip of crispy pork belly...

He was still puzzled for a moment.

A look of befuddlement appeared on his face, youthful despite his white hair.

Then, with a loose grasp of his five fingers, he drew the piece of crispy pork belly from the ground into his palm, which was enveloped in Spiritual Power, and began to examine it carefully.

The movement of Elder Chi stimulating his Spiritual Power, naturally, did not escape the notice of the other three.

Grandma Yu sensed the slight fluctuation of Spiritual Power beside her, was the first to turn her head to look, and asked,

"Elder Chi, what are you doing? Hey, what is that thing in your hand... Is it... What is it?"

Her voice trailed off into hesitation halfway through her question.

Grandma Yu saw that the item in the other's hand resembled the common food from the mortal world—crispy pork belly.

But she was somewhat uncertain.

After all, the elder of Kunlun Immortal Palace holding half a strip of crispy pork belly, examining it as if it were a rare treasure, was a bit preposterous.

Was this at all reasonable?

Even setting aside whether it was reasonable or not, there was something off about this picture!

At this moment, Yan Chu and the gaunt elder also turned their heads, and upon clearly seeing the object in Elder Chi's hand, a flash of surprise crossed both pairs of eyes simultaneously.

"Elder Chi, are you hungry or what? Instead of hurrying to find out what's going on with these columns of fire around us, how did you start eating?"

The elder of Pan Shi Valley teased him with a comment, then, stepping forward, he reached out to take the item from Elder Chi's hand.

Elder Chi, sensing the approaching hand, instinctively thought of stepping back.

But right behind him was the exceptionally hot column of fire and the barrier of golden spiritual power, so, left with no alternative, Elder Chi had to activate his Protective Dharma Treasure.

A Tai Chi pattern silently emerged around his arm and, with a humming sound upon collision, the gaunt elder's probing hand was repelled, causing him to take a small involuntary step backward.

"Elder Chi, it's just a piece of crispy pork belly, was there a need to use your Protective Dharma Treasure?"

The gaunt elder shook his hand, mumbling his incomprehension.

"Elder Geda, do not make a fuss, this is not ordinary crispy pork belly, I found it just now on the grass here."

Upon hearing this, all three were taken aback.

You, an elder of Kunlun Immortal Palace carrying around a piece of roasted meat is strange enough, but now are you telling me that this roast meat is not even your own

But picked up from the ground?

The three of them fell silent for a moment, instinctively glancing down at their feet.

However, the space within the fire column was only so large, and after a quick glance that could take in everything, they confirmed that aside from some dry weeds, there was nothing else on the ground.

"Elder Chi, did you discern anything from this... crispy pork belly...?"

The gaunt elder asked again, his voice revealing a touch of embarrassment.

He, the elder of one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, Pan Shi Valley, was now questioning another cultivator from the True World Immortal Realm if he had discerned anything from half a piece of pork belly. The more the elder thought about it, the more absurd it felt.

"Not yet, but I have a premonition that this item did not appear here without reason; it may hold some deeper meaning."

As Elder Chi spoke, he used Spiritual Power to begin cleansing the object in his palm.

Seeing his conviction, the three were at a loss for words for a moment.

After a brief pause, the Old Dean hesitantly spoke up.

"Everyone, I have seen Jin Xu, the Taoist, displaying fire element magic in Qingmu City, the aura and fluctuations of that flame were identical to the ones emitted by these six columns of fire.

"So, I suspect that the arrangement here was made by the Taoist himself, but as for the specific intention behind it, that I cannot guess."

"Additionally, regardless of whether the item in Mr. Chi's possession has any profound significance, shouldn't we first consider finding a way to escape?"

"After all, the temperature here is indeed a bit high, and it's really not a place to linger."

The Old Dean's words received affirmation from Grandma Yu. As a member of the Shui Clan, she inherently repelled high temperatures and, at this moment, she couldn't wait to leave this cage of fire pillars sooner rather than later.

"The old scholar is right, since the arrangements of this place have been confirmed to be the work of the young Taoist, it proves that we haven't come to the wrong place. Therefore, let's quickly figure out a way to get out of here."

The gaunt elder silently nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Having listened to the two of them, Mr. Chi pondered for a moment before putting the half-eaten piece of crispy pork belly into his storage Dharma treasure.

What they said indeed made sense, after all, their purpose for this journey was to find the young Taoist.

And...

After the crispy pork belly had been examined by Spiritual Sense and cleansed with Spiritual Power,

Mr. Chi discovered that aside from the slightly overdone cooking and claw marks on its surface, it looked exactly like the kind of meat commonly eaten by ordinary people.

It could be said to be as ordinary as can be.

However, he was convinced that something so common would not appear at the exit of a spatial rift by chance, so he treasured and put it away carefully.

Following that, the four of them turned their attention to the six pillars of fire surrounding them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, everyone understands the theory of the Five Elements. I'll give it a try first; if I don't succeed, then it's not too late for you all to take action,"

As Grandma Yu spoke, a deep-colored water arrow materialized in front of her chest.

Given the limited space, she didn't go for any flashy magic but chose the most basic Water Arrow Skill.

However, knowing the terrifying strength of Jin Xu, Grandma Yu did not dare to underestimate the fire pillars, which were his creations,

and forcibly compressed forty percent of her Spiritual Power into the ordinary water arrow in front of her.

When the arrow could no longer withstand more compression, it had turned deep blue, its entire form as crystalline as a sapphire.

"Grandma Yu's technique of compressing Spiritual Power is extremely exquisite. It seems that you're not far from reaching the Mahayana Realm," the Old Dean remarked, admiring the deep blue water arrow.

Grandma Yu simply offered a modest reply, then swung her arm.

The deep blue water arrow in front of her chest, like a fish swimming in the depths of the sea, slowly but steadily flew toward one of the fire pillars straight ahead.

"Hiss~~~"

The moment the arrow's tip neared the fire pillar, a great puff of white vapor arose.

Seeing this, Grandma Yu's eyes sharpened, and a sense of absurdity welled up inside her.

The young Taoist Jin Xu indeed had extraordinary power, but what was before her was nothing more than a few fire pillars he left behind.

"I've already mobilized forty percent of my Spiritual Power. Could it be that the tip can't even touch the pillar itself?

"How is this possible!"

Grandma Yu instinctively increased the force propelling the water arrow, but this only hastened the arrow's dissipation and the accumulation of white vapor inside the cage.

The final tiny distance between the arrow tip and the fire pillar was like a chasm, insurmountable no matter how hard she tried, leaving no room to advance.

After a moment, the water arrow, containing forty percent of her Spiritual Power, exhausted itself completely.

Grandma Yu stood stupefied for a moment before spitting forcefully onto the grassy ground beside her.

Then, she took out the Communication Jade Token that could contact her granddaughter, Yu Yaoer.

"Pfft, I'm done playing. If I ask my granddaughter to pick me up, that should be fine, right?"