Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Meow meow... what the heck! Are you calling people over to get struck by lightning together, or to experience a sky full of starry fire?"

Upon hearing Little Yu's question, Uncle Ju, in a fit of surprise and anger, even blurted out in his mother tongue.

"Uncle Ju, is that little Taoist really that powerful?"

Clutching a chicken leg that had been bitten into, Little Yu opened his mouth, unable to comprehend why the big fat orange cat had suddenly become so irritable.

Although he was from the Kunlun Immortal Palace, he was still quite young after all.

The recent commotion in Qingmu City had indeed shown that the little Taoist was strong. But as to how strong he really was, whether he was stronger than his own father, the little boy wasn't quite sure.

"Powerful? Hah – let's put it this way, even your great-grandfather himself wouldn't have been able to easily take down that cultivator from the Demon Sect."

As Uncle Ju spoke, he suddenly leaped up and snatched the chicken leg from Little Yu's hand.

"Uncle Ju, then..."

Little Yu, looking at his now empty hand, was at a loss for words for a moment.

"Keep catching thieves! If there aren't enough in Qingmu City, use the teleportation array to go to other big cities to catch them. Anyway, we must meet his requirements. Otherwise, heh, let your father come to collect our bodies.

Oh, and tell your father to inform your Great Grandfather to stop divining the chaos in the Nine Provinces for now and find time to pay a visit to this little Taoist. Perhaps that will solve all the chaos!"

Fatty Zhao landed on the ground and viciously bit into the chicken leg in his claws, then continued.

"Oh, I see now, Uncle Ju. But... can you give me back my chicken leg? It's the last one left."

"..."

——————

Inside a thatched building in Qingmu Blessed Land,

the little Taoist, together with the Insect Queen, returned to this place via the route he had "walked" out.

He had already searched each of the Demon Sect strongholds within Qing State, most of which were empty. The only place where people were caught yielded only small fry.

According to their statements, ever since a mysterious powerful figure issued the demon-extermination campaign through Tingfeng Building, many of their colleagues had been taken to the Great Xia Dynasty to trade for a chance at the Wash Essence and Marrow.

These few adherents of the Demon Sect had managed to survive until today solely because they were too incompetent and lacked the skills necessary to be spies or missionaries.

So they were left at the stronghold, occasionally doing menial tasks, and lucked out on escaping their fate.

But one can only evade their fate for so long.

The little Taoist examined these Demon Sect members using the Observing Qi Method, noting the deep red aura about their heads. Clearly, they hadn't refrained from committing heinous acts, so he casually used the Fire Condensing Skill to create a fireball in the shape of a Yuanbao and "gifted" it to them.

After dealing with these small fries, Jin Xu and Little Black confirmed that all the Demon Sect bases he knew in Qing State had been explored.

Then, they returned to the Qingmu Secret Realm.

Upon returning the same way he had come, he emerged from the large hole and first greeted two ladies and Zhao Dabao.

Then, he turned his attention to the Che Liang Wood, which had moved from the ground to beside the table.

During his return journey, the little Taoist had already had Little Black collect all the remaining Gu Worms in the secret realm.

Thus, the black energy on Che Liang Wood's face had already dissipated, but he still appeared weak.

After all, he had nearly been drained dry at that time, and recovery wasn't something that could happen in a moment.

"Taoist Jin, this time..."

The weak Elder Che, supported by two phantom figures of a ten-thousand-year-old treasure medicine, was about to get up to thank Jin Xu but paused mid-sentence, turning his gaze towards the little Taoist's right hand.

"Jin Taoist, what's that in your hand?"

Che Liang Wood hesitated, holding back his words.

This Little Black had been parasitizing his roots for a long time, drawing not a little strength from him as nourishment.

Its breath was very familiar to Elder Che.

The young Taoist saw the expression on his face and raised his right hand, solemnly spreading his palm open and spoke solemnly.

"Taoist Che, this little black bug is indeed the parasite within your body.

However, the evil leader has been executed, and the parasites within the secret realm have also been cleaned up. Afterwards, I will take it to Dean Yan to verify the truth of its words with the 'Truth-Telling Skill'.

If what it says is true, then it indeed is innocent. If what it says is false, I will personally take it where it belongs."

"Taoist Jin, you misunderstand me, that's not what I meant. This great disaster, had it not been for your rescue, Qingmu Secret Realm might have had difficulty overcoming this crisis. In both sentiment and logic, this little black bug is your spoil of war. You can dispose of it however you want, that's only right.

However... what is this little bug doing?"

Elder Che hurriedly explained to the young Taoist, and then saw the little black bug jump out from Jin Xu's palm, landing on the ground and scurrying away at high speed!

The Insect Queen's strange actions also caught the attention of the two women and Fatty Zhao, who curiously approached and after looking at the motionless black bug, turned their puzzled gazes towards Jin Xu.

"Uh... it seems to be writing, but probably the floor is too hard, so it couldn't write what it wanted to,"

the young Taoist explained helplessly, hand to his forehead.

He had guessed correctly.

After scurrying around, the little black bug, realizing there were no words on the ground as it had hoped, paused.

Then, it emitted a corrosive toxin from its body and crawled over the ground again.

"I had no choice before, now I want to be a good bug? In clerical script?"

Elder Che bowed his head and read the words on the floor out loud, one by one.

"...that sounds familiar,"

the young Taoist commented mentally.

Seeing that Jin Xu hadn't responded, the little black bug scurried again.

"Please believe me, senior, what I said before was all true! If you don't believe me, I'm willing to undergo the Truth-Telling Skill test, although I can't speak, I don't know if that magic will work on me. But I am willing to make a Heavenly Dao oath to prove my innocence!"

The little black bug, eager to prove itself as a good bug especially after seeing the young Taoist striking down the Second Elder of the Demon Sect, prepared another declaration.

However, Jin Xu promptly stopped it.

"...Alright already, stop crawling, we shall discuss this matter elsewhere as this is after all someone else's floor,"

Elder Che also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

The Heavenly Dao oaths in the Nine Provinces Immortal World had evolved to be quite comprehensive after so many years of development, taking nearly an hour to recite orally.

If written down, the floor of his straw hut might not be enough for the little black bug's journey.

"Cough, by the way, Taoist Che, I have one more favor to ask,"

the young Taoist cleared his throat, reached out to collect the little black bug back into the palm of his hand, glanced at Zhao Dabao standing nearby, then earnestly spoke to Che Liang Wood.

"Taoist Jin, you may speak. Rest assured, anything you need from within Qingmu Secret Realm, I definitely will not be stingy,"

"I've heard that the fourth layer of the secret realm contains a spiritual object called the Eternal Lotus, my brother needs this flower to save his life. I wonder if Taoist Che could gift me a few petals?"

Having listened to the young Taoist's words, Che Liang Wood laughed heartily and said, "Taoist, your serious expression had me thinking you were going to ask for the secret realm's origin.

Before you returned, I had already instructed Ba Wang Tree to prepare tokens of gratitude.

Every treasure medicine that could be gathered in the secret realm has been prepared, including petals of the Eternal Lotus.

Please wait just a moment."