Wait a minute, where is my master?

Miao State, five hundred li underground.

In a cavernous hollowed-out cave.

Granny Meng stood woodenly under the Transformation Mother Tree, holding a long-handled ladle and stirring a large black cauldron in front of her.

The strange broth in the cauldron continuously roiled, bubbling with bubbles that appeared and vanished in an instant.

It seemed as if it were embodying the essence of life and death.

To her left, on the black crystal throne of the high platform, a shadow wrapped in a black, ethereal cape quietly appeared.

"Elder Shen is dead."

A voice, neither male nor female, distant then near, emanated from the shadow.

"I know. Before you came, his Life Lamp had already been extinguished here in this underground palace,"

Granny Meng said flatly, as she stared at a bubble rising and bursting instantaneously.

The shadow on the throne flickered then descended from the platform, appearing before the great cauldron.

After staring at the old lady making the broth for a while, it spoke again.

"Four of our Demon Sect's elders have been killed by that little Taoist, two of them by his hand. It seems he is deliberately targeting us. One time could be coincidental, but twice cannot be a coincidence,

Moreover, we've lost contact with Little Yan; probably she's too terrified to respond.

Therefore, I've decided to keep our sect dormant for now, halting all plans,"

Granny Meng's hand clutched the long-handled ladle tightened slightly upon hearing this, then she continued to stir.

Raising her head to look at the shadow in front of her, her voice slightly hoarse, she said, "So, old woman that I am, must I continue to stay in this dark cave and keep stirring this wretched brew?"

"Yes, this is your task, and what you should do for the Demon Lord, Right Protector!"

The voice from within the shadow emphasized the last three words, as if to remind her deliberately.

"Ha, remain dormant?

Ha, Right Protector?

The Right Protector died a thousand years ago!

My spiritual mate has been in hiding for a thousand years for the sake of our sect's plans. We were finally about to have the chance to welcome back the Demon Lord, and now you tell me to halt the plan?

Moreover, my adopted son was killed by that little Taoist, and his life artifact shattered, possibly by the same Taoist. You told me last time that when we welcome back the Demon Lord, we can seek revenge.

It's only been a few days since then, and now you're telling me to stop the plan, to remain dormant?

As a Great Elder of our sect, aren't you supposed to devote yourself to welcoming back the Demon Lord, unto death?"

Granny Meng's expression turned fierce as she suddenly spat out a fang and flung the ladle out of the cauldron, pointing directly at the shadow in front of her.

The bizarre broth carried by the ladle passed through the shadow, through the cloak, and landed on the bluestone tiles, producing a "sizzling" corroding sound.

Instantly, several small deep pits appeared on the bluestone tiles,

"Granny, mind your words.

As the Great Elder of our sect, I naturally wish to welcome back the Demon Lord more than any of you. But that little Taoist has mysterious strength, an unclear background; we need to plan carefully to have the chance to welcome back the Demon Lord.

I know you're eager for revenge, and you miss your spiritual mate.

But as they say, to achieve great things, one must endure what others cannot.

What's more, our sect currently doesn't have the manpower to proceed with the plans."

The voice of the Demon Sect's Great Elder echoed annoyingly in the underground cavern, male nor female.

"Manpower, am I not manpower?"

"Granny, the soup in this cauldron is also critical; it pertains to the matters after the Demon Lord's return.

Moreover, what if you encounter that little Taoist as well? Do you believe you're stronger than Elder Shen?"

After the Great Elder's shadow finished saying this,

Granny Meng silently put the ladle back into the cauldron and scoffed at herself.

"Heh, indeed."

Upon hearing this, the shadow spoke again, "So, Granny, stay here and remain hidden for now. When I deem the time is right, I will inform you."

"After all, I am more eager than any of you to welcome back the Demon Lord," he said.

When the Great Elder's apparition spoke these words, his tone slowed slightly, even his unpleasant voice softened a bit.

However, as soft as it was, the voice still sounded unpleasant.

After hearing these words, Granny Meng mechanically resumed stirring the soup.

Seeing her reaction, the apparition thought she had been persuaded.

So, after waiting a moment, he prepared to turn and leave.

After all, he still had many matters to attend to back there.

"Wait, is she... alright?"

Granny Meng suddenly spoke hesitantly, stopping the departing apparition.

The Great Elder's apparition stopped but did not turn around. Instead, he merely turned his head to answer.

"Don't worry, Granny Meng, your partner faced against a clay puppet avatar of the Old Dean from Qingmu Academy. As soon as anything went wrong, I immediately had her withdrawn."

"Ha-ha, that's good, that's good. Alright, you may go now."

There were no Life Lamps or life tablets belonging to Granny Meng's partner in this underground palace, so she wasn't aware whether her partner was alive or dead.

After all, it was a situation that even Shen Zhi couldn't survive.

Now that she heard her partner was unharmed, the anxiety that had been hanging over Granny Meng finally settled.

Hearing the dismissive words, the apparition spoke no more but turned his head back straight and silently disappeared within the palace.

For a moment, the vast underground cavern.

Seemed incredibly quiet, with only the sound of Granny Meng stirring the soup remaining.

"Ha, my power may not match Elder Shen's, but this pot of soup..."

Granny Meng did not finish her sentence.

She stared at the continuously rising and bursting bubbles in the pot, lost in thought.

...

In Qing State, at the top floor of Wutong Building.

A huge round table made of golden silk wood, covered with various specialty dishes and exquisite delicacies.

Jin Xu sat in the main seat, with delicate bone dishes and wooden chopsticks in front of him. He wasn't eating, but instead, he stared at the center of the round table.

To his right, Little White was eating ravenously, and Yu Yaoer, beside her, was urging her to slow down and not choke.

On his left sat the Old Dean himself, accompanied by Qingyun and Lan Junyan.

At the end of the round table, Jiang Xiulan, her head tied with a band, looked excited yet her eyes bore a hint of fear as she stared intently at the center of the table.

As for Zhao Dabao, he was not here.

He had reached the peak of the Qi Cultivation Realm and could step into Foundation Establishment at any moment.

In other words, he could explode at any moment.

Now having obtained the Eternal Lotus petal, if he delayed and failed to switch to the Taiyin Essence timely and ended up exploding,

that would be tragically unjust.

So, after leaving the Secret Realm, he immediately took the Eternal Lotus petal and went to seek Zhu Yangzi.

The small Taoist and their group, after exiting the Qingmu Secret Realm, initially planned to give the Benevolent Heart Fruit to Chef Jiang.

Then verify the matters spoken by the little black bug with the Old Dean and then head straight to Shangjing City.

After all, Xu Qian was waiting.

But the Old Dean insisted on making them stay a while longer, talking about balancing work and rest, how being young doesn't mean you can overwork yourself, and how nice the meals at Wutong Building were, and so on.

Of course, Jin Xu ultimately stayed not because of these reasons.

But because the Old Dean mentioned that it was best to have a protector by your side when consuming the Benevolent Heart Fruit, the more powerful, the better, as complications could easily arise.

Thus, the small Taoist decided to wait until Jiang Xiulan had fed her daughter the Benevolent Heart Fruit before rushing to Shangjing City.