Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Hiss, what act are these father and son playing out?"

An unexpected scene had distracted Jin Xu from his thoughts.

He hurriedly walked a few steps to check outside the cave.

He hadn't yet figured out what was happening when he heard the loud crowing of the two Age Chickens guarding the cave entrance.

"Cluck...dah!"

These two seemingly gallant Age Chickens were shocked to see the little Taoist emerge from that terrifying "Cursed Land."

Then, after exchanging a glance, the chickens started flapping their wings and ran off in one direction.

Jin Xu was completely baffled.

He took a deep breath, wondering to himself that he hadn't been inside for too long, so what was going on outside?

The little Taoist was eager to catch up with the father and son who were already far away,

but he didn't manage to move in time.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Yu Yaoer and Little White each holding a coconut, happily jumping out from the other side of the mountain.

"Little White, Little Yu."

"Eh, young master/temple master, you came out so soon?"

Although the women sounded surprised, their faces showed an expression that it was good timing for him to come out.

The little Taoist nodded slightly, throwing over a glance.

He then pointed towards where Little Hong and his father had run off to.

And then...

He watched as the two women who had come up to him skillfully pulled out large coconuts from their arms, with one of them expertly piercing a hole in the coconut with her finger and inserting a straw-like object that looked like a reed.

The coconut was offered up to Jin Xu, and both women wore a look that said, "How about that, aren't we thoughtful?"

"..."

"I wanted to ask about Little Hong and his father, not to drink coconut while watching the drama unfold!"

"Ah, so young master, you weren't interested in watching the drama..."

Yu Yaoer's voice faded as she spoke, then she lightly coughed and hurriedly explained.

"Cough, it's all because Little Hong had initially run away from home on his own.

"Uncle Hong said that although he brought you back, young master, the merits can't offset the faults, and to punish him, Uncle Hong said... but Little Hong didn't agree, so he started running away..."

"So, that's the scene you just witnessed, young master."

"..."

Jin Xu nodded slightly after hearing the explanation.

"So... you two came over here to enjoy the show?"

"Cough, young master, we wanted to come over and persuade Uncle Hong not to pluck all the fur off Little Hong,"

Little Fish Demon said with guilt in her voice.

Jin Xu pondered their explanation, eyed the coconuts in their hands skeptically, recalling their slightly joyful pace and expressions from earlier.

He was convinced.

These two were definitely here to enjoy the show!

But a father disciplining his son couldn't really be faulted.

He turned to look at Little Hong, who had now run off into the distance and became a mere speck, silently praying for him.

Then, the little Taoist turned back, reaching for the coconut that had already been prepared.

He noticed.

Somewhat, unknowingly, a small grey-haired head had appeared on the straw of the coconut.

"Little White..."

"Ah, slurp~

"Temple master, didn't you say you didn't want the coconut? I didn't want it to go to waste,"

Upon hearing the call, the husky took a deep slurp of coconut juice, then looked up with the straw in its mouth.

The tone reflected a hint of sincerity.

"...It's okay; you drink it."

The little Taoist remained silent for a while, raised his hand, and gently patted Little White's head before he could help himself and tapped it lightly twice.

"Thump, thump."

"Slurp."

The sound of +1 merit accompanied the sound of a Husky drinking coconut juice voraciously.

Jin Xu smiled helplessly and sighed deeply.

Then, as if sensing something, he looked towards the distance.

There, the aged Age Chicken that had welcomed them to the clan area earlier was hurriedly running towards him, surrounded by several valiant and plump Age Chickens.

Withdrawing his gaze, the little Taoist poked the Husky's ear and said.

"Little White, stop drinking, we have work to do."

"Ah(⊙o⊙)?"

The Husky, its mouth corners glistening with coconut juice, lifted its head, eyes brimming with wisdom.

...

...

Inside the Fire Pillar Prison.

A strange scene was unfolding.

A piece of crispy pork belly was being carefully enveloped by Spiritual Power, held aloft in front of Ji Junqiao.

The woman from the Upper Realm, who appeared like a gourmet, was scrutinizing it meticulously, inside and out.

After a while,

Ji Junqiao gently shook her head and spoke.

"I can't see how this thing is related to the surrounding fire pillars, in my eyes, it's just a piece of ordinary mundane meat."

Her words instantly received agreement from several others, including a gaunt old man.

"Elder Chi, look, even Fairy Jun Qiao says so."

"Yes, Mr. Chi, we should first restore our Spiritual Power and heal our injuries," added another.

Grandma Yu also chimed in.

Reluctantly, Mr. Chi withdrew the crispy pork belly floating in mid-air.

He was certain, a person like Jin Xu wouldn't put a piece of mundane meat here for no reason.

As for why no one else could see the connection... that surely was because their knowledge wasn't sufficient.

After the Ancestor of Kunlun Immortal Palace had put away the crispy pork belly.

Everyone sat down cross-legged one after another, planning to restore and heal, regaining their Spiritual Power.

However, after everyone else had sat down, the last person to sit, Mr. Chi, suddenly realized there was no space left for him.

"Strange, these surrounding fire pillars, could it be they are converging towards the center?"

The Ancestor of Kunlun Immortal Palace said, looking around with a hint of gravity.

He remembered that although the space within the Fire Prison Pillar wasn't large, it could still barely fit five people seated cross-legged, but now four had no room left.

What's happening?

The other four were startled by his words, then instinctively sprung up from the ground and cautiously started to look around.

The reason they were so leisurely, even though they couldn't break through the fire pillar, was because they knew.

Even if they couldn't get out, traveling through the spatial channel to return to the other side of the Colorful Secret Realm was no problem.

But if the surrounding fire pillars continued to shrink, and they didn't restore enough Spiritual Power to travel through space before the pillars shrunk significantly, that would be a big issue.

"Elder Chi, you must be mistaken, I remember the space in the fire pillar being this size all along," suggested the gaunt old man after carefully examining the grass and the marks left on the ground during their earlier brawl.

After more observation, the others also consistently remarked that the space in the fire pillar had always been that size.

"Elder Chi, you aren't just scaring us because we didn't agree with your comment about the crispy pork belly, are you?

"You're all grown up, yet still playing such tricks," continued the gaunt old man.

Mr. Chi's eyes showed a touch of confusion, but after a moment, his eyes cleared, and he looked around apologetically and said,

"My apologies, everyone, I might have been too exhausted from the recent exertions."

After speaking, Mr. Chi stated he would be fine standing and regulating his breath while the others sat down tightly close to each other.

However, within the space of the Fire Pillar Prison, a glaringly empty spot remained right beside them.

Yet they all acted as though they couldn't see it at all.