Wait a minute, where is my master?

After a brief exchange of pleasantries.

The air was filled with nothing but the sound of raindrops falling on the lush grass.

Everyone fell silent for a long time.

The Old Dean from the "Imprisoned" group of five considered himself quite familiar with Jin Xu and thus was prepared to take the initiative to speak and reveal why they had come.

However, just as he had opened his mouth to speak, Ji Junqiao, standing beside him, suddenly grasped the white jade scroll and dashed off in a flurry.

"Little Taoist, your cultivation is highly suspicious of demon influence. If you want to prove your innocence, you must come with me to the Upper Realm and undergo the 'Heart Inquiry Truth Skill'!"

This declaration by Ji Junqiao was utterly resolute, as if it was completely justified and natural.

But the ancestors from Kunlun Immortal Palace behind her were shocked by her bold statement!

Chidao and Grandma Yu widened their eyes in astonishment, their eyes filled with incredulity as they looked at the figure of Ji Junqiao in front of the little Taoist.

The expression on the face of the Old Dean of the Qingmu Academy changed three times in a single moment.

Beside him.

Upon hearing the shocking statement, the withered old man was initially perplexed, then suddenly, with a tone of pity, patted his old friend on the shoulder, saying,

"Old scholar, perhaps you should persuade your ancestral master to have another one while she's still young."

"..."

Yan Chu wanted to retort out of reflex, but he had no idea where to begin.

In the end, he could only sigh deeply with resignation.

At that moment, not far from the little Taoist, Ji Junqiao, using her Spiritual Sense, caught the expressions and words of the people behind her and frowned slightly in displeasure.

In Ji Junqiao's view, although the Nine Provinces Realm was a Lower Realm, since a few of you in charge think there's a misunderstanding about this little Taoist being a demon,

she would give you face and bring the little Taoist back to the Upper Realm to verify it with 'Heart Inquiry Truth Skill' properly.

By then, whether or not he was a demon would be conclusively determined.

That was certainly better than her using the jade scroll she had stolen from her father to kill him directly.

But now that she was showing mercy, why did you all still look displeased?

Ji Junqiao thought to herself in discontent as she raised her eyes to look at the handsome young Taoist in front of her, waiting for his response.

——————

Jin Xu was utterly baffled and confused right now.

What was all this about?

It was one thing for this group to mysteriously appear amid the columns of fire he had left behind, but now this aggressive-looking woman had suddenly charged over claiming he was a demon and that he had to go back to the Upper Realm with her for some truth inquiry?

Had she stayed in the fire columns too long and fried her brain?

The little Taoist, abiding by the principle not to overly argue with a fool, was about to begin explaining.

"Fellow Daoist Shi..."

But halfway through his statement, he suddenly froze, his gaze shifting beyond her to a spot slightly to her left.

"Eh?"

Jin Xu muttered in confusion, then shifted his focus entirely to the storage magical item within.

"My real name is Ji Junqiao."

Ji Junqiao was staring intently at Jin Xu's face when she suddenly heard him speak, recalling that the little Taoist knew her by her false name.

So she reflexively reported her real name.

After saying it, she realized this was probably not the right moment.

"Cough, did you hear what I just told you? If you want to prove you're not a demon, you must come with me to the Upper Realm."

After looking at the little Taoist's face for a few moments, Ji Junqiao's tone had clearly softened and was not as assertive as before.

"Mm."

Jin Xu responded nasally, still frowning as he immersed himself in the study of his storage treasure.

Along the way, he occasionally glanced toward the space slightly behind and to the left of Ji Junqiao.

His expression suggested that he had encountered a question that was difficult to answer, yet profoundly intriguing.

However, he was not in the mood or had the time to deal with the other party at that moment.

But the two women following him were somewhat displeased.

Yu Yaoer, since the other party had once accidentally saved her grandmother's life at the Nine Provinces Sea Eye, was feeling somewhat conflicted about making a scene. She was silently communicating with her grandmother through the Communication Jade Scroll.

Little White, however, had no such reservations.

"Who do you think you are, coming here and besmirching our temple master's reputation? As if she were a demon—doesn't her own Demon Clan know better?"

And after hanging around the temple master for so long, she never dared to suggest visiting the Demon Realm!

"And you, having met our temple master only twice, dare to propose that she accompany you back to that so-called Upper Realm?"

After a torrent of internal turmoil, Shiqi concentrated and flicked his wrist.

He approached her, holding a shard from the Alchemy Furnace, personally consecrated by Jin Xu.

After repeating her words, Ji Junqiao waited for a response from Jin Xu,

but instead saw his female companion striding furiously towards her, prompting Ji to clench the white jade scroll in her hand defensively.

However, moments later, she realized that Little White's cultivation was merely at the Nascent Soul Realm, and her tension relaxed momentarily.

"Such cultivation, and she dares make a scene—wait, her true form is from the Snow Wolf Clan? Hiss!"

Upon recognizing Little White's true form, Ji Junqiao's eyes narrowed and her relaxed state tensed up sharply again.

Logically speaking, although her own cultivation had been reduced, she shouldn't fear a mere Nascent Soul Realm Snow Wolf Demon.

But this Snow Wolf Clan...

Whether in the Upper Realm or the Lower Realm, they were notoriously unconventional.

She remembered the legends and stories she heard as a child.

Stories like how a certain powerful being was bitten on the buttocks by a Snow Wolf for three days before it let go, and so on...

Ji Junqiao decided it was better to be cautious.

"What do you intend to do?"

She stared at Shiqi, who was now less than half a meter away from her, and asked with both seriousness and caution.

Meanwhile, Ji Junqiao's gaze and Spiritual Sense continually scrutinized the Snow Wolf Demon before her.

"This woman appears to have no hidden cultivation; observing her physical body, it seems she follows the Path of Body Cultivation. That makes sense, as few from the Snow Wolf Clan choose the Path of Magic Cultivation.

"Her weapon is of a strange style I've never seen before... Eh, the more I look at it, the more it resembles, a leg of an Alchemy Furnace?"

Ji Junqiao was pondering what exactly Little White was holding in her hand.

All of a sudden, she heard four serious and firm words from the other side.

"The temple master is human."

"Huh!?"

With these words,

not only was Ji Junqiao taken aback, but even Jin Xu, whose attention had been deeply immersed in his storage treasure, distractedly glanced at Shiqi.

"Little White, come back."

Jin Xu called out and glanced again toward Ji Junqiao's left rear, then once more deepened his focus on his storage treasure.

In another dozen or so breaths' time, Jin Xu felt he would figure out exactly what was going on.

Hearing her temple master's call, Little White, somewhat reluctantly, started to walk back. Midway, she suddenly turned around and sincerely said to Ji Junqiao.

"The temple master really is human... not a demon, believe me."