Wait a minute, where is my master?

Near the spatial channel of the Mountain and Sea Realm at this time.

Time and space seemed to have a moment of stagnation.

Ji Junqiao's face was extremely pale as she sat on the ground, her eyes wide open with a mixture of fear and confusion.

Above her head, the crimson flames condensed by the little Taoist passed by like squid tentacles. Ingeniously forming a large net, it crisscrossed and sealed off a small part of the space behind her.

...

Inside the fiery blockade.

The figure of the Great Elder of the Demon Sect appeared intermittently, his face sporting an expression of having struck it big.

As one of the remaining high-ranking members of the Demon Sect, he was well aware of the small Taoist's extraordinary strength and bizarre methods.

However, to steal the fish rod and rescue the Demon Lord, the Great Elder of the Demon Sect couldn't possibly turn around and leave upon seeing the other party.

Thus, the moment Jin Xu appeared, the Great Elder, in order to test whether the rune-inscribed yellow paper was effective against him, steeled himself and stepped forward.

The Great Elder of the Demon Sect initially followed Ji Junqiao, positioning himself to her left rear. At that time, he saw Jin Xu speaking when suddenly Jin Xu looked towards his position.

That instant felt indescribable; not even sensations of falling into an icy pit, being frozen, or having his blood coagulate could capture what he felt.

The Great Elder did not fear death or the dissipation of his path in the Demon Sect.

But the hope of rescuing the Demon Lord had been so close, only to burst like a bubble in front of his eyes.

He simply couldn't resign himself to that feeling of despair.

However, this feeling of unwillingness did not last long.

The Great Elder of the Demon Sect discovered that the little Taoist only glanced at his position before quickly shifting his gaze away.

"Could it be... he can only vaguely sense where I am? He can't truly confirm my existence?"

This thought, offering him a glimmer of hope, surfaced in his mind.

Recalling the miraculous effect of the yellow paper runes in the underground palace before, and considering how he and the ancestors of the Kunlun Immortal Palace had been so close for so long without being detected.

The heart of the Great Elder of the Demon Sect, which had been sinking, began to stir with activity once again.

With hesitation, he shifted his form, moving to the right side of Ji Junqiao.

He then realized that the little Taoist still looked towards the position where he had originally been standing.

Subsequently, the Great Elder of the Demon Sect began to jump back and forth, quickly moving around the vicinity.

Front, back, front, back.

Left, right, left, right.

He even brazenly approached right in front of Jin Xu's face.

Then, to his astonishment, the Great Elder of the Demon Sect found that no matter how he moved, the little Taoist only glanced occasionally towards where he had first stood.

"He can't see me! He really can't see me!"

A surge of almost crazed joy burst from the depths of the Great Elder's heart.

If the Taoist couldn't see him, then there was hope for him to steal the fishing rod.

"However... why does he keep looking in that direction? Could it be that I did something to give myself away just now? Or is there something special about that position?"

After suppressing the excitement in his heart, the Great Elder of the Demon Sect began to wonder why Jin Xu kept looking in that direction.

This matter concerned the release of the Demon Lord's seal, and he could not afford any carelessness.

For that reason, the Great Elder turned his attention back, quietly observing the position where he had previously stood.

He wanted to see what was so special about that place.

As cautious as he was, he even deliberately chose a position directly behind Ji Junqiao.

However, before the Great Elder of the Demon Sect could discern anything significant about that position, he was sealed in place by Jin Xu's crimson flames.

Confronted with the little Taoist's sudden move and the instantaneous encirclement of the blockade around him.

He was baffled for a moment, then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Damn, this little Taoist can see me!

"Was he pretending all along, looking at the spot where I first stood to lull me into a false sense of security?"

Then, he angrily shouted that phrase,

"Good for you, little Taoist, to dare deceive me!!!"

...

Standing in place controlling the flames, Jin Xu noncommittally pursed his lips.

Indeed, as he was becoming increasingly able to clearly see the Great Elder of the Demon Sect, he had intentionally kept looking in the direction of where Ji Junqiao had initially stood.

At first, the little Taoist hadn't realized that aside from the five people detained in the Fire Prison Pillar, there was a hidden sixth person.

He just felt something was off, and then, when he tried to speak to Ji Junqiao, he discovered that a rune on the soft cloth in the purple-gold box suddenly started glowing faintly as if it sensed something nearby.

Then...

It took Jin Xu about a dozen breaths to get a basic understanding of that rune.

As his understanding deepened, the Great Elder of the Demon Sect's figure began to gradually appear in his vision.

When the opponent was face-to-face with him.

Apart from the Great Elder's head, Jin Xu could see the rest quite clearly.

It wasn't until the opponent suddenly returned behind Ji Junqiao and "spaced out" that he fully grasped the existence of this sixth person.

After confirming with the Old Dean that this individual was indeed not one of their own, the little Taoist resolutely made his move.

However, there was a slight misjudgment due to the Great Elder of the Demon Sect's positioning.

All these descriptions might seem complex, but the whole process didn't take very long in reality.

From the little Taoist gathering flames to Ji Junqiao throwing out a white jade slip, and the Great Elder of the Demon Sect being trapped, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

So at this moment, old Taoist and the Old Dean were still maintaining their gestures of persuading Jin Xu, mouths open.

Once the two realized that the little Taoist's actual target was not Ji Junqiao, but rather the mysterious formation of a fire cage behind her, their faces revealed both relief and astonishment.

"Little Taoist, what is the meaning of this?"

Old Taoist asked, seemingly oblivious to the Great Elder's resentful howl from moments before.

Jin Xu looked at him, surprised, then glanced at everyone else who was equally confused and curious.

Only then did he confirm that even though he had sealed the Great Elder with flames, he was the only one who could see and hear the opponent.

"…Explaining this might be a bit complicated; please wait a moment."

Saying this, the little Taoist gently flicked his index finger.

The Great Elder of the Demon Sect then saw a thin streak of flame burst from the several flames that bound him, heading straight for the yellow paper with the rune on his body.

He instinctively tried to block with his own methods.

To no avail, however.

The tiny flame easily penetrated his Protective Dharma Treasure and protective measures, effortlessly licking the yellow paper.

Seeing that all his efforts were futile,

The Great Elder's face instantly became overcast.

It was unclear whether he was mourning the imminent destruction of the magical yellow paper or despairing over the likelihood that he might never be able to save the Demon Lord again.

But the sudden anomaly on the yellow paper a second later did indeed make his already sinking heart leap with excitement.

Upon contact with the flame, two streams of ink-black light flew out from the Great Elder's forehead, completely enveloping the corner of the yellow paper.

The tiny flame, for the moment, couldn't burn through it as effortlessly as before.