Wait a minute, where is my master?

The middle-aged man with a goat beard took a knee.

Not only did he stun Jin Xu by his action, but he also baffled numerous guards and attendants nearby.

Not to mention the Empress of Great Xia hanging mid-air and Kui Lei beside her.

Meanwhile, Yu Yaoer and Little White didn't sense anything amiss; they squeezed together, poking their little heads out from beside the carriage curtain.

They began whispering to each other.

"Little Yu, why do you think this gentleman made such a grand gesture only to kneel before our temple master?"

"Hmm... I guess he wants to take the young master as his teacher?"

Yu Yaoer tilted her head and pondered for a moment before giving that answer.

"I think that's not quite right. I once saw a similar scene in the Demon Realm, when..."

Little White hesitated, seemingly contemplating whether to continue.

"What was it?"

The Little Fish Demon nudged Little White's ear and asked softly.

"Back then, it was a love child who had been cast out and returned to the tribe to recognize his father."

"???"

Yu Yaoer's face was full of question marks.

Just then, the Taoist's emotionally neutral voice suddenly rose.

"Little White."

"What's wrong, temple master?"

"I can hear you."

Not only Jin Xu could hear; there was not a single cultivator present who couldn't!

After the middle-aged man with the goat beard knelt down, the entire street fell eerily silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The two women had not used voice transmission to talk.

All the cultivators on the street just heard them spouting nonsense!

"Temple master, I—whoo..."

Little White attempted to explain something else, but Yu Yaoer had already covered her mouth.

This time, without any instructions from her young master, the Little Fish Demon consciously dragged the worry-free Little White back inside the carriage.

A breeze blew by, lifting a few dry yellow leaves from the ground.

The sealed-off long street became even quieter.

The atmosphere got a bit strange, though.

The looks cultivators around them gave Jin Xu shifted from admiration and respect...

to curiosity and gossip.

The Taoist sharply sensed the change in the eyes of the surrounding cultivators, thinking that he must not let this misunderstanding deepen, so he hastened to clarify and inquired about the middle-aged man's purpose.

But...

The kneeling middle-aged man seemed to have the same idea.

Thus.

"Your Excellency..."

"Your Excellency..."

The two voices spoke at the same time.

Jin Xu frowned slightly, exchanged glances with the man on the ground, and spoke deferentially.

But, for some reason, the man with the goat beard also began to yield!

"You first..."

"You first..."

The two spoke in unison again.

"Hiss..."

"Hiss..."

After three rounds, the Taoist and the man with the goat beard tacitly shut their mouths, neither making a sound.

To the side.

Kui Lei and Xia Yunzhao, who had just landed, glanced suspiciously at Jin Xu.

They had a slight understanding of Little White's bizarre thought process; initially, no one took her words to heart.

But now, seeing the rapport between the little Taoist and the man with the goat beard, what Husky had said might actually be true.

"What brings you here, sir?"

Smartly, Jin Xu switched to transmitting messages directly.

It couldn't be helped, the cultivators around him were almost burning with gossip.

If he didn't clarify the other party's intentions soon, tomorrow's Tingfeng Building Daily might headline "Shocking, the Great Xia's brother-in-law apparently has an illegitimate child who looks older than him by three rounds!"

He certainly couldn't return from each visit to Shangjing City with a new title on his back.

Last time it was the brother-in-law of Great Xia.

What would it be this time? The great father of Jingyu Building?

"Brother Jin Xu, I meant no harm at all, refrain from speaking for a moment, please listen to me,"

Goat beard responded, then suddenly bowed deeply, his head touching the ground, and spoke as if his voice were a tolling bell.

"The century-long deadline has arrived, Jingyu Building's acting master Nalan Yuandao greets Taoist Master Jin Xu and welcomes him back to the building!"

This voice, fueled by spiritual power, instantly pierced through the military formations blocking both ends of the street and spread throughout the entire Shangjing City.

For a moment, every person in Shangjing City cast curious glances towards the source of the sound.

And the more enthusiastic ones immediately hurried towards the place from where the sound originated.

Meanwhile, the wind catchers and shadow chasers from Tingfeng Building, upon hearing this voice transmission, had sparks named professional integrity flying in their eyes. They couldn't prepare much, grabbing some simple interviewing equipment before rushing toward the scene.

Returning to the view on the long street.

A violent surge of thunder attribute spiritual power was permeating the area.

In Jin Xu's hands, the "Hand-Palm Thunder" was already conjured, and he stared at the still-kneeling man with the goat beard, his mouth twitching slightly as he said through clenched teeth:

"Hiss, get up and explain yourself, or else I'll strike you down."

How did he suddenly become the master of Jingyu Building?

Weren't you previously accepting commissions to investigate my whereabouts?

And now you suddenly come over, recognizing me as your elder brother; what, is your corporate culture to join if you can't beat them?

Needless to say, the little Taoist's expression was not looking good at this point.

Just then, the Empress of Great Xia also came over, standing to the right of Jin Xu, and transmitted, "Mr. Jin, be cautious of deceit.

"Nalan Yuandao is a veteran of the Cultivation World in the Nine Provinces, a Tribulation-Crossing Realm powerhouse and master of Jingyu Building, who has hunted three cultivators of the same realm and even launched a sneak attack on a Mahayana Realm cultivator, escaping unscathed. His actions are always swift and mysterious, and few people have seen his true face. Even the information inside Tingfeng Building about him is sparse."

This was Miss Yunzhao being anxious out of concern.

But after hearing these words, Jin Xu distilled only one key phrase, that the man was only at the Tribulation-Crossing Realm.

He nodded slightly, then calmly said, "Rest assured, if he doesn't give a satisfactory explanation, I'll strike him down."

Upon hearing this, Nalan Yuandao, who was just getting up, visibly shuddered. He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small, silver-white token embedded with seven amber-colored crystals.

"Brother Jin should recognize this item, I truly mean no harm. This isn't the place to talk, if you trust me, shall we change locations?"

"My master's Beidou Seven Stars Order!"

Upon seeing the token, the little Taoist's eyes sharpened.

Miss Yunzhao had been carrying this token during a crisis, which had led to him bringing her to safety. He never expected to see it again after so many months.

"Is this a gift from my master to you?"

"Indeed."

After pondering for a moment, Jin Xu turned to Miss Yunzhao and said, "Miss Yunzhao, please arrange for someone to inform the cultivators that the Wash Essence and Marrow ritual will be postponed until tomorrow."

The Empress of Great Xia nodded in agreement.

She too recognized the token in goat beard's hand, knowing it was related to Tianxing Taoist.

After explaining everything to Miss Yunzhao, Jin Xu turned back to Nalan Yuandao.

"Lead the way. Little Yu, Little White, come out of the carriage."

Goat beard quickly acknowledged and swiftly walked towards the outskirts of the city.

The little Taoist, accompanied by the two women, closely followed behind.

...

A stick of incense worth of time passed.

The four of them had left Shangjing City and reached Longevity Mountain in the suburbs.

When they arrived near a fountain, the leading goat beard stopped.

He pulled a formation flag from his bosom and waved it twice.

To their surprise, a formation quietly emerged near the fountain.