Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Granny, can you move your face away a bit? In the dead of night, catching sight of your face by the moonlight..."

"Slap!"

Before the waiter could finish his sentence, Granny Meng's withered palm imprinted on his face.

"Hiss, Granny why did you hit me?"

The waiter asked, covering his left face and looking up indignantly.

"Impertinent words merit a slap."

After saying that, Granny Meng glared at this insolent mortal with her cloudy eyes and then struggled to stand up straight.

At this time, in the Yixiang Building before her, a night-shift runner started shouting through the door panel to the outside.

"Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night, making a ruckus at the entrance of my Yixiang Building? Careful, or I'll call the authorities."

Behind her, on the street.

The landlady came hurriedly with several cooks and helpers carrying kitchen knives and clubs.

"Little Stool, are you alright?"

"Who dares to run wild at my Yixiang Building!"

"There are patrolmen not even half a mile away."

The helpers, seeing the waiter kneeling on the ground and that stooped figure, all started to cry out.

It was unclear whether it was to scare off the other party or to boost their own courage.

The landlady had one hand behind her back and raised the other to quietly signal everyone to calm down.

"Yixiang Building is already closed for the night, if this esteemed guest would like to dine, then please... Granny!"

She was cut off mid-sentence when she saw that stooped figure turn around.

By the moonlight, she realized this stooped figure was actually Granny Tang, who had been missing for a day and a night!

"Granny, where have you been? We've all been worried sick."

Once the landlady recognized her, she quickly put away the short dagger hidden behind her and quickly stepped forward to support the other's withered arms, remarking with surprise and concern.

After giving her a quick once-over, she immediately noticed the wounds on Granny Tang's body.

"Yikes! Granny, how did you get injured?! Little Cui, go to my room and get the medicine chest quickly. The rest of you, don't just stand there; come help clean up. I'll take Granny to the back yard first."

The landlady shouted to the stunned onlookers behind her, snapping them out of their trance.

Some came up to help the landlady support the Granny, some assisted the collapsed Little Stool in front of the door, and others grabbed mops to clean an unidentifiable liquid in front of the main entrance.

A quarter of an hour went by.

The entrance of Yixiang Building returned to serenity once more.

A cool breeze blew by.

The bright full moon in the sky was once again obscured by a dark cloud that drifted in from nowhere.

...

...

Inside the Royal venue.

At Jin Xu's residence.

Dozens of rare gems emitting bright light were inlaid on the ceiling of the room; controlled by a Formation, they illuminated the interior brightly.

The little Taoist was currently sitting in front of a green jade table in the room, resting his chin on his hands, silently contemplating something.

"Splash~"

Suddenly, the sound of water splashing came from a large water tank in the corner of the room.

Yu Yaoer, having reverted to her original form, leaped high out of the tank and said to Jin Xu, "Young Master, are you still thinking about what that white-bearded old man told you during the day?" before plunging back into the tank.

"Mhm."

The little Taoist nodded his head.

...

...

During the day.

Chi Dao followed Jin Xu to the venue, entered the reception hall, and wasted no words.

He casually threw the thing he was carrying out of the hall.

Then, he bowed deeply to the young Taoist and was about to kneel in reverence!

Jin Xu was somewhat baffled by this action but certainly could not allow a white-bearded old man of the same generation as his master to kneel before him.

So the young Taoist hurried forward, reached out his hands to support Chi Dao's arms, and in a soft voice, he asked.

"Senior Chi, what is the meaning of this?"

The Ancestor of the Immortal Palace, realizing he could not succeed in kneeling, instinctively put more force downwards, but upon discovering he could not budge Jin Xu's hands at all, coughed embarrassingly and said.

"Ahem, Jin Taoist, could you please let go of me first."

The young Taoist was startled, then quickly let go and said.

"Senior Chi, there is no need for such formalities, just speak plainly about the matter."

However, seizing the moment Jin Xu released his grip, Chi Dao quickly took a couple of steps back and instead of kneeling, he clasped his hands together, slightly leaned forward, and said.

"The matter concerns the safety of the Nine Provinces; I, Chi Dao, must proceed with solemnity.

"Today in the Nine Provinces Realm, from the Kunlun Immortal Palace lineage, I, Chi Dao! Earnestly request Jin Taoist to take action to save the countless living creatures of the Nine Provinces Realm!

"Once this deed is accomplished, I, as an elder, will surely lead the myriad peoples of the Nine Provinces to erect thousands of living temples for you, to enjoy the worship of all living beings!"

As Chi Dao spoke these words, his tone was exceedingly solemn and his facial expression extremely tragic.

Then...

His bent waist was forcibly straightened by Jin Xu, who stepped forward to help him up.

"Senior Chi, please just discuss the matter first. Not knowing anything about it, I dare not rashly agree. Moreover, the pollution of the Sea Eye has already been purified, so the myriad creatures of the Nine Provinces Realm should be relatively safe for the time being, right?"

The young Taoist looked somewhat helplessly at the white-bearded old man before him.

Thinking that this way of asking for help, either by bowing or bending over but never speaking directly about the matter, what kind of custom is this?

The straightened Chi Dao now wore an embarrassed expression, and he cleared his throat twice before saying.

"I was a bit too anxious, making Jin Taoist laugh at me; indeed, I should have spoken about the matter first." He did not wait for Jin Xu to respond and continued.

"Ahem, Jin Taoist, do you know of the Immortal Demon Great War that occurred a thousand years ago?"

The young Taoist nodded. He was very familiar with the topic; the Demon Sect he had virtually destroyed single-handedly over the past few months was a remnant of that battle.

"Senior Chi, the matter concerning the safety of the Nine Provinces Realm you speak of, is it related to the Demon Sect? But haven't they all..."

"You misunderstand, Jin Taoist. Although the Demon Sect is somewhat troublesome, they are not such a threat to the safety of the Nine Provinces.

"They are nothing more than rats in the gutter.

"Moreover, you have already killed nearly all the mid to high-ranking members of the Demon Sect."

"Then..."

"Alas, the matter must be traced back to those four great continents that were shattered by the Immortal Demon War... Ahem, Jin Taoist, could you please let go of me first? I promise not to kneel or bend over anymore."

Jin Xu, upon hearing this, smiled awkwardly and then hastily released his grip on Chi Dao's shoulders.

The two of them took their seats on wooden chairs to one side.

The Ancestor of the Kunlun Immortal Palace began to speak again.

"Jin Taoist, your cultivation is profound and your strength extraordinary; you surely also know that besides our Nine Provinces Realm, there are actually many other Small Thousand Worlds of the same level, right?"

The young Taoist really wanted to say he did not know, but he held back.

Seeing Jin Xu not answering, Chi Dao raised his hand and used his Spiritual Power to create a hollow Spiritual Power Ball in the space in front of them.

"If this represents the Nine Provinces Realm before it was damaged a thousand years ago, then..."

He spoke while slightly moving his finger.

The hollow Spiritual Power Ball instantly shrank to one-ninth of its size, yet several smaller Spiritual Power Balls of varying sizes appeared on its outer side, attached to the large ball.

"This is the current Nine Provinces Realm."