Wait a minute, where is my master?

At the bottom of the pool, inside the entrance.

Unexpectedly, this place was a secluded cave arranged with tranquility in mind.

The cave was filled with green plants, sandalwood incense, bookshelves, and chairs—everything one could need.

On the walls hung several pieces of poetry and calligraphy from the Confucian school, and even in a corner, a beautiful woman was playing the guqin amidst the fragrance of sandalwood incense.

However, the master of this place did not appear to be as tranquil.

After entering the cave, the grey-robed elder man familiarly found a chair to sit down, poured himself a cup of tea, and then addressed the direction of the beautiful woman, "Master Zhu, the method to enter your cave is far too complicated. Why not make it simpler?"

"Heh heh, it's better to be complicated. It keeps the righteous Cultivators from knocking on our door. Monster Lang, weren't you arranged by the elder to subdue the Demon Clan of the Ten Bamboo Cave today? How come you are back by yourself?"

A grating voice came from between the legs of the beautiful woman.

Afterward, a man no taller than one meter, dressed in a scholar's attire and wearing a scholar's hat, poked his head out from behind the guqin, curiously looking around.

This man had an ugly face and an extraordinarily large forehead—he was the person the grey-robed elder had addressed as Master Zhu.

"Heh, it seems that's not going to happen. I sent a message to the Second Elder on my way back, explaining the situation," the elder said.

The grey-robed elder, frustrated, twirled the teacup in his hand. His already gaunt face, combined with his current expression, looked like a rat who had lost a battle.

"How so? Now that all the prominent righteous Cultivators are in Qingmu City waiting for the Secret Realm to open, is there someone on this patch of earth who could stop you, Monster Lang? Did those little demons have a change of heart and were fed Gu poison by you?"

The short and ugly Cultivator with the large head was kneading the beautiful woman's body with one hand while curiously inquiring at the same time.

The beautiful woman's hands trembled slightly while playing the guqin.

"Heh, if only it were that simple. The matter I encountered, ah, it's a major issue."

The elder drank a sip of tea and spoke unhurriedly.

"Monster Lang, stop beating around the bush, just tell me what happened."

The short Cultivator's patience seemed exceptionally poor. Seeing the grey-robed elder continuing to withhold information, he unintentionally increased the force of his grip. The beautiful woman winced in pain but bit her lip, not daring to let out a cry.

"Jie jie jie, Master Zhu, if you really want to know, how about giving me that servant girl of yours who has the body of utmost yin? I guarantee, you won't regret trading this servant girl for my information," the gaunt elder said, his eyes revealing a greedy look as he fixated on the part where the ugly Cultivator's hand rested.

The beautiful woman heard their conversation and panicked, her fingers stumbling over several notes on the guqin in error.

"Keep playing properly... Monster Lang, you want to exchange my servant girl with a body of utmost yin for just one piece of information, aren't you being a bit too greedy? If you won't talk, couldn't I just go and ask the elder?"

The ugly short Cultivator first scolded the beautiful woman, then questioned the gaunt elder.

At this moment, the force in his hand was so great that it left bruise marks on the beautiful woman's fair skin.

"Heh, then go and ask the elder," Monster Lang replied, withdrawing his greedy gaze and casually playing with the cup in his hand.

"..."

The Cultivator surnamed Zhu fell silent for a while. Naturally, he wouldn't really go and ask the Second Elder; his earlier suggestion was just to avoid immediately agreeing.

"I don't know what the big issue is that makes this old man so sure I won't regret using my servant girl to exchange for the information. Besides, I'm tired of playing with this body of utmost yin anyway, might as well satisfy my curiosity," the short Cultivator thought to himself.

With a forceful push, he threw the beautiful woman next to him towards the gaunt elder.

"This woman is yours now, speak up, what's the news?"

"Master, no..."

The beautiful woman, who had not made a sound out of pain before, tried to beg the Cultivator surnamed Zhu not to send her away as she was caught by the gaunt elder.

However, before she could finish her plea, Monster Lang casually threw a handful of powder, knocking her unconscious.

"Jie jie jie jie, Brother Zhu, do you know about the 'national uncle' from Emperor Xia's dynasty who recently became famous throughout the Nine Provinces?"

The gaunt old man was speaking when, coincidentally, the winged centipede and the golden silkworm he raised flew back.

...

On the ground of Ten Bamboo Cave.

A group of villagers obediently stood within a huge golden Spiritual Power Shield, silently watching their lifesaver—Jin Xu.

The little Taoist, meanwhile, had his back to the villagers and was squatting in front of Little White, with eyes shining silver, carefully examining something.

"Temple master, have you finished?"

Little White looked helplessly at the Spider Demon beside her; she had already been examined by Jin Xu for nearly half a quarter of an hour.

A full half a quarter of an hour, ah! For the naturally active Snow Wolf Clan to stand still for so long was a huge torment!

"Almost done. Little White, were these wounds caused by the Groundhog Elf?"

The little Taoist stood up, asking gently.

"Right, that creature... the groundhog was fighting me and suddenly pulled out a bottle, poured it on its claws, and then its claws turned dark green. A Body Cultivator using poison, pah, the shame of Body Cultivators."

Little White gesticulated the whole scene to Jin Xu and did not forget to curse in the end.

"Little Taoist, is her injury severe? Little Sister White got hurt while protecting me, and I..."

The Spider Demon, seeing Jin Xu had been observing the wound for so long, couldn't help but feel worried and asked.

"It's nothing serious, Little White's resilient. And I can heal it anyway."

Jin Xu waved his hand nonchalantly, indicating for the other to stop talking and not to worry.

Zhuzhu was confused after hearing what the little Taoist said.

"What does 'resilient' mean?"

However, she understood the latter half of his sentence; Jin Xu said he could heal the injuries.

Little White had obviously gotten used to the occasional novel terms that came out of her temple master's mouth. Right now, her concern wasn't about what 'resilient' meant, but why Jin Xu took so long to look if he could heal her.

"Temple master, if you can heal my wounds, why did you take so long to look?"

Little White was forthright.

"It's nothing. Your wound has some Gu Worms similar to those inside Brother Jiang's daughter's body, so I took a closer look. However, although they are similar, they are still different."

While answering, Jin Xu raised his hand and cast "Body Purification Skill" on Little White's body.

"Awoo! Temple master! I understand now!"

Free from the constraint of the Gu poison, Little White's recovery ability, enhanced by the Big Willow Tree, started to work, and several scratch marks quickly disappeared without a trace.

Beside her, the Spider Demon's eyes showed a puzzled expression.

"Why is Little Sister White so excited about the little Taoist healing her?"

After Jin Xu healed Little White, he turned his head to Zhuzhu and asked, "Miss Zhuzhu, do you have any toxins in your body that need treatment?"

The Spider Demon shook her head; she had been well protected in her lair, so she didn't have any injuries, just a bit too much spiritual power consumed.

Seeing that she didn't need help, the little Taoist didn't insist.

After all, his magic couldn't cure everything, and the side effects were quite embarrassing, so it was better the fewer people who knew, the better.

"Let's go."

Having dealt with the mixed affairs, the little Taoist reached out to lift the golden Spiritual Power Shield enclosing the villagers.

As the saying goes, "Save someone all the way, escort Buddha all the way to the west."

After Jin Xu had rescued these villagers, he couldn't just toss them in the mountains and ignore them; he had to arrange a suitable place for them.