Wait a minute, where is my master?

The little Taoist's heart jolted when he heard the commotion.

Without even opening the door, he activated his Escape Technique and directly crashed his way out.

"Senior Chi!"

Jin Xu called out, standing amidst the broken wood chips and peering into the courtyard.

He saw the originally dignified and white-haired elder of the Kunlun Immortal Palace, now standing charred all over.

Wafts of a meaty aroma were even faintly dissipating into the air.

The Divine Skill Golden Paper, which the other had been tightly holding before leaving, had now fallen at his feet.

Upon seeing this, the little Taoist's brow slightly furrowed, and a thought immediately extended his Spiritual Sense outward.

However, aside from spotting the three women hand in hand stepping through the main gate, he did not see any trace of an enemy attack.

"Senior Chi, what happened to you... um."

Jin Xu swore he didn't do it on purpose.

The white hair and beard of the Immortal Palace's elder had already carbonized under the cleansing of the Heavenly Thunder. Now, with the slight breeze brought about by the little Taoist's approach, they had all neatly drifted away as powder.

And thus, the image of a shiny, bald elder was born.

"..."

Facing this bizarre scene, the little Taoist was momentarily silent, unsure what expression to make.

Fortunately, the Immortal Palace elder only seemed disheveled, but the injury he received was not severe.

So, he took the initiative to speak.

"Jin Taoist, cough cough... I will just take a copied version of this Golden Paper Divine Skill with me, and you keep the original safe," he said, carefully pointing to the Golden Paper that had fallen at his feet, with puffs of black smoke still emerging from his mouth.

"Senior Chi, hadn't we just agreed on everything? And your injury..."

The little Taoist suddenly stopped mid-sentence, then with a sudden realization, pointed to the Golden Paper on the ground and said,

"Ahem, were you struck by the Heavenly Thunder because..."

"That's right."

The Immortal Palace elder nodded painfully, his shiny scalp even mischievously issuing a few strands of Thunder Arcs as he moved.

Senior Chi felt very wronged, thinking to himself, if the Heavenly Dao's rules did not allow someone to take the Golden Paper and only allow the viewing of its content, you should have said so earlier.

As the elder of the largest sect in the Nine Provinces Realm, would he not understand such rules?

Is there any sense in striking someone first and then sending down an explanation?

This is just pure bullying of honest people!

While Senior Chi was feeling aggrieved inside, Jin Xu bent down to pick up the Golden Paper from the ground, examining it in his hand.

And truly, the control of the Heavenly Thunder was indeed precise; despite what the Immortal Palace elder went through, there was not a single mark from the thunder strike on the Golden Paper.

"Young Master, Little White said there's a meaty smell in the courtyard, were you eating something behind our backs... Eh, who is this bald old man?"

The little Taoist was still pondering when Yaoer's surprised voice suddenly rang in his ears.

He turned to look, and the three women were now standing at the entrance of the courtyard, all six curious eyes looking towards the two men inside.

"Little Yu, don't talk nonsense. This is..."

"Jin Taoist, I will take my leave now. I'll come back for the handwritten copy of the Divine Skill in a few days," said the elder, who had finally regained mobility after being paralyzed by the thunder, quickly interrupting what Jin Xu was about to say about his identity, and in the blink of an eye vanished from the spot.

He left behind only a faint trace of the meaty aroma and two charred footprints in the courtyard.

"Young Master, who was that bald man? He looked so much like Senior Chi just now," Yaoer approached with suspicion, then looking down at the charred marks on the ground she added,

"Did you strike him with a Hand Palm Thunder?"

The line of questioning from Little Fish Demon left the little Taoist speechless. He was rummaging through his mind for how to gloss over this matter, trying to avoid embarrassing the Immortal Palace elder.

Little White, who had followed, simply sniffed audaciously and said,

"Little Yu, what are you thinking? The temple master certainly can't control the power of the Hand Palm Thunder that well!"

"..."

Jin Xu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, took a step forward, and tapped the top of the Husky's head, then glanced at Fu Ling who was still standing at the entrance of the courtyard, looking out.

"There was a little accident, that's all. Come on, I'll take you to find some delicious food in the city.

"Right, let's call Brother Zhao too."

After saying this, he grabbed the others and headed toward the exit of the courtyard.

...

...

Time passed quickly, as quickly as a man who doesn't care for his appearance.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Shangjing City.

Inside a small restaurant by the road with no sign.

A group of Taoists filled the three small tables in the room, and at the center table, Senior Chi, who had grown back his beard and hair, was whispering to Jin Xu.

"I have had my disciples try to send the items with your Spiritual Power marks to the Demon Realm, when do you plan to set out?"

"After this meal, I guess. The sooner I go, the sooner I return, and the more time I'll have."

Jin Xu said and gently lifted the teacup on the table to take a sip.

"Good, then I'll leave it to you.

"Regarding the information about the major states that correspond to the small worlds and the most likely location of the Origin of the small worlds, I have put all of that in this jade slip."

Senior Chi handed over a jade slip as he spoke, then continued.

"Additionally, after discussing with the old scholar and the others, we have decided to also construct that great formation which can protect the Nine Provinces Realm, just in case. This way, facing the unknown tides of heaven and earth, we'll have a better chance."

Jin Xu naturally had no objection to this double insurance approach.

So he hummed in agreement and looked up at the Old Dean and others sitting across from him who had successfully paid their "temporary residence fee" and came out.

At this moment, the curtain at the entrance of the small restaurant's kitchen was pushed open by an arm holding a tray of steaming baskets.

The former owner of Yixiang Building, now verified by the night watchman to have nothing to do with the Demon Sect, stepped out quickly.

"Dear guests, sorry to keep you waiting. Have these three baskets of buns first; there are more steaming on the stove."

Her face was still adorned with a brilliant smile, though new wrinkles adorned her eyes and forehead and strands of white hairs had sprinkled through her hair.

The whole person appeared much more weather-worn.

With steamed buns served, the group started to devour their meal voraciously.

An hour later.

The people of the three tables had their fill of food and drink, prepared to return home, and the landlady, busy in the kitchen for half the day, came out enthusiastically to see them off.

After everyone had left, the last Taoist seemed to suddenly remember something, so he casually asked the landlady, who was wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Oh, by the way, what was it you wanted to say back in the dining room, landlady?"

The woman was stunned for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on her face as she said,

"I am not afraid of making you laugh, sir. Originally... the person from the Demon Sect tricked me into thinking they were at the end of their lifespan, and I wanted to use ninety percent of Yixiang Building's earnings to ask you to extend their life."

Hearing this response, Jin Xu's steps faltered slightly as he was walking out. He sighed softly and without turning back said,

"I've left the money for the meal on the table."

...

The group returned to the estate.

After a moment's thought, the Taoist took the two women to the martial training field.

Upon arriving, he closed his eyes to sense the surroundings for a moment, then suddenly his eyes snapped open!

And with a punch, he struck into the void!