Wait a minute, where is my master?

"In three days, the Insect Queen will awaken."

A man in a green robe spoke with an indifferent voice.

After speaking, he extended a pitch-black palm from his sleeve, gripping a small tripod, and began to pour its contents into the deep pit below.

The small tripod seemed to be a Space Treasure, continuously spilling a stream of living creatures from within. Upon closer inspection, they were all kinds of odd and poisonous insects.

There were winged centipedes, white-bodied scorpions with two tails, pale yellow moths, and spiders that looked like jade, among many others.

Below the two people, the hundred-meter deep pit was already filled with countless insect corpses. Some seemed to have just died not long ago, while others had dried up.

The poisonous insects recently poured in by the man in green robes all actively crawled toward the center of the pit.

In the very center of the pit lay an inconspicuous black insect that was almost invisible to those with poor eyesight.

The insect was like a silkworm but had two blue vertical stripes on its back.

As the poisonous insects crawled towards the center and encountered the black insect, they would struggle in agony before rapidly losing their vitality.

Yet, even knowing they would meet their demise, these poisonous insects continued to march to their deaths without end.

The black insect's body curled up slightly less after each insect touched it, imperceptibly uncurling with each contact.

The Insect Queen mentioned by the two must undoubtedly be this creature.

After pouring insects for a while, the man in the green robe placed the small tripod upright and retracted his pitch-black palm back into his sleeve.

"Great-Grandfather, I..."

A woman in exotic clothing seemed to want to say something, but when the man in green robes glanced over indifferently, she didn't dare to speak.

Outside the mysterious space, within the enveloping Formation, a surge of Spiritual Power suddenly pulsated.

Then, a woman wearing a purple robe and a broad-brimmed hat emerged from the Formation.

The arrangement of the Formation in this place was done by Yan Meishan; for her, entering and exiting was as simple as eating and drinking.

"I've seen the Third Elder."

A young girl adorned in silver greeted the newcomer with a light bow, a fervent light in her eyes.

She greatly admired Yan Meishan's crazy temperament and had secretly taken her as a role model.

The man in the green robe frowned slightly, his brow furrowed with worry, and whispered softly, "Didn't I give you an address to stay at? Why did you come here? With the opening of Qingmu Secret Realm drawing closer, the fewer people coming and going, the better."

"I have important business with you. Don't worry, right now, all the major powers have their eyes on Qingmu City, and there's no one tailing me."

Yan Meishan took off her broad-brimmed hat and stowed it in her storage ring, smoothing out her hair and stepping out of the void towards the two.

"What business?"

Even though the visitor was also a Demon Sect Elder, the man in green robes still spoke with a detached tone.

"Didn't your Hall Master report to you? That Taoist who disrupted our Demon Sect's plans in the Great Xia Empire appeared within Qing State Territory."

The Third Elder spoke with a solemn tone, her eyes fixed intensely on the Second Elder in front of her.

"These days I've been busy awakening the Insect Queen, I haven't seen."

After the man in green robes spoke, he extended his pitch-black palm from his sleeve once more, resuming the frequent pouring of poisonous insects into the pit.

"That Taoist is powerful. If he is coming for us, what about our Sect's plans?"

Seeing him pouring the poisonous insects again, Yan Meishan involuntarily stepped back twice, then lowed her head to look at the black insect in the pit with a flash of deep wariness in her eyes.

After pouring insects for a good while and when there were enough of them in the pit, the man in the green robes spoke indifferently.

"Our plan doesn't depend on the outside world but rather within the Secret Realm. With his strength, could he possibly enter Qingmu Secret Realm?"

The reasoning of the man in the green robe made sense.

Qingmu Secret Realm was a world unto itself; it had evolved from the rules of small worlds, where those below Divinity Transformation could enter, but no one above had ever been known to do so.

"But..."

Yan Meishan wanted to say more, a lingering feeling that the plan would not go smoothly with the appearance of the Taoist.

But she also knew that the Second Elder in front of her was not someone she could persuade with just a few words.

The Third Elder and the no longer present Ye Wuyang were both considered rising stars of the Demon Sect, whereas this one had survived the great war between immortals and demons.

"If you've come here just for this matter, then you should go back to where you're staying. After the affairs in the Secret Realm are concluded, I will notify you of what needs to be done in the outer world,"

the man in green said coldly, issuing an order for her to leave.

"I...."

"Your presence here will interfere with my awakening of the Insect Queen."

As he spoke, the man once again reached into his sleeve and poured more poisonous insects into the pit with his pitch-black palm.

"Well, I've said everything that needs to be said. If there's a problem with the plan later on, you can explain it to the Great Elder yourself!"

After speaking, the Third Elder vanished from this mysterious space.

Meanwhile, the man in green kept staring at the deep pit beneath him, his face showing even greater distress.

At his side, the strange tribe's silent girl completed listening to their conversation and became curiously wary of the little Taoist she admired so much.

...

Near Qingmu City, there was a village.

A Taoist temple floated in the air. Jin Xu called out two women and dragged out an Ox Demon, which claimed to be of the Taiji Bull breed.

After shrinking the temple, they finally landed it on the ground.

After all, the sight of a house descending from the sky was too shocking and unconventional; the little Taoist was worried it might frighten the villagers beneath them.

"Boom!"

Jin Xu, along with the two women and the bull, landed heavily on the ground.

Fortunately, they were enveloped by golden spiritual power, so the four were not disheveled, though a large hole was formed at the entrance of the village.

"How do you communicate with your master in this village?"

Jin Xu stood at the village entrance and turned to ask the Ox Demon beside him,

completely ignoring the few elders sitting at the entrance who, startled, had dropped their walking sticks.

This place wasn't far from Qingmu City, but it was only somewhat safer, and the villagers hadn't seen many cultivators.

"Little Taoist, follow me."

The Ox Demon said and led the way into the village.

Jin Xu and the others followed close behind.

At the village entrance, the elders were stunned as they watched this group barge into their village.

After running for a moment, the Taiji Bull stopped at the door of a villager's house and began banging on it furiously.

"Who is it, stop knocking, are you announcing a death?"

A male voice from inside the house could be heard along with the sound of rushing footsteps.

A moment later, the door opened, and a man in his twenties walked out from within.

The villager looked frustrated and intended to curse at the noisemakers, but upon seeing the Bull with horns, his face instantly turned to a sycophantic smile.

"Oh, I was wondering why I heard magpies chirping on the tree this morning—turns out it's the esteemed Elder. Please, come in, come in!"

The man cordially invited the burly Bull inside.

Little White, standing behind Jin Xu, looked around and said with confusion,

"Master, there aren't even trees around here, where did he hear the magpies from the tree?"

The villager's face stiffened momentarily, visibly embarrassed.

The little Taoist motioned to Shiqi not to ask too much and then gave a tug on the Water Spirit Chain she held in her hand.

The Ox Demon, understanding the situation, said, "Don't bother with all these niceties. Hey...Old Bull, do you still have the item I entrusted to you?"

"Eh, of course, of course, Elder. Please wait a moment, I'll get it for you right away,"