Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Temple master, I've detected the Demon Lord's presence."

Jin Xu was considering dividing his attention to briefly inquire about what exactly had happened in the Daoist temple before.

Why had he seen a tree and a gate bundled up together the moment he returned home?

But the abrupt words of the other party directly interrupted his rhythm.

"Elder Qin, what did you say?"

The young Taoist asked uncertainly once more.

"Temple master, I said I've detected the Demon Lord's presence, cough, that is, could you please take me out of this storage artifact first? Although it's quite spacious inside, but..."

Elder Qin hadn't finished speaking when Jin Xu pulled him out of the storage bracelet in one swift motion.

"Wasn't the Demon Lord properly sealed in the Nine Provinces Realm? What do you mean you've sensed his presence just now?"

Considering it was about the Demon Sect, and even its leader, the young Taoist's tone also became somewhat more serious.

As for the matters regarding the Senior Big Willow Tree and the Bronze Gate, he planned to ask about them later.

"Cough, temple master, as you know, I once had a rather inglorious past, so I'm a bit more sensitive to the Demon Lord's aura.

"Look, it's in that direction. When I was inside the storage artifact, I felt it very strongly, but for some reason, on coming out, his presence seems to have weakened."

The Bronze Gate said while struggling to move its door frame, pointing in the direction of the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan's territory.

Jin Xu looked in that direction and noticed it was not too different from the one they were heading towards, furrowing his brows instantly.

"I've come to the Demon Realm, yet could I really encounter someone from the Demon Sect here?"

He muttered to himself, while his Spiritual Sense shifted slightly in the direction it was spreading.

It was just right when the Demon Realm's Origin had withdrawn the dark mist and was about to depart, but then he witnessed the scene with Little Purple Spirit Elephant.

Looking at the empty dwelling and the dust on the ground, and adding the expression on their faces,

The young Taoist didn't need to guess to understand what had just happened here.

Seeing that someone was about to attack Little Purple Spirit Elephant, he didn't hesitate to use the power of Spiritual Sense to block that streak of dark qi.

He also used the Thousand-Mile Voice Transmission technique he learned from Tingfeng Building to mock the attacker in their mind.

After completing these two actions, he kept an eye on the movements of this being, who seemed to be either the Demon Lord or the Origin of the Demon Realm, while turning his head to speak to Elder Qin, who was beside him.

"Indeed, there is a living creature without a nose and missing two fingers, stealthily attacking small animals in that direction. However, I cannot confirm whether he is the Demon Lord you mentioned. Plus, his appearance seems to be that of a demon cultivator from the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan..."

Having said this, Jin Xu quickly recounted the tragic scene he had detected through his Spiritual Sense.

Elder Qin, who had been contemplating whether the situation with the supposed Demon Lord could temporarily cover up his own plans to escape the Daoist temple, blurted out upon hearing of the atrocity.

"Annihilation Mist, the Demon Lord's Annihilation Mist! Temple master, is that being surrounded by a thick black aura, looking nothing like a good person?"

As the Bronze Gate spoke, a resolute expression appeared on the personified faces of the two doors.

"...There is indeed a mist, but it's dark green and black."

The young Taoist looked at the Bronze Gate with some suspicion.

"Dark green and black? That shouldn't be..."

Upon hearing this, Elder Qin was momentarily baffled but quickly responded.

"Impossible, I could never forget the Demon Lord's aura even if I turned to ash. Here's what we do, temple master, you mimic as I instruct, and we'll see if we can trick him into revealing his identity."

When Jin Xu heard they were going to deceive someone, he immediately spoke up with a reminder.

"Not only must we ascertain his identity, but it's best to provoke him, make him lose his composure, and stay there for a while longer."

As he spoke, he controlled his Spiritual Power to block another sneak attack on Little Purple Spirit Elephant.

In fact, at this moment, the young Taoist could have used the power of Spiritual Sense to grant Little Purple Spirit Elephant a chance for an immediate revenge, to witness her enemy's soul scatter on the spot.

However, he feared that in his carelessness, the Origin of the Demon Realm might also be destroyed.

If a small world failed to return, whether the Nine Provinces Realm could withstand the cosmic tides might become uncertain.

"Alright, Elder Qin, you can rest assured about this tongue of mine. You uncover his identity, and then do thus and so..."

The Bronze Gate once again made a guaranteed statement.

————————————

Time returned to its rightful track.

Having been taught hand by hand by the door that knew him best, and after being angered for a while.

"Heh, even if I hide my identity, I am still much stronger than your honor who only dares to communicate from hiding in the shadows, showing your tail but not your head," the Demon Realm's Origin retorted with a tinge of anger flashing in its eyes.

With these words, he essentially admitted his identity in a roundabout way.

Moreover, having vocally responded, the Demon Realm's Origin stubbornly shot a streak of green-black energy into the ravine.

Of course, the result was predictably nullified by an invisible force.

...

...

Within the swiftly racing golden streaks of light.

"Elder Qin, he implicitly admitted his identity. What should we say next?"

Upon seeing the other party's admission, Jin Xu asked the Bronze Gate beside him with a humble expression for further advice.

"Temple master, I'll just say that I know the Demon Lord's temperament very well. Then, you continue..."

The door, Elder Qin, once again taught the little Taoist another load of rubbish, all the while silently praying in his heart.

"Demon Lord, in these thousand years you better not have changed your temperament. Whether I can cover up the matter of my attempt to escape the temple back then depends on the merit I establish today."

Moments later.

The Bronze Gate, with its two large doors that had an exceedingly anthropomorphized expression, held a hint of caution and hope as it asked the little Taoist who had finished transmitting the message,

"Temple master, how is it going with the Demon Lord?"

At this moment, Jin Xu's face inexplicably blurted out two words.

"Gone."

"Hiss, so the Demon Lord truly has changed after a thousand years!"

The moment the Bronze Gate heard this, it let out an internal wail of despair. Then, the voice of the little Taoist reached its ears again.

"However, his speed doesn't seem to be as fast as I imagined. He hasn't managed to escape the lock of my Spiritual Sense. And..."

As Jin Xu spoke, directly in front of where they were flying,

the white clouds on the horizon were faintly tinged with a shade of green-black.

————————

Meanwhile, within the burial grounds of the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan,

having forcefully suppressed his anger and arrived at this place, the Demon Realm's Origin's body erupted with towering green-black energy, staring intensely at the golden spiritual power barrier in front of it.

"First go back to the Nine Provinces. Once I rescue my main body from the seal, then it won't be too late to go back and look for this trickster—provided that he survives the collapse of the world."

In his view, since the other had chosen to protect only the Little Purple Spirit Elephant yet had not attacked him, there must be some limitation or constraint at play.

The Demon Realm's Origin pondered this as he slowly raised the arm that was relatively unscathed.

Bit by bit, he infused the towering green-black mist from his body into it.

After a dozen breaths,

just as his arm was about to burst from the overwhelming power infusion, the Demon Realm's Origin finally ceased his actions.

He frowned at his arm and muttered,

"This flesh is still too weak, still left with almost half of the Annihilation Mist.

"But even so...

"The force this time should be enough to shatter this sinister spiritual power barrier!"