Wait a minute, where is my master?

In the small courtyard in front of the study,

with the abrupt actions of the Demon Realm's Origin, the originally solemn and dignified atmosphere...

suddenly became somewhat inexplicable.

The ancestor of the Immortal Palace held the empty origin casket in his hands, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked towards Jin Xu's left hand.

His common sense told him that since the Demon Realm's Origin had split from the Nine Provinces' Heavenly Dao's rules a thousand years ago, at this moment, upon seeing its counterpart, it should have been eager to merge back into one.

But the situation now...

"Could it be that young Taoist Jin has changed his mind and actively drawn the Demon Realm's Origin to himself?

"But I didn't sense any fluctuation of spiritual power.

"Hmm... However, considering young Taoist Jin's cultivation strength, it is normal that I did not detect him making a move."

Within less than a moment, several thoughts flashed through Senior Chi's mind.

After that, he pondered for a bit and then cautiously opened his mouth to ask.

"Ahem, Jin Taoist, are you keeping the Demon Realm's Origin for some other purpose?"

Under the eaves,

Jin Xu was first stunned when he heard what the ancestor of the Immortal Palace said, and then he realized that the other party had misunderstood.

A wry smile appeared on his face as he looked at the Demon Realm's Origin stubbornly clinging to his palm and began to explain.

"Senior Chi, this Demon Realm's Origin was not actively captured by me.

"It... It came to my hand on its own."

After speaking, the Taoist unconsciously pinched the green substance in his hand.

"Actively?"

Hearing that the Demon Realm's Origin actively came to him, the bewilderment in the eyes of the Immortal Palace's ancestor grew even greater.

Faced with such a phenomenon that defied his common sense, the ancestor was at a loss for words for a moment.

Not knowing what else to say, he turned his head again to look at the pale golden sphere that had already appeared before Jin Xu.

"Please... give it to me."

As an invisible fluctuation spread throughout the small courtyard, those three words, lacking a bit of confidence, also appeared in the minds of the few people in the courtyard.

The voice came from the pale golden sphere representing the Nine Provinces' Heavenly Dao.

Compared to the indifference experienced when facing Senior Chi, it now appeared somewhat reverent and hesitant in front of Jin Xu.

The most obvious sign of this was the use of polite language by the pale golden sphere, which lacked much of its own will, when communicating telepathically.

Jin Xu looked at the flickering pale golden sphere in front of him, and then back at the green substance stubbornly stuck to his hand, and his face involuntary showed a hint of helplessness.

He shook his hand and said,

"...Really, it wasn't my doing... But why am I explaining this to you? You probably wouldn't understand much.

"Like this, please wait for a moment, I'll remove it from my hand right away."

As he finished speaking, the young Taoist began to gather the energy of the Hand Palm Thunder while he said,

"I did forget the promise I made in the Demon Realm; that was my oversight. But after I perform the Body Purification Skill, you should obediently detach from my hand, alright?

"Otherwise, this golden Thunder Arc..."

He said this half-teasingly, half-threatenedly, and then the Body Purification Skill rose from his palm, solid and complete, covering the Demon Realm's Origin entirely.

"(✧∇✧) Hmm~"

It might have been an illusion.

At that moment, everyone in the courtyard felt a sense of joy flash by fleetingly.

The green substance, which clung tenaciously to the Taoist's hand, paused for a couple of breaths after being engulfed by the Body Purification Skill. Then, it floated up on its own and drifted toward the Nine Provinces Realm's Heavenly Dao.

"Jin Taoist, why does the Origin of the Demon Realm cling to you? And what did you just cast, to make..."

The Taoist before the dais couldn't help stepping under the eaves, a puzzled look in his eyes as he asked Jin Xu.

"Senior Chi, don't ask. Also, pretend you didn't see anything."

The young Taoist replied calmly, his gaze inadvertently flicking toward the nearby Bronze Gate.

Although writing this matter on paper is flawless, passing it orally and explaining the reasons clearly would seem...

Jin Xu always felt something would be a bit strange.

So, it's better to avoid the trouble rather than spread the word.

Hearing the young Taoist's words, although the Ancestor of the Immortal Palace's curiosity was still very much alive, he refrained from further inquiry and silently cautioned the disciples in the study, who hadn't appeared, not to share what they witnessed.

As for Elder Qin, upon seeing the temple master glance his way inadvertently,

he began his performance without waiting for a direct warning from Jin Xu.

"Eh, temple master, we came out of the Demon Realm, didn't we? Alas, maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe because I fainted before, but I can't seem to remember what just happened."

"..."

The young Taoist turned his head and looked at the somewhat flamboyant Bronze Gate, then spoke indifferently.

"It's better that you don't remember, but since you brought up your last fainting spell, why don't you tell me what exactly happened between you and Senior Big Willow Tree in the temple?

"Why did I find the two of you entangled with each other and both fallen into a deep slumber when I returned?"

The scene of the 'ancient tree entwining the door' was still vivid in Jin Xu's mind.

In fact, through the Bronze Gate's hesitant behavior on several occasions and his understanding of various cultivation common sense over these months, Jin Xu had a pretty good guess as to why that scenario occurred.

But right now, he was free anyway, and since it would take some time for the laws of the Heavenly Dao and the Origin of the Demon Realm to integrate,

he might as well tease the Bronze Gate.

This was also a good chance to decide whether this gate could continue to fulfill the role of the second door of the Xuanxu Temple.

"Uh... temple master, I... cough..."

At this moment, if Elder Qin had hands, he would have dearly liked to slam his own door panels with a couple of punches.

"Show your loyalty if you must, but why did you have to bring up the worst subject? The temple master had just averted his attention! Damn it..."

The Bronze Gate internally criticized himself fiercely.

Then, he gritted his teeth and shook his door knocker,

deciding not to cover lies with more lies but to make a straightforward confession to the young Taoist.

"Temple master, back in the temple, I was as if my lock was clogged with paste, and my heart was blinded by lard, I..."

"Wait, we'll discuss your issues later."

Just as Elder Qin finally mustered the courage to admit his wrongs and had only started a few sentences, he was interrupted by the young Taoist's wave of the hand.

Jin Xu knew the torment of that state when one is ready to confess their mistakes, yet punishment remains undecided, so he decided to leave the Bronze Gate hanging for a while.

Of course, at that moment, he actually had important matters at hand.

...

Underneath the eaves, in the small courtyard,

the pale golden light orb, which had absorbed the cyan material, suddenly began to churn violently after rolling for a while.

Subsequently, it 'ejected' a smaller clump of cyan material.

Seeing this scene, Jin Xu's eyes widened instantly. After interrupting the Bronze Gate, he turned to ask the equally astonished Ancestor of the Immortal Palace.

"Senior Chi, are the laws of the Heavenly Dao in the Nine Provinces Realm experiencing...

"Indigestion?"