Wait a minute, where is my master?

Evening.

In Moro Mountain, Qing State.

Yan Meishan continued to fly in the air. When she had previously rushed to the pool's cave, she discovered that the two Hall Masters from the Twelve Halls had actually moved out.

All that was left was an empty cave!

At that moment, the Third Elder felt completely off, but the decisiveness and timidity of the two somehow earned her admiration.

Decisive and cowardly.

Gazing at the deserted cave, Yan Meishan contacted the Second Elder of the Demon Sect to inquire about the new base. Once she knew that the two had moved to Moro Mountain, she set off again and hurriedly came.

Inside a secret cave within the belly of the mountain.

The short and ugly cultivator, who had just received news from Qingmu City, paced in place, lost in thought.

The masked old man who had tried to sabotage him before was not there; it was unclear whether they had fallen out or if the old man had gone out to enlist nearby Demon Clan members.

"Why are you here alone, Elder Lang?"

Yan Meishan effortlessly crossed the formation outside the mountain belly and quietly appeared behind the short cultivator.

"I've met the Third Elder. Lang Hall Master has gone to enlist some scattered Demon Clans in distant areas, while I am in charge of organizing the messages coming from all over Qing State."

The cultivator with a large head and short stature, upon hearing the Third Elder's distinctive voice, swiftly turned around and bowed in greeting.

Yan Meishan glanced at the dwarf before her, then at his face. Her initial admiration faded, replaced by a flash of disgust in her eyes.

With no rush, she walked over to a long bench, waved her spiritual power over it to clean it, then gracefully sat down, adopting a lazy pose.

"Oh? Then tell me, what news from Qing State is worth listening to recently?"

"To answer the Third Elder, just at noon today, Lan Junyan from Qingmu Academy in the city was injured by an unknown little Taoist. Later, Qingyun, the head of Qingmu Academy, personally apologized to him and even left some compensation.

Now all powers are trying to find out who that little Taoist is, but we have not yet received definite news.

However, some cultivators who witnessed the event claimed that although the little Taoist's attire resembled that of the 'national uncle' of Great Xia, he used all fire attribute magic and there was no appearance of golden thunderbolt at the scene."

The short cultivator bowed his large head and continued reporting in front of the Third Elder.

Yan Meishan's lazy posture suddenly tightened when she heard the first part of the report, but she relaxed slightly after the short cultivator finished.

"Lan Junyan is merely at the top of Divinity Transformation in cultivation, and there would be no reason for him to survive a fight with that little Taoist. Moreover, the absence of the golden thunderbolt at the scene decreases the likelihood it was the Taoist." The Third Elder comforted herself, then added mentally,

"But just to be safe, I should avoid Qingmu City lately. After all, this time my only task was to stir up some chaos."

However, before she could finish her thoughts, the Communication Jade Token in her arms lit up.

It was a message from the Great Elder and Second Elder of the Demon Sect.

"There's a change in the plan; you need to create several clones and manage to bring the Insect Queen into the Qingmu Secret Realm. The Second Elder will help you choose the specific people to clone; you just need to follow his orders. — Great Elder."

"I'll have Master Zhu capture a few cultivators from minor sects; remember to turn them into clones. — Second Elder."

At the same time, the ugly short cultivator before Yan Meishan also received a message from the Second Elder asking him to immediately capture a team of low-level cultivators coming to Qingmu City for the Secret Realm.

After capturing them, he was to hand them over to the Third Elder before him.

"Third Elder, I have received orders from the Second Elder to capture people, and since time is pressing, I will take my leave now."

Urged by the message, the short cultivator apologized and rapidly left the belly of the mountain.

Yan Meishan looked at the Communication Jade Token in her hand, feeling a surge of irritation. The two old fellows had obviously conspired before notifying her.

"But it's just a clone entering the city. If I encounter any danger, I'll just self-detonate, there shouldn't be any danger... right?"

The Third Elder muttered uncertainly in her heart.

...

At dusk, within Qingmu City.

The "Chef God Across-Compound War Edition" had been repaired. There were Cultivators in the city who were skilled in Earth Attribute magic, excellent and economical at building and wall construction.

The entire compound was restored without using up ten high-grade Spirit Stones.

Jin Xu had also fully explained the situation to Jiang Xiulan and forcibly stuffed the storage ring filled with high-grade Spirit Stones into her hands.

Chef Jiang initially did not want to accept them, as she knew Qingyun's compensation was not due to her influence but because of Jin Xu.

But Little Taoist was not just any ordinary Taoist; he was from a well-off family, naturally not lacking in high-grade Spirit Stones, and he disdained to covet this compensation.

His initial involvement was solely because the other party had started brawling in someone's home without reason, and he wanted to intervene.

While Jiang Xiulan was having the Cultivators repair Chef God's small courtyard, Jin Xu discreetly inquired about the cost and realized he had overestimated the compensation amount.

However, he pondered for a long time but could not understand why the other party opted for physical confrontation instead of just explaining with words.

This was Jin Xu, capable of handling himself in a fight; what if it had been someone who couldn't fight back? Thinking back on the other party's behavior, the words they had spoken, and their injuries.

The Little Taoist suddenly felt that a line he had read in a leisurely book in his past life made a lot of sense.

"Poor communication can indeed have a significant impact on one's circumstance!"

Within the across-compound room.

Jin Xu sat cross-legged on the bed, shook his head, and dismissed his random thoughts.

He looked down at the jade slip in his hands.

It was the payment left by Murong Xiaohan when she came to interview him in the afternoon — "Concealing Skill."

The Little Taoist had specifically requested this item; he planned to give it to the round-bellied monk from Wanbao Temple next time he came asking for a method to conceal his aura.

This junior wind catcher from Tingfeng Building had successfully interviewed Jin Xu previously in Gusu City and had since advanced to the Golden Core Realm.

She had come to Qingmu City hoping to try her luck in the Secret Realm, but unexpectedly, she ran into the Little Taoist in the city again.

When Murong Xiaohan witnessed the battle breaking out in the city, she immediately sensed that there might be useful information to uncover and thus stealthily infiltrated the area in advance.

At first, she did not dare to approach directly, but as the aftermath from Qingyun's moves shattered the small courtyard and Yu Yaoer and Little White appeared.

On seeing the two women's faces, Murong Xiaohan realized that the Little Taoist facing her was the same as the one outside the ancient city; she then mustered the courage to approach.

Jin Xu, recognizing an acquaintance, did not refuse, although he hardly disclosed anything significant about the cause and process of the incident and instead rattled off various unrelated things.

The Qingmu Academy had already apologized and compensated; he couldn't kick them while they were down.

In any case, Murong Xiaohan used a Spirit Stone to record the interview, proving she had spoken to the person involved.

And Tingfeng Building was not particularly concerned about the authenticity of such matters. This type of information was considered gossip for Cultivators in the Nine Provinces Realm, where authenticity mattered less than the topic itself.

Thus, the next day's temporary issue of Tingfeng Building published such a report in Qingmu City.