Wait a minute, where is my master?

Upon hearing this news,

the young Taoist subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

His first thought was not about the Demon Lord who was supposed to be sealed away; where did the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm came from then?

What he considered was...

That the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm had committed such atrocities, yet he had purified him so easily.

If there was another Demon Lord in the forbidden area behind the mountains of Kunlun Immortal Palace, then... he definitely shouldn't let the latter off so easily.

Having heard his disciple's report, temple master Chi's expression instantly darkened with a grave look as he turned towards the Bronze Gate.

"Did you sense it clearly at that time? Are you certain it was the aura of the Demon Lord's Annihilation Mist?"

"Han... cough, rest assured Elder Chi, I have been the gatekeeper of the Demon Sect for so many years; I am extremely familiar with the Demon Lord's aura and definitely would not mistake it.

"Moreover, since I met the temple master and was enlightened by him, I've completely reformed and devoted myself to goodness.

"I only wish to be an upright and honorable gate, and I would categorically not dare to lie about this matter."

Gatekeeper Elder Qin spoke with impassioned earnestness, and the rings on the gate rattled with his fervor.

He had already decided that, should an opportunity arise, he would demonstrate his heartfelt loyalty to his temple master in the hopes that the punishment he might face if things went awry could be somewhat lighter.

At the very least, he certainly did not want to be buried in Changbai Mountain again.

After asking his question, temple master Chi gazed sternly at the Bronze Gate for a few moments, and ultimately judging that the other's words did not seem to be deceitful, he finally turned to Jin Xu and said,

"Jin Taoist friend, it seems we must personally make our way to the gate of my Kunlun Immortal Palace regarding the matter of the Demon Lord. However, before that, let me first make contact with the rules of the Heavenly Dao in the Nine Provinces Realm, to return the Origin of this Demon Realm to It," he said.

"I have the same intention, so I'll trouble Senior Chi to connect with the rules of the Heavenly Dao in the Nine Provinces Realm and take me to Kunlun Immortal Palace," Jin Xu responded, performing a Taoist salutation while slightly sidestepping to clear the path.

Temple master Chi turned his head and gave his disciple a couple of instructions, then snatched up the Origin case from the table and proceeded out of the study.

...

In the courtyard,

the young Taoist stood with the Bronze Gate under the eaves, watching the Immortal Palace Ancestor quickly take materials out of his storage magical artifact.

He set up a small and exquisite ritual platform on the bluestone floor.

After completing the platform, he surveyed the ground for a moment and then, using his Spiritual Power, he moved the platform two feet to the left. Only then did he seem somewhat reassured as he stroked his long beard.

It was nothing else but the spot where the Immortal Palace Ancestor was standing earlier when the golden paper was struck was exactly where he had first set up the ritual platform.

He felt that conducting the Heavenly Dao linkage there might create some unnecessary risks and misunderstandings.

"Viewing the Tao of Heaven, executing the acts of Heaven.

"I, Chi Dao, am of the Nine Provinces Realm..."

The Immortal Palace Ancestor was chanting while forming hand seals.

As he moved, several dozen objects on the ritual platform floated into the air, connecting into a slowly rotating pattern of the Yin Yang Fish.

Subsequently, as Chi Dao cast four differently colored seals at the Yin Yang Fish pattern, the Four Symbols ascended.

Then, several awe-inspiring runes began to emerge from thin air, swirling around the Yin Yang Fish and the Four Symbols.

The skies above Shangjing City darkened rapidly as well due to Chi Dao's ongoing actions, amassing many dark clouds and becoming considerably gloomy.

"Boom!"

A thunderclap resounded from within the accumulating clouds, thundering with formidable divine might that instilled fear in the guilty-hearted.

Inside the mysterious pattern above the ritual platform in the courtyard, a beam of white light suddenly shot towards the sky, colliding with the roiling, lightning-filled dark clouds.

"Boom! Boom!"

"..."

Thunder continued to rumble from within the oppressive clouds.

It was as if the rules of the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Provinces Realm were proclaiming their authority.

Upon the ascending beam of white light, a faint golden glow suddenly emerged.

In an instant,

a tremendously forceful presence filled the small courtyard in front of the study.

"What... is happening?"

Two unemotional words simply emerged in the mind of the Immortal Palace Ancestor.

Seeing this, Senior Chi respectfully performed a salute.

He took out the Origin Box from his robe, ready to inform the Heavenly Dao rules of the Nine Provinces Realm that the Origin of the Demon Realm had been reclaimed.

However, it was in the instant when he lowered his head and looked up again.

To his surprise, he found that the faint golden light representing the will of this realm's Heavenly Dao rules had vanished.

"????"

The Immortal Palace Ancestor was stunned for a moment before turning around in shock.

He found the golden light as expected appearing right before the young Taoist.

...

Jin Xu was somewhat puzzled as he looked at the faint golden glow before him, thinking to himself that the Origin of the Demon Realm was with Senior Chi, so why come to me?

On the other hand, the Bronze Gate standing beside him, on seeing the faint golden light, nearly cried out in excitement.

If it could shed tears, that is.

Just then,

while the young Taoist was waiting for Senior Chi to connect with the Heavenly Dao rules of the Nine Provinces Realm, he casually asked Elder Qin, the gatekeeper, what had happened in the temple that day.

The Bronze Gate, which had been planning to look for an opportunity to perform well, instantly froze.

Temple master, you are running to the Demon Realm and asking people to connect with the Heavenly Dao rules, couldn't you take a break during this time?

Why are you still curious about what exactly happened in the temple!

But fortunately,

while Elder Qin was hesitating on how to answer so that his punishment would be less severe, the pale golden light that was summoned appeared in front of the two of them.

"Temple master, this... it seems that the Heavenly Dao rules is looking for you for something," he said somewhat uneasily.

The young Taoist raised an eyebrow, looking dubiously at the Bronze Gate beside him.

When he had asked it what had happened in the temple that day, there was a moment's hesitation from the gate, and now it was taking the initiative to speak.

Clearly, it was avoiding his question.

"Ahem, Rule Brother, the Origin of the Demon Realm has been found, and it is in the Origin Box with Senior Chi. You can take it back into yourself and connect it back to the Demon Realm," Jin Xu pointed to Senior Chi, who was walking towards them with the Origin Box, and spoke to the Heavenly Dao rules of the Nine Provinces Realm, then,

prepared to continue to inquire about what had happened in the temple from Elder Qin.

After hearing the young Taoist's slightly reluctant tone, the pale golden light hovered in place for a moment,

then it flashed and reappeared before the Immortal Palace Ancestor.

"Give me."

The two emotionless words echoed in Senior Chi's mind once again.

A wry smile crossed his face as he carefully opened the Origin Box, revealing the cyan material representing the Origin of the Demon Realm.

The moment the Origin Box was opened, one could clearly feel a sense of joy emanating from the pale golden light.

Then, it extended a pale golden tendril towards the cyan material inside the box.

However, just as the tendril was about to touch the Origin of the Demon Realm,

the cyan material suddenly flashed within the box.

And vanished into thin air.

...

Under the eaves,

the young Taoist looked at the cyan material that had mysteriously appeared in his left hand.

And a big question mark couldn't help but pop up in his mind.

Σ(°△°|||)????