Wait a minute, where is my master?

Yu Yaoer found a kindred spirit here.

It was the mythical beast lying unconscious beside her.

She said that as soon as she had entered the Zheng family's gate, she appeared in this kitchen.

Knowing the place was extraordinary, she didn't wander around and stood obediently in her spot, waiting for Jin Xu to find her.

But waiting proved too boring, and the kitchen had both pots and seasoning.

Even the firewood was readily available.

She couldn't resist and began experimenting with her new recipes right there.

It was when she was figuring out how to perfectly combine Earthworm Dried, Sour Jujube Fruit, and Honeysuckle—these three ingredients.

That the mythical beast suddenly appeared.

And it expressed a desire to taste the dishes made by Little Fish Demon.

"And then it... fainted?"

Seeing Yu Yaoer unharmed, the Taoist's hanging heart returned to his chest, and he even felt like making a joke.

"Of course not. As soon as this beast appeared, the prohibition left by my grandmother in my Sea of Consciousness started trembling, as if it was slightly disturbed. I immediately inferred that this beast was definitely up to no good. So..."

"So?"

Jin Xu asked curiously.

At the same time, he felt it was great to have a grandmother who was the Shui Clan Elder.

Unlike his own second-rate master, who only taught him three spells before leaving him to his own devices. Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at Little White, who was about to have some soup. Tsk, her Snow Wolf Clan didn't seem to have left her with any protective measures either.

The Taoist found some solace in his heart.

"So I added a lot of Purple Luo Grass to the soup. This stuff has a strong 'sedative' effect. Normally, a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage would fall asleep for three days and nights after consuming just one leaf."

"How much did you add?"

"Five leaves!"

Yu Yaoer looked smug, as if awaiting praise for her cleverness.

Hearing this, Jin Xu nodded his head.

It seemed that Little Fish Demon was quite shrewd, and she had an odd variety of Spirit Grass on her.

However, he had the nagging feeling that he was overlooking something.

Five leaves of Purple Luo Grass, added to soup, one leaf for three days' sleep?

!!!

"Little White, put the soup down!"

Only then did the Taoist remember that Little White had been standing by the pot, apparently having already sampled it, as he was talking with Yu Yaoer.

"Huh?!"

Startled, Little White's throat moved involuntarily.

"Glug."

The soup went down.

...

Fortunately, it was a false alarm.

Otherwise, Jin Xu would have had to go out with a sleeping husky in tow.

"The soup with Purple Luo Grass was all drunk by that beast. The one Little White drank from was another batch I made."

The Taoist almost commented on how much soup she had made, but decided against it—it wasn't his first day knowing her.

Now that everyone had been found, it was time to think about how to get out. Jin Xu turned to Little White and asked her to drag Xu Qian, who was lying on the firewood, inside, and throw him next to the mythical beast.

The three took seats at the table.

"Oh right, wait a second."

The Taoist, who had already sat down, stood up and walked over to the beast, his right hand gathering golden thunder.

"Hand Palm Thunder·One Thousandth Power Version"

The mythical beast crumbled, vanishing on the spot.

At the same time, Xu Qian also came to.

He saw a mythical beast lying next to him, with the body of a sheep and a human face, with eyes under its armpits, a tiger... the rest was unclear.

Before he could take a clear look, Jin Xu raised his hand lightly, and it was gone.

Then, Jin Xu's gaze shifted to him, with golden thunder flashing on his right hand, he smiled and said to him,

"You're awake."

...

Inside the great hall.

The greed evil spirit brought along the individual referred to as Little Qi.

It was the same wisp of blue-purple mist that Jin Xu had encountered when he first entered the Zheng family's old residence.

"Little Qi, why haven't you shape-shifted yet?"

The Lustful Evil Spirit spoke up.

"Shape-shifting? Shape-shifting is such a hassle, better to just sleep."

The purple mist swayed, and a languid voice rang out.

"Hmph, all you ever do is sleep. You haven't even taken form at the Golden Core Realm, I might as well eat you!"

"Eat me? Being eaten sounds troublesome too."

It was unclear whether it was due to a low realm, muddled consciousness, or the influence of innate laziness.

Little Qi adopted a resigned and indifferent attitude towards these older brothers and sisters.

The bull-headed strongman, seeing him like this, angrily advanced to make a move.

Suddenly, a cloud of mist rose and interrupted his action.

The Gluttonous Evil Spirit, Taotie, appeared in the great hall.

"Second brother."

"Second brother~"

"Old Second."

The Evil Spirits called out one after another.

When that Wang surnamed night watchman entered the formation years ago and was refined, a drop of essence blood from a Taotie descendant was found in his storage bag.

Because it was compatible with the Gluttonous Evil Spirit, he had incorporated it into his body, and from then on, he had always appeared in the form of Taotie.

"Wake up the boss, activate the formation!"

Taotie said in a deep voice.

"But, Second Brother..."

The snake-headed woman tried to dissuade him, but was ruthlessly cut off.

"Can't you see the change in me?"

Upon hearing this, the other Evil Spirits scrutinized Taotie closely.

"Old Second, you've fallen a realm!"

The bull-headed man was the first to speak.

He had the highest cultivation among them, hence he was the first to notice.

Years ago, he and Taotie had both entered the Void Refinement Realm, but he never accepted it, feeling that the other had an advantage due to that drop of essence blood.

Therefore, he would usually call Taotie "Old Second" instead of "Second Brother" in daily life.

"Right, I've fallen a realm. You all know, although we Evil Spirits are immortal in this formation, each rebirth after being injured still weakens our cultivation. To deal a blow that could drop me a whole realm, the attacker must have at least the power of the eighth or ninth layer of the Void Refinement Realm, or possibly even the Divinity Transformation Realm."

He paused, then added, "With our current strength, we definitely can't handle them, so let's wake up the Big Brother."

Taotie was determined to persuade everyone to wake up Big Brother and activate the formation.

At this point, some of the Evil Spirits grew curious and asked how he'd been defeated.

Taotie remained silent.

How could he say that he was undone by his gluttony for a Little Fish Demon and was killed in his sleep in a daze?

It wasn't his fault, who would have thought that a mere Nascent Soul Stage fish demon would carry such precious Spirit Grass and even use it for cooking!

The formation had been untouched for so long; he had merely wanted to toy with the fish demon before consuming it. Unexpectedly, he suffered an utter reversal, losing an entire realm of cultivation.

All he wanted now was revenge, so he remained silent.

Silently, he walked to the front of the great hall's throne.

The other Evil Spirits assumed he was in a bad mood due to dropping a realm and did not inquire further.

They followed him to the throne, took their positions according to their orientation, formed Dharma Seals with their hands, and various mists of Spiritual Power converged towards the central seat.

In an instant, the great hall shook, and gray mist began to emerge on the seat, as an awe-inspiring power quietly descended.

By now, the purple mist on the side saw that it had nothing to do with it.

The simple-minded spirit was about to return to its own small yard to sleep.

But just as it was about to dissipate, a clump of gray mist shot towards it, entwining it and flying back to the central seat in the great hall.

Atop the seat, a sinister-looking man slightly opened his mouth and devoured the gray mist, along with the Lazy Evil Spirit.

Then he disdainfully said, "After decades, still a Golden Core Realm waste, what's the use in keeping you."

Upon hearing that, the rat-headed greed evil spirit shivered.

He was also at the Golden Core Realm!

Did people at the Golden Core Realm have no rights?

Fortunately, it seemed the sinister man had eaten his fill and did not pursue him further.

"What do you want, waking me up?"

The Arrogant Evil Spirit leaned on the chair, speaking impatiently.

"Big Brother, some troublesome Cultivators have entered the formation, and we might need you to activate the formation to refine them. But you've just eaten Little Qi, can the formation still be activated?"

The bull-headed man, also known as the Angry Evil Spirit.

As the being with the highest cultivation there, after the sinister man, it was natural for him to speak.

Hearing this, the sinister man spoke with annoyance.

"Heh~ What does it matter if we're short of a waste? Anyway, I've already achieved Divinity Transformation."