Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Fine, leaving no clues at all,

is better than leaving a message that says you've moved but doesn't include the new address."

After all, the former could still be forcefully explained with some effort.

The latter would be like a comedy sketch come to life!

Jin Xu silently grumbled to himself, then bowed slightly to the still somewhat frightened old lion in front of him.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator, for resolving my confusion. We won't bother you any longer. Please, get back to sleep."

Having learned of the whereabouts of the Snow Wolf Clan and that the Origin of the Demon Realm had anticipated a major disaster and was already trying to save itself,

there was naturally no reason for the small group of Taoists to delay there any longer.

At that, the golden spiritual power spread from his feet, enveloping the wolf and woman behind him. He drew a neat right angle in mid-air and headed straight west.

At this time, under the archway, the old lion, known within the Golden Lion Clan as "Sleeping Lion,"

—definitely couldn't sleep now.

He was stunned for a while, and once he was sure that the terrifying presence had left, he jumped up from the ground and dashed back towards his clan.

The old lion was sure that, from the content of the human's interrogation, they must be headed for West Pole Peak.

What he needed to do now was to rush back to his clan and send a message with a long-distance Communication Token to the clan leader, saying that the Snow Wolf Clan might have latched onto some formidable influence, and that his own clan leader must seize the opportunity.

However, the old lion had barely taken two steps when he suddenly stopped and quizzically looked in the direction the Taoist had vanished with golden light, muttering to himself,

"Huh, that's not right, West Pole Peak isn't in that direction, is it?"

He was a bit conflicted, wondering if he had misunderstood, and perhaps the terrifying presence had a different goal than he anticipated.

Meanwhile,

already disappeared from the old lion's view, the golden light shield in the sky suddenly made a sharp stop and then flew in the opposite direction.

Inside the golden light shield,

the Taoist had a look of deep confusion and turned to the husky, who had transformed into a human form, and said,

"Little White, the place called West Pole Peak, by its name, shouldn't it be in the west?"

"It should be, but its actual location is in the east."

Little White had a face that agreed it should be in the west, but it was indeed in the east.

Just then, the husky had reminded Jin Xu that he was going the wrong way and needed to fly in another direction.

"...Then if it's in the east, why isn't it called East Pole Peak?"

The Taoist said in a baffled tone of voice.

"I don't know.

"Ever since I can remember, that's always been its name. I once curiously asked my dad about it, and he told me that's what everyone in the Demon Realm had called it when it was first established."

The husky responded with a face that looked both innocent and as if that's just the way it was.

Jin Xu, seeing this, clenched his teeth a bit from the headache, thinking that this name had been passed down from long ago.

If not mentioned by Little White,

he might have assumed such an abstract name was given by the Snow Wolf Clan.

While Jin Xu silently pondered to himself, he sped up his Escape Technique a notch.

He was eager to see what this place, located in the east but called West Pole Peak, looked like.

"Strange, the geographical map of the Demon Realm prepared for me by Senior Chi didn't indicate such an odd place either."

...

...

Purple Spirit Elephant Clan's burial ground.

At that moment, four or five Elephant Head Cultivators, with long noses and sharp tusks, were gathered around the spatial portal created by a punch from the little Taoist, curiously examining the golden light screen and the pillar of fire.

"Xiang Ze, have you informed the Clan Leader through the long-distance Communication Token about what has happened here?"

Another Elephant Head Cultivator, with a fierce scar on his long nose, observed the spatial portal for a while before suddenly asking the companion behind him.

"I reported it immediately, but..."

The tusked Elephant Head Cultivator, his own tusk broken, was about to answer when he suddenly felt the long-distance Communication Token in his chest vibrate, so he hurriedly took it out to check.

"The Clan Leader has replied. He said he will send Xiang Jiao and Xiang Tu back to prevent anyone from causing trouble in our clan's burial ground at this time. Also...also..."

The broken-tusked Elephant Head Cultivator suddenly hesitated in his speech.

"Also what?"

"Also, the Origin Delegates will send an envoy to personally inspect the burial site."

Upon this revelation, the surrounding Elephant Head Cultivators were immediately astir.

The burial ground of their Purple Spirit Elephant Clan had always been off-limits to outsiders, being the most sacred and inviolable place within the clan. Although the Origin Delegates' influence and prestige were at their peak, as they had hosted a grand event on behalf of the Origin,

the various races of the Demon Realm were not subordinate to them.

But now, the Origin Delegates, seemingly disregarding decades of tradition of the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan, had decided to directly send envoys to the burial site; this made the several Elephant Heads present somewhat displeased.

"Silence!"

The scarred Elephant Head Cultivator barked a command, and the noise around him instantly quieted down.

He reached out to take the long-distance Communication Token from Xiang Ze's palm and bent his head to communicate sincerely with the Clan Leader, far away on West Pole Peak.

About half a tea time later.

The scarred Purple Spirit Elephant Cultivate looked up and said.

"At this time of many troubles, the Origin Delegates fear the arrival of unexpected outsiders that could disrupt our grand event to save the Demon Realm, so they want to send envoys to thoroughly investigate the situation.

"The Clan Leader has already agreed to this.

"When the time comes, the other party will come in disguise and will not disclose passing through our Purple Spirit Elephant Clan's burial ground. You few also must keep this matter to yourselves, understand?"

The surrounding Elephant Head Cultivators, despite their reluctance, silently nodded their heads and grunted affirmatively through their nasal passages.

...

...

West Pole Peak.

On an unremarkable small peak far from the temporary residence of the various races of the Demon Realm.

A temple, with half of its walls collapsed, sat silently in this secluded location, like an old man nearing the end of his days.

The barely discernible brown-red ruins of the temple walls were already overgrown with vines and weeds.

Moving further inside, there was a small courtyard covered with wild grass. Behind the small courtyard, a hall that seemed even more dilapidated than the temple walls steadfastly remained in place.

The doors of the hall were covered in cobwebs and the floor was dusty; even the statues originally enshrined on the altar had disappeared.

Yet, in such a shabby environment, which even wild animals in the mountains would shun,

a stunningly beautiful demon cultivator with black-feathered wings on his back, dressed in a dark robe and a golden silk belt, stood expressionlessly inside the great hall.

"The envoy has already set off with the cultivators of the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan and is expected to arrive at the damaged spatial portal in two days,"

the demon cultivator's voice, slightly sharp, echoed in the dilapidated hall.

Yet clearly besides him, there was no one else present,

leaving one to wonder who he was actually speaking to.