Wait a minute, where is my master?

The moon hung high, and the tree shadows swayed.

In the well of the backyard of Xuanxu Temple, someone got hooked.

Jin Xu lifted his ink jade fishing rod, and amidst the splashing of water droplets, a figure drenched from head to toe, with specks of blood and mud on her dress, was pulled up by him.

And dropped onto the vacant ground nearby.

"It's not Master again."

This was Little Taoist's first reaction in his mind.

"I wonder what species it is this time; however, she looks rather bedraggled."

As Jin Xu thought this, he lifted his left hand and cast a Body Purification Skill in the air, hitting the woman in white.

"Mmm~"

Xia Yunzhao moaned softly, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes seemed as if they were about to drip water.

She had been on the brink of death, unaware of what method had been used to capture her, and then she suddenly appeared in this place.

And now, this little Taoist took advantage of her slow reaction to cast some strange thing on her, making her irresistible.

Xia Yunzhao abruptly lifted her head, ready to question the Taoist on why he was acting so frivolously, what about the moral quality of a monk!

But after seeing Jin Xu's face clearly.

"Hmm, he probably didn't do it intentionally."

She lowered her head again.

...

Ignoring the subtle movements of the woman in white, Jin Xu noticed that his Taoist robe had also been wetted by the recent splashes and with a turn of his hand, he cast another Body Purification Skill upon himself.

The Taoist robe instantly became clean and comfortable.

Hmm? That's not right!

The little Taoist noticed a cluster of black energy suddenly appeared on his forehead, which vanished without a trace following the fall of the Body Purification Skill.

The originally agitated heart realm once again became as placid as an ancient well.

Such a sudden change left him startled.

Once his Sea of Consciousness cleared, Jin Xu recalled that his emotions had been unusually turbulent since leaving the Zheng family's old residence.

Mysterious sadness, irritability, and impulsiveness.

Ever since he insisted on cultivating every night, not only could he skip meals, but sleep became optional as well, and he could feel his heart becoming more peaceful.

Now he thought about it, his sudden decision to take out the ink jade fishing rod and fish for his master was indeed unusual.

"Could it be that I'm under some kind of curse? Little Taoist doesn't understand these things, but since it could be dispelled by the Body Purification Skill, it shouldn't be any powerful curse."

After quickly pondering in his mind, Jin Xu then turned his attention to what he had fished up.

"What race of demon are you, and why is there no demonic energy about you?"

Yu Yaoer and Little White had already walked over from under the large tree.

Standing beside the woman in white, Little Yu, the Little Fish Demon, looked on with curiosity, murmuring to herself.

"Race, demon?"

Hearing these words, Xia Yunzhao paused and then weakly said, "I am human."

She had used the ancestral Spirit Sight to see that the two seemingly harmless women in front of her were brimming with demonic energy, at least at the Nascent Soul Realm!

This gave her the feeling of having escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair.

"Human? Human demon?"

Yu Yaoer blinked her clear yet foolishly large eyes and blurted out.

Little White on the side corrected in resignation, "Little Yu, she's probably a human. I didn't smell a hint of demonic energy."

As she spoke, Little White even sniffed with her little nose as if to prove she really did smell.

"..."

The little Taoist approached the three women, attempting to end their strange conversation.

But just as he got close to the woman in white, he saw Xia Yunzhao leap up from the ground, standing in front of him.

She spoke with determination, "Little Taoist Master, you must be coerced by these two demons! Don't be afraid, I can take you away!"

"???"

In Xia Yunzhao's spiritual vision, Jin Xu had no fluctuations of spiritual power, just an ordinary person.

Obviously, she seemed to have forgotten that she had just been involuntarily affected by a spell from a young Taoist.

In Xia Yunzhao's heart, at this silent, halfway-through-the-night courtyard, with two great demons at least at the Nascent Soul Realm, and one fragile Taoist who also happened to be good-looking,

He must have been brought here against his will!

"Cough, miss, you might have misunderstood,"

came the pleasant voice of the young Taoist from behind her.

He thought that this girl might be a bit simple-minded.

...

...

In the distant Shangjing City.

The Demon Sect's Third Elder was conversing with a mysterious elder.

Suddenly, she felt a response from within herself, the measures she left in the Seven Emotions and Seven Evils Refining God Formation couldn't be sensed anymore?

Her expression remained unchanged, still speaking smilingly to the elder sitting opposite her, but inside she was inexplicably astonished.

The means placed inside the Seven Emotions and Seven Evils Refining God Formation was a precious Heart Demon Seed the Third Elder of the Demon Sect had obtained in a perilous place.

But when she acquired it, the seed was not fully mature, so she took advantage of the Divine Sect's plan and covertly placed it into the large formation she had set up, hoping to nurture it to grow stronger.

And given the Heart Demon Seed's attributes, if the formation was broken, it would automatically enter the sea of consciousness of the person who broke the formation, so she wasn't worried about losing it.

Therefore, when she received the news that the formation was broken yesterday, she wasn't concerned, merely sensing it briefly to find that the seed had successfully found a sea of consciousness to reside in, and then left it at that.

She could just reclaim it after a while.

After all, with decades of nourishment, the current Heart Demon Seed could entrap even a cultivator at the Mahayana Realm if they were not careful.

If her cultivation technique hadn't perfectly matched this type of heart demon, she probably would not have been able to control it either.

How could it suddenly be out of her reach?

"Has it slipped from my control, or has someone intercepted it?"

The Third Elder of the Demon Sect pondered, preparing to quickly end her conversation with the mysterious elder.

As for the possibility of it being dispelled, she didn't even consider it; a Heart Demon Seed that could ensnare a cultivator at the Mahayana Realm couldn't be eradicated instantly, even if the head of Kunlun Immortal Palace came, they would have to refine it for a while.

"I will instruct the Hall Masters in Gusu City to investigate the incident of the Medicine King Valley's Third Elder's misfortune as soon as possible. As for Shangjing City, I'll have to trouble you,"

the Third Elder of the Demon Sect said with a smiling face.

The mysterious elder nodded reservedly, without saying a word, and left the place.

After the person left, the Third Elder of the Demon Sect took out a Communication Jade Token and quickly instructed several Hall Masters.

They were to find out who had broken the formation, ensure the safety of the Transformation Pond and the stored resentment, be on the lookout for any high-level cultivators passing nearby Gusu City, and monitor if there were any increased reports among the local cultivators and ordinary people about being possessed or going mad.

They should report any news to her promptly.

The five tasks were sent through the Communication Jade Token, and as for the misfortune of the Medicine King Valley's Third Elder, she didn't even mention it.

...

Near Xuanxu Temple, Wild Wolf Ridge.

Hall Master Xia and Hall Master Zou had already transferred the Transformation Pond and the resentment to a cave here.

In the cave, the two who were resting received the message from their Third Elder.

After reading the message, they were clear on the first four points, but what did the last one mean?

The main purpose of the Divine Sect's Transformation Fruits, besides helping people to slightly improve their cultivation, was to drastically change their temperament and drive them mad, wasn't it?

What did the Third Elder mean by this? Was she giving them a hint or was there a deeper meaning?

After pondering for a long time and coming up with nothing,

the two Hall Masters decided to probe the identity of the one who broke the formation.

Mainly, it was Hall Master Xia who would use her channels within the city to investigate.

As for Hall Master Zou, he would take the few disciples he had "recently acquired" to spread the Transformation Fruits widely in the vicinity, then collect the resentment-filled Transformation Fruits back to refill the Transformation Pond.

After discussing their plan of action, they sent a message to Hall Master Huang, who was chasing the mysterious person.

"The old Zheng household is broken. If there is any issue, convene in the Wild Wolf Valley cave."