Wait a minute, where is my master?

Inside the Taoist temple.

A cool breeze blew through, causing the willow branches to drift gently.

Three figures were seated around a stone table beneath the tree, whispering to each other.

"You're saying that you were being chased by members of the Demon Sect, and then a fishing hook suddenly appeared and reeled you in?"

The young Taoist looked calmly at the woman before him.

"Yes, if it weren't for the young Taoist master reeling me in, I might have fallen into the hands of those villains," Xia Yunzhao said, cupping her teacup and staring into Jin Xu's eyes, her serene and elegant face showing a hint of fright that had passed.

After a brief exchange, the misunderstanding had already been cleared up.

At the very least, Xia Yunzhao knew that the young Taoist was not being held hostage, and the two Nascent Soul Realm monsters were not bad people.

Just like her, they had all been reeled in by this good-looking young Taoist master.

For some reason, after finding out about this, Xia Yunzhao felt a bit uncomfortable inside.

She had thought she was the only one who had been fished out.

And concerning where this place was, Jin Xu had told her, it was two hundred li away from Gusu City, an unnamed little Taoist temple.

At the same time, Jin Xu had also asked her if she had ever seen an old Taoist who seemed like a celestial being in a dark Taoist robe with golden thread embroidered into constellations on it.

Xia Yunzhao expressed that she had never seen such a person, let alone heard of one.

After hearing her response, the young Taoist began to ponder.

Like the previous few times he used the ink jade fishing rod, whether it was people or objects he reeled in, even if they were not what he had intended, there was usually some connection.

For example, Little White who had been eating fish at the time, or the water pouch in Yu Yaoer's storage magic artifact that carried the scent of his master. But this woman in white, as far as he could see, seemed to have no connection at all, and he couldn't just go through someone's storage magic artifact without permission.

"Miss Yunzhao, you've had a fright, would you like to drink a bowl of soup to calm your nerves?"

With both hands, Yu Yaoer held out a bowl of soup as she ran out of the kitchen.

After hearing Xia Yunzhao's encounter, she had gone to the kitchen to whip something up, saying she wanted to welcome a new friend.

Jin Xu didn't stop her, considering that this woman in white might, like Little White, be able to take it.

"Young master, this is yours. Miss Yunzhao, this is for you, and Little White, just wait a moment, I will get yours," Yu Yaoer trotted back into the kitchen.

"Miss Yaoer, you're too kind."

Seeing such an enthusiastic and friendly Nascent Soul Realm great demon was a bit overwhelming for Xia Yunzhao; in her experience, spirits and monsters were usually brutal and bloody, so this approachable nature was rare.

She then picked up the soup bowl.

Looking at the bubbling green bubbles and the unidentifiable limbs bobbing up and down in the bowl, she fell into silence.

"That spirit isn't trying to poison her, is it?"

Jin Xu watched as Xia Yunzhao voluntarily picked up the bowl and gave her an internal thumbs-up, rating her bravery on par with that of a Husky.

Then he too picked up his bowl and casually tossed the contents at the base of a nearby big tree.

If he couldn't determine whether the woman in white had any connection to his master,

why not ask the miraculous Big Willow Tree?

...

The willow branches stirred by the wind instantly stiffened.

"Ugh~ where's this, ugh~ filthy thing, ugh~!"

The familiar voice of the Guardian Spirit echoed in the young Taoist's mind.

"Pfft."

Unable to resist her curiosity, Xia Yunzhao took a small sip beside him, then spat it onto the face of Little White, who was sitting opposite her.

Little White sniffled and ran into the kitchen to wash his face.

Whether he actually went to wash his face, or if he was afraid that Guan Ling would wake up and hang him up again, was anyone's guess.

Meanwhile, the Big Willow Tree swept up the soup at its roots with its branches and leaves before disdainingly breaking off that branch.

The young Taoist unobtrusively collected it into his twenty-four Mystic Treasure Pearls.

When he returned, he had already tested that using a branch from the Guardian Spirit could indeed heal injuries, and the effects were quite good.

As for how it was tested, it could only be said that Little White's little followers had a hard time.

"My disturbance of the senior this time was truly beyond my control, I hope the senior will not take offense," he said.

Before the Big Willow Tree could take issue, Jin Xu preemptively apologized.

"I, let it be. Whatever it is you want to ask, just ask," Guan Ling said reluctantly, this time speaking rather fluently.

Seeing the Big Willow Tree so amenable this time, the young Taoist quickly brought out the Communication Jade Token, his forehead clouded with black air, and his failure to catch his master, as well as catching the white-clad woman, he told Guan Ling all three matters.

After listening, the Big Willow Tree answered each question.

"The Communication Jade Token lighting up but only receiving static is not impossible. There are several possibilities, either the holders of the two tokens are too far apart, or your master could be trapped in some formation or secret realm, both could cause this situation," the Big Willow Tree paused before continuing, "But this token used by your master must have come from an old monk from Wanbao Temple. It's supposed to have a very wide coverage and such a distance issue should almost never happen, you might want to ask him in detail if you see him in the future."

Hearing this, the young Taoist asked,

"May I ask the senior, what are the distinguishing features of Wanbao Temple, and where should I search for it?"

Guan Ling thought for a moment and said, "As for where to search, I do not know, but if you see a monastery and your first thought is to rob it, that would be Wanbao Temple."

Jin Xu was silent after hearing this; being such a polite young man, how could he possibly think of robbing others.

The Big Willow Tree then continued with his second question.

"Black air emerging on the forehead can occur in too many situations, such as someone wanting to possess you, curses, Gu poison, demons of the heart, and so on. Let me take a look at your cultivation."

Saying that, it touched a willow branch to the young Taoist's forehead.

The branch that was swaying in the wind stiffened for a moment.

Then it continued to sway with the wind.

"Hmm, not bad, even the strength of your body is quite good. However, you should find a method related to Spiritual Sense soon. Otherwise, if your Spiritual Sense faces danger in the future, it will be like a sleeping strongman faced with a ravenous girl, powerless to resist," said Guan Ling with an odd metaphor. The young Taoist pursed his lips in response but knew that this matter indeed needed to be addressed soon.

On the other hand, the Big Willow Tree was internally shaken.

"What exactly did Tianxing pull up? He found that he could not discern Jin Xu's realm; he could only sense endless, frighteningly abundant Golden spiritual power."

Nonetheless, he did his best to remain calm.

After all, he was a tree and had no facial expressions.

"About this white-clad woman and your master's connection, young lady, check your storage magic artifact, see if you have such a Token," Guan Ling adjusted his mood and said to Xia Yunzhao, materializing a delicate silver Token in the air.

The Token was small and silver, inlaid with seven amber-colored Crystal Stones.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yunzhao, who was at that moment using tea water to rinse her mouth, looked towards the materialized Token in mid-air.

"Elder Tree, I do indeed have this Token," she said.

As she spoke, the white-clad woman lightly touched the ink jade ring on her slender finger.

In her snow-white, tender palm, there appeared a silver Token identical to the one in the air.

"This was given to me by my mother before I left the palace," she revealed.