Wait a minute, where is my master?

On the edge of the Gobi desert.

Two well-behaved girls, staying within a golden light shield, were exchanging their respective clan's experiences in training the young.

Little White, after hearing Yu Yaoer's training method that resembled 'jumping through the dragon's gate,' opened her mouth to say something but then saw a streak of golden light speeding across the sky from afar.

"Little Yu, it seems that the temple master and the others have returned."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yaoer turned around and saw Jin Xu and the Old Dean landing in front of her.

"Eh!? Young Master, has Senior Big Willow Tree been awakened from treatment? Why have only you and Senior Yan returned?"

"Right, temple master, what about the Xuanxu Temple? No, I mean, where is Senior Guan Ling?"

"Hmm~"

The two girls spoke one after the other.

Faced with their questions, Jin Xu, who had just landed, showed a somewhat complicated expression and spread his hands as he explained.

"Both the Xuanxu Temple and Senior Guan Ling are still at the center of the Gobi desert. The potency of my 'Strengthening Pill' was too strong, and it seems that all our preparations were somewhat inadequate.

"However, fortunately, Senior Guan Ling said he was confident in resolving it by himself, and he only needed us to move far away so as not to disturb him, so Senior Yan and I came back first."

After he finished explaining, the Old Dean beside him silently nodded his head, agreeing with Jin Xu's statement.

"Resolve it by himself?"

Yu Yaoer, who was highly knowledgeable in Alchemy Dao, showed a hint of surprise on her face upon hearing this response, then she murmured softly, "Young Master, the side effects of your pill are no small thing. For Senior Guan Ling to resolve it by himself..."

The Little Fish Demon's voice trailed off, becoming nearly inaudible.

Not knowing what she was thinking, her originally pale cheeks also flushed with a trace of red.

Seeing Yu Yaoer's reaction, the young Taoist looked somewhat puzzled.

He pondered for a moment and was about to say something when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble slightly.

"The source of the vibration is the center of the Gobi desert."

The Old Dean, who also felt the tremors, said this in a deep voice before turning to look toward the direction of the Gobi desert.

Owing to the fact that the Xuanxu Temple, when fully activated, could block Spiritual Sense probes, Yan Chu wasn't very clear about what the Ten-thousand-year-old Heart Calming Willow inside the temple was doing to cause such a distant tremor to be felt.

Therefore, after showing a trace of curiosity, he turned to the young Taoist and asked,

"Taoist, what method did Daoist Serenity Willow use to resolve it that caused such a commotion?"

The Old Dean knew that his Spiritual Sense couldn't easily penetrate the fully activated Xuanxu Temple, but for Jin Xu, the opponent's Spiritual Sense must have always been locked on the inside of the Xuanxu Temple.

"... Ahem, as for the method... well, Senior Yan, you'll find out soon enough."

The Taoist, suddenly asked, fell silent for a while and did not directly answer the Old Dean's question. Instead, he started to deflect with an odd expression on his face.

When Yan Chu heard this, he couldn't help but look at Jin Xu with curiosity, and just as ideas began to form in his mind, the increasingly violent shaking sensation under his feet interrupted him.

"Such a strong life force; the source is also from..."

The Old Dean sensed a powerful surge of vitality sweeping out from the center of the Gobi desert and subconsciously began to narrate like a 'narrator,' but he stopped halfway through his sentence.

It was as if an invisible hand had grasped his throat, trapping the latter half of his sentence in his throat.

The reason the Old Dean from Qingmu Academy reacted so strongly was that just over ten feet in front of him,

countless tender green shoots suddenly broke through the soil and in an instant grew into the form of a towering tree!

"This... this... this, are these all Serenity Willows?"

The calm expression on Yan Chu's face changed three times in an instant, and he realized why the little Taoist had just told him he would know the method shortly.

Unlike the old dean's astonishment and the sense of absurdity he felt,

Jin Xu, who had been prepared for this, showed little emotion upon seeing the extraordinary sight of countless Serenity Willows rising from the ground.

He lightly tapped his toes on the ground, and his body leapt high into the air, eyes filled with a strange light as he scanned the vast expanse of desert below.

"Indeed, it's just as I explored with my Spiritual Sense.

"The eight thousand miles of desert north of Shangjing City have, in this instant, truly all become covered with gigantic willow trees three Zhang tall!

"Senior Guan Ling's method of resolution really is... simple yet reasonable!"

And when the little Taoist observed from the sky, he noticed a detail: all these Serenity Willows grew only within the range of the eight thousand miles of desert, without a single tree out of bounds.

It seemed as if it were a result intentionally controlled by the Big Willow Tree ancestor.

"..."

With his emotions unclear, Jin Xu descended back to the ground, preparing to lead the others to the center of the desert to retrieve the Big Willow Tree and Xuanxu Temple, now asleep after the effects of the Strengthening Pill had been neutralized.

But before he could speak upon landing, he saw Little White hop over with a curious face and say,

"Temple master, temple master, were these willow trees all the handiwork of Senior Guan Ling?"

"That's right."

Jin Xu replied briefly, fearing that Little White might say something shocking in front of Senior Yan.

So, while giving Yu Yaoer a meaningful look, he let golden spiritual power spread from his feet, wrapping them up and soaring into the sky, preparing to bring the Ten-thousand-year-old Heart Calming Willow back quickly.

However, as the Little Fish Demon witnessed the appearance of these thick trees, she shyly lowered her head after looking at the little Taoist's back for a moment.

So the signal Jin Xu gave went unnoticed by her.

And after the golden spiritual power sphere ascended, Little White grew even more curious about the vast expanse of giant willow trees that stretched for eight thousand miles. She even crouched down completely and began studying them seriously, looking down through the Golden Spiritual Power Shield.

After flying for about a dozen breaths,

Little White, who had been lowering her head for a long time, suddenly looked up and said,

"Temple master."

Upon hearing this, the little Taoist involuntarily glanced at Yu Yaoer, who could create a 'Silence Water Ball', and noticed she was still blushing and looking down, seemingly lost in thought.

He couldn't help but tense up quietly, ready to physically cover Little White's mouth in case she blurted out something astonishing.

"What is it, Little White?"

"Temple master, with so many willow trees, just think how much willow catkin there'll be when spring comes!"

As Little White spoke, she subconsciously raised her hand to rub her little nose.

It seemed as though she had suffered from these things before.

"Hmm? You know about willow catkins? Don't your Snow Wolf Clan always live in the extreme cold regions?"

Seeing that Little White had not said anything alarming, Jin Xu's guarded body relaxed slightly.

Then, somewhat curiously, he asked back,

"Tsk, temple master, there are things you don't know."