Wait a minute, where is my master?

The little Taoist was interrogating the female cultivator on the floating ice.

Inside the Nine Provinces Sea Eye.

At the very center.

Amidst the endless filth, a vast water-blue pearl abruptly appeared.

This pearl was crystal clear and gently spun in place. The countless ancient runes carved upon it emitted a powerful and mysterious aura.

However...

At its apex, there was an irregular, light-colored circular "patch" that slightly diminished its character...

Within the pearl.

The Elder Pavilion Master of the White Emperor Pavilion was staring madly at a triangular black Crystal Stone with a missing corner, murmuring incessantly.

"Hehe~ Ah Pin, just wait for me. As soon as I refine this Polluted Crystal, we can be together forever!"

As the Elder Pavilion Master spoke, runes engraved on the water-blue pearl scattered outward, drifting into her body from all directions.

Then the mad woman enveloped the Polluted Crystal in spiritual power.

And swallowed it in one gulp!

"Buzz!!!"

The filth encircling the White Emperor Pearl instantly boiled like a bubbling cauldron of oil.

The expression on the Elder Pavilion Master's face contorted as black spikes continuously emerged on her snow-white skin, only to be suppressed once again by the dispersing runes.

"Ah!!"

The sharp and piercing scream came from the mad woman's mouth, and the runes on the White Emperor Pearl shone as though they were countless mini-suns, breaking free from the pearl's surface and hurtling towards the Elder Pavilion Master.

Outside the White Emperor Pearl.

The endless sea of filth seemed to have sensed something, boiling and rolling even more violently, transforming into numerous bull-nosed old Taoists, all attacking the White Emperor Pearl.

Soon, those sinister creatures conjured from the filth noticed the pearl's weak spot at the top.

Thus, the irregular, light-colored patch became their main target for assault.

At this moment, the Elder Pavilion Master of the White Emperor Pavilion had her eyes tightly closed, her face fierce, with all her focus on absorbing the Polluted Crystal.

Her flesh had turned into a battleground between dark spikes and bright runes. Their intense conflict caused her tremendous pain, but despite the Elder Pavilion Master's twisted face and furrowed brows, there was always a satisfied smile on her lips.

In her eyes, she was striving for "a happy life with Ah Pin in the future."

It was painful, but worth it!

However, as the attack from the sinister beings made from filth intensified,

The White Emperor Pearl's weak spot began to show numerous fine cracks that spread and grew wider.

"Crack, crack..."

Eventually, the weak spot on the White Emperor Pearl was breached, and countless bull-nosed old Taoists squeezed towards the broken hole, fighting and scrambling to get inside.

But at this critical juncture,

Countless ancient runes suddenly emerged on the body of the White Emperor Pavilion's Elder Pavilion Master within the pearl, tracing across her skin and ultimately coalescing with her being into a mysterious rune with an aura of antiquity.

As this curious rune appeared, it seemed to sever the connection between the Polluted Crystal and the filth outside. The old Taoists pressing at the weak spot paused their movements, and for a moment, they seemed somewhat at a loss.

After a while,

The strange rune comprised of innumerable runes and the Elder Pavilion Master dissipated silently.

A beautiful woman with a glowing smile on her face quietly emerged.

"Heh~ This treasure has developed a faint spiritual intelligence. Lucky I initiated my plan ahead of time. If it had been later, it wouldn't have been so easy to acquire.

"But it's good that the treasure has developed spiritual intelligence, heh~"

The Ancestor of the White Emperor Pavilion murmured to herself, gazing down at her fair, jade-like skin with eyes brimming with delight.

She reached out to touch her tender cheeks, her expression suddenly becoming hazy.

"Ah Pin, wait for me~ I have already refined this Polluted Crystal, and from now on... What is this demon!"

While the Ancestor of the White Emperor Pavilion indulged in wonderful fantasies, intending to put away her magical treasure,

she looked up and was suddenly confronted by a group of Ah Pins with cow noses, standing there dumbfounded, looking down at her.

!!!!!!

She instinctively froze for a moment, and after a short pause, she understood from the feeble spiritual intelligence born within the Polluted Crystal what these beings before her were.

"Hmph! That old Fox Spirit, daring to defile my Ah Pin like this, just because he was careless that one time..."

The Pavilion Master of the White Emperor Pavilion was about to say more but seemed to think of something, her face suddenly clouding over with anger. With a fierce wave of her sleeve, the sinister wares orbiting around the pearl dispersed instantly.

She casually put away the White Emperor Pearl.

The Elder Pavilion Master began to track down the Shui Clan Elder and Si Yinyin through the Polluted beings scattered about the Nine Provinces Sea Eye.

She intended to personally exact revenge on those who had insulted Ah Pin's image and ease the hatred in her heart!

"Those two fled into this Sea Eye earlier, and in such a short amount of time, they could not possibly have left, but where are their traces?"

After an unsuccessful investigation, the Ancestor of the White Emperor Pavilion murmured to herself in a low voice.

In her mind, she instantly thought of that fearsome golden orb from earlier.

Because of that entity, she felt a vague unease in her heart when she first entered the Sea Eye to collect the Polluted Crystals.

However, not long afterward, a message came from those guarding the fissure, saying the object had gone back out.

Only then did she calmly begin to refine the crystal.

As far as the Ancestor of the White Emperor Pavilion was concerned, what that golden orb was or its purpose didn't matter; as long as it didn't become an obstacle on the path to her and Ah Pin's blissful life, she could turn a blind eye.

But now, after searching and not finding the traces of the old and younger Fox Spirits...

"It seems that the golden orb came to their rescue. Heh, but what does it matter even if they were saved? Could they possibly escape from the Nine Provinces Realm?"

This thought sprang into her mind, and a glint of cold light flashed in her eyes.

Subsequently, with a mere thought, countless Polluted beings within the Sea Eye surged violently, rushing toward the fissure at the abyss's bottom.

And she herself, along with the rolling Polluted mass, shifted outwards to relocate.

...

At the very bottom of the Deep Sea Abyss.

Jin Xu, who had just landed, was flying toward the fissure when he saw dark, ink-like Polluted beings crazily spewing out from the gap.

Seeing this, the young Taoist stopped in his tracks.

With the flick of a finger, he sealed the fissure with a ball of golden spiritual power.

The dark, ink-like Polluted beings were abruptly cut off.

Caught in the midst, the Ancestor of the White Emperor Pavilion noticed something was amiss and, with a flicker, appeared in front of the golden spiritual power barrier.

Looking through the barrier, she immediately saw the young Taoist Jin Xu.

"Ah Pin's physically strong disciple with powerful Thunder Skill!?"

Remembering her White Emperor Pearl had once been shattered by him, the Pavilion Master felt a momentary panic in her heart.

But the next second, calmness returned to her.

Times have changed.

Fortune ebbs and flows like the rivers of thirty years!

Having refined the Polluted Crystal now, why should she fear this strange young Taoist any longer!