Wait a minute, where is my master?

The voice of Tianxing Taoist paused noticeably here before continuing.

"If you encounter a difficult situation, you can go to the kitchen and fetch the rusty cleaver to chop off a branch from the Big Willow Tree in the courtyard, and the other party will wake up. If he gets angry, just say that your teacher asked you to do so.

"Moreover, if you cannot bear loneliness and have gone out, and you need money while roaming the Nine Provinces Realm, you can take some water from the ancient well in the backyard. That was 'earned' by your teacher through virtuous conduct years ago.

"However, remember the principle that wealth should not be flaunted, and do not show off in the Cultivation World. Also, you must hide your identity as a successor of the Xuanxu Temple. Although your master has influence in the Four Great Immortal Sects, the Kunlun Immortal Palace, and even the Four Seas, there are still some petty people lurking in the shadows who bear grudges against me.

"Oh yes, the fishing rod that your master left in the temple—make sure to keep it safe and never use it. You may tell others that it has been lost.

"There's more..."

From here on, it was all various concerns and reminders from a master who was worried about his disciple.

It was evident that Tianxing Taoist highly valued his genius disciple, whom he had fished out.

About the time it takes for half a pot of tea to steep had passed.

The first segment of the Sound Transmission Jade Token from Tianxing Taoist had just finished playing, and before Jin Xu could digest it further, the second segment immediately followed.

"I don't know if you received the previous transmission. That monk from Wanbao Temple boasted quite a bit about the transmission distance of this token when he made it for me long ago.

"Alright, to the point. The days of my return to the Nine Provinces might be delayed again.

"I accidentally entered a small world before and struggled for a long time with its Origin, eventually subduing it.

"Then, after traveling through a spatial rift, I arrived at another unfamiliar small world. Originally, your master wanted to quickly cultivate and break through to return. However, after a short exploration in this small world, I unexpectedly met some daoists from the Nine Provinces Realm and the disciples of my long-deceased friend, Elder Bailin.

"Cough, I'll explain who Elder Bailin is after I get back. Anyway, they're now facing some troubles, and since your master has encountered them, I cannot just stand by. So, I must help them resolve these difficulties and then bring them back to the Nine Provinces together.

"As for the time, your master estimates it might need to be extended to about a hundred years."

Upon reaching this point, Tianxing Taoist's tone became noticeably sentimental.

"With your talent, there's a very high chance you will have ascended to the Upper Realm by that time, and I don't know if you and your master will still be able to meet in the Nine Provinces, or perhaps reunite in the Upper Realm.

"However, if you truly ascend to the Upper Realm, remember to choose a successor for the Xuanxu Temple. This lineage must not end with you."

After hearing this second segment of the transmission, Jin Xu's eyes flickered with contemplation.

Two thoughts occupied his mind now.

"One, the trouble mentioned by master is likely to be those powers that have split apart spatial rifts in the Spirit Realm. Therefore, it is quite possible that my master's current state of deep slumber is related to those powers.

"Two, my master said he had subdued the Origin of the Spirit Realm?

"Cough..."

However, before the young Taoist could think further, the third segment of the Sound Transmission Jade Token quickly played.

"Disciple, the troubles have been resolved much faster than your master had planned, and I might bring our daoist friends back to the Nine Provinces much sooner than a hundred years."

Compared to the previous two segments, this third segment was very brief, as if Tianxing Taoist was in an extremely good mood, thus he specially transmitted some good news to Jin Xu.

And from this point forward, the transmissions became even shorter.

"Disciple, when I return, your master has prepared a surprise for you."

"Disciple, two years have passed, and I wonder how you are doing."

"Disciple, there has been a change, but it's not a big problem..."

"Disciple, I might not be able to return."

"Disciple, go find *&￥...&*% fish...dangerous!"

From the fourth to the sixth transmission, the tone of Tianxing Taoist gradually turned from light-hearted to serious. By the last message, the Communication Jade Token was emitting bursts of static noise just like it had at the front of Xuanxu Temple on Little Platform Mountain.

"Two years have passed! Could it be that the flow of time in this realm is different from that in the Nine Provinces?"

Once it was clear that no more sounds would come from the Communication Jade Token, Jin Xu immediately started analyzing these few transmissions in his mind, trying to find some clues about his master's current whereabouts.

Unfortunately, the latter transmissions from Tianxing Taoist were too brief. Other than deducing an issue with the time flow in this small world and that he had encountered a problem he couldn't resolve which had suddenly worsened,

no other useful information could be analyzed.

"It seems I need to find a native of this realm to inquire further. However, my master's transmissions suggest that my guess about this unfamiliar small world being paradoxical grows even more likely."

"Since my master initially thought he could spend some time to easily resolve the issue, the cultivation level of the native forces within this world must not be very high."

These thoughts rapidly flashed through Jin Xu's mind, and the young Taoist subconsciously increased the speed at which his Spiritual Sense spread to the surroundings.

However, the vast expanse of the desert where they had landed was immense, and so much time had passed. Jin Xu's Spiritual Sense still hadn't spread beyond this desert,

and he hadn't seen a single living creature, not even an insect.

It seemed

as if all that remained in this desert were the rolling sands.

"Hmm, this is another odd place that must be noted down,"

the young Taoist muttered furrowing his brow, then spoke to Little White.

"Little White, do you smell any living creatures on the desert? Even those faint scents about to vanish, or scents left long ago also count."

As soon as he had spoken, Jin Xu opened a window in the Golden Spiritual Power Shield, just large enough for the Husky's head to poke out.

"Roger that, temple master."

Given the command, Little White immediately stuck her head out, and her small nose began twitching rapidly.

After three breaths.

She pulled her head back in and wiped her nose, saying,

"Temple master, within three thousand miles of this area, there definitely haven't been any living creatures in the past three months. However, my scent range is limited. If you don't mind, you can fly me around so I can be more certain if any living creatures have stayed in this desert."

"Okay, hold tight, I'll try to go slower,"

Jin Xu clearly agreed to Little White's suggestion, knowing that if his own Husky could catch the scent of a creature, they could then follow directly the trail of the scent.

Now with his Spiritual Sense for scouting, combined with Little White's nose,

and the 'Old Friend Locator' specially made by the Old Dean,

they should be able to speed up the process considerably.