Wait a minute, where is my master?

Within the diamond-shaped artifact.

A middle-aged man, whose body was surrounded by flowing water and who bore a striking resemblance to the projection of Nan Wubo from the Spirit Realm, was presently standing on an ancient floating stone platform, his brow furrowed as he looked at the light screen before him.

This man was none other than Nan Wubo, who had undergone thousands of years of time's cleansing.

And on the light screen was being projected the scene outside the diamond-shaped artifact, where a diminutive Taoist with golden thunder arcs wrapped around his arm could be seen.

"Elder Nan, this little Taoist has called out your name. Should I accompany you outside? I don't think his actions seem like those of the phantoms."

"Moreover, it's broad daylight now; those things shouldn't be active."

At Nan Wubo's side, a burly man with a beard frowned as he spoke.

From the sound of his voice, it seemed he was the one who had just uttered 'fire.'

"All right. Zhongli, come and take over my control. If anything goes awry, immediately unleash all the law weapons we've obtained over the years and try to break this strange golden spiritual power coating," said Nan Wubo as he caressed the streams of water swirling around him and instructed the slightly younger-looking female cultivator behind him.

"Yes, Elder Nan."

The female cultivator referred to as Zhongli responded and stepped onto the antique stone platform.

Nan Wubo glanced at the light screen once more before he and the burly bearded man disappeared from the spot.

At this moment, inside the diamond-shaped artifact.

Apart from the female cultivator called Zhongli on the antique stone platform, there were over a dozen cultivators, each holding primitive bows and arrows, floating in the void surrounding the platform.

However... the expressions on these cultivators' faces all seemed quite dull, devoid of intelligence.

After the slightly younger-looking female cultivator stepped onto the ancient stone platform, she lightly tapped a few points in the void. The stupefied cultivators behind her then put away their bows and arrows and drew weapons that looked like stone knives and stone spears instead.

It appeared that these cultivators were under her control.

After completing this action, the female cultivator referred to as Zhongli also looked up to the light screen hovering above the stone platform.

However, she noticed that only the small Taoist wielding the golden thunderbolt remained on the screen.

Neither Nan Wubo nor the burly bearded man who had left earlier were visible.

"Strange, where are Elder Nan and Uncle Tong?"

...

...

Not just the female cultivator was puzzled.

Outside the diamond-shaped artifact, Jin Xu, who had conjured up a golden thunder arc in his hand and had fiercely shouted his demands, saw that even after a long time, Nan Wubo and the bearded man remained at the edge of the artifact and had not come out.

He was somewhat puzzled as well.

Is the tactic of showing my power not working anymore? Or is the 'Hand Palm Thunder' I've conjured now lacking in intimidation?

The little Taoist's brow furrowed slightly as he pondered whether to casually strike something and then communicate again.

But before he could select his 'unfortunate stone pillar' as a target, he heard a rough voice transmitting from inside the diamond-shaped artifact.

"Ahem, Jin Taoist, could you move the golden spiritual power coating the outside to create a little space? Otherwise, Elder Nan and I can't get out," said the voice, which belonged to the same person who had shouted 'fire' earlier, though now without the earlier assertiveness.

"..."

Hearing the transmission and realizing why the two men had not moved from the edge of the diamond-shaped artifact, Jin Xu, after a brief speechless moment, hastily expanded the golden spiritual power tightly covering the artifact's surface by about ten feet.

And as soon as he completed this action.

Nan Wubo and the bearded man appeared in the outside world from within the diamond-shaped object in an instant.

The three of them met in midair.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Nan Wubo and the bearded man remained silent because they could not determine the truth of Jin Xu's words or his purpose.

As for the young Taoist, he felt some shame for his earlier attempt at making a fierce shout.

After three breaths.

The side with the diamond-shaped object broke the silence first.

"Sir, you say you came from the Nine Provinces in search of your master and to investigate this world, but do you have any proof? After all, empty words carry little conviction."

The bearded man took a few steps forward, coming close to the Golden Spiritual Power Shield, and spoke loudly.

Meanwhile, Nan Wubo still stood tightly next to the diamond-shaped object and did not move.

"The two of you, what I've said is the truth. As for proof..."

Jin Xu said, and suddenly tore a hole in the Spiritual Power Shield right in front of the bearded man. Almost instantly, the terrifying aura of the "Hand Palm Thunder" permeated through it.

The young Taoist also just remembered that his golden spiritual power seemed capable of blocking aura fluctuations.

When a hole appeared in the Spiritual Power Shield, the unstoppable and terrifying aura of the "Hand Palm Thunder" immediately caused a change in the expressions on the faces of the bearded man and Nan Wubo.

"Elder Nan, this terrifying aura and cultivation! I don't think this person has any reason to deceive us."

The bearded man's pupils shrunk, and without turning his head, he transmitted his voice to the person behind him.

"Tongli, stay calm. Remember that these things can also transform into various shapes and disguise different auras. We must not let our guard down.

"Besides, when I traveled around the Nine Provinces with the master back then, we saw various top Great Masters from many sects. Although he mentioned the names of many Great Masters, including those from Kunlun Immortal Palace, I have never seen this face before. Barely a few thousand years have passed; how could the Nine Provinces suddenly have a cultivator with such high cultivation appear?

"Moreover, Elder Tianxing never mentioned having a disciple to us when he was around!"

After transmitting his message without changing his facial expression, Nan Wubo looked at the young Taoist outside the Spiritual Power Shield and said calmly,

"Fellow Taoist, just proving your strength is not enough to convince us you are from the Nine Provinces."

At this moment, Jin Xu did not pay too much attention to the words the other party had just spoken.

His thoughts were focused entirely on the secret communication between the two.

Within the range of his Spiritual Sense, any transmitted messages between cultivators could be captured by him. After discovering the diamond-shaped object and recognizing a familiar face—Nan Wubo—inside it, Jin Xu felt a surge of joy, followed by some concerns.

Indeed, the other party was from the Nine Provinces, and he had been a leader who had organized many cultivators to break through the spatial rift. But a thousand years had passed, and combined with the different flow of time in this small world, his master had fallen into slumber upon entering the Small World. The messages exchanged in secret transmissions revealed that he had fallen into danger while trying to help the fellow townsmen of the Nine Provinces.

Therefore, the young Taoist had some doubts and concerns about this fellow townsman who had been in a strange small world for a thousand years.

From the moment he first covered the area with his Spiritual Sense, he wanted to capture their communication to gain more useful information.

At the very least, to determine whether they were friend or foe.

However, most of the cultivators inside the diamond-shaped object seemed like puppets.

The three with expressive faces had not said a word or sent a single message from the moment his Spiritual Sense probed the object, up to the point when he approached it and was attacked, causing the diamond-shaped object to flee.

It was as if the three cultivators were exceptionally socially anxious.

Fortunately, now that he had revealed the "Hand Palm Thunder," the three cultivators finally began to communicate.

"Judging by their transmission, my master indeed appeared in this small world. But why do they say that my master never mentioned his own disciple? Could it be that my master really never mentioned me in front of them?

"Also, during their earlier communication inside the diamond-shaped object, and just now in their transmission, they mentioned 'those things.'

"What exactly are 'those things'?"