Wait a minute, where is my master?

The graceful woman had roamed the Chaos Space for long years.

If there was a chance for survival, she would not have wanted to perish so abruptly and inexplicably today.

But if she had to choose between her life and the item entrusted to her by her master, the graceful woman would undoubtedly sacrifice herself without hesitation to preserve the entrusted item.

Only now,

after Jin Xu pointed out that there was something wrong with the slowly drifting stone chair,

the graceful woman felt that all she had done before was meaningless.

"Wu wu wu!"

Her mouth blocked and unable to use Spiritual Sense to transmit messages because of the golden spiritual power binding her, she could only symbolically emit a cry like that of a small animal caught in a trap.

However, Jin Xu paid no attention to this noise.

He casually waved a hand, releasing a stream of golden spiritual power to pull the distant, slowly floating stone chair back to him, and then continued to speak with the Tianxing Taoist.

"Master, you must have heard what this person just said. She mentioned that her master was sealed by the Four Divine Monarchs in the Four Symbols Great Thousand Realm. Do you know much about that place, or who the Four Divine Monarchs are?"

The old Taoist glanced at the woman solidly bound by the golden spiritual power and was inwardly astounded, wondering if his precious disciple could be the reincarnation of some great entity.

Then, he tactically cleared his throat and began to speak slowly.

"Ahem, the identities of the Four Divine Monarchs were mentioned in the archives left by the seniors of the Xuanxu Temple. It is said that these four achieved the Dao of the Four Symbols and are top-notch in both cultivation and strength in the Upper Realm.

"Within the Four Symbols Great Thousand Realm, it wouldn't be wrong to call them the stabilizers.

"However, that's the extent of my knowledge. Our Xuanxu Temple has always followed a lineage of solitary transmission; and the founding master advocated for 'natural cultivation' of the Dao. So generally, after a senior ascends and completes their duties as a master, they won't have much contact with their disciples in the Lower Realm until the disciples themselves have successfully ascended.

"Just like your grandmaster, my own master, who after passing on all his teachings and ascending, hasn't had any contact with me for over two thousand years.

"This is unlike the Four Great Immortal Sects of the old scholar; if there is an urgent matter, they can communicate with the Upper Realm through written words in just over a month's time."

The old Taoist spoke with a hint of wistfulness, then continued.

"If you want to learn more about the Upper Realm, let's go to the Nine Provinces after we return and ask the old scholar, his understanding of the Upper Realm should be greater. Oh right, we could also find Senior Chi. Didn't you say on our way here that the old man has been in Shangjing City lately?"

Jin Xu saw that his master didn't know much, so he nodded in agreement.

By this time, the stone chair was already in his hand.

"Crack!"

The young Taoist applied a slight force with his fingers, and the backrest of the stone chair shattered, revealing a palm-sized golden box amid the rubble.

This action seemed to further agitate the bound woman, as the whimpers from her throat grew even more intense.

"Do you recognize this thing? Is it related to your master?"

Seeing that the woman's struggle became stronger, Jin Xu did not opt to open the golden box immediately. Instead, he removed the golden spiritual power that sealed her mouth and then took out an ink jade doll from his storage bracelet, posing another question to her.

This was seized from the hands of the Demon Sect's Great Elder.

When the young Taoist's Spiritual Sense covered it, he had heard a voice from within the ink jade doll communicating with the Demon Sect's Great Elder, discussing the theft of the ink jade rod he possessed.

Afterward, Jin Xu also spent some effort researching the object, but aside from discovering that it seemed to have a one-way communication effect, he hadn't been able to discern any other clues.

"Whimpering... I recognize it. Years ago, when my lord traveled across the heavens, if they spotted a seedling of a cultivator with talent, they would occasionally bestow such an item on a whim, and then decide later whether to teach and provide guidance based on their mood."

"How did you come to possess this thing, and how did you discover the stone... Whimpering!"

The graceful... oh no, now the shriveled-up woman, compelled by the effect of the Truth-Telling Skill, uncontrollably answered Jin Xu's question.

Afterward, the woman wanted to seize the opportunity to ask the little Taoist some questions while she could still speak. Unfortunately, in less than a moment, Jin Xu gagged her again, not giving her the chance to utter a second sentence.

"Indeed, there is a connection. It seems my guess was correct. However, why would your lord wish for someone to steal the ink jade fishing rod from the temple?"

Jin Xu muttered to himself, and after he had described the function and usage of the ink jade fishing rod in detail, he said to the woman with her mouth gagged.

"Have you ever heard of this treasured item, or has your lord ever mentioned it to you?"

Since the ink jade rod was still stored under the bed in the back courtyard of the Xuanxu Temple, the little Taoist had to recite its effects from memory.

"Whimpering... No, my lord was never fond of fishing, let alone mentioning any treasured fishing rods."

"Answer me, how on earth did you... Whimpering!"

The shriveled woman's mouth that had just responded was gagged once more.

Jin Xu frowned and began to ponder upon hearing her words.

"The other party would definitely not steal the fishing rod without reason. Considering the words of the rod's creator, Fishing Sky Elder, could it be that the ink jade rod is also part of the scheme laid out by the woman's lord?

"But... what's the use of creating such a fishing rod that can catch anything, one that never comes up empty?

"Moreover, since it's now sporadically effective, what does he want by stealing it?"

Feeling that the information was still too scarce, the little Taoist muttered to himself for a moment before temporarily giving up on further speculation. He focused his attention on the golden box in his hands.

"Little Jin Xu, are you saying that someone from the woman's lord's side once tried to steal that ink jade fishing rod?"

After listening to the conversation between his disciple and the woman, the Tianxing Taoist couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, it was in the Mountain and Sea Realm, stolen by the Demon Sect Great Elder. Senior Chi and Senior Yan were also present at the time."

While responding, the little Taoist reached out to gently pry open the lid of the golden box.

"Buzz!"

A layer of complex runes flashed briefly on top of the box, seemingly resisting.

However, after a moment, the runes silently vanished, and the lid was easily pried open by Jin Xu's fingers.

"Mountain and Sea Realm? Demon Sect Great Elder? Old scholar..."

The Tianxing Taoist was pondering the volume of information in his disciple's words, but the moment the golden box was opened, his attention was wholly captivated by the rich power bursting out from within.

"This this this... this power!?"

Unaware of his master's astounded face and eyes, Jin Xu looked down to inspect the contents of the box, his mouth corners slightly lifted.

Inside the golden box.

Besides a soft silk padding at the bottom, four pieces of ink jade, emanating a familiar aura, were strikingly lying at the base of the box.