Wait a minute, where is my master?

In the air heading toward the border of Qing State.

Demon Sect's Third Elder, Yan Meishan, patted her small chest with a look of lingering fear on her face.

"I knew it, the plan really wasn't going to go smoothly! How did that little Taoist appear inside the Qingmu Secret Realm? Wasn't it said that those below Divinity Transformation couldn't enter?"

The Third Elder talked to herself and then channeled even more Spiritual Power into the magical artifact beneath her feet, hoping to fly a bit faster.

"It's a pity about that youngster from Qingmu Academy, completely played by me within the palm of my hand. I wonder if seeing his beloved explode right before his eyes will leave a shadow in his Dao heart. Tsk, but as long as he doesn't discard the handkerchief I gave him, there will be plenty of opportunities to have fun with him in the future."

At that moment, Yan Meishan was both shocked and somewhat unwilling to part with the prey she had encountered.

However, as reckless as the Third Elder was, she wasn't the type to value beauty over her own life. She planned to head overseas as soon as she left Qing State to hide for a while, disregarding any Demon Sect plans or the mission to welcome back the Demon Lord.

Survival was more important than anything else.

...

The second layer of the Qingmu Secret Realm.

The Spiritual Sense of the little Taoist now covered the entire second layer.

He found that the effects here were much more severe compared to the third layer of the Secret Realm; the air in the entire second layer was filled with countless unknown tiny insects. Apart from the chessboard he had just shattered, there were no clean areas left.

The insects were also rapidly swarming into the space within the chessboard.

Some cultivators in the second layer had already been parasitized by the insects and were being used as nourishment, while others were huddling together, desperately struggling.

Jin Xu's Spiritual Sense also caught sight of Lu Yiqian and his group, including disciples of the Blazing Sun Sword Sect and the groups of brawny, bald men led by Qiu Li, all working together to delay the time of parasitism.

Even the monitor seemed to be in poor condition at the moment.

The little Taoist frowned, planning to use an Escape Technique to head southwest. At this moment, he had found the root system of the Che Liang Wood and the chief culprit behind the incident.

But before taking action, Jin Xu looked at the young man in front of him, completely drenched and looking like a drowned rat in his green gown.

He noticed that the other party was still in a state of extreme grief and isolation from the world.

"Hiss, when I landed, I faintly heard an explosion. Combining that with what he was muttering to himself, could it be that his loved one has committed suicide?"

The little Taoist didn't know exactly what Mr. Yao had been through, but he speculated silently in his heart.

But after all, he was a living person. Judging from his attire, he still seemed to be a Confucian Practitioner, perhaps a disciple or a follower of the Old Dean, so he couldn't just let him perish by himself.

What if he decided to jump into the river next?

So after a moment of consideration, he stepped forward, picked the other up, and with an Escape Technique, shot off toward the southwest!

Then, a voice faintly echoed through the sky,

"Why? Why... ah, ah, ah, what... ah, ah, ah... ah.... so fast!"

Jin Xu's Escape Technique momentarily restored some sanity to the grief-stricken green-gowned student.

...

In the sky above Qingmu City.

The City Protection Array had risen, manned by Lan Junyan. At the nodes of the great array, besides the City Lord of Qingmu City, several Confucian scholars dressed in various colored robes were sternly waiting as they watched directly ahead.

Leaders of various Immortal Sect powers within the city were also raising their heads, staring at the sky.

Since the crowd was unfamiliar with Formation, and there were also people from two other Great Immortal Sects present, Qingmu Academy did not let these people rashly enter the Formation. They merely instructed everyone to adapt to the situation as it unfolded.

Thirty meters above Qingmu City, a cluster of dark clouds coalesced.

With eyes revealing the vicissitudes of life and brows tinted with sorrow, the Second Elder from the Demon Sect indifferently watched the people from Qingmu Academy, with three differently-expressed masters from Twelve Halls standing behind him.

"Shen Zhi, you demoness of the Demon Sect, daring to appear outside my Qingmu City during the broad daylight at the time of the Secret Realm's opening—truly you are recklessly bold. Do you think the Righteous Path has no one left!" Lan Junyan held a wolf-hair jade brush, her arched eyebrows inverted, as she loudly chastised.

With those words, she unwittingly tied all the Cultivators within the city to the same plight.

The Second Elder's expression remained indifferent, ignoring the opponent; instead, the exotic girl standing behind him spoke out.

"Ha! You bunch of hypocritical villains, still daring to call yourselves reputed righteous sects. Had it not been for your combined treacherous attack on my lord a thousand years ago, the Nine Provinces Realm would have been basking in my lord's glory by now."

As soon as this was said, a flicker of fanaticism appeared in the indifferent eyes of the Second Elder, who lightly nodded.

Clearly, he relished these words.

Seeing that her words had found favor with her great-grandfather, the exotic girl felt even more thrilled, her gaze towards the direction of Qingmu City now filled with disdain.

The short, unattractive Cultivator standing behind Shen Zhi, seeing the exotic girl win the Second Elder's favor with a single sentence, couldn't help but feel annoyed.

How had he not seized such a perfect opportunity to impress!

"Ha, utter nonsense. The Demon Lord has acted against the laws of heaven, inviting fury and hatred from all. Everyone justified in putting him down. How dare you, demoness, twist the truth here!" Lan Junyan, holding the jade brush, retorted again shrilly.

Though she was unyielding in her demeanor, she seemed to have no intention of taking action herself.

Yes, Lan Junyan was stalling.

The sudden appearance of the Demon Sect's Second Elder here was something that no one had anticipated.

Such a grand expert of the Demon Path had not walked the earth so openly in ages. After all, based on past experience, once a foe of this caliber revealed their whereabouts, it wouldn't be half a day before the top cultivators of the Righteous Path would join forces to encircle and annihilate them.

So despite possessing Mahayana Realm cultivation, the Second Elder of the Demon Sect generally dared not reveal his whereabouts, fearing he might be surrounded and lose his life through carelessness.

"Very well, I know you are delaying. I came here today not to trouble your Qingmu Academy. Just open the Array and I'll take what I need from Qingmu Secret Realm and leave," hearing Lan Junyan slander the Demon Lord, the Second Elder, rather than showing anger, instead calmly persuaded her to open the Array.

In his view, these people before him were merely lost and misguided. Once the Demon Lord returned, they would inevitably come to realize the truth and share in the Demon Lord's glory.

Lan Junyan, not surprised by being seen through, hesitated slightly upon hearing the other's persuasive words, then burst into derisive laughter.

Leaving aside that opening the Array would make them like lambs waiting for slaughter, just having the Demon Sect's Second Elder unharmed and taking away Qingmu Secret Realm would be disgraceful to Qingmu Academy as one of the Four Great Immortal Sects—how could they continue to exist in the Nine Provinces Realm?

"Shen Zhi, if you want to fight, just fight; why bother with words that deceive children!"

Even a clay Buddha has some anger, not to mention Lan Junyan herself. Following her words, she wielded the brush in one hand and took out a token with the other, immediately pushing the City Protection Array to its limits.

In short, this head among the scholars of Qingmu Academy was somewhat worked up.