Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Cursed land?"

Jin Xu shifted his gaze toward Little Hong.

The other party shook his head helplessly. He had originally planned to bring up this matter when he had entertained the little Taoist and the others until they were happy and content before taking the opportunity to mention it.

But now, faced with a stubborn member of his clan who refused to open the door, he had no choice but to release the news ahead of time.

"Cluck-cluck,"

Followed by Little Hong's slightly deep clucking, Little White translated the entire matter of the Age Chicken clan's cursed land to Jin Xu and also shared his original intentions.

After hearing this, the little Taoist neither agreed nor disagreed, a trace of contemplation flashed in his eyes.

While he was pondering, Little White let go of the neck of the Age Chicken he had been holding.

According to Little White's translation, upon hearing about the cursed land, it seemed that the other party had reached some agreement with Little Hong and was now going to call for the Clan Leader and Little Hong's father.

"Little Hong, this place shouldn't have been built by your Age Chicken clan, should it?"

Taking advantage of the break, Jin Xu, who had thought for a while, voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Cluck-cluck,"

"Temple master, Little Hong says he doesn't know, but he was born here, and it seems the clan records mention that they have lived here for a very, very long time."

The little Taoist nodded after hearing this.

His curiosity wasn't satisfied, and he suddenly became somewhat interested in the cursed land mentioned by Little Hong.

Facing unknown and unverified phenomena, he always wanted to explore and understand them.

That feeling was like discovering an author had stopped mid-story in a novel during a previous life and being unable to resist flipping to the next chapter.

It didn't take long, probably just the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

The small entrance opened again, and this time an Age Chicken with a fiery red comb that looked rather imposing poked its head out from within.

Upon seeing Little Hong, the other party was clearly excited, even the tone of its clucking changed.

According to Little White, this was Little Hong's father.

The little Taoist nodded to show he understood.

After the father and son chickens communicated for a while, Mr. Hong suddenly withdrew his head back into the opening.

The small entrance closed.

Moments later, the moss-covered stone wall in front of Jin Xu and the others rumbled and slowly raised upward.

"Cluck-cluck!"

Two Age Chickens slightly taller than Little Hong, but nowhere near one meter twenty, walked out from under the stone wall.

One of them, with a very excited look in its eyes and slightly ruffled feathers, ran up to Jin Xu's legs and began clucking loudly.

"Temple master, this is Little Hong's father. He says he is very grateful you brought his son back and will do his utmost to treat us well," said Little White, smiling as he translated.

The little Taoist bowed slightly and politely clasped his hands toward Mr. Hong in front of him.

At this point, another Age Chicken with splendid, though somewhat old-looking feathers also approached.

After exchanging greetings, the age-old chicken gestured for Jin Xu to come with them.

The little Taoist noticed, as the three of them and the three chickens walked inside, that Little Hong's father frequently looked back, inspecting the descending passage.

He even lowered his head and clucked quietly, as though whispering in secret.

"Little White, what did Little Hong's father say?"

Seeing the other party's strange behavior, Jin Xu couldn't help but ask aloud.

"Temple master, he said… he didn't expect that the lamps inside this passage would light up; he thought they were broken," replied Little White.

Upon hearing this answer, a single thought crossed the little Taoist's mind.

"...Well, like father, like son; even their sense of wonder is expressed in the same manner."

...

...

Inside the Colorful Secret Realm.

In front of the spiderweb-like spatial rift created by Jin Xu, Old Dean of the Kunlun Immortal Palace, Elder Chi, stood staring blankly at the phenomenon.

He knew in his heart that he was late again!

However, at this moment, he had no interest in contemplating a name change. He was estimating in his heart just how wide the gap was between himself and the young Taoist.

After a long silence, Late Dao suddenly spoke up.

"There aren't any spiritual power fluctuations that are too intense around here, so it's very likely that this space channel was created with the flesh.

"Elder Geda, among us, you are the one who purely follows the path of body cultivation. If you were to take action, could you directly create a channel in this space?"

The gaunt elder staring at the spatial rift was rendered silent for a moment before responding.

"I can create a spatial rift alright, just not one this large. However, to punch out an accurate set of small-world coordinates and keep the space channel existing,

"I just can't do it," he admitted.

The elder paused slightly and glanced back at Grandma Yu and Yan Chu who had appeared abruptly, and then continued, "Elder Chi, you..."

"I can't do it either. Even using magic, I couldn't create a space rift that could be maintained for such a long time," the Immortal Palace Ancestor interrupted the speaker, then turned to address the two who had arrived late.

"If things are as expected, this was likely done by our friend Jin Xu. It seems he must have gone to the opposite small world.

"What are your thoughts?

"My suggestion is that we follow. Although beings of high realms can't cross realms in quick succession and will be repelled by other small worlds, I think the most urgent matter is to quickly find the other party and clarify things.

"To prevent more chaos from emerging when your little Ancestor from Qingmu Academy's Upper Realm Taoist order catches up," he concluded, directing his last comment to the Old Dean.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Since we've decided to cross realms, it's better that we few join forces, so the pressure will be smaller when the time comes," the Old Dean proposed, offering a practical suggestion without any reaction to Elder Chi's words.

There was no helping it; what he had said was indeed the truth. Last time the little Ancestor from the Upper Realm sneaked down, he had caused quite a commotion across a great part of the Nine Provinces Realm.

"Good, then let's not delay. Gentlemen, you remember the Four Symbols Formation, right?"

As he spoke, a white light emanated from Elder Chi's body, and a Vermilion Bird's phantom image appeared behind him.

This formation was one that the Four Great Immortal Sects had set up jointly during the great war between good and evil a thousand years ago, but the Shui Clan also participated in that battle.

Thus, Grandma Yu was also somewhat familiar with this formation.

Now, they simply needed to collaborate to withstand the rules of both worlds and the spatial turbulence, which conveniently did not require an in-depth knowledge of the complex changes in the Four Symbols Formation.

With the sword master of the Blazing Sun Sword Sect not present, Elder Chi took over his position as the Vermilion Bird.

Meanwhile, the Old Dean and the representative from Pan Shi Valley manifested the Azure Dragon and Xuanwu phantoms, respectively, behind them.

Grandma Yu looked over the three men, rolled her eyes, and then activated her spiritual power, linking with the trio, her back manifesting a White Tiger with wings.

The framework of the Four Symbols Formation took shape, their steps in unison, as they channeled their spiritual power and together ventured into the cobweb-like spatial rift.

Boom!

Crack!

The sound of the Formation colliding with the spatial turbulence and the sound of the small world's rule barriers being crushed in succession followed.

About eleven breaths later, the four successfully arrived in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the homeland of Little Hong.

As soon as they landed, they keenly sensed that something was amiss.

The exit of the spatial rift was incredibly hot and enveloped by a layer of golden spiritual energy!

"This is..."

The Immortal Palace Ancestor looked around apprehensively, feeling even the whiskers on his chin might curl from the scorching heat.

He furrowed his brow as he took a step forward, suddenly noticing something strange under his foot.

Glancing down,

he found that it was half-eaten...

"Hmm?"

Crispy pork belly?!