Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"arrive."

The old man's reminder brought Xia Jin back to reality from her state of curiosity.

The golden path beneath her feet came to an end, and Xia Jin finally saw the scene before her.

Then, he froze.

There were no majestic palaces, no swirling celestial aura, and none of the imposing scene of powerful figures that I had imagined.

Only a dozen or so small courtyards are scattered in front, arranged in a staggered manner, yet simple to the point of being rudimentary.

If it weren't for the dense, almost liquid, spiritual energy in the air constantly reminding him, Xia Jin would have thought he had wandered into the wrong place, into some ordinary mountain village.

"This is... the third heaven of the temple?"

Xia Jin's tone carried a hint of doubt.

The old man walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Upon hearing this, he merely smiled slightly, seemingly quite used to Xia Jin's reaction: "What, don't you think it's possible?"

Xia Jin did not answer, but his silence itself was an answer.

He really didn't think so.

"Let's go."

The old man didn't offer any further explanation and simply walked forward.

Xia Jin composed herself and followed.

His eyes never stopped moving, curiously surveying everything around him.

But soon, he noticed something was wrong. Some rare and precious spiritual herbs that were almost extinct in the lower realm were casually planted in the corners of some courtyards, just like radishes and cabbages.

Xia Jin felt a slight chill run down her spine.

As expected, the Three Heavens are indeed the Three Heavens. On the surface, it looks like a village, but it is anything but simple.

"These courtyards...could they all be occupied by people...?"

"That's right, every courtyard here has an owner," the old man said without turning his head, but a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes as he spoke. "Some people have gone into seclusion, some have gone out, and some... haven't returned for a long time."

Xia Jin sensed a hint of melancholy in the old man's words and did not press him further.

at this time,

A gate to a small courtyard not far ahead was pushed open from the inside, and a middle-aged man carrying a hoe walked out.

The man appeared to be around forty years old, tall, with a rugged face and tanned bronze skin. Especially with his trousers rolled up to his knees and his feet covered in fresh mud, he looked exactly like a farmer who had just returned from working in the fields.

The only difference between him and the farmer was that his eyes were exceptionally bright, as if they contained two stars.

The middle-aged man looked up and saw the old man walking towards him. His bright eyes immediately shone even brighter, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

"Fifth Palace Master! What brings you here?"

The Fifth Palace Master.

Upon hearing this address, Xia Jin's heart stirred slightly, and she looked at the seemingly ordinary old man beside her with some surprise.

His earlier guess was indeed correct.

This person is indeed one of the five temple masters.

Hearing the greeting, the old man stopped, a smile appearing in his eyes as well: "Qingxuan, you've been weeding your spirit field again so early in the morning?"

"That's right." The middle-aged man walked over carrying a hoe, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile, "The last batch of spirit rice we planted, I don't know what kind of insects it attracted, the leaves were mostly eaten. I was thinking that if we didn't do something about it, this season's harvest would be ruined."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Xia Jin behind the Fifth Palace Master, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"Fifth Palace Master, who is this person behind you...?"

"Come, let me introduce you. This young man is named Xia Jin. From now on, he'll be your junior brother. You can teach him some things in the future!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up. He strode up to Xia Jin and scrutinized her from head to toe.

A moment later, the middle-aged man looked away, his smile widening.

"Yang Qingxuan," he introduced himself, "Here, if you don't mind, you can call me Second Senior Brother!"

Second Senior Brother?

Xia Jin also glanced at her, then nodded, "Xia Jin!"

Yang Qingxuan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes. "By the way, junior brother, although this may sound a bit abrupt, you wouldn't mind letting your senior brother see your strength, would you?"

That's said casually.

But Xia Jin sensed a hint of probing in the other person's seemingly casual smile.

He frowned slightly.

To be honest, he didn't particularly like such offensive questions, but he didn't refuse either. It just so happened that he had just entered the ninth level of the Creation Realm and wanted to see how his strength compared to these third-level disciples of the Hun class.

Moreover, Xia Jin had absolute confidence in herself.

In the same environment, he fears no one.

"it is good."

He nodded, his eyes filled with confidence.

Seeing this, Yang Qingxuan's smile deepened. He casually stuck the hoe on his shoulder into the ground, then raised his right hand and lightly slapped Xia Jin with his palm.

That palm strike seemed utterly powerless, slow, and weak, even carrying a hint of nonchalance.

However, the moment the other party made their move, Xia Jin's expression instantly turned serious.

There seemed to be a rule wrapped around the opponent's right palm.

A set of rules he had never encountered before.

If he had to describe it, it would be old age!

That's right, it's aging!

Before the palm strikes, the intention is already conveyed.

The air is aging, becoming stuffy and stagnant.

The loess beneath our feet is aging, its color changing from dark to light, and fine cracks appearing on its surface.

Even before the palm strike truly landed on her, Xia Jin herself sensed a subtle abnormality. The flow of qi and blood within her body seemed to slow down, and the spiritual energy in her meridians felt as if it had been eroded by something, becoming somewhat sluggish.

This palm strike should not be underestimated.

But for Xia Jin, this only added a touch of seriousness; there was no fear in her eyes.

His current realm is the ninth level of the Creation Realm.

In terms of skill level alone, he is no less than this seemingly unfathomable "Second Senior Brother".

Moreover, Xia Jin has never encountered an opponent in the same realm since he embarked on the path of cultivation.

It didn't exist before, it doesn't exist now, and it won't exist in the future.

"Good!!" He raised his right hand and met the attack with a palm strike of his own.

The palm strike whistled and collided head-on with Yang Qingxuan's palm.

The moment their palms met, Yang Qingxuan's aging power, like a persistent ailment, spread along the point of impact towards Xia Jin's arm. Wherever that power of rules passed, the fabric of Xia Jin's sleeve visibly turned gray and fragile, crumbling into dust at the slightest touch.

However, just as the aging force was about to invade Xia Jin's body, an invisible force surged out from Xia Jin's meridians.

That was his power, a fusion of the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture and the Primordial Demon Emperor Technique.

It has no specific form or clear attributes, but wherever it goes, Yang Qingxuan's aging power is like thin ice encountering a raging fire, and is instantly burned to ashes.

Clean and spotless, not a single piece left.

Yang Qingxuan's smile froze.

A hint of undisguised shock flashed in his eyes. Before he could even retract his palm strike, he was forced back half a step by the immense power contained in Xia Jin's palm.

Half a step.

It was only half a step, but for Yang Qingxuan, this half step was of extraordinary significance.

He raised his head and looked at Xia Jin again, the casualness and nonchalance from before gone from his eyes.

"Junior Brother..."

Yang Qingxuan slowly withdrew his hand, remained silent for a while, and then spoke. His voice, which had been playful and casual before, became much more serious.

"good."

He nodded, his gaze fixed on Xia Jin, and a slow smile spread across his face, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Junior brother, you're very good."

The way he said those words was completely different from before. Before, it was just polite small talk, the kind of greeting exchanged after meeting; but now, it was recognition, genuine appreciation.

Xia Jin withdrew her hand, her expression remaining calm, and simply nodded slightly: "Second Senior Brother, you flatter me."

Although his cuffs had turned gray and worn from the effects of aging, his arms remained unharmed. The power of creation flowed slowly within his body, dispelling all the remaining effects of aging.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Yang Qingxuan said "good" three times in a row, each time louder than the last.

"Fifth Palace Master, you've found us an extraordinary junior brother this time!"

"This time, facing that extraterrestrial race, our temple has an even greater chance of victory!"

The Fifth Palace Master stood with his hands behind his back, neither intervening nor uttering a sound from beginning to end. Upon hearing Yang Qingxuan's words, he merely smiled slightly, a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction flashing in his cloudy eyes.