Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

The side room is located on the east side of the square and is a separate courtyard.

Li Muyun helped Ye Xuan to the bed and lit an incense burner in the corner of the wall, and the smoke immediately filled the whole room.

The concentration of bewitching flowers in the smoke is more than ten times higher than outside. Even cultivators who have entered the Dao cannot resist this instinctive temptation when they are unprepared.

"Come in, all of you!"

Following Li Muyun's voice, the door opened, and more than ten women with slender figures, dressed only in light gauze, rushed in.

"Brother Zhao, please rest well and relax. If you have any other needs, just call me."

Li Muyun bowed and withdrew, gently closing the door behind him, leaving only the private room where singing and dancing continued...

Half an hour later, as the footsteps faded into the distance, Ye Xuan opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

This startled a woman who had just approached, and she immediately rushed down. As a weak woman with no cultivation, she dared not offend this immortal master from the Holy Sect.

"Stop everything."

Ye Xuan got up and walked to the incense burner. A bluish-white wisp of steam rose from his palm, absorbing all the smoke in the burner and instantly dispelling the strange smell in the room.

"Stay here and make no sound."

With his senses activated, Ye Xuan saw that there were only two servants waiting outside the door, while in the square outside the courtyard, the festival was still in full swing, with drums and music filling the air and everyone singing and dancing.

"Tang Zhao is probably waiting for me to completely lose my way and miss the time to return to the sect."

Ye Xuan pushed open the door to the room. The two servants outside were also still sleepy-eyed. He quietly laid them down and put them to sleep.

The courtyard wall wasn't high, and he flipped over in a flash, completely concealing his aura with his blue and white qi as he landed.

The square was teeming with people, most of whom were delirious, supporting each other as they swayed and danced. The intoxicating floral fragrance in the air was almost tangible, and even the light seemed distorted and hazy.

Ye Xuan's gaze swept across the crowd, and he quickly found Tang Zhao to the side of the wooden platform.

He saw his senior brother chatting and laughing with Li Muyun, holding a bowl of fresh herbal syrup in his hand, but his eyes kept glancing towards the east wing.

"I see. Now that you mention it, Brother Tang, it is indeed infuriating."

"Indeed, a mere registered disciple dares to act arrogantly in front of me. I'll make sure he's exiled to the back mountains when he gets back!"

Li Muyun nodded silently, and the two continued to eat and drink, consuming bowl after bowl of herbal syrup.

"The quantity is quite good."

Ye Xuan was in no hurry to show himself. He walked around to the edge of the square and seemed quite interested in the dozen or so bronze furnaces on the wooden platform.

The furnace fire was bluish-purple, and each plume of smoke was intricately wrapped with runes, subtly echoing the hidden array nodes throughout the town.

"There must be a reason for this festival."

He closed his eyes and focused his mind, sensing the smoke penetrating downwards. The bottom of the bronze furnace was not solid, but rather a hollowed-out magic array base. The furnace was not entirely burning spiritual herbs; at least 30% of it contained unknown substances that emitted a very faint fishy smell.

"What is this?"

Just as he was pondering, a commotion suddenly arose in the center of the square. Li Muyun stepped onto the wooden platform, raised his hands high, and shouted:

"The auspicious time has arrived, please summon the Grass Fairy!"

The townspeople below the stage immediately knelt down in unison, even the drunken ones struggled to bend over, muttering incantations.

Tang Zhao alone looked on with disdain, "A pseudo-immortal... never mind."

At this moment, four shirtless, burly men carried a bronze statue about a foot tall onto the wooden platform. The statue was human-shaped, but had branches and leaves-like patterns on its body. Its face was indistinct, except for two emerald green crystals embedded in its eyes.

"Grass Fairy?"

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow and looked at the statue on the platform, and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Li Muyun directed the group to place the bronze statue on the altar in the center of the wooden platform. He then turned around, took out a jade bottle from his bosom, uncorked it, and poured out a drop of blood-red liquid, which he dripped onto the top of the statue's head.

"Buzz—"

The bronze statue trembled slightly, and the crystals in its eyes suddenly lit up, sending two beams of emerald green light soaring into the sky and disappearing into the smoke above.

The smoke that enveloped Qingxia Town surged and began to slowly rotate, forming a huge vortex.

At the center of the vortex, countless points of light were faintly scattered, drifting down like a drizzle towards the townspeople below.

The light touched the human body and quietly merged into it. The kneeling townspeople immediately let out a comfortable groan, their faces becoming even more intoxicated, but their eyes filled with emptiness...

"Devour?"

Ye Xuan suddenly felt that the Grass Immortal's method was somewhat similar to the "Longevity Willow". Could it be related to the Willow Immortal?

No, it should be related to Yu Chenzi...

He took out six Wind Travel Talismans from his storage bag and quietly stuck them to his legs. As soon as the talismans glowed with a blue light, his figure darted out like a ghost.

Tang Zhao was staring intently at the altar when he suddenly sensed something amiss behind him. He turned around abruptly, only to see a fleeting afterimage.

Sensing something was wrong, Tang Zhao hurriedly looked at the altar, only to see Ye Xuan standing in the center of the supreme bronze furnace.

"Zhao Wu?"

"Senior brother, how am I supposed to sleep with all these activities you've arranged for me?"

As Ye Xuan spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the so-called "Grass Immortal" statue in front of him.

"Senior brother knew about this opportunity, but he didn't invite me. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

Tang Zhao was completely confused. Just as he was feeling somewhat at a loss, he saw Ye Xuan reach out and touch the statue.

An eerie green light suddenly appeared and instantly enveloped the entire altar.

A scream rang out, and as the green light faded, Li Muyun and the burly men on the stage were reduced to skeletons, lying silently on the ground...

"Where is Zhao Wu?!"

Tang Zhao strode up the altar, but Ye Xuan was nowhere to be seen, and the light on the statue had dimmed.

After a long pause, Tang Zhao finally showed joy on his face and burst into laughter.

"Zhao Wu, my dear junior brother! You actually sought your own death to atone for your sins, hahaha!"

He recalled that Li Muyun had told him about the origin of this grass fairy, who was a pseudo-immortal worshipped by generations in Qingxia Town. Although he did not have the true divine power of an immortal, the original owner of this body had also achieved great cultivation in his previous life.

After being enshrined by the people of Qingxia Town, it absorbs some life force on the days of worship. This Hundred Herbs Gathering is a pretense to make everyone willingly make offerings.

During this time, some people naturally came to their senses and resisted, but they heard that as long as they approached the statue that was radiating magical power, their flesh and blood would instantly melt away, leaving only a skeleton.

Tang Zhaoding believed that Ye Xuan must have touched it himself, so there wasn't even a trace left!

"That must be it. It's a pity you didn't make a will, otherwise your senior brother would definitely have carried on your legacy!"

He felt incredibly relaxed at that moment, and looking at the bewildered people of Qingxia Town around him, he had no desire to linger.

Tang Zhao pulled a travel talisman from his storage bag and immediately transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards the direction of the Holy Sect.

Within two hours, still drunk and staggering, Tang Zhao returned to the Holy Sect and arrived at the Star-Picking Hall.

"Give, character 丙, number 34."

After the steward received the real token, he tallied up Tang Zhao's actual rewards for the trip... a total of fifteen merit points.

"By the way, where is Zhao Wu, who was traveling with you?"

"He's dead. He was killed by those bandits."

Tang Zhao spoke with a cheerful tone, still immersed in the joy of his successful scheme. However, the steward's next words struck him like a thunderbolt.

"If there is no body, treat it as a missing person case."

Before leaving, Zhao Wu still owed the sect a total of 300 merit points, which, according to the rules, would be inherited by his peers.

There are less than 15 minutes left before the deadline.

Tang Zhao was stunned, standing frozen in front of the counter. "Zhao Wuwo bastard!"