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

"Crescent Moon Mark..."

Ye Xuan closed his eyes and searched through the memories of many people, but found nothing.

The Realm of Immortality is vast and boundless, with countless sects and forces, and many hidden traditions are unknown to outsiders.

But Mo Chenling's words, "a person who fishes in troubled waters," couldn't help but make him take it to heart.

It's true that the Golden Phoenix Temple has declined, and it's also true that the remains of the ancient Golden Phoenix are real. The only question is how many people will take action against them, and whether the remains are as powerful as rumored.

Ye Xuan spread his senses out again, this time more cautiously, only spreading them around the abode like a thin mist, peering towards the east side of the guest courtyard.

The guest room where Mo Chenling was staying was now empty.

"Gone?"

With a slight thought, he sensed the path leading to Mo Chenling and saw that he had not returned to his room, but was instead walking slowly towards the direction of the Qita Tower.

The night was deep, and the golden light around the Qita Tower had almost completely died out, leaving only the white jade of the tower body gleaming with a cool luster under the moonlight.

Mo Chenling stopped at the edge of the barrier around the Qita Tower.

He looked up at the dim golden phantom at the top of the tower, his sleeves fluttering slightly as his fingertips quietly formed a strange hand seal, shaped like a crescent moon, exactly like the mark on his sleeve.

A sliver of moonlight spilled from his fingertips, quietly reaching towards the faintly visible light barrier of the barrier.

The moment the barrier was touched, ripples appeared on the surface of the light screen, but no warning was triggered. The moonlight seemed to have a spirit, constantly moving along the patterns of the barrier.

A moment later, Mo Chenling withdrew the moonlight from his fingertips, a smile playing on his lips.

He turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the depths of the bamboo forest...

"He's probing for weaknesses in the restrictions? That's a convenient method."

The ability to disregard this ancient protective formation, though merely a superficial feat, is nonetheless quite ingenious.

Ye Xuan immediately controlled his senses and began to imitate the path of that wisp of moonlight.

He only needs to carefully control it, and his keen perception, like the moonlight, will float on the surface of the formation to find its weaknesses.

Time passed quickly, and Ye Xuan withdrew his senses, already understanding the situation.

At this moment, the Soul-Capturing Mirror in his arms suddenly vibrated, and the old man's voice entered his sea of ​​consciousness once again.

"I'm so sorry, I just dozed off and didn't see anything wrong with the bronze mirror. I hope you won't take offense, Daoist."

Immediately afterward, the old man asked, "Has Daozi encountered some trouble?"

"Yes, there really is."

Ye Xuan explained to the old man about Mo Chenling's visit. A faint light emanated from the mirror, and the person on the other side spoke:

"Hehe, Daozi left in a hurry earlier, so he probably doesn't know that there is a hidden force called Moon Eclipse Valley on the edge of the Northern Region, right?"

Their disciples, whose sleeves were embroidered with crescent moons, acted mysteriously and left no trace.

The old man paused, his tone feigning seriousness.

"The appearance of the people from Lunar Eclipse Valley at Golden Phoenix Temple is no coincidence; they must have their eyes on the remains of the Golden Phoenix."

"Oh? So the remains that the senior asked me to retrieve are the ones that the Taoist temple has guarded for generations?"

As soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, the old man immediately retorted:

"No, no."

His voice carried a hint of amusement, "I'm not a member of the library, so I have no interest in the Taoist practices of this temple."

Although it seemed like a joke, Ye Xuan gleaned a different message from his words.

"So, the remains contain a inherited cultivation technique?"

"Yes, didn't I tell Daozi? My apologies."

Hearing the old man joking and beating around the bush again, Ye Xuan said directly:

"Then you must be from Toyodo, right? Toyodo loves collecting strange and unusual things, doesn't he?"

The light on the mirror suddenly dimmed slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, the old man said:

"Alas, in any case, what I had Daozi retrieve was definitely not the remains of the Golden Phoenix."

Michiko wasn't in a hurry; everything would be clear once the festival began.

Having said that, seeing that the light on the bronze mirror was about to dim completely, Ye Xuan stopped pressing for answers.

"Wait, what if the Golden Phoenix Temple falls into the hands of the Moon Eclipse Valley?"

He didn't believe that the old man was uninterested in the remains that had been enshrined in the Taoist temple for a thousand years. He suspected that the old man's real purpose in coming here was probably still related to these remains.

However, the old man's answer was simple and clear.

"That makes it even simpler. The disciples of Moon Eclipse Valley always act alone and will quickly retreat after succeeding."

Daozi only needs to intercept and kill him on his way out; he can obtain his remains without disgracing the Holy Sect's reputation—a win-win situation!

Ye Xuan didn't speak, but the two of them smiled at each other through a bronze mirror.

This time, the mirror's light dimmed completely. Ye Xuan put away the bronze mirror, and with a light tap of his fingertip on the storage bag, Zhao Wu's miscellaneous notes floated out.

Turning to a page I had already written, I picked up my pen and wrote:

"In the afternoon, I revisited the place where I had lived for so long, and at night I went to the Golden Phoenix Temple, where I encountered many things..."

After writing only a couple of lines, Ye Xuan closed the notebook.

He sat back on the futon, closed his eyes, concentrated, and began to cultivate the Dao Integration Technique.

His cultivation has now reached the eighth level of the Golden Core stage, and it's only a matter of time before he reaches perfection.

However, the breakthroughs that followed became a problem... This Dao Integration technique allows one to cultivate at a rapid pace, but whenever a major breakthrough occurs, all three cultivation methods must be practiced simultaneously.

There are no restrictions on the Daoist robes of the Heavenly Dao Body, so there's no need to worry. "Nine Separations from the Heavenly Sun" already has a Nascent Soul chapter, but "Eternal Immortal Willow" only goes up to the Crown and Ribbon chapter, which is a big problem...

"Never mind, there'll always be a way."

Ye Xuan shook his head, suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind. He remained calm and focused on cultivation throughout the night.

The next morning, before dawn, the sound of a bamboo flute could be heard outside the hermitage.

"Michiko, breakfast is ready."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes, and a flash of blue and white light appeared in his pupils.

He pushed open the door and saw Zhu Xiao waiting outside, carrying a food box, but he looked more haggard than yesterday.

You don't look well; did you not sleep well last night?

"Replying to Daozi, the festival is approaching, and there are many affairs to attend to at the temple. The disciples need to set up the altar, so we slept a little later... but we will definitely not be late for the festival!"

Zhu Xiao forced a smile, and the two walked along the stone path toward the dining hall.

As Ye Xuan passed the Qita Tower, he noticed that the barrier light screen outside the tower was a bit brighter than the night before, and the golden phantom at the top of the tower had reappeared, but it was still dim and its spiraling trajectory was sluggish.

"The restrictions seem to have been tightened today?"

"Yes, the festival begins tomorrow. Although the abbot is in seclusion, he has ordered the protection of the Qita Tower to be strengthened."

No one other than the three elders is allowed to approach within a hundred feet.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the dining hall.

There were already more than ten people dining in the hall. They were all cultivators who had come to watch the ceremony. Their clothes were different and their auras were of varying strengths, but none of them were below the Golden Core stage.

The strongest among them is probably Mo Chenling, who visited last night. However, he used a magic treasure that could conceal his aura, so it can only be seen that his cultivation level is roughly at the Nascent Soul stage.

At this moment, the many cultivators in the hall saw the Holy Sect Dao Child Token hanging at Ye Xuan's waist and their gazes varied. Some were curious, some were in awe, and some were glancing at him from time to time.

Ye Xuan sat down calmly, and Zhu Xiao laid out the congee and side dishes from the food box one by one.

The breakfast was simple, yet full of spirit, clearly showing that it had been prepared with care.

While they were having their meal, a woman with a beautiful face walked towards Ye Xuan.

"Zhen Yu, a disciple of the Green Mountain Sect, greets the Holy Sect's Daoist Child."

She bowed slightly to him. Ye Xuan still had no recollection of the Green Mountain Sect in Liu Yao's memory, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Is this Senior Sister Liu a homebody? She's only targeting her fellow disciples!

Coming to his senses, Ye Xuan simply nodded politely in response to Zhen Yu. The other party was also sensible, saying goodbye and leaving without lingering.

However, Ye Xuan still managed to detect a complex expression on Zhen Yu's face.

Not only her, but almost all the cultivators in the dining hall shared the same sentiment upon the arrival of the Holy Sect's Daoist disciple.

The purpose of these cultivators from various factions is self-evident; they are likely after the remains of the golden phoenix that have been enshrined in the Taoist temple for a thousand years.

The Holy Sect is highly regarded in the Longevity Realm, and now that the Dao Child has graced them with his presence, their mission has become even more arduous.

"It seems I've become the target of everyone's criticism."