Accompanied by this stern shout, a tall middle-aged Daoist suddenly appeared over the lake surface.

With a solemn expression, he emitted an imposing aura without anger, his eyes bright and spirited. He wore a purple Daoist robe, which fluttered in the breeze, emitting a faint fragrance.

Guang Chengzi is here too?

Standing by the lake, Yu Yuan's mind stirred slightly as he swiftly concealed his presence.

At this moment, he had noticed something.

Above the great lake, there lay another Grotto Heaven!

Presumably, someone had opened up a Cave Heaven here and enveloped Monkey Valley within it.

Now, it seemed that a disciple of Chan Sect had found this place first and then used some Divine Skills or formation to conceal the entrance of the Cave Heaven.

In other words, they had taken advantage of an opportunity.

But for some reason they had not yet managed to seize the treasure, thus Shengong Bao was guarding the outside.

At this moment, Shengong Bao upon hearing the rebuke, could not help but show a hint of anxiety and panic, quickly bowing and saying, "It's all my fault for my inadequate Dao Xing, I couldn't stop that person in time, please punish me, senior brother!"

Guang Chengzi put away the Sky Flipping Seal, his face ugly as he glanced at the blood mist in the sky.

He had just been using the Sky Flipping Seal to duel someone, but unexpectedly, the opponent dodged the treasure, and it just happened to fly out of the Grotto Heaven, striking a yellow-robed Daoist on the head.

That yellow-robed Daoist, of mediocre ability, could not withstand a hit from the Sky Flipping Seal, and died instantly, his soul drawn away by the Underworld.

Such a liability added gratuitously at the brink of the great calamity only deepened Guang Chengzi's depression, and naturally, he did not look kindly upon Shengong Bao.

"You can't even manage such a small task; would punishment be of any use?"

Shengong Bao, with his head bowed, his face etched with shame,

Seeing his appearance, Guang Chengzi felt even more frustrated and snorted coldly: "I really don't know why Master accepted you as a disciple... forget it, I'm too lazy to scold you anymore.

There's no need for you to guard here anymore, do as you please."

After speaking, he did not give Shengong Bao another glance but turned around and walked two steps, disappearing instantly.

He had re-entered the Cave Heaven.

Yu Yuan was tempted to follow right away, but after glancing at Shengong Bao, he abandoned the idea.

He hesitated slightly, then revealed himself and riding on the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel, he approached Shengong Bao, "Well done, you've joined the ranks of the Saint's disciples."

"One Qi Immortal?!"

Shengong Bao abruptly raised his head, looking at him in shock and panic, stammering, "You… you how are you here… what do you want!"

"Calm down, I'm not planning to do anything to you."

Yu Yuan casually said: "I just came to mock you a bit after seeing you get scolded."

"Hm?"

Mock him a bit?

Shengong Bao stiffened slightly.

Initially, he thought the other was here to sow discord, but then came that statement.

At this, Yu Yuan continued, "Your senior brother's scolding wasn't wrong. You're already a Saint's disciple, yet you can't even guard a door properly… tsk tsk, just because that old Daoist had a mount that flew a bit faster, you couldn't stop him?"

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Shengong Bao raised his head, staring with eyes both bright and earnest, his expression solemn as he looked at Yu Yuan.

Unlike the shame he felt when scolded by Guang Chengzi, his face now showed anger and humiliation, his hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves, fingernails digging deep into his flesh.

Yu Yuan raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I just say? I came here to mock you a bit."

Shengong Bao: (▼へ▼メ)

Yu Yuan said nothing more, with a gentle pat on the camel's hump, the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel's feet burst into golden light, soaring into the air with him, towards the Cave Heaven above the great lake.

Shengong Bao's face changed slightly, subconsciously reaching out his hand to stop him.

But just as his hand was halfway extended, he listlessly lowered it back down.

He couldn't even stop a yellow-robed old Daoist riding an Immortal Crane, how could he stop this One Qi Immortal of Jie Sect?

During the last discussion of the Three Sects, he had personally witnessed how the latter had defeated Wei Hu and others.

With one swing of his hammer, it was impressively swift and clean!

So, it seems he's likely to face another reprimand from his senior brothers.

Shengong Bao bowed his head and sighed.

Being accepted as a direct disciple by the Saint had come as a massive surprise, even he couldn't believe it was true at first.

In the period after his formal apprenticeship, even the air tasted sweet and delightful to him.

Plus, he quickly felt the changes his new status brought.

The most obvious was that he could now freely visit Qilin Cliff.

However, what depressed him was that his senior brothers didn't seem very warm towards him, and while outer disciples like Xiao Zhen and Deng Hua outwardly congratulated him heartily, their gazes when they looked at him in secret had become very strange.

Those were gazes mixed with jealousy, resentment, and unwillingness.

Having associated with these outer disciples for over a thousand years, Shengong Bao could read the meaning behind their eyes — Why not me?

His senior brothers were indifferent, and it was hard to return to the old camaraderie with his former sect mates.

Most importantly, even after being accepted by the Saint, he had not received any teachings but was instead sent out to travel the Primordial realm with a few senior brothers.

Purportedly as training!

But his cultivation journey had been smooth sailing without any bottlenecks; he really couldn't see what there was to train for.

In his view, it was Jiang Shang who truly needed training!

Despite joining later than him, just because he hadn't mastered flying on clouds, he was personally taken by Bai He to Qilin Cliff and thus entered Yuxu Palace ahead of him.

This also led him to be accepted by Yuanshi Tianzun as the fifteenth direct disciple before him, and thus Shengong Bao became the junior disciple!

If it were just this, it might have been fine.

But Guang Chengzi and his fellow senior brothers were all warmly and pleasantly welcoming towards Jiang Shang, a stark contrast to their coldness towards him.

This left Shengong Bao very puzzled.

In terms of Dao Xing realm, he had recently undergone the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation and successfully entered the realm of the Heavenly Immortal!

Yet, Jiang Shang had yet to achieve the Immortal Path!

As for handling interpersonal relationships, Shengong Bao was also adept at observing details and listening widely. Whoever he met, after just a couple of interactions, he could grasp seventy to eighty percent of their habits and preferences.

He would then cater to their preferences to quickly build a rapport.

However, this approach didn't work with Guang Chengzi and his senior brothers; instead, it backfired with reprimands.

He felt as if Guang Chengzi and the others were avoiding him like the plague!

"Sigh!"

Shengong Bao heaved a deep sigh, only to see a flash of dark light before him, and on the spot formerly occupied by the Jie Sect's One Qi Immortal now stood a palm-sized silver-white striped tiger.

Its golden pupils seemed to be filled with blazing flames, and the character for "king" on its forehead shone brightly—it looked exceedingly adorable.

"What is this…"

Shengong Bao was momentarily stunned.

With his astuteness, he naturally knew that this white tiger's appearance before him was no coincidence.

"Roar!"

Upon noticing Shengong Bao's attention, the little silver tiger let out a vigorous roar.

In an instant, a pair of wings gleaming with golden light sprouted from its sides, and with a slight flap, it soared into the air, turning into a streak of golden light darting around Shengong Bao chaotically.

At times it ripped through the void, at times it swooped into the woods, and at times it perched on his shoulder, playing joyously as if frolicking with him.

Shengong Bao's complexion changed slightly, and he subconsciously exclaimed, "So fast!"

The little tiger's speed had far exceeded his own, almost comparable to a Golden Immortal with Great Divine Power.

Most importantly, this little tiger was still in its juvenile phase—if it were grown, its speed would certainly be much faster!

Hearing this compliment, the little tiger rolled over, retracted its wings, and landed in front of him, looking up at him with a proud expression in its eyes.

This little fellow is quite spirited.

A thought flickered in Shengong Bao's mind as he looked down at the little tiger and whispered, "Did that One Qi Immortal ask you to follow me?"

The little tiger tilted its head, seemingly puzzled by his words.

Shengong Bao thought for a moment, then rephrased: "Did that Immortal riding the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel ask you to follow me?"

This time, the little tiger understood and nodded at him.

So it was him!

What exactly does he want?

Charity, or is he trying to buy me?

A flying silver tiger with a lineage of the White Tiger is indeed precious, but does that guy really think he can buy me with this?

What a joke!

Imagine me, Shengong Bao, a proud disciple of a Saint, destined to stand tall between heaven and earth with a righteous and upright spirit, striving like my fellow disciples to make a name for myself, to become a Chan Sect Golden Immortal revered by all!

At this moment, the little tiger suddenly spat out a beam of white light, which fell to the ground and transformed into a decrepit brass bell, with a line of small text appearing in the air:

"Please deliver this broken bell to Yun Zhongzi as a reward for running this errand; this flying silver tiger is given to you as compensation."

Seeing this line of text, Shengong Bao breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the flying silver tiger.

If it's just a payment, then there's no need for refusal, right?

…

Meanwhile, Yu Yuan, riding the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel, instantly arrived above a large lake and directly entered into that Grotto Heaven.

This Grotto Heaven was filled with beautiful mountains and overwhelming spiritual energy.

From afar, a huge waterfall, thousands of feet high and miles wide, cascaded down from a majestic mountain, like the Milky Way hanging upside down, with a thunderous roar like ten thousand horses galloping—grand and magnificent.

A bit further off, above a picturesque valley, Guang Chengzi, Chi Jingzi, and six other Chan Sect disciples were each wielding their Spiritual Treasures, surrounding two Daoists in the middle and beating them into desperate straits.

Occasionally, they would free up their hands to bombard the valley below with treasures.

Clouds and fog obscured the valley, dimly revealing streaks of golden aura, indicating that treasures were about to appear, yet thick clouds tightly sealed them within.

At the valley's perimeter, dozens of Immortal Gods were spectating.

While assessing the situation on the field, Yu Yuan also recognized the identities of those two Daoists.

The former, dressed in red and topped with a fish tail crown, with a face like a red date and red beard and hair, was known as Flame Immortal; the latter, with double buns and a dark robe, his mouth sharp like an eagle and eyes radiating a fierce light, was known as Yuyi Immortal.

Both were elite disciples of Jie Sect, profound in Dao and vast in Divine Skills.

However, they were individuals who preferred to act alone and rarely showed up on Golden Turtle Island or Penglai Island, so Yu Yuan was not familiar with them, having only seen them from a distance during a previous joint discussion among the Three Sects.

These two elite Jie Sect disciples naturally joined forces, but with half of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect present, despite their best efforts, they were no match and could only desperately rely on their Spiritual Treasures, unable to counterattack.

However, Guang Chengzi and the others did not intend to kill them; it seemed they only wanted to seal and suppress them.

Otherwise, the two might have already met their demise.

At this moment, as Yu Yuan entered this Grotto Heaven, everyone present turned to look at him immediately.

Guang Chengzi, Chi Jingzi, and the other Chan Sect Golden Immortals frowned slightly, not expecting him to appear at this time.

Meanwhile, Yuyi Immortal spoke abruptly, immediately shouting, "Yu Yuan, my nephew, hurry to Emei's Luofu Cave and ask Brother Gongming to save us!"

Yu Yuan paid no heed, riding the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel and stepping forward slowly.

Yuyi Immortal was stunned for a moment, then sharply cried out, "What are you trying to do? Didn't you hear what I said?"

Guang Chengzi and the others also curiously looked towards Yu Yuan.

"I know you're anxious, but don't rush."

Yu Yuan casually walked towards the valley, smiling, "Let me retrieve my treasure first."

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