Southern Yunmeng Township.
A certain unknown, vast marshland.
The sky-covering water vapor churned without warning. Gradually, a white figure slowly emerged from the depths of the marsh.
It was snow-white all over, with a hornless head and chilling four claws beneath its belly.
With the appearance of this massive Demon body, the already gloomy sky turned completely dark.
High in the firmament, the phantom of a majestic Demon Palace suddenly appeared, suppressing heaven and earth.
Dense purple mist spewed from the depths of the Demon Palace, permeating a radius of a thousand miles.
The Demon Palace opened wide.
The dao chess pieces lined up on both sides, like ministers guarding a monarch, rose one after another.
Counting them, there were actually ten in total.
Three gray-white.
Four dark green.
Two deep blue.
And finally, one dao chess piece emitting brilliant purple-gold radiance.
Celestial-grade Dao Chess.
To be able to possess Celestial-grade Dao Chess in a place like the Southern Dream Cloud Realm, and to have as many as ten of them, undoubtedly represented the nobility of this Demon's status and its unfathomable foundation.
After a series of clear dragon roars that pierced the clouds, the purple mist in the sky suddenly retracted, all of it pouring back into that magnificent Demon Palace.
Subsequently, the massive Demon Palace slowly hid itself, dissipating between heaven and earth without a trace.
On the edge of the marsh, the water vapor dispersed.
A young man in long robes stood with his hands behind his back.
His face was extremely handsome, and his brows carried a natural indifference, truly possessing an otherworldly air.
"Congratulations to the Second Young Master. Your cultivation has advanced further; the Painting Realm is now within reach."
Soon, an old turtle with a dark green tortoise shell crawled on the shore, respectfully waiting.
The young man remained unmoved by the old turtle's flattery.
He indifferently extended his slender palm, casually pulled over a silk handkerchief, and meticulously wiped the water stains from his fingertips.
Then he looked calmly: "Has there been any movement from Father recently?"
Hearing this question, the old turtle paused slightly, then revealed a wry smile: "In reply to the Second Young Master... the Palace Master hasn't made any major moves, it's just that..."
"It's just that there has been a huge mess regarding the Little Palace Mistress."
Hearing this, the young man's wiping motion paused slightly.
He tossed the silk handkerchief into the marsh, his eyes slightly lowered.
"Speak."
The old turtle's body became even more hunched, choosing its words carefully: "The Old Palace Master seems to be unwilling to tolerate the Little Palace Mistress's husband any longer. I heard that a few days ago, he secretly joined forces with the higher-ups of the Jieqing Sect and took advantage of the birthday celebration at Guanlan Island to directly eliminate that carp spirit."
The old turtle paused, carefully observing the young man's expression.
"The Little Palace Mistress has now been forcibly taken back to the Southern Immortal Palace. The Old Palace Master has ordered that without his decree, she is not allowed to step out of her sleeping quarters for even half a step..."
The young man listened quietly.
For a long time.
He sighed casually, raised his head, looked at the gray sky, and his tone carried a hint of regret: "I told her long ago... since she was born in the Southern Immortal Palace and enjoyed such an esteemed status, she could no longer act on her own whims."
"That carp spirit was merely a lowly creature struggling at the bottom; how could he be worthy of our Southern Immortal Palace's legitimate daughter?"
"She refused to listen, and now that she has ended up in this state, why bother?"
"Eh..."
The old turtle listened to these seemingly heartbreaking words, but felt a sense of helplessness in its heart, stealthily raising its eyes to look at the other party... If you hadn't strongly encouraged her, how would the Little Palace Mistress have dared to be so reckless in fooling around with that carp spirit?
Even the Southern Immortal Palace's heavy treasure, the Ten Directions Mountain and River Staff, if not for your pushing behind the scenes, how could the Little Palace Mistress have easily stolen it from the treasury?
However, it was, after all, their family business; it was not for a servant like it to judge.
The Old Thing's time was running out, and the power transition in this Southern Immortal Palace was already surging with undercurrents... It was normal for the children to start forming cliques and scheming against each other early on.
It was just a pity for the Little Palace Mistress.
Being schemed against to this extent, she was probably still grateful to this Second Brother who had secretly supported her.
"Deeply in love, promising their lives to each other, it is lamentable, it is sad... Enough, let's not talk about her. What about the matter with that lowly creature from the Xu Family?"
Hearing this inquiry, the old turtle, who was still secretly slandering in its heart, suddenly changed its expression.
It threw itself prostrate on the ground and kowtowed heavily.
Sensing the abnormality of this old Demon, the smile on the young man's lips stiffened slightly.
The originally peaceful aura around him instantly stagnated.
"What happened?"
"Eh..."
The old turtle trembled all over, cold sweat dripping, continuously seeping out from the gaps in its dark green tortoise shell: "This old servant does not know what kind of accident occurred... Just a few days ago... even that Beast, the Green-Water Golden-Eyed Demon, completely lost contact."
"..."
The young man's brows suddenly furrowed tightly, a trace of impatience flashing in his eyes: "I clearly instructed him that when seeking help from the Dao Sect, he must not be too high-profile and should just find a common excuse for training... How could this happen?"
The Green-Water Golden-Eyed Demon had decent combat power. Looking around this Southern Dream Cloud Realm, it was certainly not something a mere ordinary Disciple of the Dao Sect could do to wipe it out without a sound.
The old turtle swallowed, thoughts racing in its mind.
"Second Young Master, please calm your anger... Although that wild child from the Xu Family is stupid, he would never dare to privately alter your plan... This old servant dares to speculate that he might have been stifled in this wild marsh for too long, and upon reaching the human territory, he took a fancy to some pretty little lady in Huangshan City."
"Drowning in a bed of gentleness, forgetting everything for a moment, and throwing your instructions to the nine heavens?"
"Or else... could it be that he actually had ulterior motives long ago and secretly defected to the Jieqing Sect?"
"Could this just be using Huangshan City as an excuse to defect and escape, and even want to bite us back?"
But the Jieqing Sect was one of the Nine Great Dao Sects; how could they take in such a crude and brutal Demon?
"It couldn't be... it couldn't be that he didn't check the almanac before going out and was casually killed by some passing nobody..."
The last few words were almost mumbled in its throat.
Even the old turtle felt it was nonsense.
A great Demon of the Seven Chess Pieces being killed by an insignificant Cultivator.
Saying such absurd words was the height of ridiculousness.
Thinking of this, the old turtle awkwardly closed its mouth.
It couldn't make it up anymore.
It could only honestly retract its head to the edge of its shell, not daring to make another sound.
On the edge of the marsh, there was dead silence.
Only the faint sound of wind blowing over the water surface remained.
"..."
The young man looked down and glanced at it silently.
A trace of murderous intent suddenly surged.
He considered himself the orthodox Bloodline of the Southern Immortal Palace; why were all his subordinates these stupid creatures who only knew how to flatter and were full of filthy waste?
They were truly useless.
In normal times, just for these incredibly stupid words, he would have unhesitatingly skinned it, pulled out its tendons, and scattered its Divine Soul.
However.
The young man slowly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing that trace of murderous intent.
Now that the Old Thing's time was running out, his own plotting was at a critical juncture, and he had to compete with his eldest brother for the power of the Immortal Palace.
He was truly short-handed... At this juncture, it was not appropriate to cut off his own arms.
"Get out and investigate."
The young man's voice was cold.
"I want to see the Demon if it's alive, and its corpse if it's dead."
"If you cannot find the whereabouts of the Green-Water Golden-Eyed Demon, then you can choose a good place yourself and remove this tortoise shell."
The old turtle felt as if it had been granted amnesty, its whole body soaked in cold sweat.
It kowtowed repeatedly.
Then it scrambled into the depths of the marsh, not daring to stay for even a moment longer.
After a good while, the young man opened his eyes again and looked at the gray sky.
He stood with his hands behind his back and whispered: "The one who breaks the boundary... as long as I gather a few more, the gate to that world should be completely opened to me."
"Once I obtain the Dao Painting, stepping into the Painting Realm will be a certainty... At that time, eldest brother, what will you use to compete with me?"