By the time Yang An returned to the original location of the Ten Thousand Buddha State with the help of a Magical Artifact, the Joyful Shrine Association was already over.

He had previously told Guang’an that he would return to the Great Virtue Temple when the Joyful Shrine Association ended. Guang’an must have already reported this news to the temple, which should be enough to keep those bald monks placated for a short while.

As the Buddha’s Son, he was required to report his departures from the Great Virtue Temple, but a slight delay outside wouldn’t cause any major issues.

However, time was of the essence now. Whatever he needed to do, he had to do it quickly.

Yang An already had a plan.

The first step was, naturally, to head to San Valley City in Zichuan State, which was under the Golden Thread Pavilion’s jurisdiction, and retrieve Wen Yin from the Mystic Path Sect.

Only then would he leave the territory managed by the Great Virtue Temple and travel to the Fusheng Domain, to the rendezvous point the Workshop Master had mentioned.

Time was short, and the State Territory under the Golden Thread Pavilion’s control was in the opposite direction from his intended path. He couldn’t possibly travel there, return to the Great Virtue Temple’s region, and then depart again.

Therefore, the best method was still container teleportation.

He would use teleportation to reach San Valley City and get Wen Yin to safety. Then, his main body could leave the Treasure Temple Domain.

He had to admit, the container teleportation function of the Tree of Flesh and Blood was truly excellent. It saved him a great deal of effort.

Yang An immediately contacted the Workshop Master. His current location was still relatively safe and undisturbed. After confirming the destination, he initiated the container teleportation.

Of course, the container was not his real body, and it still wore a mask so that his identity could not be discovered.

He sped through a constricting space, a familiar sensation washing over him. In the shortest possible time, Yang An fell from the sky and arrived within the bounds of San Valley City.

There was a slight margin of error in the positioning, so he didn’t land directly inside the Mystic Path Sect.

Not that Yang An wanted to land inside the sect. To allow him to act as an undercover agent with peace of mind, Elder Zhuan Yu had arranged for the Mystic Path Sect to be nominally "protected" by people from the Golden Thread Pavilion.

If his container body appeared rashly, it would certainly alert the people from the Golden Thread Pavilion.

For this container teleportation, Yang An had brought the Bow Lady along to guard against any mishaps. With the Bow Lady by his side, his combat strength would be significantly boosted, allowing him to act with more confidence.

Furthermore, the memories the Bow Lady had devoured contained a wealth of information. She was quite familiar with the geography of these State Territories and would be able to help him.

Once the teleportation was complete, Yang An determined his direction and sped toward the Mystic Path Sect.

...

「Inside the Mystic Path Sect.」

Listening to the sounds of many disciples moving about outside, Wen Yin sat quietly cross-legged in her room, but her mind was elsewhere.

’Senior Brother has been gone for so long.’

Ever since Senior Brother had left for the Golden Thread Pavilion, she and her junior brother, Zhou Quan, had followed his original instructions and recruited many new disciples for the Mystic Path Sect. There were more than ten of them, all promising youths who could just about withstand the price of the Lighting Technique.

Unfortunately, the Cultivation Method for the Mystic Path Decoded was with Senior Brother. For now, these new disciples could only be taught and instructed by Zhou Quan, so their Cultivation Levels weren’t high. Many had only just begun their training.

Because Zhou Quan’s own Cultivation Level wasn’t high, and with Senior Brother away, there was no way to obtain the subsequent Cultivation Techniques. Zhou Quan’s Cultivation Level had been stuck at the Yuan Si stage.

Over time, the atmosphere within the sect had grown somewhat tense.

Besides these newly recruited disciples, people from the Golden Thread Pavilion could be seen everywhere within the Mystic Path Sect. They were emissaries sent by the Pavilion who claimed to be there to protect the sect.

With them present, the other sects in Zichuan State knew that the Mystic Path Sect had the Golden Thread Pavilion’s backing, so no one dared to cause trouble.

But Wen Yin knew that something was very wrong.

’If it were just about protecting the Mystic Path Sect, these people would only need to make an occasional appearance to let everyone know the Golden Thread Pavilion was behind them.’

’But these people have taken up permanent residence in the Mystic Path Sect, never straying far. Even when Wen Yin wanted to temporarily leave the sect to look for something, she had to report to them and be accompanied by someone from the Golden Thread Pavilion, who watched her every move.’

’This isn’t protection; it’s house arrest.’

’Senior Brother must be having a difficult time in the Golden Thread Pavilion. They’re even using insignificant people like us as tools to control him.’

’It seems it will be anything but easy for Senior Brother to return.’

But if this continued, the situation within the sect would be impossible to maintain. Without access to subsequent Cultivation Techniques, even Zhou Quan had become noticeably irritable in his daily interactions.

’If it weren’t for the fact that a Cultivation Technique cannot be changed, the disciples in the sect—Zhou Quan included—would have probably left long ago to find a new master.’

"Senior Sister, you’ve been in seclusion for many days. Many of the new junior brothers in the sect need to learn new Techniques. Could you please open the Ascension Cave?"

Just as she was thinking, Zhou Quan’s voice came from outside the door, his tone tinged with slight impatience.

Although Wen Yin’s Cultivation Technique was different from theirs and her Cultivation Level was growing steadily—widening the gap between her and Zhou Quan—with Yang An absent, Zhou Quan had become increasingly less courteous than he used to be.

If not for her desire to maintain the Mystic Path Sect’s stability for Senior Brother’s sake, Wen Yin’s old temper would have compelled her to teach Zhou Quan a lesson long ago. But for now, she could only choose to endure, which only made Zhou Quan push his luck even further.

With no way to obtain the Cultivation Techniques, Wen Yin had no choice but to open the Ascension Cave, allowing Zhou Quan and the other disciples to enter and search for Techniques and other resources.

But this was by no means a long-term solution.

"I know. I’ll be there shortly."