I'm here in the martial arts world just to find love.

The Zixu Temple is closed to visitors year-round. To prevent outsiders from disturbing their peaceful cultivation, they even set up several illusionary arrays around the temple.

Unless one is proficient in formations, even renowned martial arts masters would be turned away and unable to enter if they came here without permission.

However, if they are both members of the Xuanmen (Taoist sect), then it's a different story.

For example, the group from the Moon Goddess Palace who visited today, led by Elders Xuan Guan and Xuan Qing, entered the Zixu Temple without any hindrance and were personally received by the temple's abbot, Daoist Ziyang.

Although the Moon Goddess Palace is outwardly a martial arts sect, it is also secretly a member of the Xuanmen (Taoist) sect.

The Palace Master of the Moon Goddess Palace had already reached the legendary Danxia Realm, and in terms of strength, she was on par with the four martial arts grandmasters in the martial arts world.

The disciples of the sect may occasionally descend the mountain to participate in the affairs of the martial world, but in reality, it is only for their own cultivation. They use the mortal world to enter the path of Tao, in order to break through their bottlenecks.

The Taoist Master Ziyang appeared to be over fifty years old, with white hair and a youthful face, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance. In reality, this old Taoist was already over a hundred years old and possessed profound cultivation; it was just that his appearance did not reveal his advanced age.

At this moment, inside the Hall of the True Man.

The dignified and otherworldly Daoist Ziyang sat upright, occasionally raising his slightly cloudy eyes to look at the two elders from the Moon Goddess Palace sitting on his right: one aloof and the other alluring.

An attempt was made to alleviate the oppressive atmosphere inside the main hall.

  

Sitting next to Xuanqing, Jiang Yunyao was quite puzzled. She didn't know why her two senior uncles were so cold to this kind and amiable Daoist Ziyang.

When they first arrived at the Zixu Temple, they remained silent, as if the kind-faced old Taoist priest owed them something.

They clearly needed someone's help and planned to stay here tonight, so how did they end up being the guests and taking the initiative?

"Well, Uncle and Master, it's getting late... Why don't we follow Senior Ziyang's earlier arrangement and go to our guest rooms to rest?"

The eighteen-year-old Holy Maiden of the Moon Goddess Palace did not have the aloof demeanor that was rumored to be associated with holy maidens.

On the contrary, she appears well-behaved and adorable.

The girl had a pair of almond-shaped eyes that were charming and touching. When she spoke, her voice carried the natural softness and gentleness of a woman from the Jiangnan region.

"Yes, yes, this little girl is right. You must be tired after your long journey, so why don't you..."

Before the old Taoist could finish speaking, he was met with two cold stares.

The old Taoist priest Ziyang, who always exuded both authority and kindness in front of his disciples, couldn't help but shrink back under the gaze of those two eyes, as if he were sitting on a wax figure.

This strange and contrasting demeanor amused Jiang Yunyao.

It's unknown what kind of connection the two most stern uncles in the palace had with this Daoist Ziyang back then, that would make this old Daoist so fearful.

Could it be that this old Taoist priest incurred a debt of love from his early years?

Just as Jiang Yunyao was making wild guesses, a bell suddenly rang out from outside the Taoist temple.

The bell tolled dully, but not loudly.

If you don't listen carefully, you won't hear it at all.

The old Taoist priest, who had been meek and submissive, trembled upon hearing the bell, as if he had finally found a reason not to accompany them.

"Who dares to trespass into my Zixu Temple at night!"

With a loud shout, the Ziyang Daoist, who had been sitting upright, suddenly stood up and floated out of the brightly lit hall.

In an instant, it disappeared into the darkness outside the palace.

"My two senior uncles, I'll go take a look too!"

Jiang Yunyao, who was already bored, ignored the objections of her two senior uncles, jumped up from her seat, and followed Ziyang Daoist.

"boom!"

Just as Jiang Yunyao stepped out of the palace gate, a deafening roar echoed from the backyard of Zixu Temple, accompanied by the angry and shocked voice of the old Taoist priest Ziyang.

"How dare you!"

"You trespass on my Taoist temple and dare to act so violently? Take this thunderbolt strike from me!"

Click~

A bolt of purple lightning illuminated the night sky.

Jiang Yunyao, who had originally planned to watch the fun, suddenly changed her expression. She sensed a familiar aura from the powerful fluctuations of true energy coming from behind the main hall.

"Stop, senior!"

The girl exclaimed in surprise, and in a flash, she ran straight to the backyard.

……

On a mountain path below the backyard of the Taoist temple.

Jiang Chao, who could clearly see a brightly lit Taoist temple but could not get close, decided to roll up his sleeves and force his way into the half-hidden formation after calling out for a long time without getting a response.

They were trying to make a big commotion to attract the attention of the deaf and blind Taoist priests in the temple.

Just as he had mustered nearly half his true energy and almost managed to forcefully break through the illusion array with his fists, a furious shout came from the direction of the Taoist temple.

Jiang Chao was overjoyed, knowing that his seemingly reckless actions had worked. The young man opened his mouth, preparing to introduce himself.

Unexpectedly, what greeted him first was a bolt of purple lightning.

The lightning bolt struck with ferocity and incredible speed.

Even though Jiang Chao had the protection of the Qilin bloodline, which made him far superior to ordinary mortals, he still did not want to needlessly withstand the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning that could ignore his protective true energy.

Whether getting an electric shock will kill you or not is hard to say, but it's definitely not pleasant.

however.

Being trapped in a half-broken illusion array, he was already unable to move freely, so how could he possibly escape?

They could only watch helplessly as the terrifying purple lightning bolt struck down on them.

Seeing the terrifying purple lightning pierce through his body, Jiang Chao only felt a slight numbness all over his body; the pain he had imagined did not occur.

On the contrary, it instantly restored a significant amount of the true energy he had lost from chiseling the array.

The boy decided not to speak again, preparing to endure a few more lightning strikes first.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, which is quite famous in the martial arts world, has such a miraculous effect on tempering the body, which is a pleasant surprise.

However, the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder that was expected to descend did not arrive.

Jiang Chao was disappointed, but also somewhat puzzled.

Weren't you furious just a moment ago? How come you've calmed down so quickly?

Just as Jiang Chao was wondering, a figure flew over from the direction of the Taoist temple.

Jiang Chao instinctively assumed a defensive stance. As the figure approached, Jiang Chao was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in delight:

"Sister Yao Yao!"

"Ah Lang!"

The figure in the darkness stopped just in front of Jiang Chao, and after a sweet, affectionate cry, Jiang Chao was hit hard on the forehead.

"You brat, just as I expected, you sneaked out of the house!"

Jiang Chao rubbed his forehead, which didn't hurt much, looked down at the woman in front of him, and chuckled:

"It's just that life on the mountain is too boring, so I thought I'd sneak down and have some fun."

Jiang Yunyao rubbed her little fists, looked up at her younger brother whom she hadn't seen for two years and who seemed to have grown quite a bit taller, and said with a hint of annoyance:

"Furthermore, why did you break into the Zixu Temple's formation at night? Didn't you send someone a message beforehand?"

Jiang Chao laughed and said, "I just heard that you were here, Sister Yaoyao, and I was eager to see you. I couldn't care less about anything else."

"Hmph! Smooth talker, I wonder who he took after."

Jiang Yao gave a soft hum, the smile on her lips impossible to hide.

"Come with me, I'll take you to meet Senior Ziyang and my two martial uncles."

With that, the girl took the boy's hand and ran towards the Taoist temple in the distance.

……

"So you are the son of Master Jiang, young friend. I apologize for my rudeness earlier."

Inside the main hall, Daoist Ziyang spoke to Jiang Chao with a beaming smile, but his eyes kept glancing at the two elders of the Moon Goddess Palace.

Jiang Chao, his clothes slightly disheveled, waved his hand and said quite magnanimously:

"It's alright, it's alright. Senior, you were unaware of the situation before you acted, so there's no need to take it to heart."

After a pause, the boy continued:

"If you really feel bad about it, then please take some time to reward me with a few more lightning spells. I must say, your lightning spells are truly powerful; they can even temper one's physique."

Master Ziyang: "..."

Listen to this, is this even human language?

What do you mean by saying that my thunder magic is indeed domineering and can have the effect of body tempering?

So, the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder that I used was to help you temper your physique?

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Jiang Yunyao rolled her eyes at her younger brother, then looked apologetically at the Daoist Ziyang, whose expression was constantly changing.

"My younger brother is young and ignorant, and he likes to talk nonsense. I hope Senior Ziyang will not take it seriously."

After speaking, the girl looked at her two teachers.

"Uncle-Master Xuanguan, Uncle-Master Xuanqing, this is my younger brother Jiang Chao, nicknamed A Lang."