Chapter 1024: Senior and Junior Brothers Meet

As soon as Ye Zijin spoke, he had a bad feeling. This particular flaw had plagued him ever since he formed his Yin-Yang Golden Core, and it persisted even after shattering the core to form a nascent soul, transforming into a primordial spirit, and later merging primordial spirits.

While his personality played a role, it was a minor one.

His tendency to utter astonishing remarks had often drawn considerable jealousy, with more than a few people openly calling for his death. Luckily, his swift escape skills had kept him alive.

During his training in the Buddhist Kingdom, setting aside other accomplishments, his escape abilities had noticeably improved. Even his venerable master, in his mid-Integration stage, couldn't match his speed.

The real question was, would such speed be effective against a Tribulation Transcending stage cultivator?

No, no, he shouldn't think that way. Since the other party was a respected senior, they surely wouldn't bother with a junior like him… right?

"Senior?" Ye Zijin tentatively called out.

"What is it?" Master Minghuai looked up, his expression normal, showing no signs of abnormality.

Ye Zijin sighed in relief. Truly worthy of an esteemed senior, his composure was unlike that of the elders.

He calmly got up and picked up the broom.

*Crack.*

Master Minghuai had misjudged his strength, snapping the broom that had been in use for over a millennium.

Seeing this, Ye Zijin immediately took off. If he didn't run now, it would be too late!

Watching Ye Zijin's rapidly disappearing figure, Master Minghuai took two deep breaths, reminding himself: "I am a dignified Tribulation Transcending Grand Cultivator, it's beneath me to bother with a junior over such a trifle. I am a dignified Tribulation Transcending Grand Cultivator, it's beneath me to bother with a junior over such a trifle…"

"Ye Zijin, don't run!"

Master Minghuai bellowed, and instantly, seven or eight formidable figures, all in the Integration stage, streaked out from Xitian Temple.

"Where is Ye Zijin?"

"There, chase him!"

Upon hearing news of Ye Zijin, the numerous elders promptly appeared, with some even abandoning their secluded cultivation. The uproar was far greater than when Lu Yang was invited to Xitian Temple on New Year's Eve.

The entire Xitian Temple was ablaze with lights, enveloped by the Integration stage aura. Master Minghuai, maintaining his dignified status, refrained from acting after his initial shout.

Abbot Master Mingyu was reviewing a chess game, muttering, "So, this move was wrong. I was too eager to win and played a bit hastily. It seems Junior Brother Minghuai was right; my mental state still needs refining."

He then heard Master Minghuai's shouts, and a peculiar expression crossed his face. He couldn't recall ever seeing his junior brother so utterly exasperated.

Ye Zijin's escape techniques were unparalleled, far surpassing anything Lu Yang could achieve.

"Ye Zijin, let's see how far you can run!" Elder Kongchan roared, throwing a golden bell that resonated with an immobilizing chime.

Ye Zijin, like an agile loach, unleashed a Taoist spell that created spatial ripples, preventing anyone from stabilizing that area.

"Suppress!" Elder Kongxing invoked the Demon Suppression Seal. Countless formidable demons had been subdued by this very seal; half a year ago, when the Meng family sought the Heartless Sect in the Buddhist Kingdom, one of the Heartless Sect's elders was indeed suppressed by it, a truly terrifying display of power.

"Heaven-Opening Seal!" Ye Zijin unleashed the Heaven-Opening Seal, a technique he had gleaned from Taoist Buyu's "Sword Cleaving Heavenly Gate."

The two powerful seals collided in mid-air, perfectly neutralizing each other without any residual power escaping.

"Dragon Subduing, Tiger Taming Sutra!" Behind Kongli, the Dharma manifestations of the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Arhats appeared. The two Arhats swatted at Ye Zijin as if he were a mouse, but Ye Zijin, by warping through space or burrowing underground, remained untouchable.

However, this was Xitian Temple's stronghold, and under the combined assault, Ye Zijin found it difficult to evade capture.

Facing the predicament, Ye Zijin decisively acted: "Heaven-Opening Seal!"

*Boom—*

The Heaven-Opening Seal shattered, its explosion creating a thick fog. When the mist cleared, there were astonishingly two Elder Kongxings!

"You are fake, Demon Suppression Seal!"

"No, *you* are fake, Demon Suppression Seal!"

Both of them cast the exact same Demon Suppression Seal!

Elder Kongxing was enraged by the sight, unleashing a torrent of attacks. The other "Elder Kongxing" mirrored him perfectly, their techniques so identical that it was impossible to tell which was real. The other elders were at a loss as to how to intervene.

"I refuse to believe you can chant scriptures too!" Elder Kongxing's lips trembled as he rapidly recited the *Ksitigarbha Sutra*. The other "Elder Kongxing" also began chanting the *Ksitigarbha Sutra*.

"Junior Brother Kongxing, take out your Ruyi Prayer Beads!" Kongchan shouted.

Elder Kongxing quickly took out his Ruyi Prayer Beads.

The other "Elder Kongxing's" expression drastically changed upon seeing this: "Ye Zijin, you stole my prayer beads during the commotion!"

Elder Kongxing roared like a wrathful Vajra, "Nonsense! These are clearly *my* prayer beads! Ye Zijin, are you still trying to argue? Senior and Junior Brothers, what are you waiting for!"

The elders swarmed forward, and Elder Kongxing seized the opportunity to quietly slip away from the rear.

"Oh no, we've been tricked!"

Only when they saw the "Elder Kongxing" holding the Ruyi Prayer Beads escape did the elders realize they had apprehended the wrong person.

"Haha, you think you can catch me?" Ye Zijin revealed his true form, tossed the Ruyi Prayer Beads to the side for the real Elder Kongxing to retrieve, and then vanished.

"Damn it, he got away again!" The elders were enraged but helpless. Every time, Ye Zijin found a way to escape from them, even within Xitian Temple, their home territory.

"Was that Second Senior Brother?" Inside the Qingfeng Sword's minor world, Lu Yang could hear Master Minghuai's voice.

Witnessing the elders' exchange with his second senior brother, Lu Yang realized they hadn't been serious on New Year's Eve.

Seeing his second senior brother successfully escape, Lu Yang decided to go meet him.

While it was true that Ye Zijin's movements were hard to trace, no matter how elusive he was, he couldn't elude the Immortal Fairy's divine sense.

"You three stay put," Lu Yang warned Venerable Qingyan and the other two before departing with the Immortal Fairy.

After Lu Yang left, Mo Xiaochou stirred restlessly. This was a prime opportunity to escape. "Shall we make a break for it?" he suggested.

Venerable Qingyan shot Mo Xiaochou a side-long glance, wondering how such a foolish person could exist and how he had even managed to cultivate to the Soul Transformation stage. "Are you under the impression you possess the means to escape from an immortal?"

The higher one's cultivation, the more one understood the terrifying power of immortals—they were insurmountable, supreme existences. The best course of action when facing an immortal was simply to do as they commanded.

Given Lu Yang's connection to the immortal, his words were effectively the immortal's will, and they dared not disobey.

Mo Xiaochou also came to his senses, no longer daring to entertain thoughts of escape, and obediently waited in the minor world.

"Second Senior Brother?" Lu Yang stealthily moved through the night, locating Ye Zijin hidden in the shadows.

"Who's there?!" Ye Zijin was startled, instantly becoming highly vigilant. How could he be found when he was hidden so well? Had a Tribulation Transcending cultivator made a move?

"It's me, Lu Yang," Lu Yang said in a low voice.

Only then did Ye Zijin get a clear look at Lu Yang. He had only seen his portrait before, never the real person, and he was surprised that the real person was even handsomer than his likeness.

"Junior Brother Lu Yang, is that really you?" Ye Zijin was delighted to finally meet his junior brother.

"I've seen your portrait; it doesn't do you justice!"