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*****
"Capture!"
Just as George was mesmerized by the magnificent scenery of Yuxu Palace before him, the short Yuxu Palace disciple leading the way suddenly turned around. He aimed a gourd, which had already been uncorked, directly at George.
As the disciple chanted a spell, George was instantly transformed into a streak of light and sucked inside the gourd.
"Hmph, a mere member of the demon race, actually dreaming of entering Yuxu Palace."
Placing the stopper back on the gourd, the short disciple sneered before flying towards a building on the highest peak of Yuxu Palace, which was designed in the shape of the Eight Trigrams.
He handed the gourd over to another disciple who was guarding the Tianyuan Cauldron in the center of the building.
Inside the gourd, however, George didn't feel the slightest bit of nervousness.
This was all part of the plan he had concocted with Shen Gongbao.
Before the Primordial Lord of Heaven (Yuanshi Tianzun) went into seclusion, Yuxu Palace did indeed accept some exceptionally talented demons as disciples.
Shen Gongbao, along with the Deer Boy and Crane Boy, had all joined Yuxu Palace in this manner.
Although these disciples did face discrimination—some weren't even treated as true disciples but as attendant Daoist boys or outright mounts—they still managed to join Yuxu Palace and learn its Daoist doctrines and spells.
However, ever since the Primordial Lord of Heaven went to the Eight Views Palace to enter seclusion with the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord (Taishang Laojun) and the Tongtian Sect Master to refine the Investiture of the Gods, leaving all Yuxu Palace affairs under the control of the Eldest Brother, the Immeasurable Immortal (Wuliang Xianweng), everything had changed.
The disciples responsible for the first trial at the entrance had been replaced by members of the Demon Catching Squad.
If a normal mortal came seeking immortality, they followed the standard procedure to select talented individuals for Yuxu Palace.
But if a demon came seeking immortality—regardless of whether they were good or bad—they were captured without exception to be refined into immortal pills.
The gourd that the short disciple had just used to capture George was a Dharma treasure refined by the Immeasurable Immortal, imitating his Eldest Martial Uncle Taishang Laojun's Purple Gold Red Gourd.
As long as one's cultivation was below the Immortal realm, the chant would trap them inside.
Cultivators with cultivation above the Immortal realm generally wouldn't come to Yuxu Palace to beg for discipleship, and if they did, the Immeasurable Immortal would handle them personally.
As the former captain of the Demon Catching Squad, Shen Gongbao was naturally well aware of these details.
"Transform!"
Sensing that enough time had passed, George extended his hand and summoned the Golden Hoop Rod. He transformed it into an electric drill, bored a small hole in the bottom of the gourd, shrank his body, and slipped out through the opening.
While Taishang Laojun's Purple Gold Red Gourd was high-grade enough to trap even a Quasi-Saint if they weren't careful, this gourd made by the Immeasurable Immortal was only good for trapping cultivators below the Immortal level. Its power was far inferior.
It couldn't possibly hold him.
"Looks like they've collected quite a few!"
After emerging from the Dharma treasure, George saw over a dozen other gourds lined up next to the one he had been in.
Clearly, they contained other demons who had come to Yuxu Palace seeking discipleship, all waiting for the Immeasurable Immortal to find the time to refine them into pills together.
"First, let's find out where the pills are kept."
Flying above the Daoist boy guarding the Tianyuan Cauldron, George instantly took control of him and began a Soul Search to extract intelligence.
A moment later, he tossed the unconscious boy aside and waved his hand to release Shen Gongbao and the Four Sea Dragon Kings.
"The immortal pills are inside the Tianyuan Cauldron. Only the Immeasurable Immortal can open it. If we forcibly destroy or move the cauldron, he will definitely sense it. Meanwhile, Ao Bing and Nezha have left Kunlun Mountain with the Demon Catching Squad to undergo the third trial at Skeleton Mountain.
So, my suggestion is: we save Senior Shen first, then join forces to destroy the Tianyuan Cauldron and steal all the pills. After escaping Yuxu Palace, we head straight to Skeleton Mountain to retrieve Ao Bing and Nezha."
George shared the intelligence obtained from the boy's mind with the one leopard and four dragons, offering his own opinion on the matter.
Stealing pills and rescuing Shen Zhengdao unnoticed from Yuxu Palace was no easy feat.
Fortunately, with Nezha and Ao Bing not in Yuxu Palace, there was one less complication. After saving Shen Zhengdao, they could proceed directly to smashing the cauldron and fleeing with the pills.
"Let's follow your plan then."
The group discussed it briefly and, failing to come up with a better solution, nodded in unison.
"Obliviate!"
George immediately cast a memory charm on the unconscious Daoist boy, altering his memory of this short period so that the boy would believe he had merely dozed off for a while.
"Shen Zhengdao!"
Chanting the target person's name in his heart, a route map leading to Shen Zhengdao naturally appeared in George's mind.
They didn't foolishly split up; that would only lead to being defeated one by one.
With George, who knew Shen Zhengdao's location, leading the way, and Shen Gongbao assisting to avoid dangerous formations given his familiarity with Yuxu Palace, the four Dragon Kings followed closely behind.
After half an hour, the six of them arrived deep within the grounds of Yuxu Palace, standing upon a vast snowy field.
"It's right here."
"Black Dragon, are you sure? There's nothing here," Ao Qin said, looking at the surrounding rocks and the blanket of heavy snow, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
Shen Gongbao probed the area carefully and frowned: "It's not that there's nothing; it's likely being concealed by a powerful illusion array. This is troublesome; I'm not very skilled with formations."
"No matter, I'll handle it."
A sword—Ea, the Sword of Rupture—manifested in George's hand. He slashed out, instantly shattering the illusion array before them.
As a Creator who had studied the barriers, seals, and laws of various worlds, and having come into contact with the Li family's formations and the arrays of various sects in the Under One Person world, his proficiency in formations was already significant.
Combined with the world-splitting power of Ea, breaking an illusion array that lacked a Connate Spirit Treasure as its core was simple.
"There really was an array hiding it."
As the illusion shattered, the entrance to an underground palace was revealed to everyone.
Worried that breaking the array might alert the Immeasurable Immortal, George didn't waste a second. Following the magical guidance in his heart, he rushed into the palace.
Before him stood a massive stone gate carved with a monstrous beast's head. A Daoist boy was sitting in front of the gate, dozing off.
Before the boy could react, George teleported behind him, restrained him, and began a Soul Search.
"What's the situation?" Shen Gongbao asked urgently as he caught up.
George frowned after knocking the boy out: "Your father is indeed locked behind this stone gate, but it requires the Immeasurable Immortal's personal presence to open it."
"If that doesn't work, let's blast it open with brute force!" Ao Guang suggested, eyeing the stone gate.
With Ao Bing not in Yuxu Palace, he had fewer reservations. As long as he helped Shen Gongbao rescue Shen Zhengdao, the rest would be much easier to handle.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple."
Ao Run, seeing George's frown, smiled and touched the stone gate. "This material is extraordinary."
"Indeed, it is extraordinary. This gate is refined from the Stone of the Heavenly River and has already developed spirituality. It bears the Heavenly Lord's incantations, making its defensive power even stronger than the average Connate Spirit Treasure. Unless one is a Great Luo Golden Immortal (Daluo Jinxian), it will be difficult to break open."
This knowledge came from the information George had searched from the Daoist boy's mind.
(End of Chapter)