Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

In the late afternoon, at the lecture hall.

When Ye Xuan stepped into the hall, there were already more than thirty people present. All parties who were attending the ceremony had arrived, including disciples from major and minor sects, as well as many independent cultivators.

The three elders of the Golden Phoenix Temple sat solemnly in the main seats, all of them at the Nascent Soul stage.

Disciples, including Zhu Xiao, stood on either side. Seeing that everyone had arrived, one of the elders, with long eyebrows, spoke:

"Fellow Daoists, you have come from afar to participate in our temple's centennial celebration. On behalf of the abbot, I would like to express my sincere gratitude."

He paused, then continued:

"The festival will begin at noon tomorrow and will be held in front of the tower."

At that time, the abbot will emerge from seclusion to preside over the ceremony, igniting the divine fire from the remains of the Golden Phoenix and recreating its ancient divine power.

The expressions of the people in the hall varied; some were expectant, some were doubtful, and some had greed in their eyes.

The long-browed elder seemed not to notice any of this. "Before the ceremony begins, there are three rules of the Taoist temple that you all must abide by."

"First, before the remains of the Golden Phoenix are revealed, no one may trespass into the Qita Tower."

Second, fighting is not allowed in the spectator's room.

Third, after the ceremony, please leave before 7 PM.

As soon as the elder finished speaking, someone below asked:

"What if someone breaks the rules?"

The elder with long eyebrows narrowed his eyes. "Those who disobey will naturally be regarded as enemies of the Golden Phoenix Temple. All fellow Daoists are expected to abide by this rule."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely strange. The person who had spoken earlier grinned and said no more.

At this moment, another elder spoke up, saying:

"The ceremony proceeds as follows... At noon, the master opens the altar; at noon, the divine fire of the remains is lit, and the golden phoenix manifests."

The festival lasts for more than an hour, ending at noon.

Ye Xuan listened quietly. From the beginning of noon to the end, it was nearly two hours, a considerable amount of time, enough for many changes to occur.

After the explanation, the three elders got up and left, and the disciples, including Zhu Xiao, began to distribute jade slips, which contained instructions for the ceremony and a map of the temple.

Ye Xuan took the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense. The contents were roughly the same as what the elder had said.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhen Yu walked towards him.

"Master Daozi, may I speak to you in private?"

Zhen Yu came alone, but the other two disciples of the Green Mountain Sect were subtly positioned on her left and right. Ye Xuan could roughly guess her intentions.

"OK."

The two stepped out of the hall together and stopped at a deserted corner.

"What does this Green Mountain Sect disciple, who violated the rules before the festival, want to say to me?"

Zhen Yu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly realized what was happening and said somewhat awkwardly:

"I apologize for what happened in the bamboo grove earlier, Daozi."

"It's alright, I don't particularly like people who follow the rules either."

Hearing this, she hesitated for a moment, then finally lowered her voice and said:

"Then for tomorrow's festival... Daozi, could you join forces with the Green Mountain Sect for my sake? The people of Moon Eclipse Valley are unpredictable; fighting them alone might lead to an ambush."

Ye Xuan glanced at her but didn't see her ample bosom. How could this person be so naive? He immediately waved his hand in refusal.

Give you face? Who do you think you are? I, the dignified Daoist disciple of the Holy Sect, give you face.

However, Zhen Yu seemed confused and became anxious when she saw that the other party had no reason.

"Hmm? Could it be that Daozi wasn't carrying... no, no, could it be that Daozi has no interest in those remains?"

"Hmm, I'm not interested. I'm just here to observe the ceremony."

Disappointment flashed in Zhen Yu's eyes, but Ye Xuan's next words made her unable to remain calm.

"Moreover, even if I wanted to take those remains, I wouldn't need to form an alliance with your Green Mountain Sect."

"An alliance that Moon Eclipse Valley despises will not be lowered to the standards of my Holy Sect."

Upon hearing this, not only Zhen Yu, who was standing in front of him, but also the other two Green Mountain Sect disciples hiding in the shadows froze, their faces turning extremely ugly.

However, due to the existence of the Holy Sect, the three of them absolutely could not resort to violence when they could not reach an agreement, as they had done with Mo Chenling before.

The Taoist temple was still crowded with people, so Zhen Yu had no choice but to suppress her anger and endure it.

"Then let me remind you, Daozi, that there are more than just two or three families coveting the remains this time."

If Daozi suddenly decides to get involved, please be very careful.

Having said that, Zhen Yu knew that this trip would only be pointless, so she stopped pressing the matter.

Ye Xuan watched her retreating figure, and in his heart, he had already ruled out the people from the Green Mountain Sect regarding the uncertainties of tomorrow's festival.

He left the lecture hall as the sun was already setting.

After returning to his hermitage, he closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully processing what he had seen and heard that day…

As night fell, Zhu Xiao brought in dinner. Ye Xuan noticed that the young man looked even more haggard than during the day, with bloodshot eyes.

Is the altar set up properly?

He asked casually, but Zhu Xiao's hand trembled, and the food box almost fell to the ground.

"Return, Daozi, that's about enough..."

Ye Xuan didn't ask any more questions. After Zhu Xiao left, he opened the window and looked up at the night sky.

The moon was bright and the stars were few; the golden light from the direction of the Qita Tower had almost completely died out, leaving only the white jade of the tower gleaming coldly.

He took out the Soul-Capturing Mirror, infused it with spiritual power, and the mirror surface emitted a faint light. The old man's voice came from within:

"Is Daozi ready?"

"What are you preparing?"

"The festival is tomorrow."

The old man laughed and said, "I have calculated that something unexpected will happen tomorrow."

Ye Xuan was speechless upon hearing this. Who doesn't know this? Do you need to calculate it with your fingers?

"Remember, Daozi, act according to the circumstances. That thing... should appear when the divine fire is at its strongest."

"What exactly is it?"

"The Daozi will naturally find out in time."

The old man paused, his tone unusually serious, and continued:

"Also, if Daozi meets the abbot of Jinluan Temple, do not easily believe his words."

Ye Xuan couldn't take it anymore and asked directly:

"Senior, could you please stop with the riddles?"

This time, the mirror remained unresponsive for a long time before the old man's voice reappeared.

"Has Daozi learned about the abilities of that ancient golden phoenix?"

"I know a little. There's a book called 'The Records of the Golden Phoenix Temple' in the scripture library of the Taoist temple. It says that the Golden Phoenix is ​​a divine bird that carries pure yang fire. When it spreads its wings, it can burn mountains and boil seas. After it falls, its bones remain indestructible..."

"That's right, but the records in that gazetteer only contain half of the facts; they are all things that are common knowledge."

At this point, the old man's voice disappeared for a while.

Wait, is this old man secretly looking up information?

The moment this thought crossed Ye Xuan's mind, the old man's voice appeared again in his mind.

"Ahem, I'm getting old and a bit forgetful. I've kept Daozi waiting."

The most powerful divine ability of this legendary golden phoenix is ​​not its well-known extreme yang fire, but its power to recreate the past.

Recreating the past? Ye Xuan instinctively felt it was a bit far-fetched. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Recreating the past, it just means recreating the past."

After the golden phoenix fell, its remains not only contained divine fire, but also the ability to recreate the past, which was also engraved within them.

Ye Xuan finally understood. "So, what the senior wanted me to retrieve was these remains, wasn't it?"

Unexpectedly, the old man denied it repeatedly, resorting to his usual trick of being mysterious.

"No, no, Daozi will know when the time comes, why be impatient..."

At this point, the mirror completely lost its luster, and Ye Xuan could no longer hear the old man's voice in his mind.

At this very moment, in the declining Jinluan Temple, all is silent, and the long night is destined to continue.