Otherworldly Affairs Office

The originally furious Yang Xiujin was initially dumbfounded upon hearing Gu Shenghui's words, as if he hadn't heard clearly or understood, and he asked back, "What did you say?"

"I said the reason you took them away." Gu Shenghui repeated with a steady face, still smiling with his huge black teeth exposed.

This young cultivator seemed to have heard some hilarious joke, his mouth twitching uncontrollably and his face trembling. Pei Yan, standing from a distance, was at a loss, wondering whether he wanted to laugh or explode in anger next.

Watching the other party struggle to hold it in, Yang Xiujin couldn't help but laugh in extreme anger and said, "Does our Immortal Palace need a reason to take people from the Daoist Realm?"

"Of course, these people are not just from your Daoist Plane anymore. They have invaded my world and caused us great losses. What happened tonight and what the Daoist Realm did, I think you all are not unaware, are you?" Gu Shenghui said as his smile gradually disappeared, and his face took on a frosty expression.

"I don't understand what you mean?" Yang Xiujin squinted his eyes, staring at Gu Shenghui and asked word by word.

"Tonight, there were twenty-four interdimensional attacks, besides this location, there are six other places linked to forced breaches by the Daoist Realm. Do the Law Enforcement Envoys of the Immortal Palace really know nothing, or is the Immortal Palace intending to tear up the agreement and prepare to officially invade my Plane?"

"What did you say?" Yang Xiujin's expression changed as he faced Gu Shenghui's aggressive questioning. He turned his head to look at his fellow disciples, seeing their shocked faces, they shook their heads slightly, signaling they weren't aware.

It seems that after he had received orders and set off, other incidents occurred that the Immortal Palace hadn't had time to inform him about. With this in mind, Yang Xiujin steadied his emotions and looked at Gu Shenghui, questioning in a deep voice, "Scholar Gu, what do you mean by this? Are you questioning my Immortal Palace? Given the status of the Immortal Palace, why would we need to sneak around to start a war? If it weren't for concerns about the instability of the space barriers, do you think your tiny Foundation Plane could truly withstand the might of the Daoist Realm?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of longswords being drawn echoed from behind Yang Xiujin, with over a dozen fellow disciples holding their swords, pointing at Gu Shenghui. Regardless of whether the actions of the Immortal Palace appeared right or wrong in others' eyes, they had to prioritize maintaining the dignity of the Immortal Palace above all else, and moreover, the Immortal Palace's actions could never be wrong; if there was blame, it was on others!

Seeing this move, two elders behind Gu Shenghui suddenly surged with inner energy, standing behind him with ferocity, refusing to back down. Originally prepared to spectate, the small squad of onlookers, upon seeing the situation rapidly deteriorate, all released their internal energy, readying themselves for battle.

This put Pei Yan in a tricky spot; how did a calm discussion escalate to a fight? His internal electricity was depleted, relying solely on his core support. If a fight were to break out, he feared he would have to resort to fists.

Just as tension mounted between both sides, a streak of light zipped out from the other side of the pond at lightning speed, smacking directly onto Yang Xiujin's face.

The impact directly shattered Yang Xiujin's protective array, striking his face as his fair, rosy complexion began to swell under Pei Yan's widening eyes.

"Plop!" In the pin-drop silence, a large carp, thawed from an ice block, plopped down in front of Yang Xiujin.

Ye Jiumu, who had been fishing all day without a catch, at this crucial moment unexpectedly slapped Yang Xiujin with a big fish. As Pei Yan looked at the rock-hard, white-eyed carp on the ground, his head buzzed.

Yang Xiujin was bound to explode!

Yang Xiujin stood there in shock, slapped by a fish, unable to care about the burning pain on his mouth. He looked down at the fish and then up at Gu Shenghui, utterly shocked. He hadn't seen where the attack came from; how did it shatter his protective array in one fell swoop? With a carp? Then how tough must this carp be!

"Speak nicely! No fighting!" Just as Yang Xiujin was recovering from his shock and turning to anger ready to lose control, a childlike voice came from the pond's edge.

Upon hearing this, everyone except the three from the investigation bureau looked towards the sound, seeing a little girl sitting by the pond yawning, rubbing her drowsy eyes, lazily speaking.

Yang Xiujin's raging anger immediately cooled down as if doused with a bucket of cold water upon seeing this person. He quickly turned back, glaring at Gu Shenghui, and whispered, "You're violating the rules! You promised not to let her involve herself in interdimensional conflicts!"

"I can assure you we absolutely kept our promise. Today, she sought us out herself to get involved. You should understand we cannot refuse her, even the Immortal Palace wouldn't dare to refuse lightly." Gu Shenghui lowered his head, sighed, and answered earnestly.

News of over twenty interdimensional attacks in one night didn't faze the newly appointed Minister Cen. Yet receiving notice that this little ancestor wouldn't eat snacks or play games but instead wanted to take on a task threw Cen Xiaoran into a headache, flustered the entire investigation bureau's leadership.

After extensive communication and confirmation of the other party's intent, Cen Xiaoran had no choice but to agree, letting Zuo Huaxian accompany her as she departed with the third wave of support.

Gu Shenghui glanced at the little girl beside him. To be honest, if not for her intervention today, although they could still severely injure Li Songtao, capturing him alive would have been extremely difficult. But he didn't feel any joy from this; her presence, a taboo in both reality and the Daoist realms, made it impossible for anyone to understand her motives. What her actions meant for the investigation bureau remained a mystery.

Yang Xiujin, seeing the other's sincere attitude, recognized that indeed this individual was not someone easily ordered around. Thinking this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at his own bad luck today, bowing respectfully to the young girl.

Then, without further words, he turned and gestured for his fellow disciples behind him to put away their weapons, looking at Gu Shenghui and asking solemnly, "So how do you plan to settle today's matter?"

"They are indeed from the Daoist Realm; logically they should be under your jurisdiction. However, the original agreement stipulated that if Daoist Realm cultivators committed crimes in the Foundation Plane, they must be subject to our legal punishment. This person passed through the area defended by your Immortal Palace, came here to cause destruction and severely injured many of my investigation bureau subordinates. Coupled with the multiple cross-border incidents tonight, are we not reasonably suspicious?

Is it unreasonable to detain him for investigation?" Gu Shenghui spread his hands, gesturing to the ruined surroundings and then to the severely injured Shangxing in the distance.

Yang Xiujin glanced around, shook his head helplessly, and beckoned a cultivator forward. After a whispered discussion, the cultivator nodded, retrieved a treasure bag, and with a wave of his hand, a gleam of light spread over a dozen shadows laid flat in front of everyone.