Zuo Wentao had been in Wuyuan Country for hundreds of years and had invested considerable effort in the Yu Jing Dao Lower Institute. It could be said that most of his accumulation was placed here.

He really couldn't bear to abandon these foundations. Moreover, he feared that Tian Chi Shu would not survive.

For the sake of his family's estate and his own life, Zuo Wentao could only grit his teeth and bleed.

Zuo Wentao also had an Immortal Artifact, the Cloud-Flipping Fan. However, it was his protective treasure and could not be given away.

The Merak Star Sand was valuable enough and could not be refined. It was not very useful to keep it at hand. It was better to give it away as a gift.

Zuo Wentao felt pained over his Merak Star Sand, but when he saw Gao Xuan, he couldn't care about feeling heartache over such things.

After listening to him finish explaining the situation, Gao Xuan showed no sorrow or joy in his expression, leaving his thoughts unknown.

This made Zuo Wentao very uneasy, for if Gao Xuan became angry, Zuo would be the first to suffer.

Monk Golden Light had already turned into a mountain of golden chrysanthemums. Though they looked beautiful, he was utterly destroyed body and soul. Such a way to die was rather tragic. Zuo Wentao did not want that.

Not daring to hesitate, Zuo Wentao hurriedly presented the Merak Star Sand, stating it was a token of his goodwill, hoping that Celestial Master Gao would accept it.

Gao Xuan opened the wooden box and played with the Merak Star Sand a little, "Good stuff, Daoist friend, I appreciate your intent."

He closed the wooden box and put it away, "Rest assured, the Celestial Court and the Daoist Sect are linked as branches of the same tree, how could I turn against a Daoist friend of the sect."

Gao Xuan continued, "Ao Qiong was unexpectedly so insidious and detestable, I shall not spare him."

Hearing Gao Xuan say this, Zuo Wentao also breathed a sigh of relief. That sentence was enough.

Zuo Wentao didn't want to stay with Gao Xuan for long either, the pressure was too much. He quickly stood and bowed, "I was worried someone might sow discord and wreck the relationship between Yu Jing Dao and the Celestial Master, which is why I hurriedly came to explain to the Celestial Master.

"Disciple will not disturb the Celestial Master's cultivation and will take my leave."

Zuo Wentao bowed as he retreated, not turning until he had exited the great hall, and then quickly departed through the main door.

Gao Xuan didn't see Zuo Wentao off; this person was quite clever, just lacking in character. Not as good as Tao Jun.

Because of his cleverness, he knew how to act according to the situation. Recognizing the bad situation, he hurriedly came to explain everything.

Gao Xuan had to admit, Zuo Wentao handled this matter smartly. By laying everything out, at least there was no need to become his enemy.

Gao Xuan was also a bit surprised, Ao Qiong, though appearing arrogant, was actually insidious and deceitful.

Still, this wasn't important.

Since Ao Qiong insisted on being an enemy, Gao Xuan would show no mercy.

Having reached the Immortal Realm, Gao Xuan had greatly advanced his cultivation and often left himself with room to maneuver. Mainly there was no need to be so extreme.

Having attained the Dao and becoming an immortal, one must have the demeanor and poise befitting an immortal. Unimportant matters were not worth dwelling on.

The Immortal Realm was vast and rich in resources. An immortal's lifespan is long, so there's no rush in doing things.

Gao Xuan had killed two Great Demons because they brought calamity upon a region, making their death necessary.

The trouble stirred up by these two Great Demons was somewhat unexpected for Gao Xuan.

The Cyan Celestial Realm turned out to have very intricate and complex relationships. Even demons had relatives and friends.

Gao Xuan could just walk away, but he felt no need to.

If the Dragon Race was sensible, they could coexist peacefully. If they were truly presumptuous and had to oppress him, he would slaughter dragons and extract their sinews.

The Celestial Dragon Eye required the Dragon Race's Essence Blood and Divine Soul to constantly upgrade.

Gao Xuan simply wasn't urgently seeking to upgrade it, and furthermore, he was reasonable. He wouldn't deliberately seek trouble with the Dragon Race just because they could enhance the Celestial Dragon Eye.

Towards Ao Qiong, Gao Xuan was as accommodating as possible, even returning the Dragon Talisman directly to him.

Yet, Ao Qiong resorted to this tactic.

Gao Xuan found it somewhat amusing, but in fairness, he still needed to report this matter upward.

The Celestial Court's Golden Seal authorized him; he was essentially an employee of the Celestial Court.

Through the Golden Seal, Gao Xuan sent a letter above, briefly outlining the events and concluding with how the Dragon Race was aggressive, leaving him no choice but to slay dragons.

He didn't expect any response from above; Celestial Masters dispatched by the Celestial Court were clearly left to operate independently. They didn't even receive a basic salary, just a Golden Seal.

The lack of substantive influence in the lower realms was why the Celestial Court's authority was declining. By now, Wuyuan Country had nearly stopped performing proper rituals for the Celestial Court.

Gao Xuan sent a letter and waited for a moment, but there was no reply.

Clearly, the Celestial Court was a bloated and extraordinarily sluggish organization.

Gao Xuan didn't mind; he took out the Merak Star Sand to play with it, as the Star Sand was indeed quite special.

The material of the Star Sand alone surpassed the many Divine Artifacts he possessed.

If the Star Sand could be refined, it was bound to have special powers. However, the object was perfectly integrated, so even his Divine Sense could not enter.

Gao Xuan tried using the Hongyi Sword to cut the Star Sand but found he couldn't sever it.

The small Merak Star Sand had an extremely unique characteristic.

Gao Xuan pondered for half a day, attempting various magical refinements, but received no feedback.

However, when using the Xuan Guang Mirror, it unexpectedly activated a reaction from the Merak Star Sand.

All three hundred and sixty pieces of Merak Star Sand spontaneously entered the Xuan Guang Mirror, which then turned a deep blue.

Apart from that, there was no further change in the Xuan Guang Mirror or the Merak Star Sand.

Gao Xuan experimented with manipulating the Xuan Guang Mirror, which functioned as usual, able to reflect everything.

Furthermore, there was a vague resonance with the Star River above the Nine Heavens.

Gao Xuan sensed that this was the right path, just missing some critical elements.

It was possibly the lack of a correct Secret Technique for refinement, or maybe a missing Spiritual Object or Magical Artifact for coordination.

Perhaps the Xuan Guang Mirror was inherently a very complex and powerful artifact, disassembled into its current form for some unknown reason.