Chapter 560 - 307: Ji Meng: Is He Blaming Me?

Chapter 560: Chapter 307: Ji Meng: Is He Blaming Me?

After removing the anomalies, he noticed a few additional things around the Array.

He appraised them using the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.

[Not Worth Mentioning]

Jiang Man was left to figure it out himself.

He realized that his Array was being corroded, yet its core appeared perfectly fine. Just to be safe, he touched the Array core.

[An Array core on the verge of being corroded]

He wondered, "An imperceptible corrosion? Good thing I was paranoid."

Afterward, Jiang Man replaced the Array core and touched it again.

[Not Worth Mentioning]

He wasn’t entirely sure if "Not Worth Mentioning" meant it hadn’t been corroded or if the appraisal simply wouldn’t specify. However, he was certain of one thing: someone was targeting him from the shadows, though they didn’t seem bold enough to make a massive fuss about it.

In that case, he would keep stalling for time.

Additionally, he began to activate the Mist Array, extending it toward the anomalies and covering it with the Array Fire Furnace. He was gambling on the opponent’s mastery of Arrays. If their mastery was too high and he was discovered, then so be it. But if they failed to notice... then the situation would be entirely different.

Having done all this, he sent a message to the Zhenyue Bureau under the alias Zui Fusheng, instructing the local branch to notify Mu Kong that he would drop by for an interrogation at any time.

Sure enough, he sensed the coordinates the very next day.

This gave him an additional route of retreat. Still, it was prone to exposure; unless absolutely necessary, he couldn’t use it.

Following that, he focused on Cultivation, though various incidents occurred along the way. Poisonous mist drifted into their area, or Demon Beasts would suddenly go berserk. Tao He sustained injuries on two separate occasions, prompting Jiang Man to intervene twice.

"Senior Brother, something seems wrong here. However, our inspections show no issues, and it’s the same when we report it for a higher inspection," Zheng Yan reported to Jiang Man.

Jiang Man nodded. "Mm. I’ll give you some Array Stones to set up."

They both nodded in agreement.

Every few days after that, Jiang Man would have them replace the Array Stones. Though confused, they continued to do so. Fortunately, no major issues arose. They weren’t sure if it was because they had replaced the Array Stones, especially since they found nothing wrong with the stones themselves—not even a depletion in power. But Jiang Man’s prestige ensured they wouldn’t question him; they knew there was a reason behind his actions, even if it was beyond their comprehension.

Early June.

Jiang Man practiced the Nine-star Body Refining Method for the final time.

In an instant, it was as if nine Qi and Blood vortexes had opened within his body. He felt that as long as he filled them, he could unleash devastating damage. However, it required the channeling of a Magic Skill to be utilized to its fullest potential.

He wasn’t in a hurry and chose to focus on elevating his Physical Body. With one more breakthrough, his Spirit would reach the Seventh Layer.

Time was growing tight. The Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart wasn’t giving him much time.

Meanwhile, his Array Fire Furnace continued to burn without any signs of abnormality. He had even touched it a few times, only to receive the appraisal of "Not Worth Mentioning." It was highly likely that he hadn’t been discovered.

Conversely, the Arrays set up in his area kept encountering problems. At first, he had to physically touch them to check, but later on, simply feeling the subtle changes in the environment was enough for him to swap out the necessary components directly.

On this day, he began to inspect the extension of the Array. After a brief analysis, he locked onto three locations. He debated whether to go over and investigate now or continue waiting; waiting just three more days would yield a much more precise target.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided he could afford to stall a little longer.

—

The Black Spirit Abyss.

In a dark, unnoticeable corner of the woods.

"How strange. Is this Jiang Man’s mastery of Arrays really that high? He seems to know we’re using Array corrosion against him," a man sighed in the darkness. "Judging from this, there’s a high probability that Yang Zhao was killed by him. But how exactly did he manage to pull it off?"

"Forget about it. Yang Zhao wasn’t one of ours. Since he failed, let’s temporarily suspend our cooperation with them. The Sect’s people have started deploying Magical Treasures. Also, Zui Fusheng is in this area. Though we don’t know what he’s up to, we have to keep our guard up," a woman’s voice replied.

"What a pity. We’ll just have to wait for his next mission. We’ll study the Array targeting him, and next time, we can kill him silently. But is killing him really going to be useful? Will it bring massive trouble to the Immortal Sect?" the man said slowly.

"Don’t worry about that; the mission is what it is. With his strength, he will definitely take on missions to improve himself," the woman said coldly. "The fact that a Primordial Spirit Perfection cultivator could only heavily injure him means we need to be more cautious next time and guard against his hidden trump cards."

"Perhaps his trump cards can only be used once. The peaceful reign of the Immortal Sect won’t last much longer. They have no idea how massive their internal problems truly are," the man chuckled softly.

After their exchange, they quickly began to retreat.

Just as they were about to exit the woods, a gentle light suddenly pierced their vision. They saw a glowing figure walking through the forest, clad in a mantle of light. In the next instant, the light vanished.

Alarm bells rang in their minds. Just as they were about to unleash their power, a hand clamped down on their shoulders.

A slightly aloof voice echoed, "Rats in the gutter."

"Senior, who are you?" the woman asked in a hushed tone.

Before her words even finished echoing, both of them instantly erupted with all their strength, striking backward.

Jiang Man retracted his hand and met their attacks with a palm strike of his own.

BOOM!

The power surged like a raging tide, instantly tearing up the earth behind the two and carving deep trenches into the ground. In the following instant, with a loud CRACK, both of their arms disintegrated and shattered. The two were sent flying backward, but they immediately gritted their teeth and stabilized their footing.

"Split up and run!" the man shouted at once.

Jiang Man took a step forward, instantly appearing right in front of the black-robed woman. He threw a palm strike. In a moment of desperation, she met his attack with her own.

BOOM!

The force extended backward once more. This time, it slammed directly into the fleeing man.

He glanced back just before he exploded with a loud BANG. The Evil God Power instantly crushed his Primordial Spirit. Meanwhile, the woman’s remaining arm was also blown to pieces.

"Senior, we have no conflict of interest," the woman said, looking at the man before her in terror.

"I need to know everything you know," Jiang Man demanded.

"I don’t know what Senior is talking about."

"Then let me give you a hint. Who is trying to provoke a great war against the Immortal Sect?"

Hearing this, the woman was horrified.

She had never understood why a powerhouse like Zui Fusheng would appear in such a remote place. Now, she finally realized it: he was here to track down the mastermind trying to instigate a war against the Immortal Sect. This made perfect sense.

Without any further hesitation, she attempted to detonate her Primordial Spirit.

Having suffered this trick once before, Jiang Man immediately interrupted her and knocked her unconscious.

He thought, "It seems it won’t be easy to interrogate her. Besides, the Sect should have noticed the commotion here; I need to leave as soon as possible."

After a quick search, he found that only the woman possessed a Storage Treasure.

Taking her with him, he sent another message to the Zhenyue Bureau, emphasizing her importance without disclosing exactly how crucial she was. He only instructed that she must be handed over to the Sect so they could report it to the Immortal Sect.

Later, Jiang Man returned to his residence. He wiped away his traces and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He should be much safer now.

As expected, it was always best to strike early; time waited for no one. The same applied to Cultivation. He needed to train even more diligently.

The sudden appearance and disappearance of Zui Fusheng would undoubtedly intimidate those with ulterior motives, making this the safest period for him.

Sure enough, nothing happened for the next month.

The only updates were more frequent reports from the Zhenyue Bureau. For instance, Mu Kong had been transferred, and the newly captured woman received the same treatment. Furthermore, investigations into the Evil God issue were still ongoing, and more backup would be arriving soon.

Jiang Man didn’t pay too much attention to these matters. He simply continued his Cultivation.

Early July.

The first Gourd in Jiang Man’s Physical Body had finally reached its limit. It was time for a breakthrough. In ten days at most, his Physical Body would step into the Mid-stage. After that, he could open the Sixth Gourd of his Spirit.

However, before he could sink into his breakthrough, a river of water flowed toward him. Immediately after, the path beneath his feet was paved over by a new road. The road was overgrown with vegetation, accompanied by dense Spiritual Qi.

Finally, a stone stele drew near and stopped right in front of him.

Seeing this, Jiang Man let out a heavy breath. "You’re finally here."

He had been anticipating this for a long time. Over this period, he had been racking his brains, terrified of being ambushed by powerhouses. After all, these people didn’t care about fair fights against cultivators of the Same Tier. If they weren’t wary of him, they might have sent several Returning Void cultivators to finish him off.

At the end of the day, an Unparalleled Celestial Pride in their nascent stage was merely an ordinary cultivator.

"It seems you’re very happy to see me. It’s just that your Cultivation is a bit lacking. Another year of sloth," Ting Fengyin’s voice echoed in his mind.

Jiang Man was speechless.

More than half of his joy was instantly washed away.