Jiang Zuo really didn’t want to argue with Su Qi. He was the type to use his fists rather than his words, but with Su Qi, he could neither fight her nor reason with her.

There was no reasoning with her.

So when Jiang Zuo offered her the necklace, Su Qi refused immediately. "I’m not wearing it. This is to protect you; otherwise, I won’t be able to rest easy."

Jiang Zuo looked at Su Qi and said, "This is to protect you. You said yourself that this place is basically safe."

"I’m not wearing it."

"..."

’Can’t she even be bothered to make an excuse anymore?’

Jiang Zuo wondered if he should just use the Battle Spirit Stele to knock her out. But the truth was, without his Innate Two Qi, there was no way he could defeat Su Qi.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Zuo put on the necklace. "Fine. But if you come back injured, you have to wear it."

Su Qi said excitedly, "No problem! I’m heading over, then. Go back and wait for me."

Jiang Zuo nodded, and Su Qi quickly headed off in the direction of the explosion.

Watching Su Qi’s disappearing figure, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but reflect, ’Maybe I should get her a full set of Life-Protecting Treasures?’

As he thought this, Jiang Zuo took out his coin and started walking off to the side.

Since a Ghost Cultivator had appeared, he had no reason not to check it out.

Until he figured out what these people were up to, Jiang Zuo felt like he was always one step behind.

And if the other party wasn’t a Ghost Cultivator, then he’d need to pay even more attention.

Finding Ghost Cultivators wasn’t difficult for Jiang Zuo. He just had to find a place with Ghost Qi, and the best places to look were secluded corners.

But as he was passing a jewelry shop, Jiang Zuo suddenly stopped.

He turned and glanced back at the shop. It seemed completely unremarkable, with just a single female employee standing inside.

Jiang Zuo turned to observe it more closely. The shop wasn’t very large, and it displayed some unconventional pieces of jewelry.

It didn’t stick to any one style, unbound by the conventions of traditional jewelry. All in all, the selection was a bit odd.

But that wasn’t the important part. The important part was the feeling he’d had for a fleeting moment, as if something was drawing him in.

It probably wasn’t an active pull, or it wouldn’t have vanished in an instant.

Or perhaps it was playing hard to get.

But Jiang Zuo was still very curious, because in that brief instant, he hadn’t gotten a clear look at what the thing was.

So, Jiang Zuo walked in.

As soon as he entered, the employee spoke in a standard, formal voice, "What can I help you with, sir?"

Jiang Zuo didn’t answer her, instead observing the small shop again. This little shop was rather strange.

It seemed as if it wasn’t open to him.

The place he was in felt like a separate dimension, or some kind of confinement space.

Although the main door was behind him, it gave him the feeling of being Close But Far Away.

’This place... impressive.’

Jiang Zuo then walked over to a wall. Some things here had been simplified, so much so that even Jiang Zuo couldn’t casually break them, so it was best to understand the structure of this place first.

He placed his hand on the wall, and his Innate Two Qi drilled right into it.

His Innate Two Qi had just recovered today.

When his Innate Two Qi entered the wall, Jiang Zuo sensed a vast, overwhelming network of Array connections.

It was like a great net that blotted out the sky.

Jiang Zuo was inwardly delighted. It was actually the Holy Land’s hidden Mountain Protection Grand Array.

He had encountered this Array once in his past life, and it was incredibly powerful. Back then, he could vaguely sense that the Array concealed the Holy Land’s innermost secrets. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to inspect it then.

But now...

It seemed the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. This Array was simply too profound, even containing traces of the Great Dao.

He could unravel this thing, but it would take a very, very long time.

This was on a completely different level from the Blood Demon Grand Array and the Four Symbols Square Array.

Breaking the Blood Demon Grand Array was like solving "one plus one." Breaking this Grand Array, on the other hand, was like being given a software program and told to reverse-engineer the sequence of its ones and zeroes.

He couldn’t touch its core, but the functions on the outermost perimeter couldn’t stop him.

However, the first thing Jiang Zuo did was leave a hidden mark so he could open the "door" and come in whenever he wanted. This Grand Array was no simple thing. Even if he couldn’t control it, simply using its auxiliary functions would still be useful.

For example, under the Grand Array’s projection, the location of any hiding Ghost Cultivators could be found instantly.

Therefore, as long as someone from the Holy Land was controlling this Grand Array, any Ghost Cultivators who entered wouldn’t be able to cause any trouble, because there would be nowhere for them to hide.

Without absolute offensive power, it would be very difficult to sneak into the Holy Land.

After leaving his special mark, Jiang Zuo withdrew his Innate Two Qi.

This Grand Array was, after all, no simple matter. He didn’t want to stay inside it for too long if he didn’t have to.

After that, he looked at the female employee. From the moment he entered until now, she had only said that one sentence and then simply watched him with a standard smile.

She wasn’t like a normal person at all. But Jiang Zuo had already figured it out: she really wasn’t human. At best, she was some kind of fixed program within the Grand Array.

Jiang Zuo then asked, "Can I buy something?"

"Yes, you can," the employee said with her standard smile. "But it requires payment in Spirit Stones. Any Spirit Stone will do."

"Then what can I buy?"

The employee pointed to the jewelry in the display case and said, "One of these items."

Jiang Zuo said no more and looked at the jewelry in the case. The jewelry came in all sorts: a skull ring, an ouroboros ring, a bat-shaped hairpin, and a soft, jet-black, unidentifiable object.

Jiang Zuo merely scanned over these items. He wanted to see what it was that had attracted him earlier.

If something hadn’t attracted him just now, he would never have noticed this place, much less known how special it was.

Then, a leaf appeared before Jiang Zuo’s eyes. The moment he saw it, Jiang Zuo knew what had drawn him in from the start.

’A Ten Thousand Leaves Immortal Spirit?’ Jiang Zuo was inwardly astonished. ’And it even has special hidden Runes on it.’

Fortunately, they couldn’t be hidden from him.

After looking for another moment, Jiang Zuo saw it clearly. This wasn’t a Ten Thousand Leaves Immortal Spirit; it just looked very similar. Even the color was different.

This was a grayish-white leaf. And upon closer inspection, Jiang Zuo discovered it was just a stone shaped like a leaf.

Nevertheless, Jiang Zuo pointed at the leaf and said, "I’d like to buy this. How many Spirit Stones does it cost?"

The female employee smiled. "Any Spirit Stone."

Jiang Zuo then took out a First-Grade Spirit Stone.

As the female employee accepted the Spirit Stone, she spoke again, "The transaction is complete. However, I’m sorry, sir, but you cannot take this leaf with you. It can only leave an imprint on you."

"An imprint?" Jiang Zuo didn’t quite understand what she was getting at.

The female employee nodded. "Yes. The kind that is carved onto your body, in the shape of the leaf."

Jiang Zuo frowned. He had no desire to carve some inexplicable thing onto his body. He then took out an unused Array Stone and asked, "Can you carve it on this instead?"

The female employee paused blankly for a moment, then continued, "You may. But it requires you to leave your aura here, otherwise the imprint will not be effective."

Jiang Zuo didn’t refuse this request. After leaving his own mark on the Array Stone, Jiang Zuo placed the Array Stone in front of the female employee.

The female employee then held the leaf up to the Array Stone.

The imprint of a leaf slowly materialized on the Array Stone. At that moment, Jiang Zuo could also sense the imprint’s existence. He could activate it at any time.

But its function remained unknown.