After Jiang Zuo left, the Black-robed Demon Cultivator also left the Nightmare Space.

The Nightmare Space had been his means of escape all along.

It was a truly remarkable Skill.

He had only managed to learn it through a fortuitous encounter.

Even Mo Yan, a specialist in Nightmares, would have no idea when he could ever hope to learn such a technique.

In any case, Nightmare cultivators were all experts at escaping.

When the Black-robed Demon Cultivator and his companion emerged, they were right at the spot where Jiang Zuo had previously vanished.

But by now, Jiang Zuo was long gone.

"Zoning out?" Witch Dan Xue asked, looking at the Black-robed Demon Cultivator.

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator shook his head. "I’m wondering if I should notify Master. Unless they encounter Po Xiao for themselves, they’ll never understand what’s so special about him. You absolutely can’t treat him like a Tier One Cultivator when you face him, or you’ll pay a heavy price."

Witch Dan Xue scoffed. "Why would you tell them? Can’t you have some pride as a Demon Cultivator? What’s wrong with just being a proper Demon Cultivator? Who cares if they suffer for it?

"It’s better if they do. Let them learn that arrogance has a price. Underestimating a Junior Cultivator? That’s just asking to have their faces slapped."

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator had a feeling Witch Dan Xue was talking about herself.

"But if I don’t tell them, I feel like I’ll be missing out on a huge profit."

"...Just save some face for us Demon Cultivators, will you? Stop acting like a shady merchant."

******

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo had already returned home.

He held a pitch-black fruit in his left hand. The chaotic aura of the Nightmare that clung to it was rapidly fading.

Eventually, it became a smooth, pitch-black fruit.

Jiang Zuo then took out Cold Moon.

If he fused the fruit with Cold Moon, there was a high probability that the weapon would develop its own Nightmare Space.

However, fusing them would require forging.

And as for forging...

Jiang Zuo knew how to forge. In fact, his skills were so profound that they defied imagination.

But he refused to forge. He had given up blacksmithing long ago in his previous life.

Forging could drive a person mad, and he was no exception.

Those were dark times he couldn’t bear to recall.

Even the ever-taciturn Jiu Xi had called him a psycho.

It had taken him a long time to break free from its grip back then, which was why he had never considered returning to the forge.

He had no desire to in his past life, and he was even more determined not to touch it in this one.

Because in this life, he had Su Qi.

When he became deranged, he was a terrifying person. He would do anything for the sake of forging.

Although he was confident he could control himself now, he would never personally take up the hammer again unless he had absolutely no other choice.

If he wasn’t going to do it himself, he would have to get someone else to do it for him. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Who could help him with the forging?’

The only Blacksmith Jiang Zuo knew was Chu Qing, though Blade Master Hai Bian knew one as well.

Yet Jiang Zuo was more inclined to choose Chu Qing, perhaps because she, like him, was also prone to becoming unhinged.

However, with Chu Qing’s Tier Two Cultivation, it would be impossible for her to forge Cold Moon.

Even a simple fusion would not be easy to perform on a weapon like Cold Moon.

’Come to think of it,’ Jiang Zuo realized, ’I probably can’t forge it myself either.’

’What a relief. What a relief.’

Jiang Zuo was terrified he might end up forging it in his sleep. It was a genuine sickness.

For the time being, Jiang Zuo couldn’t think of anyone who could help him with the forging, so he could only put the items away for now.

In any case, he couldn’t go anywhere near blacksmithing again.

After that, Jiang Zuo inspected the Heart-Piercing Wood. It was perfectly intact.

With the Heart-Piercing Wood, he now had two of the Five Elements Attributes. His advancement to the Innate Three Qi shouldn’t be far off.

When the time came, he would either form the Three Qi or break through to Tier Two.

Either way, he wouldn’t lose out.

After checking all his items, Jiang Zuo prepared to enter the array for a look. The Holy Land Array was a formidable thing.

With an array like this in place, the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion would surely be discovered if it moved anywhere near.

Moreover, it would certainly leave some clues behind.

Jiang Zuo wanted to see what he might find.

Initially, Jiang Zuo had needed an access point to infiltrate the array, but now that he had left a mark inside, it was no longer necessary.

The array’s foundation was underground. He just had to sense its presence and use his mark to open an entrance.

Soon enough, Jiang Zuo sensed the array and opened an entrance.

But as he looked at the entrance, Jiang Zuo frowned. The gate actually required some form of identity verification.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t get in, but entering would make him easy to detect.

’Waste time cracking it?’

’A bit of a waste.’

Then, Jiang Zuo remembered the leaf-shaped mark. He took out the Array Stone and discovered that the mark on it was resonating with the array.

’As expected. This can be used as a form of identification.’

With that, Jiang Zuo stepped into the array.

The array here was absurdly large, like its own unique space where every Array Pattern was both a meridian and a path.

The intersection of every path was a node.

Typically, one had to start from the nodes to crack an array.

The outer layers of the array weren’t difficult, so for Jiang Zuo, navigating them was like a walk in the park.

He hadn’t been inside for long when he saw them: Holy Land Disciples sat in meditation at each of the nodes within the massive array.

’It seems the Holy Land doesn’t care what the Ghost Cultivators are doing. All they care about is the ritual.’ Now Jiang Zuo understood. The reason the Holy Land had been so inactive was that they had sent all their people here.

Jiang Zuo then used the array to check on the Ghost Cultivators’ positions, and he was surprised to find no large contingent of them.

It wasn’t easy to evade this array’s detection.

In Jiang Zuo’s eyes, the Ghost Cultivators’ abilities were somewhat beyond expectations.

’Looks like not everyone is so useless. This Ghost Cultivator, at least, has some real skill.’

Ignoring the matter of the Ghost Cultivators, Jiang Zuo began searching for traces of the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion.

Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Land, just after Jiang Zuo entered the array, the elegant maiden materialized once more.

"Excellent. I’ve found you, you disgusting little rat."

As she spoke, the maiden began to control the array remotely. She was going to exterminate this rat.

’I should use my limited time to do something... ah, forget it. It’s all meaningless.’

Her primary consciousness could only manifest for short periods around the time of the ritual. Without it, neither the Pure Goodness nor the purely evil aspect could act.

One was an idiot and the other was Zhi Shan; neither could be relied upon.

The instant the maiden took control of the array, Jiang Zuo felt it.

’The array has changed. It’s become a conscious entity, or rather, someone is now driving it.’

’Is it someone from the Holy Land? What do they want?’

Before Jiang Zuo could think any further, he retreated rapidly. A moment later, the space he had just occupied became distorted.

Jiang Zuo let out a cold laugh. ’No need to wonder what they want anymore. They’re targeting me.’

A greatsword soon materialized within the array and slashed directly toward Jiang Zuo.

A cold smile on his face, Jiang Zuo lightly flicked the edge of the blade.

HUMMM~

The blade vibrated intensely, then shattered and disintegrated.

The instant the blade shattered, Jiang Zuo began to analyze the array, trying to find a way to control it himself.

The maiden in the Forbidden Land was stunned. "He blocked it? No, that’s not right—it was completely dismantled. This person’s understanding of arrays is extraordinary. It’s a shame I can’t see what he looks like.

’Oh, well. Revoking his access is more important.’"

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