The Forbidden Land Maiden’s control over the Array deepened, and she began to relentlessly attack Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo, meanwhile, kept retreating, dismantling her attacks one after another. He didn’t evade them. Instead, he broke through each one at the very moment of impact.

He couldn’t control the Array, but dismantling its outer layers was child’s play for him.

The only thing that required caution was his opponent’s control. An Array that he could normally dismantle with ease became far more unpredictable under her command.

Jiang Zuo could tell that he was up against a supreme master of Arrays.

As their contest raged on, the scale of the Arrays they wielded grew, and the resulting fluctuations intensified.

At last, the old fossils of the Holy Land took notice.

A noblewoman cried out, "What’s happening? Why are the fluctuations so powerful?"

An ordinary-looking woman in charge of that sector immediately replied, "I don’t know. The Forbidden Land has revoked access to that area."

The noblewoman sighed. "Try to get information from another source first. I’ll send a Holy Land Disciple over to take a look."

The ordinary woman said, "I’ll notify Yue Xi and the Saintess and have them go to the Forbidden Land to investigate."

Soon, the ordinary woman relayed a new message. "Word from the Saintess is that the Forbidden Land is clashing with someone."

The noblewoman asked, "And the situation?"

"They’re evenly matched."

The noblewoman frowned. ’Evenly matched? How is that possible?’

She knew just how powerful the Holy Land’s Array was. The fact that it was being controlled from within the Forbidden Land made it even more formidable.

"Could it be a Ghost Cultivator?" the ordinary woman asked.

The noblewoman shook her head. She didn’t know, but she knew that if it was a Ghost Cultivator, the upcoming ritual would be in jeopardy.

This opponent’s abilities were far greater than they had anticipated.

At this moment, Jiang Zuo was growing rather exasperated with the one piloting the Array. He had just finished analyzing it and tried to launch an attack, only to find his opponent was immune to the Array’s offensive abilities.

It was a built-in feature of the Array.

Thus, Jiang Zuo was left with nothing but Defense.

"I mean no harm. I just want to borrow the Array to look for something," Jiang Zuo said, forced to speak after nullifying another of her attacks.

If she was open to communication, things would be much simpler.

Jiang Zuo soon received a reply—not a voice, but a thought projected into his mind: "You filthy rat dropping! Disgusting, disgusting!"

Jiang Zuo: "..."

Subsequently, her attacks grew fiercer and more frequent, reaching a fever pitch of madness. If not for the nature of the Array, Jiang Zuo felt he would have been killed.

Such powerful fluctuations naturally terrified the people of the Holy Land. It was too much. They would be brought to their knees if they faced such power.

Just what kind of entity was this opponent?

It left them unable to relax.

Jiang Zuo, however, let out a soft sigh. He knew he couldn’t stay here any longer.

Opening a gateway in the Array, Jiang Zuo turned to leave.

"Rat dropping, don’t you run!"

As the thought appeared, Jiang Zuo saw the gateway in the Array begin to close.

But when Jiang Zuo decided to leave, no one could stop him. The gateway was forced open once more, and he stepped through without any trouble.

The Forbidden Land Maiden: "..."

’He escaped. The rat dropping escaped.’

The maiden then dissolved, and Zhi Shan was once again lying prone on the water’s surface, her spirits exceptionally low. This time, it wasn’t just like she had eaten filth; it was as if she had battled filth for three hundred rounds. The feeling of being covered in it made her want to die.

Jingyue exclaimed from the side, "Wow, was that beautiful girl just now the main consciousness? She’s so pretty! Was she born that way?"

Pure Goodness, a clear reflection in the water, replied, "...The main consciousness suddenly feels that you, just like Yue Xi, ought to be shoved under the water."

Yue Xi, standing to one side, asked, "Who was that? The Candidacy Saintess?"

Pure Goodness nodded. "It was him. The disgusting rat dropping."

Jingyue was stunned. "The male Candidacy Saintess Master mentioned? He’s not from the Holy Land, is he?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

If he were from the Holy Land, it would have been reported long ago. While the men of the Holy Land were all handsome, for one of them to be able to contend with the Forbidden Land from within the Array was just too unbelievable.

Pure Goodness said, "Mm, his aura is that of an outsider."

Yue Xi asked, "Can you share his aura with us? Or with the Saintess?"

Pure Goodness shook her head. "I can’t. You can tell just by looking at my current state. What we perceive as an ’aura’ is a completely different concept from what you do."

The existence of the Forbidden Lake was special, beyond the explanation of common logic. Though they both used the word "aura," the two things were completely different.

It’s like how a dung beetle’s idea of a tasty meal and a human’s idea of a tasty meal are not even in the same category.

Therefore, if you tried to convey a dung beetle’s "fragrance" to a human, even if their senses perceived it identically, the human could never trace it back to its source.

It would be impossible.

Then, Yue Xi asked the question that most concerned the Holy Land. "Could it be a Ghost Cultivator?"

"Definitely not."

Yue Xi breathed a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness,’ she thought.

Pure Goodness then added, "The main consciousness understood something after fighting him. The Holy Land had best not make an enemy of this man. Intuitively, he is terrifying to the extreme."

’Even though it was only the outer Array, how many people in this world could dismantle it so easily?’

’Even back in her era, an age teeming with experts, there were few who could have confronted her with such pure deconstruction techniques.’

Yue Xi nodded. "Understood. We will find him and have him return the identity token. The Holy Land is prepared to buy it back, no matter the cost."

The Holy Land existed for the sake of the Forbidden Land.

******

Jiang Zuo had already retreated to his room. He didn’t get the chance to search for traces of the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion, but he did make an unexpected discovery: a powerful entity within the Array.

This was not good news for Jiang Zuo.

It would prevent him from using the Array to investigate certain matters, and that Array was incredibly useful.

Unfortunately, he had no way of dealing with that entity, not unless he could completely dismantle the entire Holy Land Grand Array.

But that was something he simply couldn’t accomplish in a short period.

’Looks like my only option is to go back in next time and see if we can communicate.’

However, there was one thing Jiang Zuo couldn’t figure out. In his previous life, when he had come to the Holy Land, he hadn’t encountered such a unique entity within the Array.

Theoretically, an existence like that couldn’t just disappear.

Though he didn’t have enough data, Jiang Zuo understood that the entity was even more important than the Array itself.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Zuo shook his head and stopped. ’It’s useless to dwell on such a blind spot. It would be too difficult to verify anything.’

******

At that moment, back at his home, Gu Jiansheng was welcoming the disciple from the Spiritual Control Sect.

The man possessed a Six-tailed companion, so he must be very knowledgeable about Spirit Foxes. It shouldn’t be a problem.

Gu Jiansheng told himself, trying to stay calm.

He didn’t know why, but after Jiang Zuo had left, he felt a persistent sense of unease. Or rather, this new "doctor" made him feel uneasy.

Then Gu Jiansheng understood. It was a matter of temperament and personality.

Jiang Zuo was calm and detached, and as arrogant as a fool. It was annoying, but his methods were surprisingly swift and decisive.

This new arrival, however... was somewhat ordinary.

Gu Jiansheng shook his head.

He told himself not to overthink it. ’Ordinary doesn’t necessarily mean incapable. Sometimes, the ordinary are the most competent.’

Gu Jiansheng sighed, realizing he was nervous.

Xiaoli growing her Four-tailed form was causing problems. This was different from before. In the past, she would just run off to play hide-and-seek, but she would always come back.

But this time, if something went wrong....

Just then, Gu Jiansheng felt something pat his chest a few times. He looked down and saw it was Xiaoli.

Xiaoli looked up at him and let out a soft, "Meow."

Gu Jiansheng: "..."

’You’re not a cat.’