Su Qi’s fall was bad enough, but the main problem was that the sacrificial Golden Light had been struck.

They had no idea what happened.

Meanwhile, outside, a Space Gate had opened near the Golden Light.

A massive hand stretched out from the Space Gate. It had accidentally brushed against the Golden Light, causing the sacrificial light to tremble.

The moment the massive hand appeared, the people of the Holy Land let out another collective sigh.

This year was truly one disaster after another.

The presence emanating from the hand was exceptionally powerful. The old woman arrived just then, taking her position atop the Golden Light.

She needed to stall for some time.

However, the hand paid them no mind, reaching directly for the ground below. Its target wasn’t the physical earth, but the spatial dimension beneath it.

The very space where the Immortal Spirit Spring was located.

’He had initially locked onto the location below, but he had no idea what happened. The coordinates had been weakened, causing him to open the gate in the wrong place.’

’But as soon as the Space Gate opened, he sensed a trace of the original coordinates’ aura. He figured he could try again.’

’Of course, this was the Holy Land. He only had one chance, and the faster he acted, the better.’

’He had witnessed the Holy Land’s terrifying power before.’

’The Holy Land’s hidden power was arguably the greatest of all the Sects.’

’Most people were simply unaware of it. His own encounter with it in his youth, for instance, had been an absolute nightmare.’

’That was why he had sent others first; he had multiple objectives. At the very least, those Ghost Cultivators had accomplished one of them.’

’They had located the Evolutionary Spring.’

’Once he obtained it, he could achieve another breakthrough.’

’He had paid an immense price to give those Ghost Cultivators this chance. It was a shame there’d been a small mishap, but it wasn’t a major issue.’

’He was very close.’

So, as soon as his hand emerged, he hastily tried to reach that location again.

But without a line of sight, he’d blundered into something.

’But that was no obstacle. He still had time.’

Then, he tore through space, heading directly for the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion.

’With his current power, it was possible.’

’He was extremely confident.’

The old woman from the Holy Land watched the hand’s trajectory but did nothing. As long as it didn’t threaten the sacrificial Golden Light, it was fine.

’She would just wait patiently. As long as the opponent posed a great enough threat, *they* would appear.’

However, the old woman was mistaken. The Holy Land’s hidden powers didn’t stir at all.

For in the instant the hand tore through space, intending to enter...

A flash of sword light shook heaven and earth, its vast Sword Qi looking down upon the world in disdain.

Even the momentum of the world itself could not compare to it.

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" A wretched scream instantly erupted from the Space Gate.

******

And now, Jiang Zuo finally saw it—a tiny fissure being torn open in the fabric of space.

But the instant the fissure appeared, the Immortal Spirit Sword within the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion struck. The invading hand shattered, layer by layer, turning to dust and smoke in a flash.

’Jiang Zuo had more or less expected this outcome.’

’The only thing he hadn’t been sure of was whether the intruder could actually tear open a hole.’

There wasn’t a hole, but a fissure was enough.

This was his sliver of hope. If he could seize it, he could get out.

Putting away Su Qi’s Protective Treasure, Jiang Zuo moved.

In that instant, countless Heart-piercing Snakes formed a colossal Array. The Array began to operate, powered by the very life force of the snakes.

The Grand Array was immense, its sole purpose to prop open that slender fissure long enough for Jiang Zuo to escape.

The power that erupted from the Array was vast and majestic, instantly slamming against the fissure. Then, another Array materialized beneath Jiang Zuo.

This Array transformed Jiang Zuo into a beam of light, shooting him forward.

As long as he passed through that fissure, as long as he made it, he would escape the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion.

What worried Jiang Zuo now was whether the Immortal Spirit Sword would attack him.

’Theoretically, since I’m not an official Inheritor, my exit shouldn’t be restricted. I’m not taking anything valuable with me.’

’Take Blade Master Hai Bian, for example. He can come and go as he pleases because it’s not a mandatory inheritance, and he doesn’t take any valuables.’

’So-called "valuables" referred to things like the Immortal Spirit Spring.’

’There were only a few of those in the entire Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion.’

As Jiang Zuo made his move, the ground began to tremble. A momentary breach appeared in the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion’s Defense.

En route, the Immortal Spirit Sword didn’t attack him. At this, Jiang Zuo breathed a sigh of relief.

’As long as the Immortal Spirit Sword doesn’t attack, I can definitely get out of here.’

But just as Jiang Zuo heaved a sigh of relief, on the verge of escape, a beam of Golden Light descended.

The sheer ferocity of the light caught Jiang Zuo completely off guard.

BOOM!!!

The light carrying Jiang Zuo collided with the Golden Light. Though he wasn’t forced back, his incredible speed vanished.

’What did losing my speed mean?’

’It meant I probably couldn’t get out!’

"Son of a bitch!"

This was the first time Jiang Zuo had cursed since his rebirth.

’Don’t let me find out who’s behind this light. If I do, I’ll show them just how cruel this world can be.’

Of course, Jiang Zuo didn’t have time to dwell on it. Any more hesitation and he really wouldn’t be able to get out.

He waved the Heart-Piercing Wood, commanding a portion of the Array to provide him with more thrust. If he could just overpower the Golden Light, he could get out.

With the aid of the numerous arrays, Jiang Zuo quickly forced the Golden Light back.

But just as Jiang Zuo was halfway through the fissure, the Golden Light intensified once more.

This slowed Jiang Zuo down again. The fissure was already on the verge of collapsing. Any longer and he would die.

Blood was already starting to seep from his body; the process was fatal.

Jiang Zuo wanted nothing more than to find the person responsible for the Golden Light and kill them.

Jiang Zuo’s expression turned cold. He began to alter the Runes on the Heart-Piercing Wood.

In response, countless Heart-piercing Snakes began to stir, and the boundless radiance of the Array illuminated the Sunset Grassland.

The entire Immortal Spirit Spring began to boil over.

Jiang Zuo whispered, "Then... let the eruption begin."

The light from the Array flared brilliantly as the Immortal Spirit Spring spewed forth an endless torrent of water.

The Immortal Spirit Spring began to erupt.

At that moment, the Golden Light finally ignored him. Jiang Zuo seized the opportunity to escape the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion.

What Jiang Zuo didn’t notice was that a good amount of the spring water had surged into his ring.

「Outside the Holy Land.」

The Space Gate had completely closed after the hand was shattered.

The brevity of the intruder’s appearance left everyone stunned.

He was clearly a powerful Cultivator, yet he was gone without so much as showing his face.

This just went to show that no matter how high your Cultivation, you’ll still get wrecked if you make the wrong entrance.

After the unknown, powerful Cultivator was repelled, the wall of sacrificial light expanded to envelop that area as well. Then came the endless clash of Golden Lights.

The Holy Land Saintess was bleeding from all seven orifices, but even that couldn’t make the other side give up.

But what happened next was something no one in the Holy Land could have ever imagined.

PSH~

A pillar of crystal-clear water erupted from the ground.

The moment they saw the pillar of water, Jingyue and the others froze. They were all too familiar with this sight; it was a spectacle they witnessed once every two years.

Although the timing wasn’t the same each time, the variation was never too great.

Besides, their calculations were never wrong. Or rather, they had *never* been wrong before.

But today, they discovered they were wrong. The Immortal Spirit Spring had erupted ahead of schedule.

And it was far too early.

Sure enough, something was not right with the Holy Land this year.