As it was about to continue grazing, it suddenly saw a paper person appear at its feet.

The figure crushed a ball of mist.

The moment it sensed the mist, the Old Yellow Ox heaved a heavy sigh.

When it rains, it pours.

’This is trouble now.’

’And for this to happen now of all times... If it hadn’t witnessed how powerful Meng Qiewei was, it would’ve suspected her of making a move in the shadows.’

————

「In the Law Enforcement Hall prison.」

Yu Wanyi asked in astonishment, "Senior Sister Xia, you’re not joking, are you?"

"I’m not," Xia Jin said with a nod. "Jiang Man has indeed gotten very close with a girl named Ji Meng, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. It’s said they come from some prominent family.

"Five young ladies came in total, and all of them are exceedingly powerful.

"And they’re exceptionally young.

"It seems some master or another took a shine to Jiang Man and introduced him to this Ji Meng."

"So he got an introduction and just like that, they’re close?" Yu Wanyi was very concerned about this.

After all, didn’t Jiang Man get to where he was today all thanks to his partner?

How could he do something so unwise as to get close to another woman?

She had warned him over and over, worried that their relationship would run into problems.

’So a problem has occurred now?’

"He’s supposedly learning about arrays from her. For the past twenty-some days, he’s been at Ji Meng’s residence," Xia Jin said.

Yu Wanyi asked, perplexed, "Could it be that this Ji Meng gave him some Spiritual Source?"

But she quickly decided that was unlikely.

This kind of "studying" could easily be misunderstood.

Based on Jiang Man’s past behavior, he wouldn’t act like this for just a little Spiritual Source.

Unless she gave him a lot.

’But how much Spiritual Source could possibly make him betray his partner?’

’She couldn’t imagine.’

’Unless...’

’Jiang Man had been bewitched.’

At that moment, Yu Wanyi felt she had to get out and see for herself. She needed to personally meet this Ji Meng.

’If something is wrong, I have to make Jiang Man come to his senses.’

"Could it be that Jiang Man doesn’t have a partner at all?" Xia Jin ventured with a sigh.

She truly had no way of being sure about any of this.

"He definitely does. Did he enter the Immortal Mansion?" Yu Wanyi asked.

Xia Jin nodded.

"That’s good. It means I’m much safer. Once he’s out, I probably won’t have to hide here anymore. Since he’s dealt with the responsible parties, no one will care about an outsider like me." Yu Wanyi felt that life was full of hope again.

Still, she did need to leave for a while to go and meet this Ji Meng.

’Of course, I can’t be reckless about it.’

’I’ll have to visit her carefully, probe her discreetly, and ask around.’

’Her origins are a mystery; it would be all too easy to bring trouble to my master.’

’So, I must be cautious.’

With this in mind, Yu Wanyi decided to leave the prison cell for now.

Just as she was about to leave, however, Ren Qian found her. "Junior Sister Yu, something has happened in the Outer Sect.

"You can’t leave."

At his words, Yu Wanyi was stunned. "I can’t go out?"

"That’s right. Not for now. Junior Sister Yu, you’ll have to wait here for a while. We don’t know how long it will take for this matter to be resolved." Ren Qian hesitated for a moment, then continued, "And we also don’t know *how* it will be resolved."

"Is it a big deal?" Yu Wanyi was shocked. Then she asked, "Is it related to Jiang Man?"

’Something in the Outer Sect that’s restricting my freedom.’

’It has to be Jiang Man.’

Ren Qian nodded.

But he said no more and quickly left.

Yu Wanyi immediately looked at Xia Jin.

"I’ll go ask around right now," Xia Jin said immediately.

She never imagined that something so major could be happening in the Outer Sect.

But it was hard to say what, exactly, it was.

’What could possibly be considered a major incident?’

’Did something happen to Jiang Man?’

’Unlikely.’

’After all, he’s in the Immortal Mansion.’

————

Jiang Man had been cultivating nonstop within the array.

From morning to night, he didn’t dare to slack off in the slightest.

Fortunately, after reaching the Golden Core realm, eating was no longer a necessity.

Going for long periods without food wasn’t a major issue.

The Spiritual Qi in his body could sustain him for a good while.

Of course, to maintain peak condition, he still had to take a Qi Blood Pill every two or three days.

Otherwise, even with his Golden Core operating automatically, he would still get hungry.

His condition wouldn’t be optimal.

After a day, Jiang Man noticed the Spiritual Qi within the array had grown denser.

He didn’t know why.

「Three days later.」

Jiang Man discovered a sapling had sprouted from the ground, and it was growing quickly.

By this point, Jiang Man had already finished reading one book.

The other two people had indeed recovered quite a few materials. After they took a moment to expand the Maze Array, Jiang Man went back to his reading.

「On the tenth day.」

「Evening.」

Jiang Man closed his book.

Then he closed his eyes.

Countless Array Patterns materialized in his mind, a chaotic jumble of them spinning rapidly.

Finally, they began to grow orderly, settling into place in the depths of his mind.

They became like an instinctual language he could call upon at will.

He understood the general purpose of each.

By the time he finished all this, it was already the eleventh day.

Jiang Man let out a heavy sigh of relief.

’I’ve learned it.’

By now, with the help of the other two, the Maze Array had expanded to three times its original size.

It had gone from three zhang to nine.

Meanwhile, the sapling had grown to shoulder height.

If this continued, he didn’t know how tall it would grow.

Spiritual Qi continuously materialized within the array, only to be absorbed by the tree.

The larger the array, the more Spiritual Qi it produced, and the more Spiritual Qi there was, the faster the tree grew.

He knew without even looking that this tree was the key to the Secret Realm.

’But could it be that simple?’

’If so, why would those two be so at ease, letting him stay inside the array all this time?’

’There had to be other, unknown changes in store.’

However, he hadn’t seen a third person approach the entire time. He didn’t know if it was because there was no one else nearby, or if the other two had stopped them.

Jiang Man didn’t dwell on it.

He wanted to open the first layer of the box first.

The requirements for the first layer were to be at the Early Stage of Golden Core and to have learned the sixteen basic texts on array patterns.

After that, Jiang Man focused his Heart Spirit on his Dantian.

There, he saw a box.

A vast number of Array Patterns were arranged on its surface.

These patterns were incorrectly arranged; to open the first layer, he needed to put them in the correct sequence.

Jiang Man gave it a brief glance, contemplated for a moment, then began his work.

「The time it takes for an incense stick to burn later.」

When Jiang Man placed the final Array Pattern, all the patterns on the box began to glow intensely.

And then...

CRACK!

The box opened.

The first layer was revealed.

Three elixirs came into view.

A Flawless Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pill, a Flawless Chao Yuan Glaze Pill, and a Flawless Chao Yuan Dingshen Pill.

They were for enhancing one’s cultivation, physical body, and spirit, respectively.

"Score," Jiang Man exclaimed with feeling.

’Three elixirs, and this is just the first layer.’

’There are still two more layers. The items inside must be even more valuable.’

’Before, there was only one item. This time, there are three.’

’No wonder those two are holding on so tight.’

’The loot is better this time.’

However, there was a huge problem.

He needed to continue his studies with the Twenty-One Introductory Books.

The bigger problem now was, where was he supposed to find the Twenty-One Introductory Books on array patterns?

What if this Immortal Mansion remained open for a year?

Instantly, Jiang Man had a bad feeling about the situation.

For now, he could only focus on improving his cultivation.

With the Flawless Shaoyang Pill, he could basically fill up his Gourd.

He would only need to take a new elixir when it was time for the final breakthrough.

It was equivalent to earning tens of thousands of Spiritual Source.

But before improving his cultivation, he checked his Zhenyue Bureau Token again.

He hadn’t found anything of note before.

This time, however, he saw a new report.

He froze as he read it.

’Old Huang’s been captured?’

The report stated that the aura of an Evil God had been detected on Outer Sect Cloud Mist Peak.

The aura came from his residence, originating from the Old Yellow Ox.

The Old Yellow Ox was immediately restrained and taken away.

After a three-day investigation, the Evil God’s aura was found to have vanished.

However, it was impossible to determine if the aura had been suppressed or if it was gone for some other reason.

A more in-depth investigation was required.

The problem now was that this Old Yellow Ox was raised by the number one disciple of the Outer Sect.

The question was whether he should be apprehended as well.

The gist of the report was that the number one disciple of the Outer Sect was suspected of colluding with an Evil God, and a direct order was needed from the higher-ups.

They needed an order to determine the course of action.

The alternative was to wait for someone more senior to conduct an in-depth investigation.

They needed to see if this Old Yellow Ox was actually an Evil God.

Or if it was connected to one.

Furthermore, a report had been received about the ox’s suspicious origins: in a desolate village where people couldn’t even get enough to eat, why would there be an ox?

Not only that, but since Jiang Man had already joined the Sect, why hadn’t he returned the ox to the village to help with the farm work?

There were too many suspicious details.

They couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Old Yellow Ox was an injured Evil God, not yet recovered, who had created numerous opportunities for Jiang Man to help him become a peerless prodigy.

All in order to eventually restore its own power as an Evil God.

Reading all this, Jiang Man felt that they had figured Old Huang out completely.

They weren’t off by a single detail.

"I’m screwed!"