Jingyue knew, of course, that Su Qi was the source of the problem. She could sense through the mark that it was Su Qi’s own mark that had caused everything.

But she couldn’t ask Su Qi about it. ’I really need to expand the mark’s functions,’ she thought. ’It would be great if we could chat through it.’

Meanwhile, Su Qi was utterly baffled. She had no idea what she had done.

All she’d done, it seemed, was threaten it a few times, and this was the result.

’This probably has nothing to do with me,’ she thought. ’I’m likely just an accidental beneficiary.’

’But given my current string of bad luck, isn’t an accidental windfall a bit too much to believe?’

’How good would my luck have to be to get a Great Fierce Beast of Chaos just by standing here?’

As for Jiang Zuo, he withdrew his hand in surprise. ’Huh? Did it escape? Or was it rescued?’

’If I just had a little more time, I definitely could’ve killed that Chaos.’

’But it doesn’t matter that it escaped. I have no intention of letting its summoner off the hook. I’ll just kill them both later.’

He then waved a hand. The entire altar began to emit a faint glow as lines of light started connecting, instantly transforming it into something resembling a Teleportation Array.

He was going to see exactly who had summoned Chaos. And no matter who it was, they were going to pay the price.

Jiang Zuo was radiating an icy, unrelenting killing intent.

His figure began to fade away. But just as his body was about to vanish completely, he suddenly started flailing in a panic. Then, as if he had seen a ghost, he scrambled off the altar, abruptly cutting off the final teleportation.

After scrambling off the altar, Jiang Zuo’s expression was grim.

He finally let out a sigh. "I was just trying to have a meal. Did you really have to do this?"

Just as he was about to teleport, Jiang Zuo had caught a glimpse of the scene on the other side. There, on the destination altar, he saw Su Qi, who had some minor injuries.

The sight had nearly scared him to death, which was why he had immediately fled the altar.

If he had gone over, he wouldn’t be there to take a life; he’d be there to offer up his own.

Jiang Zuo sighed again. ’How did her face get injured? It has nothing to do with me, right?’

Jiang Zuo didn’t think his long fight with Chaos could have possibly affected Su Qi. He wasn’t taking the blame for this.

But this was another person he was helpless against—even more so than Jiu Xi. She disturbs you when you’re trying to eat, and you don’t even dare go over to argue.

The kind you can’t get away from fast enough.

Jiang Zuo then destroyed the key parts of the altar. Just because he didn’t dare to go over didn’t mean she wouldn’t dare to come over.

If she came over, even kneeling for forgiveness would be useless.

Then, Jiang Zuo felt something was off. He took out the Candidacy Saintess’s Array Stone, and his expression grew even stranger.

’Chaos became a Summoned Beast?’ Yes, he discovered that he could now summon Chaos as well. Although it was only a projection, he could indeed summon it.

Moreover, the summoning method was very strange; it seemed to be a shared Summoning.

’Is this also a technique of the Lord of the Immortal Spirit Mansion? Truly amazing.’ Jiang Zuo was genuinely impressed. He had always been a loner and would never have conceived of such an idea.

Perhaps that was why his way of thinking had such a massive blind spot.

The Lord of the Immortal Spirit Mansion... perhaps he saw things more clearly than either him or that Young Master Qin.

His ideas were far more advanced.

He might not have been able to defeat others in a fight, but he was certainly audacious.

’It seems combat power isn’t everything. That man was truly incredible.’ From the very beginning, Jiang Zuo had admired the Lord of the Immortal Spirit Mansion—for his Innate Chaotic Qi, the Ten Thousand Leaves Immortal Spirit, and now this shared Summoning.

The things he accomplished were not something an ordinary person could ever achieve.

However, Jiang Zuo knew from the mark that Chaos had indeed been subdued by Su Qi.

There was nothing more he could do about it.

******

After Su Qi subdued Chaos, the fluctuations of power in the world vanished. Jingyue and Lan Yue had now arrived in front of the great hall.

As soon as they arrived, Jingyue asked curiously, "Didn’t you say Fellow Daoist Zi Feng was helping keep watch here?"

The corners of Lan Yue’s eyes and mouth twitched incessantly. ’Just as I expected, he ran off again.’

If not for the sudden surge of power that had sent everyone into hiding, they would have certainly run into some trouble.

And to think she had actually trusted her senior brother just now. She was utterly disappointed.

"He left a Guardian Array and went off to have fun by himself," Lan Yue said, a mix of helplessness and anger in her voice.

Jingyue: "..."

’Lan Yue has it rough,’ she suddenly thought. ’Do all these people enjoy being like this?’

’Thankfully, my people don’t have such habits. Not that it would matter if they did—I’m the one in charge. At worst, I would be the one playing tricks on my junior sisters, not the other way around.’

As Lan Yue stepped toward the great hall, the Guardian Array activated. This array could hold off a group of Tier Five experts for some time.

Fighting opponents of the same tier was their specialty.

"If the array is breached, my senior brother should come back. But we can’t count on him. Let’s hurry," Lan Yue said.

Jingyue nodded. "Let’s go. We’re heading in."

Lan Yue was then surprised to see that the oppressive auras from before were actively parting for Jingyue. The mark between Jingyue’s brows was also flashing incessantly.

Lan Yue said with great surprise, "It seems this place truly has a deep connection to the Holy Land."

Then Lan Yue caught herself. "I—I didn’t mean anything special by that."

"It’s fine. This place does indeed have a very special relationship with the Holy Land. It’s no secret. We don’t care if word gets out."

’There really is nothing to worry about. There’s a connection, but no one knows what it is.’

’Because only I know the real secret: this place is the home of the Forbidden Land Maiden of the Holy Land.’

’Technically speaking, this place actually belongs to the Holy Land.’

But Jingyue wasn’t a fool. She would never entertain such a notion.

As long as she got what she came for, that was enough.

The most important thing was information—the memories belonging to the Forbidden Land Maiden.

As for Chaos, that was truly just an accident.

She had no idea how Su Qi had managed it.

After walking inside, Jingyue saw Qing Lian. At that moment, Qing Lian was leaning against a stone stele, shivering uncontrollably.

After she had finished comprehending the stone stele, she found that Su Qi was gone. Then she discovered that without Su Qi, she was completely unable to withstand the aura of this place.

Fortunately, the stele itself was fine, so she had been forced to cling to it for survival.

"Holy Sister, please stop staring and come save me." Seeing Jingyue watching her with a smile, Qing Lian felt extremely embarrassed.

Jingyue walked over with a smile and helped Qing Lian up. Then she asked curiously, "You’re afraid of the aura here too? Then how did you two get in?"

"Senior Sister brought me in. Nothing here has any effect on her," Qing Lian said.

Jingyue nodded. ’It’s either Su Qi’s unique constitution or an issue with that Hairband.’

’But the Hairband is the more likely possibility. It was personally forged by the master of this grotto-mansion and was the Forbidden Land Maiden’s personal Magical Treasure. It must have some unique privileges.’

"Then where is your Senior Sister Jiu Xi?" Jingyue asked.

Qing Lian shook her head. "I was comprehending the inscription on the stele. When I came to, Senior Sister was gone."

Jingyue looked at the stone stele in surprise. There was indeed a lot of information on it. She could see it, but she couldn’t comprehend any of it.

"She didn’t try to comprehend it?" Jingyue asked Qing Lian.

"Senior Sister said she already understood and had memorized it all."

"..."