Chapter 312: Beating Them at Their Own Game

His cultivation was increasing, but Jiang Zuo was thinking about something else entirely.

The Divine Wood Sect wanted to brainwash him and make him one of them.

Jiang Zuo could feign being brainwashed and seize the opportunity to attack. It wouldn’t be difficult to kill all three of them in one fell swoop.

The problem was the aftermath.

The Divine Wood Sect was no small fry. Sect Leader Shenmu was a great cultivator at the Third Realm of Manifestation, seeking to ascend.

There was no way Sect Leader Shenmu wouldn’t know about this.

If he escaped while the three Divine Wood Sect elders died…

Unless he fled the very moment he returned, Sect Leader Shenmu would inevitably come looking for him.

The Sect Leader of Celestial Eye Black Pupil was a pariah hunted by all, so Jiang Zuo hadn’t feared him in the Immortal City.

But if Sect Leader Shenmu decided to come after him, he doubted anyone would be willing to help.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect would certainly be happy to see it happen.

Other great cultivators of the Manifestation Realm might be willing to step in and protect him, but it would certainly come at a price.

Basically, if Jiang Zuo killed the three of them and returned, his only choice would be to flee.

‘What if… I play along?’

An idea sparked in Jiang Zuo’s mind.

If he pretended to be brainwashed and became a member of the Divine Wood Sect, he could avoid a lot of trouble.

More importantly, he would be able to enter and exit the Divine Wood Sect openly!

The Divine Wood Sect had a high-grade Spirit Vein, and Jiang Zuo could set up a grand array to drain it!

When this idea appeared in his mind, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but feel his heart race with excitement.

For all these years, his Puppet Body had been studying the dao of arrays at the Black Tortoise Dao Sect. Every night, Jiang Zuo would synchronize with it, absorbing all the information it had gathered.

Compared to over twenty years ago, his attainments in the dao of arrays had improved considerably.

He should have no problem setting up a grand array to drain a Spirit Vein, even a high-grade one.

If he drained the Divine Wood Sect’s high-grade Spirit Vein, what would it matter if he had to abandon this cover?

And when the time came, with the Divine Wood Sect’s high-grade Spirit Vein gone, he’d like to see where they would find another such supreme Spiritual Land.

The question was how to deceive the people from the Divine Wood Sect.

When these three weren’t paying attention, tricking them for a moment to buy enough time for a sneak attack wouldn’t be a problem.

But to be completely accepted by them would probably not be so easy.

‘Or, I could offer up one of my own Visualization Bodies to be brainwashed and see what happens!’

A plan formed in Jiang Zuo’s mind.

Inside his Visualization World, Jiang Zuo could visualize and manifest anything.

The visualized things could also be thrown into the Sea of Consciousness outside.

It was just that compared to when they were inside the Visualization World, they would become much more fragile.

Jiang Zuo had once tried visualizing himself within the Visualization World, then having the Visualization Body act in his stead.

He himself could then focus wholeheartedly on other things.

But unfortunately, while these Visualization Bodies looked fine inside the Visualization World, they didn’t seem very bright once they left it.

Having a Visualization Body undergo the brainwashing, however, was an experiment worth trying.

Inside the Visualization World, there was a ready-made visualization of himself. Jiang Zuo grabbed it and threw it outside.

Under the impact of the Purifying Body and Soul Spiritual Power, the Visualization Body’s consciousness quickly turned into a blank slate.

Then, information was continuously poured into the Visualization Body.

Outside the array, the three Divine Wood Sect elders, Ge Fangrong and Yan Wenbo, saw Jiang Zuo open his eyes with a vacant look.

“The methods of the Upper Realm are truly extraordinary. A Three Flowers Realm cultivator was brainwashed just like that.”

“The Upper Realm… I really can’t imagine what kind of world it is.”

Yan Wenbo watched and sighed softly.

“Unfortunately, the cost is too great. It can’t be replicated, so it’s nowhere near comparable to Celestial Eye Black Pupil.”

The slender elder shook his head.

“Celestial Eye Black Pupil has always followed a wicked path. We have no need to be like them.”

“This man has a karmic link to us. His becoming a member of our Divine Wood Sect is the fulfillment of that karma.”

“This man’s talent is terrifying. Once the Spiritual Power Infusion is complete, he might be able to go straight to the late stage of the Dao Fruit Realm.”

“Give it time, and our Divine Wood Sect might just have another great cultivator,” Ge Fangrong stated calmly.

Hearing this, Yan Wenbo and the slender elder both nodded in deep agreement, a trace of excitement appearing in their eyes.

Although within the next hundred years, two people in the Divine Wood Sect might be able to break through to the Manifestation Realm…

But if breaking through to the Manifestation Realm were so easy, there wouldn’t be so few great cultivators at that level in the Cultivation Realm.

The Sect Leader would ascend sooner or later. Having one more Manifestation Realm cultivator would be an immense boon for the Divine Wood Sect.

「More than half a day later.」

The three men’s gazes on Jiang Zuo grew surprised and uncertain.

“What’s going on? After being infused with such terrifying Spiritual Power for more than half a day, he should have at least broken through to the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm. Why hasn’t his aura broken through yet?”

Yan Wenbo said in confusion.

“Could there be something wrong with the array? If so, let’s hope it hasn’t messed him up.”

The slender elder frowned.

“The array can’t be wrong. If it were, it wouldn’t have been able to forcefully teleport him here.”

“Or perhaps this person’s Qi Sea is much vaster than we know, and the Spiritual Qi required for a breakthrough is immense,” Ge Fangrong said, shaking his head.

Although the three of them were uncertain, they could only continue to wait and see.

「Some two hours later.」

The three men finally sensed a change in Jiang Zuo’s aura.

His cultivation broke through from the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm to the late stage.

“The array is fine. It seems this man’s Qi Sea is astonishingly vast.”

The three men breathed a sigh of relief, then grew curious about just how vast Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea truly was.