Chapter 330: Setting up an Array, News from the Upper Realm

In the blink of an eye, nearly four more years passed.

“All the Array Materials are refined. Now, all that’s left is to set up the Array.”

Jiang Zuo exhaled in a secret chamber.

After more than ten years of work, he had finally finished refining the Array Materials and Array Flags for the great Spirit Vein extraction array.

‘The problem is how to set up the Array.’

‘Four years have passed, and there are still people secretly watching the area.’

‘I definitely can’t go and set up the Array myself.’

‘Once or twice might be fine, but if I go out too often, it’s bound to arouse suspicion.’

‘Fortunately, I’ve long since prepared for this.’

Jiang Zuo thought to himself.

With a single thought, his Puppet Body, far away in the Black Tortoise Dao Sect, took a step and appeared in his room.

Then, when Lingshan came into the room to tidy up, Jiang Zuo simply activated his Divine Sense, and she instantly fainted.

Jiang Zuo tossed Lingshan into a secret underground chamber he had dug out.

Lingshan would spend the next several years in a comatose state.

For her, however, it would be just like having a pleasant dream.

Except that by the time she woke up, several years would have passed.

Then, the Puppet Body’s face and figure changed, taking on Lingshan’s appearance.

The Puppet Body, now appearing as Lingshan, took over the task of walking the Spirit Beasts.

Over the years, Jiang Zuo had seen everything Lingshan encountered outside through the eyes of his Spirit Beasts.

Therefore, he had no worries about the Puppet Body’s cover being blown while impersonating Lingshan.

The Divine Wood Sect disciples watching Jiang Zuo had no idea that Lingshan had been replaced without them ever noticing.

And though Lingshan was a disciple of the Cyan Simurgh Sect, how could Tantai Feixue, as the Sect Leader, possibly remember the mannerisms of an ordinary disciple?

Her mind these past few years had been entirely focused on her Cultivation.

This courtyard had a high-grade Spirit Vein, so even without dual cultivating with Jiang Zuo, her own Cultivation speed was not slow.

Aside from dual cultivating with Jiang Zuo, she basically spent the rest of her time cultivating alone.

She was also completely unaware that Jiang Zuo had switched Lingshan out.

Jiang Zuo even used the Divine Sense imprint in her Sea of Consciousness to confirm that she had indeed not noticed anything strange.

And so, every few days, while taking the Spirit Beasts for a walk, the Puppet Body would quietly begin to set up the Array.

While the Puppet Body was in action, Jiang Zuo would use his Sight Rune Technique to observe and monitor the entire East Divine Mountain, ensuring nothing went wrong.

Two more years passed.

One day, Ge Fangrong received a message.

His figure flickered, and he arrived at the council hall on the summit of East Divine Mountain.

“Sect Leader, has a message come from the Upper Realm?”

Ge Fangrong asked in a grave voice.

“See for yourself.”

He Daozhen nodded, handing a Jade Tube to Ge Fangrong.

Ge Fangrong probed it with his Divine Sense, a look of shock and uncertainty appearing on his face.

“We’re to build a Divine Soul Descent Array so that a talented disciple Elder Wu took on in the Upper Realm can descend from the Upper Realm and possess Changqing’s body?”

Jiang Zuo had long predicted that someone from the Upper Realm might come to possess his body.

However, he had only reached that conclusion after learning about the methods of those from the Upper Realm.

Ge Fangrong and He Daozhen had never had such experiences.

The news from the Upper Realm left them both somewhat astonished.

“Sect Leader, are we to do as Elder Wu says?”

Ge Fangrong couldn’t help but ask.

Over the years, the Divine Wood Sect had also tried to get Jiang Zuo to teach his Beast Taming methods to their disciples.

However, Jiang Zuo had told them that it was actually his Beast Taming Talent.

He even found some unfamiliar Demon Beasts on the spot to prove it.

After a possession, it was highly likely this talent would no longer be effective.

In Ge Fangrong’s opinion, it would be an immense pity to lose such a powerful Beast Taming Talent just like that.

“Didn’t Elder Wu say it? That brainwashing technique won’t be effective forever.”

“That being the case, having his disciple descend to the Lower Realm to possess Changqing’s body is the best option.”

“Besides, if I were to disobey the Elder from the Upper Realm, how could I possibly face him when I ascend to the Upper Realm in the future?”

He Daozhen shook his head.

These were only part of his reasoning.

Beyond that, he was also very curious to know what the difference was between someone descending from the Upper Realm and the people of the Cultivation Realm.

This knowledge could prove greatly beneficial for his own future ascension to the Upper Realm.

“I understand, Sect Leader. I’ll arrange for our people to set up the Array at once.”

Ge Fangrong no longer objected, nodding and cupping his hands in response.

‘So many people… and judging by their movements, they’re setting up an Array?’

‘They’re setting up an Array on East Divine Mountain, in a location higher than where I’m staying.’

‘I haven’t heard of any major upcoming events for the Divine Wood Sect, so this Array is most likely related to the Upper Realm.’

‘I’m afraid they really are planning to possess my body.’

Thanks to his Sight Rune Technique, Jiang Zuo could perceive the movements of most Cultivators on East Divine Mountain without leaving his residence.

So when so many people began to busily set up an Array, Jiang Zuo noticed it very quickly.

‘If they really are planning to possess me, then my pretense of being brainwashed will be exposed very soon.’

‘It seems I need to pick up the pace and try to finish setting up my Array before they do.’

Relying solely on the Puppet Body to set up the Array was too slow.

Jiang Zuo decided to take a risk by going out himself at night to set up parts of the Array that were closer.

Thanks to his Sight Rune Technique, combined with the Breath Rune Technique and a Concealment Talisman, Jiang Zuo didn’t have to worry too much about being discovered.

However, there were some places he couldn’t easily go to himself, for which he could only rely on the Puppet Body.

The pace of setting up the Array quickened dramatically.

But the Divine Wood Sect’s Divine Soul Descent Array was being set up even faster.

In just over a year, the Array was already complete.

Jiang Zuo observed in secret, so he was aware of their progress.

As a result, he had chosen to take even greater risks.

But in the end, he was still one step behind the Divine Wood Sect.

However, Jiang Zuo came up with a plan.

While dual cultivating with Tantai Feixue, he deliberately made an error in his practice, causing him to spit up blood and suffer a serious injury.

About three days later, Ge Fangrong sent a disciple to summon Jiang Zuo.

Only then did Ge Fangrong learn that Jiang Zuo had been seriously injured during his practice and was recuperating in bed.

“Rest for now, Changqing. I’ll have one of the sect’s physicians come and treat you.”

Ge Fangrong rushed over and confirmed that Jiang Zuo had indeed suffered serious internal injuries.

“Elder Ge, it will take at least half a year of rest for Changqing to recover.”

An elderly physician told Ge Fangrong after a thorough examination.

Upon hearing this, Ge Fangrong was momentarily unsure what to do and could only go find He Daozhen.

“He’s injured? Doesn’t that make the possession easier?”

“If the possession fails, it just means that the disciple Elder Wu accepted from the Upper Realm isn’t all that impressive.”

He Daozhen said, his eyes glinting.

Ge Fangrong was slightly taken aback, then departed, lost in thought.

He vaguely sensed that He Daozhen seemed to hope that Elder Wu’s disciple would possess Changqing while the latter was seriously injured.

Could the Sect Leader be wary of this disciple of Elder Wu’s who was about to descend?

It wasn’t impossible!

Elder Wu had never specified the Cultivation level of this descending disciple.

Perhaps this descending disciple was also at the Manifestation Realm, or even a stage above it.

If so, the Sect Leader might even be usurped.

It wouldn’t be strange for the Sect Leader to keep an ace up his sleeve.

Ge Fangrong had navigated the Cultivation Realm for many years; he had seen countless struggles for power and profit.

He had lost count of how many Cultivators had come to blows to seize the position of Sect Leader.

Backstabbing and fratricide among fellow disciples were not rare occurrences.

Moreover, the Divine Wood Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects on the Human Race’s Ancestral Continent.

However, Ge Fangrong didn’t say much more. He simply returned to Jiang Zuo’s quarters to inform him that he was needed for something and had to come with him.

Jiang Zuo was speechless; he hadn’t expected that even feigning injury would fail to buy him much time.

Still, going over with a heavily injured body was a decent option in itself.

‘If I’m really going to be possessed, then it would be perfectly normal for my heavily injured body to be immobile and unresponsive afterward, right?’

Tantai Feixue watched Jiang Zuo depart with some worry, a vague and unpleasant premonition settling over her.

But since they were on East Divine Mountain and Jiang Zuo himself hadn’t objected, it wasn’t her place to say more.

Ge Fangrong led Jiang Zuo up the mountain and into a large hall.

A massive Array had been set up in the center of the hall.