Chapter 601 - 328: You Have the Nerve to See Me Without a Spiritual Source?

Chapter 601: Chapter 328: You Have the Nerve to See Me Without a Spiritual Source?

Jiang Man nodded and asked no further questions.

All these matters had a root cause, one that originated over three hundred years ago. When the great war broke out three centuries prior, powerful cultivators fell, and the concept of Evil Gods first emerged. Their battles devastated the land, leaving the common people in misery. Later, the Immortal Sect was established and evolved Simple Skills so that anyone could practice Immortal Cultivation. Only then did the world gain the shred of stability it enjoyed today.

However, many things had changed.

Once he confirmed it was safe to step onto the altar, Jiang Man leaped up. It was impeccably clean, covered in numerous engraved runes. It resembled an Array, but its level was so profound that Jiang Man couldn’t comprehend it. He copied a portion of the runes and passed them to the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit through the ruined temple.

Then, he reached out to touch the altar, triggering the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books. The pages quickly flipped until they stopped on the final one. This was the crucial moment. Whether he could glean any information depended entirely on whether the book deemed the altar unworthy of mention.

Soon, text began to appear.

[An ancient altar bound by a special being to accumulate and restore power. If you can set it free, it will definitely thank you. This altar is ancient enough and carries destiny, making it worth mentioning.]

Looking at the text, Jiang Man was stunned. What did it mean that the altar would definitely thank him? Did it even have sentience? Furthermore, the book only cared to mention the altar’s gratitude, but wouldn’t the Evil God behind it hold a grudge? Also, why was such a formidable altar only ’worth a mention’ instead of being formally recorded?

Could it be concealing a First Layer?

It was just like an ordinary box containing an Immortal Dao Coordinate; the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books would only offer a passing mention of it.

Afterward, Jiang Man stepped down from the altar and looked at Ren Qian, hesitating to speak.

"Did you find anything, Junior Brother?" Ren Qian asked.

Jiang Man pondered for a moment before replying, "I need to take a nap and see what the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit has to say about it."

With that, Jiang Man sat cross-legged and entered the ruined temple in his mind. The statue of the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit was currently emitting a faint glow. She had explained that this was to signal to other Evil Gods that she had awakened. This way, anyone who knew about the emergence of the Immortal Dao Coordinate would try to contact her. Jiang Man nodded, extremely satisfied with her performance. He silently promised to cast a golden body for her once he became wealthy.

"I’ve looked at the altar you showed me," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit said immediately. "I feel the Array inside is very strange."

"How is it strange?" Jiang Man asked.

"It feels like the current techniques of the Immortal Sect, but integrated with the theories of an Evil God." The Ling Hua Immortal Spirit thought for a long time before continuing, "It just feels incredibly powerful—exceptionally so. Normally, this shouldn’t be possible."

"Are you sure?" Jiang Man asked. He couldn’t be blamed for doubting her; after all, she usually seemed clueless about everything.

"I was suppressed and killed by an Immortal Gate Formation for so many years. I can definitely recognize it," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit answered with certainty.

Jiang Man was taken aback. He had assumed she was highly skilled in Arrays, but it turned out she just had firsthand experience being on the receiving end. He then asked, "Does that mean the one who laid down this rune Array is an Evil God with extraordinary mastery over Arrays?"

"Yes. I didn’t even dare to investigate it too deeply, afraid that the other party might have left a failsafe and would discover me," the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit nodded.

"It’s not that they discovered you; it’s that I discovered them," Jiang Man shook his head. The Evil God Ji Meng had asked him to find might very well be this one. But why were they using Immortal Sect techniques? He then asked, "Did you find anything else?"

"What happens if I didn’t find anything?" the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit fell silent for a moment before replying.

Jiang Man then asked if any other Evil Gods had come looking for her. Unfortunately, none had. He then left the temple, concluding that the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit was truly incompetent.

Jiang Man woke up, and Ren Qian, who was right beside him, immediately asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Yes." Jiang Man nodded. "There’s a problem with this altar. It should be something an Evil God uses to restore their strength. The best solution is to let the altar go."

Ren Qian was stunned and asked in astonishment, "Let it go? How do we do that?"

"Severing the iron chains should do the trick," Jiang Man replied.

He didn’t know the exact details either, as the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books hadn’t specified. It was always like this—only providing a general idea and never going into specifics.

Ren Qian looked at the chains on the altar. They were infused with Evil God Power; breaking them would not be an easy feat. Thinking this, he casually launched an Attack at the chains, only to find that his strike passed right through them.

Jiang Man was also surprised, but he had no intention of intervening. He didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to himself. As for the altar’s gratitude, he’d leave that for the people of the Zhenyue Bureau. He had offended too many Evil Gods already, and the Immortal Ascension Dojo would definitely not be easy to deal with.

Three days later, in early March.

Ren Qian sought him out once again.

"It’s a Heart and Soul Lock Chain," Ren Qian said, looking at Jiang Man. "We need you to step in, Junior Brother."

Before Jiang Man could refuse, Ren Qian added, "Two hundred thousand."

He scoffed inwardly. Offend a Great Evil God for two hundred thousand? Impossible.

"Per chain," Ren Qian supplemented.

Jiang Man paused, then stood up with a solemn expression. "As it happens, I’m also quite curious about the Evil God who engraved the Array on it. If they come looking for trouble, it’ll give me a chance to learn a thing or two about them."

A Heart and Soul Lock Chain might be extremely difficult for others to handle, but to Jiang Man, it was nothing. Ren Qian was well aware of this fact, as the Heart Spirit locks in the sixth Ancient Well Secret Realm hadn’t been able to restrain Jiang Man in the slightest.

That afternoon.

Jiang Man arrived at the altar’s location. Ren Qian informed him that the review was complete, and they could now let the altar leave. Jiang Man didn’t understand why the Sect had made such a hasty decision, but he only cared about earning his Spiritual Sources.

However, the moment Jiang Man touched the iron chain, he felt a Heart Spirit shackle take hold. He then exerted a slight amount of force.

BANG!

The chain shattered. Instantly, one corner of the previously stable altar began to rise. It seemed as though it was genuinely trying to break free and leave. Not daring to hesitate for fear that the opponent’s Evil God Power would manifest, Jiang Man quickly crushed the second and third chains. Just as he was about to crush the fourth, an aura slowly seeped out from the altar, attempting to stop him. However, it was swiftly suppressed by the Sect’s Magical Treasure.

Jiang Man then gave a heavy squeeze.

BANG!

The final chain shattered. The altar paused for a fraction of a second before shooting into the sky like a beam of light, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Man successfully obtained his eight hundred thousand Spiritual Sources. Once again, he exchanged them for Elixirs: fifty Hundred Tempering Pills and one hundred Void-Invoking Autumn Yuan Pills.

Having done this, Jiang Man departed overnight. He didn’t dare to linger, terrified that an Evil God might come seeking revenge. Even though they had released the altar quickly, he had clearly sensed the aura of that Evil God—and it carried a considerable amount of fury.

"Senior Brother, why are we leaving in such a hurry?" Han Meixue asked.

"The sooner we finish the mission, the sooner we return to the Sect," Jiang Man replied.

"You aren’t in a rush to get back to your Dao companion, are you?" Han Meixue teased casually.

Jiang Man nodded. "Yes."

If he didn’t hurry back early, he feared he might never make it back at all.

Han Meixue was taken aback, not expecting such an honest response from him.

As he was leaving, Jiang Man received a report from the Zhenyue Bureau. It stated that the experts dispatched by the Sect had sensed the danger of the altar. An Evil God had indeed intended to use it to recover, and continuing to linger would have likely led to unforeseen complications. Furthermore, since they had discovered the scheme, there was no guarantee the enemy wouldn’t arrive before the Sect’s additional reinforcements could.

This was especially true given that they had detected countermeasure Array Patterns on the altar. Danger would have likely materialized very soon. For safety’s sake, they chose to dismantle it preemptively. The opportunity was exceptionally rare, especially since they just happened to have someone capable of severing the iron chains.

They had already attempted to destroy the altar itself but found it impossible. However, the altar’s design had been successfully copied for future research. In addition, the Sanhe Sect had requested aid, hoping the Sect would send more experts over.

Only then did Jiang Man realize just how dangerous the entire ordeal had been.

After traveling for three days and confirming there was no longer any danger, Jiang Man wrote a letter to Ji Meng.

He primarily mentioned the altar and the Array Patterns, guessing this was the person Ji Meng was looking for. He also included the relevant Array Patterns in passing. It was only a minuscule fraction, ensuring it didn’t compromise the Zhenyue Bureau’s secrets.

---

Wuyun Sect, inside Ji Meng’s room.

A flattened flower rested on the vanity, neatly preserved in a box. At that moment, the Seven-Colored Bird flew in and landed on the windowsill.

"Mr. Jiang has sent a letter," it said softly.

Ji Meng immediately took out the envelope and began to read. At first, her face was filled with joy, but her smile soon faded. Especially when she saw the Array Patterns, she fell silent for a long time.

Finally, she restored her smile and began to write a reply.

---

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