In the end, many people broke free from the darkness.
In other words, if these people could withstand the despair brought on by his Core Formation, then at least nine of them could have successfully reached Core Formation themselves.
And that was only because they were from the Seventh Courtyard, their minds not resolute enough.
If they had been from the First Courtyard, then...
Their success rate would have been no different from anyone else’s.
"How is that possible?" Chen Shi was incredulous.
But that was the reality of it.
’If, if I had t Jiang Man back then... then...’
In the end, he shook his head and his expression returned to normal. "No. There are no ’ifs’. I still need to do what I must."
"They succeeded because they were lucky to et the right person in this era."
"It was the sa for , except I was the one who encountered an Immortal Spirit."
"In essence, there isn’t much difference."
"Since this attempt failed, it doesn’t matter. It was all just to attract attention anyway."
He stopped overthinking and began to heal his wounds.
He needed to be ready for what ca next.
’But that Jiang Man is the key this ti.’
’Perhaps if I destroy him, the Taiyang will fall once more.’
’There are many ways to do it. Maybe it’s ti to try and make contact.’
’And turn him into a proper pawn.’
————
At the edge of the island, Jiang Man let out a sigh of relief.
He was now standing on the ground, not having moved from his spot.
The seawater had already risen to his ankles.
He didn’t know if he had been standing in place for these twenty days or if he had truly entered the Evil God Domain.
After all, his body had been glowing at the end, which ant it really was a world constructed by the Heart Spirit.
But the improvents from the twenty days were real.
He now possessed Late-stage Foundation Establishnt Cultivation, a Physical Body at the Seventh Layer, and a Spirit at the Seventh Layer.
It was just that...
The mont he ca out, he felt a splitting headache, and every inch of his skin seed to be screaming in agony.
Sensing his internal state, he was shocked to discover that the star representing his Spirit was dim and lackluster.
The Gourd representing his Physical Body was covered in cracks.
Even the Gourd representing his Cultivation had nearly shattered.
’It seems that breaking through that dark abyss requires a heavy price.’
And that dark abyss was different from a simple Heart Lock; it required more than just the Heart Spirit.
"That was a true brush with death," he murmured.
He felt that the slightest misstep would have resulted in his permanent death inside.
Or rather, death within that person’s Core Formation.
’No wonder that person failed their breakthrough.’
"How did you break through the abyss?" Qin Yihan asked in shock.
This was completely different from what she had read in the ancient texts.
There had never been any record of sothing like this.
Jiang Man looked at Qin Yihan, who was still lying on the ground, and said calmly, "An unyielding heart, the courage to face death, the boldness to be the first in the world, and... unparalleled Talent."
Qin Yihan was stunned into silence.
’You have all that?’ she seed to question.
Of course, she couldn’t see it.
Ji Yifei, on the other hand, marveled. ’This guy... is a true poser, but he’s also truly capable.’
Jiang Man found a spot to sit down and began to rest.
"Aren’t you going to check if the others have drifted away?" Ji Yifei asked.
Jiang Man turned his head to look at him.
He remained silent.
He certainly wasn’t going to admit that his body was in too much pain to even walk.
He then started a conversation with the other man about Spirit dicine and Arrays.
Seeing that he had many questions, Ji Yifei explained them to him.
Afterward, Jiang Man asked about the Sword Control Technique. Having no experience with it, he naturally needed to learn from soone else’s valuable experience.
Ji Yifei answered him truthfully.
This continued until Mr. Yan arrived via Sword Control.
"Our number one has shattered expectations once again," Mr. Yan said with a smile.
She then used her Sword Control to lift Jiang Man into the air.
As they were leaving Ji Yifei, Jiang Man tossed him a hundred Spiritual Source.
Ji Yifei was puzzled.
Qin Yihan said, "Didn’t you notice? He was using you to learn the whole ti. He’s injured. Breaking through the abyss left him severely wounded."
Hearing this, Ji Yifei was shocked.
"Realize you’ve been played?" Qin Yihan asked.
But Ji Yifei said, "He was severely injured, and he still wanted to learn?"
For a mont, Qin Yihan was stunned.
A cold sweat suddenly broke out on her skin.
’This man...’
——
When Jiang Man saw Zhuo Bufan, he was rolling on the ground and wailing in agony, in an even worse state than himself.
The woman beside him wore a look of utter shock.
’She was probably thinking about how a grown man could howl like that.’
However, Jiang Man soon discovered that Lin Qingshan and the others were screaming even more dramatically.
Zhao Yaoyao, An Rong, and the others had passed out completely.
Only Cao Cheng, the Body Cultivator, was gritting his teeth, his face contorted in pain.
They were all curious as to how Jiang Man seed perfectly fine.
"Just use your Spirit to suppress it," Jiang Man said, looking at the crowd. "Don’t you know how?"
And so, they continued to wail.
Yan Yiqiu, however, asked curiously, "According to Mr. Ji, none of you should be able to move. An ordinary Spirit shouldn’t be able to suppress this kind of pain, right?"
Jiang Man nodded. "That’s why these ordinary people are all wailing."
Yan Yiqiu: "..."
Afterward, everyone was brought back and placed on the island.
Ji Hao looked at the group and said, "Let’s talk about the seven-colored auspicious clouds, which is to say, the Evil God Domain you entered."
"Who do you think this was aid at?"
"It must have been us," Cao Cheng imdiately said.
An Rong nodded. "This thing targeted those of us who stayed up all night, so there must be a spy of theirs on the Central Island."
"Sharp," Ji Hao said with a nod. "Yes, your information was clearly leaked. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that soone entered the Central Island and discovered you were staying up all night."
"So, who do you think was the ultimate target of these seven-colored auspicious clouds?"
"Wasn’t it us?" soone asked.
"It seems so, but for what purpose? What value does a group of Foundation Establishnt cultivators have?" Ji Hao asked, looking at them.
Everyone was confused.
Then Ji Hao continued, "Your value, naturally, is to attract attention. Otherwise, even if you were all destroyed, how much would that help the Evil God?"
"Even trying to recruit you would be too conspicuous."
"Therefore, their real target must be soone in the grand competition."
"Or to create an opportunity for soone—especially for those who slipped through the cracks because of you."
"Because they would have entered the Evil God Domain along with you."
"Sotis the enemy isn’t that smart, but they’re not that stupid either."
"Of course, our job is to question things and then inform the relevant people."
"The rest has nothing to do with us."
"Go back and rest for two days. Then you’ll get to witness the Evil Demons and Outsiders besiege the Central Islands."
"After a few more days of training, it’ll be ti to return to the Sect."
After that, Ji Hao used an extraordinary Giant Swordsmanship to carry everyone away.
He left An Zhirou lying on the small island.
She was silent for a mont.
’These people are truly incomprehensible,’ she thought.
’It would have been so easy, why not take back too?’
’Is it because I didn’t give them any Spiritual Source?’
However, what he said made sense. Whether it was the Evil Demons and Outsiders or the Evil God’s people, to go to such lengths with both an assault and a ’well-type’ Attack...
It couldn’t possibly all be for a group of Foundation Establishnt cultivators, could it?
They clearly had sothing else in mind.
Perhaps it had sothing to do with the Immortal Mansion from the grand competition.
————
「Wuyun Sect.」
In the detention area of the Law Enforcent Hall.
For nearly three months, Huo Bingzhi had been waiting every day, waiting for Jiang Man to fall asleep so he could beco her stepping stone.
She needed to get out of here and resu her normal life.
However, three months had passed, and he hadn’t fallen asleep at all.
This was unacceptable to her.
She had had enough of the darkness and didn’t want to go on like this anymore.
She needed to save herself, to do sothing.
Finally, she went to the entrance of her cell and shouted to the outside, "I want to see the person in charge!"
After she shouted a few tis, soone approached and said, "What is it?"
"I need to see him. I have important information," Huo Bingzhi said.
"What information?" the person asked calmly.
"I know who one of the Evil God’s subordinates is. I want to report them," Huo Bingzhi said.
「Elsewhere.」
Ren Qian, who was helping the Law Enforcent Hall adjudicate an arson case, received a notification.
He was a little surprised. "Send her in."
He then looked at Yu Wanyi before him and said, "Junior Sister, we’ll have to pause your case for a bit. I just so happen to need to interrogate soone about a case related to the Evil God."
Yu Wanyi shook her head. "It’s fine. You can keep locked up. I don’t want to leave."
"It’s not that dangerous outside, really. The person you invested in has been away from the Sect for almost three months. Everyone has more or less forgotten about it," Ren Qian kindly reminded her.
"I’m still not leaving," Yu Wanyi said. She thought it was quite nice here.
"Master Uncle Xiang has no intention of pursuing the matter either. You just need to compensate the Sect for the damages," Ren Qian said.
"I’ll wait a bit longer. I’ll wait for Jiang Man to co back and then see about leaving." Seeing his confusion, Yu Wanyi explained, "Who knows what he’s been up to these past three months? What if he provoked soone from the Inner Sect? What would I do then?"
"I’ll leave once he’s back and I’m sure he hasn’t provoked anyone."
Ren Qian paused, apparently not having considered such a thing.
Logically, they had gone out for training; it was unlikely they would provoke anyone significant.
The Inner Sect and Outer Sect rarely interacted, and this ti, only Cloud Mist Peak had gone out from the Outer Sect.
Soon, Huo Bingzhi was brought over.
She glanced at Yu Wanyi, as if asking if she should be present.
Ren Qian shook his head slightly. "It’s fine. Go ahead and speak."
"I want to report Jiang Man! He’s colluding with the Evil God!" Huo Bingzhi declared loudly.
————
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