After reading the first two comments, Jiang Zuo felt a bit of contempt for these people who were clearly goofing off.
He then continued reading the messages that followed.
"Amazing! Fellow Daoist Qian Ling’s craftsmanship is simply divine. He’s vividly captured the essence of the Xuanwu Race. The eyes, in particular, are a stroke of genius that brings the entire statue to life."
"Looking at the statue, you can feel the mockery from the Xuanwu Race."
"A perfect score from me."
"Left by the Sword Saint (a stolen moniker)."
"Three stars. The material is good, and it looks alright. The only drawback is that I can’t haul it away. Minus points for that."
"Left by The Thief (my real name)."
Jiang Zuo couldn’t take it anymore, so he reached out and wrote on the surface:
"One-star, bad review. No explanation."
"Poster #1 is a high-level troll."
"Poster #2 is an idiot."
"Poster #3 is a moron."
"Poster #4 is a thief."
As he was signing his name, Jiang Zuo glanced at Xueyu and asked, "What’s your Daoist name?"
Xueyu was taken aback, then quickly said, "I am Xueyu, a Holy Land Disciple. I was wondering if Fellow Daoist could..."
Before Xueyu could finish, Jiang Zuo lowered his head and continued writing.
Originally, he had planned to use this Candidacy Saintess’s Daoist name, but he felt it was unsuitable. In the end, he wrote down his signature: Jiu Xi (borrowed name).
Afterward, Jiang Zuo stood up, satisfied. He had confirmed that there was nothing of interest in the main hall.
Now it was time to go below the main hall.
But before leaving, Jiang Zuo glanced at Xueyu, then left an aura of the Purification Bead on her.
"This aura will allow you to move slowly, but it’s too weak. You’ll have to crawl out on your own." After saying this, Jiang Zuo left, giving her no further thought.
Xueyu: "..."
’C-Crawl out?’
’I’m a Candidacy Saintess of the Holy Land! And I’m this cute! Yet this man didn’t even spare me a second glance and told me to crawl out.’
’What kind of twisted hobby is this?’
Still, he had given her a chance to live, so she couldn’t exactly badmouth him.
So, a situation like this only highlighted how twisted he truly was.
She was humiliated, yet she had no choice but to thank him.
’He’s practically a demon.’
In the end, Xueyu lowered her head and said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your help."
Jiang Zuo paid her no mind. If he hadn’t known she was a Candidacy Saintess, if she hadn’t introduced herself to him...
...Jiang Zuo would have ignored her completely.
Then, Jiang Zuo vanished from the main hall, while Xueyu struggled to crawl.
At first, she was very curious about what that man had been doing back there, but then she remembered her life was on the line.
Her Holy Sister had told them curiosity killed the cat. Anyone would know which was more important: their life or their curiosity.
So, Xueyu understood the Saintess’s meaning very well. Her life was more important, of course.
Thus, she felt that getting out was the top priority.
"Of course curiosity is more important! Let’s see what this mysterious presence really is." In a pitch-black space, Jingyue stepped into a stone stele.
"Going in alone is practically suicide. There are two other steles... I wonder who will enter them. I’m so excited!" Jingyue was a little thrilled.
There were three stone steles here in total, and their purpose was to suppress the presence in this place. If she chose not to help suppress it, she could probably still leave now—but only she would be able to leave.
However, she didn’t much care if only she could leave.
If she was on her own, she was more interested in seeing what this presence truly was. So, she bet her life that someone else would step into the other two steles.
"Oh dear, if that little complainer comes in, she’ll definitely start nagging me again, won’t she?"
’I wonder if she’ll even show up.’
’This place is truly terrifying. I’m starting to regret this.’ After entering the stele, Jingyue saw an endless expanse of Curse Power.
If not for the mark between her eyebrows pulsing wildly, she likely would have already died here.
Fortunately, the altar beneath her feet was taking effect.
But while she might have felt a flicker of regret, as Jingyue faced the Curse Power, her eyes were exceptionally calm. There was no trace of remorse, much less fear.
Finally, Jingyue smiled faintly. "I have a feeling you’re about to be finished."
Jingyue’s words provoked a roar from the Curse Power, as if she had enraged the presence within it.
’You can lose the fight, but you can’t lose your composure. If a Saintess were to back down in fear, she would lose followers.’
As the Saintess, she was working very hard, you know.
————
Su Qi exited the video message. She waited in place for a while, but found that no one was coming for her.
She looked around and realized there was more than one lake here. So, even if her senior or junior sisters knew she was by a lake, they wouldn’t be able to find her right away.
Without hesitation, Su Qi once again headed toward the area with the most interference.
At first, she had needed to rely on Xiao Xiaomo and the others, but not anymore, because the black smoke was already visible to the naked eye.
"Jiu Xi, I have a vague reading on a moving object heading your way," Xiao Xiaomo said suddenly.
However, Xiao Xiaomo’s voice was already breaking up; the signal was about to cut out.
"The position is XXX.XX." After Xiao Xiaomo reported the coordinates, the signal died completely.
Su Qi put away the sensory device and looked in the direction of the coordinates Xiao Xiaomo had provided.
Before long, Su Qi saw a light. It was clearly far away, yet it felt piercingly bright.
To be safe, Su Qi preemptively cast light-shielding Magic on her eyes.
Soon, the light drew closer. But it was so dazzling that Su Qi couldn’t immediately make out what was inside it.
Soon, a shout came from the direction of the light: "Zhong Yiyang, hold them back! Hold them back!"
"Sister Liu, aren’t you asking the impossible? I only just reached Tier Two. What am I supposed to fight those things with?" Zhong Yiyang shouted.
"Aren’t you a Sword Cultivator? You need me to protect you here? You’re a disgrace to the Sword Cultivation Lineage!" Liu Yiyi yelled.
"Sister Liu, you’re a one-in-a-million Sword Cultivator genius! Use your Sword Intent to wear them down. I’m just small fry."
"Besides, I’m carrying someone on my back! Sister Liu, you should be the one to bring glory to the Sword Cultivation Lineage!" Zhong Yiyang cried out.
It was only then that Su Qi could see who was coming.
She had met Liu Yiyi before, so she immediately called out, "Is that Fairy Liu Yiyi?"
Liu Yiyi and the others were startled. It was so dark here that they couldn’t see if anyone was nearby, and their perception was almost completely suppressed. So, they were very surprised to hear a voice.
"I am Jiu Xi, a disciple of the Holy Land," Su Qi announced her Daoist name.
’Jiu Xi. I’ve seen that name often—the Holy Land Disciple who was in contact with Xiao Xiaomo.’
’No, wait. A Candidacy Saintess.’
’I’ve met her before, too.’
Then, Liu Yiyi said, "So it’s Fairy Jiu Xi. Run! There’s a horde of monsters chasing us from behind!"
By this time, Liu Yiyi had reached Su Qi’s side. Su Qi was unaffected by the Curse Power here, while Liu Yiyi and her companions were only safe because they were supported by Liu Yiyi’s Holy Light.
But as soon as she stepped into the Holy Light, Su Qi froze.
She saw Zhong Yiyang carrying a young woman on his back.
And this young woman was none other than her junior sister, Yiruo.
"Junior Sister Yiruo?" Su Qi exclaimed in shock.
Yiruo was seriously injured and unconscious, which gave Su Qi a fright.
Yiruo was alone, which made Su Qi a little uneasy.
’Did she fall behind, or is she the only one left?’
Liu Yiyi said, "Oh, so she’s from the Holy Land too. We were just passing by and found her being chased until she collapsed from exhaustion, so we saved her."
Su Qi said solemnly, "Thank you both for saving her life. We will remember this."
Zhong Yiyang said, "This isn’t the time for pleasantries. We should run first!"
Su Qi shook her head. "Wait for me. I’ll go take care of those things."
Liu Yiyi: "???"
Zhong Yiyang: "???"
’Did we just run into a powerhouse?’