As Jiang Zuo entered the stele, he heard Su Qi say that being stared at felt awful.
So, the moment he stepped onto the altar, he activated its Seal. He decided to strike first and ask questions later.
Who did this thing think it was, staring at his wife of all people?
But after that first move, Jiang Zuo felt he had acted too late.
Su Qi seemed to be on the verge of an episode, and Sister Jingyue was even more dramatic—it looked like she was struggling for her life.
After his move, however, the Master of Curses was no longer looking at Su Qi. It had turned its gaze to Jiang Zuo.
A violent and boundless aura pressed down on Jiang Zuo.
But Jiang Zuo felt nothing in the face of this aura.
To him, it seemed far too ordinary.
’If an attack carrying such immense power were actually coming his way, he might have been concerned, since he was currently weak. But a mere aura was just an empty threat—utterly useless against him.’
Just then, Jiang Zuo heard Su Qi’s worried voice cry out, "Sister Jingyue, Sister Jingyue, don’t scare me!"
Jiang Zuo was about to check on Jingyue to reassure Su Qi.
But before he could use the altar to see what was wrong, he and Su Qi heard a gulping sound.
It sounded like something had just been swallowed.
And the sounds of struggle vanished.
"Whew! Good grief, I nearly choked to death," Jingyue’s voice suddenly rang out.
Su Qi, greatly relieved, immediately asked, "Sister Jingyue, what happened to you?"
Jingyue said, "That newcomer’s attack was too sudden. It made the Curse Power get stuck in my throat, and I almost choked. Luckily, I’m blessed with good fortune."
Su Qi added, "The Curse Power wrapped around me too because of him. It seems my Misfortune Coin was triggered early."
"..."
Hearing this, Jiang Zuo felt his face darken.
’What’s that supposed to mean?’
’It’s all my fault?’
’Looks like it’s best to keep quiet. Good thing none of us can see each other. It shouldn’t be a big deal.’
Jiang Zuo remained silent. With the three altars still under his control, he was now directly facing the Master of Curses.
Fortunately, the entity hadn’t woken up, and with the Seal in place, there wouldn’t be any major problems as long as he maintained control.
Then Su Qi would be able to lead her senior and junior sisters out of here safely.
’That would be perfect.’
Jingyue, of course, sensed that Jiang Zuo had taken control of the three altars.
She paused to recover, then said, "Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist (though you almost made me choke to death). May I ask which sect you hail from? I am Jingyue, the Saintess of the Yue Lian Holy Land."
Then, both Jingyue and Su Qi fell silent, waiting for the third person to reply.
But Jiang Zuo had no intention of answering. Even if he could disguise his voice, he wouldn’t.
’Su Qi is freakishly perceptive; it would be bad if she recognized me. In any case, I have the situation under control, so there’s no need to talk to them.’
Jingyue and Su Qi waited for a long time, but no one spoke.
Jingyue was a little baffled. ’What’s with this person?’
’Are they mute?’
Then Jingyue spoke again, "Is it inconvenient for you to speak, fellow Daoist?"
Su Qi, however, said, "Sister Jingyue, what if there is no third person? Is it possible you activated the altar’s Seal by accident?"
Jingyue dismissed the idea. "Impossible. This fellow Daoist must have reasons they can’t speak of. We should just be considerate."
Jiang Zuo was utterly speechless, but he couldn’t speak up to explain.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo continued to control the altars, attempting to seal this place completely.
’It’s a good thing Jingyue and Su Qi are here. Otherwise, I would have had to waste time cracking the three altars myself.’
Moreover, Jingyue seemed to have some authority here; Jiang Zuo didn’t need to break into the altars or anything.
At this rate, he would be able to pacify this place soon.
"Fellow Daoist, it’s actually not a good idea to seal it directly," Jingyue suddenly said.
Jiang Zuo ignored her. ’As if I don’t know whether it’s a good idea or not.’
"Fellow Daoist, I wonder, do you have a Dao companion? Our Holy Land has countless Fairies, a sea of beauties. Are you interested? Our Candidacy Saintesses aren’t bad either. The youngest one is practically a loli. Do you have that kind of... preference, fellow Daoist?" Jingyue spoke again.
Jiang Zuo turned a deaf ear to Jingyue’s words.
Hearing Jingyue, Su Qi could barely stand it. ’Besides, how is my sister so sure this person is a man?’
’What if it’s a woman?’
’And she’s even trying to sell off Xiaoxiao?’
’Isn’t that going too far?’
Jingyue, however, frowned to herself. The person was completely unmoved by her words.
’Cultivation level unknown, gender unknown. Remarkable skill with Arrays and Seals. Strong sense of purpose, resolute mind. Doesn’t seem to bear us any great ill will. Because they could have completely drained the Array’s energy, yet our altars are still protected by an ample supply. That means they don’t want anything to happen to us. The probability of them being an enemy is low. But it’s hard to tell for sure.’
Then Jingyue spoke again. "I wonder if you have some past connection with our Holy Land, fellow Daoist? Or perhaps you’re interested in someone from our Holy Land?
"Me, for instance? The Saintess?"
The person gave no reaction, continuing to steadily apply the Seal.
Jingyue tried again, "Well, what about this Fairy Jiu Xi next to us? But she’s protected by a peerless Great Power, so you’d better not get any funny ideas, fellow Daoist."
Jiang Zuo: "..."
’This Sister Jingyue is truly baffling. A peerless Great Power?’
’Who’s that supposed to be?’
At that moment, a slight smile touched the corner of Jingyue’s mouth. ’Heh heh, coincidence or not, you’ve shown a flaw.’
The instant she had mentioned Jiu Xi, there was a faint pause in the altar’s operation. With her authority as the Saintess, she had only barely perceived it.
If she hadn’t been prepared, she might not have sensed it at all.
’But I can’t be sure if it was a coincidence. Still, there’s at least a fifty-fifty chance it’s true. And if it is, then even if this person isn’t here for Jiu Xi, they definitely know her.’
At this, Jingyue subconsciously blurted out, "I wonder, do you already have a Dao companion? They’re from our Holy Land, aren’t they?
"Oh, right, I wonder if you’re a man or a woman? Could you be a Fairy? Any plans to become a Saintess? Though, a Saintess has to be single. Would you consider getting a divorce or something?"
Jiang Zuo: "..."
He felt he’d made a mistake. ’A person like Sister Jingyue should probably be killed off sooner rather than later. She knows too much, and she’s just bizarre.’
Su Qi also realized what was happening—her sister was testing that person. But she hadn’t felt a thing.
’I wonder if my sister found anything out.’
’And why did she have to drag me into it?’
’All I want is to fade away from the Cultivation Realm and live a peaceful life with my husband.’
She felt she needed to give her sister a reminder.
Jiang Zuo was now completely ignoring Jingyue. Besides topics related to Su Qi, nothing else interested him.
No amount of talking would sway him.
By now, Jiang Zuo felt the Seal was nearly complete. However, even if reinforced, this Seal wouldn’t last very long.
It wasn’t the true Seal; the original one seemed to have vanished.
’This must be a part of the grand design of heaven and earth. Under its constraints, the Master of Curses here had absolutely no chance of escaping.’
’But the grand design has been broken. All places affected by it will now begin to crumble, one after another.’