"The power of love?" Qing Lian sounded skeptical.

Su Qi shook her head. "I don’t know. All I know is that I feel happy whenever I think of my husband."

"Sister, just stop. I think you’re getting dumber," Qing Lian quickly interjected.

Su Qi was speechless.

Qing Lian then began to decipher the meaning on the stone stele, while Su Qi moved to the one beside it. She wanted to see if there was anything else.

The second stone stele also contained cultivation insights, but they seemed completely different from the first.

After just a few glances, Su Qi was surprised to find she had memorized it all again.

’This is really strange. I shouldn’t be able to comprehend this, yet I feel like I can grasp the basics and memorize it all.’ After a moment of thought, Su Qi came to a conclusion.

She might be using a cheat code.

’Still, this probably isn’t a bad thing. I’ll just have my master check me over when I get back.’

Soon, she was at the third stone stele.

Yep, more cultivation insights, and once again, they were completely different.

And again, she memorized them.

Su Qi decided to wipe the stele clean so that Qing Lian could take a look later.

But the moment Su Qi touched the stone stele, the Ye Zi insignia on the back of her hand suddenly glowed.

Then, the Hairband in her hair flashed almost imperceptibly.

And then, Su Qi vanished.

Meanwhile, Qing Lian was lost in a state of enlightenment, even beginning to practice her Cultivation without realizing it.

On an altar deep underground, a flash of light heralded the appearance of a graceful figure.

It was none other than Su Qi, who had just vanished.

Su Qi looked around in astonishment, drawing her sword and warily scanning her surroundings.

"Where am I?" Su Qi couldn’t help but ask aloud.

"This is the central control hub of the underground prison array." The sudden voice made Su Qi jump.

She hadn’t sensed a thing.

When she spun around to look, she found two people standing right behind her.

Their faces were indistinct, but she could tell it was a man and a woman.

"So this is the place trapping the Great Fierce Beast, Chouchou?" the young woman suddenly asked.

The man walked to the center of the altar. "Chouchou?"

If Jingyue had been here, she might have recognized these two. One was the Forbidden Land Maiden, and the other was Young Master Qin.

But Su Qi recognized neither of them.

"Who are you?" Su Qi took a few steps back, her guard up.

However, the pair didn’t spare Su Qi a single glance. The young woman said, "That’s right. Don’t you think it’s ugly, Brother?"

"You’re calling the Fierce Beast Chaos ’Chouchou’?"

"Can’t I?" The young woman sounded playful.

"You can. It’s not like it has any dignity to lose."

At this point, Su Qi realized they weren’t real people, but likely just a recording—an afterimage of the past.

Just like what happened on Liyuan Island.

But Su Qi didn’t understand. Why was she seeing this again?

’Isn’t this something only the Saintess is supposed to be able to see?’

’Or can a Candidacy Saintess see it if the Saintess isn’t around?’

Su Qi couldn’t be sure.

’But now isn’t the time to dwell on that. I should see what these people are up to.’

By now, the two figures had reached the edge of the altar. There was a stone slab there, with three Array Stones set into it.

"What are these for?" the young woman asked.

"Try pressing the first one," the man said.

The young woman reached out and pressed the first Array Stone.

"Huh? A clone?" the young woman said, looking up with curiosity.

The man nodded. "Something like that. Go deal with that clone. There’s a reward."

Then, the vision vanished, leaving Su Qi standing alone on the altar.

She looked up at the ceiling, completely baffled. ’So what exactly did those two see just now?’

’I didn’t see a thing.’

Su Qi walked to the edge of the altar. She looked at the three Array Stones on the slab but had no intention of pressing any of them.

The situation here was unknown. Acting rashly could lead to disaster.

But beyond the altar was nothing but darkness, so she didn’t dare to move recklessly either.

Besides, she had just heard that the Fierce Beast Chaos was here.

With her current Cultivation, encountering a Fierce Beast of that caliber would be a death sentence.

’I can’t die.’

Su Qi hesitated on the altar for a moment before deciding she had to find a way out. If she stayed here, who knew how long she’d be trapped.

She had to get out of here, and fast.

But just as she turned, the ground beneath her feet inexplicably gave way. She pitched forward, completely off-balance and unable to recover.

Huh?

Su Qi was stunned. ’This feeling is so familiar...’

’Did the Misfortune Coin just activate?’

As Su Qi fell, her sword flew out of her grasp and slammed heavily onto the first Array Stone.

This left Su Qi even more dumbfounded. ’Oh no, I’ve really done it now.’

After the first Array Stone was pressed, a powerful surge of energy shot skyward. Su Qi instinctively looked up.

’Okay, now I know what those two were looking up at.’

’It’s over. I’m going to get my sister killed.’

’How could it be such a coincidence? The Misfortune Coin hasn’t acted up in so long. Why now, of all times?’

******

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo was still eating.

Suddenly, the pavilion behind him exploded.

BOOM! The pavilion was blown to smithereens, debris flying everywhere.

A huge section of the roof came crashing down, instantly burying Jiang Zuo and the others.

A moment later, the chunk of roof was blasted apart from within.

Jiang Zuo stared grimly in the direction of the pavilion. He had dropped his meat.

He was going to kill whoever was responsible for this.

’Anyone who disturbs my meal deserves to die.’

Then, Jiang Zuo led Yongxi toward the pavilion. "You all should leave. If you go there, you’ll just be courting death."

The others watched Jiang Zuo, speechless for a long moment, before finally leading their people away in the opposite direction.

No matter how confident they were, the aura that had just erupted was definitely not something a Tier Two or Tier Three cultivator could handle.

But Jiang Zuo was different from them. Everyone understood that.

In truth, Jiang Zuo still felt a sense of crisis, but it wasn’t a fatal one. There was room to maneuver.

"You damn bastard, let me go! I feel like you’re marching to your death. I still need to procreate! I have to spread my seed across the land! I—"

"One more word of nonsense, and I’ll make sure you can’t grow anything for the rest of your life."

Yongxi froze, then finally shut its mouth.

This human was more ferocious than it was.

Soon, Jiang Zuo arrived at the ruins of the pavilion. Only then did he see that there was an altar there.

A powerful energy was surging from the altar, but its flow seemed to be obstructed, as if it were stuck.

This was a situation Jiang Zuo didn’t understand at all.

"Do we really have to go up there? What if we die?" Yongxi was still worried. The power emanating from above filled it with a lingering fear.

It hadn’t fully erupted yet, but it could feel it.

Jiang Zuo said, "Relax. Nothing will happen to me."

Jiang Zuo wouldn’t let anything happen to him. He only did things he was confident he could handle.

He might not be able to defeat everyone, but catching him wasn’t so easy either.

Especially with Yongxi by his side. Below Tier Seven, no one could catch him.

Of course, if Yongxi refused to cooperate, it would be a different story.

After all, his own Cultivation was limited, and his speed wasn’t great enough.