"Okay," Jiang Man agreed without hesitation.

Setting up an Array also required purchases, and they were expensive.

He was getting two for free, so of course he’d agree.

Besides, as long as he got out quickly enough, it wouldn’t cost that many Spiritual Sources in rent.

’A great deal.’

After a pause, Jiang Man suddenly asked, "Can I buy on credit?"

"On credit?" Meng Qiewei seemed a little surprised. "Do you do that often?"

Jiang Man shook his head. "I often borrow Spiritual Sources."

Meng Qiewei didn’t hesitate either and nodded. "That’s fine."

Jiang Man was delighted. "Miss Ji, you’re such a good person! I’ll definitely bring you a gift back from the Immortal Mansion."

Meng Qiewei faltered for a moment and didn’t say anything more.

Jiang Man didn’t dwell on it, instead immersing himself in the Array Patterns.

He flipped through the pages at a rapid pace.

Two days later, he opened the third book.

Ten days later, he opened the sixth.

Eighteen days later, he opened the eleventh.

During this time, he ate nothing, paid no attention to the passing of day and night, and was oblivious to whether anyone was around.

He didn’t even consider whether Meng Qiewei might make a move against him.

His entire being was focused on the Array Patterns.

He needed to memorize all of this now and spend a little more time fully understanding it later.

「Late February.」

Qing Dai watched the young master reading, somewhat shocked.

It had been almost twenty days, and the young master hadn’t even glanced at the mistress, his eyes glued to the Array Patterns.

And he was reading so fast.

’Can he really understand any of it?’

She understood the young master’s foundation, so at this speed, she feared he could only be memorizing things superficially.

To actually apply the knowledge, he would need much more time for analysis.

Of course, she would never say anything about how the young master chose to study.

"Mistress, how long is the young master going to keep reading?" Qing Dai asked.

Sipping plain water, Meng Qiewei replied, "Another day or two."

The Immortal Mansion would open at the beginning of March, and Jiang Man still needed to prepare.

Suddenly, a thought struck Meng Qiewei, and she sent Qing Dai to buy a few things.

「The last day of February.」

Nearing midnight.

Jiang Man finally closed the book.

Only then did he look up.

Meng Qiewei wasn’t there.

He glanced around and found her in a pavilion on the other side.

Jiang Man was puzzled. He didn’t remember there being a pavilion there before.

"Awake?" Meng Qiewei said kindly, sipping her water. "Young Master Jiang, you should be aware, it’s the last day of February."

"The Immortal Mansion will open at the stroke of midnight."

Jiang Man froze. He felt like he was out of time.

He hadn’t finished his preparations.

He was still short some thirty-odd Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills.

Not only that, but he also needed to buy a simple Maze Array setup.

And Array Materials.

"Is Young Master Jiang thinking about the things he hasn’t bought yet? I happen to have some right here. Why not buy them from me?" Meng Qiewei took out the items.

As she moved, the bells on her person swayed gently.

The pleasant chime of silver bells rang out.

A smile touched Meng Qiewei’s lips. "Come and have a look, Young Master Jiang."

Jiang Man walked over and saw Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills, Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills, Healing Elixirs, Antitoxic Elixirs, Attack Talismans, and Array Materials.

There were also the rights to the Three Talents Maze Array.

"Forty Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills, the rights to the Three Talents Maze Array, the Healing Elixirs, the Antitoxic Elixirs, and the Array Materials." Jiang Man immediately picked out what he wanted, then asked, "How many Spiritual Sources?"

"Forty Shaoyang Pills at 1,800 each comes to 72,000. Seeing as our relationship isn’t hostile, I’ll give you a discount. A twelve percent discount, for a total of 63,000."

"The rights to the Three Talents Maze Array are five thousand, the Healing and Antitoxic Elixirs are three thousand total, and the Array Materials are one thousand." Meng Qiewei did a quick calculation on her fingers. "Just give me seventy-two thousand, Young Master Jiang."

Jiang Man was silent for a moment. "I’ll take all the remaining Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills you have. And all the Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills, too."

’A twelve percent discount... If I take these back and sell them, I’ll make a killing.’

Meng Qiewei smiled faintly. "No discount on the second purchase."

Jiang Man: "..."

He’d missed his chance to get rich.

In the end, he paid the seventy-two thousand and received everything.

This included the remaining five Array Pattern Books and the Mountain and Sea Array Pattern.

After putting everything away, he realized his time was almost up.

He wanted to go back for a moment, but it was too late.

"Worried about your ox? Don’t be. I’ll go over tomorrow and inform it of your plans," Meng Qiewei said.

Jiang Man nodded instinctively, almost opening his mouth to thank her.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

’Meng Qiewei is going to find Old Huang?’

’Isn’t that a disaster waiting to happen?’

"Miss Ji, you’re too kind. Don’t..." Before Jiang Man could finish, he vanished on the spot.

Midnight had arrived.

The Immortal Mansion opened.

And pulled him inside.

Just then, Qing Dai came out. Seeing the empty courtyard, she asked curiously, "Where is the young master?"

"He entered the Immortal Mansion," Meng Qiewei replied softly.

Qing Dai asked curiously, "Mistress, how did you and the young master get married?"

Meng Qiewei glanced at Qing Dai but didn’t answer.

Qing Dai felt it was a shame. Even now, her mistress still wouldn’t say.

The mistress and the young master seemed to be from two different worlds. Why did they end up getting married?

’Could it be that the mistress was trying to escape her Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart and just picked someone at random?’

’And she ended up finding another Unparalleled Celestial Pride by accident?’

’But how much longer can the young master live?’

The young master’s life was already hard, and now it was even harder.

From what she understood, no one with an Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart ever met a good end.

It was only a matter of time.

But what made her most curious now was her mistress’s true attitude.

It didn’t seem like the mistress would act against him, but it also didn’t seem like she had accepted him.

There was no one to discuss this with.

The people in the clan were too slow to notice, and she didn’t dare say anything.

She didn’t even have anyone to talk it over with.

’I need to find some allies.’

’My mistress’s identity won’t work, but Ji Meng’s will.’

"Tomorrow, I’m going to Jiang Man’s residence," Meng Qiewei said suddenly.

Qing Dai didn’t say anything. After all, it wasn’t a big deal to go see the young master’s home.

"Should I prepare anything?" Qing Dai asked.

Meng Qiewei shook her head. "No need. I’m just going to have a look."

「Inner Sect.」

Old Meng received news that the Immortal Mansion had opened and Jiang Man had already entered.

Now, only an ox remained at his residence.

There was nothing left to stop him.

"Looks like it’s my turn to make a move."

However, he didn’t dare go over openly.

It would bring trouble upon himself.

He needed to do it covertly.

He didn’t trust anyone else to do it.

But going himself was also dangerous.

After a long hesitation, he decided to spend a large sum on a paper effigy.

It would self-combust after completing its task.

That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about being investigated.

After all, any investigation had its priorities.

The aura of an Evil God appearing on an ox.

The ox would be the top priority for investigation, followed by its master.

Only after that would they consider investigating anything further.

A recovering Evil God—that alone was enough to make the Sect take this matter very seriously.

Even if he was number one, he would be restricted and forced to cooperate with the investigation.

Now, it was just a matter of finding the right opportunity.

「Elsewhere.」

After being pulled in by the Array, Jiang Man fell into a thick fog.

He couldn’t tell east from west, nor could he discern anything about his surroundings.

He didn’t know if he had encountered anyone, or if danger was lurking nearby.

He was completely in the dark.

He could only stand in place and silently circulate his True Martial Skill.

He remained vigilant of his surroundings.

The Immortal Mansion was different from other Secret Realms; it held fatal threats.

It was very possible to die the instant one entered.

Although the Sect took measures to avoid such situations, accidents could always happen.

However, right now, Jiang Man wasn’t just worried about his immediate surroundings; he was also worried about the situation outside.

Meng Qiewei said she was going to find Old Huang. They were going to meet. ’When they meet, will their old enmity cause sparks to fly?’

’If they start fighting...’

’One of them will, at most, be sent back.’

’The other will have his identity exposed.’

’The identity of an Evil God is no small matter. I’ll be finished along with him.’

’An Unparalleled Celestial Pride isn’t going to die because of something like this, are they?’

’That would be too pathetic.’

He immediately took out the Jade Token.

After activating it with an Array Pattern, he found that it could still connect to the Sect’s Zhenyue Bureau.

This way, he could find out if Old Huang had been discovered.

’If Old Huang is discovered, I wonder if I can intervene with my status as a Special Inspector.’

Logically, he couldn’t.

Because Old Huang was, after all, an Evil God.

The Immortal Sects would not tolerate it.

And his own Sect would be even less likely to let it slide.

Even Ting Fengyin wouldn’t allow him to collude with an Evil God.

Finally, Jiang Man sighed. "I can only hope Meng Qiewei can hold herself back."

For now, he had to find a safe place and continue studying the Array Patterns.