Chapter 66

Those who reach Grandmaster rank are considered second-rate; those who achieve Innate status belong to the third rate.

Anything below that is swept entirely into the category of unranked.

As for the Demigod realm, that constitutes a martial arts holy land capable of standing on equal footing with an imperial dynasty.

In other words, this Illusion Array may once have caused five super-first-rate powers to fall from grace!

Yet the instigator, Wu Wu Ya Zi, was merely a Grandmaster.

And a crippled Grandmaster at that.

No matter how one thinks about it, the situation seems incredible.

Could his mastery of arrays truly have reached such a terrifying level?

Seeing Jiang Sishui's shocked expression, Wu Wu Ya Zi seemed to know what he was thinking and explained, "Although your master is proficient in the Dao of arrays, at best I can only construct a trapping array capable of troubling a Grandmaster."

"Then why?"

"Because your master possesses a treasure."

"A treasure?"

"Yes, a treasure, an extraordinarily remarkable treasure."

Wu Wu Ya Zi's face filled with nostalgia as he reminisced, "Years ago, when Suxinghe brought me to this Leigu Mountain, I discovered it while suffering a fate worse than death."

"It is a broken weapon, yet it possesses infinite might, as if containing all the wisdom in the world."

"After spending five years, I comprehended from it a spirit-blocking array technique called 'Severing Heaven and Cutting Off Man'."

"'Severing Heaven and Cutting Off Man,' as the name implies, means that anyone entering the array can no longer achieve unity between heaven and man, nor can they absorb even a speck of spiritual energy from heaven and earth."

"After another five years, I seemed to gain its preliminary recognition and attempted to communicate with it. It appeared to sense my intent, thus releasing a surge of power."

"This was a bewildering mental force; merging with the original trapping array and the spirit-blocking great array, the three combined to form this 'Zhenlong Illusion Array' that causes even heavenly beings to crash and sink!"

Jiang Sishui's heart trembled, followed by a sense of relief.

No wonder the 'Zhenlong Illusion Array' was so terrifying; it turned out such a horrifying object was hidden within it.

Perhaps the world had still underestimated this illusion array.

And now Wu Wu Ya Zi was telling him all this; could it be that...

Indeed, Wu Wu Ya Zi gasped heavily and said, "Your master leaves this treasure to you."

"However, obtaining it does not equal possessing it; whether you have affinity with it depends entirely on your own destiny."

"Why is that?" Jiang Sishui asked, puzzled.

"Because it demands extremely high wisdom from its owner; even your master has only comprehended a mere fraction of its surface."

"I spent five years comprehending the spirit-blocking array, but whenever I tried to understand anything else afterward, I could never find the method, clearly indicating that the deeper one goes, the harder it becomes."

Hearing this, Jiang Sishui suddenly understood.

It was just like those dungeon-crawling games from his previous life; the further one progresses, the higher the difficulty.

How much opportunity Jiang Sishui could gain from it depended entirely on his wisdom.

With insufficient wisdom, it was equivalent to guarding a mountain of treasures in vain.

Although one has obtained it, it is not truly acquired or possessed.

With the matter entrusted, Wu Wu Ya Zi seemed to have lost all lingering attachments; his essence, qi, and spirit weakened to the extreme.

Having revealed the treasure's hiding place, he handed the gemstone ring symbolizing the Xiaoyao Sect leader to Jiang Sishui, saying, "After your master dies, that treasure will be ownerless."

"Unable to sense your master's intent, it may cease releasing that bewildering mental force; at that time, the illusion array's power will be greatly diminished, and it will no longer be able to trap those two."

"Disciple, you... take care of yourself."

Having spoken, he threw back his head and laughed loudly several times.

The laughter stopped abruptly; his white-haired head suddenly drooped forward, and he remained motionless.

Jiang Sishui checked his breath; Wu Wu Ya Zi had already ceased breathing.

Jiang Sishui sighed and, with sincere gratitude, kowtowed several more times to Wu Wu Ya Zi.

Just then, the system's prompt sounded—

[Congratulations on cultivating to the Grandmaster realm. First chapter "First Venture Out" concluded. System upgrading, daily reward limit doubled.]

[Second chapter opening...]

[Detected that you possess the belief of a hegemon. Second chapter designated as "Path of the Hegemon".]

[Congratulations on officially starting the second chapter. Reward: Special treasure "Imperial Map of Hegemony".]

System upgrade, reward limit doubled?

First Venture Out? Path of the Hegemon?

Jiang Sishui felt a surge of joy in his heart.

So, this "Diary System" could be upgraded; he had simply only now met the conditions.

Next, he looked at the introduction for the "Imperial Map of Hegemony"—

Imperial Map of Hegemony: Under heaven, all land belongs to the emperor. The paths you tread in reality will unlock corresponding new maps, allowing you to travel freely between various locations thereafter.

Jiang Sishui moved Wu Wu Ya Zi, along with his chair, to a corner, intending to bury him properly once the "Zhenlong Chess Gathering" concluded.

Afterwards, he circulated his thick internal energy, lifted the bamboo pavilion, and dug over ten zhang deep, finally unearthing an object.

It was a fragment.

At first glance, Jiang Sishui almost mistook it for the blade head of a triple-edged, two-pointed spear, except its prongs were not so sharp or long.

"Why does this feel somewhat familiar," Jiang Sishui murmured, recalling that he seemed to have seen something of this appearance in his previous life.

It was just that it was incomplete, so he could not recall it immediately.

Just then, the diary within his body spontaneously appeared, sweeping out a beam of white light that enveloped the broken artifact.

Immediately after, the system's prompt sounded once again—

[Detected relic from the "Lost Era of Gods and Demons" ― Divine Weapon: Ten Directions Annihilated (Incomplete)]

[Congratulations on meeting the conditions; the System Mission function is now officially activated. Reward: Special Item "Treasure-Hunting Compass"]

[Main Mission: Old Memories and New Chapters of History]

[Side Mission One: Bring the He Clan Jade and the Eight Dragon Pearls to the Mount Mount Kunlun Secret Realm (Map attached)]

[Choice: "Accept" or "Refuse"]

[Hint: Completing each mission, large or small, will grant you generous rewards]

"Era of Gods and Demons? Divine Weapon? Ten Directions Annihilated?!"

Jiang Sishui's mind shook violently, and an overwhelming sense of suffocation rushed toward him.

He never expected that the treasure obtained by chance by Wu Wu Ya Zi would be something like this!

Furthermore, its existence revealed an extraordinary past for this world.

"The Era of Gods and Demons..." Jiang Sishui fell silent for a moment.

Then, he looked again at the newly activated mission function of the "Diary System," as well as the mission content.

Old Memories and New Chapters of History... The name revealed little specific information, yet Jiang Sishui harbored a vague suspicion in his heart.

Once he completed these missions, the Central Region would likely undergo earth-shattering changes.

By then, demigods might no longer be invincible!

Accept? Or refuse?

Jiang Sishui hesitated.

Both choices had their advantages and disadvantages.

"Forget it; what is destined cannot be avoided. Rather than spending every day suspicious and fearful of variables arriving, I might as well personally unleash those variables."

"With the System in hand, as long as I level up fast enough, what challenge should I fear?"

Jiang Sishui steadied his mind, deciding to complete one side mission first to see what would happen before making further plans.

If the variables proved uncontrollable, he could simply refuse to accept subsequent missions.

As for the "Treasure-Hunting Compass," it was indeed a compass; as the name implies, it was used for finding things, perfectly complementing the missions.

After digging out "Ten Directions Annihilated," Jiang Sishui examined its appearance and compared it to the object's image from his previous life, estimating it was only one-quarter complete.

"If I gather all the fragments, can this Divine Weapon restore the power it possessed at its peak?"

Jiang Sishui pondered this in his heart.

This trip to Leigu Mountain had yielded tremendous gains!

To be honest, he still did not understand why Wu Wu Ya Zi treated him, a stranger, so kindly, selecting him as a disciple at first sight and bestowing all manner of benefits upon him.

In fact, the reason Wu Wu Ya Zi acted this way was also related to "Ten Directions Annihilated."