Jiang Zuo was basically right about everything, and his guess about the forgotten balance point was pretty much spot on. Her master really had just forgotten. He was that scatterbrained.
It was an incurable affliction.
For example, many people knew she was Demon Cultivator Mo Yan, but no one knew she was a woman.
Her master had forgotten to mention her gender to anyone.
Since her master was a man, many people subconsciously assumed she was one too.
Mo Yan nodded and said in a low voice, "My master and Elder Chen are friends, so it's only right that he help. He only recently remembered that he'd forgotten the balance point, so he sent me.
But I don't know the first thing about this stuff, so all I could do was hide and suppress the effects on his body.
I spread those rumors because I was worried you would all cause trouble. My master should be here in a while."
The balance point was basically a lifeline.
A one-in-ten chance of survival was normal; zero chance of survival was extreme.
And that was the situation here.
Now that he knew all this, Jiang Zuo lost all interest in Demon Cultivator Mo Yan. She was completely useless.
The only thing she was good for was making her presence felt.
Chi Xue Child noticed this and asked Jiang Zuo, "Fellow Daoist, are you confident? Can you really break the ingenious Feng Shui Array set up by Demon Cultivator Mo Yan's master?"
Jiang Zuo said, "That depends on whether what they bring me is what I'm looking for."
Just then, Chen Yao came running out, a porcelain bowl in his hands.
"M-Master, is this it?"
"A bowl?" Chi Xue Child was baffled. "This... will this really work?"
"It works, it works,"
Mo Yan exclaimed. "My master loves using bowls when he sets up Feng Shui Arrays!"
Jiang Zuo took the porcelain bowl. "Guess you're not completely hopeless. As long as the Feng Shui Compass is still here, there won't be a problem."
Jiang Zuo lifted the porcelain bowl with a single hand. An Array materialized above it, its layers stacking one on top of another, each higher and larger than the last.
It expanded until it enveloped the entire room, and then the entire villa.
A massive Array also appeared beneath Jiang Zuo's feet.
Jiang Zuo now stood at the very center of the Array.
Jiang Zuo then began to manipulate the layers of the Array Map, altering their sizes. With every slight adjustment, the villa trembled as if something outside were collapsing.
Bathed in the Array's light, he stood at its heart, continuously altering the formation.
Mo Yan was completely dumbstruck. She sidled up to Chi Xue Child and nudged him. "Are all Rank 1.1s this talented nowadays? Did we waste our time on fake Cultivation or something?
'Or am I hallucinating?'
'He's actually a Rank 7.1, right?'
That has to be it, right?"
Chi Xue Child said blandly, "Our generation of Cultivators is full of prodigies. This is nothing. He just passed his Rank 1.1 assessment today, so he shouldn't be a 7.1."
"Doesn't that break your heart? A Rank 1.1 is this powerful... did all our years of training go to the dogs?"
"If you want to be a dog, leave me out of it."
"..."
The others were beyond merely surprised. They were looking at Jiang Zuo as if he were a god.
This overwhelming power, these special effects... what ordinary person could possibly possess them?
Jiang Zuo modified seven different spots. That was his limit; he didn't have the strength to move anymore.
But those seven adjustments were enough.
Then, he set down the Feng Shui Compass. The moment he did, all the Array Maps vanished.
"Hah..."
Jiang Zuo looked over at Chen Yao, who was squatting on the floor, and tossed the Feng Shui Compass to him. "He'll wake up in three minutes. The initial problem is solved.
Now, pay up."
Everyone: "..."
'It hasn't even taken effect yet. Isn't it too soon to be demanding money? And he's so brazen about it!'
But no one dared to say a single word.
Mo Yan was indignant, but she still took out her phone and logged into the Tianhe App. 'The only reason these people have access to Tianhe is because I gave them the account,' she thought. 'If they want to use it again, they'll have to see if they're skilled enough to get their own.'
'You have to pass an assessment from Tianhe's Department of External Affairs to be granted an account.'
'Being rich isn't enough; you also have to be tight-lipped.'
Mo Yan then tapped "Complete" on the commission.
Next came the rating. She had originally planned to just give him a token two-star rating.
But when she saw the options for the star rating and comment, she froze. She felt the suggested review made perfect sense, and so...
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Comment: Bad review. No explanation.
'Perfect.'
After submitting the review, Mo Yan looked up and started whistling, feigning total innocence.
At that moment, Jiang Zuo received the payment notification.
Eight hundred thousand.
'Excellent. Perfect.'
Jiang Zuo then said to Chi Xue Child, "You were looking for Demon Cultivator Mo Yan, so I'll let you two talk. I'm leaving. If you need help in the future, I might consider it, depending on my mood."
With that, Jiang Zuo left.
Chen Yao wanted to stop him, partly because he was afraid the fix wouldn't work after three minutes, and partly because he wanted to build a connection.
However, he didn't dare.
Once Jiang Zuo was gone, Mo Yan said indignantly, "So arrogant. Just let him be arrogant. Why are all you Tianhe people so damn cocky?"
Chi Xue Child shot Mo Yan a look and said blandly, "You can keep on cursing. I'm leaving, too."
With that, Chi Xue Child also departed.
He had originally come to capture Demon Cultivator Mo Yan, but now that he'd found out she was a woman, he'd lost all interest. What was the point of getting into a serious fight with a woman?
"Hey, wait up! Why are all you Tianhe people like this?" Mo Yan shouted as she ran after him.
That left Chen Yao and his group staring at each other in bewilderment.
Chen Yao turned to the Daoist priest. "Daoist Priest, my grandfather..."
"Say no more, Young Master Chen," the Daoist priest said. "Our skills are clearly lacking. Let's just wait for the three minutes to pass."
The Monk also shook his head. They were lucky just to be alive.
The Magical Girl had a dazed look on her face. 'What in the world did I just witness today?'
'Is this Eastern Magic?'
'It's so powerful... But does that mean I'm useless now?'
'Should I leave?'
Three minutes passed. Elder Chen shot up into a sitting position as if he were a reanimated corpse, clutched his face, and screamed, "It hurts!"
******
The eight hundred thousand, plus the hundred-odd thousand left over from yesterday, meant he now had over nine hundred thousand. He could finally buy some better medicinal herbs.
He would use them to consolidate his Cultivation.
His Cultivation was currently at Rank 1.1. Due to his Innate Chaos Qi, his foundation was far superior to that of an ordinary person, and he required much more Spiritual Qi to advance.
Jiang Zuo did a quick search and found that the largest pharmacy nearby was the same one he had visited yesterday.
'No wonder that woman was there. It must be the closest one.'
Jiang Zuo then arrived at the pharmacy. As he entered, he heard someone pleading, "Sir, please, take a closer look! This grass really glows, I saw it with my own eyes. I'm not lying. Just name a price."
"I've told you already, I don't recognize it. I have no idea what kind of weed this is. Why should I throw good money away to buy it?"
"One thousand! How about one thousand? My little girl is sick, and we don't have money for the hospital."
"Just go. Let's not make this ugly. I've seen too many scammers like you, trying to play the sympathy card. Try another shop. These days, even people with houses and cars run crowdfunding scams to 'save their daughters,' let alone someone in your position. I can't help you."
Jiang Zuo saw that the man was dressed very plainly and even carried the faint scent of mountain soil. He had most likely come from the mountains.
Of course, that wasn't the main reason the man caught his attention. What truly drew Jiang Zuo's eye was the herb in his hand.