Grandma Bi Zhu, standing guard at the floating island outside the Ding Wei area, had already endured three days and three nights.

Within the Maze Realm, though there was no sun, day and night still held sway. The daytime was a vast expanse of white, and the nighttime, a deep, impenetrable black.

The Inner Mansion cultivators, after merely two days, could no longer bear the aberrant influence and were forced to retreat to the island for respite. Even those who had shed their divine ability seeds, relying on the Inner Mansion’s Candlelight divine ability, could only sustain themselves for three days at most.

Ultimately, without the protective embrace of starlight, one could not long withstand the aberrations of the Maze Realm.

Yet, three days and nights had passed, and she had still not apprehended her quarry.

Her myriad little fish, her spies, had quietly dispersed, encircling the entire floating island. Should any discovery be made, she would act with the swiftness of a thunderbolt, leaving Jiang Wang no possibility of sneaking past.

She maintained the utmost patience, never leaving her post, yet she had still not achieved the desired outcome.

Although the Ding Wei area was but one of many known regions within the Maze Realm, it still spanned several thousand li. To locate a single individual within such a vast expanse, especially one facing constant interference from the sea race, was undoubtedly an exceedingly difficult task.

Thus, from the outset, she had chosen to guard the floating island, for it was the most optimal strategy.

However, dwelling on such matters now was fruitless; Jiang Wang had, after all, not appeared. Her judgment had been flawed.

Now, four possibilities presented themselves.

Firstly, Jiang Wang might have already completed his ablutions, cleansed of his sins, and departed the Maze Realm. This possibility was exceedingly slim. To slay a thousand commander-level sea race within three days was beyond even her capabilities.

Secondly, Jiang Wang might have deviated his path to other areas to avoid confrontation with her. This likelihood was also not very high, for the journey was arduous, and before reaching his destination, he would likely succumb to aberration.

Thirdly, Jiang Wang might possess some method to disregard the aberrant influence, in which case he would still be in the process of engaging the sea race. While her experience suggested such a method was nonexistent, the Qi nation was vast and its foundation deep; who was to say what hidden, unique methods they possessed?

The fourth possibility was that Jiang Wang’s physical body was robust, his control over his Dao Origin exquisite, allowing him to endure the aberrations for a longer duration. In this scenario, completing the sin-cleansing task directly and departing would be his best option.

There was no alternative. Even if it meant searching like a needle in a vast sea, she could only go and seek him out.

She could only pin her hopes on Jiang Wang not having left.

Truly, nothing had gone smoothly. Originally, she had intended to leverage the faction’s opportunity for advancement, to secure enough resources for her own divine arrival, yet she had suffered a complete loss, leaving her to search for a needle in the vast sea of the Maze Realm. Grandma Bi Zhu mused, forming a hand seal. Her little fish, hidden around the floating island and serving as her “eyes,” scattered and swam outward.

Within the Maze Realm, these little fish were highly susceptible to danger. Their loss was heartbreaking, but if Jiang Wang could be captured, then all would be well.

A bloated, drum-bellied, green-skinned, red-eyed frog-shaped sea beast leaped high, soaring several tens of zhang before descending. Its bulging red eyes darted about erratically, seemingly wandering aimlessly, yet always remaining within a certain approximate range.

It bore a pair of curved horns on its head, like those of a water buffalo—the very mount of the bald sea race from before, which had run amok and was later captured by Jiang Wang.

Within its red eyes, the image of a white-haired, hunched old woman, leaning on a staff and walking slowly, appeared.

It possessed an instinctive urge to swallow, yet it did not comprehend that this seemingly frail opponent before it was beyond its power to defeat.

However, the black hidden snake concealed within its body saw clearly.

Target discovered!

The black hidden snake immediately released its instinctive control over the frog-shaped sea beast.

Thus, it leaped high, beginning its sprint from an immense distance, the sound of rushing wind accompanying its charge towards the withered old woman.

Still in mid-air, not yet having descended, a single, bright red little fish swam into its path—relative to the size of the red-eyed frog, this fish, less than a palm in size, was indeed tiny.

But the bright red little fish needed only a flick of its tail to burrow into the frog-shaped sea beast’s left eye, swallowing its ruby-like eye bead in one gulp before drilling into its body!

The frog-shaped sea beast merely opened its mouth, before it could even wail, it fell to the ground.

It lay fallen for only a short time before struggling back to its feet. Its empty left eye socket still dripped fresh blood, but it had already turned its body, obediently allowing the white-haired old woman to slowly approach and stand upon its body.

It walked forward unsteadily at first, somewhat stiffly, but gradually gained proficiency.

This strange scene had no witnesses.

Only within its body, a black hidden snake slowly dissipated.

Jiang Wang, hidden far away, opened his eyes and discovered Grandma Bi Zhu!

The distance now exceeded fifty li, placing them outside the range of the Red Makeup Mirror’s reflection.

However, by combining the finger instrument with the speed of the frog-shaped sea beast, he could roughly estimate Grandma Bi Zhu’s advancement range.

With a thought, his remaining thirty-seven sea beasts—several more having unexpectedly perished earlier—approached successively.

He had observed carefully in the bamboo building and had already sensed that this old woman’s fish-raising methods were extraordinary. The fact that she could instantly slay a Heaven Realm level sea beast merely confirmed his judgment. Grandma Bi Zhu was originally skilled in controlling beasts, and many of the sea beasts protecting the Fishing Sea Building were tamed under her care.

These sea beasts, of course, could not cause Grandma Bi Zhu any substantial harm, but they could at least slightly distract her attention.

The path to ultimate victory was paved by accumulating advantages, bit by bit.

The gap between the divine abilities of the Two Mansions and the Four Outer Buildings was real. His waiting was merely the first step.

Jiang Wang calculated an array and leaped from the ear of the thorn elephant, landing before a nearby colossal stone—this colossal stone had been pushed over by a sea beast under his control. The Maze Realm’s rules made it difficult to fix the position of objects under traction, so he had simply helped it into place, forcibly creating a ground advantage.

He and the thorn elephant he controlled together pushed the colossal stone, moving it to a roughly satisfactory landing point before stopping. Judging from Grandma Bi Zhu’s direction of advance, she would necessarily pass through this vicinity. Due to the Maze Realm’s directional reversal, it was impossible to be too precise, but with the finger instrument for comparison, roughly judging the area was not a problem.

He then released the thorn elephant to wander in the surroundings, while he himself hid atop the colossal stone, still overlaying the concealment of the Mirage King Pearl and the Red Makeup Mirror, continuing to wait.

Although Grandma Bi Zhu was about to fall into an ambush, the scene of the frog-shaped sea beast being instantly controlled just now made him decide to be even more cautious. Grandma Bi Zhu’s beast-controlling ability made him feel that his earlier decision to hide in the thorn elephant’s ear was not the most stable choice.

Clutching the Red Makeup Mirror, he observed through its viewpoint, revealing every detail within the fifty li range, large and small.

Up to this point, the only time using the Red Makeup Mirror to observe an opponent had been vaguely detected was by Xiang Qian in Qing Yang Town. But that was because Xiang Qian carried the world-class flying sword, Dragon Light Shoot Fight; a renowned artifact possessed spirit and had warned him. Even someone skilled in concealment like Yin Guan had been detected by Xiang Qian, had he not?

Just like Hai Zong Ming at the beginning, he had been unable to discover he was being spied upon by the Red Makeup Mirror.

Moreover, having now passed the Fu Hai and Wen Xin tribulations, Jiang Wang was filled with confidence in the Red Makeup Mirror.

After silently counting time for approximately three quarters of an hour, within the Red Makeup Mirror, the leaping form of the frog-shaped sea beast indeed appeared.

The blood from its empty eye socket had stopped, and its remaining single eye was also dull.

Between its two curved horns, the white-haired old woman stood, leaning on her staff. The vine chair the sea race had sat on earlier had long since been dismantled by Jiang Wang and the traces removed, preventing anyone from seeing anything amiss.

The moment the Red Makeup Mirror shone, the problem was immediately revealed.

The white-haired old woman leaning on her staff was merely an illusion. Attached to a single water bead behind her was Grandma Bi Zhu herself.

If Jiang Wang had not used the Red Makeup Mirror to look first, it was highly likely he would have lost the initiative in a surprise attack!

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