A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance)

Teegan glanced at Ezio and gave a firm nod.

"All right, but don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. When it comes to personal gain, family ties mean nothing. If I find out you've let them go, I'll tear you to pieces."

"Rest assured, Mr. Teegan," Ezio replied, his tone resolute. "Since I've chosen to pledge my loyalty to you, I won't have second thoughts."

Satisfied, Teegan waved dismissively, allowing Gordon, Elena, and Mia, led by Ezio, to leave.

Meanwhile, inside the gourd, Jared found himself surrounded by a dimension of absolute darkness. Despite the strange environment, he showed no fear. Instead, his Nethersky Eye activated, scanning his surroundings.

"This is supposed to be some great treasure?" Jared remarked, his voice laced with a touch of amusement.

"What nonsense!" came the disdainful voice of Vermilion Demon Lord. "It's just an ordinary gourd modified with an arcane array. There's nothing precious about it, let alone spiritual. That fool had the nerve to call it a Devouring Sky Gourd? Ha! If that's a Devouring Sky Gourd, then what's my Celestial Devourer supposed to be?"

Vermillion Demon Lord huffed, clearly irritated by the audacious claim. It was evident he didn't take kindly to anyone else using the term "Devouring." In his mind, only his own Celestial Devourer was worthy of such a title.

"Why get so worked up?" Jared replied with a chuckle. "I know this gourd was created using an arcane array, combined with space and time nascence. Otherwise, there's no way it could've drawn me in. But the space nascence? Hardly worth mentioning. Even the array master who designed it was mediocre at best."

Jared laughed, his voice echoing in the empty void. "If they'd turned the inside of this gourd into an actual realm, I might've been impressed. But this? A chaotic, empty mess? It's only good for scaring children!"

True master cultivators of space and time nascence could create entire realms-complete with grass, trees, mountains, and rivers. The scale of their creations depended on their strength and understanding. But this void? It was a pale imitation, chaotic and devoid of structure.

For cultivators unfamiliar with the intricacies of space and time nascence, such tactics might've been effective. But Jared, a cultivator who had mastered the divine markings technique and time nascence, wasn't so easily trapped.

The intricate runes on the tiny gourd

might've looked impressive, but Jared could see that they amounted to nothing more than a hundred insignificant scribbles. He could destroy them with a simple wave of his hand.

Swish, swish, swish!

Suddenly, the void around him began to tremble. From every direction, wind blades hurtled toward him with incredible speed.

"So, he inscribed a wind formation here," Jared murmured, narrowing his eyes.

Without hesitation, he activated his Golem Body, a powerful golden light enveloping him as he braced against the onslaught of wind blades.

As the gusts struck him, they shattered on contact with his golden armor, feeling no more harmful than a light breeze.

"Weren't these wind blades supposed to be powered by the gourd's arcane array?" Jared wondered aloud, his brow furrowing.

He could feel the spiritual energy emanating from the shattered blades. Yet, something about it felt strange. Though the wind blades didn't injure him, the spiritual energy they released upon breaking gave off an odd sensation, one Jared couldn't ignore,

The wind blades didn't simply dissipate after shattering. Instead, the spiritual energy regrouped, reforming into new blades that launched another attack. These wind blades weren't fixed in their movements. They seemed almost alive, actively seeking out weak points in Jared's defenses.

Using his Nethersky Eye, Jared

studied the phenomenon closely He

realized that the wind blades

originated from a single arcane

array, and at its core was a source

of nascence power.

The arcane array's designer had infused it with their own wind nascence, giving the wind blades spirituality.