...
Ashton Todd knew it was bad the moment he was suddenly swallowed by the space rift.
Although he didn’t know why he was targeted, it was certainly nothing good.
He felt himself being sucked into a very dark place, surrounded by oppressive darkness, boundless, where he could see nothing even with an outstretched hand. Merely being there could drive anyone to the verge of mental collapse.
Ashton Todd indeed felt very overwhelmed, so he simply closed his eyes, surrendered himself to the darkness, and began to softly chant the Calming Incantation.
"Calm amidst change, undisturbed... no abandon, no forsaking, selfless and detached."
Despite leaning towards a particular field, he had memorized several basic spells by heart.
Even in the Otherworld, though the Calming Incantation did not have much effect, it provided him with minimal mental solace.
And as his consciousness submerged, he keenly noticed something invading his mind and trying to control him.
When Ashton Todd mentioned this, Stella Gibson immediately pulled Scarlett Jennings back two steps, her eyes wary, "Are you being controlled by the Heavenly Dao?"
"I am not!" Ashton Todd explained.
Stella Gibson didn’t believe him, "Then prove it."
Ashton Todd glared at Stella Gibson indignantly, muttering under his breath about "not treating him as one of their own, heartbreak" and such, while he started taking off his clothes.
Seeing his abrupt action, Stella Gibson promptly grabbed Jasmine Hamilton next to her, pulling her back two more steps, each holding one hand.
"What are you doing?!"
Ashton Todd rolled his eyes at her, "Showing you the proof."
With that, he decisively unclothed, pushing the clothes aside, revealing a slightly lean yet taut chest and abs.
The Taoism Academy teaches martial arts, and the martial class is a compulsory course for every Master. As such, Ashton Todd had developed a bit of physique over the past three years.
But at the moment, nobody was concerned with his physique.
Including Stella Gibson, everyone’s eyes were fixated on Ashton Todd’s exposed upper body, where runes covered half of his skin.
The runes were evidently reinforced repeatedly, half sinking into the skin, with a faint feeling as though they were innate.
Scarlett Jennings gazed at the runes on his body, her eyes slightly revealing amazement.
Evidently, the runes on Ashton Todd were not just simple runes but Array Runes.
He had actually set up an array on his own body!
Equivalent to using himself as the Array Eye.
Stella Gibson naturally noticed this too, and her first reaction was anger, "Do you have a death wish?!"
No matter how passionate one might be about Array Barriers, it’s absurd to joke with one’s body, as such a thing might inadvertently lead to being devoured by one’s own array.
Ashton Todd was reprimanded and slightly shifted his gaze, only slightly guilty. Soon he was upright and dignified,
"I wouldn’t do anything without assurance. My life is so valuable; I am certainly careful to preserve it."
Scarlett Jennings also knew he had already done it, so saying more was futile, and she asked about the runes array on his body.
Ashton Todd just laughed,
"You wanted proof, and these runes are the best proof."
He said,
"The runes on my body combined several layers of magic. Unless I willingly allow it, no one can tamper with me, especially controlling my consciousness and forcing me to do things I don’t want to do."
The decision to set an array on his body was influenced by Elysia Xander.
Back in Lloyd Village, Elysia Xander used a Command Flag to control him to open the barrier to escape it.
That’s how Greta, who had just appeared in the world at that time, also managed to escape.
This person seems utterly unaware of how miraculous his blissfully ignorant success is...
At least in terms of arrays, no one within the Mystical Sect matched his talent.
Apart from marveling at Ashton Todd’s talent, Scarlett Jennings and the others did not forget Ashton Todd’s initial revelation about discovering a secret of the Heavens.
Stella Gibson eagerly pursued,
"So after evading the Heavens, you came here?"
Stella Gibson was unsure whether to commend his prowess in picking places or credit his incredible luck.
How could he conveniently end up at their destination headquarters of this journey?
Ashton Todd just looked at her, saying,
"That’s technically two questions."
He said, "I indeed used my inherent array to rid myself of Heavens’ consciousness control and sensing, but initially, I didn’t escape from that strange space until about half an hour ago, suddenly appearing here."
Then, almost got mistaken for an escaping living body.
To avoid being caught, he directly blended in among those people, inexplicably becoming one of the living bodies prepared for the next auction...
Ashton Todd didn’t want to elaborate on this part, mainly because it was somewhat embarrassing.
Fortunately, Scarlett Jennings and the group weren’t focused here, hearing Ashton Todd arrived here about half an hour ago made her pause, as if she remembered something,
"Half an hour ago... that’s also when we arrived here via the Ten-tailed Realm."
Stella Gibson and the group hadn’t realized what this meant yet, but across from them, Ashton Todd’s expression unbeknownst carried an unprecedented seriousness and gravity.
"This is the secret about the Otherworld Heavens I must share with you."
He looked at Scarlett Jennings and said,
"The domain used by the Otherworld Heavens to trap me is interconnected with your Ten-tailed Realm."

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