Chapter 114

"Huan Ye, I'm speaking truly, and Brother can imprint a soul mark on me right now." Lao Liu, fearing Ding Huan wouldn't believe him, wrote again voluntarily.

His emotions were too agitated and uncertain—now calling him "Brother," now "Huan Ye"—as if Ding Huan might refuse.

"Given your sincerity, I'll temporarily believe you." Ding Huan thought that if Lao Liu surrendered a soul mark, it wasn't beyond reason to help him.

According to his memory, a soul mark, once carved, could never be betrayed.

Because betrayal meant he could make the other die.

"Then I'll surrender my soul mark now." Lao Liu's written words fully revealed what true impatience looked like.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "Not now. Wait until we return to Luohe City."

"Huan Ye, why wait so long? Won't I be unable to cultivate?" Lao Liu panicked, his characters crooked and uneven.

There were so many Zhan Shen crystals here—if he couldn't cultivate, it would be a massive loss for him.

Ding Huan glared at Lao Liu: "Lao Liu, there are so many Zhan Shen crystals here—myself and Xinyue can't possibly use them all. What are you rushing for?"

"Also, I must warn you beforehand: my method isn't guaranteed to succeed—even the chance of success is less than fifty percent."

"If you fail, you might remain a stone monkey, even lose all your memories."

Lao Liu wrote with a gloomy face: "Huan Ye, if I don't succeed, what's the point of living?"

Ding Huan realized it was true—someone as proud as Liu Er couldn't bear spending his life as a lowly errand-running monkey, cowering in Qianluo Mountain; he'd rather die.

Why had Liu Er been tricked back then? Wasn't it because he refused to die and longed to grow stronger?

"Huan Ye, what method are you using? Must we really return to Luohe City?" Lao Liu couldn't help asking again with his pen and paper.

Ding Huan could only say: "I'll try to generate a root for you. Whether it works is pure luck."

This time Lao Liu understood—he knew he lacked a root. Without a root, no matter how much cultivation material he had, he could never establish a foundation.

For Ding Huan to generate a root for him was exactly what he most desired.

In truth, Ding Huan didn't know if it would work. His own blood was Reincarnation Blood—but whether Lao Liu's blood qualified as Reincarnation Blood, he had no idea.

When crafting the root's gene, he would test with Lao Liu's eyebrow blood.

If it failed, he had no other plan.

"Huan Ye, while you cultivate, what should I do?" Lao Liu wrote. Though impatient, he had no choice.

Ding Huan pointed to the Blue Star: "Your main task is to guard the Blue Star. While we're in seclusion, chop down some trees and haul stones to surround the Blue Star."

"Rest assured, Huan Ye, leave this to me." Lao Liu wrote while thumping his chest with a loud thump-thump.

Still, Ding Huan did not grant Lao Liu access to enter or exit the Blue Star—he granted that privilege only to Qi Qi Xinyue.

Inside the Blue Star were piles of Zhan Shen crystals and a single energy vein—this was the foundation for his future journey beyond Earth into the cosmos.

He couldn't trust Lao Liu with this. If not for the chance to generate a root and strengthen himself, Lao Liu would never have surrendered his soul mark.

Unfortunately, he didn't understand array arts. Though he had array knowledge in his mind, he understood none of it—he hadn't even reached the beginner level.

After entrusting the Blue Star to Lao Liu, Ding Huan took Qi Qi Xinyue to carve out two cave dwellings not far from the Blue Star.

He intended to cultivate here until reaching the peak of Level Nine Gene Cultivator, then seek out ancient Daoist ruins.

"Xinyue, wait." After carving the cave dwellings, Ding Huan called out to Qi Qi Xinyue.

Qi Qi Xinyue looked at him in confusion.

Ding Huan smiled: "I'll be in seclusion for over a month, so I'll teach you something first."

"What is it?" Qi Qi Xinyue asked instinctively.

"Didn't I already teach you Wind Riding Technique? These are similar minor spells—Wind Blade Technique, Fireball Technique, Dust-Clearing Spell. While I'm in seclusion, you can practice Wind Blade Technique."

Ding Huan then began explaining how to cast each minor spell.

If you cultivate the Luo Shi Jing without learning these minor spells, it's as if you've cultivated in vain.

Ding Huan felt Qi Qi Xinyue's cultivation speed was fast—this seclusion might see her reach Level Five Gene Cultivator.

If so, he should teach her basic offensive techniques now.

The stronger those around him were, the better it was for him.

Hearing about Wind Blade Technique and Fireball Technique, Qi Qi Xinyue became equally interested.

She had seen Ding Huan's Wind Blade and Fireball Techniques before.

He had once used them to severely wound the demonic dragon; during their sea voyage, he'd used Wind Blade Technique for self-defense.

Qi Qi Xinyue had always been interested in these minor spells, and she cultivated the Luo Shi Jing.

With her comprehension, she mastered nearly all the spells Ding Huan taught her in just half a day.

Now it was only a matter of practice.

…

While Lao Liu was still laboriously chopping trees and hauling stones to protect the Blue Star, Ding Huan had already finished teaching Qi Qi Xinyue and began pushing toward Level Nine Gene Cultivator.

Ding Huan was surrounded entirely by Zhan Shen crystals—he even arranged them himself into a Bagua Array.

Calling it a Bagua Array was just a name; it was simply Zhan Shen crystals placed according to the eight trigram directions. Whether it worked, Ding Huan didn't know—and he didn't care.

Days passed. After fully surrounding the Blue Star, Lao Liu, bored, wandered aimlessly nearby.

Qi Qi Xinyue, however, broke through to Level Four Gene Cultivator after nearly half a month, and her absorption rate of Zhan Shen crystals grew ever faster.

Ding Huan had reached the peak of Level Eight Gene Cultivator—he planned to cross into Level Nine Gene Cultivator within these few days.

Though Kunlun Mountain had many gene-demonic beasts, most possessed some intelligence.

Ding Huan's arrival in the Blue Star had made these beasts sense danger, so they avoided the area.

Fortunately, Kunlun Mountain had no shortage of space—many beasts, yet many places to cultivate.

Qi Qi Xinyue, cultivating beside Ding Huan, was in high spirits—she had just become a Level Five Gene Cultivator.

With abundant Zhan Shen crystals, her cultivation was as easy as eating and drinking.

She began practicing minor spells like Wind Blade Technique and Fireball Technique.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, as Qi Qi Xinyue was about to find an open space to continue practicing Wind Blade Art, she suddenly heard Lao Liu's shrill scream.

Qi Qi Xinyue rushed out immediately, only to see a long-haired man forcefully tugging at the cabin door of the Blue Star.

"What are you doing?" Qi Qi Xinyue shouted sharply.

She had been diligently learning Chinese alongside Ding Huan.

Qi Qi Xinyue herself had a high linguistic talent, and with deliberate study, her Chinese had quickly become fluent and natural.

The man stopped pulling at the cabin door and his gaze fell upon Qi Qi Xinyue—he felt a sudden sense of awe.

He carefully scanned her from head to toe, his astonishment deepening.

He was certain: if this woman had not been disfigured, she was undoubtedly a beauty he had never seen before.

Looking at her near-perfect figure, and remembering how long he had been sealed away in seclusion, he felt his throat go dry.

In that moment, he was captivated.

The long-haired man smiled and said, "Let's get acquainted—I'm Cang Beichun. This warship is mine, parked here. Today, since I'm leaving, I've come to retrieve it."

Qi Qi Xinyue was stunned by the man's words—how could anyone be so brazen?

This warship was clearly brought here by Brother Ding—how could it possibly belong to this Cang Beichun?

"No wonder you dared come here alone. If I'm not mistaken, you're a Level Five Gene Cultivator."

"Your strength probably surpasses even Director Antongao of the Planetary Academy."

After speaking, Cang Beichun's gaze landed on Lao Liu. "This monkey is your pet, right? A decent Gene Beast. Take it."

After commenting on Lao Liu, Cang Beichun suddenly pulled out a Qi Stone and tossed it toward Lao Liu.

In his eyes, Lao Liu was at least a Level Two, possibly Level Three Gene Beast. A beast of this caliber kept as a pet must have considerable intelligence.

Now that he had thrown down a Qi Stone, the monkey would surely leap forward and bite it instantly.

To Cang Beichun's surprise, when the Qi Stone landed before Lao Liu, the monkey didn't even glance at it—only glared at him fiercely.

Not only did Lao Liu ignore the Qi Stone, but the woman beside the monkey also didn't so much as look at it.

This shocked Cang Beichun—Qi Stone? Didn't they know what this was?

He quickly dismissed the thought—this woman had reached Level Five, possibly Level Six Gene Cultivation; she could not possibly be unaware of Qi Stone.

Without Qi Stone, no one could reach this realm at her age.

"I still don't know your name," Cang Beichun said, smiling again after his shock.

Yet inside, he wondered: could this beautiful warship have been piloted by this woman?

If so, it was likely a Federation military vessel. And if so, this woman might be from the Federation military.

He'd heard the Federation had a formidable military commander named Fan Fan Yibing—also extremely beautiful. Could she be this woman?

"My name doesn't matter. What matters is that the Blue Star isn't yours—it was brought here by us."

Qi Qi Xinyue frowned, despising this liar before her.

"Oh, I meant from now on. Previously it was yours, but from now on, it's mine."

As he spoke, Cang Beichun reached out to grab Qi Qi Xinyue.

Whether his earlier claim that the ship was his would embarrass him? That was not even in Cang Beichun's consideration.

Since this ship was brought here by this woman, he'd first subdue her.

A mere Level Five Gene Cultivator—he didn't take her seriously at all.