Chapter 180: 180. Chapter 177: Settle In as the Sixth Wheel

180. Chapter 177: Settle In as the Sixth Wheel

After saying this, Ding Huan cupped his fist toward Elder Gu and Elder Liu:

"Elder Gu, Elder Liu, thank you for looking after me all along. I'll take my leave now."

Neither Gu Youchang nor Liu Yinzhu had ever regarded Ding Huan as a real chef. Now that Ding Huan was saying goodbye, the two of them hurriedly exchanged some polite words with him.

Han Weicheng had originally wanted to step forward and bid Ding Huan farewell, but then he remembered that Ding Huan didn't have long to live, so he couldn't be bothered to come over.

If he went up to say goodbye to Ding Huan, he'd also offend Steward Qiong.

Ding Huan took Lao Liu and changed direction, quickly heading far away.

"Big Brother Ding, I'll go with you." Seeing Yan Mei hurriedly followed.

Seeing Yan Mei was a newly recruited disciple of the Twin Soul Sect, and right now the Twin Soul Sect didn't have a single person left.

Seeing Yan Mei had gotten along well with Ding Huan along the way, and their relationship was very good. Now that he went off to find Ding Huan, naturally no one paid it any mind.

A group of new disciples boarded Elder Gu's flying ship one after another, and at this moment Elder Liu also summoned her flying ship.

Dong Qiong did not board Elder Gu's flying ship, but instead summoned his own.

"Master, I noticed that Steward Qiong didn't seem to board Elder Gu's flying ship. Could he have gone after that Ding Huan?"

On the flying ship, Mo Huaping couldn't help but ask.

Liu Yinzhu snorted:

"That Dong Qiong has gone to kill Ding Huan, one hundred percent. Hah, a steward of the Yan Moon Sect—what short-sighted fools."

Mo Huaping sighed:

"Sigh, although Ding Huan's temper is a bit foul, he does have some real ability, and he's also a man who knows his place and understands what's important. Who would have thought he'd lose his life over a single Condensing Star Bamboo."

"With his poor aptitude, he could never reach Qi Refinement to Spirit Transformation in his whole life, and he couldn't even use that Condensing Star Bamboo. Why throw away his life for a single spiritual herb?"

Liu Yinzhu said calmly:

"You think Ding Huan will be killed by Dong Qiong?"

Mo Huaping nodded with certainty:

"Of course. Ding Huan has only just stepped into the early stage of Essence Refinement to Qi, right? With his strength, in front of Dong Qiong he probably couldn't even last a single breath."

Liu Yinzhu chuckled:

"If even Dong Qiong could kill Ding Huan, then I might as well consider these eyes of mine blind."

"Ah, Master, why? Dong Qiong's strength can easily crush Ding Huan."

Liu Yinzhu shook her head:

"Do you think having strength means you can do whatever you want? Then do you know how the number one expert of the Ascension Realm, the Sect Master of the Desolate God Sect, Ji Xinting, died? Wasn't he killed by someone too?

I don't know what method Ding Huan could use to escape, but I can be certain that a mere Dong Qiong still cannot kill Ding Huan."

If Ding Huan weren't so terrifying, she would have wanted to go back earlier and recommend him to join the Purple Xia Valley. How could such a person possibly be killed by Dong Qiong?

If Dong Qiong could kill Ding Huan, then Qu Yueshan would have killed Ding Huan long ago.

……

"Big Brother Ding, where are we going now? We don't know anything about the Dao Cultivation Realm."

Seeing Yan Mei, following behind Ding Huan, couldn't help but ask.

Ding Huan sped up:

"We'll talk after we cross the Lost Marsh."

"Ah…"

Seeing Yan Mei cried out in shock and hurriedly said, "Big Brother Ding, we just barely made it through the Lost Marsh with our lives. Going back in—wouldn't that be seeking death?"

Ding Huan said helplessly:

"Who told me my strength is too low? I'm sure that bastard Steward Qiong won't let me off. He'll definitely turn around to kill me and snatch the Condensing Star Bamboo."

Seeing Yan Mei was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion:

"Big Brother, since you know Steward Qiong will come back to kill you for the Condensing Star Bamboo, why did you still take it?"

Ding Huan sneered:

"Why should I give my things to an ungrateful wretch? Is his face any fairer than mine?"

After saying this, Ding Huan had already arrived at the edge of the Lost Marsh, and without the slightest hesitation he stepped right into it.

Lao Liu naturally wouldn't hesitate in the slightest—wherever Ding Huan went, it could only follow.

Seeing Yan Mei didn't hesitate either; he knew very well he had no way back.

The moment he killed Qu Yueshan, he had already lost his way back.

The Lost Marsh quickly swallowed the figures of Ding Huan and his two companions, and this stretch of heaven and earth once again returned to its former emptiness and deathly stillness.

Almost the instant Ding Huan's figure vanished into the Lost Marsh, a flying magical artifact swiftly flew over from the distance and stopped at the very spot where the group had departed earlier.

A man stepped down from the flying ship—none other than Steward Qiong, who had left not long ago.

Steward Qiong put away his flying ship and carefully surveyed the surroundings, but after looking for a long time he saw nothing at all.

This made Steward Qiong frown in puzzlement—how could that be?

No matter how capable that Ding Huan was, he couldn't have run far in such a short time.

One had to remember that his flying ship had already circled the outer perimeter just now; if Ding Huan had been anywhere nearby, he would have spotted him long ago.

Although Ding Huan had not yet built his foundation, his spiritual sense was something he had researched and developed on his own, and had even been tempered for a year or two in the vast starry cosmos.

Therefore, in terms of substantive power, his spiritual sense was actually somewhat stronger than Steward Qiong's.

At this moment, through his spiritual sense, he saw Steward Qiong coming to look for him.

This Steward Qiong is not only an ungrateful wretch, he's a beast who repays kindness with enmity.

For the sake of a single Condensing Star Bamboo, has this fellow's conscience been eaten by dogs? One day he'll come back and I'll take care of this piece of trash.

This time, Ding Huan didn't bring a large force, nor did he need to slow down intentionally. In just half a day, he led Seeing Yan Mei and Lao Liu out of the Lost Marsh.

"Big Brother Ding, we came back so quickly?" Seeing Yan Mei exclaimed after stepping out of the Lost Marsh.

Ding Huan could only say: "I've figured out a pattern now—even if we walked back, we wouldn't fall into the marsh's black hole."

Seeing Yan Mei was overjoyed—it meant that after evading Qiong Zhishi's pursuit, they still had a chance to return.

Ding Huan checked their location; they were in the middle zone between the Great Gorge and the Lost Marsh.

It was a safe zone, but this middle zone stretched endlessly, its extent unknown.

The width of this middle zone varied too—its widest point reached dozens of li, its narrowest only a few zhang.

"Let's go. We head upstream first. If we walk for ten or twenty days, even Qiong Zhishi won't find us."

Ding Huan decided to follow this middle zone upstream.

Ding Huan moved quickly; Lao Liu's cultivation was nearly equal to Ding Huan's, so his speed was naturally no slower.

In comparison, Seeing Yan Mei's speed was much slower.

Seeing Yan Mei's talent was decent, but he was a newly recruited disciple who hadn't yet begun formal sect cultivation. Everything he'd practiced before was haphazardly pieced together.

One day later, before nightfall, Ding Huan found a spacious spot to set up camp.

Having spent several days fearing he'd have to navigate the Lost Marsh, Seeing Yan Mei finally dropped his burden and collapsed into sleep at once.

For the first time, Ding Huan tried setting up a defensive array outside his tent.

But setting up a defensive array differed from engraving prohibitions—it required array flags. At least, Ding Huan couldn't yet form arrays using array patterns.

Two hours passed, and Ding Huan had only set up a near-level-one defensive array; strictly speaking, it was an unranked defensive array.

All the array flags were crafted by Ding Huan himself, using materials bought in Six-Direction City.

His array flags weren't even qualified as artifacts; given his level, failing to create a level-one array was normal.

"Lao Liu, come in." After finishing the array, Ding Huan immediately called Lao Liu inside.

Lao Liu looked at Ding Huan with confusion—he'd always forbidden Lao Liu from attempting Foundation Establishment. Now that they'd finally escaped the main force, Lao Liu had planned to break through to Foundation Establishment.

"Lao Liu, this is the Dao-cultivation realm. I feel I can't protect you here. And across from us lies the Great Gorge—the paradise of beast beasts."

As Ding Huan spoke, he pointed toward the Great Gorge:

"If you don't wish to wander with me, I understand. Go to the Great Gorge yourself. I believe your wit and intelligence will eventually let you succeed in Foundation Establishment."

"We've traveled together. I should remove the master-servant contract between us—but my strength is too limited to break the contract."

Offering to sever the master-servant contract was merely polite words from Ding Huan—he truly couldn't break it. Even if he could, he wouldn't.

This creature wasn't trustworthy. It knew Ding Huan had obtained many Zhan Shen Crystals—still, it didn't know about the Star House.

Who knew what it might do once freed?

Upon hearing this, Lao Liu's eyes darted around.

As for loyalty, it had virtually none.

It understood its situation: now, following Ding Huan was its only path.

After all, it was a Gene Spirit Root, and multiple attempts at Foundation Establishment had all failed.

Who knew if this attempt would succeed?

Thinking of this, Lao Liu quickly pulled out paper and pen:

"Brother Huan, I am utterly loyal to you. Not even one Great Gorge—I wouldn't go to ten thousand Great Gorges."

Ding Huan didn't believe a single word Lao Liu said. Since Lao Liu didn't want to leave, Ding Huan said no more and handed it a Tong Ling Blue Face Fruit.

"This is for you."

Before Lao Liu even touched the Tong Ling Blue Face Fruit, an intense craving surged through it. It dropped the paper and pen, stepped forward, and snatched the fruit into its hand.

"Brother Huan, what kind of spiritual fruit is this?" Lao Liu eagerly picked up the pen again and wrote.

"Eat it and you'll know," Ding Huan said.

He too wanted to know whether this fruit was as miraculous as he remembered—could it grant beasts the ability to speak?

Lao Liu, who had been waiting for this moment, swallowed the Tong Ling Blue Face Fruit without hesitation.

A tearing sensation exploded in its throat. Lao Liu was startled—it thought the fruit was poison. Had Brother Huan decided it was a burden and wanted to kill it?

Then it realized: if Ding Huan wanted to kill it, he wouldn't waste a fruit—he could end it with a single thought.

In a short time, Lao Liu felt a profound change—its entire body seemed washed clean.

"Brother Huan…" Lao Liu spoke.

Then it froze—its own voice stunned it. It had regained the ability to speak.

"Brother Huan, this is the spiritual fruit that grants beasts human speech?" Lao Liu's voice trembled with excitement.

Ding Huan chuckled: "What do you think?"

"Thank you, Brother Huan! I, Lao Liu, swear: if you tell me left, I'll never go right; if you tell me forward, I'll never go back."

Lao Liu could no longer contain its joy.

Yet inwardly, it thought: Brother Huan is so cunning—if I'd truly gone to the Great Gorge, he'd never have given me this fruit.

Human hearts are too treacherous. I'll stay by Brother Huan's side and be Lao Liu.