Chapter 195

195. Chapter 192: Finding Xifeng City

Ding Huan decided to follow the Xifeng River to Zangjian Mountain.

Zangjian Mountain was not far from Xifeng City; Ding Huan had walked barely over half an hour when his spiritual sense swept across Zangjian Mountain.

More precisely, his spiritual sense detected a vast expanse of mist, where several peaks flickered in and out of view within the haze.

Immediately, Ding Huan felt a faint stabbing pain in his mind sea, and he hastily retracted his spiritual sense.

So powerful, Ding Huan stared in shock at Zangjian Mountain beneath the mist.

No wonder no Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared here—this toxic mist could corrode spiritual sense; any Foundation Establishment cultivator with sense would never stay in Xifeng City.

After a brief pause, Ding Huan advanced again toward Zangjian Mountain.

This was the most convenient entrance for him; he would first test whether this toxic mist could block him. If it couldn't, he'd consider other options.

Ding Huan walked very slowly; only after most of the day did he stand at the foot of Zangjian Mountain.

At this moment, he was already surrounded by toxic mist.

The mist at the foot of Zangjian Mountain was weaker, but ordinary people could never reach here.

Ding Huan stopped and sensed his body's resistance to the toxic mist.

At this moment, Ding Huan was grateful for his foresight—he had turned the toxin-neutralizing ability into a genetic trait when he fused the toxin-neutralizing gene.

When he first arrived here, even though he hadn't extended his spiritual sense, his physical body still felt a stabbing pain.

As he gradually adapted, the stabbing sensation slowly faded.

He began slowly extending his spiritual sense, and faint stabs of pain echoed in his mind sea.

Ding Huan could only continue refining his spiritual sense in this toxic mist using the method he had used to temper it in the void of the universe—a painful and lengthy process.

This made Ding Huan resolve that, no matter what, he must develop a spiritual sense tempering technique.

Otherwise, like this, he was merely enduring suffering by brute force—inefficient refinement with poor results.

…

Outside Xifeng City, a woman in blue stood stunned, gazing at the orderly Xifeng City.

She was Liu Liu Yinzhu, who had searched for Ding Huan for months; she had merely passed through Xifeng City.

What puzzled her was: was this truly Xifeng City?

She had visited this city over a decade ago, and the only word to describe it was chaos.

Before even entering the city, her spiritual sense could clearly perceive the inner city's condition.

All streets were neatly arranged; merchants and customers treated each other with courtesy—there was no forced buying or selling whatsoever.

Not even in Daoist cities like Daye City had she seen such harmony.

Liu Liu Yinzhu decided to enter the city; as she reached the city gate, a guard stopped her:

"Friend, is this your first time in Xifeng City?"

Liu Liu Yinzhu said: "Yes."

The guard pointed to a building not far from the gate and said:

"Go register there. All first-time visitors to Xifeng City must register. Don't worry—it doesn't cost any crystal stones."

Liu Liu Yinzhu feigned surprise and asked:

"I remember last time I came here, it was chaotic—how is it so orderly now?"

The guard said proudly:

"Of course it's thanks to our Patrol Captain. Since our captain arrived in Xifeng City, it has never been this peaceful.

Rest assured, as long as you're inside Xifeng City, you're perfectly safe. Any problems? Just find our Patrol Guards. Remember: no crimes are allowed in Xifeng City."

Captain? Liu Liu Yinzhu felt a pang of disappointment—she thought Ding Huan would never become some captain.

"Who is the Patrol Captain?" Liu Liu Yinzhu asked casually.

"Naturally, Captain Ding," the guard replied dismissively.

In his subconscious, whether or not she was a first-timer, not knowing Captain Ding meant she had no sense/awareness.

"Ding Huan?" Liu Liu Yinzhu asked, suppressing her inner excitement.

The guard snorted: "Do you even need to ask? Everyone knows our Patrol Captain's name."

Found it. Finally, she found him.

Liu Liu Yinzhu took a deep breath, thanked the guard, and hurried to obtain her entry identity plaque.

Unlike the Double Soul Sect, who searched for Ding Huan only in major Daoist cities,

Liu Liu Yinzhu believed Ding Huan would never go to major Daoist cities, so she had mostly searched remote areas.

Finding his whereabouts today proved her guess correct: Ding Huan would not enter major Daoist cities before Foundation Establishment.

Liu Liu Yinzhu was certain Ding Huan lived here and had made it so peaceful precisely to create a favorable environment for Foundation Establishment.

But no matter how good the environment, it couldn't compare to Zi Xia Valley.

She had a high chance of convincing Ding Huan to go to Zi Xia Valley.

An hour later, Liu Liu Yinzhu stood outside the small courtyard where Ding Huan lived in the Great Crystal District.

Her spiritual sense landed on the courtyard and immediately filled her with shock.

Inside this small courtyard was a Level-One Killing Array and a Level-One Defense Array—if Ding Huan had arranged them, he was terrifying.

Normally, only mid- to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could even touch array formation, and even then, only to set up simple Level-One Defense Arrays.

Without spiritual sense, one could not set up any array at all.

Even she could barely manage a crude Level-Two array now.

Her master said she had exceptional talent in array arts to have achieved this.

But Ding Huan hasn't even reached Foundation Establishment—how could he have set up a Level-One Defense Array and Killing Array?

There is only one possibility: the formation here was already in place when Ding Huan moved in.

Liu Yinzhu forced herself to calm down and knocked on the crude prohibition outside.

That crude prohibition—Ding Huan could set it up, he's already among the top Qi Condensation cultivators.

Seeing Yan Mei, who was in cultivation, sensed someone knocking at the courtyard gate and rushed over to open it.

"Senior Liu?" Seeing Yan Mei stared at Liu Yinzhu standing at the gate, disbelief in his eyes.

Liu Yinzhu was a senior of the Purple Cloud Valley—how could she possibly come to this godforsaken place looking for them?

"It's been a long time, Seeing Yan Mei," Liu Yinzhu said with a smile.

"Ah…" Seeing Yan Mei snapped out of it and bowed deeply: "Greetings, Senior Liu."

"Aren't you going to invite me in for a sit?" Liu Yinzhu joked.

Seeing Yan Mei quickly stepped aside: "Senior Liu, please come in, please come in…"

Liu Yinzhu walked into the small courtyard and said casually: "Is Friend Ding not at home?"

Seeing Yan Mei replied: "Brother Huan just left a few days ago, Senior Liu arrived a bit too late."

Liu Yinzhu froze, then hurriedly asked:

"You mean Friend Ding has left Xifeng City?"

Seeing Yan Mei quickly said:

"No, no—Brother Huan left temporarily for some matters, he'll be coming back."

"How long until he returns?" Liu Yinzhu asked eagerly.

Seeing Yan Mei blinked—he didn't understand why Liu Yinzhu was so eager to find Brother Huan.

Sensing Seeing Yan Mei's confusion, Liu Yinzhu could only explain:

"It's like this: our sect master heard that Friend Ding's cooking is exceptional, and he wishes to invite him to the Purple Cloud Valley."

Seeing Yan Mei shook his head:

"Senior Liu, though the Purple Cloud Valley is a place I deeply aspire to, Brother Huan is unlikely to become a cook."

Though Ding Huan had never told Seeing Yan Mei his ambitions, Seeing Yan Mei understood from Ding Huan's complete lack of interest in controlling Xifeng City that Ding Huan would never settle for being merely a cook.

It was precisely because of Ding Huan's influence that Seeing Yan Mei had abandoned his duties in Xifeng City and retreated into seclusion to cultivate.

Not even if offered the position of cook for the top sect of the Threefold Heaven Star Continent would Brother Huan show interest.

Liu Yinzhu could only say:

"Then may I wait here for Friend Ding to return, and speak with him in person?"

"Of course you may—but I don't know when Brother Huan will return."

"That's fine. I have no urgent matters. Just give me an empty room. By the way, who lives in this room?"

As she spoke, Liu Yinzhu pointed toward Ding Huan's room.

"That's Brother Huan's," Seeing Yan Mei said without concern.

Liu Yinzhu confirmed: the formation in the room was very likely installed by Ding Huan himself afterward.

Having confirmed this, Liu Yinzhu grew even more eager to meet Ding Huan.

Xifeng City is too small—the Purple Cloud Valley is where Ding Huan should truly shine.

…

After days of cautious progress, Ding Huan now reached the heart of the Sword Storage Mountain.

He was covered in a thin layer of poison armor—his entire body was wrapped in a poison shell.

Having long trained his spiritual sense within poison mist, his spiritual sense now possessed poison resistance and could extend for several miles.

Logically, this should be cause for joy—it meant Ding Huan's resistance to poison had grown stronger.

In truth, Ding Huan felt no joy at all; he was already thinking that if he couldn't find the vortex leading to the void universe within a few more days, he would withdraw immediately.

The Toxin-Neutralizing Gene was his innate ability, yes—but during this brief time in the Sword Storage Mountain, Ding Huan had deeply realized the flaw in this ability.

In an environment saturated with poison, no matter how much he neutralized, his body remained engulfed in deadly toxins.

If prolonged, he would still perish here.

Ding Huan had a faint solution in mind—one that must be realized when he created his own Foundation Establishment technique.

That solution: when creating his technique, he would add a Zhou Tian to his Toxin-Neutralizing Gene.

Then, even in this poison-saturated environment, he could use his technique to convert all poison into tangible form and expel it.

Right now, he could not expel it—he could only endure it.

In Ding Huan's understanding, the more distant universe—the broader universe he believed in—did not necessarily conserve energy.

But in the current cosmic stage he occupied, energy was temporarily conserved.

From a certain perspective, poison was also a form of energy.

Since energy was conserved in the current cosmic stage, he could use his self-created technique to split poison into two parts.

One part as heavenly and earthly Qi, the other as tangible poison.

After expelling the poison, the Qi could be fully converted into his own strength.

This was his goal.

Another day passed; Ding Huan was on the verge of despair when a sharp sword qi shot toward him from the side.

Ding Huan knew the sword qi was coming—but he could not dodge it.

"Puff!" The sword qi pierced Ding Huan's body, spraying a mist of blood.

Ding Huan did not panic—he rejoiced. Without hesitation, he charged forward.

Since entering the Sword Storage Mountain, he had been calculating the location of the cosmic vortex.

He had failed every time—until now, after dozens of attempts, he finally had a slight breakthrough.

That meant waiting until he was injured, then following the direction of the danger—wherever that was would very likely be the place he was looking for.

For all these days, Ding Huan had been extremely careful; aside from the poisonous fog, there was nothing that could kill him.

Today he had finally been wounded by a sword qi, which meant the direction the sword qi had shot from was very likely where he needed to search.

Having stayed in this poisonous fog for too long, Ding Huan, after seizing his one chance, no longer cared about anything else and immediately deployed Extreme Shadow Escape.