Chapter 215: 215. Chapter 212: The Man Ding Huan Wants to Kill

215. Chapter 212: The Man Ding Huan Wants to Kill

After the battle between Zi Xia Valley and Jiu Yin Gate, news of these two sects spread everywhere in the Daoist cultivation world.

Rumors claimed both sects suffered heavy losses in the battle: Zi Xia Valley sealed its mountain gates, and similarly, Jiu Yin Gate fared no better, sealing its own gates as well.

At this time, Shuang Hun Sect had already traced Ding Huan's whereabouts—he had left with Elder Liu of Zi Xia Valley.

But since Zi Xia Valley had sealed its gates, even if Shuang Hun Sect wanted to act, they could only wait until the valley reopened.

After Ding Huan entered seclusion inside Zi Xia Valley, he never emerged again, spending three consecutive months studying arrays; now, Ding Huan was a Level Four Array Master.

But Ding Huan was certain that Level Four arrays were far from enough to deal with Elder He—he needed to advance to Level Five, even Level Six Array Master.

Fortunately, the materials at Ding Huan's disposal were countless, and the array jade slips piled up in heaps.

The array jade slips from both Zi Xia Valley and Jiu Yin Gate were in his possession, as were those taken from the rings of Hao Wudao and Gu Mo, the two Yuan Hun cultivators.

These array jade slips, combined with the array knowledge Ding Huan already possessed in his memory, propelled his array mastery forward rapidly.

Indeed, the spiritual energy at Zhao Xia Peak was so abundant that by the time another year was nearly over, Yan Mei had reached the peak of Qi Refinement Stage Nine.

Qin Qingshan had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage and could not advance further in the short term.

Yet he had accomplished much within the sect, gathering all injured cultivators and those who had hidden themselves away throughout the sect.

Now, the total number of people in Zi Xia Valley amounted to over thirty.

For this entire year, Ding Huan had not cultivated a single second—his entire focus went into forging array flags, studying arrays, and breaking seals.

The so-called breaking of seals referred to that pot; after Ding Huan entered Level Five Array Master, he spent half a month trying to break its seals.

After half a month, he hadn't even touched the surface of its seals and had to abandon the attempt again, storing the pot in his quarters, to be dealt with later when his cultivation improved.

One day, while forging a new array flag, Ding Huan received a message from Liu Yinzhu.

Ding Huan quickly opened the protective array to let Liu Yinzhu in:

"Sister Yinzhu, you came in such a hurry—has it got something to do with Elder He?"

In Zhao Xia Peak's abundant spiritual energy, Ding Huan dared not cultivate precisely because he feared Elder He.

Unless he killed that old turtle, he simply could not and would not dare to cultivate here.

Killing that turtle through raw power alone seemed highly unrealistic.

For Ding Huan, the fastest shortcut was array mastery.

His knowledge base contained countless array techniques; once studied to a certain level, these techniques would activate.

"Yes, today I received a message from Elder He demanding I gather the Three-Colored Zi Lin Flower at all costs and deliver it to him within three months…"

Liu Yinzhu said urgently.

Ding Huan immediately understood—the man was going to brew Xu Luo Pill.

Three-Colored Zi Lin Flower was one of the three main ingredients for Xu Luo Pill; since Elder He only requested this flower, it meant he already had all the other herbs.

"Is Elder He also an Alchemy Master?" Ding Huan thought.

Liu Yinzhu nodded: "Yes, he's not just an Alchemy Master—he can brew Level Five Spirit Pills."

Good heavens, a Level Five Spirit Pill Alchemy Master was rare throughout the entire Daoist cultivation world.

Ding Huan felt he could wait no longer—Xu Luo Pill was the spirit pill for advancing to the Xu Shen Realm. Once Elder He ascended to Xu Shen, would Ding Huan then have to reach Level Seven Array King?

He had originally planned to strike once he reached Level Six Array Master, but array mastery grew increasingly complex the higher one went; the more anxious he became, the harder it was to break through.

He had been stuck at Level Five Array Master for over four months now.

"How did you answer him?" Ding Huan asked urgently.

"I told him I would immediately notify the Sect Master to search for the Three-Colored Zi Lin Flower and find it within three months," Liu Yinzhu replied.

If the Three-Colored Zi Lin Flower couldn't be found within three months, they would have to flee Zi Xia Valley.

"Good. Leave the rest to me—I'll deal with this old bastard. Before that, I need to leave the sect for a while." Ding Huan decided not to wait any longer.

Liu Yinzhu was stunned:

"Ding Huan, if you leave the sect, you'll have to open the sealing array protecting the mountain—won't that mean Zi Xia Valley is inviting its own destruction?"

"No need. I have a way to leave without opening the sealing array. I'll be gone no more than two months." Ding Huan smiled.

Liu Yinzhu was only a Level Two Array Master and had no idea how Ding Huan could leave without activating the sect's main array.

But she knew well that over the past year, Ding Huan had devoted himself entirely to array studies.

Given Ding Huan's learning pace, he must be close to becoming a Level Four Array Master, right?

A Level Four Array Master trying to take down Elder He was still risky.

Mainly because Ding Huan had no strong ally—if he had even one powerful cultivator, they might have a chance to kill Elder He while trapping him in a Level Four Binding and Killing Array.

…

Ding Huan wasn't boasting.

The protective array of Zi Xia Valley was barely a Level Five array.

Ding Huan had already been a Level Five Array Master four or five months ago—he could easily set up such an array himself.

In these past few months, his array mastery had advanced again, nearly touching the threshold of Level Six Array Master.

Leaving Zi Xia Valley without activating the Level Five protective array was truly no difficulty for him.

An hour later, Ding Huan calmly departed Zi Xia Valley, and not even a blade of grass stirred within the mountain's sealed protective array.

After leaving Zi Xia Valley, Ding Huan put on a disguise mask, transforming into a slightly ruthless hermit cultivator.

Ding Huan was very satisfied with this disguise mask—ruthless hermits like this were usually left alone by others.

First, because such hermits showed no mercy; second, because they carried little wealth.

This mask made Ding Huan grateful to Hao Wudao, since he had obtained it from Hao Wudao's ring.

Ding Huan had not opened any of the storage bags or rings from Zi Xia Valley, because his materials were sufficient.

If he ever established a sect, these items would become sect property; if he could no longer stay in Zi Xia Valley, he would distribute them among everyone.

From the rings of Hao Wudao, Chang Qi, Canping, and Gong Hua alone, Ding Huan acquired over a dozen disguise spirit devices.

The disguise spirit device in Hao Wudao's ring was the highest grade—a top-grade spirit device.

In Hao Wudao's ring, aside from that unknown forbidden box, this top-grade disguise spirit device was the most valuable.

Ding Huan's destination was Zangjian Mountain; he must go there to deal with Elder He.

He needed to collect a batch of poison mist from Zangjian Mountain and deploy it within the trapping and killing array meant for Elder He.

To collect poison mist from Zangjian Mountain, he needed a container capable of holding poison mist.

Ding Huan was decent at forging, but he primarily crafted array flags; he could not yet forge a container capable of holding poison mist.

So Ding Huan's first stop was Zhenyun Dao City, hailed as the foremost Daoist city in the Dao cultivation world, where he was certain to find what he needed.

Zhenyun Dao City was too far from Zixia Valley; if he flew there himself, it would take at least half a month.

That didn't even count potential problems on the journey—if anything went wrong, whether he could return to Zixia Valley within three months was uncertain.

So Ding Huan first went to Yanyue City.

Yanyue City had one advantage: a teleportation array directly to Zhenyun Dao City.

Ding Huan had never been to Yanyue City; last time he accompanied Guan Cui, he had only waited far outside the city.

After entering Yanyue City, Ding Huan immediately sensed the difference between Yanyue City and Xifeng City.

Although Xifeng City had undergone a qualitative change under his intervention, no matter how much it changed, it remained a city dominated by ordinary mortals.

In Xifeng City, Foundation Establishment cultivators were virtually unseen, and all incoming and outgoing goods were low-grade items.

Upon entering Yanyue City, Ding Huan's gaze swept the streets and saw almost no untrained ordinary people.

Foundation Establishment cultivators, while not everywhere, were frequently seen.

He even spotted several True Pill realm cultivators.

Some street shops displayed signs advertising spirit devices and pills for sale.

It wasn't that there were no magic artifacts here—rather, displaying spirit devices made the shops seem prestigious, attracting cultivators who mostly still bought only magic artifacts.

Ding Huan planned to enter a guesthouse to inquire about the teleportation array's location, since this was a city controlled by the Yanyue Sect—he couldn't treat it like Xifeng City and casually scan with his spiritual sense.

"Yandao Trading Association's biggest annual auction! One low-grade spirit stone for insider information…"

A thin, Qi Condensation attendant was selling small booklets on the street.

Ding Huan was going to Zhenyun Dao City to buy a container for Zangjian Mountain's poison mist; if there was an auction here, he might as well see what was being sold.

Just as Ding Huan was about to approach, a familiar figure flashed past his vision and stopped before the attendant, tossing a spirit stone to him:

"Give me one."

The attendant swiftly took the spirit stone and handed the man a booklet.

A sharp surge of killing intent flashed through Ding Huan's heart—he clenched his fist, took a deep breath, then calmed his emotions and walked up to the attendant, offering a low-grade spirit stone:

"Give me one too."

"Got it!" The attendant was delighted—he'd just earned two spirit stones.

"Will any True Pill realm elders attend this auction?"

Ding Huan asked casually, his gaze fixed on the man who had just bought the booklet.

Qi Yushan—this was the man who had brought several others to the Four Directions Star Continent to bring Ding Huan and Lou Buzhi to the Third Heaven Star Continent.

If not for his ability to calculate fate, he would have been killed by this man long ago.

"Of course. Even True Pill realm experts aren't rare at such auctions—Primordial Soul realm experts often show up too."

As the attendant answered proudly, Ding Huan had already walked away.

Ding Huan's original intent was to find out whether any Primordial Soul realm cultivators would attend the auction, but Qi Yushan was about to vanish from sight—he could not let him go, and immediately followed.