Chapter 227: 227. Chapter 224: What Good Are You?

227. Chapter 224: What Good Are You?

After the Elder He decided to flee, he did not hesitate for a moment—he pulled out a formation flag and activated it immediately.

Ding Huan saw Elder He pull out the formation flag and knew the man was trying to escape; he immediately used Extreme Shadow Step and burst out of the concealment formation.

Almost the instant Ding Huan emerged from the concealment formation, Elder He activated the teleportation flag.

The flag activated, and Elder He vanished from his spot.

Along with Elder He, Ding Huan also vanished—he had used Extreme Shadow Step to rush toward the small stream.

As soon as Elder He landed on the stream's teleportation array, he activated the teleportation flag a second time.

At the exact same moment, the Hellvine seed Ding Huan had planted at the heart of the stream's teleportation array erupted.

The Level Five Hellvine seed exploded, and in an instant, the countless vines that shot out wrapped tightly around Elder He.

Bad! Elder He's heart froze in terror—he had been ambushed.

He couldn't understand how the other side had known about this natural teleportation array hidden in the stream, or how they had planted a Hellvine seed here to ambush him.

He had secluded himself on Purple Stream Peak for over a hundred years, and only by sheer chance had he discovered this natural teleportation array.

Now was not the time to ponder this—he had to escape immediately.

Elder He unleashed his true energy, yet the vines binding him did not shatter at once.

Is this a Level Five Hellvine? Elder He's soul nearly fled his body—he knew every extra breath he wasted increased his peril tenfold.

Elder He no longer cared about damage to his Primordial Spirit or instability in his realm—he frantically burned his blood essence, needing only two more breaths.

In two breaths, his Water-Fire domain would break free of the Hellvine's restraint.

Once free of the Hellvine's grip, even if he wasn't teleported away immediately, his life would not be in immediate danger.

The horror of the Hellvine wasn't just its binding—it would, if left unchecked, drive its roots into the body and absorb flesh and vital essence within a set time.

At this moment, Elder He felt regret—he shouldn't have assumed no one had discovered this natural teleportation array.

Violent true energy surged around Elder He; he felt his true energy domain was about to rupture the Hellvine seed…

A terrifying vortex of killing intent tore through his defensive system and plunged into his nearly unleashed Water-Fire true energy domain.

The true energy momentum he was about to unleash was ripped apart by the vortex.

With his true energy momentum shattered, Elder He panicked—he hastily summoned his Water-Fire Twin Cuts and slashed at the Hellvine binding his body.

He needed only one breath.

Ding Huan would not grant him even one breath—he had waited this long precisely for this one breath.

As the Yellow Flower Kill succeeded, the Parting Spear surged forth:

The sky filled with killing intent, like ten thousand armies charging with unstoppable momentum toward Elder He—right now, Water-Fire Twin Cuts, Water-Fire domain—all were trash, all were irrelevant.

The one breath was gone; the breath of death had already seeped into his soul. Elder He opened his eyes and saw a spear, as if tearing through the heavens.

The spear carried a killing aura of supreme dominance, locking away all his lifelines—his every effort was futile.

Under the deathly pressure of this spear, he appeared utterly insignificant.

When September eighth comes next year, my spear shall strike—and ten thousand souls shall die!

Plop!

Blood erupted; the Primordial Spirit shattered.

First of the Nine Divine Arts: Soul Shatter.

"Why are you killing me?" These were Elder He's final words.

"Because you're a parasite who only drains the sect—when the sect fell apart, you never lifted a finger to help. What good are you?"

Ding Huan's mocking voice echoed. Elder He closed his eyes in bitter resignation—his Primordial Spirit could not escape, pinned fast by the Parting Spear.

Thud! Elder He's corpse collapsed into the stream, the water instantly turning red.

The Hellvine's vines turned into countless tendrils that plunged into Elder He's body; in the blink of an eye, his flesh and blood vanished.

Ding Huan also collapsed onto the stream, his heart filled only with relief.

Relief that he had collected the poison mist from Sword Storage Mountain, relief that Elder He had used his explosive technique too early, and relief that he had paid a heavy price to buy the Hellvine.

Without the Hellvine, that spear strike of Soul Shatter would not have killed Elder He.

It wasn't that his Soul Shatter divine art was weak—it was that his strength was insufficient.

He sat in the stream for half a stick of incense before retrieving his formation flag and dragging Elder He's corpse onto the riverbank.

Elder He's corpse was now little more than skin, hair, and clothing—this made Ding Huan's scalp tingle.

This Hellvine seed is terrifying—must be extremely careful with it in the future.

He waved his hand to take Elder He's ring, then retrieved Elder He's Water-Fire Twin Cuts, and finally summoned a flame to engulf Elder He.

The flame not only reduced Elder He to nothing, but also burned the grown Hellvine vines to ash.

Far away, Liu Liu Yinzhu and Sang Sang Yuhe had been anxiously watching Purple Stream Peak.

Had they been able to help, they would have rushed over long ago.

"Liu Elder, the fighting over there seems to have stopped," Sang Sang Yuhe said, her voice dry.

She knew that if Ding Huan died, she would certainly die too—so she had prepared herself: the moment Elder He emerged, she would self-destruct.

Liu Liu Yinzhu was equally tense—if Ding Huan died, she wouldn't fare much better. Even if Elder He didn't kill her, she'd likely end up a puppet.

After a stick of incense, Sang Sang Yuhe looked at Liu Liu Yinzhu in confusion: "Liu Elder, something's wrong."

Even without Sang Sang Yuhe's words, Liu Liu Yinzhu knew something was wrong.

If Elder He had killed Ding Huan, he would have emerged immediately.

Conversely, if Ding Huan had killed Elder He, he too would have emerged immediately.

Now, Purple Stream Peak was utterly silent—this was strange. Had they destroyed each other?

"Go take a look," Liu Liu Yinzhu gritted her teeth—no matter the outcome, as long as Elder He still lived, whether she went or not, her fate would be no better.

The two had just arrived at the foot of Zi Xi Peak when the hazy peak suddenly sharpened into clarity, and then they saw the formation gate open.

"Ding Huan, are you alright?" Liu Liu Yinzhu's voice trembled with excitement.

Sang Sang Yuhe was equally agitated—if Ding Huan was unharmed, then he must have killed He Changlao.

"I'm fine—I took care of He Changlao. Yinzhu-jie, Yuhe-jie, help me make preparations. In three days, we'll establish a new sect. I'll stay here to tidy up and heal my wounds."

Ding Huan's voice was extremely weary.

Without explanation, Sang Sang Yuhe and Liu Liu Yinzhu knew Ding Huan was severely wounded—he was drenched in blood, like a man made entirely of it.

But since he could stand, open the formation gate, and speak, his condition was still within acceptable limits.

"Rest and heal—everything else is up to me and Yuhe," Liu Liu Yinzhu's demeanor shifted instantly.

Previously, here, constantly fearing He Changlao, she hadn't dared to cultivate, so her cultivation hadn't advanced—it had even regressed slightly.

Sang Sang Yuhe had been hunted by Qi Yushan for years, her cultivation barely holding steady at the True Pill realm.

Now that her psychological burden was gone, even without cultivating, Liu Liu Yinzhu felt her qi growing stronger—this was pure psychological effect.

After Sang Sang Yuhe and Liu Liu Yinzhu left, Ding Huan confirmed all the toxic mists of Zi Xi Peak had been absorbed, then he finally entered the peak's summit.

This was where He Changlao had secluded himself for cultivation.

Upon arriving, Ding Huan saw a ferocious two-headed lion lying on the ground.

It appeared to be He Changlao's contracted spirit beast—now that He Changlao was dead, the lion had died too.

The lion guarded a vast spirit herb garden; when Ding Huan broke the garden's seals and saw the herbs inside, he finally understood why He Changlao never wanted to leave.

What spirit herb wouldn't a pill-refiner want in this garden?

Hmm, the Three-Tone Purple Rain Flower was indeed absent.

Ding Huan attempted to activate the Great Cosmos Art; the densest possible spiritual energy surged toward him.

His guess was correct—the spiritual energy of Zi Xi Peak was even richer than that of Zhao Xia.

Moreover, the spiritual energy here seemed to be of a higher tier.

If Zhao Xia Peak housed a low- or mid-grade spiritual vein, this place undoubtedly housed a high-grade one.

Ding Huan threw out formation flags and, in a short time, sealed everything here completely.

He claimed this place—seclusion didn't have to be on Zhao Xia Peak; this place was far superior.

His spiritual sense swept over He Changlao's cultivation chamber and revealed nothing particularly special.

It seemed the old man had truly devoted himself entirely to ascending to the Void God realm here.

Ding Huan didn't return to Zhao Xia Peak—he stayed here, healing while retrieving He Changlao's ring and Qi Yushan's belt.

Ding Huan easily broke the seals on Qi Yushan's belt.

The Immortal-Demon Pill he'd given Qi Yushan remained perfectly sealed inside the belt; besides the pill, there was also the alchemical cauldron Qi Yushan had surrendered.

Ding Huan sighed inwardly—why bother?

Traveling countless miles, gaining a little fortune, then ruining it all through his own greed.

People should know when to stop—don't be too greedy.

He stored everything in his own ring, then used his spiritual sense to break He Changlao's ring seals.

Though He Changlao was a Yuan Hun peak cultivator, halfway to Void God, his life had been taken by Ding Huan.

His ring's seals were merely fourth-tier—no difficulty for Ding Huan.

Inside He Changlao's ring were four to five million high-grade spirit stones, plus a spiritual vein—estimated to be mid-grade.

Countless jade slips, countless unknown pills, and one very high-tier alchemical cauldron.

But Ding Huan had zero interest in any of these—he had no interest in pill-refining or pill-refining jade slips.

He took his body as the universe, his body as the vast cosmos, his meridians as star systems, and a single speck of stardust as origin, forging his own Dao.

As long as he was within the universe, he could absorb and integrate all the cosmic genes he needed—so he was born without need for pills to cultivate.