Chapter 244: 244. Chapter 241: The Great Contributor

244. Chapter 241: The Great Contributor

Ding Huan waved a hand:

"Did you get the stuff?"

Han Weicheng hurriedly took out a storage bag and handed it to Ding Huan:

"Sect Master Ding, I got you three Intercepting Stones, four sections of Space Wood, and one measure of Void Sand. This is everything our sect was able to gather."

Ding Huan heard that the haul was even more than what he had asked for, and there was even a measure of Void Sand—he was overjoyed at once.

His divine sense swept into the storage bag and confirmed the contents matched exactly what Han Weicheng had said, including a measure of Void Sand. Satisfied, Ding Huan tucked the bag away and clapped Han Weicheng on the shoulder again.

Han Weicheng was so startled he gave a shudder.

"How many spirit stones? I'll pay."

Ding Huan had no intention of taking Han Weicheng's things for free.

Han Weicheng hurriedly waved his hands: "Sect Master Ding, you still haven't let me repay you for saving my life last time. How could I dare accept spirit stones for such a small amount of stuff? Wouldn't that be slapping my own face?"

Ding Huan was rather surprised—this fellow had never struck him as the type to know how to repay a kindness.

And "such a small amount"? Did this fellow have any idea at all of the value of Void Sand?

Without further ado, he took out a jade bottle, handed it to Han Weicheng, and said:

"I'm giving you this. On top of that, I owe you a favor—anyone who brings this bottle to my Blue Star Sect, I'll step in and act once on your behalf."

"Thank you, Sect Master Ding."

Han Weicheng paid no heed at all to Ding Huan's offer of one act of help; he only hoped Ding Huan would take the goods and leave quickly.

Ding Huan could tell Han Weicheng seemed afraid of him, but he didn't mind. He packed up the items and took his leave of Han Weicheng.

He had no intention of leaving right away. Tianqi City was full of material shops, and he needed to buy some auxiliary materials for laying down a teleportation array.

Seeing that Ding Huan had truly left this time, Han Weicheng finally wiped the sweat from his brow.

Qu Yueshan had it in for Ding Huan—and before he even walked out of the Great Gorge Valley, he was gone.

Yi Wandao and Tan Yanxiao had it in for Ding Huan—the grass on their graves was already three feet tall, and the Twin Soul Sect was gone too.

As for him, Han Weicheng had never taken Ding Huan's life-saving grace to heart at all, so saying he had it in for Ding Huan wasn't far off the mark.

Now that Ding Huan had wiped out the Twin Soul Sect and come to where Tianqi Sect was located, even an idiot could figure out what Ding Huan was about to do, right?

Otherwise, why would Ding Huan have come?

Look at the very first thing he asked—word was that Tianqi Sect had ties with the God Race. Wasn't that just looking for a pretext?

Luckily, he hadn't let Ding Huan find that pretext. He'd decisively gathered everything Ding Huan needed, and even exceeded the quota.

Only then did Ding Huan have nothing to say and could only leave.

Looking for a pretext still has to actually land one. If I, Han Weicheng, made it that easy for you to find one, the Tianqi Sect Master wouldn't think so highly of me.

He glanced at the jade bottle in his hand, popped it open on a whim, and discovered there was actually a True Star Pill inside.

Getting a True Star Pill was naturally a joy, but for Han Weicheng the greatest joy was still seeing off Ding Huan, that god of slaughter.

Just then, his communication bead lit up again.

Only now did Han Weicheng remember he was supposed to go attend the Sect Assembly.

When he had left Immortal Artifact Peak earlier, he had already received the message, but he was busy getting rid of Ding Huan, that god of slaughter, so he had to postpone the Sect Assembly notification.

Still, if the Sect Master learned of this, the Sect Master certainly wouldn't blame him.

Tianqi Sect's main hall.

Bu Tangtang was nearly roaring:

"Han Weicheng not only swindled my Intercepting Stones and Space Wood away, he swindled my Void Sand too. Sect Master, if you don't stand up for me on this, what's the point of me staying in Tianqi Sect?"

Only now did Bu Tangtang realize there had never been any sect-threatening crisis requiring Intercepting Stones and Space Wood at all—Han Weicheng had used that as a pretext to swindle his things.

Tianqi Sect Master Tie Jinyi was quite helpless too. Han Weicheng did have the ability to get things done, but his talent for deceiving those above and hiding things from those below was also growing by the day.

To think he used the destruction of the Twin Soul Sect as a pretext to swindle Elder Bu Tangtang's things.

Were Bu Tangtang's things that easy to take? Even he, the Sect Master, couldn't just help himself to Bu Tangtang's materials. Han Weicheng truly didn't know his place.

Not only the Sect Master, but the other elders were also unwilling to chime in on this matter.

Bu Tangtang absolutely could not be offended—this fellow was the only refiner in Tianqi Sect capable of crafting top-grade spirit artifacts.

If they offended Bu Tangtang, who would they go to in the future when they needed top-grade spirit artifacts refined?

Han Weicheng couldn't be offended either. Recently Han Weicheng's luck had been extremely good, and he had even become the chief steward of Tianqi Pavilion.

It could be said that most of Tianqi Sect's elders had received favors from Han Weicheng.

Just as Bu Tangtang was spitting and raging with full force, Han Weicheng's voice rang out at the hall's entrance:

"Elder Bu, you need to be responsible for your words. Is it appropriate for you to slander another elder who serves the sect diligently and conscientiously like this?"

Bu Tangtang froze for a beat, then immediately realized Han Weicheng had come back. He shot up from his seat and grabbed Han Weicheng at once:

"Han, hand my stuff over."

"Elder Bu, please go back to your seat first. During a Sect Assembly, what kind of decorum is this?"

Sect Master Tie Jinyi was quite helpless and could only speak up to intervene.

Bu Tangtang snorted, returned to his seat with some reluctance, though his eyes stayed fixed on Han Weicheng the whole time.

As if the moment he looked away, Han Weicheng would vanish.

Tie Jinyi also looked at Han Weicheng, his tone turning stern:

"Elder Han, what exactly is going on here?"

Han Weicheng cupped his fists:

"Sect Master, fellow elders, I truly did not swindle Elder Bu. I believe everyone should know by now that the Twin Soul Sect has been wiped out, right?"

Everyone nodded. There were two matters at this assembly; the first was the destruction of the Twin Soul Sect.

Master Tie Jin Yi wanted to remind all elders: don't provoke the Blue Star Sect under any circumstances—it's a mad sect, led by a mad sect master.

He can nail down a Primordial Soul realm sect master, or wipe out an entire sect.

Han Weicheng sighed and said:

"I was afraid my Tianqi Sect would follow the fate of the Double Soul Sect, which is why I urgently sought Elder Bu Bu Tangtang for those items.

And when the sect master called for the grand sect assembly, I didn't come at once."

No one interrupted Han Weicheng—not even Sect Master Tie Jin Yi—everyone knew Han Weicheng had more to explain.

"The man who destroyed the Double Soul Sect is Ding Huan, the Blue Star Sect's sect master…"

Even without Han Weicheng saying it, everyone already knew: the Double Soul Sect had been wiped out by Ding Huan, the Blue Star Sect's sect master—every cultivator in the Dao realm knew this.

But what Han Weicheng said next made every hair on everyone's body stand on end, cold sweat pouring down their backs.

"After destroying the Double Soul Sect, Ding Huan came straight to our Tianqi Sect. I saw him storming into Tianqi City, and I immediately knew disaster was coming.

Fortunately, I knew Ding Huan—I sent him a message right away, and he came to the Tianqi Pavilion to find me…"

Han Weicheng had originally planned to say he had personally intercepted Ding Huan. But remembering that Shopkeeper Bao knew the truth, he changed his story mid-sentence and claimed he'd sent a message.

"Elder Han, our Tianqi Sect hasn't offended Ding Huan, has it…"

One elder couldn't help standing up, his voice trembling.

Ding Huan's reputation for brutality was simply too fearsome.

Han Weicheng sighed and said:

"This is my fault. Originally, Ding Huan saved my life, then he asked for our Tianqi Sect's alchemy techniques and secret arts—I refused to give them to him, and thus we made enemies…"

Han Weicheng was lying through his teeth—he was simply terrified of death, so he made up this excuse.

If Ding Huan truly wanted Tianqi Sect's alchemy methods, he would have handed over every single technique he controlled without hesitation.

But he thought Ding Huan wouldn't care about the Qi Sect's alchemy techniques.

He didn't know that when Ding Huan first approached him, it was precisely for the basics of alchemy—and also to befriend him.

This man always judged others by his own petty standards—truly a small-minded villain.

"Ah, Elder Han, you should've just given him some of your alchemy techniques back then. Still, it's thanks to elders like you, devoted entirely to the sect, that our Tianqi Sect has thrived."

Tie Jin Yi sighed and spoke up willingly.

"Elder Han, where is Ding Huan… Sect Master Ding?"

The elder who had spoken earlier clearly cared less about Han Weicheng protecting the sect's secrets—he cared whether Ding Huan would strike the Tianqi Sect again.

Han Weicheng wiped sweat from his forehead—though there was none.

"I arranged to meet Sect Master Ding at the Tianqi Pavilion. The moment he saw me, he asked if we were colluding with the Divine Clan—I broke out in cold sweat and immediately denied it.

When Ding Huan saw me deny it, he left. How could I let him leave? His leaving might mean he was coming to annihilate our Tianqi Sect!

So I quickly sent him a message, asking what treasure he needed, whether there was anything I, Han Weicheng, could help him with.

Fortunately, perhaps Ding Huan still remembered our past acquaintance—he returned and asked for several rare materials.

Those materials were extremely hard to obtain; I couldn't let him find another excuse, so I hurried to Elder Bu's place to retrieve them…"

"After obtaining the materials, he didn't say anything else?" Tie Jin Yi asked again.

Han Weicheng exhaled in relief:

"Good—he accepted the materials and seemed to approve of my attitude, even gave me a True Star Pill.

And he told me that if I ever needed his help in the future, I could go to him with the jade vial."

Tie Jin Yi slammed his hand on the table:

"Elder Han, you did the right thing. If not for you, our Tianqi Sect would already be the next Double Soul Sect."

"Oh no, Elder Han, how could you let Ding Huan follow you to the Tianqi Pavilion? What if you angered him? You should've stopped right there and invited him yourself…"

The elder who was deeply worried about Ding Huan quickly added his voice.

Bu Bu Tangtang now realized Han Weicheng had been telling the truth.

He came before Han Weicheng, face flushed with shame, and bowed deeply:

"Elder Han, I was too rash before—I wronged you. I accept your punishment."

Han Weicheng waved his hand generously:

"We're all elders of the Tianqi Sect—we should unite to serve the sect. You speak too formally."

"Yes, yes!" Bu Bu Tangtang hurriedly replied.

The elder seated first on the left suddenly spoke:

"Sect Master, since Ding Huan gave Elder Han a jade vial, could we ask Sect Master Ding to intervene once regarding the trouble we discussed earlier?"

Han Weicheng didn't know what trouble they'd discussed—this remark left him stunned.

Damn it, I just got rid of Ding Huan—and now you're stirring up more trouble? Whoever wants to invite him, go invite him yourself—I'm not going near Ding Huan again.