Chapter 25: The Ten Thousand Methods Return to the Source

Who poisoned me?

He had only returned to this world for a few dozen days, and during this time he had been very careful.

It was unlikely anyone had poisoned him without him noticing.

The only possibility was his housekeeper, Ji Chunfu—this woman and his daughter Fu Mei were both no good.

He still had a property deed in his possession; the house was his, but after he left Bai Yu Group, the house had been sold by the housekeeper Ji Chunfu.

Without Ding Ding Jie's approval, how could Ji Chunfu have sold his house?

It seemed this woman had been working for Ding Ding Jie all along, and had been watching him all along.

In his previous life, he had truly been foolish.

No wonder in his previous life he had spent his entire life's energy, pouring nearly all his income into boosting his cultivation, yet his cultivation still could not improve.

After two hundred years, he had only reached the Fourth-Level Gene Cultivator.

During that time he had also used anti-toxin genes, but they had neither neutralized the poison nor detected its presence.

Probably the poison had lingered in his body for too long, seeping deeper until it had become part of his very body.

Previously, whenever his cultivation stagnated, he had always blamed it on his abysmal talent—no matter how much resources he poured in, he could not advance.

Only when he could no longer afford gene serums did he begin studying gene knowledge himself and crafting gene serums.

Who would willingly waste vast amounts of time in a laboratory if there was any other option?

Now he understood: he had been poisoned by an unknown slow-acting toxin, not because his talent was poor.

Ji Chunfu's abilities could never have obtained such a poison—this toxin must have been given to her by Ding Ding Jie.

During this time he had been focused on improving his strength and avoiding others' ambushes, never once suspecting this woman.

He never expected this woman had hidden so deeply.

When he had time, he would deal with these two women.

They ate his food, lived in his home, took the salary his father paid them, yet betrayed him.

After removing the poison from his body, Ding Huan cultivated all night.

When morning came, Ding Huan opened his eyes, his spirit fully revived.

Previously, when he practiced the Luo Shi Jing, he always felt something indescribable—a sensation that, though the Zhou Tian circulation seemed smooth, it would suddenly stall.

Although entering meditation was easy, he could never fully merge his body and mind into the Zhou Tian circulation.

Now that the poison was gone, after practicing the Luo Shi Jing, Ding Huan felt a difference.

Whether it was an illusion or not, his cultivation progress overnight surpassed what he had achieved in a full week before.

The Gene Dao is within reach, Ding Huan clenched his fists.

From now on, he would gradually build up his own abilities—when he eventually left Earth, Ding Huan would be the one in charge.

Next, he would extract the injury-recovery gene from the Hexagonal Fire Lizard.

With his experience extracting genes from the Golden-Faced Thick-Tailed Monkey, Ding Huan now handled this task with even greater ease.

In just one day, he extracted a recovery gene capable of fusing with his own body.

Ding Huan did not intend to use this gene serum.

First, he had developed a method to create his own bodily attributes using alien-skill genes as templates.

Not merely crafting gene serums and fusing them directly into his gene chain.

Second, he still intended to seek out the Two-Horned Fire Lizard.

If he truly found the Two-Horned Fire Lizard, he could use the same method he used to create the anti-toxin gene to transform the injury-recovery gene into one of his own abilities.

Ding Huan sighed: if he were still on Chang Yi Continent, he would have fused such a gene immediately upon creation.

In his previous life, to boost his strength, he had been like a headless fly.

He fused any gene he encountered, and cultivated any martial art he came across.

No plan, no mentor.

He had never paused…

The end result was that not only had he failed to solve his poisoning problem—he hadn't even known about it.

His cultivation was a complete mess, tangled and chaotic.

By the time he was over two hundred years old, he was still only a Fourth-Level Gene Cultivator, with no room for further progress.

Now he understood: even if he fused more alien genes, he would still never reach Fifth-Level Gene Cultivator.

He had spent his entire life frantically boosting his strength, never once knowing peace, and ultimately died being hunted down.

Fate had given him a second chance—he had invented his own unique gene-fusion method, transforming alien gene skills into his own innate abilities.

This was the correct way to begin cultivation.

After fusing the anti-toxin gene into his body, Ding Huan felt absolutely no sign that he had acquired a new gene.

This was no longer the extraction and fusion of the Golden-Faced Thick-Tailed Monkey's anti-toxin gene—it had become an innate anti-toxin ability of his own body.

As his cultivation advanced during Luo Shi Jing's Zhou Tian circulation, this anti-toxin ability would naturally grow stronger.

This was entirely different from alien gene fusion.

Gene fusion merely grants you a similar gene skill, and that skill remains fixed at the level it was when you fused it.

In other words, even if your strength grows to an immense level, that gene skill may still remain stuck at the level it was when you fused it.

A Gene Foundation Establishment cultivator whose anti-toxin gene still only matched the resistance of a Level-One Beast? That would absolutely drag his cultivation down.

This innovation and progress filled Ding Huan with immense satisfaction and sparked wild ideas in his mind.

If he were not a Gene Cultivator, but had been born with spiritual roots from the start, could he now use this gene method to carve out new meridians?

Hmm, it should be called Spirit Channels.

According to the knowledge from the parchment in his mind, in the era of spiritual roots and spiritual energy, cultivators practiced Zhou Tian circulation through Spirit Channels.

Whether spirit meridians or regular meridians, if he could carve out a new one using only an antitoxin gene, wouldn't that grant cultivators a natural talent?

If it truly were possible, it would mean all things ultimately converge toward the same destination.

His guess was correct: spirit roots are also a form of gene.

The only difference lies in the methods and processes used—that's what they mean by "all roads lead to Luohe."

In the future, if he meets a cultivator who trains solely through pure spirit roots, he might persuade them to try it.

…….

When Ding Huan went to greet Geng Qianxing, Geng Qianxing was training basic long fist with three students in the school's martial arts hall.

Upon hearing Ding Huan planned to go to Pujiang first, Fang Chong and the others all wanted to accompany him.

But Geng Qianxing's single sentence quashed their thoughts: Ding Huan might agree, but the three students' parents certainly wouldn't.

Letting their children stay at Yujiang University for training was first because Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi were already Yujiang University students.

Second, if they trained elsewhere, they still wouldn't pass the entrance exam.

There was no way they'd let their children leave prematurely for Pujiang without cause.

Ding Huan made a date with Geng Qianxing to meet in Pujiang two months later, then left Yujiang University ahead of schedule.

Perhaps they knew they couldn't touch Ding Huan before the Blue Star Top Ten Academies' assessment ended.

After Ding Huan left Yujiang University with conspicuous ease, the Washing Knife Society didn't bother saying a word.

In the Washing Knife Society's eyes, Ding Huan might act up, but it was only another two months or so.

After leaving Yujiang University, Ding Huan didn't buy a ticket to Pujiang right away—he went to Youyuan Real Estate.

In his previous life, after his eyes recovered, the Gene Alliance decided to send him aboard a spaceship as a test subject for new gene therapies.

Combined with his near-total tolerance for all genes, he was considered Earth's best candidate for gene trials.

Because of these abilities, Ding Huan had a degree of freedom during his final days on Earth.

Although his movements were still monitored, at least he wasn't constantly subjected to experimental gene serums like when he was first taken to the Gene Alliance.

It was during that time that Ding Huan learned his house had been sold by his nanny.

It was also then he realized his father had arranged a nanny long ago who had been bribed by Ding Ding Jie and had been spying on him all along.

Now add one more thing: the nanny had been poisoning him.

His house had been bought with his own money—he didn't want to live on Haipan Plain and wanted to be closer to Luoheshangwu University, so he bought it in Shanghe Huayuan.

Based on the timeline, the nanny must have sold his house during this period.

Ding Huan hoped it wasn't too late—if the house had already been sold, he'd have to endure it for now.

"I want to sell my house," Ding Huan said upon arriving at Youyuan Real Estate, tossing his property certificate down without a single wasted word.

"Which house?" the staff member asked, picking up the certificate and flipping through it; before Ding Huan could answer, he exclaimed in surprise, "Shanghe Huayuan?"

"Shanghe Huayuan?" A manager seated in the back also stood and walked over.

Shanghe Huayuan properties were in high demand—prime location, unmatched greenery, and wide spacing between buildings.

Located right beside Luoheshangwu University, one of the top universities nationwide, its prices had been rising continuously.

"Manager Xing, it's definitely Shanghe Huayuan—five units."

The staff member handed the property certificate to the arriving manager; this building was the crown jewel of Shanghe Huayuan, since opening the window revealed the river above.

The manager glanced at the certificate, then looked at Ding Huan with warm enthusiasm.

"The house can be sold, but it'll take three days—"

? ￠o

Ding Huan cut him off: "I need to sell it and get the money this afternoon. If you can do it, I'll take six million. But if you can't sell it today, I'm leaving immediately."

Six million? The manager's smile vanished as he sized Ding Huan up.

Even at the lowest price, Ding Huan's property wouldn't go below seven point six million; a normal sale would fetch eight million easily.

Now the man was asking for only six million—clearly something was off.

But so what? What kind of people hadn't they seen in real estate?

After studying Ding Huan for a long moment, the manager suddenly remembered something and blurted out, "Are you Ding Shao from Bai Yu Group?"

Ding Huan replied coolly, "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is whether you can sell my house today."

The manager's face lit up with a brilliant smile as he extended his hand. "Let me introduce myself—I'm Xing Hai, head of the Heluo branch of Youyuan Real Estate."

Ding Shao, you've come to the right place.

In all of Heluo, only Youyuan Real Estate can sell your house and hand you the cash this afternoon."

Ding Huan knew Youyuan Real Estate had immense power—capable of handling both legal and illegal matters. That's precisely why he came here.

"Ding Shao, times are different now. It's possible, yes—but getting your money today will still be difficult…" Xing Hai smiled without warmth.

He knew Ding Huan was now a fallen phoenix, no better than a chicken—no matter how he called him "Ding Shao."

In fact, he was certain that even if he bullied Ding Huan today, Ding Huan couldn't do a thing about it.

Right now, Ding Huan's arrival meant Xing Hai was about to make a fortune.