Chapter 253

253. Chapter 250: Pursuit and Assassination

Lu Yuan also summoned his Twin-Gan Spades, slicing through space with faint trails as they slashed toward Ding Huan.

Lu Yuan had great confidence in his Twin-Gan Spades.

In Lu Yuan's eyes, the Twin-Gan Spades would effortlessly tear through Ding Huan's spear curtain, then blast Ding Huan flying.

As for killing Ding Huan, he never considered it.

Because he knew he couldn't kill him.

Ding Huan would inevitably retreat into Zi Yuan Zhongshan's trapping and killing array; once Ding Huan retreated, Lu Yuan dared not follow.

Even if he were a Void God, once trapped in a Level Six trapping and killing array, he would be doomed.

He didn't care—if Ding Huan could be killed so easily, he wouldn't have achieved what he had now.

But when Lu Yuan's Twin-Gan Spades struck Ding Huan's spear curtain, his expression changed.

Ding Huan's spear curtain was as solid as reality, and Lu Yuan faintly sensed that if he lingered one more breath, his life force space would be locked by Ding Huan's killing intent.

Get out now—just as Lu Yuan thought those three words, his spiritual domain was ripped apart by a vortex of killing intent, and his Twin-Gan Spades instantly lost their connection; he could no longer control them at all.

Lu Yuan had slaughtered countless lives, his hands drenched in blood, yet he cherished his own life above all.

At this moment, he decisively abandoned his Twin-Gan Spades, furiously burning his essence blood to activate a teleportation technique.

"Puff!" Even though Lu Yuan fled swiftly, Ding Huan's Parting Spear still carved a deep gash across his back.

Lu Yuan used this moment to escape Ding Huan's killing intent range and vanished instantly.

Ding Huan hadn't expected Lu Yuan to flee after just one exchange—was he too hasty?

This guy's escape was decisive—if he'd waited three breaths longer, his Parting Spear would have locked Lu Yuan's life force space.

If only he'd delayed activating Yellow Flower Kill until after locking Lu Yuan in his killing intent domain—it would've been far easier to kill him then.

But even if he couldn't catch him now, being struck by his Parting Spear didn't mean escape was easy.

Even if he couldn't catch up right now, he could still track Lu Yuan from afar by the starlight spiritual force residue left by the Parting Spear.

Ding Huan did exactly that—he didn't even return to his sect, but followed Lu Yuan relentlessly.

Anyone who dared touch Zi Yuan Zhongshan must die, no matter where they came from.

Ding Huan had killed both Immortals and True Gods from the Ascension Realm; what did he care about a mere beginner Void God, barely even stepped into the realm?

Feeling the opponent growing ever farther away, Ding Huan decided his flight artifact needed upgrading.

Ding Huan wasn't without good flight artifacts—he simply dared not use them.

He had obtained flight artifacts from the storage rings of Shi Jiantian and Elder Qi Long.

Especially Shi Jiantian's flight artifact—a round-headed shuttle—that was unquestionably beyond the realm of top-grade spirit treasures.

These artifacts were taken from cultivators of the Ascension Realm; for now, he still couldn't openly display them.

Otherwise, if anyone found out, not only he but his Lanxing Sect would be in danger.

Ding Huan wasn't in a hurry—he only needed to follow the lingering spear Dao resonance left by the Parting Spear, and he would eventually find the man.

Ding Huan wasn't in a hurry, but Lu Yuan was frantic.

He faintly sensed Ding Huan chasing behind him, yet he didn't know how Ding Huan could track his direction.

If Ding Huan was tracking him by Dao resonance, he would never believe it.

Dao resonance—no one, not even Ding Huan, let alone a true Earth Immortal at the peak, could detect such a thing.

To sense Dao resonance, one needed a certain understanding of the laws of heaven and earth.

No matter how strong Ding Huan was, he was still just a Void God—how could a Void God possibly comprehend the laws of heaven and earth?

Not understanding how Ding Huan knew his whereabouts, Lu Yuan dared not stop—he could only flee to Zhenyun Dao City and seek Mo Zheng.

With his current strength under pursuit, the number of people in the Dao cultivation world who could help him was few indeed.

The only person who could help him—and had reason to—was Mo Zheng.

As soon as he entered Zhenyun Dao City, Lu Yuan rushed straight to the city lord's mansion, and before the guards could ask, he blurted out:

"I am Lu Yuan, head of the Dao Cultivation Merchants' Guild—I urgently seek City Lord Mo."

The guards actually knew Lu Yuan—he was no ordinary figure.

The head of the top Dao Cultivation Merchants' Guild in the entire Dao world, a Void God elder, had entered and exited the city lord's mansion countless times—how could they not recognize him?

Now seeing Lu Yuan's back drenched in blood, severely wounded, they didn't need him to speak—they knew something grave had happened.

One guard quickly bowed and said:

"Our city lord has gone to the Ascension Platform…"

Before he finished speaking, they realized Lu Yuan had vanished.

How could Lu Yuan dare linger? He sensed Ding Huan could pinpoint his location, so the moment he learned Mo Zheng had gone to the Ascension Platform, he rushed straight to the teleportation array.

When Ding Huan arrived at Zhenyun Dao City, Lu Yuan had already teleported away.

Ding Huan simply asked around and learned Lu Yuan had teleported to the Ascension Platform.

In the Dao cultivation world, Zhenyun Dao City had the most teleportation arrays—but the one to the Ascension Platform was the busiest and most crowded.

Lu Yuan had been teleported away so quickly—he must have cut the line.

"Friend, please wait in line—everyone here is waiting." As Ding Huan stepped forward, a man in charge of the teleportation array approached and blocked him.

Lu Yuan had status—he was head of the Dao Cultivation Merchants' Guild; everyone here knew him, and he was a ruthless killer—who dared deny him cutting the line?

Ding Huan was different—a stranger, young-looking—trying to cut the line like Lu Yuan clearly wouldn't work.

Unless Ding Huan ignored reason and blasted everyone aside to claim the array for himself.

Ding Huan certainly wanted to kill Lu Yuan, but not to this desperate extent.

As for cutting the line, Ding Huan had other methods—he pulled out a True Star Pill and approached the first cultivator in line, a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator:

"Move aside, give me your place—this True Star Pill is yours."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator was dazed by the enormous surprise, but he came back to his senses in just two breaths:

"Senior, whatever you say, actually this spot was yours to begin with."

Saying that, he grabbed the True Star Pill and vanished in a flash.

The man in charge of the teleportation array had his eyes go red—he was also at Foundation Establishment, that True Star Pill should have been his.

"I said no cutting in line. Go to the back and queue up."

This man arrived in front of Ding Huan in a single step; his mind had been addled by the True Star Pill.

In his heart he only longed for Ding Huan to take out another True Star Pill and give it to him, never considering what kind of existence could casually pull out a True Star Pill to give away.

Perhaps he knew, he was simply relying on being in True Essence Dao City—even a Void God realm cultivator wouldn't dare kill people casually here.

No matter how strong Ding Huan was, he wouldn't be a Void God realm powerhouse.

Besides, if Ding Huan were a powerhouse, would he use a True Star Pill to trade for a teleportation spot?

His earlier refusal to cut in line was simply Ding Huan adhering to the principle of not doing unto others what one does not want done to oneself.

Ding Huan raised his hand and slashed out a wind blade; this Foundation Establishment cultivator numbly felt the wind blade split open his brow.

He stared at Ding Huan walking into the teleportation array in disbelief, only then collapsing.

The scene erupted into an uproar.

This was no small matter—someone had killed in True Essence Dao City, and the one killed was an enforcer of True Essence Dao City's teleportation array.

Anyone who dares to kill an enforcer in True Essence Dao City, no matter how lofty their background, their ending is destined to be a single word: death.

Just as Ding Huan entered and was teleported away, Qiu Qiu Kujin happened to roll over to this spot.

He was like a ball of flesh; walking and rolling made little difference.

The instant he saw Ding Huan, even as a ball, he stopped his forward motion with incredible speed.

Only after Ding Huan killed someone, entered the teleportation array, and was sent away did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He had originally wanted to go to the Ascension Platform to look for Mo Zheng as well—Ding Huan was simply too strong.

After Ding Huan's killing array slaughtered over a thousand cultivators attacking Ziyuan Zhongshan, he knew Ding Huan was not someone to be trifled with.

It was just that he was slow; after Lu Yuan and Ding Huan entered True Essence Dao City one after another, he only arrived belatedly.

"City Lord Qiu, someone just killed our Enforcer Xu at the teleportation array."

Another teleportation array administrator, upon seeing Qiu Qiu Kujin arrive, acted as though he'd seen his own father and hurried over to report.

According to procedure, he should have reported to the Transmission Division in charge of the teleportation array.

But now that he saw the Vice City Lord arrive, he wanted to make a name for himself, so he bypassed the chain of command to report.

Qiu Qiu Kujin snorted coldly:

"What's all the yelling? Something like this happening in True Essence Dao City is nothing strange. Clean up the scene immediately, then go report to the Transmission Division, and then report up to the City Lord's Manor."

"Yes, yes…"

This administrator had hit a soft nail—how would he dare to blabber further? He hurriedly acknowledged and withdrew.

He was still very puzzled in his heart; logically speaking, Vice City Lord Qiu was the one who loved killing the most.

Generally, when encountering such a matter, the way to handle it was one thing—immediately lead people personally to chase all the way to the Ascension Platform, seize that murderer, and then kill him inch by inch.

But the way Vice City Lord Qiu actually handled things, how was it completely different from the rumors?

Forget about handling things—after learning Ding Huan had also gone to the Ascension Platform, Qiu Qiu Kujin charged out of True Essence Dao City at the first moment.

In his eyes, this was no longer a safe place.

Since Ding Huan had gone to the Ascension Platform, he needed to change locations quickly.

……

Ascension Platform.

Though it had been built less than a year, it was now absolutely the hottest spot in the Dao Cultivation world.

Previously, outside the barrier array separating the Dao Cultivation world and the Ascension world, everything was desolate.

Because of the Ascension Platform, in a short time three market towns and one cultivation city had sprung up here.

The cultivation city was called Two Realms City; although still in its embryonic form, it was bustling and prosperous.

Land inside the city grew more expensive by the day, filled everywhere with temporarily erected shops, inns, and trading houses.

The liveliest place was naturally the Two Realms City Guild Hall, which was packed to the brim every day.

After the Ascension Platform was built, its purpose was to let more outstanding cultivators enter the Ascension world, so some detailed rules had not been formulated.

Some cultivators who passed the Ascension Platform and obtained Ascension Tokens did not directly use the tokens to enter the Ascension world, but instead sold the tokens at trading houses or the guild hall.

Cultivators who sold their Ascension Tokens could come back to attempt the trial again after three months.

Think about how many people longed to enter the Ascension world—many of these cultivators who longed to enter the Ascension world could not obtain Ascension Tokens on their own merit, so they could only do so through purchase.