Chapter 262: 262. Chapter 259: All Lost

262. Chapter 259: All Lost

Shi Qiqiu was considered fast; by the time he rushed to Ten Thousand Treasure City, the sky hadn't even darkened yet.

What made him furious was that Ding Huan and the other two had entered the Opening Heaven Battlefield a full hour before he arrived.

Wasn't it supposed to be two or three days? How could they leave in less than half a day? Weren't they supposed to buy some preparation items? Why was there no sign of any purchases?

This made Shi Qiqiu even more certain that the backpack Ding Huan was carrying was problematic.

As for why Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were also carrying backpacks, he figured it was very likely to provide cover for Ding Huan.

After all, only Ding Huan had obtained the ancient cave dwelling relic.

Shi Qiqiu himself didn't know he could have such a brilliant and valiant day, because he had actually guessed right.

Even though Ding Huan and the others had never brought up the matter of providing cover, in fact all three of them understood without saying so.

Since Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng wanted to befriend Ding Huan, naturally they wouldn't mind doing this small favor.

……

Ding Huan looked at the scene before him, and an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

The sky was a hazy grey, the ground had not a single blade of grass, and standing here gave one an unease of being locked down by an aura of stern slaughter.

In the distance on the ground there were still some bones of unknown how long dead, and some broken weapon fragments could faintly be seen.

The reason they were called weapon fragments was because these fragments bore not the slightest trace of magical treasure fluctuation.

His divine sense swept out, and not a single living thing could be seen, not even an ant could be found.

Ding Huan cultivated the Great Cosmos Art; although he had yet to comprehend the rules, he was very sensitive to the rules of heaven and earth.

He vaguely sensed that the rules of heaven and earth here were broken and incomplete.

The rules seemed higher than those of the Ascension Realm, yet also seemed inferior even to those of the Mortal World.

This perception was very strange, yet it truly existed.

"It's clearly not very cold, yet I feel a chilly breath." Mo Zheng couldn't help but say.

Hu Wuxin very much agreed with Mo Zheng's words; he felt exactly the same.

Ding Huan was still preparing to divine, but the moment the Great Divination Art was just deployed, everything was a blur.

Ding Huan was no longer a rookie now.

He understood what was going on; it wasn't that his Great Divination Art had a problem, but that he himself had a problem.

In the final analysis, his strength was too poor; in places where the rules were blurred, he simply couldn't work.

"Let's go, we'll head along this side first."

While speaking, Ding Huan also hung his identity token and ascension token at his waist, and at the same time put on his wristband properly.

Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng naturally followed suit; they knew that after entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield, every move they made was probably being watched.

According to their plan, the first thing now was to get rid of these few burdensome items on their bodies.

Ding Huan's speed was very fast; Mo Zheng and Hu Wuxin also deployed their escape arts and followed Ding Huan closely,

At this moment, in an unremarkable little building in Ten Thousand Treasure City, Shi Qiqiu stared at Ding Huan without blinking.

Ever since he became convinced that Ding Huan carried a top-tier extraordinary treasure, he could no longer calm down.

Especially that backpack Ding Huan was carrying; more than once he wondered, what treasure was hidden inside that backpack?

He had to know the place where Ding Huan finally perished, and then he would note down the place of Ding Huan's fall.

Then he would find a way to activate the teleportation array patterns on the ascension token, and transmit the things on Ding Huan's body out.

If transmission wasn't possible, then he would send people in to obtain Ding Huan's backpack and ring.

As long as someone obtained Ding Huan's backpack and ring, then the teleportation array patterns would be activated again.

"Ding Huan, I feel my cultivation method is somewhat impeded; the rules of heaven and earth here seem to suppress cultivators' techniques." Hu Wuxin said urgently.

Because Ding Huan cultivated the Great Cosmos Art, his consciousness sea evolved the Great Dao; although the rules were still in their embryonic form, he did not care whether the surrounding rules of heaven and earth suppressed techniques.

Now that Hu Wuxin brought up this matter, he immediately circulated the Great Cosmos Art for one cycle, and indeed the rules of heaven and earth here had a great impact on cultivators.

Not only did it affect a cultivator's strength, it also affected a cultivator's judgment; continuing to travel here would even cause one's cultivation to weaken.

"No need to worry, let's find a safe place to rest first."

Although Ding Huan could not divine where was safe, having used the Great Divination Art for a long time, he could also rely on intuition to sense where was safe and where was not.

The direction he was heading now was a not-very-safe direction, but he believed it wouldn't cost him his life.

In Ten Thousand Treasure City, Shi Qiqiu saw Ding Huan and the other two frantically rushing deep into the Opening Heaven Battlefield through the monitoring array, and Shi Qiqiu was so angry he started cursing.

Were these three people pigs?

Didn't they know that in the Opening Heaven Battlefield, the further in you go, the more dangerous it is? Besides, who would, upon just entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield, frantically rush deep inside like this?

Although Hu Wuxin, for his own interests, was often equally unscrupulous, during this time with Ding Huan he had a rough understanding of what kind of person Ding Huan was.

Ding Huan was absolutely not the scheming type, and certainly wouldn't play dirty against his companions.

Besides, even if Ding Huan wanted to play dirty against him, there was no need to bring him and Mo Zheng running deep into the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

After the three had rapidly traveled for a day, Ding Huan suddenly stopped:

"Old Hu, Old Mo, I feel it seems somewhat safe here; let's rest here for a day, then choose a direction and slowly explore, how about it?"

Though he said so, standing at this spot, Ding Huan's sense of unease grew even stronger.

Hu Wuxin immediately said: "Naturally that is fine."

Mo Zheng was just about to say he had no objection either, when he felt the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapse.

Endless soul soldiers from the outer perimeter swept in, and Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were scared out of their wits.

Not good, Ding Huan was going to harm them.

They were now completely unable to rush upward; the powerful force swept over, and they could only barely maintain a slow descent.

"Old Hu, Old Mo, quickly activate the talismans; these are Levitation Talismans, you absolutely cannot fall down; if you fall down, there is only a dead end."

Ding Huan threw two talismans to Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng.

Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng snatched the talismans and activated them immediately—they had no other choice.

As the talismans activated, their falling bodies halted instantly, then slowly rose upward.

Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng exhaled in relief, realizing they had wrongly accused Ding Huan.

The endless soul soldiers surged toward the three, who all summoned treasures to defend themselves.

Some soul soldiers were slain by them; others plunged into the abyss beneath their feet.

Mo Zheng saw Hu Wuxin and Ding Huan struggling, and thought to himself: these soul soldiers aren't strong—then why…

But he quickly understood—when another wave of soul soldiers charged, he too began to struggle.

This was only the beginning; the next moment, a puppet three zhang tall burst forth from the soul soldiers and spat a jet of flame at the three.

Ding Huan took the full brunt and was instantly engulfed in flame; he cried out:

"This is definitely not ordinary flame—be careful, ah…"

Then a piercing scream rang out.

Hearing Ding Huan's scream, both Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were startled.

They soon realized the flame wasn't particularly strong—it was yin fire, and with their cultivation, blocking it posed no pressure at all.

Both turned to look at Ding Huan—he was in utter disarray.

His identity token had been lost, his hair burned off.

Not only that, his ascent token was gone, and even his wristband had vanished somewhere during the flame's defense.

As for his clothing, it was utterly shredded, his skin seared into a horrific state.

Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng now knew exactly what to do—when the flame surged toward them, they became even more miserable than Ding Huan.

Ding Huan at least still had his backpack; they had lost theirs, and their clothes and skin were all burned into blackened lumps.

Hair? Wristband? Identity token? Ascent token?

All these items had vanished during the flame's resistance.

"Let's burn our essence blood and simultaneously unleash our strongest divine art against the puppet—if we knock it back, we'll have a chance to escape," Ding Huan shouted.

"Agreed!" The blackened Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng replied in unison, voices strong and clear.

At that moment, Shi Qiqiu, watching the surveillance in Wanbao City, cursed furiously: these three idiots.

Couldn't you have kept just one wristband?

A single puppet flame has reduced these useless fools to this state—and you dare enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield?

Wait—could this be the One True Fire born from the Opening Heaven Battlefield?

Shi Qiqiu grew more certain the more he thought: ordinary flame? Hu Wuxin, as a Void God cultivator, shouldn't be unable to block it. If it were the higher Three True Fires, they'd already be dead.

Only the One True Fire could force them into such a state.

At that very moment, he happened to hear Ding Huan's voice again:

"Let's move—oh no, I lost my wristband…"

Unfortunately, he could no longer monitor the scene—not even the sound—because the wristbands had long since sunk into some unknown place.

Boom!

The three did not burn their essence blood—they simply simultaneously unleashed their treasures and struck the towering puppet.

Without even using their full strength, they broke free from the soul soldier trap and vanished instantly.

Half a day later, the three halted beside a ruined stone pit.

"Ding Huan, how did you know there were soul soldiers there?" Mo Zheng asked, still shaken.

Ding Huan waved his hand:

"First, clean up—then we'll talk." Ding Huan himself changed his backpack first.

His injuries were light; with his recovery ability, he returned to normal in mere moments.

Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were slightly more injured, but that was intentional—they took a pill and recovered quickly.

"Ding Huan, we lost our ascent tokens and wristbands—how will we return?" Hu Wuxin asked.

Ding Huan chuckled:

"Even if we can return someday, the wristbands will only bring side effects. My point is: since we're here, make the best of it—first, secure our footing here."

(That's all for today's update, friends—goodnight!)