Chapter 296

296. Chapter 293: Ding Huan Refuses to Give Any Ground

What enraged Wu Zhanxia even more was that Fei Zhankong and Senior Ji Gu had walked toward Ding Huan.

"Are you the master of Keshiding Sect?" Fei Zhankong stepped directly before Ding Huan and bowed, his tone sincere.

Senior Ji Gu also stepped forward and performed a cultivator's salute: "Greetings, Master Ding."

Ding Huan returned the salute and said with some confusion: "How do you know I'm the sect master?"

He had indeed stated his name here, but he had never said he was the sect master.

Fei Zhankong smiled and said:

"Several months ago, we encountered two women here—one named Lou Fenyan, the other Liu Liu Yinyu—fleeing here after being hunted by a Shi Qiqiu of the Shi Clan."

"That's right," Senior Ji Gu said. "Fei Daofriend and I were just coming to tell you about this. Killing Chuan Xi just now was merely incidental."

They had long wanted to leave this place.

But Wu Zhanxia was too dominant—if they dared to leave alone, he would surely kill them.

So killing Chuan Xi just now, and revealing Liu Liu Yinyu and Lou Fenyan's whereabouts, were both meant to join Ding Huan's side and escape this place with him.

Liu Liu Yinyu and Lou Fenyan have arrived here?

Ding Huan's gaze turned icy as he fixed his eyes on Wu Zhanxia:

"Wu Valley Lord, I treated you as a friend, yet you've acted dishonorably—you've captured my people."

Wu Zhanxia realized he had made a mistake: he should never have allowed Ding Huan to act freely here after learning Ding Huan could stand against him.

He should have struck violently then, killing one or two of Ding Huan's people.

To make every cultivator in the Dao Realm Zone understand that Wu Zhanxia was still the strongest.

Now his retreat has made many realize one thing: he cannot touch Ding Huan.

With Ding Huan's strength now growing, it's too late for him to return to how things were before.

Wu Zhanxia longed to strike, but he knew better than anyone: if he did, his side had no chance of victory.

Even though his followers outnumbered Ding Huan's seven or eight times.

But two things were clear to him.

If fighting broke out, Ding Huan's people would fight with all their might, while how many of his own would truly fight for him was uncertain.

The second point was even more terrifying: Ding Huan seemed to possess a powerful Dao domain.

Under Ding Huan's domain, a cultivator's Dao resonance and spiritual sense were unaffected by this simulated Immortal-Fanqiao Dao space. That was terrifying.

If Ding Huan's side remained unaffected, even if all of Wu Zhanxia's people unleashed their full strength, they still couldn't match Ding Huan's group—far from it.

Because this space was his own creation: a simulated, false Immortal-Fanqiao Dao space.

Though cultivators' strength here wasn't suppressed, it was still vastly weaker than outside the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

How does strength under false heavenly rules compare to strength under true heavenly rules?

Wu Zhanxia took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his murderous intent, forcing his voice to soften:

"I didn't know about this."

Fei Zhankong chuckled: "With so many affairs to handle daily, of course you didn't know. But Shi Changyi of Changyan Academy knows about this."

Ding Huan instantly understood: Shi Qiqiu must have found a powerful Shi Clan member here.

"Who is Shi Changyi? Step forward." Ding Huan stared coldly at the dozens before him, his voice icy.

A tall, thin man sneered: "I am Shi Changyi. What? Do you think you can interfere here in the Four-Reaches Strait Valley?"

"That talkative fool? Let me handle him." Fei Zhankong stepped forward, raised his hand, and summoned a Golden Crow Spade.

Ding Huan bowed to Fei Zhankong:

"Fei Daofriend, you don't need to trouble yourself with this old man. Please run a errand for me—bring me Liu Liu Yinyu and Lou Fenyan."

"Oh, and bring me that Shi Qiqiu as well."

"Hah! Easy task." Fei Zhankong laughed, his figure flashing away.

"I'll kill this guy." Cang Yongqian felt he had done nothing since joining Ding Huan's side, so he drew his long blade and slashed forward from dozens of zhang away.

Cang Yongqian deeply feared Wu Zhanxia, but he was a man of honor.

In his heart, once he chose to stand with Ding Huan, no matter how much he feared Wu Zhanxia, he would not retreat.

"Valley Lord…" Shi Changyi's face remained calm, but his heart was frantic.

He had been here a long time and had already sensed something odd.

It seemed related to the Dao rules of space, but he couldn't confirm it yet.

Not only Shi Changyi had noticed the anomaly—some perceptive cultivators had too.

They simply hadn't realized yet that this Immortal-Fanqiao Dao space was simulated by a semi-immortal artifact of Wu Zhanxia's.

Crack! A blade glow hundreds of zhang long tore through the space.

The onlookers hastily scattered to either side; Shi Changyi frantically summoned a Five-Petal Wheel.

Boom! Cang Yongqian's blade glow struck the Five-Petal Wheel.

Radiant light exploded, the space shimmered with dazzling colors, appearing extraordinarily splendid.

But Shi Changyi spat a jet of blood—the glow on the Five-Petal Wheel instantly dimmed.

In a single strike, Shi Changyi realized: he wasn't just no match for Cang Yongqian—he was vastly inferior.

He dared not fight further, immediately retreating behind Wu Zhanxia, his face as pale as paper.

Yet Cang Yongqian's eyes gleamed—he had trained in the Dao Realm Zone for over a hundred years and had never felt this before.

That slash had just revealed a faint hint of the blade Dao prototype he had long pursued.

He had never experienced this before.

He now vaguely understood why Wu Zhanxia feared Ding Huan—he was standing within Ding Huan's Dao domain, and Ding Huan's domain made his own Dao resonance and spiritual techniques so clear.

"Lord Ding, you've gone too far. I saw you as a fellow seeker of the Immortal Dao, so I've let you act as you pleased."

"Yet you turn a blind eye, repeatedly targeting fellow cultivators here who seek to comprehend the Immortal Dao's resonance—do you think my casual strike earlier gave you the nerve?"

Wu Zhanxia's voice was low and slow, yet brimming with a furious killing intent. Clearly, Wu Zhanxia was preparing to strike Ding Huan.

Upon hearing Wu Zhanxia's words, all the cultivators perked up.

This was more in line with Wu Valley Master's nature; otherwise, they truly began to doubt whether the Immortal-Fanqiao Dao resonance they'd been comprehending in this Dao Valley was flawed.

Some hoped Ding Huan wouldn't back down, wouldn't yield at all—just enough to force Wu Zhanxia into a corner, and a fight might break out.

Wu Zhanxia was the only one here who had comprehended the Immortal-Fanqiao Dao resonance; his power far surpassed theirs by too great a margin.

Just now, Fu Qijian and Wu Zhanxia had exchanged only a single move; many still hadn't fully grasped what had happened.

If they fought again, they would surely record it on their crystal balls and study it slowly.

In truth, many didn't understand why Wu Zhanxia had suppressed his emotions so heavily today.

Although Wu Zhanxia hadn't struck a second time since, many still believed his claim that his earlier move had been casual.

Everyone here knew Wu Zhanxia's strength—there was only one word to describe it: strong.

All eyes turned to Ding Huan; how the situation developed now depended entirely on his reply.

"Lord Ding, Valley Master Wu likely doesn't want to fight you, though I don't understand why."

"But right now, he merely seeks a face-saving exit. I think it's unnecessary to provoke him—he's simply too terrifying."

"Just now, when Valley Master Wu clashed with Friend Fu, he probably didn't even unleash one-tenth of his power."

Cen Huan feared Ding Huan, unaware of the gravity, would directly defy Wu Zhanxia—and if a fight broke out, it would be utterly disastrous.

She had seen Wu Zhanxia's strength with her own eyes.

Once, in the cultivator residential zone of the Fourfold Sea Pass Valley, there weren't just a hundred or so people. At its peak, over one hundred fifty resided here.

Forty years ago, twenty-seven Earth Immortal Peak cultivators forcibly tried to leave the Fourfold Sea Pass Valley—this enraged Wu Zhanxia.

Wu Zhanxia, alone, slew all twenty-seven Earth Immortal Peak cultivators, and suffered only minor injuries.

Yet while Wu Zhanxia dealt with those twenty-seven, some others had already broken through the valley.

That's why, when she and Cang Yongqian had prepared to follow Ding Huan away, they had to respectfully bow to Wu Zhanxia and seek his permission.

Wu Zhanxia's strength was simply too great.

Ding Huan looked at Wu Zhanxia:

"Wu, you'd better pray my two friends are unharmed. If they suffer even a scratch, you won't keep this dump—I dare you to doubt me."

"As for Shi Chang, today I'm killing him for sure—what can you do? As for my nerve? If you've got any, come fight me. If not, shut up."

All cultivators who heard Ding Huan's words turned pale—they hadn't expected him to directly defy and mock Wu Zhanxia.

This wasn't about easing tensions or offering a face-saving exit—this was clearly a provocation, begging Wu Zhanxia to strike.

"You're asking for death..." Wu Zhanxia's fury could no longer be contained. He stepped forward, unleashing a violent torrent of killing Dao resonance.

The cultivators on both sides, sensing Wu Zhanxia's terrifying aura, frantically retreated.

At the same time, all doubt about Wu Zhanxia vanished completely.

The Dao pressure Wu Zhanxia had exerted earlier could have effortlessly crushed them.

Ding Huan, fearing Wu Zhanxia might retreat again, urgently told Shan Beishu:

"Old Shan, teach this arrogant bastard a lesson."

Ding Huan also longed to know the direction of this Valley Master's Dao—should the man move to strike, he welcomed it.

Having vaguely guessed the reason, Shan Beishu had already been eager to act. Hearing Ding Huan's words, he dashed forward and summoned his artifact: the Nine Sources Scroll.

Wu Zhanxia was furious—how could there be a fool like Ding Huan in this world?

Wouldn't any other person have hesitated to speak so recklessly? Didn't he know the power imbalance, that he was clearly the weaker one?

But he'd already spoken—and his killing Dao resonance was already unleashed—how could he back down now?

Deep down, he truly didn't want to fight Ding Huan.

Once they fought, his simulation space might be exposed.

Previously, the group here was already fracturing; after a fight, he might lose his entire team.