Chapter 347: Senior Ji Gu

"I don't know where Fei Dao, Bei Shu, and Qi Jian are now—they escaped using escape talismans back then."

Standing on Ding Huan's iron pot, Cang Yongqian felt a pang of sorrow.

Seven of us set out together; now three are missing, two are dead. Only he and Senior Ji Gu were saved by Ding Huan—it's truly heartbreaking.

Senior Ji Gu, however, was more cheerful: "Regardless, I think it was worth it. The Ten Thousand Worlds Trading Guild had a huge reputation, and today Ding Huan wiped them out."

Ding Huan fell silent; he wasn't very familiar with Ji Xuwén, but he knew Xun Youshan better.

He had originally planned to take Xun Youshan into the Opening Heaven Battlefield, but unexpectedly, Xun Youshan, though struggling, was still alive in the fourth-layer ocean depths of the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

The moment they emerged, trouble struck.

"Why did you all come to Biankui Starland?" Ding Huan asked Senior Ji Gu.

Senior Ji Gu sighed: "Fei Dao originally wanted to wait for you to return before saying anything, but since you'd been gone for years with no word, he invited us, saying he'd found a starland where one could ascend to the Immortal-Fanqiao realm..."

"Biankui Starland?" Ding Huan asked, puzzled.

Senior Ji Gu nodded: "Yes. Fei Dao said several people had already ascended to the Immortal-Fanqiao realm on Biankui Starland."

"But Biankui Starland's heavenly laws aren't stronger than those of the third-layer starlands—how could anyone ascend to the Immortal-Fanqiao realm?"

"Now I think this whole thing is suspicious, but Fei Dao never said where he got the information. He just said the source was absolutely reliable, and we didn't question it," Cang Yongqian said.

Senior Ji Gu opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated, as if unsure whether she should say what she wanted to.

Ding Huan smiled: "We've shared hardship—we're friends. Senior Ji Gu, if you have something to say, just say it."

Senior Ji Gu took a breath and said: "I gave you a crystal ball before—did you look at it?"

Ding Huan said: "Yes. Are you suggesting there's a true Immortal connection at the bottom of the Fourth-Layer Strait Valley?"

Senior Ji Gu said: "I'm not certain, but if there were no trace at all, someone like Wu Zhanxia would never have stayed so long in the Fourth-Layer Strait Valley."

Wu Zhanxia's reliance isn't just on that simulated Immortal-Fanqiao space—he has other hopes."

Ding Huan was even more confused: "Senior Ji Gu, if you suspected something strange at the bottom of the Fourth-Layer Strait Valley, why did you still go out with Fei Dao?"

Senior Ji Gu sighed: "Because I didn't know Fei Dao got his information from Mu Chengzi. If I had known, I never would have left."

He said there was a Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus—possibly more than one. How could we pass up such an opportunity?"

Even if there's an Immortal connection in the Fourth-Layer Strait Valley, you still need to reach the Immortal-Fanqiao realm first. Otherwise, how could Wu Zhanxia have stayed there all these years?"

He would've already gone in to seek the Immortal connection—I suspect he never reached the true Immortal-Fanqiao realm, which is why he's been stuck."

Ding Huan fell silent. Indeed, Senior Ji Gu suspected Mu Chengzi.

She didn't say it outright, but that was exactly what her words implied.

He himself had always harbored doubts about Mu Chengzi—his identity simply didn't match his behavior.

A top-tier alchemy master acted as if he needed to prove himself constantly. Yet Mu Chengzi wasn't the type of eccentric old cultivator—this was baffling.

The only possible explanation: Mu Chengzi needed to elevate his status and gain recognition among this group.

Thinking of this, Ding Huan immediately pulled out his flying sword and a stack of teleportation talismans, carving array patterns onto both the sword and the talismans.

Then Ding Huan activated the teleportation talismans.

"Young brother Ding Huan, impressive technique," Cang Yongqian admired.

Ding Huan was using the teleportation talismans to send the flying sword away—how far could this stack of talismans carry it?

When the teleportation talismans were exhausted, the letter-carrying flying sword activated.

Ding Huan smiled: "I just remembered something—I'll warn my friend. Let's go—hurry back to the third-layer starland, then head for the Opening Heaven Battlefield."

…

Jia Xing Mountain: Jia Baihe refined her Poison Dao every day.

Her cultivation had long since reached Earth Immortal peak; further practice couldn't touch the Immortal-Fanqiao realm.

She had tried several times to meditate on the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus, but made zero progress.

She knew that, on the third-layer starland, using the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus to enter the Immortal-Fanqiao realm was nearly impossible.

After realizing she couldn't reach the Immortal-Fanqiao realm through the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus, Jia Baihe decided to seek out Ding Huan.

But she had no good excuse.

After enduring years of waiting, she resolved to stop waiting—she'd go meet Ding Huan first, then find a way to seek the chance to ascend to the Immortal-Fanqiao realm—when a flying sword sliced through the sky and landed precisely in her hand.

Ding Huan's letter-carrying flying sword?

Jia Baihe eagerly seized the sword and activated its message.

"Baihe Dao, I recently left the third-layer starland, but I'll return soon. When I come back, I'll visit Jia Xing Mountain and invite you to enter the Opening Heaven Battlefield together."

"Also, I want to warn you: all my friends who came out of the Opening Heaven Battlefield with me are trustworthy—except Mu Chengzi."

"I assume you'll meditate on the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus. Once you do, someone like Mu Chengzi, who's been at Earth Immortal peak for years, will surely sense it."

"If he's on the third-layer starland, he'll come to you—be careful."

Jia Baihe carefully tucked away the sword, grateful—Ding Huan, though far away, still cared for her.

She asked for nothing else; having a friend like Ding Huan made this life worthwhile.

Since Ding Huan would return to invite her into the Opening Heaven Battlefield, she had no need to rush—she'd wait for him.

Thinking this, Jia Baihe resumed studying the Dao principles of poison.

Only a few days passed when the barriers around Jia Xing Mountain were tapped.

Jia Baihe scanned with her divine sense and found it was Mu Chengzi.

Jia Baihe sighed inwardly—Ding Huan's prediction was spot-on; Mu Chengzi really had come.

"What brings you, Mu Dao?" Jia Baihe did not open the Jia Xing Mountain barriers to let him in.

"Jia Dao, I've spent these days searching for Ding Dao and found he's been away for years. I suspect he's already entered the Opening Heaven Battlefield. I've come specifically to invite you to join me there."

"But before entering the Opening Heaven Battlefield, I'd also like to invite you to seek a great opportunity."

Mu Chengzi's voice came through.

Jia Baihe secretly felt a chill of fear—if Ding Huan hadn't warned her in advance, she would have had not the slightest vigilance toward Mu Chengzi.

If she'd heard Ding Huan was in the Opening Heaven Battlefield, she would have answered Mu Chengzi's proposal without the slightest hesitation and entered the Opening Heaven Battlefield with him.

"I feel my Dao is still not refined enough—I need more time to temper it. Mu friend, please go ahead. I won't be joining." Jia Baihe refused without hesitation.

Mu Chengzi seemed surprised by Jia Baihe's refusal; he spoke again: "Jia friend, I've heard a cultivation star-land beyond the Third Heaven has produced the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus."

So I came to invite you, to see if we might have luck together."

You probably don't know—deep in the Fourth Sea lies a Level Nine Spirit Pill King. If we could obtain the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus and have him transform it into a Transcendence Pill, wouldn't that be an utterly desirable thing?"

Jia Baihe fell silent; she had to admit Mu Chengzi was eloquent.

Had Ding Huan not given her the information, even if she'd refused earlier, upon hearing the Transcendence Pill, she would have agreed one hundred percent with Mu Chengzi and left here.

Of course, she wasn't going to search for the Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus—because she already had one. She was going to the Fourth Sea Strait Valley to refine the Transcendence Pill.

"Jia friend, what do you say?" Seeing Jia Baihe silent, Mu Chengzi spoke again.

Jia Baihe said coolly: "Mu friend, I've already refused. If you remain on Jia Star Mountain, don't blame me for being uncivil."

Mu Chengzi was genuinely puzzled.

Is this guy insane? He's letting go of an opportunity to ascend the Immortal-Fanqiao?

But he feared Jia Baihe's poison—his body couldn't resist it at all.

If Jia Baihe truly became angry and released her poison, he would be struck one hundred percent.

What a waste—a Nine-Colored Immortal-Mortal Lotus, fallen into the hands of this poison-wielder. Such a waste of heaven's bounty.

Mu Chengzi sighed and turned away.

He could ambush others, but with Jia Baihe, he couldn't even get close—how could he ambush her?

…

A year later, Ding Huan's iron pot crashed into the Third Heaven's star-land and halted at Lanxing Sect.

To Ding Huan's delight, as soon as he and Senior Ji Gu and Cang Yongqian stepped out, they saw Yi Geng Qianxing and Lin Yuqi.

Yi Geng Qianxing had reached the early Earth Immortal realm, while Lin Yuqi had advanced to the mid Earth Immortal realm.

"Lord Ding, Elder Ji, Elder Cang," Yi Geng Qianxing and Lin Yuqi hurried forward to greet them.

"Lord," said Liu Yinzhu and Yan Mei only after the two had greeted him.

"Good—your cultivation has improved. Also, I'm no longer sect lord; the current lord is Lord Liu." Ding Huan was very satisfied.

Lanxing Sect had developed steadily; both Liu Yinzhu and Yan Mei's cultivation had risen rapidly.

This proved that while I was away, Liu Yinzhu and the others had cared deeply for Lanxing Sect.

"Lord, as long as you're in Lanxing Sect, you will always be its lord," Liu Yinzhu said at once.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "This return may be my last to Lanxing Sect. After this, I plan to travel with several friends seeking opportunities. Lanxing Sect rests in your hands."

Had the Star River Realm's cultivation techniques not yet been added to Lanxing Sect's Scripture Library, Ding Huan might not have returned at all.