Chapter 349: Qing Yu's Plea for Help

Mu Chengzi laughed awkwardly, just as he was about to speak, Ding Huan's voice came through: "Fellow Daoist Jia and Fellow Daoist Mu have arrived, so let's be on our way."

What needed to be done had been done, what needed to be explained had been explained, and Ding Huan decided to head to the Opening Heaven Battlefield.

At the gate of Blue Star Sect, Ding Huan had summoned his flying ship and was bidding farewell to Liu Yinzhu, Hu Wuxin, Yan Mei, and others.

A woman came staggering over; before she even reached them, she dropped to her knees with a thud: "Sect Master Ding, please, you must save Big Brother Buzu."

Ding Huan looked at the woman before him and said coldly: "I truly never expected that a mere maidservant like you would live to see today. You're not even a disciple of my Blue Star Sect, yet you somehow managed to cultivate the Lesser Universe Art."

The woman before him was none other than Guan Wan's maidservant Qing Yu; Ding Huan had indeed heard some things about this woman from Pang Xiangxiang.

This woman was extremely scheming; she had even squeezed out Yi Jiang and a Void God Realm expert among many powerful figures to survive.

"You mean Lou Buzhi? What happened to him?" Liu Yinzhu, however, had caught on that Qing Yu was talking about Lou Buzhi.

Lou Buzhi was a true talent of Blue Star Sect; after joining, his cultivation advanced rapidly, and in a very short time he successfully formed a Star Accumulation.

Moreover, Lou Buzhi was Blue Star Sect's only alchemist; only after he joined did the sect's Pill Hall gradually become complete.

Lou Buzhi's pills made Blue Star Sect's system increasingly complete; the lower-ranked disciples cultivated faster and with greater enthusiasm.

Before Lou Buzhi came to Blue Star Sect, all the pills the sect needed had to be purchased, and a portion of spiritual herbs had to be given up in the process.

The sect sent out large quantities of rare spiritual herbs, yet what came back in exchange were utterly ordinary pills.

Ding Huan did not know these things, but as the Sect Master who truly ran Blue Star Sect, Liu Yinzhu knew them only too well.

Qing Yu's face was streaked with tears: "I know I was far too petty before, and jealousy got the better of me. Whatever punishment the Sect Master gives me, I will accept without complaint.

But Big Brother Lou Buzhi is truly innocent; his life hangs by a thread right now. I beg the Sect Master to act and save him."

"Sect Master, Buzhi is very important to our sect." Liu Yinzhu said carefully.

Ding Huan, however, did not much believe Qing Yu—can a dog ever give up eating shit?

Although Lou Buzhi looked harmless on the surface, his mind worked far better than most cultivators'; he shouldn't have been likely to get tangled up with someone like Qing Yu.

If Lou Buzhi couldn't even control himself in front of a woman like Qing Yu, then he couldn't have stood out among the many treasure-offerers of the Four Directions Star Land and successfully made his way to the Triple Heaven Star Land.

The only thing that puzzled him was that Qing Yu knew the Lesser Universe Art. Besides Lou Buzhi, who else would dare teach it to her?

He did not speak, but instead directly used the Grand Divination Art to divine Qing Yu and Lou Buzhi.

His Grand Divination Art could do far more than divine the future; with a single glance it could divine past events as well.

The fellow who ambushed him in Boundless City he couldn't divine—likely because that person's cultivation far surpassed his own.

How many years had mere Qing Yu been cultivating the Greater Universe Art? Even now she was only a Star Accumulation Realm cultivator.

The other party was standing right before him, cultivating his own Lesser Universe Art—if he still couldn't divine her, then the Grand Divination Art would be nothing but an empty name.

This woman wasn't even cultivating within Blue Star Sect, yet in such a short time she'd reached the Star Accumulation Realm—there was something fishy about that.

Under the Grand Divination Art, a clear scene appeared in Ding Huan's mind.

Deep within a fiery-red rock valley, Lou Buzhi was digging at the rock wall when suddenly Qing Yu came running out from deeper within in a panic…

Lou Buzhi's heart jolted, and he immediately stopped what he was doing.

Seeing Lou Buzhi, Qing Yu said anxiously: "Big Brother, you can't go in there, it's very dangerous…"

"Who are you?" Lou Buzhi looked at Qing Yu with great wariness.

After a glance at Lou Buzhi, Qing Yu asked in pleasant surprise: "You're Lou Buzhi? A disciple of Green Danmen, right?"

How could Lou Buzhi have known that this woman was deeply scheming; after developing a grudge against Ding Huan, she had investigated everyone connected to him.

Lou Buzhi's relationship with Ding Huan ran deep, so naturally he was a primary target of her investigation.

Hearing Qing Yu's words, Lou Buzhi grew even more puzzled: "That's right, but I'm no longer with Green Danmen now—I've joined Blue Star Sect."

"My name is Qing Yu; Guan Wan is my family's Young Lady…" Qing Yu said, watching Lou Buzhi as she spoke.

Lou Buzhi truly didn't know some of the dirty dealings that had occurred; hearing that she was Guan Wan's maidservant, his guarded expression immediately relaxed.

He didn't know Qing Yu, but he knew Guan Wan—she counted as his senior sister.

But before he could ask anything, Qing Yu slammed a palm onto Lou Buzhi's forehead.

After Lou Buzhi switched to a new cultivation method, though his progress was swift, he was still only at the Star Accumulation Realm.

Besides, Lou Buzhi usually spent most of his time on alchemy, so his pill dao improved by leaps and bounds while his cultivation actually slowed down.

Suddenly ambushed by Qing Yu, he didn't even have time to react before she knocked him out.

After knocking Lou Buzhi out, Qing Yu did not kill him; instead she bound him and tossed him into a small world.

This made Ding Huan sigh with feeling—as it turned out, this maidservant really did have her own opportunities; she was only at Star Accumulation Realm and already had a small world.

"Who taught you the Lesser Universe Art?" Ding Huan stopped his divination and stared coldly at Qing Yu.

He had previously assumed Qing Yu's Lesser Universe Art had been taught by Lou Buzhi; only after divining did he learn that by the time Qing Yu met Lou Buzhi, she had already cultivated the Lesser Universe Art to the Star Accumulation Realm.

Qing Yu's face went deathly pale, cold sweat dripped down, and her eyes were filled with terror.

Ding Huan knew very well that, no matter how she looked right now—

In truth this woman felt not the slightest bit of terror; even his questioning was already within her calculations.

As the Sect Master of Blue Star Sect, how could he fail to see that she cultivated the Lesser Universe Art?

Since Qing Yu knew he could tell she cultivated the Lesser Universe Art, the fact that she still came meant it was all within her calculations too.

Ding Huan couldn't be bothered to press her, but Qing Yu answered uneasily on her own: "It was Big Brother Buzu, I, I…"

In truth, by this point, even if Qing Yu didn't speak, the people beside them had all guessed it.

Qing Yu and Lou Buzhi had developed feelings for each other while together, and then Lou Buzhi had risked violating sect rules to pass the Lesser Universe Art on to Qing Yu.

From this one could see that Lou Buzhi's feelings for Qing Yu ran extremely deep.

Qing Yu's heart for Lou Buzhi was equally devoted; otherwise she would never have come to Blue Star Sect at this moment.

It must be that Lou Buzhi had run into danger, and with Qing Yu unable to save him, she had come here to beg for help.

One had to realize this meant risking her very life.

Even Liu Yinzhu, Sang Yuhe, and even Yi Qianxing had begun to feel some sympathy for Qing Yu.

Ding Huan sighed and said softly, "Do you know who destroyed the Double Soul Sect?"

"I-it was you, Sect Master…" Qing Yu's voice trembled with fear.

Ding Huan continued, "Then do you know who destroyed Jiuyuan?"

"Also you, Sect Master." Qing Yu seemed to have given up—her tone lost its earlier fear.

"Let me ask you one more thing: do you know who drove out the Divine Race?" Ding Huan stared at Qing Yu.

Qing Yu bit her lip: "Still you, Sect Master."

Ding Huan sneered, "I've destroyed powerful Earth Immortal sects, deep-rooted clans, entire races—so on what grounds do you think a mere Yunxing cultivator like you could manipulate me?"

Qing Yu spoke in trembling fear: "Sect Master, if you kill me, I bear no resentment—I once harmed you, and I've always envied you."

"Please, go save Bu Zhi. As long as Bu Zhi is unharmed, I submit entirely to your judgment—Qing Yu will not utter a single word of complaint."

Qing Yu was genuinely frightened now. According to her planned script, Ding Huan should have been asking about Bu Zhi's whereabouts by now.

But so far, Ding Huan had merely been rambling.

Ding Huan flicked his hand—a finger fell from Qing Yu's hand. Before it could hit the ground, he had already snatched the ring on that finger.

Qing Yu saw this and shuddered violently—this time, no pretense; her face turned truly as pale as paper.

"You're afraid?" Ding Huan looked at Qing Yu.

Qing Yu was indeed trembling—her heart was filled with endless regret.

As Ding Huan said, he had destroyed or driven out the Double Soul Sect, Jiuyuan, and the Divine Race—what made her think, as a mere Yunxing cultivator, that she could deceive him?

She had escaped death multiple times at the hands of powerful foes, and perhaps that gave her a false sense of confidence in her own schemes.

In this moment, she recalled how Ding Huan, when still a mortal, had led them through the Great Gorge, and even assassinated the Elder of Qu Yue Mountain as a mere human.

Now Ding Huan was no longer that mortal—he was, without doubt, the strongest on the Threefold Heaven Star Continent. Could he still be tricked by her?

Or could he even be the one to fall victim to her schemes?

She had erred.

If regret could destroy a sect, then every sect on the Threefold Heaven Star Continent would already be wiped out by Qing Yu.

She had simply desired to join the Blue Star Sect too desperately—that was why she took this risk.

Because after reaching the Yunxing realm with her Small Universe Art, she had no further cultivation methods.

Without joining the Blue Star Sect, she would forever remain stuck at Yunxing—unless she switched to another technique.

She could not accept it. The Small Universe Art was the strongest technique in the world; if Qing Yu cultivated, she would cultivate only the strongest.

If Ding Huan was lured into that Red Valley, nine out of ten times he would perish—and then she could join the Blue Star Sect calmly.

Because she was Bu Zhi's consort; if Ding Huan died saving Bu Zhi, no blame could fall on her.

Even if Ding Huan did not perish, she still had a chance to join the Blue Star Sect.

Based on her understanding of Ding Huan, he would never harshly punish the widow of a friend—and she was Bu Zhi's widow.

Now, clearly, events had slipped beyond her control. So far, Ding Huan had not asked a single word about Bu Zhi.

The only thing he had asked was where she had learned the Small Universe Art.

In her terror, Ding Huan dismantled Qing Yu's small world.

With a flick of his hand, the unconscious Bu Zhi was thrown onto the ground.

Moments later, Bu Zhi awoke—he saw Qing Yu at once and leapt up: "Wench, how dare you scheme against your Uncle Bu?"

But the next instant he saw Ding Huan and Liu Liu Yinzhu and the others—he blinked, confused for a long moment, then asked, "Sect Master, what's going on?"

"Heh, this woman claimed you were her consort, that you were in danger, and begged the Sect Master to rescue you. The Sect Master saw through her lie and pulled you out of her small world."

"Hmm, most True Pill realm cultivators are lucky to have a storage bag—yet she had a whole small world. Impressive."

Yan Mei chuckled beside them, speaking plainly—he knew Qing Yu better, and had sensed something was off.

"Sect Master, spare my life—I'll tell you who taught me the Small Universe Art…" Qing Yu knew all was lost.

She had escaped death many times—she never imagined this time she'd gone too far.

Ding Huan sneered, "Was it Mo Huaping who taught you? Only she could have."

Qing Yu's fear could no longer be concealed—she simply could not understand how Ding Huan knew everything.

Ding Huan raised his hand—a wind blade slashed through the air, followed by a fireball that reduced Qing Yu to nothingness.

This woman, if left alive, would be a great calamity.