Chapter 375: 375. Chapter 371: Digging, Digging (Extra Chapter for the Friend Who Bet Everything on the Wanderer)

375. Chapter 371: Digging, Digging (Extra Chapter for the Friend Who Bet Everything on the Wanderer)

Ding Huan blinked, then said after a long pause: "Cheng Executant, you're putting me in a tough spot."

Cheng Keqi frowned: "What, you're unwilling to write down any of this?"

Ding Huan sighed: "I used my spiritual sense to scan every inch of ground, and after more than half a year, I finally sensed a spot where the spiritual energy was unusually strong—a small puddle."

Then Chang Chang Danyi and I dug and dug inside that puddle…"

"We dug for many days and found no Immortal Spirit Spring source, so I came up with an idea: I detonated dozens of explosive talismans at once."

"I never expected that after the explosion, the Immortal Spirit Spring source actually appeared. Chang Chang Danyi and I were so excited we didn't even notice your message in time."

As Ding Huan spoke these words, he felt a strange sense of familiarity—as if he'd heard them somewhere before. But it didn't matter; it didn't hinder his continued fabrication.

Cheng Keqi also froze at Ding Huan's words: "That's it?"

If he wrote down such a method of searching for Immortal Spirit Spring sources, he'd be expelled from the Immortal Sect tomorrow.

"You're certain that's how you found it?" Cheng Keqi couldn't help asking again.

Ding Huan spread his hands: "What else?"

Cheng Keqi fell silent, pondering whether Ding Huan's method could possibly work.

If an Immortal Spirit Spring source could be found just by digging and digging, it wouldn't be so hard to locate.

In other words, even if you knew an Immortal Spirit Spring lay beneath your feet, you still might not find it—or release it.

Because Immortal Spirit Spring sources are entirely wrapped in Dao rhythms and cosmic laws; you must break through those rhythms and laws to access them—not simply dig them open.

Could Ding Huan have torn open those Dao rhythms and cosmic laws with dozens of explosive talismans, and by sheer chance, revealed the Immortal Spirit Spring?

That possibility exists.

"Ding Huan, how did you get so many explosive talismans?" Cheng Keqi instantly spotted the flaw in Ding Huan's story.

Explosive talismans are useless trinkets; carrying two or three is already unusual—how could you produce dozens at once?

And these explosive talismans must be at least Level Nine Spirit Talismans, right?

Who are you trying to fool?

Even Chang Chang Danyi felt Ding Huan's story was poorly constructed—he should've thought of another excuse.

Anyone with a normal mind would know an Immortal Spirit Spring source couldn't be found just by digging and digging.

Ding Huan casually pulled out a stack of explosive talismans: "I used to sell talismans. I still have plenty of explosive talismans on me."

Cheng Keqi's spiritual sense landed on the stack in Ding Huan's hand—there were at least a hundred, all explosive talismans, all Level Nine Spirit Explosive Talismans.

From the aura of these talismans, they had clearly been forged years ago—impossible to have been hastily made to deceive him.

Cheng Keqi could only press his palm to his forehead: What kind of bizarre person is this?

At this moment, he regretted awarding twenty Immortal Crystals.

After letting that stifled anger swirl in his chest for dozens of breaths, Cheng Keqi waved his hand: "Fine, I'll write it myself."

"Since your search for the Immortal Spirit Spring source was pure luck, you don't need to search anymore. You're an Array Master by trade—repairing arrays is your specialty. With the Immortal Thieves rampant lately, go repair the arrays."

After saying this, Cheng Keqi finally felt some relief from his inner bitterness.

He refused to believe this time wouldn't kill Ding Huan—if Ding Huan died, there'd be no witnesses.

As long as Ding Huan went to repair the arrays, even if he had some skill, Lu Hai would frame him.

If Ding Huan had no skill, he'd die even faster.

Ding Huan blinked: "Is this a good thing?"

Though he didn't think it was a good thing, in the Immortal Sect, repairing arrays was tacitly considered a good assignment.

Array repair usually takes place in areas dense with Immortal Spiritual Energy, since they're the array cores. These places not only allow cultivation but are also idle.

It's a plum job. Earlier, he'd wanted to repair arrays—but that old man Kong had dumped him into searching for Immortal Spirit Spring sources.

Now they're sending him back to repair arrays? Has he had a change of heart?

In truth, since learning Immortal Spirit Springs could condense Immortal Crystals, Ding Huan had lost all interest in repairing arrays.

Ding Huan knew he couldn't ask Cheng Keqi to let him keep searching for Immortal Spirit Spring sources—if he did, it would be like shouting "I stole the silver!"

Taken to a main array core in the Immortal Sect, Ding Huan still wondered: Even if they didn't want him searching for Immortal Spirit Spring sources, why hand him such a good assignment?

Seeing Ding Huan standing dazed, a cultivator repairing the protective array shouted: "Are you dead? Get over there and fix the array footings—don't stand around acting like a lord!"

Beside him lay a huge pile of array flags.

Ding Huan then noticed the outside of the protective array was swarming with countless insects—their gnawing sounds crackled loudly, clearly enjoying a feast.

These insects were familiar—he'd seen them three times before on the Third Heaven Star Continent. These were the Immortal Thieves?

Ding Huan watched the man frantically summoning array flags.

While one side of the protective array was being devoured, he was repairing the other side. By the time he finished that side and returned, new damage had already appeared.

He couldn't pause for a single breath.

Ding Huan finally understood: no wonder Cheng Keqi was so generous—it really was an outbreak of Immortal Thieves.

Ding Huan spoke calmly: "What are you, anyway? Just tell me which array core I'm responsible for—no more whining."

He had zero interest in helping this guy repair array footings.

He'd brought an assistant—he'd take charge of a main array core himself.

"You'll handle a main array core?" The cultivator repairing the core stared blankly, but quickly snapped to and hurled several array flags.

One more delay, and his array core would be completely devoured.

"What else?" Ding Huan retorted without hesitation: "I'm the Number One Array King of the Dao Cultivation World—why should I be your lackey?"

Right now, he truly didn't want to stay in Baihe Immortal Dao—he hoped his terrible attitude would get him expelled.

He'd heard that personnel hired by the Immortal Sect who left voluntarily before being expelled had to compensate with Immortal Crystals; if they just vanished, the Sect had the right to hunt them down.

Who would waste time repairing Baihe Immortal Dao's protective array? He came here to cultivate.

"Good, very good. Since you're so capable, then you come repair this array core." Saying that, this fellow turned and left, his speed incomparably swift.

Ding Huan clearly saw this fellow record an image crystal orb.

Chang Chang Danyi whispered after he left: "He knows he can't repair this array core, so he simply threw the blame onto you."

Ding Huan nodded: "He really can't repair this array core. If we don't step in, in at most half a shichen, this array core will be gnawed through by the Dao-Stealing Insects.

I reckon this fellow knows that once the array core he's responsible for gets gnawed through, he'll definitely receive severe punishment, maybe even be killed. That's why this fellow didn't even have the courage to egg me on a few times before tossing the blame to me."

"Then what do we do?" Chang Chang Danyi somewhat regretted returning to the Immortal Sect. Had she known it would be like this, she might as well have left right after finishing her Tribulation Crossing.

Before being hunted, she could still leave the Immortal Domain.

"No problem, I'll repair this array core." Ding Huan unhurriedly walked to where the array core was, then grabbed a handful of array flags from the side and tossed them out.

Have to say, these array flags are all quite decent.

Ding Huan, while laying out array flags to repair the array core, simultaneously used his divine sense to carve slaughter array patterns outside.

If he merely repaired the array core, that would definitely be utterly meaningless.

Even if it were meaningful, Ding Huan wouldn't do it — that would tire him to death.

As Ding Huan finished laying out his slaughter array patterns, the Dao-Stealing Insects outside were slaughtered in swarms, then tossed aside by Ding Huan's displacement array patterns.

New Dao-Stealing Insects came over, then were slaughtered and displaced again.

Chang Chang Danyi stared blankly at Ding Huan's methods, murmuring: "Why didn't that array master think of doing this before?"

Ding Huan gave a chuckle: "Even if he thought of it, he couldn't pull it off."

This involves not only void array patterns, but also law arrays.

Dao-Stealing Insects are stupid, yet they have an instinct — they head straight for the array core's location, because there's a Celestial Spirit Spring eye there, where the celestial spiritual energy is richest.

Simply laying out a slaughter array, no Dao-Stealing Insect would be willing to enter.

Ding Huan's void-pattern slaughter array not only simulated a spirit source within the slaughter array, but also constructed a false Celestial Spirit Spring eye.

This kind of method, even if you've seen a Celestial Spirit Spring eye, you still couldn't lay it out if you don't understand the Celestial Spirit Spring's dao-rhyme laws.

The array master who left had already tidied up his evidence, just waiting for the array core where Ding Huan was to be gnawed through by Dao-Stealing Insects, so he could immediately distance himself and send Ding Huan to a death path.

Only he waited half a day, and no news came at all.

He returned once more to the array core where Ding Huan was, and found Ding Huan leisurely sitting with his eyes closed, resting.

And outside Ding Huan's array, the Dao-Stealing Insects were being slaughtered in swarms by the slaughter array Ding Huan had laid out.

Not only were they slaughtered, but Ding Huan, worried that too many slaughtered insects would clog up the slaughter array, even thoughtfully laid out a displacement array.

Once the slaughtered insects reached a certain amount, the insects in the slaughter array would automatically be displaced away.

This method is great — why didn't I think of it?

No, even if he thought of it, he might not necessarily be able to set it up.

"This Dao friend, your method is truly brilliant. Earlier I was rash. My name is Lu Hai. I'm the chief array master of the Immortal Sect's Array Peak…"

This array master immediately came humbly before Ding Huan, his tone utterly sincere.

Ding Huan opened his eyes, sized up Lu Hai, then said: "Scram."

He had no intention of staying in this Immortal Sect at all — what pleasant look could he possibly give to this kind of trash?

Lu Hai's face changed. He was an Immortal Sect array master, his status a hundred times stronger than Ding Huan, this externally hired temporary worker.

Any cultivator recruited by the Immortal Sect here — which one of them, upon seeing him, didn't wear a fawning face?

A guy like Ding Huan, whose survival was uncertain from day to day, actually dared to boss him around — simply seeking death.