Chapter 382

Ding Huan felt that although his Refining Immortal Crystal array had been upgraded to an Immortal Array, one was certainly not as good as multiple ones.

So Ding Huan set up two more Refining Immortal Crystal arrays.

Not only that, he maximized the output of the Immortal Spirit Spring source and installed an array to extract Immortal Spirit Qi.

After completing these, Ding Huan guided a stream of Immortal Spirit Qi into another protective array and began his cultivation.

Indeed, cultivating at the Immortal Spirit Spring source felt utterly incomparable to cultivating with low-grade Immortal Crystals.

Perhaps because he was cultivating alone this time, with no external interference, Ding Huan consciously perceived the Dao rhythms and laws within the Immortal Source as he absorbed it, and he sensed faintly mottled Dao rhythms.

These were impurities within the Immortal Spirit Qi.

Previously, he had not paid attention, and in his frenzy to boost his cultivation, he had wildly sucked in Immortal Spirit Qi to increase his own Immortal Qi.

Clearly, the Immortal Spirit Qi he had absorbed before also contained impurities; he quickly constructed a Zhou Tian specifically to expel these impurities.

This struck an alarm bell in Ding Huan's heart.

Sometimes, those with very high talent fail to reach their expected heights, likely because they absorbed such inferior Immortal Spirit Qi.

In the early stages of cultivation, one might not notice, only knowing to continuously absorb Immortal Spirit Qi to consolidate and strengthen one's power and realm, who would think that this Immortal Spirit Qi contained mottled Dao laws?

If he had not cultivated the Great Cosmos Art, if he had not been exquisitely sensitive to Dao rhythms and laws, he too would have sensed nothing.

This inferior Immortal Spirit Qi contained various mottled Dao rhythms and laws—even his Great Cosmos Art had not been able to completely purge them, let alone other techniques?

Inferior Immortal Spirit Qi could still be absorbed and cultivated, but it required proper methods.

Ding Huan decided to change his approach.

As before, he added a Zhou Tian to his Great Cosmos Art to remove mottled Dao rhythms and laws, and then installed a Spirit Source filtration array.

Although the Immortal Spirit Qi he drew directly from the Immortal Spirit Spring source was pure enough, caution never hurt.

While Ding Huan was furiously cultivating and refining Immortal Crystals in the Yan Clan, someone arrived at Yao Yue Xiancheng.

It wasn't that Ding Huan had been exposed, but rather that such a small shop producing Immortal Spirit Springs was simply too eye-catching.

Could this shop help sects and clans locate Immortal Spirit Spring sources?

That sounded too unbelievable.

Yet the shopkeeper was not even present—the store had opened and immediately attracted business, as the owner had been invited out to search for Immortal Spirit Spring sources.

Some curious onlookers noted this down, planning to return in a year.

Some people searching for Ding Huan found this too coincidental.

Ding Huan had previously been able to locate Immortal Spirit Spring sources in Baihe Xiandao; now that he had left Baihe Xiandao, a shop appeared in Yao Yue Xiancheng offering the same service?

This frenzy lasted only a few months; after several months passed and Ding Huan gave no further news, the matter gradually died down.

True Immortal Ninth Layer.

Ding Huan stopped cultivating.

He had spent one year advancing from True Immortal Seventh Layer to True Immortal Ninth Layer.

To others, this speed was as fast as teleportation; to Ding Huan, it was not particularly fast.

The Great Cosmos Art's feature was that it had no limit on absorbing Immortal Spirit Qi—any amount could be drawn into the Great Cosmic Universe, and it had no bottlenecks.

At the very source of the Immortal Spirit Spring, after over a year of cultivation, he had only advanced from True Immortal Seventh Layer to True Immortal Ninth Layer—this speed could not be called fast, only average.

Ding Huan knew he could no longer cultivate.

According to his calculations, he had been in the Yan Clan for one year and one month.

During this time, Yan Yan Huanqi had not come looking for him, making him a decent partner.

You can't keep exploiting a good partner—time to move on.

Ding Huan did not know that Yan Yan Huanqi had already forgotten about him entirely.

The Yan Clan was truly declining day by day; problems piled up like snow on ice—who could possibly remember that one person in the family was still searching for Immortal Spirit Spring sources?

Ding Huan packed up his protective array and entered the Refining Immortal Crystal array.

The first Refining Immortal Crystal array contained fifty thousand high-grade Immortal Crystals, their quality even better than those refined in Baihe Xiandao.

The second and third arrays each contained thirty-five thousand high-grade Immortal Crystals.

Ding Huan was overjoyed—this was simply twelve thousand high-grade Immortal Crystals.

He quickly gathered all the Immortal Crystals and began handling the Immortal Spirit Spring source.

He would seal off part of the Immortal Spirit Spring source; he could no longer use Immortal Arrays to extract Immortal Spirit Qi as before.

Moreover, he had to erase all traces of the arrays he had set up; only after completing these could he inform Yan Yan Huanqi.

…

Yan Clan's Guest Hall.

Clan leader Yan Yan Yongju was negotiating the sale of the clan's assets with a woman.

The Yan Clan could no longer hold on; without an Immortal Spirit source, even a family in the Immortal Realm was like a soulless corpse.

Although the Yan Clan could refuse to sell, over time, others would seize it anyway.

Even stationing someone here to guard it would not work.

The Immortal Realm forbade fighting, but if your family has abandoned its territory, no matter how many guardians you station, someone will kill them and seize the land.

Land with an Immortal Spirit Spring source was desirable in anyone's eyes.

If you can't find an Immortal Spirit Spring source, that's your incompetence—it doesn't mean others can't.

Most of the clan's younger members had gradually left; some had outright departed the Immortal Realm for the Void, some had joined Immortal Sects, and others worked menial jobs in Immortal Sects—mining, cultivating Immortal Spirit herbs, and so on.

Now, only Yan Yan Huanqi and Yan Yan Huanzhen remained to accompany the clan leader in negotiations with the Changyi Immortal Sect.

"Our Immortal Sect will offer no more than three million low-grade Immortal Crystals, plus a thousand Immortal Qi Pills," the woman from the Changyi Immortal Sect held firm on her price.

This left the Yan Clan leader helplessly frustrated—her offer was less than one-tenth of what they demanded.

At that moment, Yan Yan Huanqi's communication bead suddenly lit up.

Yan Yan Huanqi's spiritual sense landed on the communication bead, and he immediately jumped up in excitement.

He truly jumped up—no exaggeration.

After jumping up, Yan Yan Huanqi even failed to say a word before rushing out.

"Huanqi, what's going on?" Clan Chief Yan Yan Yongju frowned slightly and couldn't help but shout to stop him.

Only then did Yan Yan Huanqi remember there were guests here—they were discussing the sale of the clan's territory before leaving this place.

Yan Yan Huanqi's voice trembled as he cried: "Clan Chief, we've found our Yan family's Immortal Spirit Spring! Let's go right now!"

"What?" Yan Yan Yongju also leapt up, completely unlike his aged appearance.

At this moment, he even forgot to greet the guests before rushing out.

Only when he reached the door did he remember something and cried urgently: "Huanzhen, please entertain Guest Gu Pei for me!"

The woman, upon hearing the Yan family had found the Immortal Spirit Spring, also wanted to go see it; she had just stood up when Yan Yan Huanzhen quickly said: "Guest Gu Pei, please remain seated—our Clan Chief will return shortly."

He too wanted to go see the Immortal Spirit Spring, but he couldn't leave now.

The Yan family had discovered the Immortal Spirit Spring—it was absolutely forbidden to bring guests to see it; this was the Yan family's secret.

Ding Huan removed the protective array, and as soon as Yan Yan Yongju and Yan Yan Huanqi stepped out, they sensed the direction of the Immortal Spirit Spring.

The two rushed to Ding Huan's location at maximum speed; Yan Yan Yongju, sensing the extreme density of the Immortal Spirit Spring, threw himself toward it.

Tears streamed down his face—his Yan family had nearly been destroyed, but this one Immortal Spirit Spring had saved them. As long as they protected this Immortal Spirit Spring, the Yan family would flourish again.

Yan Yan Yongju clung to the Immortal Spirit Spring; Yan Yan Huanqi finally calmed down from his shock and excitement.

He looked at Ding Huan standing aside and quickly bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Master Ding—I, I—"

Too overcome with emotion, Yan Yan Huanqi could not utter a single complete sentence.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "No thanks needed—we both agreed willingly. I'm leaving—please pay the fee."

"Yes, yes…"

Yan Yan Huanqi had no idea how to express himself—he truly never expected Ding Huan could find the Immortal Spirit Spring.

He had genuinely forgotten Ding Huan.

A year had passed—who knew if Ding Huan had already left?

With the Yan family's Immortal Spirit Spring gone, the protective array was useless; if Ding Huan left, no one would even notice.

"Clan Chief, Clan Chief…"

Yan Yan Huanqi quickly grabbed Yan Yan Yongju, still clinging to the Immortal Spirit Spring.

"Good, good, good…"

After Yan Yan Huanqi pulled him up, Yan Yan Yongju repeated several "good"s, gradually calming his emotions; he trembled as he said: "Huanqi, you did right—you did very right."

When Yan Yan Huanqi and Yan Yuehua originally invited Ding Huan to the clan to search for the Immortal Spirit Spring, Yan Yan Yongju had taken it seriously at all.

Now he realized how vital Ding Huan, whom Yan Yan Huanqi had casually brought back, was to the Yan clan.

"Master Ding, I was disrespectful before. Thank you for finding this Immortal Spirit Spring for the Yan clan." Yan Yan Yongju bowed deeply, completely disregarding that he was far older than Ding Huan.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "Clan Chief Yan, this is not the time for thanks—we agreed willingly. Pay the Immortal Crystals, and I'm leaving."

Ding Huan had no interest in cultivating any relationship with the Yan family—they were purely contractual.

Yan Yan Huanqi also said: "Yes, Clan Chief, we originally agreed on one hundred thousand lower-grade Immortal Crystals."

Yan Yan Yongju quickly pulled out a storage bag and handed it to Ding Huan: "Master Ding, these seventy thousand Immortal Crystals are all the Immortal Crystals our Yan family possesses.

Don't worry—we will definitely raise more for you. The debt you're owed will be repaid in full."

Ding Huan did a quick calculation and knew the old man was lying.

The old man hadn't even waited for Ding Huan to agree to let him owe the crystals—he'd already acted first and asked later.

"Master Ding, I only need three months to gather the rest of your Immortal Crystals. Rest assured—my Yan family keeps every promise."

"You may stay temporarily in my Yan family. If you help us find a second Immortal Spirit Spring, I'll pay you double the Immortal Crystals."

Yan Yan Yongju's tone was utterly sincere, tinged with longing.