Chapter 397: 397. Chapter 393: Human Beast

397. Chapter 393: Human Beast

"Miss Wen." Ding Huan called out.

Miss Wen ignored him completely and dashed past him in a flash.

Ding Huan sighed helplessly, ready to follow behind Miss Wen, when the edge of his divine sense detected two more auras again.

Ding Huan immediately concealed himself, then saw two figures sprinting toward the direction Miss Wen had fled.

Someone really is chasing her?

No, these look human—but they're not human.

They do have two legs, but each has horns on their heads.

Their mouths aren't mouths at all, but mouth-organs, half a foot long, hard as iron shells.

A long, jagged spine protruded from their backs, like sawteeth.

Naked bodies, lower halves as grotesque as wild dogs.

Ding Huan didn't hesitate—he unleashed the Wheel of Rebirth Spear and blasted it forward.

Earlier, Ding Huan had concealed his form; these half-human, half-dog creatures hadn't noticed him at all.

Now, with Ding Huan's sudden strike, one of them had no defense—he was instantly shattered, his skull exploding into a pool of brown-red blood.

The other monster suddenly halted, then extended a two-meter-long arm to snatch at Ding Huan's head.

Slightly stronger than the Immortal Beast Mantis, but still just a Level Two Immortal Beast.

Isn't Miss Wen already Cultivation Peak of Profound Immortal? How could these two monsters chase her like this?

Ding Huan's Wheel of Rebirth Spear surged with the aura of slaughter, sweeping violently forward.

This monster was bound by Ding Huan's domain, utterly powerless against the force of his Wheel of Rebirth Spear.

"Puff!" Ding Huan's spear struck the monster's lower abdomen; it let out a piercing scream and exploded into a shower of colorful debris.

Just as Ding Huan was about to hurl a fireball, something even more shocking happened—the monster spoke human words: "You dare kill me? Lord Xianze will flay you, drain your tendons, grind your bones to dust!"

Ding Huan froze. Are these beings human or monsters?

Though their speech was muddled, Ding Huan's powerful divine sense and hearing made it clear—it was unmistakably human language.

"Bring that woman back to Lord Xianze, and you might still live…"

Seeing Ding Huan pause, the monster shouted louder.

Ding Huan had intended to interrogate further, but turned to see Miss Wen already far gone—he tossed a fireball instead, reducing both monsters to ash.

In this swamp, death lurked everywhere; Miss Wen had clearly been terrified, running blindly like this—she wouldn't last long.

After eliminating the two monsters, Ding Huan flashed forward and caught up with Miss Wen in mere moments.

Miss Wen had already fainted, collapsed in the swamp mud, several giant demonic ants clinging to her legs.

Ding Huan swept his hand—lifting her up—and flicked off the giant ants, then unleashed a burst of flame that reduced them to ash.

Clutching Miss Wen under his arm, Ding Huan did not return to his original cultivation spot.

He was thinking: what kind of monster is this Lord Xianze? He survives in this swamp—and seems to have many followers.

Both of Lord Xianze's dog-monsters were Level Two Immortal Beasts; Lord Xianze himself is likely a Great Immortal Beast.

Ding Huan wasn't afraid of Level Three Immortal Beasts—but if it's a Great Immortal Beast, he'd flee as far and fast as possible.

Ding Huan carried Miss Wen in a frantic run for an entire day before finally stopping at a dry patch of land.

The moment he stopped, he set up a concealment array—he feared Lord Xianze might be chasing them.

Then he set up a trapping and killing array, and a defensive array.

Once all arrays were in place, Ding Huan began examining Miss Wen.

Miss Wen's condition was grim—had she not met him, she'd already be dead in this swamp.

Her face was deathly pale, her internal Dao rhythms chaotic; worse, her body was saturated with toxic Dao rhythms, now attacking her dantian and soul sea.

The spots bitten by the demonic ants were rotting—even an Immortal of Profound Realm couldn't resist.

Even Ding Huan inwardly sighed: this woman was lucky to have met him—if she'd met a Luo Tian Immortal instead, she'd still be beyond saving.

Ding Huan tossed out some Immortal Crystals and began constructing the Great Cosmic Art to repair her internal Dao rhythms and purge the poison.

Under the Great Cosmic Art, merely one Zhou Tian cleared all toxins from Miss Wen's body.

Ding Huan's formidable recovery ability was fully manifested under the Great Cosmic Art's Zhou Tian.

Miss Wen's skin returned to its original state, without leaving a single trace.

This was merely external—her internal chaotic Dao rhythms also began stabilizing under Ding Huan's control.

Because she had cultivated in the Fourth Immortal Realm, Miss Wen's Immortal Qi had been tainted with too many impure Dao rhythms, leaving her Immortal Core impure and her surrounding Dao aura heavily mottled.

Sensing the mottled Dao rhythms within Miss Wen, Ding Huan sighed. Since he'd come this far, he might as well help her fully.

After all, this woman had been decent—she'd helped him several times voluntarily.

Under circumstances where they didn't even know each other, her willingness to warn him multiple times was exceptionally kind.

Since Miss Wen was unconscious, Ding Huan simply drew her meridians and even her soul sea into his own Great Dao Zhou Tian.

One by one, the mottled Dao rhythms were stripped from Miss Wen's body; her cultivation level began slowly declining.

Though unconscious, Ding Huan clearly felt her entire body trembling, even tears slipping from her eyes.

Ding Huan ignored it outright—he wasn't doing anything wrong.

Many sought his help; he often didn't even bother.

An hour later, Ding Huan ceased stripping away the Dao rhythms.

With the mottled Dao rhythms removed, Miss Wen's internal Dao rhythms were now pure beyond compare.

Though her cultivation had dropped to Profound Immortal Early Stage, her potential had increased by more than several times. Reaching Profound Immortal Peak would require nothing but Immortal Crystals.

Ding Huan was certain: had she not met him today, even if she'd survived, she'd never have advanced beyond Great Yi Immortal.

It is absolutely impossible for her to enter a higher realm—not because Wen Xianzi's talent is insufficient, but because the immortal qi she cultivates and absorbs is far too inferior.

Looking at Wen Xianzi, nearly naked, his gaze settled on the firmness coated in a layer of black mud; Ding Huan suppressed the urge to wash her and change her clothes.

He had seen naked women before, even more beautiful than Wen Xianzi; this situation held no appeal.

Ding Huan worried that if he helped clean her, he might end up doing all the work and still be blamed by an unreasonable person.

Even though Ding Huan knew Wen Xianzi was probably not that kind of woman, he still felt he should wait until she woke up to handle this matter himself.

Turning his head, Ding Huan began to think about the two monsters and Lord Xianze.

Will that thing come chasing here?

If that monster is a Level Four Immortal Beast, it might very well follow.

But the fact that the monster could speak human language surprised Ding Huan.

He scoured his memory but found no recollection of such an immortal beast; it felt more like a hybrid human to him.

In Wen Zhixi's faint perception, she was held in someone's arms, and even felt something being done to her—she could sense changes in her mind sea and meridians.

Yet her consciousness remained muddled; she struggled to awaken, but could not.

A sense of despair surged within her; she understood her situation all too well.

Because while fleeing, two human-beasts had been chasing her—their grotesque appearances made her scalp tingle and her whole body break out in goosebumps.

She knew that frantically running through the Myriad Void Marsh was suicide, yet she had no choice; the sheer terror made her feel nauseous all over.

What puzzled her was that after enduring so many terrifying subconscious thoughts, she felt her body growing lighter, her condition improving.

The first thought that came to her upon opening her eyes was of Lord Xianze.

But when she saw Ding Huan's back, she exhaled in relief—he was not a beastman.

She dared not even use her spiritual sense to disturb Ding Huan; seeing she was nearly naked, she instantly cast a concealment seal and performed the Pure Water Spell dozens of times.

After washing every inch of her body, even each pore, over a hundred times, she finally relaxed slightly and changed into a clean set of clothes.

She was grateful that her body had not been violated…

No, that's not right.

Wen Zhixi immediately sensed something was off with her body—her cultivation had dropped from Xuan Immortal Peak to Xuan Immortal Early Stage, yet her perception of the Dao had become clearer than ever.

Not only that, though her cultivation had declined, her sensitivity to immortal energy had grown more agile.

In other words, her cultivation had decreased, but her combat power had increased, and her Dao potential had also strengthened.

The poison inside her had vanished completely; moreover, the qi deviation she had nearly suffered had been resolved.

Wen Zhixi quickly removed the seal and bowed deeply to Ding Huan: "Thank you, Elder Brother, for saving my life—if not for your intervention, Wen Zhixi would already be dead in the marsh…"

Wen Zhixi's words abruptly halted; when Ding Huan turned around, she realized she recognized him.

Ding Huan had known Wen Zhixi had awakened; he turned and smiled: "Wen Xianzi, no need to thank me—I merely happened to be there and lent a hand. Come to think of it, I should be thanking you—for your advice years ago."

He hadn't expected this woman to be the top-ranked Array Master on the Sheng Dao Hall's list; only when she introduced herself just now did he remember.

"You're Ding Huan?" Wen Zhixi exclaimed in shock.

Ding Huan nodded: "It is I, Ding Mou. I never expected Wen Xianzi would come to the Myriad Void Marsh."

Wen Zhixi let out a long breath: "My luck is truly good—I met Elder Brother Ding; otherwise, I'd have wished for death over life."

I must also thank Elder Brother Ding for stripping the muddled Dao traces from my body—without you, I would have remained stuck forever."

"You knew?" Ding Huan looked at Wen Zhixi in surprise.

He hadn't expected Wen Zhixi to know that cultivating with fourth immortal realm's immortal qi had filled her body with too many muddled Dao traces.