Chapter 405: The Law of Obscurity, Devouring Ten Thousand Paths

After a day of rest, both Ku Tingyi and Fu Shuangping appeared no longer as lethargic as they had a few days earlier; both seemed somewhat refreshed.

As soon as Ku Tingyi saw Wen Zhixi carrying Ding Huan out, he immediately stepped forward and said:

"Wen Daofriend, we've gained some experience here, but I'm truly confused about which direction to choose in this place.

I always feel the marsh side is safer, yet the dry marsh is naturally easier to traverse. How about this: we split up, and whichever side is safer, we send a message to the other."

Wen Zhixi looked at Ding Huan.

This made Ku Tingyi even more certain: despite Wen Zhixi's apparent cultivation being far higher than Ding Huan's, it was this fellow named Ding Huan who made the decisions.

"Zhixi, I think this plan is good. If we all stick together, we might all get wiped out. If we split up, at least one group will be safe," Ding Huan said.

Wen Zhixi didn't understand why Ding Huan suddenly wanted to split again, but she had no objection—she never wanted to follow these two in the first place.

Ku Tingyi's gaze made her deeply uncomfortable; had her self-control been weaker, she would have already shown her displeasure.

"Fine, which side do you choose?" Ku Tingyi asked in a low voice.

Wen Zhixi remained silent; Ding Huan fell into thought for a long moment before asking: "Ku Daofriend, which side do you think suits us better?"

Ku Tingyi smiled: "Logically, you should take the dry marsh side, but I believe the marsh side is safer…"

"Thank you for the reminder, Ku Daofriend. In that case, we'll take the marsh side," Ding Huan agreed without hesitation.

Ku Tingyi froze—he had instinctively believed Ding Huan would never follow his suggestion.

He had intended for Ding Huan and Wen Zhixi to take the marsh side, so Ding Huan would surely choose the dry marsh.

What was going on? Why did Ding Huan agree immediately? Could Wen Zhixi and Ding Huan even have a map showing which route—dry marsh or marsh—was safer?

As Wen Zhixi was about to carry Ding Huan toward the marsh side, Fu Shuangping suddenly spoke up:

"If you feel the marsh side is safer, why should we take the dry marsh? Wouldn't it be better if we all went together through the marsh?"

Ku Tingyi chuckled awkwardly: "Of course, going together through the marsh would be better—but if we encounter danger, wouldn't we all be wiped out?

Since Ding Daofriend has chosen the marsh side, we'll take the dry marsh. At least we can explore both routes."

"No. Either we all go through the marsh, or you go alone through the dry marsh," Fu Shuangping declared firmly.

Seeing this, Ding Huan quickly said: "In that case, let's take the dry marsh."

Ku Tingyi was about to say more, but Wen Zhixi had already turned and carried Ding Huan toward the dry marsh, quickly vanishing into the distance.

"Yi-ge, why didn't they insist on taking the marsh side?" Fu Shuangping asked, puzzled.

Ku Tingyi frowned as well. Which route—marsh or dry marsh—was safer was not marked on the route map.

He and Fu Shuangping knew the marsh side was safer because Fu Shuangping's cultivation technique pointed toward the marsh—not because the route map indicated it.

Fu Shuangping's cultivation technique had been passed down by her ancestral forebears.

Her ancestors not only transmitted to her their cultivation technique and array arts, but also left behind abundant cultivation resources.

They had told Fu Shuangping: whenever the route map offers no direction, follow the guidance of your technique—it will never lead you astray.

Even Fu Shuangping's own route map failed to indicate whether the dry marsh or the marsh was safer; Ku Tingyi believed that even if Wen Zhixi and Ding Huan possessed a route map, they had no indication of which side was safer.

"Big Brother Ding, I feel the marsh side must be the correct path. If they have a route map, then the marsh side being safer is certainly correct," Wen Zhixi said after they had traveled far away.

Ding Huan said: "The dry marsh is dangerous. We cannot proceed further—we must stop here."

"Then you?" Wen Zhixi looked at Ding Huan, puzzled.

If the dry marsh was dangerous, why come here at all?

Ding Huan said: "I also obtained the route map. Take a look."

Saying this, Ding Huan pulled out a jade slip and handed it to Wen Zhixi.

Wen Zhixi stared at him in astonishment—when had he acquired the route map? She had no idea.

She quickly finished examining the map: "Big Brother Ding, this doesn't say whether the marsh or dry marsh is safer."

Ding Huan smiled: "Those two must know the marsh side is safer. So no matter which route we choose, they'll find an excuse to head for the marsh."

"Then let's go through the marsh too," Wen Zhixi looked at Ding Huan.

Ding Huan said: "The marsh is safe—but right at the entrance, there's a wave of danger. We'll wait here until that danger passes, then cross over.

As for the dry marsh, we can't go any further. If we do, we'll likely leave our lives here."

Though Wen Zhixi didn't understand how Ding Huan knew this, she didn't ask.

Ding Huan raised his hand and projected several array runes; immediately, an array-monitoring screen appeared before him and Wen Zhixi.

The dialogue between Ku Tingyi and Fu Shuangping played clearly on the screen—they were moving slowly through the marsh.

"Yi-ge, when do we go collect their corpses?" Fu Shuangping asked.

Ku Tingyi chuckled: "Collecting corpses? Unlikely. I still need to heal that woman…"

Upon hearing this, Fu Shuangping's expression darkened.

Ku Tingyi hurriedly added: "Don't worry—no matter where or when, I'll never forget you. You are the most critical in destiny to me, without exception."

Hearing this, Fu Shuangping's eyes lit up with joy—but before she could speak further, ripples appeared in their line of sight.

"Marsh Tide? How is this possible?" Ku Tingyi's face turned instantly pale—how could Marsh Tide appear beneath this marsh?

Marsh Tide always had precursors—but this time, there were none. It appeared abruptly.

Yet the Marsh Tide's ripples moved with terrifying speed, reaching the two in the blink of an eye.

Fu Shuangping suddenly spat a jet of blood.

Ding Huan immediately activated the teleportation runes—now or never.

Fu Shuangping's blood mist sprayed onto both her and Ku Tingyi; instantly, a dull gray light enveloped them, and they vanished from before the Marsh Tide.

Almost the instant they disappeared, the Marsh Tide engulfed the very spot where they had stood.

One could imagine—if they had been a single breath slower, they would have been dead.

"Incredibly powerful Marsh Tide," Wen Zhixi thought in silent shock. If she and Ding Huan had been struck by this, she would have had no chance to escape.

"This woman actually has this trick up her sleeve—truly formidable," Ding Huan murmured, casually gathering the golden fruit that had teleported over.

"Zhixi, I need to set up a concealment array here; I must heal, and you guard me." Ding Huan said.

"Alright, I estimate they'll arrive soon." Wen Zhixi said.

Ding Huan nodded: "Don't worry, they won't get here that fast."

Saying this, Ding Huan began laying out the array patterns.

In just a short time, a Level Four Concealment Immortal Array sealed him and Wen Zhixi. Moreover, Ding Huan re-embedded the lower-grade Immortal Spirit Vein beneath him.

Under these circumstances, sufficient Immortal Spirit source was essential; otherwise, he didn't even know what might happen.

With Fu Shuangping's array knowledge, finding him was pure fantasy.

Ding Huan carefully examined the golden fruit in his hand; even holding it, he still couldn't recall what Immortal Spirit Fruit it was from his memories.

Ding Huan knew it wasn't that his memories lacked it.

It was that he himself still hadn't figured out how to trigger the scroll's contents.

Just like the Heavenly罡 Dao Art and Earthly煞 Illusion Art—when he obtained the incomplete Earthly Seventy-Two Illusions, only then did the true Heavenly Earthly Dao Art memories activate.

Ding Huan took out the golden Immortal Spirit Fruit, sensed its Dao rhythm, then activated the Great Cosmos Art to absorb it.

As the Great Cosmos Art's Zhou Tian drew away the first strand of Dao rhythm from the fruit, Ding Huan understood what it was.

It wasn't an Immortal Spirit Fruit at all, but something he'd never heard of: a Dao Fruit.

The one in his hand was a Law Dao Fruit.

This golden Law Dao Fruit, upon absorption, allowed a cultivator to comprehend the fundamental laws of all things, based on their own cultivation art.

For example, if the cultivator primarily cultivated Metal Law, absorbing this Law Dao Fruit would make the Metal Law clearer.

Ding Huan was different—he cultivated the Great Cosmos Art, grounded in the Dao rhythms of all things.

Under the Great Cosmos Art, all Dao laws existing in space became increasingly clear to Ding Huan's perception.

The Great Cosmos Art inherently clarified the Dao rhythms of heaven and earth, and with this Law Dao Fruit, Ding Huan even had a delusion—he could immediately break through to Immortal King.

Ding Huan knew this was absolutely a delusion; it was simply wasteful to use this Dao Fruit for his current purpose.

This should have been used when attempting to break through to Immortal King, yet he was using it now to find out what the silver droplet was.

Soon, the Great Cosmos Art detected something amiss with the Dao Fruit.

He swiftly peeled away a faint Dao rhythm imprint within it—this imprint could not have been left by Fu Shuangping.

Since he discovered it, it wouldn't escape.

He sealed the faint Dao rhythm imprint with a restriction, then continued the Great Cosmos Art's Zhou Tian to search for other anomalies within himself.

Indeed, just after the third Zhou Tian passed, Ding Huan locked onto an unknown law energy entwined within his body.

The Great Cosmos Art enveloped these unknown law energies and drew them into the Zhou Tian.

The law energy finally became clear, and Ding Huan gained definitive memories.

Shi Dao Yin.

This thing could obscure a thousand arts and devour ten thousand Dao paths.

Once corrupted by it, no matter what Dao path, it would inevitably collapse, followed by the dissolution of flesh, blood, and Dao methods.

Shi Dao Yin was like a tick clinging to bone—it would automatically seek out Dao methods within the body, until it obscured them, then devoured them.

Extremely powerful.

Ding Huan was internally stunned, and he also understood one thing: his Great Cosmos Art was undoubtedly stronger than the Dao art of the one who left the scroll.

That man claimed that once infected by Shi Dao Yin, any Dao path was doomed to destruction.

Yet he seemed to have a chance to use the Great Cosmos Art to peel away the Shi Dao Yin's devouring law.

Ding Huan had no intention of simply peeling away the Shi Dao Yin's devouring law and stopping there.

He intended to internalize the Shi Dao Yin's ten-thousand-Dao-devouring law into his mind's Dao Cosmos, transforming it into a common law beneath his own Dao Cosmos.