Chapter 462

461. Chapter 456: Lightly Dispatching the Opponent

Ding Huan's spiritual sense shattered the ring's sealing, revealing a pile of immortal crystals—things Ding Huan found worthless.

His spiritual sense landed on the man's identity plaque inside the ring: Core Disciple Ren Xian of Panxingdao Sect.

He saw no competition number tag and didn't know whether this guy was skipping the combat tournament entirely or just all matches.

When Ding Huan's spiritual sense touched a jade box, he sensed a familiar resonance.

Ding Huan immediately shattered the jade box's seal and saw a Tongling Blueface Fruit inside.

The value of a Tongling Blueface Fruit is incalculable; even in the Immortal World, countless people crave it.

Because it enables beast companions to speak.

The Immortal World has Immortal Spirit Fruits that achieve the same effect, but their value is incomparably higher than the Tongling Blueface Fruit.

But none of that mattered—what mattered was that Ding Huan recognized this Tongling Blueface Fruit: it was the one he had exchanged with Wen Zhixi.

Ding Huan left a spiritual mark on the man, then withdrew his spiritual sense, his eyes cold.

Even if this guy wasn't competing, he would intercept him and demand answers.

Ding Huan still didn't go to the plaza; he was studying talisman arts.

He had no trouble with array arts; he could now barely forge third-grade immortal talismans.

To advance his talisman arts, he needed to work hard these next few days.

But talisman arts and array arts are similar—he was a sixth-grade immortal array master, so studying talisman arts would double his progress.

The Immortal Sect ranking combat was held day and night; when tired, one simply sat in meditation to rest. At night, the Xiancheng sky was lit by a Light Array.

It was no different from daytime.

What delighted Ding Huan was that on the third day in his quarters, his identity plaque began signaling his second-round combat.

Ding Huan rushed to the combat plaza at top speed—what shocked him was that in just three days, the barriers on both sides of the plaza had been removed, and two new combat zones had been added.

His spiritual sense swept over them: one was the Alchemy Contest Zone, the other the Artifact Contest Zone.

Clearly, when the Array and Talisman contests opened, they would connect with Combat, Alchemy, and Artifact contests to form a perfect fan shape.

Clearly, the plaza's designers had put thought into it: the five contest zones merged into one, making it convenient for spectators to move between them.

For someone like Ding Huan, switching venues mid-combat would be equally convenient.

Back at Combat Arena No. 2, Ding Huan waited three hours before his turn came.

His opponent was a female cultivator; this time Ding Huan drew a longsword.

If time weren't so tight, he preferred not to instantly dispatch every opponent—it drew too much attention.

The woman wore Yihai Palace attire; seeing Ding Huan's indulgent, debauched appearance, her eyes flickered with disdain.

She decided to teach this shameless bastard a lesson—ideally, sever his member so he could never harm innocent sisters again.

But every time she summoned her Luohai Liusui Vessel, Ding Huan blocked it; after only twenty-odd strikes, he kicked her squarely in the buttocks and sent her flying off the arena.

Even she didn't know how she lost—she only remembered that when blocking Ding Huan's longsword, a powerful force struck her buttocks, and without resistance, she was flung off the arena.

"Senior Sister Binghe…" A woman rushed forward to catch Luo Binghe, unable to believe her eyes—how could Binghe-sister have lost?

She knew Binghe-sister was Yihai Palace's main force in this Immortal Sect ranking contest; even if she didn't clear every elimination round, advancing five or six rounds was certain.

Now, eliminated in the second round? This…

Luo Binghe couldn't believe it either—she had lost? How was this possible? It was only the second round!

Ding Huan returned to his quarters and resumed studying talismans.

He could now forge third-grade immortal talismans at will; fourth-grade ones still lacked the right breakthrough.

Ding Huan believed it was simply a matter of relentless practice.

On the fourth day, Ding Huan departed early with Sect Master Ji Changsi and Elder Mu to the Array Contest Zone.

For Dafanxian Sect, Ding Huan was now their greatest hope.

Of Dafanxian Sect's combat competitors, only Ding Huan had cleared two rounds; Yan Sha's second-round match was today; Lu Qiansi had already been eliminated in round two.

In Alchemy, Dafanxian Sect had only one disciple advance past the first round, but it seemed unlikely he'd go far.

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Artifact contest lasts longer; Dafanxian Sect's disciples have not yet begun their first round.

Today was the Array Contest; given Ding Huan's dominant performance in combat, Ji Changsi and Elder Mu had high expectations for him.

As for the other two array contestants, they were merely there to fill the numbers—advancing past three rounds would be a surprise.

"Sixth Brother, go ahead boldly. Even if you fail and fall short of your expected result, the sect will compensate you."

As Ding Huan waited in line, Ji Changsi offered him another word of encouragement.

It meant that even if he didn't win first place or claim the Soul-Eating Realm Ring, Dafanxian Sect would still grant him rewards.

Ding Huan paid no mind—what could Dafanxian Sect offer him? Immortal pills or immortal crystals?

To him, immortal crystals and pills were negligible; Ji Changsi's promise held no value.

This time, Ding Huan was lucky—he drew number 122, Arena No. 13.

Meaning he'd be called soon.

After all array contestants entered, the Array Contest officially began.

Ding Huan stood outside Arena No. 13, watching the first-round match underway.

Two array cultivators landed on the arena; a massive monitor displayed the challenge.

Both array masters were to simultaneously construct a Level-Two Imprisoning Immortal Array to trap each other—the first to escape the opponent's array would win.

Ding Huan sighed—it was an imprisonment array; if it were a killing array, many would surely die later.

From this challenge alone, killing arrays were certain in later rounds.

The two array masters on the arena were evenly matched; Ding Huan waited a full incense stick's time before the Panxingdao Sect array master stepped out first.

The match ended, and the disciple of Chongyun Xian Sect won.

Clearly, the Dou Zhen competition requires much more time than the Dou Fa competition.

Soon, the number token in Ding Huan's hand lit up—it was his turn to compete; his opponent was No. 121.

Ding Huan landed on the Dou Zhen arena at once, followed by a disciple dressed in Zhenmo Xian Palace attire. The challenge remained unchanged: both must set up a Level Two Binding Immortal Array.

Seeing Ding Huan's weak appearance, the Zhenmo Xian Palace disciple sighed in relief and flung out a set of array flags, intending to swiftly defeat Ding Huan.

Ding Huan also wanted a quick victory; he raised his hand and planted over a dozen array flags, then calmly stepped out of the opponent's Binding Immortal Array.

The Level Two Binding Immortal Array that had trapped him was as good as nonexistent.

This contest does not require you to demonstrate how perfectly you set up your binding array—only that you emerge first.

On Stage Thirteen, No. 122 was declared the winner, yet the Zhenmo Xian Palace disciple trapped by Ding Huan had not yet emerged.

Fortunately, at that moment Ding Huan retracted all his array flags, allowing the Zhenmo Xian Palace disciple to see daylight again.

The Zhenmo Xian Palace disciple stared at Ding Huan in shock—he had never imagined that facing a Level Two Binding Immortal Array, he would be unable to find the exit.

He was, after all, a Level Three Array Master.

As an array master who had studied for years, he knew well that there were countless ways to set up the same Level Two Binding Immortal Array.

He could not find the exit at all, proving that the opponent's foundational array principles were vastly superior to his own.

Seeing Ding Huan descend from the arena, he hurried to chase after him to make acquaintance, but Ding Huan had already left the Array Competition zone.

There was still ample time; Ding Huan decided to return and continue studying the Dao of Talismans.

The intervals between Dou Zhen matches were long; by the time the second round came, nearly ten days would have passed.

Before Ding Huan reached the exit, he saw Ren Xian.

The fellow had put on his clothes and now looked presentable. What Ding Huan did not expect was that he had signed up for the Dou Zhen competition.

If this fellow were stronger, he might have had a chance to cross paths with him.

After returning to his quarters, Ding Huan began attempting to forge Level Four Immortal Talismans.

Unlike others who forge talismans, Ding Huan could perceive every change in Dao rhythm as he sent each one forth.

This is why Ding Huan learned Array Dao and Talisman Dao far faster than ordinary cultivators.

When Ding Huan forged talismans, if he made a mistake, he immediately corrected it in the next attempt.

This involved combinations of various talisman patterns and their compatibility with materials…

It was essentially about expressing the Dao rhythms he needed with maximum explosive intensity and perfect integration within the talisman patterns.

The same talisman, forged by different talisman masters, produced vastly different power—this was why.

Ding Huan's Great Cosmos Art formed its own system; if he devoted time, he could establish his own Array Dao system or Talisman Dao system.

Ding Huan was now doing exactly that.

At dawn, Ding Huan forged his first Level Four Immortal Talisman: the Binding Immortal Talisman.

Ji Changsi clearly knew Ding Huan's habit of returning after matches, so he waited outside Ding Huan's room early that morning.

Ding Huan participated in the Array Competition again—easily defeating his opponent in the first round, before the opponent could even react.

After Ding Huan left, Ji Changsi specifically investigated his opponent—it was a Level Three Array Master specially trained by Zhenmo Xian Palace.

Even such a Level Three Array Master was no match for Ding Huan. This proved Ding Huan's Array Dao skill was certainly beyond Level Three.

This even led Ji Changsi, the sect master of a Five-Star Xian Sect, to indulge in wild fantasies: what if Dafanxian Sect actually won first place? What would that scene look like?

Just thinking of it made Ji Changsi tremble with excitement. He knew it was unlikely, yet he could not stop himself from imagining it.

Today was Ding Huan's first day in the Talisman Competition; Ji Changsi did not even wait for Elder Elder Ming Mu—he came here personally to wait for Ding Huan.