Chapter 488: 487. Chapter 482: Got Played

487. Chapter 482: Got Played

The Thirty-Six Heavenly Techniques took Ding Huan a long time to cultivate, but for Emperor Xingpan, mastering them was a matter of minutes.

In just three days, Xingpan could effortlessly alter his appearance.

The only problem was that even as an Immortal Emperor, he could not change his own Dao rhythm.

Ding Huan, helpless, had to use the Great Cosmos Art to personally guide Emperor Xingpan on how to alter his Dao rhythm.

The first step in changing one's Dao rhythm is to fuse the new Dao principles with one's own body.

Cultivators usually cultivate only one technique; their Dao and self become fused gradually over years of cultivation, making it impossible to modify.

What Ding Huan now had to do was make Xingpan thoroughly familiar with a second set of Dao principles and then fuse them into himself.

Understanding Dao principles was no challenge for Xingpan; the difficulty lay in fusing this new Dao rhythm into his own being.

Ding Huan's consciousness contained a universe fused with billions of principles, so changing himself was simple; making Xingpan change took him a full half-month.

With Ding Huan's help, Xingpan could alter his Dao rhythm and fuse the new one into himself—but only one such change was possible.

That one was the one Ding Huan had taught him.

Every detail of how this Dao's rhythm and principles flowed and fused with the self had been taught to Xingpan by Ding Huan's own hand.

Because of this, Xingpan fully realized just how deeply Ding Huan understood the laws of the universe.

No wonder he could effortlessly strip away the muddled Dao rhythms from his body.

Arriving at the location where he had secluded himself to subdue the Soul-Eating Realm Ring, Ding Huan pointed downward:

"Let's first tunnel underground."

"Your cultivation spot isn't far from where I secluded myself," Xingpan chuckled upon entering the underground space Ding Huan had carved out.

This truly was fate—because Ding Huan's cultivation spot was near his own seclusion, he had gained a new life.

Otherwise, he would never have met Ding Huan in this lifetime; never meeting Ding Huan meant never gaining a new life.

"Take a look—what do you see here?" Ding Huan grinned.

"Is this the mark of Emperor Sun Wukong?" Xingpan, no stranger to Sun Wukong as his mortal enemy, instantly sensed the imprint left by Ding Huan on the ring.

"Yes, that's Sun Wukong's mark. Slowly melt these imprints—don't worry, when you do, I guarantee Sun Wukong will come here."

Xingpan nodded: "I know. When he shows up, I'll hit him hard."

Ding Huan spoke with absolute certainty:

"No—he won't attack you when he arrives. He won't even use his spiritual sense to break the array. He'll observe from outside the hidden immortality array, waiting until I trigger the fake freezing attack before he enters."

"Impossible. I know Sun Wukong too well—he'll attack you the instant he appears."

Emperor Sun Wukong immediately contradicted Ding Huan's claim.

"Right now, with your appearance, Sun Wukong will attack you—but once you take on my form, do you think he'll care about a mere Xuan Immortal?"

"You want me to transform into your appearance and conceal my cultivation to the level of a Xuan Immortal?"

"What else?"

Xingpan felt slightly embarrassed—of course, why else would Ding Huan have taught him the Embryonic Transformation Technique?

After Xingpan completed his transformation, Ding Huan began setting up arrays outside.

Ding Huan set up a Level Four defensive immortality array and a Level Four trapping-killing immortality array.

Xingpan looked at the arrays Ding Huan had set and thought they were useless—but for a Great Yi Immortal to construct a Level Four array, it was already remarkable.

"Sigh, pity my array art is also mediocre," Xingpan sighed helplessly.

Ding Huan grinned.

Though he hadn't yet advanced to Level Seven Array King, his array art could break through to Level Seven Array King at any moment.

The Level Four trapping-killing array was merely to prevent Sun Wukong from growing suspicious.

The real effect came from the Level Six trapping-killing array Ding Huan had woven with Void Array Patterns.

For someone like Sun Wukong, setting up a strangulation array was meaningless.

The purpose of this Level Six trapping-killing array was only to delay Sun Wukong for an instant—just that instant was enough for Xingpan to strike.

This was merely a backup plan; Ding Huan figured that with Xingpan's ambush and his own vigilance,

Sun Wukong, no matter how strong, would have no chance to escape.

After all preparations were complete, Ding Huan asked: "Brother, ready? When you are, begin destroying the imprints—don't rush, slow down the destruction."

"Remember, the moment Sun Wukong enters our hidden array, strike immediately. Your first blow doesn't have to kill him—just cripple him."

"Got it. Leave it to me," Xingpan slapped his chest and began erasing the spiritual imprint Ding Huan had left on the ring.

As Xingpan began destroying the imprints, Ding Huan, hidden within the array beside him, activated the 107th prohibition aura of the Soul-Eating Realm Ring.

Only when one was subduing this specific prohibition would its aura be released.

This time, Ding Huan had set up only a Level Three shielding array—he was certain Sun Wukong would sense it as soon as he neared.

Previously, when he subdued the Soul-Eating Realm Ring, the lethal freezing aura of the 107th prohibition had been blocked by the iron pot, and his body cultivation art had absorbed the residual shock.

That was why he barely escaped with his life.

Thus, the spirit of the Soul-Eating Realm Ring had not fully condensed, and Sun Wukong had not been alerted.

Or perhaps, in Sun Wukong's eyes, anyone who subdued the 107th prohibition would inevitably be killed by the freezing aura.

…Sun Wukong Peak.

This was Sun Wukong's Dao seat.

Though the demon and beast clans had invaded the Great Immortal Realm, and even the divine race had begun entering, to Sun Wukong these were trivial matters.

Upon learning that Ding Huan had taken the Soul-Eating Realm Ring, he had even been momentarily delighted.

He had met Ding Huan once—he was unquestionably a genius among geniuses.

Moreover, in the Immortal Sect ranking tournament, Ding Huan had won first place in all three events with overwhelming dominance.

It could be said that neither the Immortal Court nor the Great Immortal Realm had anyone more suited to be the spirit of the Soul-Eating World Ring than Ding Huan.

He planned to give Ding Huan a hundred years; if after a hundred years Ding Huan still could not subjugate the Soul-Eating World Ring, he would personally seize Ding Huan and subjugate him himself.

Thus, the matter of the Soul-Eating World Ring had long been pushed to the back burner; now he was refining a supreme divine art.

Precisely at this moment, his spirit trembled.

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor suddenly rose to his feet and muttered, "How is this possible?"

Ding Huan took the Soul-Eating World Ring from the Immortal Gate Ranking Tournament—this was confirmed by Ji Changsi himself.

How could Ding Huan possibly have sensed the divine thought seals on my Soul-Eating World Ring after only a few years?

Logically, these divine thought seals could only be perceived after subjugating one hundred and seven prohibitions.

Provided you could survive.

Ding Huan not only sensed the divine thought seals—he's actively destroying them. Has he truly subjugated the one hundred and seventh prohibition? And he's still alive?

The divine thought seals left on the Soul-Eating World Ring kept diminishing—Sun Wukong the Great Emperor could not deny it.

No more waiting—Sun Wukong the Great Emperor immediately surged out of Sun Wukong Peak.

Once those divine thought seals were removed, he himself would lose all sense of where the Soul-Eating World Ring was.

As for the divine thought seal on the one hundred and seventh prohibition, he had implanted it via a forbidden technique—only two such seals existed.

He could implant this seal because, while subjugating the one hundred and sixth prohibition, he gained all information regarding the one hundred and seventh.

Although the Immortal Court and the Great Immortal Realm had long been sealed off by the Immortal Army, and the forbidden arrays had been upgraded to Level Nine Immortal Arrays,

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor still did not need to notify anyone to enter the Great Immortal Realm.

Upon entering the Great Immortal Realm, Sun Wukong the Great Emperor felt even more clearly the location of his Soul-Eating World Ring.

"Near the Immortal Abandoned Lands?" Sun Wukong the Great Emperor murmured.

He silently thought: this boy is indeed clever.

The outer edges of the Immortal Abandoned Lands had endured multiple great battles; now no one, not even immortal or demonic beasts, remained. At this moment, cultivating within the Immortal Abandoned Lands was indeed very safe.

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor pulled out a teleportation talisman; the talisman activated, and the next moment he appeared within the Immortal Abandoned Lands.

After sensing Ding Huan's position again, Sun Wukong the Great Emperor summoned another teleportation talisman.

This time, when the talisman landed, it was right near Ding Huan's location.

"Good boy, still underground, heh." Sun Wukong the Great Emperor chuckled.

Subjugating the Soul-Eating World Ring underground is a good method—provided you can set up a Level Five or higher shielding immortal array, preferably a Level Six shielding array.

Otherwise, to an Immortal Emperor, it's practically naked.

Ding Huan's array mastery is quite good; according to the information Sun Wukong the Great Emperor obtained, he is a Level Four peak immortal array master.

Unfortunately, he cannot set up a Level Five array, let alone a Level Six.

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor flickered, plunging directly deep underground.

The next instant, his divine thought swept over Ding Huan's shielding array—he sensed Ding Huan destroying his divine thought seals within it.

From the dao rhythm and aura fluctuations, it was undoubtedly Ding Huan.

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor shook his head in silence; it seemed the one hundred and seventh prohibition had not yet been subjugated.

He did not use his divine thought to probe into the hidden array where Ding Huan was; since he was here, waiting a little longer didn't matter.

When Ding Huan fully subjugated the one hundred and seventh prohibition and became the ring's spirit, he could act.

Ding Huan did have some ability—he hadn't yet subjugated the one hundred and seventh prohibition, yet he could sense the pile of divine thought seals I'd planted inside the Soul-Eating World Ring.

Just as Sun Wukong the Great Emperor thought this, a terrifying chill suddenly erupted, then surged upward in escalating waves.

Subjugated already this fast?

Without hesitation, Sun Wukong the Great Emperor charged into the hidden forbidden array—he feared Ding Huan couldn't withstand this terrifying cold, that his soul would be torn apart by it.

"Something's wrong—why is this cold so weak?"

It's true—it's Ding Huan…

No—just as Sun Wukong the Great Emperor sensed something amiss, a deathly aura slammed into him.

This isn't Ding Huan.

Sun Wukong the Great Emperor had spent his life deceiving others—he knew instantly he'd been tricked.

This terrifying immortal energy attack—its strength surpasses mine.