Chapter 542

541. Chapter 536: Mutual Calculations

The faint ripples he saw with his Great Wilderness Eye were fake; the real danger came from behind him…

Boom!

Ding Huan knew his opponent was powerful, so he unleashed this spear with full force.

The technique was outdated; there was no room for maneuver.

Bang!

A cloud of blood mist exploded on Ding Huan's back, the aura of death nearly suffocating him.

Ding Huan clearly knew that what exploded against his heart was a bundled mass of ancient cypress fragments.

Puff!

Ding Huan spat a jet of blood, his body lurching forward—the death aura that erupted from his spine had blasted out through his chest, tearing a fist-sized hole clean through his body.

At this moment, Ding Huan's mind was as clear as a mirror: if he had not cultivated his body, or if he were not at the peak of the Immortal Body realm.

This single strike would have turned him into countless fragments, just like the ancient cypress.

So strong—Ding Huan barely had time to think this before two blades of nearly solidified light shot straight into his third eye.

The calculation behind this attack gave Ding Huan not a single moment to react.

First, the bundled cypress fragments struck his spine from behind, then tore through his body, hurling him forward.

Then, two blades of light surged toward his third eye and throat.

It looked as if Ding Huan had willingly walked into his own death.

Ding Huan frantically burned his essence blood, but it was all in vain.

Puff puff!

One blade pierced his third eye, the other cut through his neck.

Ding Huan forced his body to stop its forward momentum, struggled to reverse his flight, and slammed into the spiritual array he had set up, shattering it into fragments.

What a treacherous bastard—Ding Huan frantically activated the Great Cosmic Art and the Nirvana Decree to repair his body.

At the same time, he summoned the Cosmic Cauldron.

Boom boom boom!

One after another, clusters of cypress fragments—identical to the ones that had torn a hole through his body—slammed into the Cosmic Cauldron, spraying death aura across the sky.

Ding Huan sat on the ground, desperately healing while secretly trembling with fear.

The blade that pierced his third eye was merely a mental spear; had he not possessed the Starry Mind Sea, his consciousness would have shattered.

Had he not been at the peak of the Immortal Body realm, he would have died.

And had the Cosmic Cauldron not blocked the relentless barrage of cypress fragments, he would have died.

Is this merely a fragment of soul-nuance?

Ding Huan was inwardly stunned.

Even if he had not come alone—if he had brought Ji Luo today—they still would have struggled to gain any advantage.

Earlier, his haste to return to Earth and his desire to handle this soul-fragment alone was pure delusion.

Fortunately, Ji Luo was cunning and old-souled; despite every one of those attacks being lethal, Ji Luo held back and did not emerge.

Ding Huan knew well: even if Ji Luo had emerged, he still could not have resolved the problem.

Perhaps sensing the Cosmic Cauldron's overwhelming power, the relentless barrage of cypress fragments finally ceased.

Ding Huan's injuries healed rapidly—his formidable recovery ability and robust body finally paid off.

Any other person would now be dead.

He was still alive.

Ding Huan took a deep breath; he knew the path of ambush was completely closed.

Had he not ambushed the opponent first, his injuries would have been far worse.

This soul-fragment was not only immensely powerful and extremely cautious, but also utterly calculating and fiendishly cunning.

Ding Huan hid within the Cosmic Cauldron, forcing himself to calm down.

He had underestimated the strength of this soul-fragment of the scroll's master, and also underestimated his tactical prowess.

But the weaknesses were equally clear.

The soul-fragment could not stray far from the ancient cypress—even though he had reduced the tree to fragments with one spear.

His spear's killing momentum had been concentrated into a single point, specifically targeting the soul-fragment's consciousness.

Thus, the cypress's intricate root system remained intact.

The soul-fragment was surely hiding within those roots, though even his Great Wilderness Eye could not detect it.

From the distribution of attack strength, Ding Huan grew even more certain his judgment was correct.

Although the ambush from behind had blasted a hole from his spine to his chest, its force was clearly weaker than the blades aimed at his third eye and throat.

Ding Huan coughed several times; though his neck wound healed rapidly, the lingering Dao-essence still continuously widened the wound.

The Great Cosmic Art worked again.

No matter how potent the death Dao-essence lingering in the wound, it was steadily weakened and dissolved by the Great Cosmic Art.

Ding Huan's gaze settled on the ancient cypress roots in the distance.

At this moment, Ding Huan was certain: with his current Dao cultivation, finding the exact location of his opponent was nearly impossible.

His opponent's mastery of Dao principles and control of techniques far surpassed his own.

Even his combat tactics were far more seasoned.

Ding Huan decided that after this battle, he must thoroughly study this opponent's methods.

Not to mention anything else—this opponent was familiar with the Heavenly Gang Dao Arts; he could simply transform into a single fragment of tree debris, and Ding Huan would never find him.

Even if the opponent was only a residual soul, the tree debris it conjured was perfectly fused with the surrounding heavens and earth.

Outsmarting such an old fox, getting him to suffer once is already luck; getting him to suffer twice is nearly impossible.

If that's the case, then let's just fight directly.

Let everyone fight by true skill—no one cheats anyone else.

Ding Huan unhesitatingly summoned the Grand Void Flame; moreover, he retracted the Cosmic Cauldron.

The next instant, the Grand Void Flame completely enveloped this entire space.

The Grand Void Flame not only engulfed all space, but also flooded his own dantian, meridians, and soul sea.

With no Dao veins left, Ding Huan decisively burned two supreme immortal spirit veins.

Since direct confrontation was impossible, he would use the most crude method—burning inch by inch.

Last time he killed Pi Juan's Dao Nian, he used this very method.

This residual soul's combat ability was certainly stronger than Pi Juan's Dao Nian, but its resilience was certainly not as tough.

Ji Luo, transformed into a battle flag far away, was equally anxious—he hadn't expected Ding Huan's residual soul to be this terrifying.

But then again, it made sense—an ancient demonic god, even a trace of its residual soul, could never be weak.

After seeing Ding Huan repeatedly crushed, he had nearly lost hope.

Such devastating injuries—even his own physical body would struggle to survive, let alone regain combat capability.

Yet before he could react, Ding Huan had already regained combat capability, and worse, he had employed the crudest method: flames engulfing the entire space where the cypress stood.

A wave of defeat surged through Ji Luo's heart.

This trace of residual soul was terrifying enough to make him tremble, yet Ding Huan was no pushover either.

Under such grievous injuries, he not only kept fighting, but also devised the crudest method to counter the residual soul.

The residual soul feared flame above all—this all-encompassing flame left it no place to hide.

Next, it would be his turn.

Thinking of this, Ji Luo felt a sudden tension—he could not let this residual soul escape.

Otherwise, not only would Ding Huan mock him, but the residual soul would likely not stop there.

A faint shadow burst forth from the edge of the tree roots and shot straight toward the periphery.

Ding Huan unhesitatingly summoned the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear; he did not chase the residual soul, but instead slammed it into the empty air before him.

In this brief battle with the residual soul, Ding Huan had suffered blow after blow.

Now he knew better than anyone: this residual soul's thirst for revenge was terrifying.

Its scheming was equally terrifying.

He refused to believe that after suffering such a blow, the residual soul would flee and leave him unharmed.

If the residual soul pretended to flee, then suddenly turned back to strike him as he chased, he would be doomed—he would suffer again.

The residual soul calculated battlefield shifts and responses; he calculated the residual soul's psychology.

And even if he misjudged, it didn't matter—wasn't Ji Luo still there?

This guy claimed he was once a Sage—let's see if he was bluffing.

So Ding Huan not only thrust his spear, but also unleashed the Bone-Clinging, Dao-Eating Poison.

The spear's momentum surged, gathering murderous aura wildly.

This spear thrust was the concentrated essence of Ding Huan's Dao Nian—it summoned an entire world.

The violent murderous spear momentum was gathered by Ding Huan into a single point.

He could not let this spear's murderous intent spread outward, nor could he let it pierce through the space before him.

If this spear's murderous intent spread outward, Earth itself might collapse.

If this spear's murderous intent breached the spear's spatial boundary, it would tear open the current plane.

Boom!

The murderous spear momentum struck the residual soul's body directly.

One spear, one world; where the spear passed, all dust vanished.

The residual soul finally let out a piercing scream.

When Ding Huan first ambushed it, the residual soul had not screamed—this spear made it cry out in agony.

Clearly, this wound was worse than the ambush earlier.

Ding Huan exhaled in relief—he had correctly predicted the residual soul's treachery.

Old bastard, so good at scheming? Now taste my foot-washing water.

The residual soul thought he would chase after it, so it suddenly turned to strike him.

But it never expected he wouldn't chase—it had instead delivered itself straight into his murderous technique.

The residual soul became a fading shadow, racing toward the distance—this time, it was truly fleeing.

Ding Huan was certain that if this residual soul escaped, it would suffer severe harm—otherwise, it would never have stayed near the ancient cypress.

But that was none of his concern; after inflicting further damage on the residual soul, he did not stop—he raised his hand and seized the Dusk Drum.

Dong dong dong!

The Dusk Drum emitted a deep, resonant beat, filling the space wrapped in Grand Void Flame and stirring dread in the heart.

One of Ding Huan's secret weapons: the Intent Realm technique, Dusk Drum Burying Souls.

His Dusk Drum Burying Souls would surely have special effects against residual souls.

The first drumbeat exploded—though the space had been horrifically torn, it transformed into a scene of setting sun and fading twilight.

At the edge of Shenshan, where only twilight remained, the distant echoes of the Dusk Drum echoed endlessly.

It was strangely serene.

A startled bird took flight, vanishing into the depths of the forest, while the evening glow slowly sank, leaving only the faint afterimage of the pine by the woods as proof.

The ancient cypress, shattered by Ding Huan's spear, stirred in onlookers an inexplicable sorrow.

As this atmosphere emerged, the shadow of the residual soul solidified.

Ji Luo was also drawn into this atmosphere, but since he possessed a complete Primordial Spirit, he quickly awakened.

A seasoned veteran like him knew perfectly well that this was the perfect moment to strike.