Chapter 546: 545. Chapter 540: Chase and Escape

545. Chapter 540: Chase and Escape

"Big bro, you were lying in wait like a farmer by a tree stump—and this is what you ended up with?" Ding Huan chased after him beyond Earth, controlling the Cosmic Cauldron, yet looked at Ji Luo with confusion.

Logically, Ji Luo was cunning and sly; even if he couldn't defeat Zuo Shanwei, he shouldn't have ended up in this state.

Ji Luo's ethereal Primordial Spirit floated up from the Celestial Balance: "Little Brother Ding, if not for this Celestial Balance, your big bro would already be dead."

"What exactly happened?" Ding Huan knew Zuo Shanwei was powerful, but he hadn't expected Ji Luo to get washed in someone else's foot water.

"After I learned that the residual soul's Dao-idea would bring its physical form here, I remained on high alert, never letting down my guard for a moment."

"And outside, I set up divine arrays—every single one was a Level Two or Level Three divine array…"

Hearing this, Ding Huan interrupted Ji Luo: "Big bro, even an Immortal Emperor couldn't break these divine arrays—what cultivation level did Zuo Shanwei have? How could he possibly break them?"

Ji Luo's tone grew even more grave: "He didn't just break them—he shattered them in an instant. If I'm not mistaken, he's holding a primordial divine artifact: the Sky-Piercing Drill."

"Sky-Piercing Drill? What's that?"

Ji Luo said enviously: "The Sky-Piercing Drill isn't inferior to your cauldron—it's not only the ultimate flying treasure, but also capable of piercing through any realm."

"As for all kinds of arrays, under the Sky-Piercing Drill, they're as flimsy as paper."

"But this also ties to cultivation level—the fact he broke through my Level Three divine arrays likely isn't entirely due to his own power; it may be tied to that Dao-idea."

"This guy is extremely treacherous—he knew all along we were plotting against him, yet pretended to know nothing…"

"By the way, just like how you dealt with that residual soul—you acted as if nothing was wrong, then suddenly struck me from behind when you appeared before me…"

Saying this, Ji Luo snorted a few times: "Your deeds have come back to haunt me, little brother—you're really not being fair."

Ding Huan understood: Zuo Shanwei had approached Ji Luo's illusionary ancient cypress tree and suddenly launched a surprise attack.

No matter how strong Ji Luo was, he was still no match for the residual soul.

Had it not been for the Celestial Balance protecting him, this guy might truly have died.

"Big bro, this is my fault," Ding Huan admitted willingly.

If not for dealing with those ferocious beasts, Ding Huan wouldn't have wasted so much time.

Ji Luo sighed: "Forget it—you did help me get some revenge. That surprise strike of yours when you arrived nearly took half his life…"

"You're both treacherous and deceitful, poor old Ji, so kind and honest, getting played by people like you."

Ji Luo now suspected whether Ding Huan had deliberately stayed away, letting him suffer a loss before returning to strike. Otherwise, how could the timing be so perfect?

Ding Huan didn't bother explaining—he knew Ji Luo was just venting; eventually, he'd realize this wasn't Ding Huan's scheme.

But soon, Ding Huan's expression darkened—he realized his Cosmic Cauldron couldn't catch up to the other.

Until now, Ding Huan had never seen any flying treasure faster than his Cosmic Cauldron—today, he finally had.

"Don't chase him—you won't catch him. That guy's Sky-Piercing Drill is definitely faster than your iron pot."

"Your iron pot is stronger in defense and other areas, but in breaking arrays and speed, it falls short."

Seeing Ding Huan's frustration, Ji Luo offered a word of comfort.

Ding Huan shook his head: "No—I must catch him. As long as he lives one more day, I won't rest easy."

"What's your plan?" Ji Luo asked Ding Huan.

"No matter how fast he runs, he still leaves ripples behind. As long as there's a void ripple, I can catch him," Ding Huan said confidently.

Ji Luo thought of Ding Huan's mastery over various laws and silently sighed—had he really grown old? These younger generations were growing stronger by the day.

"Old Ji, when the dung beetle attacked you, could you sense he'd been possessed?" Ding Huan asked again.

He had severely wounded Zuo Shanwei with his spear, but only for an instant—he hadn't truly sensed whether the other's spiritual soul showed any irregularities.

"He's called the Dung Beetle? Good name," Ji Luo complimented.

After praising him, Ji Luo thought carefully, then said: "I suspect he hasn't been possessed at all—in fact, he's fused perfectly with that Dao-idea."

"Otherwise, how could he casually break through my Level Three divine arrays?"

Ding Huan's heart sank.

If Zuo Shanwei hadn't been possessed, and had fused perfectly with that Dao-idea, his future threat would be immense.

Ding Huan knew better than anyone what the contents of that hide scroll represented.

With such rich Dao knowledge, combined with Zuo Shanwei's cunning, wouldn't his cultivation skyrocket?

"Old Ji, we've helped this guy," Ding Huan sighed helplessly.

Ji Luo understood Ding Huan's meaning and said helplessly:

"If we hadn't killed that residual soul, it would've been the Dung Beetle and the residual soul biting each other to death. We went through so much trouble to kill that residual soul—and all we did was make the Dung Beetle's wedding feast."

Ding Huan fell silent.

After fusing with that Dao-idea, the Dung Beetle must have undergone tremendous changes.

Perhaps because of those immense changes, he dared not return to Earth.

He and Ji Luo destroyed the residual soul within Earth's Soul-Nourishing Demon Root—effectively lowering the difficulty for the Dung Beetle to eliminate or suppress the hide scroll's Dao-idea.

How had he destroyed that Dao-idea back then?

He had embraced certain death, letting molten fire scorch his body and spiritual soul.

In the end, his physical form was completely burned away, and his spiritual soul was scorched for years.

Had his body-refining art not been decent, and his willpower not been so formidable, he wouldn't be here today.

"Looks like you regret it—we chose the wrong timing. If we'd waited until this guy started fusing with the residual soul's physical form before striking…"

Before Ji Luo could finish, Ding Huan cut in bluntly:

"No—I don't regret it. If we'd waited until he began fusing with the physical form, we'd have had zero chance. Both of us would've had to go in—and so would my homeworld."

This time, Ji Luo didn't argue—he knew Ding Huan spoke the truth.

According to his logic, they could indeed kill the Dung Beetle.

But the outcome would be cultivating a being far stronger than the Dung Beetle—then where would they have any escape left?

Right now, forget about chasing down the dung beetle—if we can escape its pursuit, that would already be a good thing.

"So do we still keep chasing?" Ji Luo was rather unwilling to keep pursuing this dung beetle; he felt he should find a place to restore his physical body.

Rather than wasting time on this meaningless pursuit.

Ding Huan said firmly, "We have to chase the dung beetle. We can't let him stop to rest. That guy took a shot from me, and his injuries are severe now. I believe he won't be able to settle down for a while."

Ding Huan's words weren't nonsense; that sneak-attack shot of his carried not only his corroding Dao rhythm but also the Bone-Burrowing Dao-Devouring Poison within it.

Once this poison takes hold, unless you apply the right remedy, it's very hard to get rid of.

His chasing behind Zuo Shanyi right now is precisely to deny the other party time to heal and purge the poison, and even more to deny him time to seek a Detoxifying Dao Fruit.

The Sky-Splitting Cone really was fast—even though Ding Huan pushed the Cosmic Pot's speed to the absolute limit, the distance to the Sky-Splitting Cone kept growing.

Fortunately, the Cosmic Pot wasn't Bai Da for nothing; although the distance kept increasing, it hadn't reached an unreachable point.

"He should be tearing through the realm boundary soon…"

Almost as if to verify Ji Luo's words, before Ji Luo even finished his sentence, the Sky-Splitting Cone tore through the void and vanished.

Ding Huan controlled the iron pot and charged into the spot where the Sky-Splitting Cone had torn through space.

However, after entering the new realm, his divine sense found no trace of the Sky-Splitting Cone.

"See? Can't catch up, right? Just because you came out from the same spot doesn't mean you actually entered the same realm."

Ji Luo said with a chuckle, his meaning clear—didn't listen to him, so how did that turn out?

Ding Huan didn't care. He stood at the front of the Cosmic Pot, swung his Samsara Spear, and blasted out again, tearing through the void realm once more.

As the realm was torn open, the Cosmic Pot charged in.

"Eh? How did you do that?" Ji Luo exclaimed in surprise.

The moment the Cosmic Pot charged in, his divine sense swept up the Sky-Splitting Cone.

Ding Huan didn't explain. Within the same realm, as long as the other party's Sky-Splitting Cone still carried void ripples, he wouldn't be left behind.

If the other party entered a different realm, as long as the Bone-Burrowing Dao-Devouring Poison's poison-Dao rhythm on him hadn't been removed, he could sense it just the same.

Unless the other party had the ability to enter a realm with higher rules than the Immortal World.

But Ding Huan was certain Zuo Shanyi couldn't do that. No matter how strong his Sky-Splitting Cone was, it couldn't tear open a realm of a higher tier than the Immortal World.

This wasn't the Sky-Splitting Cone being incapable—it was Zuo Shanyi's cultivation being insufficient.

Seeing Ding Huan not answer him, Ji Luo didn't mind either: "This dung beetle's cultivation method isn't simple either. From the mortal starry cosmos to the Cultivation World's starry cosmos, he wasn't crushed by the rules of heaven and earth."

Ding Huan actually agreed with Ji Luo's words. If Zuo Shanyi weren't this strong, he wouldn't have been wary of him.

As for Ding Huan's pursuit, Zuo Shanyi hadn't taken it to heart.

Originally he had planned to destroy Earth first and then settle the score with Ding Huan, but he hadn't expected Ding Huan to play a dirty trick on him, leaving him gravely wounded.

He could only flee first.

Being injured wasn't really anything; what truly alarmed Zuo Shanyi was that he'd been poisoned.

He had no way to purge this poison. It clung like a bone-burrowing maggot, burrowing into every one of his meridians, seeping into his Purple Mansion and dantian…

"What a sinister bastard…" Zuo Shanyi thought of ways to purge the poison while grinding his teeth,

He could only wait until he shook off Ding Huan, then slowly investigate exactly what the hell he'd been poisoned with.

After tearing through the realm, Ding Huan could still catch up. Zuo Shanyi's face changed; his first thought was that the poison inside him must be letting the other party keep sensing him.

No good, he couldn't keep fleeing within this realm.

Zuo Shanyi controlled the Sky-Splitting Cone to tear open another realm. This time he returned to a cosmic realm with higher rules.

The moment he tore open the realm, Zuo Shanyi was already sensing for Ding Huan's Cosmic Pot.

A full half an incense stick of time passed, and still no aura of Ding Huan's pursuit arrived.

Zuo Shanyi breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was preparing to slow down and check what poison he'd been hit with, a pot appeared at the edge of his divine sense—that pot came crashing toward him like a meteor.