Chapter 550: 549. Chapter 544: The Bizarre Land

549. Chapter 544: The Bizarre Land

"Ding, I, Zuo, am determined to go alone—what can you do about it? If you've got guts, strike." Zuo Shanyi sneered at Ding Huan, then turned and walked out of the Tianyuan Marketplace's Immortal Inspector's Office.

Ding Huan shouted loudly: "Younger brother, we came here to help our master find the antidote elixir—how can you abandon him?"

Ding Huan's voice was so loud, it nearly alerted the entire marketplace.

Many people on the street stopped and turned toward Ding Huan and Zuo Shanyi.

Abandon your master?

In the Dao Corridor, that's an unforgivable crime—no matter who you are, even the marketplace's own magistrate couldn't bear such a sin.

In the Dao Corridor, the most respected and highest-ranked are masters.

"When did I say I'd abandon him? I only said we'd search separately for the antidote elixir. If you didn't hear clearly, I recorded it in a crystal ball."

Zuo Shanyi spoke, then actually summoned a crystal ball.

Ding Huan saw that in the crystal ball, Zuo Shanyi had merely said searching separately would increase their chances.

It was Ding Huan himself who had spoken sternly to Zuo Shanyi, warning against aimless searching.

Ding Huan thought inwardly: This bastard has a trick up his sleeve—I underestimated him.

This Wang Ba is walking my path and leaving me none.

Indeed, after seeing Zuo Shanyi's crystal ball, the people on the street shook their heads and went back to their own affairs.

Ding Huan's stern tone wasn't unusual—he was the senior brother.

It's normal for a senior brother to speak sternly to a junior brother.

The junior brother refusing to travel together, motivated solely by the desire to increase their chances of finding the antidote elixir—this was perfectly reasonable.

"Senior brother, since the misunderstanding is cleared, I'll take my leave." Zuo Shanyi bowed, then turned to leave.

"Wait—if I'm not mistaken, the poison you've taken is tied to cosmic laws; ordinary antidote elixirs won't remove it." A crisp voice called out, stopping Zuo Shanyi.

Ding Huan's eyes flickered slightly.

The speaker was a young woman, clad in a pale green fairy robe, slender and graceful, with an oval face, skin whiter than snow, and striking beauty.

Simply standing there, she radiated an otherworldly aura, and her air of superiority was unmistakable.

Behind her trailed two other women, whose attire suggested they were her maidservants.

Ding Huan was certain this green-robed woman's cultivation was beyond Immortal King.

From her aura alone, she was no weaker than the Immortal Emperor of the Pangu Great World—but she had not yet reached Immortal Emperor level.

"Yes, I've been poisoned by cosmic law toxins. Could this Immortal Sister have a solution?" Zuo Shanyi's eyes lit up, like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood.

The woman smiled faintly:

"Only the Ten Thousand Methods Pool in the Northern Immortal Corner can remove this poison—and once cleansed, you'll break through the Great Yi Immortal realm and ascend to Great Luo Immortal in the shortest time."

I observe you two brothers haven't joined any Immortal Corner or Dao Alliance yet. Why not join the Northern Immortal Corner and secure your own future?

I can't promise Immortal Emperor, but I guarantee you'll reach Immortal King—even Immortal Venerable."

Clearly, she had been watching everything Ding Huan and Zuo Shanyi did since arriving at the marketplace.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have spoken so precisely.

Immortal Venerable? Ding Huan finally understood what lay beyond Immortal King.

He glanced at Zuo Shanyi—this fellow was already at Immortal King's peak. Once he ascended to Immortal Venerable, it would be far harder for Ding Huan to control him.

Zuo Shanyi had fused the hide scroll—he was no ordinary Immortal Venerable. Zuo Shanyi, as an Immortal King, was no ordinary Immortal King.

Had he been a common Immortal King at peak, he couldn't have defeated over twenty Immortal Emperors so effortlessly.

Sensing she hadn't made herself clear enough, the green-robed woman added:

"No matter where you join now, you might secure an opportunity to ascend to Immortal King—but chances to reach Immortal Venerable are vanishingly small."

Ding Huan learned another fact: the Dao Corridor was filled with many factions.

In the Dao Corridor, cultivation advancement—especially beyond Immortal King—required formal applications for slots.

High-level cultivators were tightly controlled here.

To ascend, you must join a faction that can grant you an advancement slot.

"Thank you, Immortal Sister—I don't even know your name?" Zuo Shanyi's voice was as sweet as honey.

"I'm Han Qiqi," the green-robed woman replied with a smile.

"Immortal Qiqi, I'll join the Northern Immortal Corner." Zuo Shanyi decided instantly.

Ding Huan knew: once Zuo Shanyi joined the Northern Immortal Corner, killing him anytime soon would be nearly impossible.

"Ding Huan, will you join the Northern Immortal Corner too?" Han Qiqi turned to Ding Huan.

It seemed she knew everything about their identity card application.

Since he couldn't kill Zuo Shanyi for now, there was no point in useless effort.

Ding Huan bowed: "Thank you for your kindness, Immortal Sister, but unlike my younger brother, I must continue searching for the antidote elixir for our master."

Zuo Shanyi, desperate to survive, immediately said:

"Senior brother, if I can be cured in the Northern Immortal Corner, I'll beg Immortal Sister to save our master."

Han Qiqi smiled sweetly: "No need to beg—you're already one of us. Your master's plight is now our concern."

Ding Huan helplessly watched Zuo Shanyi be led away by Han Qiqi.

But he still had to keep up the act.

After spending half a day searching the marketplace and buying a pile of antidote elixirs, Ding Huan finally checked into an inn.

While buying the antidote elixirs, he also purchased a stack of notebooks and introductions to the Dao Corridor.

Back in the inn, he studied for over an hour and finally understood some things about the Dao Corridor.

The Dao Corridor sounds small, but it's an immensely vast Immortal Realm—even no smaller than the Pangu Great World.

The number of cultivators surviving here reaches a hundred billion.

Due to the vastness of the territory, even a hundred billion cultivators are scattered so thinly that the land is sparsely populated.

For low-level cultivators training here, there is no impact whatsoever.

But when advancing to Immortal King, Immortal Sovereign, or Immortal Emperor, the slots are strictly controlled.

If one does not obtain an advancement slot and dares to advance privately, there is only one path: death.

As for advancement slots, they naturally come from joining a certain faction or alliance.

Only by making sufficient contributions to these factions or alliances can one earn a chance at an advancement slot.

Han Qiqi's Northern Immortal Corner is a decent faction; today, Han Qiqi inviting Ding Huan and Zuo Shanwei is even considered good fortune for both of them.

Under normal circumstances, it is not easy for a Great Yi Immortal to join a place like Northern Immortal Corner.

Han Qiqi dares to promise a slot for advancing to Immortal Sovereign because Han Liudao, Han Qiqi's father, is the Immortal Lord of Northern Immortal Corner.

In the Dao Corridor, there are not many factions with slots for advancing to Immortal Emperor.

Roughly, there are only Northern Immortal Corner, Southern Alliance Immortal Corner, Western Ruins Immortal Corner, Eastern He Immortal Corner, Small Universe Cultivation Alliance, Dao Corridor Cultivation Alliance, and Void Dao Cultivation Alliance.

All other factions can have at most slots for advancing to Immortal Sovereign or Immortal King.

All these factions and alliances abide by one law: the Dao Corridor's One Hundred Thousand Laws.

Any faction or alliance that dares to violate the Dao Corridor's One Hundred Thousand Laws will be besieged and eradicated by the others.

As for the Dao Corridor, protected by the Heavenly Dao Cosmos Veil as its core formation, no one can enter casually.

After organizing all the details, Ding Huan considered what he should do next.

To kill Zuo Shanwei, he must possess the strength to storm Northern Immortal Corner alone.

That requires at least cultivating to Immortal Emperor.

To reach Immortal Emperor, there are only two paths: the first is to join a faction with an Immortal Emperor advancement slot.

The key is, even if he compromises and joins such a faction, he cannot immediately obtain an Immortal Emperor advancement slot.

Others must make tremendous contributions to their faction to advance to Immortal Emperor—on what grounds would he, upon joining, be granted such a slot?

Therefore, after joining the faction, he must gradually accumulate contributions; only when his contributions are sufficient can he earn the qualification to advance to Immortal Emperor.

Ding Huan felt utterly helpless—what a disgusting place this is!

Joining any faction means exposing his secrets.

Ding Huan absolutely does not believe that when he applies to advance to Immortal Emperor, they won't investigate his cultivation technique, lineage, and background.

Zuo Shanwei joined Northern Immortal Corner on a whim because he fears Ding Huan will kill him.

Zuo Shanwei is deeply poisoned—by Ding Huan's own poison—so he dares not stay near him for a single moment.

Even if he is caught attacking Zuo Shanwei, he can claim he is merely a senior brother disciplining a junior brother.

This place forbids arbitrary combat, but if an elder strikes a junior, as long as it does not involve life or death, it is of little consequence.

There is a second path: become the most respected practitioner in the Dao Corridor—the Master.

In the Dao Corridor, schools of Daoist arts are countless.

Each major faction has its own Daoist arts school.

Only the best Daoist arts schools can attract the finest students.

With more talent, a faction ensures its enduring prosperity.

After all, talent reserves are fresh blood for any faction.

Some top-tier schools even have more advancement slots for Immortal Emperors and Immortal Sovereigns than the top factions.

This also reveals how deeply this place respects Masters.

"Younger brother, you might as well join a Daoist arts school—joining a faction puts me in danger too," Ji Luo was also studying the jade slips Ding Huan brought back.

He offered his own opinion.

If Ding Huan joins any faction, he is highly likely to be inspected when he seeks to advance to Immortal Sovereign.

Once inspected, his soul body and the Heavenly Balance may be exposed.