Chapter 567: 566. Chapter 561: Letting Zuo Shanwei Go

566. Chapter 561: Letting Zuo Shanwei Go

Ding Huan stared at the crystal emitting a dao rhythm far exceeding that of immortal spirit energy, and couldn't help swallowing hard.

He reached out and grabbed one of these crystals in his hand; the dense heavenly and earthly qi made him clearly sense the previously calm immortal qi beginning to stir.

"Old Ji, you're not being fair," Ding Huan grumbled, though inwardly he was deeply grateful.

He knew this was Ji Luo's last reserve for restoring his physical body.

For Ji Luo to offer such a precious thing for his cultivation meant Ji Luo clearly understood they were tied together on the same rope.

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In this place, the Grand Dao Corridor, his low cultivation level made it impossible for him to show his face outside.

If he couldn't leave, Ji Luo would never obtain the treasures needed to restore his body.

Ji Luo chuckled: "Hurry up and cultivate. I still need your help with this body."

Ding Huan wasted no time and immediately seized the divine crystals to absorb them.

Indeed, one Zhou Tian equaled one realm; Ding Huan felt an entirely different kind of qi.

Unlike ordinary cultivators, this higher-tier heavenly and earthly qi suited Ding Huan even better.

The foundation and strength forged by the Great Cosmos Art rose together; as long as the grade and quantity of heavenly and earthly qi were sufficient, there was no bottleneck.

The Immortal King Eighth Layer, which had resisted him for so long, shattered in just two days, and he advanced to Immortal King Ninth Layer.

…

Northern Immortal Corner.

Since Zuo Shanwei had been placed under house arrest, Han Qiqi had been restless.

When her father Han Liudao went to the Grand Dao Corridor square, she could no longer hold back and secretly went to the place where Zuo Shanwei was confined.

"Qiqi, I'm probably going to die," Zuo Shanwei said, his face ashen, his aura chaotic and unstable.

Han Qiqi was shocked: "Brother Zuo, what happened? You were fine just before!"

Zuo Shanwei sighed:

"I thought I'd rid myself of the poison, but it's terrifying—it has taken root as a poison dao principle.

When I detoxified in the Ten Thousand Methods Pool, I never imagined a trace of this poison dao principle had secretly settled deep within my mind sea.

I cultivated normally before, and no problems arose.

But recently, with my mood low and no cultivation, the poison dao principle invaded me—my mind sea already shows cracks. This poisoner is truly ruthless…"

As he spoke, his body trembled slightly from suppressed fury.

Seeing Zuo Shanwei surrounded by deathly aura, Han Qiqi realized he was deeply poisoned.

"What can we do?" Han Qiqi panicked.

She grabbed his wrist—and instantly felt the terrifying poison dao rhythm; the poison was even stronger than before.

Zuo Shanwei's meridians were cracking, his vitality rapidly dissolving.

Zuo Shanwei looked at Han Qiqi with sorrowful eyes; he said nothing, yet she felt his longing and unwillingness to let go.

"Qiqi… why did I meet you so late?" Zuo Shanwei murmured a few words, as if speaking to himself, or recalling a distant past.

Perhaps because the poison was too deep, his loneliness and sorrow could no longer be concealed.

Even though Han Qiqi held his wrist, his thoughts seemed still fixed on her.

Han Qiqi, infected by his emotion, felt her eyes grow slightly red.

Watching Zuo Shanwei lost in distant memories, Han Qiqi didn't know how to help him.

Then she remembered—Zuo Shanwei had once said that if this poison couldn't be removed, there was still one path: through advancement.

"Brother Zuo, I remember you said there was another way—through advancement.

You cultivate quickly; you reached Great Immortal Late Stage in such a short time. If you can advance to Supreme Immortal, even to Immortal King…"

As Han Qiqi spoke, her eyes brightened considerably.

Zuo Shanwei seemed to sense a glimmer of hope, but soon shook his head again, saying nothing.

To Han Qiqi, it seemed Zuo Shanwei himself didn't believe advancement could remove the poison dao principle.

Han Qiqi pulled out a ring and shoved it into Zuo Shanwei's hand: "Brother Zuo, take this ring. Leave Northern Immortal Corner now. Hurry to advance. If you don't try, how will you know?"

Zuo Shanwei did not take the ring. He looked at Han Qiqi, then took a deep breath after a long silence:

"Qiqi, do you know what you're doing? Even if I still had a chance, I wouldn't do this.

Can I hide for a while? Can I hide forever?"

Han Qiqi suddenly remembered: with Zuo Shanwei's talent, he could reach Immortal King in just a few years.

But then what? When he needed to advance to Immortal Sovereign, wouldn't he still have to emerge to seek the Sovereign Dao Rhythm orb?

She immediately placed a Sovereign advancement Dao Rhythm orb into the ring, staring into Zuo Shanwei's eyes:

"Brother Zuo, with your talent, you will surely advance to Immortal Emperor one day.

Find a place to cultivate first. When you're ready to advance to Immortal Emperor, come find me—I'll secure you an Imperial advancement slot. Believe in yourself. Believe in me."

"I can't do this," Zuo Shanwei said, his eyes red. He threw the ring back at Han Qiqi.

His aura grew unstable from emotional agitation.

The gray, lifeless aura around him surged violently.

Han Qiqi forcibly shoved the ring into Zuo Shanwei's hand, then pulled out a teleportation talisman and activated it:

"Brother Zuo, don't worry about me. My father won't punish me—maybe just confine me for a while."

Zuo Shanwei opened his mouth to speak, but the talisman had already activated—a shimmer of dao rhythm enveloped him, and he vanished from Han Qiqi's sight in an instant.

Han Qiqi stared at the spot where Zuo Shanwei had disappeared; she felt her heart go hollow.

Even after reaching Immortal Sovereign, this was the first time she felt what it meant to love someone like this.

After a long while, she rubbed her eyes.

She only hoped that Brother Zuo would quickly ascend to Luotian Xian, and once the poison was suppressed, Zuo Shanwei's talent and quality would not take long to reach Immortal King.

……

"Boom!"

Zuo Shanwei landed on a hillside, scanned the surroundings with his divine sense, and found no signs of life.

He immediately summoned the Potent Conqueror and fled.

At this moment, his aura surged violently, his immortal energy thick and potent—where was the slightest trace of poisoning?

Zuo Shanwei had a clear goal: he would first ascend to Immortal Sovereign, then head to the Frozen Forbidden Zone.

Ding Huan's ordeal had reminded him: never cultivate casually in the wild, or you'd never know peace.

The Frozen Forbidden Zone was utterly devoid of life; there, even if he made tremendous noise, no one could possibly notice.

After ascending to Immortal Sovereign, he would cultivate there until reaching Immortal Sovereign's peak before emerging.

Ding Huan must be killed; besides eliminating Ding Huan, he must also kill Xie Kuangren.

Aren't you the madman?

When Brother Zuo reaches Immortal Emperor, let's see how this madman dares to be bold before Brother Zuo.

When Ding Huan cultivates, he mostly uses Superior Immortal Spirit Veins, occasionally using Supreme Immortal Spirit Veins.

Zuo Shanwei prepared to undergo Tribulation Crossing to ascend to Immortal Sovereign; the Immortal Spirit Veins he tossed out were all Supreme.

Four Supreme Immortal Spirit Veins were piled around Zuo Shanwei; as his Great Dao cultivation technique activated, waves of lightning arcs crashed down.

Zuo Shanwei had long been at Immortal King's peak; his assault on Immortal Sovereign faced almost no resistance—he drew the Immortal Sovereign Lei Jie from the very start.

As the Lei Jie descended, Zuo Shanwei immediately activated the Dao Resonance Sphere for Immortal Sovereign ascension, then summoned his artifact to resist the lightning arcs.

The commotion of his Immortal Sovereign ascension immediately drew attention from some, but they soon sensed the aura of the Immortal Sovereign Dao Resonance Sphere.

It indicated this was a cultivator who followed the rules.

Interrupting a cultivator who uses a Dao Resonance Sphere—if the ascender pursues it, the severest punishment under the Ten Thousand Laws is outright execution.

Waves of Lei Jie arcs fell; by the end, Zuo Shanwei's aura surged wildly.

At the moment he stepped into Immortal Sovereign, he even retracted his defensive artifacts and began resisting the Lei Jie arcs with his bare body.

One day later, Zuo Shanwei summoned the Potent Conqueror again and raced toward the Frozen Forbidden Zone.

He was now at the Immortal Sovereign realm.

The Weak Water Ice Vein stretched for hundreds of millions of miles; due to its extreme cold, even divine sense was blocked here.

In the Great Dao Corridor, the Weak Water Ice Vein was extremely famous.

Ordinary cultivators—even Immortal Kings—faced near-certain death if they came here.

The cold here simply could not be resisted by ordinary flesh, and with no valuable resources and weak heavenly immortal qi, few ever came here.

Zuo Shanwei did not know Ding Huan was also in the Weak Water Ice Vein; if he had known, he would have killed Ding Huan first.

Because they had come from different directions, they occupied opposite locations and neither knew the other was cultivating here.

Ding Huan was frantically absorbing Spirit Crystals, hoping to ascend to Immortal King's peak as soon as possible.

Zuo Shanwei was frantically absorbing Supreme Immortal Spirit Veins, hoping to reach Immortal Sovereign's peak as soon as possible.

……

Great Dao Corridor Plaza.

The Yonghuang Divine Arts Academy welcomed its second peak, securing two first places and two second places again.

In the Array Competition, Yonghuang Divine Arts Academy's Li Yunmu set up a Level Six Gathering Fire Immortal Array and won first place.

Lin Zhenruo set up a Level Six Blade Kill Immortal Array and took second place.

Lei Zuocheng forged a Superior Immortal Artifact, the Thunder Cloud Blade, earning second place—he had merely engraved a few fewer forbidden patterns than the first-place winner.

Qian Xun Haoyi forged a Level Five Peak Attack Immortal Talisman, the Ten Thousand Vines Immortal Talisman, and won first place.

The final match now underway at the plaza was the individual combat final.

The two finalists were both disciples of Yonghuang Divine Arts Academy: Seeing Ji Xing and Long Xiyue.

Even stranger, both had originally entered the Xuan Dao Class competition, yet now both were at Da Yi Xian realm.

Because in the previous round, all their opponents ascended on the combat arena.

Helplessly, they too had to ascend.

If only one of them weren't Da Yi Xian, first place would have been his.

But both were Da Yi Xian—so first place still had to be decided by combat.