Chapter 631: Cutting the Dao

Half a month later, Ding Huan used the Great Universe Technique to merge all the Poison Dao principles here into his Great Dao Consciousness Sea.

This filled Ding Huan with great joy.

His greatest gain was not the merging of various Poison Dao principles.

For Ding Huan, having many Poison Dao principles was good, but what mattered more was that they had unique characteristics—and the stronger, the better.

In this place, he comprehended a Poison Dao principle that satisfied him deeply: the Poison of Sunken Dao.

Previously, all the Poison Dao principles Ding Huan had merged, especially the Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao, had their greatest power in severing Yuan force, collapsing the Consciousness Sea, blocking meridians, and shattering the Dantian.

But the Poison of Sunken Dao had only one ability: to corrode the Great Dao.

Ding Huan had encountered poisons that corroded the Great Dao before, but such a brutally dominant Great Dao-corroding principle as the Poison of Sunken Dao, he had never encountered before.

Zuo Zuo Shitian spoke nicely, but in truth, the Five Yuan Team was just the Five Skin-Scrapers.

Original content: 'Correct version at 6/9 Book Bar% 【6*9*s*h*u-b-】

The words were not stated clearly, but the madam's meaning was understood by everyone present.

Now that all Five Skin-Scrapers are dead, your tribute is gone; you pretend to search for the Five Skin-Scrapers, but aren't you really telling everyone: don't provoke the Pocket of the Recluse Alliance?

His bony legs trembled as he tried to step out of his protective array, as if to enter the Ladder Sea.

But Ding Huan did not pause for a moment; he activated the Great Universe Technique, and the Great Dao blade fell again.

The Five Skin-Scrapers seized items and paid tribute to the Recluse Alliance, while the Recluse Alliance provided them escort.

Yet the usually carefree madam now looked displeased, standing before her were two men.

All flesh had vanished completely.

Under the Great Universe Technique's Zhou Tian, myriad Great Dao spiritual rhythms surrounded Ding Huan, their essence flowing endlessly.

Earthly Demon Illusion Art, Cut!

Zuo Zuo Shitian snorted: "I give you five days. You must find Ding Huan within five days."

Otherwise, who knows if you can cut him off completely? Ding Huan is a decisive man—he makes a decision and feels no hesitation.

Thinking of Yu Dao, Ding Huan suddenly halted.

Now a problem had arisen.

Those who called Ding Huan honest, others merely chuckled inwardly.

Once afflicted by the Poison of Sunken Dao, not only would cultivation halt, but one's cultivation level would plummet cliff-like until death.

The two clerks frowned slightly; just as they were about to speak further, someone seemed to whisper to them.

Cut the Dao early—he came from the Immortal World to the Divine Realm and had wasted too much time already on cutting the Dao.

After Ding Huan killed Ao Bapi, the Recluse Alliance did not intervene because the other four Ao Bapis would kill Ding Huan.

The Ladder Sea of Watching Gods has the Recluse Alliance, but everyone knows the Recluse Alliance never intervenes in ordinary matters.

Just as in the Gray Sea before, he had chosen to burn his flesh and Consciousness Sea with flame, ultimately peeling off that skin scroll and turning it to ash.

The madam glanced at the cultivator who had spoken up for Ding Huan—everyone knew Ding Huan had deliberately pretended to pick up the ring.

This place was likely the most suitable for converting Divine Yuan.

Next, he would convert his Immortal Yuan into Divine Yuan here, then cultivate the Dao…

Not only did the madam look displeased, but every recluse drinking in the tavern wore looks of contempt.

Did he cut the Dao while still at the Immortal Emperor realm, or after converting Divine Yuan? Cutting the Dao at Immortal Emperor level would be extremely dangerous.

Pain had long numbed his entire being.

Were they taking advantage of his weakness?

But calling Ding Huan honest went too far.

He had learned things that seemed scattered and fragmented, yet he had amassed so many.

"Not necessarily—his method of killing Ao Bapi was swift and decisive."

The Poison of Sunken Dao was Ding Huan's true surprise.

Now that all Five Skin-Scrapers were dead, the Recluse Alliance's interests suffered heavily, so naturally they came to defend them.

"Yes, Ding Huan clearly looks honest—he was just pushed too far by Ao Bapi. After killing Ao Bapi, he fumbled awkwardly with the ring. Could such a man kill the other four Bapis?"

…

The speaker was a middle-aged man; seeing everyone stare at him puzzled, he spoke calmly:

Merely severing one Great Dao technique left Ding Huan feeling hollowed out, his body weakened to the extreme.

The madam was speechless; she had to explain: "Last time, Ding Huan killed Ao Bapi in my inn before everyone's eyes, yet you did nothing to stop him."

The tavern fell silent.

The Poison of Sunken Dao is a poison that corrodes the Great Dao; once afflicted, one has virtually no chance of reincarnation.

The disappearance of the Five Yuan Team quickly sparked discussion among the recluses.

After ceasing his comprehension of Poison Dao principles, Ding Huan sensed the dense heavenly and earthly yuan qi around him—he knew he had come to the right place.

In short, the Five Skin-Scrapers were merely a component of the Recluse Alliance in the Watching Gods Region.

They knew who these two men were: the two clerks of the Ladder Sea Recluse Alliance, Zuo Zuo Shitian and Zhan Zhan Yiting.

A call of death arose deep within Ding Huan's Consciousness Sea; he slowly rose, swaying unsteadily.

Ding Huan spat another gout of blood; he felt his body as if sliced by a thousand knives.

Luo Shi Jing, Cut! Tian Gang Dao Art, Cut!

Ding Huan's withered body, nourished by the dense Divine Spirit Qi, began slowly recovering. His Immortal Yuan had already been exhausted; now, as vast amounts of Divine Spirit Qi flooded in, his Yuan force naturally transformed into Divine Yuan.

The Great Universe Technique continued its Zhou Tian circulation, drawing in waves of dense heavenly and earthly Divine Spirit Qi. A shopkeeper from behind the tavern walked over, smiling broadly:

"If I ambush you while standing before you, I'd be swift and decisive too."

That's your job—to find Ding Huan, not to come looking for me.

The reason you didn't go looking for Ding Huan last time was because all four of the Five Scavengers were still alive.

Some things don't need to be spelled out—everyone understands.

The barkeep sighed: "I've told you everything I know. After Ding Huan left last time, he never came back. I spoke a few words to him—everyone here heard it."

He left, and now you come searching for me? I'm just a lone cultivator running a tavern to earn a bit of cultivation resources.

The barkeep snapped: "What, you think I, Chang Changyi, am easy to bully? Does your Lone Cultivators' Alliance control this place with an iron fist? I'm not going today—what are you going to do about it?"

He had already chosen the direction of his Dao, for he had been too deeply influenced by the hide scroll.

After deciding to sever his Dao, Ding Huan immediately began activating the Great Cosmos Art.

But just as he was about to step forward, the deepest thought in his consciousness shifted from vague to clear.

If he transformed his divine yuan before severing his Dao, his strength would increase and the danger would decrease.

After a brief moment of thought, Ding Huan made his decision.

Ding Huan sat down again.

The Dao became a blade—merciless.

After all the Dao threads from the hide scroll were severed by Ding Huan, he became nothing but a skeleton.

Any matter handled by the Lone Cultivators' Alliance is always a major one—or one that harms the Alliance's interests.

Moreover, the death of one Five Scavenger doesn't affect the Lone Cultivators' Alliance, since the tribute from the Five Scavengers won't decrease.

Looking at various spear Dao abilities, evasion techniques, spiritual sense arts, predictive arts…

He finished asking and didn't wait for an answer: "It means someone entered their cave directly via teleportation and killed the others."

Sever the Dao now.

…

As Ding Huan continuously severed the Dao threads around him, his flesh withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The other four members of the Five Yuan Team were all killed inside their cave. Do you know what this means?"

"Puff!" The Dao resonance of the Great Prediction Art was severed by Ding Huan; a jet of blood spurted out, and his face instantly turned pale.

With that, the two stewards turned and walked away.

Ding Huan didn't hesitate—he severed the Great Prediction Art first.

He had almost burned himself to death before—what did he care about severing his Dao a few more times?

He's just pretending, for heaven's sake.

So he decided to cultivate his Dao through severing it.

"I find it laughable—Ding Huan just ascended to the Divine Realm, hasn't even transformed his immortal yuan, and yet the Five Yuan Team's disappearance is being traced back to him? It's ridiculous…"

This poison can also corrode an opponent's Dao during battle.

Ding Huan didn't pause for half a breath—the blade of his Dao continued its frenzied descent.

Rune Dao Art—sever! Array Dao Art—sever! …

"If members of the Lone Cultivators' Alliance are killed and nothing happens, who will ever dare to act as your spear and seize things for the Alliance? The Five Yuan Team's disappearance is most closely tied to Ding Huan, and you are the one who interacted with him the most. So now, you must come with us." Zhan Zhan Yiting stared at the barkeep, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"But the Five Yuan Team disappeared only after leaving your place," said Zuo Zuo Shitian, expressionless.

As for danger—what danger hadn't he seen? Was he afraid of severing his Dao once? He still had immortal yuan; after severing his Dao, he'd transform into divine yuan—then the severance would be even more thorough.

"Two stewards, we believe the most important thing is still to find Ding Huan. Why not give the barkeep some time to help search for him?"

Each time the blade of his Dao severed one of his Dao threads or Dao abilities, he felt as if he had been killed a thousand times over.

In just a few short days, Ding Huan regained his original appearance, and he became utterly immersed in this insane surge of power, completely forgetting he still needed to cultivate his Dao.

As long as one of the Five Scavengers lives, they will contribute a pile of cultivation resources to the Lone Cultivators' Alliance.

Grand Void Flame burst forth, forming a ring of fire that guarded Ding Huan's surroundings.

The barkeep's inner thoughts were spoken aloud by another lone cultivator: "Everyone knows Ding Huan took too long to pick up the ring—that was deliberate pretense."

This was the second time he had endured such terrible torment, after the Gray Sea Fire Sludge burned his soul.

"No, he wasn't pretending. He wasn't slow at all—he was incredibly fast."

The Five Scavengers could strut and openly seize things in the Watch Divine Land precisely because the Lone Cultivators' Alliance backed them.

The Five Scavenger was no good man—this was universally acknowledged.

The second one he severed was the Nine Spear Dao Abilities…

Ding Huan himself marveled at it.

The landmark structure of the Watch Divine Stair Sea was naturally the barkeep's tavern.

That was when Ding Huan bent down to pick up the ring, carving a teleportation array pattern onto the Five Scavenger's body.

This speed wasn't slow—it was terrifyingly fast.

Worse still, Ding Huan eradicated the threat completely: by carving teleportation array patterns onto the Five Scavenger's body, he tracked them back to their lair and killed the others.

Is this really someone who just ascended? (Comrade, good night!)

(End of Chapter)