Chapter 666

"Thank you, Elder, for saving our lives, but we are afraid we can't escape—the City Lord of Shen City has been killed, and this strikes at the face of the Divine Realm sects; they…"

On the Cosmic Cauldron, Chu Bukuan was in a state of panic when he suddenly fell silent.

"You—you're Ding Huan? D-Ding Elder…"

When Chu Bukuan saw Ding Huan's true face restored, he gasped in shock.

Ding Huan laughed heartily: "That's right—we're old acquaintances. No need for thanks, and don't call me Elder; you're older than me."

"He didn't lose out—he got two Divine Spirit Veins this time," Mo Changcan blurted out without hesitation, exposing Ding Huan's motive.

Chu Bukuan finally realized it, his voice trembling: "Ding…Huan-ge, was it you who saved me last time at Wangshen Terrace Sea?"

Ding Huan clapped Chu Bukuan on the shoulder: "You've got terrible taste—you picked such a bodyguard maid. If I hadn't happened to see it, you'd already be fertilizer in Wangshen Terrace Sea."

Chu Bukuan dropped to his knees: "Huan-ge, I won't say any more—starting today, my life belongs to you."

Ding Huan waved his hand: "Why would I want your life? Aren't you from the Xidaoshen Sect in the Lower Divine Realm? How did you end up here?"

When Chu Bukuan heard Ding Huan mention the Xidaoshen Sect, his fists clenched and his whole body trembled.

Ding Huan's heart sank—he'd deliberately avoided contact with Chu Bukuan to protect him, so how could something like this have happened again?

Could it be connected to me?

"The Xidaoshen Sect has been wiped out," Chu Bukuan said, drawing a deep breath, his voice thick with grief and fury.

So it really happened? Ding Huan frowned, trying to recall whether this had anything to do with him.

Without waiting for Ding Huan to ask, Chu Bukuan volunteered: "It's my fault that the Xidaoshen Sect was destroyed."

The woman standing beside Chu Bukuan's eyes instantly reddened: "Brother, it's my fault."

Chu Bukuan shook his head: "The five-star Divine Core crystal I retrieved brought disaster. When Tianhua was refining her Divine Core, someone sensed it. My father ordered us to take the Ru Sect token from the Upper Divine Realm and flee the Xidaoshen Sect."

Our cultivation was too low; after all these years, we've only managed to sneak from the Lower Divine Realm into the Middle Divine Realm."

"After centuries passed, I thought no one would still covet my sister's Divine Core—yet barely had we surfaced when we were spotted in Qianlin Shen City."

He pointed to the tall woman with long hair beside him: "This is my sister, Chu Tianhua."

Then he pointed to the woman still wounded and not yet healed: "This is my Dao partner, Ceng Luo."

"Tianhua, Luo-a, this is Huan-ge and…"

He looked at Mo Changcan but didn't know his name.

Mo Changcan removed his disguise: "I'm Mo Changcan. Anyone who's friends with Ding Huan is my friend. These two are Seeing Qu Yi and Luo Huan'er—we'll be teaming up from now on."

Mo Changcan was already thinking: if Ding Huan caused trouble just to get top-grade Divine Spirit Veins, maybe next time he wanted one, he could use the same method.

Thinking of causing trouble, he nearly blurted it out while speaking.

The group quickly grew familiar, and Ding Huan learned from Chu Bukuan that the Xidaoshen Sect had been destroyed by a merchant guild—but one tied to a sect.

The sect was Feidao Shen Ge.

Feidao Shen Ge was one of the top sects in the Middle Divine Realm, even stronger than many sects from the Upper Divine Realm.

Its greatest strength was selling all kinds of information, artifacts, Divine Pills, and acting as the largest intermediary.

Their Feidao Merchant Guild on Dao Xu Street ranked among the top five, second only to the major guilds of the Upper Divine Realm.

"Where are you planning to go?" Ding Huan felt a pang inside—this matter, if unrelated to him, was related; if related, it wasn't.

But if you say it's related, there's logic to it too.

If I hadn't saved Chu Bukuan, he'd have died for sure.

A dead Chu Bukuan would have no five-star Divine Core crystal; without the crystal, the sect wouldn't have drawn disaster.

Chu Bukuan pulled out an ancient sect token: "This is the sect token of the Shengude Sect in the Upper Divine Realm. With this token, I can request to join the Shengude Sect."

"Once I join the Shengude Sect, the Feidao Merchant Guild won't dare touch me. Sigh—I never thought that after hiding for so many years, they'd still find us… and know I have the Shengude Sect token."

Chu Bukuan let out a long sigh.

Although the Divine Realm had Divine Qi, they'd spent years hiding and had never properly cultivated.

To find a place to cultivate, they needed not just Divine Qi but also Luck Stones.

Where could they possibly get Luck Stones?

That's why, after all these years, he remained stuck at the Heavenly God realm.

Thinking back to when Ding Huan had just ascended, now he was a force that crushed him utterly.

"Are you certain this token will make you an inner disciple of the Shengude Sect? I heard inner disciples get assigned a Shanfeng," Mo Changcan asked.

Chu Bukuan affirmed: "The Shengude Sect has stood for over a million years and holds great prestige in the Divine Realm. This token was once obtained by my father. If not for the destruction of the Xidaoshen Sect and my utter desperation, I'd never have brought it out…"

"Bukuan, once you join the Shengude Sect, you'll be an inner disciple. Inner disciples can bring some people onto their Shanfeng. Could we join you?"

Mo Changcan was desperate to find a stable place to cultivate.

As long as he followed Ding Huan, he'd soon reach the peak of World God. Once he advanced to Divine King, he could openly rob the Dao Xu Merchant Guild.

Now that Chu Bukuan was certain to join the sect, why be polite?

"Of course you can—even if you didn't say it, I was going to propose it. Huan-ge and Changcan-ge saved our lives; I plan to give this token to Huan-ge, and have him bring us into the Shengude Sect…"

"Of course I will— even if Brother Changcan doesn't mention it, I'd say it anyway. Brother Huan and Brother Changcan saved our lives; I plan to give this sect token to Brother Huan, and then Brother Huan will lead us to join the Liyin Divine Valley..."

"No, you go join the Shengude Sect. We'll just follow you into the sect—any place to cultivate is fine," Ding Huan said—he had no intention of becoming an inner disciple.

"Huan-ge, Changcan-ge—we killed the City Lord of Qianlin Shen City in the Middle Divine Realm. This won't end easily."

"They might already be hunting us. I heard they're powerful and cruel," Chu Tianhua said, clear-headed.

Ding Huan and Mo Changcan didn't care about the sects' pursuit; Chu Bukuan, emotionally shaken, hadn't thought of it yet.

Chu Tianhua knew all too well what kind of life they'd lived these years.

"Who are they?" Ding Huan asked instinctively.

Chu Tianhua knew very well what kind of life they had lived these past years.

"Who are they?" Ding Huan asked instinctively.

Chu Bukian calmed down:

"It's the Tiancaishen Alliance. The Tiancaishen Alliance is a coalition of all sects in the Divine Realm; they fundamentally do not tolerate open destruction of sects, attacks on divine cities, assaults on merchant guilds, or the killing of divine city guards."

Mo Changcan laughed heartily: "We didn't kill any divine city guards—we only killed the guard captain and the city lord. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Ding Huan also dismissed it: "We've already killed two Divine Kings from the Daoxu Merchant Guild, and we've destroyed more than a few of their merchant towers on Daoxu Street—yet here we are, perfectly fine."

Chu Bukian froze; the few of them had been hiding and fleeing, never realizing Ding Huan and Mo Changcan had done such massive things.

"Big brother, I suspect it's connected to the Divine Clan. They don't have the time or energy to deal with us," Qu Yi interjected.

In Qu Yi's view, if they had the ability to act, they wouldn't have waited until now. When Ding Huan and Mo Changcan caused chaos on Daoxu Street, Divine Kings had already come to hunt them down.

Ding Huan had long suspected it was tied to the Divine Clan.

Otherwise, after killing two Divine Kings of the Daoxu Merchant Guild and destroying hundreds of merchant towers on Daoxu Street, there would surely have been warrants issued for them by now.

Chu Bukian's partner, Ceng Luo, stared at Ding Huan in shock—she had just remembered who he was.

She never imagined this man, sought after by countless factions, would so brazenly destroy the divine city's protective array outside Ganlin Divine City, kill its city lord, and then drain the divine spirit vein.

She hadn't expected that while she was staring at Ding Huan, he suddenly turned his gaze onto her face.

Ceng Luo's face flushed red, and she quickly lowered her head.

Chu Bukian hurriedly said: "A Luo has always trained hard alongside her mother. After we met, we shared the same suffering and came together."

"She's very timid—when facing the Ganlin Divine City guard captain before, she had every right to argue but dared not speak up."

Ding Huan smiled: "Her courage isn't small at all."

Everyone froze, their gazes all turning to Ding Huan.

Ding Huan continued to stare at Ceng Luo:

"Ceng Luo, if you have no feelings for Bukian, just say so. Why did you betray Bukian and his sister's whereabouts to that Guard Captain Pu?"

Chu Bukian stared, then looked at Ceng Luo in disbelief:

"You? Did you betray our trail all along?"

He finally understood—they had hidden for centuries; logically, no one should have noticed them when they set out for the Upper Divine Lands.

Yet the moment they showed themselves, they were immediately blocked outside Ganlin Divine City by the guard captain, Pu Xindao.

Ceng Luo's face turned instantly pale; her lips trembled, yet she could not utter a single word.

"Aren't you going to defend yourself?" Ding Huan asked, puzzled, staring at Ceng Luo.

Logically, a woman in her position should leap forward to protest immediately—why, when confronted, did she fall silent?

Ceng Luo's Dao aura suddenly surged violently, her eyes revealing a resolute intent toward death.

Anyone could tell—she intended to self-annihilate.

Chu Bukian's eyes flickered with sorrow; Ceng Luo was one of the two people he trusted most, and now he was betrayed by the one he trusted most.

Ceng Luo's Dao aura had only just begun to churn when it was forcibly severed.

She looked at Ding Huan and understood—in front of Ding Huan and Mo Changcan, her meager strength attempting self-annihilation was pure fantasy.

(End of Chapter)