Chapter 712: The Saint Chases

The Saint of Tianpo reached out and touched the spot where Ding Huan had cultivated, and his expression changed instantly.

He looked upward, as if sensing something.

After more than a dozen breaths, the Saint of Tianpo suddenly began forming hand seals and forbidden runes.

An hour later, a blurred image appeared before him.

Three people, one beast.

Ji Xinguan had spoken the truth.

But after leaving this place, these three did not descend into the Eternal God Abyss—they climbed toward the peak of Eternal God Peak.

The Saint of Tianpo clenched his fist; fury instantly engulfed his body and soul.

He had been on Eternal God Peak for two hundred thousand years; in his eyes, the peak was his private property, and no one could take even a blade of grass or a stone from it.

Let alone covet the peak itself.

Even though he knew Ding Huan could never reach the peak, merely having such a thought warranted death.

The only path to the peak of Eternal God Peak was through Double Stone Valley.

He had seized control of Double Stone Valley; no one could enter.

He never expected someone would attempt to climb Eternal God Peak from there.

The Saint of Tianpo flashed forward, surging dozens of meters upward.

For Emperor Hou Hen, climbing ten steps on Eternal God Peak was difficult, yet now the Saint of Tianpo leaped dozens of meters in a single step.

But after that, the Saint of Tianpo could only advance a few meters per step, then one meter per step, then half a meter per step, and finally moved upward slowly.

The moment the Saint of Tianpo arrived at the basin where Ding Huan cultivated, Ding Huan sensed him.

If the vertical drop on Eternal God Peak was too great, he could not see the surveillance array runes.

Even without the image, Ding Huan guessed it was the Saint of Tianpo who had come.

Ding Huan did not care; he believed the Saint of Tianpo's understanding of Eternal God Peak's heavenly laws was no stronger than his own.

Every step here demanded caution; as long as he did not stop, the Saint of Tianpo could never catch him.

If this Saint had truly comprehended all heavenly principles and Dao laws here, he would have climbed the peak long ago.

His only relief was that he had ascended early.

Otherwise, given the Saint of Tianpo's speed to reach his cultivation spot, Ding Huan would have been unable to escape.

At first, Ding Huan took each step swiftly.

After one day, Ding Huan's steps became slower.

After three days, not only did Ding Huan's steps slow further, but the distance between each step also shrank.

On the fifth day, Ding Huan paused for a long while after each step before taking the next.

Behind Ding Huan, the Saint of Tianpo grew increasingly anxious; it was now the ninth day, and he still had not caught Ding Huan.

As time passed, his emotions could no longer be called anxiety—they were terror.

He wondered: what if one day the other truly stepped onto the peak of Eternal God Peak?

Should he wait at the base of the peak for him to descend?

But Eternal God Peak was no ordinary place; even he could not extend his divine sense to cover its entire surroundings.

Anywhere on Eternal God Peak could lead into the Eternal God Abyss; if the other descended elsewhere and entered the Abyss directly, he would be powerless to stop him.

The Saint of Tianpo took another step forward, then halted, calculating where his next step should land.

Moreover, he had to resist the sinking law that dragged him into the void of the Eternal God Abyss.

But soon the Saint of Tianpo grew excited—he saw several blurred shadows above.

Though only dozens of zhang away, this meant he was finally drawing near to them.

Emperor Hou Hen and Seeing Ji Luo sensed nothing behind them; they could not see the Saint of Tianpo.

Within the sinking law and void law, they could only perceive a three-zhang radius around them.

This was only because Ding Huan's domain enveloped the three-zhang area.

But Ding Huan sensed the Saint of Tianpo's arrival; he turned and saw him clearly.

Unlike the Saint of Tianpo's blurred view of them, Ding Huan saw him distinctly.

Even though the Saint of Tianpo was only more than ten zhang away, Ding Huan felt no alarm.

He realized: the Saint of Tianpo's comprehension of Eternal God Peak's heavenly laws was no deeper than his own.

As long as he did not stop, the Saint of Tianpo could never catch him.

Though their distance was now close, and the Saint of Tianpo had caught up,

Ding Huan was certain this was the closest the Saint of Tianpo would ever get.

Both sides moved extremely slowly now; each step required careful, deliberate perception of the surrounding heavenly laws before placing the foot.

Ding Huan refused to believe his rate of comprehension was slower than the Saint of Tianpo's.

He did not know how long the Saint of Tianpo had been cultivating here, but he himself had been here less than half a year, relying only on the Great Cosmic Art.

Moreover, the Saint of Tianpo had rejected the advantage of timing and terrain; to catch him was now impossible.

Under normal circumstances, the Saint of Tianpo should have ascended from Double Stone Valley, and not now—he should have waited longer.

This man, instead of ascending from Double Stone Valley, now chased him at the very spot Ding Huan chose to climb—wasn't that inviting misery upon himself?

When half a month passed and the Saint of Tianpo saw Ding Huan's figures growing ever more blurred, his unease returned.

He had a premonition: he would never catch Ding Huan and the others again.

After a month passed, when Ding Huan and the others vanished entirely from sight, the Saint of Tianpo halted his pursuit.

He was certain he could not catch them.

Ding Huan undoubtedly possessed a colossal secret—here, Ding Huan moved faster than he did, meaning Ding Huan comprehended the laws of this realm faster than he did.

If the other party only had a Divine King, their comprehension and insight of the world's rules could absolutely not compare to his, a Saint existence.

The other party's speed of insight like this is itself abnormal.

Saint Tianpo looked back; from here, going down the mountain would still take nearly half a month.

But he had to go down.

Only by returning to Twin Stone Valley could he accelerate his speed of comprehending the rules of this world.

If he comprehended here, for him it would be half the result with twice the effort.

Half a month later, Saint Tianpo returned to Twin Stone Valley.

His divine sense swept across Ji Xinguan.

Sensing Saint Tianpo's divine sense, Ji Xinguan rushed over immediately.

When Saint Tianpo went to look for Ding Huan, he had been waiting at all times for news from Saint Tianpo.

Please... bookmark 6... 9... book.... bar....!

This one wait lasted a month and a half; he grew increasingly anxious as he waited, not even daring to stay at Yongshen Peak any longer.

Because for Saint Tianpo to kill Ding Huan, it absolutely wouldn't take a month and a half.

Perhaps Saint Tianpo had recognized Zhuo Dun.

If Saint Tianpo had recognized Zhuo Dun, he might kill him to silence him.

"Greetings, Saint." After rushing over swiftly, Ji Xinguan bowed with reverence.

On Yongshen Peak, as long as Saint Tianpo wanted to kill him, he simply couldn't escape.

"The few people and a divine beast you mentioned went toward the top of Yongshen Peak. I searched the mountain for over a month and found no trace.

You just keep watch around Yongshen Peak for me. The moment there's any news of these people, transmit a message to me immediately."

After Saint Tianpo finished speaking, he took out a transmission jade talisman and handed it to Ji Xinguan, while patting Ji Xinguan's body several times.

Hearing that Saint Tianpo had not found Ding Huan and the others, Ji Xinguan felt a slight disappointment in his heart.

Fortunately, the other party simply hadn't found Ding Huan and the others, not that they had recognized Zhuo Dun.

But upon receiving the jade talisman, his heart sank to the bottom again — Saint Tianpo had just placed a soul imprint on him.

This kind of imprint he couldn't remove, and didn't dare to remove.

In other words, from today on, he had to risk his life for Saint Tianpo.

"Yes, this junior will certainly not delay the Saint's matters." Despite the grief in his heart, Ji Xinguan still carefully took the jade talisman and replied with reverence.

……

Ding Huan's speed gradually increased once more.

This was the seventh month since he began climbing toward the top of Yongshen Peak.

The world's rules that should be comprehended, every law of this space — he had comprehended seventy to eighty percent of it all.

"Brother Ding, isn't this speed a bit too fast?" Emperor Hou Hen sensed Ding Huan's ever-quickening pace, his heart trembling with fear, and couldn't help but ask.

The truth was, this place gave him an immense sense of crisis; if a single step went wrong, Ding Huan would vanish from here without a trace.

Once Ding Huan vanished, they wouldn't even be able to find their way back.

"No need, you all speed up a bit too." As Ding Huan spoke, his steps not only didn't slow, but became even faster.

Fortunately, Emperor Hou Hen and Seeing Ji Luo were both under Ding Huan's divine sense; the two only needed to remember Ding Huan's footsteps.

Another three months passed, and Ding Huan stopped.

He could already see the mountaintop. The reason he stopped was because he saw a person sitting not far ahead.

It was a woman, sitting on the ground, an air of Dao lingering around her, clearly also comprehending the surrounding world's rules.

Ding Huan breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't know when this woman had started climbing the mountain.

To be able to reach this place showed just how strong her comprehension of the Great Dao was.

The moment Ding Huan stopped, this woman immediately awoke with a start. She opened her eyes and stared at Ding Huan and the others in shock.

How could anyone possibly reach this place?

She suddenly stood up, sizing up Ding Huan and the others up and down, her aura surging violently as her domain also extended outward.

Ding Huan sensed that the other party's domain was only a few zhang in range, and couldn't affect his route to the summit at all, so he simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention and continued forward.

"How did you all arrive here so quickly?" The woman finally couldn't hold back and asked.

Everyone knew there was something good at the top of Yongshen Peak.

She had taken so many years to reach this place, and naturally was unwilling to let Ding Huan and the others reach the summit before her.

Ding Huan said lightly: "We are strangers who met by chance, unknown to each other — there's nothing worth asking, is there."

After speaking, Ding Huan advanced once more.

This woman was only a quasi-Saint; he didn't care whether she made a move.

"Fellow Daoists, my name is Leng Qingdie. Although this peak is called Yongshen Peak, in reality it is Samsara Peak. To set foot on the summit of Samsara Peak, one must be a person of Samsara."

It had to be said, this woman alone, with just one sentence, made Ding Huan stop.

"Are you a person of Samsara?" Ding Huan sized up the other party.

The other party daring to say this indicated not only that she was a person of Samsara, but one who had undergone Samsara with memories intact.

(Fellow Daoist, good night!)

(End of this chapter)