Chapter 730: The Rebellious Tree

As soon as Ding Huan entered the gray-white line, his vitality was rapidly stripped away.

At this moment, Ding Huan felt as if he could see his lifespan counting down—he could not stop himself from aging rapidly.

Seeing Qu Yi, standing outside the gray-white line, witnessed Ding Huan's hair turn white in an instant and his face wither; she was terrified out of her wits.

She rushed frantically toward Ding Huan, wanting to pull him out at once.

Fortunately, Yi Jie still remembered Master Huan's warning and quickly blocked Qu Yi: "Sister Yi, if you go over there, it's a death sentence."

If Master Huan can't hold out, no one here can."

Emperor Hou Hen sighed; he knew Yi Jie was right.

This deathly Dao rhythm—even if he regained his full strength—he could not resist it.

Qu Yi trembled all over; she knew Yi Jie was right.

If Ding Huan cannot resist this deathly Dao rhythm, her going there would be no different from walking into death.

If before, her sole goal in struggling to survive within the vast void was to find Ding Huan,

even so, the loneliness within the vastness was not something a human could endure.

If Ding Huan perished here, Qu Yi shuddered.

Those who have never experienced loneliness cannot know how terrifying it is.

She did not need to be constantly with Ding Huan, but she needed to know he was not alone here.

Ding Huan could not even construct a Great Universe Technique Zhou Tian.

At this moment, Ding Huan understood better than anyone else: by the time he constructed the Great Universe Technique Zhou Tian, his remaining vitality would already be entirely consumed.

If he could not even construct a Great Universe Technique Zhou Tian, let alone contemplate the Deathly Principle here.

Ding Huan forced himself to calm down, then he remembered the Life-Death Mirror.

When he communicated with the Life-Death Mirror through his divine sense, he discovered that all the vitality and fortune within it had been sent into his mind universe.

This alarmed Ding Huan greatly—he would need to store some vitality within the Life-Death Mirror from now on…

Wait, if the Life-Death Mirror can store vitality, then it can also absorb deathly energy.

But soon Ding Huan realized: even if his Life-Death Mirror could absorb this deathly energy, he had neither time nor opportunity.

Right—he had originally sent all his vitality and fortune into his mind universe to nourish the Hollow Willow.

Ding Huan's divine sense landed on his mind universe, and immediately he saw the Hollow Willow.

The Hollow Willow had fully matured within his mind universe and, after being nourished by vitality and fortune, had regained its vitality.

Now, within his mind universe, it was teeming with life.

With his life hanging by a thread, Ding Huan urgently communicated with the Hollow Willow, trying to draw in some of its vitality.

To Ding Huan's shock, no matter how hard he tried to communicate or absorb, the Hollow Willow gave not the slightest reaction.

Ding Huan's heart burned with fury.

He had truly spared no expense for this Hollow Willow—he had never hesitated to give it anything good he possessed.

Various divine vein lines, supreme divine crystals, vitality, fortune…

Now, when he needed even a little vitality, it refused him outright—even his efforts to absorb were useless.

It simply ignored him.

What a heartless, ungrateful bastard.

Ding Huan absolutely refused to believe the Hollow Willow was unaware.

When he shattered the Qingshang Five Elements World, the Hollow Willow had given nearly all its vitality to save Qingshang—yet now, when he needed just a little to survive, it refused.

Logically, since the Hollow Willow resided within his mind universe, it should clearly perceive his master's peril.

Without needing his communication, it should have immediately sent vitality to protect him.

Instead, it pretended nothing was wrong—and when he came to it directly, it coldly rejected all his demands.

Cold-blooded.

I'll wait.

You white-eyed wolf.

Fortunately, he had not given that supreme wood-element divine vein to the Hollow Willow—otherwise he'd have been truly cheated.

He hadn't deliberately withheld it; he'd simply forgotten about it after returning to Daxing Peak, consumed by studying the Stone Tablet.

Ding Huan's divine sense settled on the Cosmic Essence, then drew in a single drop and swallowed it.

The rich vitality Dao rhythm instantly flooded his entire being; his previously faint, nearly dissolving vitality surged back to full strength.

His white hair turned black in an instant; his skin regained its original appearance.

Seeing Ding Huan's transformation, Qu Yi far away exhaled in relief.

She silently prayed: don't let Ding Huan die.

Ding Huan had never imagined the Cosmic Essence could have such an incredible effect—its rich vitality could not even be swept away by the Deathly Dao rhythm.

He could now walk out effortlessly.

Ding Huan immediately began constructing the Great Universe Technique; since he had found a way to survive, he would not abandon the Deathly Principle.

To leave now would be to waste a drop of Cosmic Essence.

He had obtained the Cosmic Essence, but not in great quantity.

As he constructed his first Great Universe Technique Zhou Tian, waves of Deathly Principles became perceptible to Ding Huan.

These principle Dao rhythms, beneath his Great Universe Technique Zhou Tian, slowly peeled away their essence, one by one, until Ding Huan comprehended them; within moments, a brand-new principle—Deathly Principle—appeared in his surrounding domain.

Half a month later, Ding Huan began advancing.

Though his pace was slow, with every step he took, more new Deathly Principles were added to his universe of ten thousand principles.

As the Deathly Principles were continuously integrated, his domain expanded once again.

Along the path he walked, the deathly dao rhythms were nearly gone.

Only after he left did the deathly laws slowly regenerate.

Seeing Qu Yi watched Ding Huan vanish beyond her divine sense, her heart grew uneasy.

Emperor Hou Hen personally witnessed Ding Huan blocking the deathly dao rhythms, then step by step walk deeper into regions where the deathly dao rhythms grew denser.

Others didn't know how terrifying the deathly dao rhythms were—he knew.

Ding Huan blocking the deathly dao rhythms isn't surprising; if he had the Cosmic True Essence, he could block it too.

But to block the deathly dao rhythms and not emerge—instead, to delve into the very source of the deathly dao rhythms—that is beyond what the Cosmic True Essence could ever achieve.

No error in a single word, a single stroke, a single content, in every single one!

The Cosmic True Essence can only restore the vitality stripped away by the deathly dao rhythms.

It is merely a consumable; if you remain inside the deathly dao rhythms without exiting, no matter how much Cosmic True Essence you have, it will be entirely consumed.

Ding Huan's ability to advance further proves he has already abandoned relying on the Cosmic True Essence to restore vitality.

No matter what method Ding Huan uses, it is extraordinary.

Several more days passed; Ding Huan stopped and summoned the Cosmic Cauldron.

The deathly laws had become part of his mind's cosmic realm; within this deathly dao rhythm, he no longer feared having his vitality stripped away.

If that's the case, let's first see if I can find Xian Wushang and the others.

The longer Xian Wushang stays here, the greater the danger he faces.

The Cosmic Cauldron activated; two hours later, Ding Huan stopped again.

He saw a massive green umbrella floating outside a gorge.

Inside and outside the gorge, all was lifeless and still—but the green umbrella emitted a vitality.

Ding Huan's divine sense settled beneath the green umbrella and discovered at least a hundred people beneath it.

Besides Wen Jiyue and the others from the Qing Lei Shendao Sect, there was also Xian Wushang, the sect master of Yinshengu Sect.

Shu Ziche of Qishendao Sect, Pu Zhijian of Jianshenwu, Yuan Qing, the alliance leader of Tiancaishen Alliance, and Wang Wang Zhenjiu, the sect master of Dayan Shengdao Sect—all were present.

The green umbrella shimmered with lightning arcs, capable of blocking the deathly dao rhythms—clearly the key reason these people had survived until now.

It seemed this green umbrella was an excellent artifact.

Ding Huan was overjoyed and was about to approach when he heard fierce arguing.

"Sect Master Wen, your Qing Lei Shendao Sect occupies the very center of this green umbrella, causing people at the edges to keep perishing. Don't you think you should vacate some positions?"

The speaker was a man with a righteous expression, likely at the early Divine King realm.

As soon as he spoke, several others immediately echoed him.

Wen Jiyue's face turned ashen with rage, her hands trembling slightly.

But her cultivation was only at the early World God realm; before these Divine Kings, she dared not speak freely.

Xian Wushang coldly said: "Zuo Jue, if your One Sword Dao makes you uncomfortable, you may leave this Qing Lei Umbrella—no one forced you to stay."

"Sect Master Xian, what do you mean? I'm thinking of everyone's welfare. Don't you know how Single Dust of your Yinshengu Sect died? If Elder Single had stood in the center of the Qing Lei Umbrella, would he have perished?"

The righteous-faced man sneered.

Xian Wushang chuckled: "This Qing Lei Umbrella is Sect Master Wen's artifact. She uses her own artifact to protect her sect members—and lets the rest of us rest in the spare space. Yet you dare to push further."

Ding Huan finally understood: the Qing Lei Umbrella was Wen Jiyue's artifact.

Wen Jiyue had kindly allowed these others to shelter beneath the umbrella.

Yet some were still unsatisfied, believing they should occupy the center—not the dangerous edges.

Zuo Jue simply could not comprehend why Xian Wushang would oppose him.

He knew that not long ago, a Divine King elder from Yinshengu Sect had perished precisely because he stood at the edge of the Qing Lei Umbrella, unable to withstand the deathly dao rhythms.

What a contemptible soul.

"There are still several Heavenly God cultivators in the center of the Qing Lei Umbrella. With so many Divine Kings outside, are you using Divine King lives to protect Heavenly God cultivators? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

Zuo Jue spoke as if it were self-evident; in his mind, Divine Kings were naturally supreme.

For such ants to occupy the very center of the Qing Lei Umbrella—how outrageous.

"You're Zuo Jue?" Ding Huan landed outside the Qing Lei Umbrella, staring at the righteous-faced man.

"Ding Daoist…"

Seeing Ding Huan arrive, Xian Wushang, Shu Ziche, and the others were overjoyed.

Yuan Qing smiled awkwardly, feeling a chill of relief.

If Ding Huan had arrived even a little later, he might have supported Zuo Jue.

After all, in his view, Zuo Jue was right.

The lives of Divine King cultivators were naturally worth countless times more than the Heavenly God ants of the Qing Lei Shendao Sect.

It was wrong of Wen Jiyue to let her sect's Heavenly God cultivators occupy the best positions.

(Goodnight, Daoist—two chapters today is already a stretch, I'm embarrassed to ask for moon tickets. I'll try three chapters again once I've rested.)

(End of Chapter)