Chapter 739: Sunset Arrow

"Ding Huan, we're returning to our sect—will you come with us into Star Continent?" Gan Shijian greatly admired Ding Huan.

If an ordinary cultivator hitched a ride on their ship back to Star Continent, he certainly wouldn't say a word.

But Ding Huan knew much, and when he spoke, he considered his feelings; though not quite a meeting too late, he still felt Ding Huan was a fine friend.

He sincerely hoped Ding Huan would also join the Nirvana Holy Dao Sect.

As Ding Huan was about to speak, he suddenly sensed an immense aura slowly approaching—he had planted the Bone-Clinging Poison on Wu Liang, and the poison clearly had not yet been removed.

This guy wanted to shake him off, yet he arrived at Dunyi Divine City ahead of him.

"Senior Brother Gan, I plan to wander around Void Divine City—you go back to Star Continent first." Ding Huan came here for Wu Liang—how could he let this guy slip away?

"Then alright, we'll leave first. If you ever need anything from Gan Shijian, send a message to the Nirvana Holy Dao Sect. If you wish to join the Nirvana Holy Dao Sect, be sure to tell me ahead of time—I'll come get you."

Gan Shijian spoke with heroic grandeur.

Ding Huan thanked him once more.

After Gan Shijian and the others departed, Ding Huan left the Void Plaza.

When he returned, he had altered his appearance into that of a slightly hunched ascetic—even the Broken Blade strapped to his back was concealed.

At this moment, Ding Huan was not merely changed in appearance—his aura had changed too.

The Void Plaza of Dunyi Divine Realm was majestic, not merely a resting place for cultivators, but also connected to the Void Divine City.

Ding Huan sensed Wu Liang's aura steadily drawing nearer—he estimated it would take another one or two hours before Wu Liang reached the Void Plaza.

During this time, he could afford to wander through the Void Divine City.

Ding Huan entered the Void Divine City through the Void Plaza's passage.

As for entering Dunyi Divine Realm, he wasn't in a hurry—he came here solely to kill Wu Liang.

All other matters would be addressed only after Wu Liang was dead.

Though located within the Void, the Dunyi Void Divine City's prosperity rivaled that of Dao Xu Street in the Three Divine Lands.

As soon as Ding Huan entered the Dunyi Void Divine City, his divine sense sensed numerous powerful cultivators.

Heavens-Combining Realm cultivators were as common as dirt—he occasionally spotted one beneath his divine sense.

And Pre-Saint cultivators were also occasionally visible.

Most importantly, Ding Huan felt he had glimpsed true Saints.

Their aura domains and Dao momentum were utterly incomparable to the false Saints like Jue Primordial Spirit Emperor.

In the Three Divine Lands, his Divine King Realm was among the pinnacle of strength—here, they were far too numerous.

Even if he didn't conceal his cultivation, a Divine King here would attract no attention.

Ding Huan dared not sweep his divine sense carelessly—there were simply too many powerful beings here.

At the entrance of the Dunyi Void Divine City stood another plaza within the city.

In the center of the plaza were some illusory steps—Ding Huan was astonished, for his divine sense could not detect them at all.

Beside these illusory steps stood a massive ranking divine array.

With so many people around, he did not activate his Spirit Eyes to observe the illusory steps.

His gaze fell instead on the side of the illusory steps, where a huge floating stone stele stood.

The stele bore text describing the Void Steps.

"Void Steps, constructed by Dunyi Dao Ancestor Quan. The Void Steps total one hundred and seven tiers; climbing them depends not on cultivation level—those who ascend beyond the seventy-second tier possess the roots of a Saint…"

Ding Huan's gaze settled on the ranking array beside it.

Rank one: Ji Bucheng.

What startled Ding Huan was not Ji Bucheng's top rank, but the number of Void Steps he had climbed: 105, from Jia Baihe Sword Dao.

Wasn't Jia Baihe Sword Dao the divine sect Gan Shijian had looked down upon?

The Void Steps only have 107 tiers—this guy climbed to the 105th? He's truly formidable.

The reason Ding Huan found him so formidable was that the second-place cultivator had only reached the 76th tier.

Only five people total had surpassed the 72nd tier.

Ji Bucheng's first place utterly dwarfed the second.

While Ding Huan observed the Void Steps, others continuously attempted them.

Yet among them, the highest any had climbed was the 51st tier.

On the surface, 51st tier and 72nd tier seemed not far apart.

In truth, each tier of the Void Steps was a distinct level.

Ding Huan had no intention of attempting the Void Steps.

According to the numbers of Heaven's Stars and Earth's Fiends, there should be 108 tiers.

The Void Steps only have 107—clearly one tier is missing.

Since this artifact was brought by Quan, he had no interest in testing his own climbing ability on someone else's artifact.

No matter how powerful Quan was, he was still a postnatal cultivator.

Just like Xing Jia, trapped in his mind-universe—wasn't he once a formidable figure? Now isn't he just like a grandson in his own world?

Ding Huan turned and walked into the Void Divine City.

Perhaps because it was built within the Void, the streets of Dunyi Void Divine City were extremely wide, and every shop was bustling with activity.

At the most prominent location in the Void Divine City stood a building taller than ordinary commercial towers by a full head.

Above the building floated the words: "Dunyi's Number One Commercial Tower."

What audacity.

To dare inscribe "Dunyi's Number One Commercial Tower" here meant the establishment not only had powerful backing but also extraordinary strength of its own.

As soon as Ding Huan entered the tower, he saw a massive jade stele at the entrance, listing the top treasures sold by Dunyi's Number One Commercial Tower over the years.

The top item was a great cauldron, the Dunyi Sacred Cauldron.

The person commissioning its sale was none other than Dao Ancestor Quan.

But the buyer's name was not listed.

Then came either the Opening Heaven cultivation art, or primordial artifacts, or else Chaotic Dao Fruits…

Ding Huan silently whistled—this Dunyi First Trading Tower truly lived up to its name.

These items were unattainable for ordinary people, yet the Dunyi First Trading Tower had sold so many of them.

When Ding Huan's gaze fell upon the "Sunset Arrow," he could not look away.

According to the time inscribed on this jade tablet, the Sunset Arrow had been sold by the Dunyi First Trading Tower a thousand years ago, with no buyer named.

Ding Huan frowned as he stared at the jade tablet.

He could not possibly go ask the trading tower who had bought the Sunset Arrow.

No mistake! One word, one shot, one detail—all correct!

Even if he asked, the trading tower would not tell him.

But he had already made up his mind—he must obtain this Sunset Arrow.

Though he had not yet tested the Starfall Arrow, after refining the Heaven-and-Earth Bow, its mighty heavenly and earthly aura had made him realize: if he fired this arrow, even a Saint would fear it.

When Wu Liang had fled earlier, he had had no chance to summon the Heaven-and-Earth Bow—otherwise, could Wu Liang have escaped like this?

Ding Huan wandered through the trading tower, lost in thought; the tower truly had everything, and all of it top-tier treasures.

Including some Dao Fruits.

Wait—he suddenly remembered something.

By displaying all these items, the trading tower certainly enhanced its prestige and showed the world that Dunyi Trading Tower could sell anything.

But it also created extreme instability: it attracted people like him.

Once someone saw a treasure they desired, they would inevitably seek its origin.

Just like now—he desperately wanted to know who had bought the Sunset Arrow.

This clearly increased murder and hatred.

And then there was this…

Ding Huan shuddered.

If he went around asking about the Sunset Arrow, even a Bai Chi would suspect he possessed the Heaven-and-Earth Bow.

"Greetings, fellow cultivator," Ding Huan was lost in thought about the Sunset Arrow when a sudden voice interrupted him.

A thin woman appeared before him.

Her cultivation was at the Heavenly God Realm, and her Dao aura was highly fragmented—clearly a wandering cultivator.

"What do you want?" Ding Huan regarded the thin woman with suspicion.

The woman pulled out a jade slip and handed it to Ding Huan: "Fellow cultivator, please see if anything here is useful."

Ding Huan took the jade slip in confusion; the first page clearly recorded the history of the Dunyi Sacred Cauldron.

This sacred cauldron was a world-opening treasure, once owned by Dao Ancestor Quan.

Later, Dao Ancestor sold it through the Dunyi First Trading Tower to a mysterious gray-robed figure.

Ding Huan immediately realized: someone had noticed him staring at the jade tablet.

Someone must have been watching this area, observing who showed interest in these sold treasures.

Clearly, this thin female cultivator was merely the first step.

If the buyer of this jade slip were truly a ruthless expert, the seller would profit from information fees.

But if the buyer were someone like him—an outsider—they would be watched next, to find out what he wanted, whether he carried other treasures.

As he read further, the origin of the second treasure was, unsurprisingly, sealed by a restriction.

It was a Level Nine Divine Restriction.

But Ding Huan was precisely an Array Master capable of breaking Divine Restrictions.

Long ago, to open Lao Jia's stone slip, he had spent years studying how to dismantle restriction patterns.

Though this Level Nine Divine Restriction was strong, to Ding Huan it was nothing—nowhere near the complexity of Lao Jia's seals.

Without hesitation, he constructed a Great Cosmic Zhou Tian, and within mere breaths, shattered the restriction on the jade slip, copying all its contents.

"Do you need this item?" the thin woman watched him with hopeful eyes.

Ding Huan, feigning confusion, returned the jade slip: "This seems to record the origins of the Dunyi First Trading Tower's treasures—why would I want this?"

As soon as he spoke, Ding Huan instantly understood one thing.

How could an ordinary cultivator obtain such information?

This was definitely leaked by the Dunyi First Trading Tower.

Otherwise, who else could possibly know who bought these items?

The Dunyi First Trading Tower was selling fish—and then casting another net.

Seeing Ding Huan return the jade slip, seemingly still confused, the thin girl looked disappointed.

Ding Huan knew that buying this jade slip would give the thin girl a commission—he would not let his compassion override his survival.

This was a matter of life and death—he would never do it.

Watching Ding Huan leave, a sinister man in the corner frowned slightly.

How could he have misread him?

Ding Huan's expression and aura just now clearly showed he cared about one of these treasures.

Ding Huan did not look at the copied jade slip—he hurried out of the Divine City, arriving at the Void Plaza, where he sensed Wu Liang would arrive in less than half an hour.

(End of Chapter)