Chapter 747: Green Tea Woman

"You take charge of capturing Ding Xiaotu, how about that?" said Meng Meng Zhenting.

"Master, rest assured—unless my Wuliang body perishes, I will surely bring Ding Xiaotu before you all." Ding Huan's reply rang firm and resolute.

Meng Meng Zhenting nodded: "Then so be it. Our Ancient Wasteland Goddess Sect may lack the strength of Jia Baihe Sword Dao, but as Wuliang said, we need not flatter them."

"Master, wise indeed," all others chimed in agreement.

The first thing Ding Huan did upon returning to his cave was to check the spiritual awareness imprint.

Ji Bucheng's cultivation should still be lower than mine—at most, Divine King Eighth Layer.

What gave him the nerve to plant a spiritual awareness imprint on me without me noticing?

With just one Zhou Tian of the Great Cosmos Art, Ding Huan peeled away two imprints.

No wonder Ji Bucheng had such confidence in his imprint—he'd used the target's Dao rhythm aura to plant it.

Even without the Great Cosmos Art, if he'd mimicked Wuliang's Dao rhythm aura, he'd have sensed the imprint the moment he returned to his cave.

Planting imprints via Dao rhythm aura is indeed a refined technique, for over time, such imprints fully merge into one's own Dao.

But the prerequisite is that one's own Dao must be vastly superior—not just slightly—to the other's.

Ding Huan set the peeled-off imprints aside.

Ji Bucheng planted the imprint on me to either kill me or imprison me.

Since Ji Bucheng wants me dead, I won't let him play this one-man show alone.

If the bastard dares follow the imprint, I'll just kill him on the spot.

Ji Bucheng values the Sunset Arrow so much—he likely has the Moonset Arrow on him. That makes it even more imperative I don't let him go.

Ding Huan had dozens of low-grade Dao crystals left—he didn't hesitate, pulling them all out to cultivate with.

Two years later, Ding Huan entered Divine King Twelfth Layer.

He received word: the Divine Vein Struggle in Dunyi Divine Realm had begun.

Ding Huan extracted the two remaining top-grade Divine Spirit Veins—he had no intention of returning to Jia Baihe Sword Dao after leaving.

If that's the case, his belongings certainly wouldn't go cheap to the Goddess Sect.

The moment Ding Huan stepped out, he saw Lu Ye.

Lu Ye had come specifically to find him.

"Master Wuliang, you've emerged from seclusion?" Seeing Ding Huan, Lu Ye looked delighted.

Last time, because of Wuliang's words, she hadn't been severely punished.

The only pity was that the two Fate Stones she'd exchanged for had been taken.

"Lu Ye, your cultivation…" Ding Huan frowned at her.

With two Fate Stones, if she'd used them for cultivation, her cultivation should have reached at least Divine King Late Stage within ten years.

Yet here she was—only Divine King Second Layer.

I didn't use Fate Stones for cultivation because I'd been using them nonstop in Liyin Divine Valley.

Fate Stones don't work well for me.

Besides, using them here would drain the sect's collective fortune.

That kind of act would inevitably breed resentment—even if I were Wuliang, I couldn't do it.

Hearing Ding Huan's words, Lu Ye's eyes flickered with disappointment: "I turned my Fate Stones over to the sect—they gave me some cultivation resources in return."

Ding Huan internally scoffed.

Though he didn't hold Lu Ye in high regard, the Ancient Wasteland Goddess Sect's actions were nothing short of killing the goose that lays golden eggs.

A sect that hoards anything valuable its disciples acquire will never grow strong—that's absurd.

Sect disciples could never develop loyalty to such a sect.

It seems the sect's earlier caution in avoiding conflict with Jia Baihe Sword Dao was wise.

That Meng Meng Zhenting—doesn't she know what her own sect is like? How could she honestly believe they don't need to flatter Jia Baihe Sword Dao?

"Indeed, when the sect grows strong, we benefit," Ding Huan remarked casually—he'd already spotted the Grand Magistrate's massive, grinding-disk face approaching.

Lu Ye quickly bowed: "Greetings, Grand Magistrate Ge."

Ding Huan could only step forward to pay his respects.

Grand Magistrate Ge forced a kind expression, though her grinding-disk face made it deeply unnatural:

"Officer Wuliang, many powerful cultivators are joining the Divine Vein Struggle—your Divine King level is somewhat weak. If you spot Ding Xiaotu, notify me immediately."

She then handed Ding Huan a jade talisman.

Ding Huan swiftly accepted it, his tone as firm as before:

"Magistrate, rest assured—unless Wuliang cannot exit the Divine Vein Struggle grounds, I will surely deliver the news to both the Master and yourself."

"Excellent," Grand Magistrate Ge nodded in satisfaction, then departed.

One day later, Ding Huan boarded the Ancient Wasteland Goddess Sect's airship.

To his surprise, he saw Pang Shuxian.

This woman framed a fellow sect member, escaped punishment, and now gets to travel to Chaos to profit?

Sensing Ding Huan's gaze, Pang Shuxian hurried over to bow: "Master Wuliang, I was wrong last time—I apologize to you."

I don't ask you to forgive me—only that I may do whatever small thing I can for you."

Ding Huan was Divine King Twelfth Layer, yet his spiritual awareness and spatial perception surpassed even Meng Meng Zhenting, the Ancient Wasteland Goddess Sect's half-step Saint Master.

He immediately sensed Pang Shuxian secretly recording images with a crystal ball.

This woman was utterly repulsive—apologizing alone in this corner, waiting for me to curse her so she could report me.

"Sister Shuxian, to recognize one's fault and improve is a great virtue. We are fellow sect members—I'd protect you before I'd ever blame you, let alone refuse to forgive you."

Sister, if you encounter danger during the Divine Vein Struggle, notify me immediately—even if Wuliang must sacrifice his life, I will help you."

After saying this, Ding Huan directly used a spatial divine law to sever the recording space of Pang Shuxian's image crystal ball.

Pang Shuxian had already grown accustomed to Ding Huan's abnormal behavior.

Although she had recorded with the image crystal ball, she had no hope of scheming against Ding Huan.

In fact, she had specifically come to an empty corner to apologize to Ding Huan, hoping he would hurl harsh words at her so she could go file a complaint.

She had only one purpose: to prevent Ding Huan from entering the Divine Vein Contest grounds.

During the Divine Vein Contest, as long as Ding Huan didn't enter, plenty of people would come deal with him.

"Pang Shuxian, why did you come provoke me? Do your parents know how base and green-tea you are? Also, next time you feel like acting slutty, pick someone else. Don't mess with me. Get lost."

Ding Huan left right after cursing her.

No errors, no missing content!

He didn't know why this woman kept staring at him.

But this woman actually didn't want him to participate in the Divine Vein Contest — that was simply cutting off his future. If he didn't pay her back, she'd think he was easy to bully.

"You…" Pang Shuxian was so angered by Ding Huan's words that her face turned ashen, and she nearly couldn't catch her breath.

Only after Ding Huan had walked far away did she remember her goal had been achieved.

As long as she took this image crystal to the Sect Master or her master, Wuliang would be unable to enter the Divine Vein Contest grounds no matter what.

Before Pang Shuxian prepared to go find her master, she suddenly remembered something.

If Ding Huan were so easy to deal with, she wouldn't have suffered such a huge loss the first time either.

In the end, she had not only had to bring out her master but also paid a great price just to be able to participate in this Divine Vein Contest.

Pang Shuxian pulled out the image crystal ball and directly activated it. When she discovered that the segment of Ding Huan cursing her had not been recorded, she felt her scalp go numb.

What would happen if she took this image crystal ball out?

There was only one outcome: the Divine Vein Contest quota she had painstakingly recovered would be stripped away again.

She subconsciously looked toward Ding Huan's side and felt a chill run down her back.

Pang Shuxian made up her mind — she would no longer provoke this Wuliang. He was simply too terrifying.

Every single one of her moves seemed to be entirely within the other's control. How could she even fight?

The Ancient Wasteland Divine Maiden Sect had at least close to a thousand people participating in the Divine Vein Contest, including the Sect Master. Apart from some who stayed behind to guard the sect, most of those with some strength basically all participated in the Divine Vein Contest.

Ding Huan thought to himself, if one had a grudge against a sect.

Then during this Divine Vein Contest, wiping out the opposing sect would be the simplest approach.

After Sect Master Meng Meng Zhenting delivered a speech, the flying ship took off.

As a Divine King, Ding Huan also had a room.

He worried Pang Shuxian might still pull some trick, so he stayed in his room and didn't go out.

In his room, Ding Huan didn't dare cultivate or study his own magic treasures, so he could only choose to refine talismans.

In one month, he refined a pile of talismans.

Including poison talismans, detox talismans, array talismans, escape talismans, and so on.

One month later, the Divine Maiden Sect's flying ship stopped at the edge of a colossal plaza.

Above the plaza floated several large characters imbued with Dao charm: Great Dao Divine Vein Plaza.

After stepping off the flying ship, Ding Huan was truly moved by the prosperity of the Dunyi God Realm.

After entering the Dunyi God Realm, he had only stayed at the Ancient Wasteland Divine Maiden Sect and hadn't gone wandering elsewhere.

Seeing the scene before him, Ding Huan finally understood just how prosperous the Dunyi God Realm was.

The Dao Ruins Street of the Three Gods Land was on an entirely different level compared to here.

This plaza alone held at least tens of millions of people.

Market districts lined one after another.

Not only that, there were also several commercial cities around.

The outposts of Geda Sect were lined up row after row.

The Ancient Wasteland Divine Maiden Sect counted as an upper-middle-tier sect, and it still had a decent outpost here.

After Ding Huan entered the outpost, he had no intention of coming out.

When he had swept his divine sense out earlier, he had seen several individuals with terrifyingly strong auras. He was certain these fellows were all Saints, and their strength likely exceeded First Revolution.

If he didn't advance to the God-Combining Realm, facing such powerhouses, he wasn't even confident of escaping with his life.

Ding Huan had barely entered his resting place when Lu Ye arrived:

"Senior Brother Wuliang, before the Divine Vein Contest battle, there's a grand auction. Should we go take a look? I heard there are many Dao fruit trees for sale…"

Hearing Lu Ye's first half-sentence, Ding Huan instinctively wanted to refuse, but upon hearing about Dao fruit trees, he immediately changed his mind.

He had a Wine-Brewing Stone Mortar — this was a top-grade post-heaven spirit treasure.

This thing could brew wine. Although divine spirit rice could also brew wine, if he could get some Dao fruit trees, he might be able to start a side business.

(End of this chapter)