Chapter 848: The Dao of Light Appears

"He's strong. Very strong…"

Qiao Qianhe's few words carried no embellishment, yet Ding Huan and Qinqin both felt that the man was truly formidable.

"Could he be on the Fifth Step of the Dao?" Qinqin couldn't help asking; she knew the Fourth Step was a peak of the Dao beyond the reach of Xiao Tian Xu.

If he were on the Fifth Step of the Dao, that would be terrifying.

Qiao Qianhe fell silent for a long while before shaking his head: "I've never seen the Fifth Step of the Dao either, but I feel even the Fifth Step couldn't do this."

Ding Huan's sense of crisis deepened further.

As he ascended to higher-tier universes, the experts he encountered grew ever more powerful.

Yet his own cultivation seemed to stall at every step.

He knew this was merely an illusion caused by his earlier rapid progress—now that his pace had slowed, it felt like stagnation.

In truth, his cultivation speed was still among the absolute top tier.

But this didn't lessen his inner sense of crisis.

He always felt that even in Xiao Tian Xu, he was being suppressed; if he left Xiao Tian Xu and entered a higher universe, he'd be utterly helpless.

"So strong? What's his name?" Qinqin asked, stunned.

"I don't know." Qiao Qianhe shook his head, his heart wounded.

He had been humiliated and beaten, yet he didn't even know his opponent's origin—or his name.

Ding Huan asked again: "Qinqin, can you sense the Divine Realm of Light now?"

Before Qinqin could answer, Qiao Qianhe exclaimed in shock: "You're also searching for the Dao of Light?"

The Dao of Light?

Ding Huan looked at Qiao Qianhe in confusion—he had gone to the Divine Realm of Light only to perfect his Star River of Light Law.

He held the Scroll of Light Dao; all he needed was to comprehend and merge with the Light Law to complete his Star River of Light Law.

For Ding Huan, even if the Divine Realm of Light shattered, it didn't matter—as long as fragments of the Light Law remained.

If he could obtain even one strand of the Dao of Light, perfecting his Star River of Light Law would be virtually guaranteed in a short time.

"The Divine Realm of Light shattered, but within it, one strand of the Dao of Light lay hidden.

Later, the Dao of Light was exposed—I went to seize it, and that's when I provoked that powerful figure…"

"You found the Divine Realm of Light?"

Ding Huan asked eagerly.

Perhaps because Ding Huan had saved his life, Qiao Qianhe revealed everything without concealment.

After leaving Xiao Tian Xu, Qiao Qianhe wandered the vast universe, searching for a place to validate the Fourth Step of the Dao.

But the vast universe was filled with shattered starlands; finding a place with intact cosmic laws was incredibly difficult.

After nearly a thousand years of searching, Qiao Qianhe finally found a starland still intact.

It was the Divine Realm of Light.

Upon arriving at the Divine Realm of Light, Qiao Qianhe learned that though its surface appeared whole, it too was on the verge of collapse.

The reason for its impending collapse was naturally the aftermath of the universe's great calamity—its divine structure had long been ravaged.

Even this crumbling starland drew countless cultivators.

These cultivators had nowhere else to go, so they lingered here temporarily.

To validate the Fourth Step on such a ruined starland was nearly impossible.

Yet even the most shattered divine realms held many valuable treasures.

And with more cultivators arriving, conflicts inevitably multiplied.

The Divine Realm of Light was already facing collapse; the constant battles among cultivators made it even more fractured.

Fractured.

Until the Dao of Light was discovered—this became the final straw that broke the realm.

When the Dao of Light appeared, countless hands reached for it.

Under the bombardment of countless treasures and divine arts, the Divine Realm of Light finally shattered completely, breaking into fragments.

Ding Huan, hearing this, could not help but sigh.

Had these people not gathered in the Divine Realm of Light, the realm, with its single strand of the Dao of Light, might have slowly healed over time.

Tragic—it had offered refuge to countless wandering cultivators with nowhere else to go, only to be destroyed by those same cultivators who used it as shelter.

How ironic was that?

You had nowhere to go—I gave you a house, yet you tore down my house to fight over its contents.

Qiao Qianhe seemed to see the sarcasm on Ding Huan's lips and spoke with a touch of self-mockery: "I was one of those who destroyed the Divine Realm of Light.

When the Dao of Light first appeared, I relied on my strength and immediately restrained it.

At that moment, I sensed someone reaching for the Dao of Light—I struck out without hesitation, with full force.

I never imagined the one who struck was immensely powerful; to save myself, I dared not continue restraining the Dao of Light—I unleashed everything.

Because I had to unleash everything to save myself, the Dao of Light slipped away.

The one who attacked me was still far from the Divine Realm of Light; by the time he arrived, it was too late—the Dao of Light had already escaped.

He immediately tried to restrain it, but he was just a fraction too slow—he likely failed to capture it.

I sensed his power dwarfed mine by far; I knew if I angered him, my fate would be grim. So I activated my teleportation talisman, preparing to flee back to Xiao Tian Xu.

Unexpectedly, since he failed to seize the Dao of Light, he turned all his fury onto me.

He used spatial teleportation to intercept my talisman and trapped me within this Sunken Array. For years, I've been running for my life every moment…"

Though Ding Huan mourned the destruction of the Divine Realm of Light due to these cultivators' scramble for the Dao of Light, he still desperately hoped to arrive in time.

Arriving now would allow him not only to comprehend fragments of the Light Law, but also to have a chance to perceive fragments of the Destruction Law.

The Radiant God Domain shattered not long ago; the fragments of the destruction laws brought by the Great Calamity should still be relatively intact.

"Brother Qiao, how long have you been trapped in this array?"

"One hundred and thirty-one years," Qiao Qianhe sighed.

If Ding Huan doesn't come to rescue him, he can hold out for only a few more years.

He simply cannot accept defeat; otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago.

Ding Huan immediately said: "Brother Qiao, could you carve the location of the Radiant God Domain for me?"

Qiao Qianhe, without hesitation, pulled out a directional jade slip and handed it to Ding Huan: "This is the cosmic coordinates of the Radiant God Domain."

But the cosmic void's rules are shattered too severely—after so long, these coordinates may be quite blurred."

While searching for a place to attain the Fourth Step on the Dao in the void, he recorded cosmic coordinates on jade slips wherever he went.

The only regret was that his directional jade slip had a time limit.

As he said, the cosmic void now is filled with shattered fragments of cosmic rules, and these rules constantly collapse.

So the location he recorded may not remain accurate forever.

"Thank you."

Ding Huan took the directional jade slip and said to Qin Qin: "Qin Qin, you and Brother Qiao return to Xiao Tian Xu first. I'll go to the Radiant God Domain to investigate, then contact you again once I return to Xiao Tian Xu."

Brother Qiao, let's exchange communication beads."

Ding Huan did not invite Qiao Qianhe to assist him now; Qin Qin would tell Qiao Qianhe everything.

When they returned to Xiao Tian Xu, he would invite Qiao Qianhe then.

Qiao Qianhe had given him a directional jade slip for the Radiant God Domain—he was very satisfied.

Because of the Great Cosmic Calamity, the higher the cosmic rules in a region, the more severely the cosmic rules are shattered.

Qiao Qianhe's directional jade slip was recorded only a hundred years ago; it should still be usable to locate the Radiant God Domain.

"Big Brother Ding, let me go with you. The Radiant God Domain is shattered, and I no longer sense its location—I want to go see it myself."

Qin Qin said immediately.

Qiao Qianhe looked at Ding Huan in confusion: "Brother Ding, the Radiant God Domain is shattered; the Radiant Dao principles have scattered somewhere. Going there now should be useless."

Ding Huan smiled: "I'm just going to see if I'm lucky."

"Then I'll take you there," Qiao Qianhe said, though inwardly fearful of that powerful being—yet remembering Ding Huan was his savior, he forced himself to speak.

Ding Huan waved his hand: "Brother Qiao, your going would be meaningless. If you encounter that powerful being again, you're dead."

"Without you, I'd already be dead," Qiao Qianhe replied without hesitation.

Now he was certain Ding Huan had not stepped into the Eternal Life realm.

A cultivator who had not reached Eternal Life could comprehend the Devouring Law, and rescue him from the Devouring Array—future achievements would surely be extraordinary.

After witnessing that powerful being, Qiao Qianhe was no longer the man he once was.

In Xiao Tian Xu, he had been extremely arrogant.

He believed no one had greater talent than him—not a single person.

That's why he dared to go to the Tian Huan Women's Palace to court the Holy Maiden, despite the presence of a Creation Realm master.

Even after being mocked and beaten by the Palace's Abbess and thrown out, he never changed his mind.

Indeed, he had attained the Creation Realm in Xiao Tian Xu.

But when he left Xiao Tian Xu and realized that before true masters, he was less than an ant,

he finally understood: he was merely a cultivator with slightly higher talent.

To achieve greater advancement in the future, he must befriend those genius experts.

This was his insight after being trapped in the Devouring Array for over a hundred years.

Ding Huan was such a genius expert, and upon closer acquaintance, he was also a good person.

Ding Huan had saved him, and now was going to the Radiant God Domain—he had given Ding Huan a coordinate.

yet dared not accompany him there.

How could he ever bond with Ding Huan in the future?

Even Qin Qin could take Ding Huan to seek the Radiant God Domain—how could he, Qiao Qianhe, fail to do the same?

Ding Huan, also a lone cultivator, understood well the arrogance of men like Qiao Qianhe.

He immediately said: "Fine, if that's how it is, then let's go together."

Saying this, he summoned the Cosmic Cauldron and invited Qiao Qianhe aboard.

"Qin Qin, why aren't you the Holy Maiden anymore?" After boarding the Cosmic Cauldron, Qiao Qianhe finally asked Qin Qin.

Qin Qin did not hide anything; she told him everything—from the destruction of the Tian Huan Women's Palace to Ding Huan's journey there.

"Brother Ding, you and Guan Huan destroyed the Qu Clan Dao Court?" Qiao Qianhe found it hard to believe.

Ding Huan nodded: "Yes. Probably because I destroyed the Qu Clan Dao Court, the other Four Dao Courts and several major guilds have joined forces to deal with me."

Qiao Qianhe listened, thrilled—he had long despised the Qu Clan Dao Court.

But he had never imagined destroying it; deep down, he felt it was nearly impossible.

Now Ding Huan had done what he dared not do—his admiration for Ding Huan was beyond words:

"Brother Ding, few people have ever earned my respect—you're one of them. When you seek revenge, count me, Qiao Qianhe, among your allies."