Chapter 880: The Tragic Yan Zhuo

The newcomer was of average height and looked quite amiable.

His cultivation was likely at the fourth step of the Dao, but what surprised Ding Huan was that this cultivator did not attack immediately.

After arriving here, he simply watched Ding Huan extract the Dao vein, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"Your array can actually block the qi explosion when the Dao vein is extracted?" the cultivator asked in disbelief.

Ding Huan smiled: "You saw it yourself."

"Impressive—this is a Dao array, isn't it?" the human cultivator couldn't help but praise.

He thought to himself: If our sect had such a powerful Dao array, why would we need people to block the Qi explosion of the Dao vein?

When the aura of the Qi explosion dissipated, Ding Huan raised his hand and retrieved the array flags: "I suppose you could call it that."

"I'm Ju Jun, from the Dayi World. May I ask your name, fellow cultivator?" The cultivator offered a casual cultivator's greeting.

He sensed Ding Huan was extraordinary and felt inclined to befriend him.

"I'm Ding Huan, just a lone cultivator," Ding Huan replied honestly.

After attaining the Creation Realm, he never intended to hide from Qing Sha Dao Ancestor.

Once he met Ling Zhuzhen, he would assess Ling Zhuzhen's strength.

If Ling Zhuzhen's power was sufficient, he would seek her out himself before she found him.

He had no grudge against this woman—yet she threw him into the Chaos Zone to fill the Dao Principle River and has been hunting him ever since.

If he tolerated this, what was the point of cultivating at all?

"You're Ding Huan?"

Ju Jun stared at Ding Huan in shock, and before Ding Huan could answer, he muttered: "Yes, you're Ding Huan—I didn't recognize you just now."

Ding Huan wasn't using his transformation technique now; he hadn't paid attention earlier, but upon hearing Ding Huan introduce himself, he finally realized.

"Am I that famous?" Ding Huan smiled.

He knew it must be Qing Sha Dao Ancestor spreading word of his wanted status.

Ju Jun nodded: "Yes, you're extremely famous. Qing Sha Dao Ancestor of the Wansha World is hunting you, accusing you of destroying her Zhoumu territory."

"Who the hell is this old trash daring to put a bounty on my Huan? This piece of garbage must be tired of living—let Grandpa Yi Jie go teach him a lesson."

Yi Jie immediately burst into curses from the side.

Ding Huan knew Yi Jie's nature was to curse, so he ignored him.

Ju Jun, however, stared at Yi Jie in surprise—was this beast companion of Ding Huan's already upgraded to Saint Beast level?

It looked like the weakest kind of Saint Beast, with no Saint Beast aura at all, barely different from a pig.

If he had such a chattering, useless Saint Beast, he'd have kicked it away long ago.

"Where is Qing Sha Dao Ancestor now?" Ding Huan asked.

"In Wanda City."

Ding Huan frowned: "Wanda City? I've never heard of it before."

He had reached the Wanda Mountain Range via a teleportation talisman and had never heard of Wanda City's existence.

Now it was Ju Jun's turn to be surprised: "Wanda City has stood for over two thousand years—have you never heard of it while in the Wanda Mountain Range?"

"We were in seclusion for nearly five thousand years…" Jia Baihe reminded from the side.

Ding Huan suddenly understood.

During his seclusion, he comprehended the Dao and attained the Creation Realm.

Time meant nothing during his cultivation—so how long he'd actually spent in seclusion had never mattered to him.

"You must be Lady Baihe, the Shao Sect's heir?" Ju Jun greeted Jia Baihe as well.

With Jia Baihe here, it was obvious Ding Huan was Ding Xiaotu.

But his transformation technique was so powerful that even Dao Ancestors hadn't recognized him.

This proved Ding Huan was truly formidable—his Dao array might even surpass what some Dao Ancestors could create.

Ding Huan wasn't surprised Ju Jun knew Jia Baihe.

After all, he and Jia Baihe had once held a grand wedding.

Jia Baihe's unparalleled beauty was among the finest in the entire cosmos.

Moreover, their voluntary entry into the Tianmeng Clan to gather intelligence was known to everyone.

"Greetings, Brother Ju," Jia Baihe bowed slightly in return.

Even without Ding Huan's connection, Ju Jun's cultivation far surpassed hers—since he initiated the greeting, she should respond.

After all, she was no longer the cold-hearted Poison Demon from the Ascension Realm of old.

Ju Jun hesitated, then chose not to speak.

Ding Huan immediately sensed Ju Jun had something to say: "Brother Ju, is there something you're reluctant to mention?"

Ju Jun, prompted by Ding Huan's question, said: "There is indeed one matter—after you entered the Tianmeng Clan, Lord Yan Zhuo of the Lanxing Sect encountered trouble."

Upon hearing Yan Zhuo was in trouble, Jia Baihe immediately asked anxiously: "What happened to my adoptive father?"

Yan Zhuo had treated Jia Baihe without reservation, loving her as if she were his own daughter.

Her pretense of Primordial Spirit damage was not because Yan Zhuo treated her poorly.

It was for other reasons—first, because of Yan Jiuyue, that green-tea bitch.

Yan Jiuyue was a Bai Chi, but the man beside her, Xi Changmei, was no ordinary person.

Rather than constantly scheming against Yan Jiuyue, the Bai Chi, it was better to pretend her Primordial Spirit was damaged and her memory lost—for peace.

Second, Jia Baihe feared these people would endlessly question her origins.

She never wanted anyone to know her past.

Yan Zhuo treated her and Yan Jiuyue equally—without Yan Zhuo, she would never have entered the Great Cosmos, and might have perished in the void beyond it.

Now that she heard Yan Zhuo was in trouble, she naturally grew anxious.

Ju Jun sighed: "After you entered the Tianmeng Clan, the conflict between the Tianmeng Clan and the human race in the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains became even fiercer and more frequent.

Even us lone cultivators must come to the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains to lend a hand—Yan Zhuo, as the master of a sect, is even more obligated to come here and guard the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains.

After Master Yan arrived at the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains, the first thing he discovered was that Yan Jiuyue had been soul-searched, and she had become dazed and vacant.

He was furious at the time and turned to leave. But before he could leave the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains, he was intercepted by Qing Sha, the Dao Ancestor…"

Ding Huan listened as Ju Jun described how Qing Sha, the Dao Ancestor, rebuked Yan Zhuo, while Feng Yu, the Dao Ancestor, actually sided with Qing Sha and demanded Yan Zhuo swallow his humiliation—he could only fall silent in bitter awe.

What's the point of being a Dao Ancestor if you act like this?

That's even worse than the Dao Ancestor who reached the Sixth Step of the Dao—he still had some self-respect.

"So my adoptive father has always been at the forefront of the struggle for the Dao veins? Is he well?" Jia Baihe asked, tense.

After all, fighting the Tianmeng Clan cultivators for Dao veins can kill even a Sixth Step Dao Ancestor.

Not to mention Yan Zhuo, who is only at the Fifth Step of the Dao—and he's also carrying a mentally shattered Yan Jiuyue.

Ju Jun fell silent for a moment, then said: "Master Yan suffered severe injuries centuries ago. Later, to block the primordial energy surge when a Dao vein emerged, his body became unwell…"

Hearing this, Ding Huan's expression darkened.

He had excavated Dao veins in the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains more than once or twice.

He knew perfectly well that when a Dao vein is extracted, the primordial energy surrounding it erupts.

He had attained the Creation Realm, perfected his own Dao world, and established his own system of Dao arrays—that's how he could set up the Soul-Binding Array and the Space-Locking Array.

Others may not have this ability.

Now the Tianmeng Clan and the human race are fighting over Dao veins in the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains.

Whether the Tianmeng Clan finds a Dao vein or the human race finds one, there will inevitably be a struggle.

Blocking the primordial energy surge means, at the moment a Dao vein is extracted, using the cultivator's own Dao aura to forcibly suppress the explosive force of the primordial energy.

Yan Zhuo, at the Fifth Step of the Dao, is perfectly suited to block the initial surge of primordial energy.

When a cultivator uses his own Dao to block this sudden surge, the primordial energy won't be detected by the Tianmeng Clan for a short while.

But using one's own Dao to block the primordial energy surge injures the cultivator's Dao foundation the most.

No matter how strong a cultivator's Dao is, repeated impacts from this violent, chaotic primordial energy will gradually unravel his Dao, and also damage his meridians and soul sea.

Clearly, Ju Jun's mention of "unwell" was a severe understatement.

"Ju Dao friend, where is Master Yan? Could you guide me there?" Ding Huan bowed.

Jia Baihe's eyes were slightly red—she could already imagine Yan Zhuo was in grave danger.

Ju Jun sighed: "Ding Dao friend, your future achievements will surely be immense. Right now, I advise you not to seek out Master Yan—you might get dragged into trouble."

"Please, Ju Dao friend, tell me—I owe you a favor," Ding

Huan said again.

Seeing Ding Huan was determined to go, Ju Jun could only pull out a talisman and hand it to Ding Huan:

"This is a teleportation talisman—it will directly transport you to the Dao Vein Guardian Hall. There are more than one Fifth Step Dao Ancestor there—be careful…"

After saying this, Ju Jun seemed to feel he should help Ding Huan further, and spoke again:

"Among the Five Worlds of the Great Universe, our world's Yi Qi Dao Ancestor and the Feng Pu Dao Ancestor from Tian Zi World are somewhat more reasonable.

But both of these Dao Ancestors are now badly injured—I'm not sure if they could even speak up for you if anything happens."

"Thank you, Ju Dao friend," Ding Huan said sincerely.

He still felt grateful to Feng Pu Dao Ancestor.

Back then, he had been able to enter the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains before Qing Sha could react—Feng Pu had helped greatly.

As for Feng Yu Dao Ancestor, in Ding Huan's eyes, he was nothing but a shameless scoundrel with no principles.

Ju Jun also bowed, then turned and left.

He wouldn't follow Ding Huan back to the Dao Vein Guardian outpost—that would plainly tell others Ding Huan had been brought by him.

Ding Huan did not activate the teleportation talisman; instead, his spiritual sense seeped into it.

In an instant, he pinpointed the destination.

"Baihe, let's go," Ding Huan summoned the Cosmic Cauldron.

The Cosmic Cauldron trembled slightly in place, then shot deep into the Ten Thousand Dao Mountains.

An hour later, Ding Huan's Cosmic Cauldron halted before a grand hall.

The hall was clearly built later; outside it floated several Dao-vein characters radiating martial energy: Dao Vein Guardian Hall.

There weren't many people inside the hall, but Ding Huan's spiritual sense had already detected Yan Zhuo.

Yan Zhuo was not inside the hall, but far away from it.

But Yan Zhuo was more than injured—his Dao was nearly completely shattered.

His soul sea was clearly cracked, his Dao aura chaotic, and he appeared utterly dazed.

Before Yan Zhuo, several people were setting up a Soul-Binding Divine Array.

Ding Huan's spiritual sense swept over it—he knew a Dao vein lay there.

Clearly, Yan Zhuo's only purpose here was to wait for the explosive primordial energy when the Dao vein was extracted.