Chapter 918: The World of the Gods

Seeing Ding Huan's expression turn serious, Lan Xihé thought: as long as you're interested, that's enough.

"Tell me everything you know, in as much detail as possible. If I find it valuable, I'll save you once." Ding Huan spoke with absolute directness.

This is, after all, a transaction.

Lan Xihé did not hesitate for even a breath:

"I've heard the Zhou Zhou Tian is a true Dao world, where the laws of heaven and earth are the most perfect and pure in the entire universe, and the origin of all cosmic laws.

In the Zhou Zhou Tian, the fourth step of the Dao is called the Sage of Utterance; but our fourth step is merely the fourth step—we've felt no trace of the Sage of Utterance's Dao principles.

My seventh-step Dao strength is still considerable in the universe, but in the Zhou Zhou Tian, I would be no match for a true Sage of Utterance."

Ding Huan had long known this, so hearing it meant nothing to him.

In truth, Lan Xihé's seventh-step Dao strength was already far stronger than Qingsha, Feng Yu, and other so-called Dao Ancestors.

Yet Qin Qin, Guan Huan, and the others were utterly stunned to hear that a seventh-step Dao cultivator couldn't even defeat a fourth-step.

It completely overturned their understanding.

They could understand fighting across realms, but the stronger one becomes, the harder it is to cross realms.

Generally speaking, a fourth-step Dao cultivator who can withstand a fifth-step is a genius among geniuses.

How could one possibly defeat a seventh-step?

But they quickly thought of Ding Huan.

Ding Huan had killed Qu Qu Beige.

If Ding Huan wasn't a seventh-step Dao cultivator, then he too could slay across realms.

They just didn't know what level Ding Huan's strength truly stood at.

Ding Huan frowned slightly.

If Lan Xihé's words were true, then his own Sage of Utterance seemed no stronger than those of the Zhou Zhou Tian.

Lan Xihé said she couldn't defeat a Sage of Utterance—that meant those Sages were roughly equal to him in strength.

Ding Huan believed that with each level he ascended, his power surged by several tiers.

But to be on equal footing with every ordinary Sage of Utterance? He still found that hard to accept.

He had cultivated twelve transmutations even at the Sage level.

No—he had cultivated twelve transmutations at every level, finally proving his Dao to the fourth step as a Sage of Utterance through his own Dao principles.

And yet his strength was only roughly equal to an ordinary Sage of Utterance?

But he had never encountered those Sages, so deep inside, he did not accept Lan Xihé's words.

No matter how strong the Zhou Zhou Tian's cosmic laws, they were still external laws.

Proving the Dao there was merely borrowing the rules of an external universe.

He proved his Dao using his own universe; in potential and rank, his seemed higher.

If his universe one day surpasses the universes others use to prove their Dao, then his Dao is indeed superior.

What if the opposite were true?

Ding Huan quickly comforted himself.

How could it be the opposite? His world was constantly growing and perfecting itself.

The external universe, by contrast, was fixed the moment it formed.

"Qu Qu Beige's strength must be even greater than the Sages of Utterance in the Zhou Zhou Tian universe—this must relate to his Dao.

If I'm not mistaken, Qu Qu Beige also came back from the Zhou Zhou Island."

There was one thing Lan Xihé dared not say: Ding Huan had killed Qu Qu Beige, so his strength must surpass the Sages of Utterance.

But she didn't know which step Ding Huan had proven.

If Ding Huan was also a seventh-step Dao cultivator, then saying he was stronger than a Sage of Utterance would be slapping him in the face.

Ding Huan interrupted Lan Xihé: "Wait—you said Zhou Zhou Island? Where is that? Have you been to Zhou Zhou Island?"

Lan Xihé explained: "The Zhou Zhou Tian does not allow low-level cultivators to enter freely, so many cultivators who reach the Zhou Zhou Tian train in its outer regions.

In the outer regions of the Zhou Zhou Tian, there are billions of Void Islands—all of them are Zhou Zhou Islands. I did train on a Zhou Zhou Island; my training ground was Wang Shen Island, one of the larger ones.

Qu Qu Beige possesses such strength—he must have come from a Zhou Zhou Island. Otherwise, no other place could produce a seventh-step Dao cultivator."

What puzzled Lan Xihé was that Ding Huan was so powerful—was he also from a Zhou Zhou Island?

If so, why didn't he know about Zhou Zhou Island or the Zhou Zhou Tian?

"You said the Zhou Zhou Tian doesn't allow low-level cultivators to enter freely—you've reached seventh-step Dao. No matter your strength, you're certainly not low-level, right?"

Ding Huan felt that no matter how you looked at it, Lan Xihé, a seventh-step Dao cultivator, was not low-level.

Could it be that the entire Zhou Zhou Tian was populated only by cultivators stronger than seventh-step?

Lan Xihé smiled bitterly: "Do you know why I came back?"

Before Ding Huan could answer, Lan Xihé continued: "In the Zhou Zhou Tian, 'low-level cultivator' doesn't refer to cultivation level.

Even if I reached ninth-step Dao, I'd still be considered low-level. They mean cultivators whose Dao aura is impure.

The cosmic laws you cultivate and comprehend elsewhere are not pure—your own Dao aura is likewise mottled, like mine.

They believe such mottled Dao auras, if entering the Zhou Zhou Tian to train, will taint its cosmic laws.

It would interfere with their comprehension of the Supreme Dao and their construction of their own universes."

Ding Huan sighed inwardly—these Zhou Zhou Tian elites were indeed tyrannical.

In truth, it wasn't without reason.

If a large number of cultivators with mottled Dao auras entered the Zhou Zhou Tian to train, over time, the cosmic laws would indeed be affected.

But the effect would be negligible.

Clearly, those in the Zhou Zhou Tian treated their world as their own private garden.

Just arriving at the Gods Island, I sensed clear celestial and terrestrial rules, and the Dao veins were saturated with primordial qi—I was overwhelmed with excitement.

In that place, while in seclusion, my cultivation advanced almost every moment.

After reaching the Seventh Step of the Great Dao, I still lacked the qualification to enter the Gods World, so I began seeking solutions.

Later, I heard of a method: severing the Dao.

Cut away the muddled Great Dao you previously cultivated, then find a way to re-attain the Dao, and return to the Gods World.

I attained the Dao in the Lesser Heaven Ruins; to sever the Dao, I could only return to the Lesser Heaven Ruins. Qu Qu Beige likely shares the same intention, so he too returned to the Lesser Heaven Ruins.

Ding Huan thought of Jing Xizhen—could this guy also be on one of the outer Gods Islands?

After hearing about severing the Dao on the Gods Island, Jing Xizhen returned to the Great Universe.

Severing the Dao.

Ding Huan was certain Qu Qu Beige had not returned to the Lesser Heaven Ruins to sever the Dao.

How could this guy, if he intended to sever the Dao in the Lesser Heaven Ruins, possibly use the Great Planet Technique to destroy it?

"After you sever the Dao and then re-attain it, won't your Dao still be muddled? Can you enter the Gods World directly after severing the Dao?"

"I returned to sever the Dao because I obtained cultivation methods transmitted from the Gods World—methods that can perfect one's Great Dao and cut away the muddled Dao resonance."

Lan Xihé revealed everything without the slightest concealment.

As she spoke, she had already prepared for Ding Huan to demand her severing-the-Dao technique.

Ding Huan was certain Jing Xizhen also knew these things, but that bastard was cunning—he said nothing, only gave him a direction.

One might say he traded it to him.

Jing Xizhen obtained the severing-the-Dao method; Lan Xihé obtained the severing-the-Dao method.

This shows the severing-the-Dao method is widely circulated among the Gods Islands.

"To enter the Gods World, must one pass through the highest-level cosmic wall?"

"Yes, you know that?" Lan Xihé asked instinctively.

"Give me the directional jade slip for the Gods Island, and I'll heal your injuries."

Hearing this, Lan Xihé was overjoyed; without the slightest hesitation, she pulled out a directional jade slip she had already prepared.

Ding Huan scanned it with his divine sense.

The direction slightly differed from Jing Xizhen's.

Lan Xihé said there were hundreds of millions of Gods Islands on the outer fringes of the Gods World; given the boundless vastness of the Gods World, it was possible two islands were extremely far apart.

"Come here," Ding Huan said, putting away the jade slip.

Lan Xihé quickly approached Ding Huan.

Ding Huan placed his hand on Lan Xihé's shoulder.

Lan Xihé involuntarily sat down.

Immediately, she felt a clear Dao resonance flowing through her body.

Her face flushed crimson.

How could Ding Huan be so brazen?

It was as if her body had no privacy left before him.

But remembering he had seen her before, and considering her Great Dao, she could endure this humiliation.

Soon, Lan Xihé noticed the corrupting Dao resonance invading her Great Dao rapidly dissipated and vanished.

Her injuries vanished in the blink of an eye; her Dao stabilized.

As Lan Xihé was still savoring the return of her strength, Ding Huan had already withdrawn his hand.

"Qin Qin, we shall meet again."

After healing Lan Xihé, Ding Huan did not wish to remain here even for half a breath.

He summoned the Cosmic Cauldron and, with Jia Baihe, Guan Huan, Qiao Qianhe, and Yi Jie, swiftly headed toward Da Lun Mountain.

Only when Ding Huan's Cosmic Cauldron vanished from sight did Qin Qin realize it, quickly calling out: "Big Brother Ding, we shall meet again."

But Ding Huan had already gone beyond hearing.

"Do you like him?" Lan Xihé stood and stared at Qin Qin.

"I…" Qin Qin sighed and said nothing more.

If not for the Founding Master's return, and the woman beside Ding Huan, she truly wished to leave with him.

Fortunately, Lan Xihé did not press the matter further, but asked: "Tell me—how was the Tian Huan Women's Palace destroyed?"

Since my return, I've been hunted by Qu Qu Beige and had no chance to inquire. I only occasionally heard it was connected to Jiang Yiyu?"

Qin Qin dared not conceal anything: someone had lured the Poison Dao Law World to destroy the Tian Huan Women's Palace, leaving only a few survivors.

She was imprisoned by Jiang Yiyu in the Tian Huan Abyss; Jiang Yiyu had founded the Divine Maiden Holy Gate.

Lan Xihé's face darkened, her voice icy: "Let's go—first, destroy the Divine Maiden Holy Gate."

Though she was nothing before Ding Huan and Qu Qu Beige.

In the Lesser Heaven Ruins, Lan Xihé was still the supreme being she had always been.