Chapter 93: The Outcast Woman

Qi Qi Xinyue wasn't surprised Ding Huan knew about this: "Yes, the people on Earth sent a distress signal to our ship; when we arrived, they shot us down."

"A distress signal?" Ding Huan looked at Qi Qi Xinyue in confusion. "The Federation and the Gene Alliance couldn't possibly know the universal cosmic distress signal."

Qi Qi Xinyue continued, "Later, I learned they weren't sending a distress signal at all—they were testing for extraterrestrial civilizations."

"All your companions died, and only you survived?" Ding Huan asked again.

Qi Qi Xinyue shook her head: "No, they weren't my companions. They considered me an outcast with divine blood, so they captured me, brought me onto that ship, and forced me to serve them."

"Were these wounds inflicted by your companions?"

As soon as Ding Huan asked, he realized it was wrong—Qi Qi Xinyue's ship had crashed on Earth seven years ago, yet her wounds were clearly recent.

Sure enough, Qi Qi Xinyue shook her head. "No, they were inflicted by the Gene Alliance."

"That old bastard." Ding Huan immediately knew it had to be Shi Chang—no one else, even if they wanted to, had the authority.

"Do you know him?" Qi Qi Xinyue asked, puzzled.

Ding Huan nodded. "I raided his nest, I just never ran into him."

Qi Qi Xinyue said, "He's powerful. If not for the Chief, I would've been tortured to death long ago. He interrogated me endlessly, demanded I hand over my cultivation methods."

"There's a Chief Hu—he's always by that man's side, forbidding him from touching me. The scars on my face? He gave them to me when the Chief wasn't around."

"When the beast tide broke out, I escaped during the chaos, using the ferocious beasts to break open my cell."

"I'm skilled at concealment and movement. I knew only by going against their expectations could I have a chance to survive—I escaped successfully, and used a kayak to reach this reef island."

In truth, the reason she'd made it here wasn't the kayak—it was her concealment technique.

"Thank you," Ding Huan sincerely thanked her again.

Seeing Qi Qi Xinyue look at him in confusion, Ding Huan said slowly, "The people on Earth treated you with such cruelty, yet you saved me."

Anyone else would've never lifted a hand to help.

Her ship had been shot down by Earth's people; she herself had been imprisoned, tortured, and interrogated for secrets.

Under such circumstances, how could she not hate Earth's people?

In other words, even if Qi Qi Xinyue merely chose not to kill you, if she pretended not to see you, you'd still be dead.

Qi Qi Xinyue smiled. "There are still good people. Chief Hu saved me more than once—I'm deeply grateful to him."

"I can tell the Chief agreed to imprison me because he wanted to understand true advanced civilization. He stood from Earth's human perspective—not to extract my secrets."

"We probably can't leave now. Why don't you cultivate for a while? I have Qi Stones." Ding Huan pulled out several Qi Stones from his pack and handed them to Qi Qi Xinyue.

The cave was large enough for both of them to cultivate. He himself needed to strengthen his power.

Qi Qi Xinyue shook her head. "My cultivation method doesn't require these. You use them."

"What cultivation art do you practice?" Ding Huan asked instinctively.

He immediately realized his mistake and hurried to add, "I'm not prying into your secrets—I just want to see if I can help."

"It's fine," Qi Qi Xinyue said. "I don't practice a cultivation art—I practice a divine technique. I can't explain it clearly, but it excels at concealment and short-range movement."

Here, death was certain. She sensed Ding Huan was like Chief Hu, and had no more reason to hide anything.

Ding Huan forcibly pressed three Qi Stones into Qi Qi Xinyue's hands:

"Take them and try cultivating. I'll cultivate too. Our current strength won't let us leave this place."

Qi Qi Xinyue wasn't particularly concerned about leaving this place—what difference did it make whether she stayed or left?

In her homeland, she was an outcast. On Earth, she had no family or friends. If not for the beast tide, she'd still be locked in a dungeon cell.

Taking the three Qi Stones Ding Huan gave her, Qi Qi Xinyue watched him prepare to cultivate—but instead of cultivating, she walked out.

…

Ding Huan didn't begin cultivating immediately. He pulled out the hide scroll he'd taken from the scavenger.

After carefully flipping through it several times, aside from the language written on it, it seemed identical to the scroll he'd swallowed.

Should he swallow it too?

After long consideration, Ding Huan decided to store it away for now.

He'd swallowed the first scroll out of desperation—just to destroy it.

Now, the prophecy on this scroll filled him with unease. He didn't know what it meant, or whether the one who left it was himself.

After putting away the scroll, Ding Huan gripped a Qi Stone in each hand and began activating the Luo Shi Jing.

Accustomed to cultivating in ordinary places, when he used the Qi Stones, he felt as if two Qi dragons surged from his palms. As his Luo Shi Jing completed its celestial circuit, heavenly Qi instantly flooded his meridians and dantian.

In just one circuit, his strength rose a minor tier.

Ding Huan was now certain: once he left this place, he must seek out Qi Stones—they were tailor-made for him.

Minutes later, Ding Huan entered deep meditation.

At this moment, Ding Huan was utterly immersed in the exhilarating rise of his cultivation. Dozens of Qi Stones lay beside him; whenever one depleted, he could instantly grab another.

…

Qi Qi Xinyue returned and glanced at Ding Huan. Seeing him in cultivation, she didn't disturb him, but walked to the edge of the reef island, gazing at the endless sea and the horizon where sea met sky.

She knew she would never return home.

She would never see her mother again.

She would spend the rest of her life on this uninhabited reef island—perhaps only a few years remained, perhaps only a few days…

Her mother had told her: if the outside world ever rejected her, she should return to the Valley of Fallen Gods. Though desolate, it would let her live peacefully.

But she hadn't listened. She'd been lured by the city's splendor—and now she could never return to the Valley of Fallen Gods.

As she thought of this, her eyes grew slightly red.

Perhaps she wouldn't die alone—here, at least, another person had come.

This man was different from the other Earth people. He didn't care about her secrets, nor whether she held knowledge of a higher civilization.

He'd given her three Qi Stones—these were surely the very things Earth's people had gone mad chasing.

Time passed slowly, from morning to evening, and Qi Qi Xinyue stood like a statue, gazing at the horizon where sea met sky, the fading glow of the sunset rendering her nearly entranced.

"Boom!" A sound of crashing waves exploded, and a black ferocious beast lunged at Qi Qi Xinyue.

Qi Qi Xinyue was jolted awake, her heart leaping—she had been lost in thoughts of her mother, forgetting that beneath her feet lay the sea, that she stood only on a reef.

Qi Qi Xinyue tapped her feet lightly, her body springing as if fitted with springs, shooting diagonally toward the center of the reef islet.

"Puff!" An arrow-like beam shot from the sea, piercing straight through her body.

Qi Qi Xinyue felt all her strength stripped away, her body falling like a kite with severed strings.

She knew clearly: if her feet touched the seawater, she would have no future left.

Fortunately, at that moment, she saw a log; she quickly stepped onto it.

Almost the instant her feet landed on the log, several more arrow-beams shot from the sea.

Qi Qi Xinyue forcibly twisted her body, trying to dodge these arrow-beams.

But her injuries were severe; she managed to evade only two, and the rest pierced through her body again.

At this moment, Qi Qi Xinyue finally understood why Ding Huan had been injured—it was these fish-beasts capable of firing arrow-beams.

She had hidden inside the kayak to reach here, and precisely because of that, these fish-beasts had not detected her.

She gave a bitter smile.

Just moments ago, she had wondered how many days she could survive here—yet she could not even last a few hours.

Mother, goodbye.

…….

After an unknown length of time, Ding Huan felt his aura reach another peak.

Having experienced this before, Ding Huan knew he was about to ascend; he also knew each ascent brought intense pain, and he prepared himself.

The Zhou Tian circulation of the Luo Shi Jing drove Qi into a frenzy, slamming against every meridian, while powerful true energy erupted within him with a roaring sound.

Boom! When the true energy reached its extreme, the new meridian barriers shattered open, and potent true energy rapidly spread along the Zhou Tian.

Ding Huan opened his eyes, his heart filled with joy.

Fifth-level Gene Cultivator.

What surprised him was that this ascent brought no pain at all—was cultivation here different?

Or had ascension become normal now that he had reached fifth level?

No, Ding Huan quickly realized the truth.

The real reason was the Qi Stones—he had struggled to ascend before because the ambient Qi in his cultivation environment was insufficient, making advancement difficult.

Now he carried many Qi Stones, so ascension had become easy.

He looked down: twenty-eight Qi Stones remained; it seemed he had used ten during his previous cultivation.

Ten Qi Stones had propelled him from fourth-level to fifth-level Gene Cultivator—truly an excellent item.

Crucially, it had taken him less than a day.

Ding Huan glanced around but saw no Qi Qi Xinyue; he extended his spiritual sense.

To his delight, his spiritual sense could now reach a hundred meters away—this progress…

No! Ding Huan just caught sight of Qi Qi Xinyue's body landing on the log, then being struck by several arrow-beams in succession.

Qi Qi Xinyue's body swayed unsteadily on the log; Ding Huan shot forward.

He hated these arrow-firing fish-demons more than anyone—if he could wipe them all out, he would do so without hesitation. But he knew it was impossible.

In an instant, Ding Huan reached Qi Qi Xinyue's side, grabbing her just before she fell into the sea.

At the same moment, dozens of arrow-beams shot from the sea toward Ding Huan.

Still airborne, Ding Huan effortlessly twisted his body and landed atop the reef where Qi Qi Xinyue had stood.

He casually slashed out nearly a hundred wind blades; blood blossomed across the sea surface.

Ding Huan's rage peaked, yet he continued unleashing wind blades without pause.

Compared to his fourth-level Gene Cultivator state, Ding Huan's power had multiplied several times over, and so had his spiritual sense.

Added to the fact that his feet now stood on stable ground rather than a drifting log, Ding Huan easily slaughtered every fish-demon capable of spitting arrow-beams in the area.

More beasts, drawn by the bloodlust, surged forward in frenzy, devouring the dead arrow-spitting fish-demons.

Even while holding Qi Qi Xinyue, Ding Huan landed and kicked his foot, sending the section of log tumbling onto the reef islet.