Chapter 952: Former Beauty

Ding Huan wanted to find a secluded place to further refine his Law Star River, and to align his Dao aura with that of the Gods World.

As for the Chaotic Law Sea, Ding Huan planned to continue refining its Chaotic Laws after entering the Chaotic Zone.

No matter how powerful his own derived Chaotic Laws were, Ding Huan still intended to contemplate the Chaotic Laws here.

The stones of another mountain can polish jade—how much more so when this Chaotic Law is the very center of this vast realm?

Just as Ding Huan was about to withdraw his divine sense and leave, a familiar face suddenly appeared at the edge of his divine sense.

Seeing that unmistakable, peerless face, Ding Huan froze in place, as if struck by lightning.

After a long while, when the figure vanished into the Gods Dao City, Ding Huan finally came to his senses.

Qi Qi Xinyue?

He had no way to revive Qi Qi Xinyue—how could she possibly appear in the Gods World?

Had he mistaken someone else for her?

Ding Huan forced himself to calm down, and soon he was certain—he had not been mistaken.

That had truly been Qi Qi Xinyue.

Though he and Qi Qi Xinyue had never consummated their union, they had pledged themselves as Dao companions in the void.

During the weakest, loneliest time in the vast cosmic void, it was with Qi Qi Xinyue that he had stayed.

So the moment he saw her, he knew without doubt it was her.

Ding Huan's divine sense fell upon his own world, where Qi Qi Xinyue's jade coffin revealed her face, lifelike, as if asleep.

And her heart's blood still floated above her jade coffin, utterly still.

Ding Huan took a deep breath; he had originally intended not to enter the Gods Dao City, but now that he had seen Qi Qi Xinyue, he decided to go.

No matter what else needed doing, it would have to wait.

But he could not appear before Qi Qi Xinyue in Qī Shā's face.

Ding Huan instead transformed into an ordinary wandering cultivator, his cultivation level set at the Saint of Uttering Words.

His appearance was rugged, as if he spent every day scrambling for cultivation resources.

Appearing in the Gods Dao City, too high a level was unacceptable, too low was also unacceptable.

The Saint of Uttering Words was neither too high nor too low—respectable enough to earn deference, yet not enough to draw unwanted attention.

Worried that Qi Qi Xinyue might have entered some forbidden cave mansion, Ding Huan, after transforming, immediately activated his Heart Passage technique and rushed toward the Gods Dao City.

Why had Qi Qi Xinyue been reborn, and why was she here? He had to find out.

As soon as he entered the Gods Dao City, Ding Huan saw Qi Qi Xinyue enter a Dao Tower with her companions.

This kind of Dao Tower—he had never seen one before.

But after reviewing countless jade slips, Ding Huan now understood what a Dao Tower was.

It was a place to resolve Dao mysteries, and also to sell things.

In the Gods World, if a cultivator could not obtain Dao Words upon attaining Dao, or encountered problems in their Dao that they could not solve themselves…

They could seek out a Dao Tower for help—essentially, hiring a temporary master to instruct and clarify.

Of course, this instruction and clarification was not free—it required compensation in Dao Crystals, Dao Veins, or other resources.

Ding Huan was stopped at the entrance of the Dao Tower.

"My friend went in—I just want to say hello," Ding Huan quickly explained.

"This place is for teaching and resolving Dao mysteries, not for searching for people."

"Can I enter to seek Dao clarification? How many Dao Veins?"

"One lower-grade Dao Vein to enter. The exact amount will be determined upon entry."

Just to enter required a Dao Vein? This was robbery.

And this Dao Vein was certainly not the mottled one he had obtained from the Great Universe—it was a genuine, pure Dao Vein.

Ding Huan chose not to enter; he simply stood outside and waited.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to spend a Dao Vein—he suspected that even if he paid, he still wouldn't see Qi Qi Xinyue.

If Qi Qi Xinyue had come here to seek clarification, she certainly wouldn't be in the main hall where anyone could see her.

Ding Huan assumed that Dao clarification, involving one's deepest cultivation secrets, would not allow more people to be present.

But Ding Huan was actually wrong—if he had entered, he would have seen Qi Qi Xinyue immediately.

Not only Qi Qi Xinyue, but every cultivator who came for clarification sat in the main hall.

Unless you offered top-tier resources and requested the highest-level Saintly Dao masters, there were no exceptions.

The Dao Tower guards didn't care that Ding Huan hadn't produced a Dao Vein.

For an ordinary wandering cultivator like Ding Huan, producing a Dao Vein was no easy feat.

Unable to meet Qi Qi Xinyue promptly, Ding Huan calmed down.

He extended his divine sense and finally sensed the dense primordial energy of the Gods Dao City.

He had already felt the thick primordial energy of heaven and earth when he first entered the Gods World at the Barrier Plaza.

The primordial energy of the Gods Dao City was at least ten times denser than that of the Barrier Plaza.

Ding Huan was not exaggerating in the slightest.

Previously, he had been certain Qī Shā could not cultivate in the Gods Dao City—now he was no longer sure.

This was still just the ordinary Dao energy of the streets—if one had a personal cultivation cave with a dedicated Spirit Gathering Array and implanted Dao Veins…

How extravagant would that cultivation environment be?

As for heavenly laws and Dao principles, they were no longer constraints or bottlenecks—here, one could contemplate any Dao principle they wished.

This cultivation environment…

Ding Huan turned and looked back at the Dao Tower behind him, feeling a bitter irony.

Do you need to enter the Dao Tower to seek instruction and clarification here?

If you cannot comprehend something here, you won't comprehend it even if you enter the Dao Tower, right? That can only mean…

No, Ding Huan frowned.

He knew Qi Qi Xinyue's talent; even after reincarnation, she could never need to come to the Dao Tower.

Those who come to the Dao Tower must have encountered a problem with their Great Dao.

Then where had Qi Qi Xinyue's Great Dao gone wrong?

He had merely brushed her with the edge of his divine sense just now, without observing her with it.

After thinking for a long while, Ding Huan still could not figure it out, so he shook his head and gave up further speculation.

With his understanding and perception of the laws of heaven and earth and all things, if he saw Qi Qi Xinyue, he would know exactly what the problem was.

With him here, Qi Qi Xinyue had no need to seek clarification from Dao Masters in the Dao Tower.

Even if clarification were needed, he had once been a Dao Master himself; his understanding of the laws of heaven and earth was more than sufficient to teach Qi Qi Xinyue.

Putting aside his thoughts, Ding Huan continued observing his surroundings.

The streets of the City of the Gods were not extravagantly wide, but instead gave the feeling that the Great Dao was right beside you—there was no need to use divine sense to locate the next shop while strolling.

Every Dao Fruit Tree along the streets appeared naturally formed; walking through such streets brought deep comfort to the heart.

His divine sense could only extend a thousand meters in radius.

Beyond that, it was blocked by restrictions.

Ding Huan's divine sense landed outside a auction hall.

The promotional array on the outside of this auction hall clearly displayed:

The first item to be auctioned tonight is the Primordial Creation treasure, the Tread-Through-the-Cosmos Mirror; the second is the Chaotic Rule Liquid; the third is the Chaotic Gap.

The fourth item is the Dao Pearl…

Ding Huan had heard of the Chaotic Rule Liquid but never seen it; it was said to be extraordinarily extraordinary.

As for the Chaotic Gap, he had never even heard of it.

But wasn't the Dao Pearl exactly what his Great Disc needed?

No wonder Geng Yuan said Dao Pearls and Dao Pillars frequently appeared for sale in the World of the Gods—he had encountered one the very first time he came to a Godly Commerce Hall.

The promotional array screen showed that this auction was hosted by the City of the Gods Commerce Hall.

Ding Huan silently thought: Qi Sha was, after all, the First Killing God of the City of the Gods Commerce Hall.

Yet he had received no word at all about what items the Commerce Hall planned to sell.

Or perhaps his simulated Qi Sha Dao Nian could not be used—but that shouldn't be the case.

He had modified the Barrier Jade Talisman and it worked; how could a Communication Pearl possibly fail?

Or perhaps the City of the Gods Commerce Hall merely used him as a fighter, leveraging the Killing God's reputation to boost the hall's prestige.

As for status, there was none within the City of the Gods Commerce Hall.

In other words, within the City of the Gods Commerce Hall, Qi Sha was merely being used.

Whichever it was, Ding Huan had no interest in overthinking it.

He quickly arrived at the auction hall and purchased an entrance ticket for one hundred superior Dao Crystals.

Nothing else mattered— he must obtain the Dao Pearl.

This was one of his purposes in coming to the World of the Gods.

"Elder, would you like the Auction Guidelines?" A low voice landed in Ding Huan's ear.

Ding Huan's divine sense settled on a Cultivation of Creation cultivator—the one who had just whispered to him.

It seemed he had lingered in the Cultivation of Creation stage for a very long time.

In the World of the Gods' cultivation environment, if someone lingered long in the Cultivation of Creation stage, it was rarely because they could not attain the Fourth Step.

More likely, they had failed to comprehend the Dao Words during their breakthrough and thus refused to enter the Fourth Step.

Auction Guidelines? Ding Huan glanced at the array, thinking: Won't I learn everything once I enter the auction?

The Cultivation of Creation cultivator realized Ding Huan was new to the City of the Gods and whispered carefully:

"Elder, although the items listed above are written plainly, you may not be able to purchase them. The City of the Gods Commerce Hall always does this—these items always have predetermined buyers."

So it was backroom deals.

Ding Huan had come solely for the Dao Pearl; he had never imagined the City of the Gods Commerce Hall engaged in backroom deals.

With the City of the Gods Commerce Hall's power, they certainly weren't doing this out of fear.

It must be for greater profit.

"Elder, my Jade Slip of Auction Guidelines contains every piece of information you need—guaranteed accurate," the Cultivation of Creation cultivator whispered again to Ding Huan.

"How much for the Jade Slip?" Ding Huan asked.

"Ten thousand superior Dao Crystals."

Hearing ten thousand superior Dao Crystals, Ding Huan froze.

It wasn't expensive—it was cheap.

Mainly because, in Ding Huan's view, Dao Crystals were utterly useless in the World of the Gods.

In this place, heavenly qi was everywhere thick and rich—why would anyone need Dao Crystals to cultivate?

He truly didn't understand why anyone would want Dao Crystals.

From Qi Sha, he had acquired at least ten million superior Dao Crystals…

No, Ding Huan quickly realized.

Although he had taken nearly ten million superior Dao Crystals from Qi Sha, from Wen Yi he had only taken one or two ten thousand.

Which meant this thing was not as simple as it seemed.

The reason Qi Sha has so many Dao crystals on him is because this fellow has no idea how many innocent people he's killed, and on top of that he's the God-Slayer of the Gods' Trading House.

(Fellow Daoist, good evening!)

(End of chapter)