Chapter 1310: You Have Finally Arrived, Daoist Friend

Over four thousand years have passed, and many things have already changed.

Moreover, these are two, or even possibly three, hostile Void Refining combat powers!

"Do not rush."

"First, calm them with stillness; there is no need to rush."

Jiang Ding said calmly, "Although they are former defeated subordinates, we must not be careless. I should not be careless toward any Void Refining combat power, regardless of what their past identities were."

"Furthermore, the gaze of the Great Yin-Yang Sword Realm... perhaps I am too self-centered, worrying without cause. Such near-immortal-level ancient existences would not deliberately focus their gaze on a mere small Void Refining-level existence, nor target anything; this would be as laughable as me painstakingly targeting a mortal."

"Unless Ming Chong Chong Guang Zi does something that shakes the entire realm!"

"It should still be safe for now; I will first complete the matters at hand according to the plan."

Three hostile Void Refining combat powers!

And one of them is a Void Refining combat power possessing an entire sect!

Jiang Ding had now entered a state of imminent battle, his heart as calm as a lake, thinking silently: "The plan needs to be accelerated... if the Swamp is not sensible, I will burst into the Swamp Demon City and kill him. How can such a bandit who robs and plunders become a good merchant?"

"The Human Path can completely cover the entire Swamp Demon City; no secrets will leak."

"Of course, the risk has increased."

"The target is in his own nest, so the possibility of escape has also increased."

In the past, he would not have accepted such a risk, because there was plenty of time to continue waiting.

However, the existence of Ming Chong Chong Guang Zi made him feel as if thorns were stuck in his back.

This noob might cause the gaze of the Great Yin-Yang Sword Realm to notice the newly born Great Sun Sword Dao inheritance, thereby triggering unknown risks.

After several years of silence, the Swamp Avatar once again made large purchases of various heavenly treasures and earthly herbs in the Swamp Demon City, acting furtively, making it impossible for others to discern exactly what he needed.

Additionally, he exchanged three items at the Swamp Auction House.

Although at this time, the prices of these three items had already skyrocketed several times over, requiring several sets of Void Refining-grade heavenly treasures and earthly herbs to exchange for one.

Amidst all this, the Swamp Avatar said nothing; after the transaction was completed, he departed swiftly.

This time, he switched to another set of teleportation array escape channels, being even more cautious; without special means, even a Void Refining True Venerable would be unable to track him.

At the peak of that emerald glass palace, two pairs of eyes watched: one pair cold, the other greedy and burning hot.

"Croak..."

"He may never come; even with a premium of several times, he accepted it. In my view, the premium should be ten times!"

The emerald toad said greedily:

"The injuries of the Molten Fire Old Demon have begun to improve, no longer so severe. He has already obtained what he wanted and will not appear near any Void Refining faction again."

"It seems the Jin Chong Guang True Sect is truly on its last legs; the Master Tianyang Sect is about to unify the Golden Sea Region."

"Are the upper echelons of the Artifact Sect all dead? Allowing the lower levels to unify like this?"

Regarding the events occurring in nearby realms, they were not ignorant; they were closely monitoring everything in secret.

However, the emerald toad's words seemed absent-minded, clearly not truly caring about the events happening in the distant Golden Sea Region.

"The Molten Fire Old Demon has left."

"He is moving at an extremely high speed; judging by the direction, it is toward a remote area of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Sect..."

The emerald toad gazed into the distance, then suddenly turned his head: "Swamp, what do you say?"

"If you miss this opportunity, by the time the Molten Fire Old Demon's injuries heal, you will likely never have the chance to kill a mid-stage Void Refining cultivator in your entire life. In this godforsaken place, you will remain a mid-stage Void Refining cultivator forever!"

"Do you think the Thunder Flame Region is some peaceful place?"

"The Blood Lake Ancestor is powerful; once he unifies the Thunder Flame Region and advances to the peak of Void Refining, you will still die; there is no escape. Or perhaps, like the Molten Fire Old Demon, you will flee to another region by crossing the realm barrier, suffering heavy injuries, and be hunted by others..."

The emerald toad seemed to smell the aura of treasure again and kept tempting him.

"Old friend, let me think..."

The Swamp True Venerable hesitated: "Let me think..."

"Advancing to Void Refining is not easy; I really thought about living a stable life..."

"I wanted to conduct business properly..."

He sighed.

"This is the reason you are so impoverished now!"

"Conducting business properly... do you think you are a disciple from a Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong?"

The emerald toad sneered.

Jiang Ding, maintaining the appearance and magic power aura of a red-haired old man, traveled silently through the sky without stopping. After several years, he moved far away from the Swamp Demon City and arrived beside a river with clear water and green mountains.

This was the territory of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Sect, far removed from its mountain gate and center of rule; it was merely a mortal region with thin spiritual energy, with no mortals or spiritual beasts around, only a wild, primitive jungle inhabited by some ordinary beasts.

This place could be said to have been untouched by anyone for at least several hundred years; its secrecy was guaranteed.

Jiang Ding waved his hand, deploying a top-grade fifth-tier concealment array that spread everywhere around.

This was because there were no spiritual veins, making it impossible to set up a fifth-tier array; at least the Molten Fire Old Demon could not set one up, nor did he have enough spiritual stones in his own reserves.

Immediately, Jiang Ding, who had transformed into the

Molten Fire Old Demon, transformed once again into an ordinary mid-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

With all preparations complete, he entered a state of healing.

Time flowed like water, and this mountain forest fell into long-lasting silence, with not a single change appearing again.

One year, two years, three years...

Ten years, fifteen years, twenty years...

Quickly, twenty-five years had passed.

The cultivator sitting cross-legged to heal finally felt a slight improvement in his injuries, causing his spirit to relax; he opened his eyes, revealing a look of joy: "Finally… finally…"

"Hahaha…"

The cultivator sitting cross-legged couldn't help letting out a loud, joyous laugh.

Shh!

He reached out his hand, like a scholar reading by night snuffing out a wick, gently pinching something about to strike the back of his skull, making its form appear.

It was a transparent space poison snake artifact, infused with the rules of poison Dao, its greatest power lying in its invisibility; it had secretly assassinated countless cultivators in the past, causing them to lose their souls silently while in meditation—even including a True Sovereign of Condensation Void.

Yet in the cultivator's hand, it writhed like an insect, unable to move an inch.

"Hahaha!"

"You've finally come, Mud Marsh Daoist."

Jiang Ding laughed, gazing toward the horizon ten thousand li away.

"Sigh,"

"Why do kind, innocent people like me always suffer the malice of this world?"

He sighed again.

"No good!"

"It's a trap!"

Ten thousand li away, Mud Marsh True Sovereign and the emerald toad, who had stealthily hidden and arrived unnoticed, trembled inside; their long-silenced instincts suddenly exploded in wild alarm, screaming like they had stared directly into a primordial beast.

"Run!"

The emerald toad roared.

He no longer showed any trace of the instinct-driven treasure-hunting urge; he burned his essence-blood, transforming into a pair of emerald fins that attached to Mud Marsh True Sovereign's body.

Their bodies blurred, fully merging into the rules of space, with no thought of fighting, fleeing desperately toward the distance.