Chapter 00100: Nine Paths
# Nine Paths
Chapter 100
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 100: Nine Paths
After destroying the Divine Seeker, Ding Huan finally felt a bit of relief.
He was certain that the dung beetle was a master of concealment, far more cunning than Shi Changyi.
If this creature wasn’t killed, it would be a disaster for Earth.
The problem was, the dung beetle had taken tens of thousands of Divine Crystals.
Once it grew stronger, who could possibly kill it?
"Old Zhong, now that the aircraft is gone, you should head back on your own. When you reach Puhai, deliver a letter to the residence of Nian Jinqing from the Beast King Association. Just leave it at the door," Ding Huan said, picking up a piece of wood and casually carving a few lines of text before handing it to Zhong Chi.
The paper in his bag had been ruined by water, so he had no choice but to leave a message on the wood.
Originally, he had planned to return to Puhai, but without the aircraft and knowing that Qu Yi was safe, he decided not to bother.
Instead, he wrote a letter to Old Six, telling him to find a way to get to the Kunlun Mountains.
If he couldn’t make it, he should return to Qianluo Mountain.
With Old Six’s cunning nature, Ding Huan was sure he’d be fine.
"What about you?" Zhong Chi asked, taking the wooden piece with a puzzled look.
Ding Huan replied, "Old Zhong, you saw it yourself. There’s a guy who escaped from the ship. Do you think he’ll just sit quietly? With that demon dragon and the giant ape, Earth’s peace is only temporary. So, I need to find a place to improve my strength. We’ll meet again someday. When you get back to Puhai, take care of Qu Yi for me. She’s a friend of mine."
"Alright then," Zhong Chi said, eager to return.
His first priority was revenge.
Ding Huan could see what Zhong Chi was thinking and warned him, "Old Zhong, revenge is fine, but you need a strategy. Don’t just charge in blindly and get yourself killed in their lair. Gather some people, make a big scene, and let the whole world know. Make sure everyone understands what kind of person Shi Changyi and the Gene Alliance are before you act. Shi Changyi ambushed you, so you have every reason to suspect he’s colluding with the beasts. Some things don’t need evidence."
If he didn’t remind Zhong Chi, the man might get ambushed a second time.
Zhong Chi nodded.
"Don’t worry, Brother Ding. Getting ambushed once was my carelessness. If it happens again, it’s my own fault and incompetence. Take care, and we’ll meet again."
"Brother Ding, where are we going?" Qi Xin Yue asked nervously after Zhong Chi left.
She was worried Ding Huan would leave her too.
She had grown dependent on him, and without him, she wasn’t sure she could survive.
If she encountered humans on Earth, she’d die even faster.
"We’ll stay here and cultivate. I’m sure that dung beetle will come back," Ding Huan said, looking around the museum and thinking about how to set up some kind of trigger.
Unfortunately, he only knew about formation arrays but didn’t know how to set one up.
Hearing that Ding Huan wasn’t sending her away, Qi Xin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.
Ding Huan walked around the museum and, finding nothing of value, took Qi Xin Yue to an abandoned hotel near the beach.
He was certain the dung beetle wouldn’t go far from Bioko Island.
The creature would definitely come back for the Divine Seeker.
As for whether the dung beetle would die in the beast tide? Ha! If someone like that died in a beast tide, it would be because he was blind.
Qi Xin Yue followed Ding Huan’s lead without question.
If he wanted to cultivate by the beach and wait for the dung beetle, she had no objections.
"Here, take one," Ding Huan said, handing her a Divine Crystal.
Qi Xin Yue quickly waved her hands.
"I don’t need it."
"Take it. If we catch the dung beetle, we’ll have as many Divine Crystals as we want," Ding Huan insisted, pushing it toward her.
Qi Xin Yue didn’t take it.
Instead, she looked at Ding Huan seriously and said, "The dung beetle has taken so many Divine Crystals, and you only have five. If you don’t improve your strength, we won’t stand a chance when he comes. If you get stronger, we can catch him and get all the Divine Crystals we need."
Ding Huan thought about it and agreed.
"Alright then, let’s do it this way. We’ll cultivate in the top-floor rooms. You’ll stay in the same room as me."
The hotel was quite nice, with several suites on the top floor.
Ding Huan chose one for them.
He was worried that if he cultivated alone, the dung beetle might come and kill Qi Xin Yue.
The creature was too cunning to take lightly.
Qi Xin Yue didn’t mind sharing a room with Ding Huan.
In fact, she felt safer that way.
The hotel hadn’t been attacked by beasts for long, and the food storage, being locked, was still intact.
Ding Huan and Qi Xin Yue gathered some food and brought it to their room before starting their cultivation.
As his cultivation improved, Ding Huan found he needed less food but craved more of the world’s spiritual energy.
In the room, he took out a Divine Crystal.
He hadn’t examined it closely before with Zhong Chi around.
Now, looking at it, he realized the Divine Crystal contained over ten times more spiritual energy than a regular Spirit Stone.
But that wasn’t the most important thing.
What struck him was that the energy in the Divine Crystal seemed more refined and easier to absorb, as if it contained a more complete form of spiritual energy.
He could sense it but couldn’t quite put it into words.
As he circulated the Luo Shi Scripture, the pure spiritual energy instantly flowed through his body in a complete cycle.
Ding Huan opened his eyes in delight.
This method of cultivation was simply unbeatable.
Not only did it strengthen his true essence, but it also seemed to cleanse the impurities in his meridians.
He continued to circulate the Luo Shi Scripture, immersing himself in the exhilarating process.
Previously, Ding Huan had been a step away from becoming a sixth-level gene cultivator.
After just one day of cultivation, he broke through to the sixth level.
At this moment, he realized why his previous breakthroughs had been so painful.
Back then, he had been absorbing the sparse spiritual energy from the environment.
Even though Earth’s spiritual energy had become denser over the years, it was still far from enough to support the Luo Shi Scripture.
Each time he broke through, the lack of energy made the process agonizing.
Later, he used Spirit Stones, which contained much denser spiritual energy.
When he broke through to the fifth level using Spirit Stones, the process wasn’t as painful.
Now, with the Divine Crystals, which contained even more concentrated energy, his cultivation felt as smooth as water flowing through a channel.
It seemed his talent wasn’t the problem—it was the lack of resources.
After reaching the sixth level, Ding Huan didn’t stop.
He continued to push toward the seventh level.
Time passed as he cultivated in seclusion.
Qi Xin Yue would check on him every day, and seeing that he was still cultivating, she would continue her own practice.
Previously, Ding Huan would consume a Spirit Stone in no time.
Now, a single Divine Crystal lasted him several days.
A week later, Ding Huan emerged from his seclusion, ate a little, cleaned up, and went back to cultivating.
…
Nearly a month into Ding Huan’s seclusion, four spacecraft appeared in Earth’s outer atmosphere.
Two of them were disc-shaped, while the other two resembled the Divine Seeker Ding Huan had seen before.
"Is this the planet?" asked a pale-skinned man inside one of the disc-shaped spacecraft, staring at the image of Earth on the screen.
"According to the coordinates, this is the place," a young woman beside him replied.
The pale-skinned man looked at the others in the room.
"What do you all think?"
This was clearly an impromptu meeting, with seven people seated in the room.
"I suggest we wait. This place doesn’t seem like a planet with divine beings. The spiritual energy here is extremely scarce," said a slightly overweight, short man.
Despite his plump appearance, his jowls wobbled every time he spoke.
A bold young man spoke up carelessly, "What’s there to wait for? The civilization level of this planet is extremely low. We’ve barely concealed ourselves, and they haven’t noticed a thing. Let’s just crush them."
The pale-skinned man, likely the captain, spoke in a calm tone, "First, we can confirm this planet isn’t a divine realm. Second, our Divine Seeker is definitely here, but we’ve received no response to our signals, which suggests something has gone wrong. Most importantly, this is a life-bearing planet, and it might contain treasures beyond our wildest dreams. My suggestion is to first take control of the planet’s life forms, then the planet itself. As for the treasures, we can divide them later."
No one objected to the captain’s plan.
Taking control of a low-level civilization’s planet was a necessary step for any advanced civilization seeking to progress further.
"Ting Ti, Ji Yuan, An Qing’er, you three scout for the best landing spots. Peng Tong, Gai Lin, Zang Yu Ding Hui, you three prepare the defense and attack systems. Once we land, we’ll establish a defensive countermeasure system…"
The captain issued a series of orders, already treating Earth as one of their conquests.
…
"Crack…" Ding Huan could even hear the sound of his bones cracking, but instead of being alarmed, he was thrilled.
The violent surge of spiritual energy flooded into his body, and his aura skyrocketed.
In just a few minutes, he felt the immense power of a seventh-level gene cultivator.
Ding Huan opened his eyes, feeling immensely satisfied.
If he were to face the giant ape now, he wouldn’t need to exert much effort.
The only downside was that his Wind Blade and Fireball techniques were too basic.
If only he had a more powerful skill…
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, a new memory surfaced.
"Nine Paths, the spear has nine paths. Each path leads to a higher realm. Nine paths tear through the nine heavens…"
How arrogant! Ding Huan was stunned.
He knew this information came from the ancient scroll.
Whether the scroll’s owner was one of his past lives or not, there was no doubt that person was a supreme being.
The scroll’s owner clearly understood what the nine heavens represented—the realm of saints and the pinnacle of the immortal path.
To claim that each path could tear through a heaven was beyond audacious.
(End of Chapter)