Chapter 00152: Curiosity Killed the Cat (Bonus Chapter 6)
# Curiosity Killed the Cat (Bonus Chapter 6)
Chapter 152
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 152: Curiosity Killed the Cat (Bonus Chapter 6)
Before they even reached their room, Ding Huan whispered, "Xinyue, don't cultivate or practice any spells here. Spend more time reflecting on the issues you've encountered during your cultivation. Lao Liu, you too."
Qi Xinyue naturally obeyed Ding Huan, while Lao Liu reluctantly nodded.
Lao Liu was a cultivation maniac.
Given even a sliver of time, he would use it to try and break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as a demonic cultivator.
It seemed that the treasures Ding Huan had contributed had paid off, as he was assigned the first room in the "Yi" section.
Just as they were about to reach their room, Ding Qi quickened his pace and overtook Ding Huan.
As he passed by, he slipped something into Ding Huan's hand.
Without looking, Ding Huan discreetly tossed the item into his Star Room.
The group soon arrived at their room.
The room wasn't large, no more than ten square meters in total, with a partition in the middle that could be adjusted to create three or four separate spaces.
Ding Huan adjusted the room to have three spaces: he took the outermost area, Lao Liu took the left inner space, and Qi Xinyue took the right inner space.
A faint divine sense swept over them, startling Ding Huan.
Since entering the City Lord's Mansion, he hadn't released his own divine sense.
He had assumed that the five powerful figures, including Sang Yuhe, would all have their divine senses active.
Yet, from the beginning until now, he hadn't detected even a trace of divine sense.
The sudden appearance of one made him even more cautious.
He had guessed correctly—these people did have divine senses.
He just didn't know whose divine sense had just swept over them.
Although Ding Huan didn't understand the intricacies of formation arrays, he had encountered quite a few in his time.
Moreover, his current studies in talisman crafting were, in a way, closely related to formation arrays.
Both were derived from the changes in the natural world.
As soon as he entered the room, he sensed that some kind of formation array had been set up here.
"Xiao Tu, I..."
Qi Xinyue began to speak as soon as she entered the room, but Ding Huan cut her off with a smile, "What's there to worry about? Senior Sang and the other seniors are all upright and honorable. We've received their care this time. Remember, we just need to follow their instructions."
"I understand," Qi Xinyue nodded.
She truly did understand.
Ding Huan's words weren't meant for her but for the seniors who might be listening.
Since the seniors weren't physically present, Ding Huan's insistence on following their instructions suggested that there might be surveillance in the room.
Ding Huan was certain there were no technological surveillance devices in the room, but he was equally certain that their actions were being monitored.
This likely meant that a surveillance formation array was in place.
Ding Huan obediently returned to his partitioned space, sat down, and closed his eyes.
His divine sense penetrated into the Star Room, where he examined the item Ding Qi had handed him.
It was just a slip of paper with a single line of text:
"Do not test your aptitude. If I'm not mistaken, these geniuses being taken away is not for a good reason. They are likely being sold to powerful figures in need of a body to possess."
Reading this, Ding Huan broke out in a cold sweat.
He had been planning to find an opportunity to tell Sang Yuhe that Qi Xinyue's spiritual root aptitude was exceptional.
If he had done so, he would have inadvertently doomed her.
Ding Huan was all too familiar with the concept of possession.
He had avoided the ancient cypress in Luohe City precisely because he feared being possessed.
It seemed he was still too naive, always assuming the best in people.
Sang Yuhe and the others had helped him, which subconsciously made him think they were decent people.
But judging by their behavior, they likely weren't official envoys.
If that was the case, why would they risk their lives to transport geniuses to higher-level star continents? Out of the goodness of their hearts?
Ding Qi was indeed a good person, one who repaid kindness.
Ding Huan decided to focus on studying the Great Divination Art and to use it to assess his current situation.
With his current divination abilities, he could only foresee events within a ten-day window.
Over the next ten days, nothing happened.
The spaceship continued to move swiftly, and no one came to see them.
Every two days, someone would bring a modest amount of food—enough to keep them from starving, but not much more.
Qi Xinyue was a patient girl.
As long as Ding Huan was by her side, she could endure doing nothing.
Besides, Ding Huan had given her two books on medicinal herbs and mineral analysis, which she could study in her free time.
She also spent time reflecting on her cultivation issues.
As for talisman crafting, Ding Huan didn't dare let Qi Xinyue study it.
It wasn't that he was worried about wasting her time, but rather that they were under constant surveillance in this place.
Lao Liu spent most of his time in a state of hibernation.
It was unclear whether he was reminiscing about how he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage in the past or pondering how to achieve it now.
Only Ding Huan spent his days studying the Great Divination Art, his divination skills improving day by day.
What puzzled him was that on Four Directions Star Continent, he could clearly visualize the outcomes of his divinations.
But here, apart from himself and Qi Xinyue, the images of the powerful figures on the ship remained blurry.
On the tenth day, he tried divining again.
His divination abilities seemed to have improved, but the results were still unclear.
This only deepened his confusion.
Thus, the spaceship entered a relatively quiet period.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and Ding Huan's divination skills improved rapidly.
After studying the Great Divination Art for over a year, the Lian Cang Yi Dao he had obtained from the jade slip now seemed as simple and shallow as a baby's first words.
At the same time, Ding Huan vaguely sensed that when he tried to divine the actions of powerful individuals, the results were always blurry.
It wasn't that his divination skills were lacking—it was more likely that his cultivation level was insufficient.
On this day, Ding Huan continued his usual practice of divining what would happen in the coming days.
As long as he didn't involve the powerful figures, he could easily foresee events within a month.
If he pushed himself, he could even extend that timeframe.
But as soon as he tried to divine the actions of those powerful individuals, the results became instantly unclear.
Ding Huan's primary concern was those powerful figures.
No matter how blurry the results, he had to keep trying.
At first, everything seemed mundane.
But when Ding Huan reached the third day in his divination, he was nearly shocked into exclaiming aloud.
He saw Ding Qi being killed.
The image was extremely blurry, almost unrecognizable.
If it weren't for the fact that he saw Ding Qi's head being severed, he wouldn't have been sure it was him.
A shadowy figure struck, cutting off Ding Qi's head.
Ding Huan's heart raced.
If Ding Qi was killed, he would likely meet the same fate.
Was this a black ship? But why would a black ship wait half a year before killing Ding Qi?
During his divination, Ding Qi seemed to have taken something out.
Ding Huan had only been divining the overall safety of the ship, not individual actions.
To divine everyone's actions would require far more time and energy.
Besides, he couldn't get clear images of the powerful figures anyway.
But now he had to figure out why Ding Qi would be killed—it was a matter of life and death.
This time, Ding Huan focused his divination solely on Ding Qi.
As the Great Divination Art activated, Ding Huan once again saw Ding Qi in his vision.
On the third day, Ding Qi suddenly pulled out an ancient-looking book from his chest.
This time, Ding Huan could see it clearly.
The cover of the book bore four ancient characters: "Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror."
Ding Huan felt a chill run down his spine.
Could it really be the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror? Many believed it to be the Earth Book of the Three Books of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
Ding Huan thought that even if it wasn't the Earth Book, it was at least related to it.
It might even be a part of the Earth Book, with the other part being the precious Shan Hai Jing.
This was a treasure of Zhen Yuanzi, capable of revealing all things.
Divining the past and future was just a small part of its abilities.
Beyond that, the book contained top-tier Daoist techniques.
If the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror truly existed, then Zhen Yuanzi was likely real as well.
No wonder Ding Qi had been killed with a single strike—such a treasure appearing would make his death inevitable.
Ding Qi's cultivation techniques must have come from the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror.
The guy was probably only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Yet, he could fight on par with a Zhan Chang realm expert who had created his own post-Foundation Establishment techniques, even gaining the upper hand at times.
How extraordinary must his techniques be?
If Ding Qi was truly cultivating techniques from the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, then such feats were possible.
Ding Qi was a cautious individual.
Since coming aboard, he hadn't cultivated at all.
He must have encountered a problem while meditating on his techniques.
After struggling for a long time without finding a solution, he had taken the risk of bringing out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror.
But he hadn't realized that his room was under surveillance.
Ding Huan hesitated for a moment before deciding to warn Ding Qi.
If Ding Qi's possession of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror was discovered, would these people investigate him? The answer was undoubtedly yes.
Even if it meant killing the wrong person, they wouldn't let it slide.
With this in mind, Ding Huan carefully extended his divine sense.
When it touched Ding Qi, the latter was visibly startled.
"Don't take anything out. There's a surveillance formation here..."
Ding Huan left this message before quickly retracting his divine sense.
He felt uneasy.
Although his divine sense was strong—almost tangible—he wasn't sure if his message would be detected.
To his relief, after warning Ding Qi, everything remained normal.
No unusual events occurred.
He immediately began divining future events.
With his warning, the future was bound to change.
Ding Huan wanted to see if this change would affect him.
An hour later, Ding Huan finally relaxed.
Nothing had happened.
He was safe, and Ding Qi was safe.
It seemed Ding Qi had heeded his warning.
In fact, Ding Qi was even more shocked than Ding Huan.
He had endured for nearly half a year, always on the verge of a breakthrough in his cultivation but never quite reaching it.
Thinking that nothing had happened in all this time, he had considered taking out the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror for a quick look.
It was true that he cultivated using the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror, but he still hadn't fully grasped its methods.
Although he was slightly better off than a Zhan Chang realm expert, the difference was negligible.
Like them, even after reaching Foundation Establishment, he hadn't developed a divine sense.
Just as he was about to give in to temptation, Ding Huan's warning jolted him awake.
This was someone else's spaceship.
What was the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror? If he took it out and was discovered, death would be the only outcome.
Realizing how close he had come to dooming himself, cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
Wait, who had just warned him? The only person here who could warn him was Ding Huan.
Was Ding Huan a hidden expert?
Ding Qi quickly convinced himself of this.
If he could hide his true strength, why couldn't Ding Huan?
"Thank you," Ding Qi silently expressed his gratitude to Ding Huan.
His mind finally settled, and the urge to peek at the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror vanished.
(End of Chapter)