Chapter 00158: The Great Undertaking of the Capital
# The Great Undertaking of the Capital
Chapter 158
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 158: The Great Undertaking of the Capital
“Xinyue, I doubt they will let you stay.” Ding Huan whispered, fully aware that even his soft words could be heard by others.
However, he had no intention of using thought transmission.
He understood why the first thought transmission from Zhi Qi could be heard by him, while the second one was at a much higher level and still went unnoticed.
The first transmission was meant for the old man and the young woman, to inform them that Zhi Qi had played a trick.
If he made Zhi Qi's thought transmission seem average, he would be able to convey secret messages to Xinyue, which would then fall into the ears of the old and young strangers.
But Zhi Qi's real intention was to tell Ding Huan not to transmit thoughts here, as others could hear him.
If he couldn't understand Zhi Qi’s hint, it only meant that Zhi Qi didn't trust him even with Xinyue by his side.
Qi Xinyue then spoke softly to Ding Huan in Huaxia language: “Little Tu, I can sense that old man's gaze. If I resist, they will surely kill you and Lou Buzhi. Just now, Zhi Qi transmitted a message to me; if I truly do not wish to leave with them, I have a way.”
“What way?” Ding Huan asked, feeling somewhat upset that Xinyue was speaking in Huaxia.
Even speaking openly in Huaxia, who could understand?
“Zhi Qi said he can take me to the Tianqi Sect in the Dao Cultivation Realm. He can help me join the Tianqi Sect. You only need to meet me at the Tianqi Sect.”
Qi Xinyue replied.
Ding Huan felt grateful for Zhi Qi’s action, but they couldn’t go through with it.
If they did, Zhi Qi would undoubtedly perish.
After a moment's thought, Ding Huan made up his mind: “Xinyue, if we do this, Zhi Qi will surely die. You go to the Divine Race first, and then find a way to reach the Dao Cultivation Realm and meet me… let’s choose either at the Tianqi Sect or outside its borders.”
“Understood.” Qi Xinyue nodded firmly.
After a moment, she added: “Do not worry. If I cannot make it to Tianqi Sect in time, I will practice hard and strive to control my own fate. I will never be bound by them.”
“Xinyue, if you are also struggling to touch the Foundation Establishment threshold, it is likely you need the techniques of the Divine Race. So going to the Divine Race isn’t a bad thing. Even if you can’t make it to the Tianqi Sect in time, as long as we are in this plane together, I don't believe we won’t meet again. One day, when my cultivation is sufficient, if you still cannot come out, I will boldly go to the Divine Race to marry you and tell them, ‘What can you do to me?’”
Qi Xinyue held Ding Huan’s hand tightly and said earnestly: “Little Tu, I like your way of speaking. If I cannot get out, I will wait for you in the Divine Race for you to come and honorably marry me.”
“Alright.” Ding Huan’s single word conveyed all his thoughts.
Qi Xinyue placed her hand on the star house on Ding Huan’s chest: “My heart is as resilient as the soft reeds; you take good care of yourself.”
After saying this, Qi Xinyue turned and walked towards Zhi Qi.
Though Ding Huan did not use his spirit sense, he could feel the waves of killing intent from the old man and young woman when Qi Xinyue held his hand.
Ding Huan's gaze remained fixed on the entrance to the inn, never blinking.
Qi Xinyue’s emotions appeared calm, almost too calm, like the ordinary necessities of daily life that linger quietly amid the peaceful years, never grand or overwhelming.
She was the kind of girl who, the hotter her heart burned, the calmer her demeanor remained.
Beneath her ordinary tranquility hid an unwavering determination that others could not comprehend.
Today, she uttered the profound phrase 'My heart is as resilient as the soft reeds,' indicating the deepest sentiment hidden within her heart.
He understood Qi Xinyue.
They had promised to marry after she achieved Foundation Establishment, and he understood her desires.
He also grasped the meaning behind her farewell words.
That line came from a poem: “You should stand like a rock, I shall be like the soft reeds. The reeds are resilient as silk, while the rock remains steadfast.” It was evident that Qi Xinyue had begun researching Huaxia characters early on in hopes of being with him.
As for Qi Xinyue pressing her hand against the star house, it signaled him that the hanging star house was crafted by her, and she would not leave.
This thought unsettled him, yet as he had said before, perhaps Xinyue needed to be in the Divine Race to reach Foundation Establishment.
He couldn’t even achieve it himself, much less could Xinyue follow him to attain it.
“Brother Huan, they have left.” Lou Buzhi couldn’t help but call out to Ding Huan.
Ding Huan took a deep breath to calm himself and gathered his thoughts.
“Friends, we are the City Patrol and have come to understand the situation.” At this moment, two patrol members approached Ding Huan to ask him questions.
Ding Huan pointed towards where Zhi Qi and his companions had disappeared: “You saw it too; I don’t know those three people at all. They not only killed someone but also took my friend.”
The patrol nodded, confirming they were well aware of what had transpired.
Besides, they already knew a bit about the background of the three, so there wasn’t much else to inquire.
“Let’s discuss it later.” Ding Huan said, leading Lou Buzhi up the stairs.
The tea room was somewhat disheveled, but there would be people to clean it up later.
…
Once back in his room, Ding Huan began to ponder about the visitors from the Divine Race.
Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t decipher anything; it was all a blur.
It wasn’t a problem with the great divination technique; it was simply due to his inadequate cultivation.
It was also likely tied to a cosmic rule he could never quite grasp.
“Brother Huan.” Lou Buzhi’s voice came from outside.
Ding Huan opened the door.
Lou Buzhi entered and immediately asked: “Brother Huan, are we going to continue staying here?”
He seemed somewhat anxious; the three who troubled them had all left.
Would those three return to haunt them once they regained their strength?
“We will stay here; they won’t come back.” Ding Huan understood Lou Buzhi’s worries.
He knew that the true backing of the wounded three was the shopkeeper that had been killed by the Divine Race members.
Once the shopkeeper was dead, the other three wouldn’t dare come back unless they were feeling reckless.
Moreover, he wouldn’t dare leave; he did not believe that Zhi Qi's warning was false.
“I’m sorry, Brother Huan. If I hadn’t gone out looking for trouble, things wouldn’t have escalated so much.” Lou Buzhi felt genuinely guilty.
Ding Huan shook his head: “It has nothing to do with you. Do you realize how they managed to find us at the inn so precisely? It was because they sensed Xinyue’s identity as a member of the Divine Race.”
Lou Buzhi knew that whether he went out or stayed in, as long as Qi Xinyue was tied to the Divine Race, they would find her.
What kind of existence was the Divine Race? Why did everyone here fear it so deeply? Ding Huan still had no answers.
Knowing or not knowing, it didn’t matter.
Just like he told Qi Xinyue before, one day, he would go to the Divine Race to honorably marry her and see how the Divine Race would handle him.
“So, should I still go out to earn some money?” Lou Buzhi felt uneasy without a source of income.
Ding Huan waved his hand: “No need. From now on, focus on cultivating and prepare for the grand recruitment of the sect a month from now. By the way, what cultivation technique are you practicing?”
Lou Buzhi took out a book of techniques from his chest: “Brother Huan, it’s this.”
“The Way of Pills?”
Ding Huan’s curiosity was piqued as he opened it and found it was indeed a technique centered around alchemy.
It wasn’t that Lou Buzhi aimed to pursue alchemy, but rather that the author of this technique had already mastered alchemy and thus wrote it down.
Future practitioners could carve their own path according to it.
“This technique is quite impressive; where did you get it?” Ding Huan immediately recognized that this wasn’t a common street find.
Lou Buzhi shyly scratched his head: “I found it in that medicinal cauldron.”
Ding Huan realized that Lou Buzhi had obtained the cauldron along with this technique.
He couldn’t keep the cauldron but passed along this book instead.
It was likely that those who had acquired the cauldron never expected Lou Buzhi would end up with a technique as well.
In fact, it wasn’t only Lou Buzhi; Ding Qi also managed to retain an even better treasure.
The Book of Earth’s Treasures, that was the real marvel.
Ding Huan specifically checked the Foundation Establishment section of “The Way of Pills.” It was vastly different from what he had imagined, focusing on using alchemy as a foundation to forge a Dao body.
For him, it bore little reference value.
He casually handed “The Way of Pills” back to Lou Buzhi: “You’ve got a remarkable technique here, but it’s not easy to practice as it requires spirit herbs to assist.”
This technique required spirit herbs at each realm, and Lou Buzhi didn’t possess any herbs, nor could he refine pills, making advancement impossible.
Lou Buzhi nodded: “I know, so if the chance arises during the sect’s recruitment, I plan to join an alchemy sect.”
Ding Huan approved of Lou Buzhi’s idea.
…
Ding Huan believed that questions about what had happened in the tea room wouldn’t cease.
What he didn’t expect was that everything would quiet down after that.
No one came looking for him, so he naturally wouldn’t seek trouble.
With nearly a month ahead of them, he decided to immerse himself in studying the great divination technique in his room.
His grasp of the great divination was still found lacking, regardless of whether his cultivation rank was the root cause.
This made Ding Huan focus solely on understanding the great divination technique.
Meanwhile, the iron pot he possessed had absorbed enough of the energy from the Zhan Shen crystal stones, leading to slow absorption or even none at all.
Ding Huan began using the pot for cooking.
As he expected, after absorbing the vitality from the Zhan Shen crystal stones, dishes made with the pot tasted immeasurably delicious.
It even seemed that the heavenly energies were returning to him.
To Ding Huan’s surprise, the pot’s ability to infuse heavenly vitality into the food increased slowly over time.
This implied that if he had enough time, eventually cooking with the iron pot would surpass even his cultivation and absorption processes.
Day by day passed, and one day Ding Huan proceeded to perform a divination for himself as usual.
When he vaguely perceived that he was falling from a high point of the inn, he immediately felt something was wrong.
He definitely wouldn’t fall for no reason, it surely meant someone was aiming to force him down.
Given this, he decided to leave this place early.
After all, he had to head to Daye City for the sect’s disciple selection sooner or later, so why not go now?
He called Lou Buzhi and Old Six, quickly checked out of the inn and left.
Despite Qi Xinyue leaving, Old Six remained unyielding as ever, not bothering to ask a single question.
This made Ding Huan want to reconsider bringing this fellow along.
Instead of taking a carriage, Ding Huan and Lou Buzhi decided to walk there.
After resting in the wild for a night, they arrived at Daye City the following evening.
Before arriving at Daye City, its bustling nature was evident, even in Jihe City.
After they arrived, both Ding Huan and Lou Buzhi felt that Daye City truly represented grandeur.
Entering the city wasn’t easy; the city gate was packed with people.
“Brother Huan, I’m worried I won’t be selected by the sect.” Lou Buzhi gazed at the throng of people, feeling anxious again.
Those coming to Daye City were most likely preparing for the sect’s disciple selection in a few days.
Ding Huan himself felt uncertain.
He could only say: “Let’s take it step by step; it hasn’t started yet, who knows what will happen?”
He had tried divining many times about whether he would join the sect, but he couldn’t unravel it.
It seemed he wasn’t qualified for that kind of divination.
Fortunately, Daye City was spacious enough, so once inside, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as at the gate.
“Shall we look for a place to stay?” Although he said so, Lou Buzhi knew how difficult it would be to find an inn with this many people in Daye City.
“Forget it, we’ll sleep at the corner of the street. Look at how many people there are. Even if we find a place, we don’t have any true currency to pay for it.” Ding Huan had seen the futility in actively seeking housing.
(End of Chapter)