Chapter 00172: Meeting Elder Qu Again
# Meeting Elder Qu Again
Chapter 172
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 172: Meeting Elder Qu Again
Due to the previous encounter with the cold phantom poison, both Elder Liu Yinzhu and Elder Gu Youchang were constantly maintaining their mental clarity.
Not only that, but they also each held an antidote pill in their mouths.
Most people thought Ding Huan was merely putting on an act in front of Quyue Mountain, which was why he walked into the forest.
However, Ding Huan's earlier intuition had proven too accurate.
After Elder Liu and Elder Gu followed Ding Huan off the main road and into the woods, they could only follow him deeper into the forest.
Two hours later, Elder Liu Yinzhu suddenly stopped in Zixia Valley.
"Everyone, stop."
"What's wrong, Elder Liu?" Ding Huan asked, puzzled.
Since he was leading the way, it was only natural for him to inquire when Liu Yinzhu halted.
Elder Liu's expression was grave.
"Ding Daoyou, Elder Gu, have we fallen once again under the influence of the cold phantom poison? Look, we are currently standing in the middle of the main road."
Without Liu Yinzhu saying anything, everyone hadn't really noticed until now.
With her reminder, they all looked around in horror, realizing they truly stood in the center of the road.
They had encountered this situation before, when they mistakenly believed themselves to be in the woods and ended up attacked by the cold phantom, resulting in a heavy loss of lives.
Now it was happening again, and it struck them that they should have been in the forest by now; being on the road felt decidedly wrong.
"Ding Daoyou, what is going on?" Elder Gu asked, equally uncertain.
Ding Huan secretly found this amusing and spun around.
Naturally, they had returned to the main road.
Was he a fool to wander in the depths of the forest for long?
"Two Elders, I'm not quite certain myself, but I have a feeling we are safe right now. Therefore, we need not worry and should just keep moving forward."
Ding Huan could only feign ignorance.
Liu Yinzhu sighed.
"Let's heed Ding Daoyou's words and proceed, as we have no other choice."
They weren’t even sure if they had truly been affected by the phantom poison.
However, Ding Huan was well aware from his memories that after being struck by the cold phantom poison, the meridians would be filled with a bone-chilling cold as soon as one started circulating their Qi.
He couldn’t reveal this, though.
After they walked a bit further, night fell.
Ding Huan stopped.
"Elders, let’s camp here."
Upon his suggestion, the two elders had no objections.
The campsite was quickly established, and Elder Liu Yinzhu and Elder Gu Youchang took turns managing the safety of each side.
Even though everyone was exhausted, the new disciples in the camp, akin to startled birds, could not sleep.
They anxiously listened for any sounds from the outside, and as soon as a soft breeze stirred, they couldn't help but rise.
Ding Huan, too, could not sleep.
He was not worried about the cold phantom but was instead studying the formation jade slip given to him by Elder Gu Youchang.
Delving into this formation slip was even more vast and boundless than talisman techniques.
The more complex it was, the greater Ding Huan's desire to study it.
He thought how convenient it would be in the future to set up a defensive formation while camping, instead of having to calculate everything meticulously.
As he interacted with more powerful beings, the rules of the cultivation world became increasingly profound, and the things he could calculate started to get blurry.
The study of formations would perfectly fill this gap.
At the rear of the encampment stood Liu Yinzhu, and her prized disciple, Mo Huaping, approached her quietly.
"Master, why do I feel like that Chef Ding is acting recklessly?"
Liu Yinzhu was taken aback, perplexed.
"Why do you feel that way?"
Mo Huaping replied, "He's just a chef, a temporary one at that, yet he dares to speak harshly to Elder Qu of the Dual Souls Sect. Isn't that courting death? I'm worried he knows he is doomed but still drags everyone else into his path of destruction."
This latter point was what truly concerned Mo Huaping.
In truth, it was no surprise she had such thoughts; after all, she was a lofty cultivator.
In her eyes, a hundred of Ding Huan's lives wouldn't match the worth of one like her.
So, if this time Ding Huan was leading them to their doom, they would be in grave danger.
Coming to tell her master this was to make her aware of Ding Huan and not to trust him blindly.
Looking at her cherished disciple, Liu Yinzhu sighed inwardly.
Mo Huaping was her most valued disciple, which was why she had brought her along to the mortal realm.
Now, it seemed her disciple was far behind Chef Ding in many respects.
"Master, could it be that I am mistaken?" Sensing her master’s sigh, Mo Huaping asked anxiously.
"Huaping, if you were in Ding Huan's shoes, with his abilities, what would you do?" Liu Yinzhu inquired.
Mo Huaping responded matter-of-factly, "Even if Elder Qu ridicules me, I would respectfully reply and not do anything to intentionally separate myself from Elder Qu. With his status and position, he wouldn’t waste time holding onto grudges against a mere chef. I’d wait until we passed the Great Ravine Canyon and then escape far away. If I had the power in the future, I could come back for revenge; if not, then so be it."
The second part of her statement felt unnecessary to Mo Huaping.
She firmly believed that whatever the case, Ding Huan wouldn’t stand a chance for revenge in the future.
Why place oneself in danger when already so lowly?
"Humph, if you think like that, your end would come sooner," Liu Yinzhu scoffed lightly.
"But Master, didn’t you tell me that sometimes one must endure humiliation and hide their strength?" Mo Huaping questioned, confused.
Liu Yinzhu slowly replied, "Because Ding Huan noticed Elder Qu's killing intent. This means that as soon as they leave the Great Ravine Canyon, Elder Qu will surely wish to kill Ding Huan."
"Do you think Elder Qu, upon suddenly killing Ding Huan, would risk offending the Dual Souls Sect to take revenge on a mere chef?"
"Ah..."
Mo Huaping gasped in shock.
What a joke! Even if Ding Huan saved everyone, he was still just a chef.
Elder Gu would be crazy to risk angering the Dual Souls Sect for a chef.
Liu Yinzhu continued calmly, "You should have guessed that Elder Gu wouldn't take action, and Ding Huan understood that Elder Gu was unlikely to intervene. Furthermore, even if Elder Gu wanted to take action, if Ding Huan were already dead, what difference would it make?"
His only chance at survival would be to take down Elder Qu in the Great Ravine Canyon or at least injure him, ensuring he would no longer be a threat.
In other words, if Elder Qu were to survive, even severely injured, he would pose no threat to Chef Ding, who then wouldn’t say he wanted to part ways.
So, since Ding Huan knew Elder Qu sought his life, why should he endure humiliation and remain polite? Does he have no self-respect?
"But as a chef, why would he be capable of defeating Elder Qu? He wouldn’t even have the chance to strike," Mo Huaping questioned further, confused.
Liu Yinzhu glanced at Ding Huan's location and sighed.
"He already made his move; you’re still clamoring about whether he had the chance to attack."
"What?" Mo Huaping was startled, then quickly realized.
"Master, are you saying parting ways is the act of attacking?"
"Correct," Liu Yinzhu affirmed.
"In the midst of it, sensing where safety lies is his only opportunity. Neither Elder Gu nor I believe Ding Huan is seeking death, which is why we agreed to his plan of leading us into the woods."
Liu Yinzhu truly thought this way.
If it were another mortal, they might consider their own life worthless enough to trade for the lives of cultivators.
But she believed she wasn’t mistaken in seeing Ding Huan; his gaze, words, and actions never indicated he viewed himself as beneath the cultivators.
Therefore, she didn’t think Ding Huan was foolishly seeking death by entering the forest.
Although Mo Huaping didn’t press further, she still felt her master held Ding Huan in too high regard.
...
The night passed swiftly for the others, seemingly dragging on for an eternity, while for Ding Huan, it felt like only a few minutes had gone by.
A piercing scream echoed from behind, and both Elder Liu and Elder Gu fell back in an instant.
Then they saw a figure rushing towards them.
"Elder Qu?" This time it was Elder Gu Youchang who exclaimed in shock.
Didn’t Elder Qu just walk ahead of them? How had he appeared from behind after their night of rest?
This was quite bizarre.
If not for the presence of so many people, Elder Gu would have felt compelled to ask, "Elder Qu, could you not scare us like that?"
Though Elder Gu held back, Ding Huan had no such reservations.
After all, this man wanted to kill him, so what was there to be cautious about?
"Elder Qu, you are truly trying to scare everyone to death here."
After he said that, Ding Huan finally felt relieved.
This old fellow was missing his legs and had escaped solely on a talisman.
Without legs, he was no longer qualified to pursue him.
As long as he left the Great Ravine Canyon, that surnamed Qu wouldn’t be able to kill him immediately, and it would be futile for him to try afterwards.
He had no idea how that old fellow had lost his legs, but there was still a sinister aura around him.
"Elder Qu, what happened to you?"
Elder Liu Yinzhu looked at Qu Yueshan, shocking him with the sight of blood all over his body.
The last time she saw Qu Yueshan escape, though disheveled, he was still intact.
Now, Qu Yueshan was utterly ragged, drenched in blood, and the most horrifying part was that he had lost his legs completely beneath his knees.
"The Foot-Eating Zombie, there’s a Foot-Eating Zombie over there..."
Qu Yueshan stammered, still trembling.
The Foot-Eating Zombie? Both Liu Yinzhu and Gu Youchang's hearts skipped a beat.
In the Great Ravine Canyon, the terror of the Foot-Eating Zombie was no less than that of the cold phantom.
This creature was born from souls harnessing the trickle of zombies, lying hidden underground.
When cultivators passed, it would suddenly leap out to devour their feet.
If the cultivator was strong enough, it was best to escape quickly.
But if their cultivation was average, the Foot-Eating Zombie wouldn’t stop at just feet; Qu Youshan had even lost his calves.
Both Liu Yinzhu and Gu Youchang involuntarily looked at Ding Huan.
If not for Ding Huan insisting on taking the forest path, their own feet could have met the same fate.
If they believed that the Foot-Eating Zombie would only consume one’s feet while a group passed by, that would be a grave mistake.
A formidable Foot-Eating Zombie could easily devour the feet of a hundred.
Han Weicheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, vowing that henceforth, even if Ding Huan walked through the Deadman’s Marsh with his eyes closed, he would not hesitate to follow blindly.
(End of today's update, goodnight friends! Monthly tickets are appreciated!)
(Chapter complete)