Chapter 00206: I’ve Been Waiting for You
# I’ve Been Waiting for You
Chapter 206
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 206: I’ve Been Waiting for You
Liu Yinzhu was taken aback and instinctively asked, "How did you know?"
Ding Huan smiled faintly, "Isn’t it obvious? Sect Master Gu doesn’t want to kill Dong Lishang and Gong Hua because he hopes these two can contribute to the sect. Gong Hua is about to be released, doesn’t that mean a fight is about to break out?"
Liu Yinzhu’s expression darkened, "I’m sorry, Ding Huan. The sect master is also in a difficult position. Our sect lacks strong experts, and Elder He doesn’t involve himself in these matters."
Ding Huan waved it off casually, "It’s really not a big deal. I’ve gained a lot in the year I’ve been at Zixia Valley. The 100,000 sect contribution points have been incredibly useful to me. In fact, I should be thanking you."
Liu Yinzhu sighed.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had somehow wronged Ding Huan.
"Sister Yinzhu, I’ll be leaving in a while. When I go, I won’t say goodbye to you," Ding Huan said, breaking the news in advance.
Liu Yinzhu had already guessed that Ding Huan would likely leave.
She took out a jade token and handed it to him, "Ding Huan, this is the sect’s entry and exit token. Take it. You can come and find me anytime."
Ding Huan thought about the fact that he already had a guest elder’s token, but he accepted it without hesitation, "Thank you, Sister Yinzhu."
"Ding Huan, I’ll head back first. I’ve been swamped with tasks lately," Liu Yinzhu said, already considering Ding Huan a friend.
Ding Huan pondered for a moment before speaking, "Sister Yinzhu, let me give you a few suggestions. First, Ziyuan Heavy Mountain originally belongs to Zixia Valley. The sect should protect it with formations and open it up to cultivators from the entire cultivation world. Charge them fees or ask for favors in return. This will help gather allies and increase support."
Liu Yinzhu immediately paid attention when Ding Huan started offering advice.
"Second, before the first battle, have the sect master hold a war mobilization meeting in the main hall. Remember, this is the key point…"
Liu Yinzhu nodded.
She valued Ding Huan’s opinions highly.
Ding Huan took out a piece of paper and wrote down the names of sixteen medicinal herbs, along with a method for making incense.
He handed it to Liu Yinzhu, "Use these sixteen herbs to make high-quality incense. Burn it in the main hall either the day before the battle or during the mobilization meeting on the day of the battle. Make sure every disciple or elder participating in the battle enters the hall and inhales the incense."
"Ding Huan, what do you mean by this?" Liu Yinzhu asked, puzzled.
Ding Huan naturally couldn’t reveal his true intentions, "Sister Yinzhu, just know that this is to pray for the sect’s success in the upcoming battle. There can’t be any other reason. Of course, whether Sect Master Gu listens or not is up to him."
Liu Yinzhu carefully stored the paper, "Ding Huan, I’ll definitely inform the sect master and ask him to consider your suggestions."
"Next, regarding the battle itself—if everything I’ve suggested is followed, don’t rush out to fight when the battle begins. The enemy will likely come to the sect to attack. Just have the sect master set up more trapping and killing formations within the sect. Also, don’t strike first. Wait for the enemy to make the first move, then suddenly unleash a devastating attack."
Hearing this, Liu Yinzhu immediately objected, "That’s impossible. If the Nine Sound Sect dares to invade our sect, it would be an all-out war. That kind of behavior is absolutely forbidden in the cultivation world."
Ding Huan sighed, "Sister Yinzhu, forgive me for saying this, but even if they destroy Zixia Valley and take over, then distribute some of the benefits to others, who would stand up for Zixia Valley?"
He had seen this kind of thing too many times.
In the end, the most likely outcome would be that Zixia Valley had gone too far, and the Nine Sound Sect, unable to tolerate it any longer, would destroy Zixia Valley under the pretext of repeated killings of their disciples or some other reason.
Liu Yinzhu was at a loss for words.
Her earlier statement about it being impossible was based on the assumption that Zixia Valley wouldn’t be destroyed.
As long as Zixia Valley survived, they could denounce the Nine Sound Sect’s crimes.
But what if Zixia Valley was truly destroyed?
"I understand," Liu Yinzhu said, her spirits low.
"Sister Yinzhu, the fewer people who know about this, the better. Also, you need to go into seclusion and focus on your cultivation. If you’re constantly bogged down by trivial matters, it’s really not worth it."
Ding Huan gave one last piece of advice.
Liu Yinzhu sighed and stood up, handing Ding Huan a storage bag, "This is a flying ship my master gave me. I’ve been using the one the sect master gave me, so I’ll give this one to you."
Ding Huan was overjoyed, "Thank you, Sister Yinzhu!"
He had been thinking about buying a flying ship, and now one had been handed to him.
Flying ships were highly sought-after treasures, and without connections, it was nearly impossible to buy one.
Most were sold at auctions for exorbitant prices.
If you tried to buy one at an artifact pavilion, the price would be several times higher.
After Liu Yinzhu left, Ding Huan could have left immediately.
Instead, he stayed and began setting up various trapping and killing formations.
It turned out that Liu Yinzhu’s information had come just in time.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Ding Huan felt the triggering mechanism on Zhaoxia Peak being activated.
Through the monitoring formation, Ding Huan saw that it was indeed Gong Hua who had arrived.
After a year in confinement, this guy hadn’t lost any weight.
In fact, he looked even more energetic, and his aura had grown stronger.
What a huge irony.
Ding Huan took out a gene poison mist sprayer, casually set up a pressure-activated formation, and placed it to the side.
The gene poison mist began to spray.
Ding Huan chuckled inwardly.
He had already tested it—True Dan cultivators couldn’t resist this poison.
"Bang!" With a muffled sound, the door to Ding Huan’s cultivation room was kicked open.
Ding Huan looked at Gong Hua, who had burst in, with feigned surprise.
He thought to himself, *This guy didn’t even bother to disguise his intentions?*
"Don’t want to leave, huh? The spiritual energy here is so rich, no wonder you’re reluctant to go. Let me give you some good news—you won’t have to leave anymore. You can stay here forever."
Gong Hua laughed maniacally as he saw Ding Huan’s surprised expression.
"Ten, nine, eight…"
Ding Huan ignored Gong Hua’s words and continued counting as if nothing had happened.
"Playing tricks, huh?" Gong Hua sneered and reached out to grab Ding Huan’s head.
"Bang!" The hidden formation was torn apart by Gong Hua’s claw.
A third-level defensive formation activated, blocking Gong Hua’s strike.
"Seven, six…" Ding Huan kept counting.
"You actually set up a third-level defensive formation?" Gong Hua was momentarily stunned, but then he summoned a giant axe and swung it down.
"Swish, swish, swish…"
Hundreds of blade and sword lights shot toward Gong Hua.
Gong Hua twisted his body rapidly, but the attacks were too dense.
Even with his speed, he was hit by several sword and blade lights.
"Boom!" Gong Hua’s giant axe tore a gap in Ding Huan’s third-level defensive formation.
Ding Huan thought to himself, *This guy’s strength is indeed beyond that of an ordinary True Dan cultivator.
With one swing of his axe, he tore through my formation.
It seems that ordinary third-level formations aren’t enough to deal with a True Dan Perfection expert.*
With that in mind, Ding Huan tossed out a few more formation flags, activating a killing formation.
Feeling the onslaught of wind blades and sword lights, Gong Hua quickly retreated, intending to exit Ding Huan’s room first.
He refused to believe that Ding Huan could escape from him today.
"Bang!" Gong Hua’s body was blocked again.
Clearly, Ding Huan had used a trapping formation to seal the exit of his cultivation room.
"Three, two, one…" Ding Huan continued counting.
In fact, Ding Huan was inwardly lamenting that the gene poison mist was somewhat slow against True Dan Perfection cultivators.
It probably wouldn’t work against Soul Formation experts.
The gene poison mist relied on the element of surprise.
Once a strong cultivator detected it in advance, it would be difficult to take effect.
Only now did Gong Hua finally sense that something was wrong.
His true energy was becoming sluggish.
He had been about to summon his giant axe to tear through Ding Huan’s trapping formation, but his true energy stopped halfway, as if blocked by something.
Even his meridians began to feel numb, and his sea of consciousness slowed down.
"Something’s wrong. Did you poison this place?" Gong Hua finally realized.
He hadn’t expected Ding Huan to be so cunning.
How did a mere Qi Refining cultivator know he was coming and even set up poison in advance?
Ding Huan took out the gene poison mist sprayer and sprayed it at Gong Hua through the defensive formation.
Then he removed the pressure-activated formation on the sprayer.
There wasn’t much poison left in the sprayer.
It could probably only be used one more time.
However, as his cultivation improved, the gene poison mist was becoming less useful to him.
"I thought I’d have to wait a few more days before leaving, but you’ve done me a favor by showing up at dawn. You’ve saved me a few days of waiting."
Ding Huan put away the sprayer and stood up, lazily brushing off nonexistent dust from his clothes.
He had stayed here precisely to wait for Gong Hua.
"You knew I was coming?" Gong Hua felt that something was off.
Ding Huan said leisurely, "If a piece of trash like you can scheme against me, I wouldn’t have survived this long. Do you know about that guy from the Twin Soul Sect with the broken bottle? His strength wasn’t much worse than yours, and I blew his head off with one shot. You’re lucky I didn’t pull out my gun on you."
Gong Hua shuddered.
The Broken Bottle guy’s strength wasn’t inferior to his.
At this moment, he felt a sharp pain in his internal organs.
His dantian began to crack, and his sea of consciousness showed signs of collapsing.
Gong Hua frantically circulated his cultivation technique to expel the poison, but this only made the damage to his body worse.
"Brother Ding, if you spare me this once, I’m willing to swear a soul oath," Gong Hua pleaded urgently.
Ding Huan nodded and took a step forward.
Gong Hua suppressed his anger, thinking that even if he died, he would take Ding Huan with him.
"Good, let’s hear your oath…" Ding Huan nodded.
Gong Hua didn’t hesitate, "I, Gong Hua, swear that if Brother Ding spares me today…"
"Pfft!" Before Gong Hua could finish his oath, a blade light sliced through his forehead.
Gong Hua died with his eyes wide open, staring at Ding Huan in disbelief. *Why? He asked me to swear an oath, so why did he still kill me?*
Ding Huan didn’t care what Gong Hua thought.
After killing him, he immediately cast a fireball onto Gong Hua’s body and swiftly took a storage bracelet from him.
He didn’t want to take the risk of Gong Hua using some secret technique to send a message.
After killing Gong Hua, Ding Huan knew it was time to leave—and he had to leave immediately.
(End of Chapter)