Chapter 00222: Elder He's Escape Route
# Elder He's Escape Route
Chapter 222
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 222: Elder He's Escape Route
"Sect Master..."
Qin Qingshan, who had been patrolling the sect, immediately stepped forward to greet Ding Huan upon his return.
Liu Yinzhu also arrived promptly.
"Master," Mo Huaping called out excitedly.
Liu Yinzhu was surprised to see that Ding Huan had not only brought Guan Wan back but also her own disciple.
After introducing Sang Yuhe, Ding Huan said, "Sister Yinzhu, take me to see where Elder He is in seclusion."
Hearing Ding Huan's words, Liu Yinzhu was stunned.
It took her several breaths before she asked, "Ding Huan, are you going to... now?"
Ding Huan nodded.
He simply didn't have time to waste.
"But, but..."
Even though Liu Yinzhu had always known Ding Huan's plans, she hesitated when she heard that he was going to confront Elder He.
It wasn't that she was worried about Elder He, but rather about Ding Huan.
Ding Huan turned to Qin Qingshan and said, "Elder Qin, take Guan Wan and Mo Huaping to rest. I need to discuss some matters with Elder Liu and Elder Sang here."
"Yes," Qin Qingshan responded and quickly led Guan Wan and Mo Huaping away.
"Ding Huan, Elder He's soul is at the peak of the Yuan Soul realm, and he's even half a step into the Void God realm. You're going to deal with him? This, this..."
Liu Yinzhu didn't know how to put it into words.
Deep down, she knew that if Ding Huan couldn't kill Elder He, staying here would be meaningless.
Sang Yuhe finally understood that the prerequisite for Ding Huan to establish a sect in Zixia Valley was to kill a peak Yuan Soul realm expert.
She looked at Ding Huan speechlessly, wondering what kind of spell she had fallen under to be tricked into coming to Zixia Valley.
Ding Huan didn't explain.
He knew Liu Yinzhu would understand the reason.
"I'll take you there. What can I do to help?" Liu Yinzhu finally sighed.
Her life had been saved by Ding Huan more than once.
At this moment, she couldn't bring herself to leave.
Sang Yuhe remained silent as well.
Her life had also been saved by Ding Huan.
Ding Huan shook his head, "Your strength won't be of help. Just take me to the mountain where Elder He is in seclusion."
Liu Yinzhu led Ding Huan to Zixi Peak, the most remote peak in Zixia Valley.
As soon as Ding Huan arrived, he knew that the spiritual energy here was no weaker than that of Zhaoxia Peak.
"This is where Elder He is in seclusion," Liu Yinzhu said, leading Ding Huan to the outskirts of Zixi Peak, her voice filled with concern.
"Sister Yinzhu, go back first. If anything happens to me, just say you were forced and had no control over my actions."
Ding Huan wasn't confident about dealing with Elder He.
He had encountered Yuan Soul realm cultivators before, but Hao Wudao was nothing compared to Elder He.
Moreover, Hao Wudao had been on the brink of death, his strength even weaker than an ordinary True Core cultivator.
Because he wasn't confident, Ding Huan had spent a fortune to buy Hell Vine seeds.
Once Liu Yinzhu left, Ding Huan carefully concealed his aura and began to survey the terrain.
Zixi Peak was quite remote, with no disciples or elders residing on the surrounding peaks.
Two sides were sheer cliffs, one side had a small stream that seemed to never dry up, and the last side was a gentle slope, the most normal part of the mountain.
Ding Huan guessed that the stream was the origin of Zixi Peak's name.
The terrain here was perfect for setting up a trapping and killing array.
Ding Huan didn't immediately set up the array.
Instead, he hid his aura and carefully observed the surroundings from the outskirts.
He only had one chance, and failure would mean certain death.
Ding Huan spent three days wandering around the outskirts of Zixi Peak.
To avoid making too much noise, he carefully concealed his presence and used the Extreme Shadow Evasion technique.
Elder He must have been very confident in the security of Zixi Peak and the arrays he had set up.
With his impending breakthrough to the Void God realm, he never extended his divine sense outside.
After all, his cave was in Zixia Valley, and he was the highest-ranking elder in both cultivation and status.
Who would dare to cause trouble here?
Elder He's array skills were indeed impressive.
On the sides of the two cliffs, he had set up fourth-level defensive arrays and even a teleportation array.
The teleportation array was only third-level, indicating that it was likely a backup plan.
If anything went wrong, Elder He could immediately teleport away.
Although Elder He's arrays were all fourth and third-level, Ding Huan believed that Elder He's array skills were no worse than his own.
At the very least, Ding Huan couldn't set up a teleportation array.
On the fourth day, Ding Huan began setting up various arrays.
He first set up trapping and killing arrays around Zixi Peak, adding locking array flags.
Once his trapping and killing arrays were activated, they would completely lock down Elder He's teleportation array.
One trapping and killing array wasn't enough, so Ding Huan set up five of them.
He had plenty of array flags, so a few more arrays just meant wasting some materials and time.
After setting up the trapping and killing arrays, he added illusion arrays and poison arrays.
The poison used in the poison array was all taken from Ji Xinting's body in the Hidden Sword Mountain.
Now, it was being used against Elder He.
Elder He might be at the peak of the Yuan Soul realm, but in terms of cultivation, he was far inferior to Ji Xinting, even several levels below.
Finally, Ding Huan hid the Great Universe Pearl at the base of the spirit-gathering array.
As long as Elder He used the spirit-gathering array to cultivate, the poison mist would be drawn into his body.
This way, it wouldn't seem out of place, and the poison mist would still be effective.
Once Elder He appeared, Ding Huan would fully activate the poison mist in the Great Universe Pearl.
As for whether the poison mist would spread, Ding Huan didn't care at all.
He had set up binding arrays all around Zixi Peak.
By the time Ding Huan finished all this, it was already the eleventh day since he had arrived at Zixi Peak.
According to Ding Huan's plan, he just needed to lie in wait on the outskirts of Zixi Peak and wait for Elder He to emerge.
With Elder He's cultivation level, it wouldn't take long for him to realize that the spiritual energy he was absorbing was poisoned.
Ding Huan didn't stay put.
He calculated the situation, but the results were vague, and he felt something was off.
If the calculation had shown a blank future, Ding Huan would have left immediately.
This was no joking matter; it concerned his life.
Ding Huan carefully examined the two cliffs, but nothing seemed unusual.
They were completely covered by his trapping and killing arrays.
Could it be the stream?
But the stream was crystal clear.
A sweep of divine sense would reveal everything clearly.
What could be wrong with it?
Although the possibility of the stream being a problem was slim, Ding Huan still went to the stream and carefully observed it with his divine sense.
A day later, Ding Huan's divine sense didn't detect anything unusual, but his eyes saw something different.
At the edge of the stream, some stones seemed to be arranged differently.
While his divine sense detected nothing, his eyes could vaguely see some faint patterns.
Ding Huan didn't dare to be careless.
His eyes were different from those of ordinary cultivators; they had fused with the Great Desolate Eye.
Although it wasn't fully developed yet, he could already see things that others couldn't.
In the Great Chasm Canyon, this ability had been crucial.
Ding Huan focused his divine sense on the suspicious spot his eyes had detected and soon realized what it was.
It was a teleportation array, and a natural one at that.
Natural teleportation arrays were extremely rare.
This one was not only natural but also had clear, layered patterns, making it perfect for beginners to study.
Even the slowest person would understand why Elder He could set up teleportation arrays.
He must have learned it here.
No wonder Elder He was reluctant to leave Zixi Peak; he was probably worried someone else would learn the teleportation array.
In both the Daoist and Ascension realms, teleportation arrays were incredibly difficult to create.
They required the top array masters in the Ascension realm and a pile of top-tier materials.
Now that Ding Huan had discovered a natural teleportation array, how could he let it go?
However, before studying the teleportation array, Ding Huan set up a series of trapping arrays and barrier arrays around it.
Not only that, but Ding Huan also planted the fifth-level Hell Vine he had bought at great expense into the core of the natural teleportation array.
After discovering this teleportation array, Ding Huan was almost certain that Elder He's real escape route wasn't the teleportation arrays on the cliffs but this inconspicuous one by the stream.
This natural teleportation array was indeed the best textbook for learning how to set up teleportation arrays.
In just half a month, Ding Huan had grasped the basics of teleportation array setup through the patterns.
After learning the patterns and array flags for teleportation arrays, Ding Huan quickly left the array and hid in his own concealment array.
If Elder He escaped and found Ding Huan near the teleportation array, he would definitely become suspicious.
Ding Huan returned to the outskirts of Zixi Peak and focused on studying the teleportation array.
Ding Huan was already a peak fifth-level array master with a wealth of theoretical knowledge.
What he lacked was just a key to unlock this knowledge.
Under the guidance of the natural teleportation array patterns, Ding Huan's teleportation array skills reached the fourth level in just a month.
Just as Ding Huan was about to push his teleportation array skills to the fifth level, the spiritual energy around Zixi Peak began to churn.
Ding Huan immediately stopped studying the teleportation array and grabbed his Parting Spear.
Elder He had started cultivating.
Once he started, the next step would be for him to discover the poison mist in the spiritual energy he was absorbing.
Time passed slowly, and to Ding Huan's surprise, the spiritual energy around Elder He grew more and more turbulent.
Finally, a vortex formed at the peak of Zixi Peak.
Ding Huan was stunned.
Had Elder He already obtained the Three-Colored Violet Cloud Flower and refined the Void Vein Elixir? Was he preparing to break through to the Void God realm?
(End of Chapter)