"Where are you going?"
Seeing Ding Huan about to leave the group alone, a Yanyue Sect disciple immediately called out to her.
Ding Huan smiled:
"I’m going to get some food for our young lady."
"Deacon Qiong said, no deserting is allowed, otherwise you’re on your own," the disciple loudly rebuked.
Ding Huan quickly replied:
"Don’t worry, I’ll just be nearby, I won’t go far."
The disciple wanted to say something else; another Yanyue Sect disciple beside him pulled him aside and made a gesture.
The disciple understood and simply huffed without saying more.
"You really meddle too much, you’ve warned him, and if he still wanders off to some remote place and dies, he deserves it,"
said the other Yanyue Sect disciple in a low voice after Ding Huan had left.
"Right, he already occupies a slot he shouldn’t have, consider me nosy, hopefully he doesn’t come back."
The disciple who stopped Ding Huan finally understood.
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.
Ding Huan knew that these two guys were dissatisfied with Miss Guan bringing him and Qing Yu aboard the ship to enter the Taoist Realm, so he didn’t care what they said behind his back.
The place was indeed full of dangers, but he had calculated early on and naturally wouldn’t put himself in danger.
In less than half an hour, Ding Huan returned with two Heavenly Fragrance Rabbits.
The Heavenly Fragrance Rabbit was a Demon Beast, but it was a kind with extremely weak combat ability, even an ordinary Martial Artist could kill it.
Seeing Ding Huan returning with two Heavenly Fragrance Rabbits, the two Yanyue Sect disciples could only feel annoyed inside, cursing Ding Huan for his damn luck.
Ding Huan swiftly handled the Heavenly Fragrant Rabbit Meat, then casually set up an earthen stove, took out a pot, and started cooking.
This time it wasn’t a competition at Jin Mansion, so Ding Huan was not as cautious as before.
Besides, having already arrived in the Taoist Realm, even if Miss Guan drove Ding Huan away, he wouldn’t care.
Thus, this time Ding Huan brought out various ingredients and quickly made a large pot of braised Heavenly Fragrant Rabbit Meat in chili sauce.
"Miss Guan, Qing Yu, time to eat," Ding Huan called out.
"Ding Huan, what spices did you use?" Qing Yu smelled an unusual fragrance and hurriedly asked.
"Sort of, some spices from my hometown," Ding Huan said casually as he already had a rabbit leg for Miss Guan.
Miss Guan took a rabbit leg, took a small bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.
Ding Huan indeed didn’t make a mistake in hiring him; his cooking was something she had never tasted before.
Ding Huan didn’t hold back either and also grabbed a rabbit leg and started eating heartily.
Qing Yu, however, frowned slightly. Ding Huan was just a chef hired by Sister Huan, and since when did a chef eat with the host?
But since Miss Guan didn’t say anything, she didn’t feel it was her place to comment.
Ding Huan, having been around the block for a long time, noticed Qing Yu’s frown.
He chose to ignore Qing Yu’s frown.
Unless Miss Guan had previously made it clear that as a chef he must wait until she finished eating, he would comply.
It wasn’t about hierarchy; such inequality in status meant nothing to Ding Huan.
It was a matter of sticking to an agreement; what had been agreed upon should be adhered to.
Miss Guan only asked him to cook, she never stated that he must eat leftovers, so there was no need to wait.
Seeing Ding Huan eating with her, Miss Guan didn’t comment further.
She couldn’t finish the pot by herself anyway.
Moreover, Ding Huan had only been her chef for just over a month and wasn’t bound to her Jin Mansion.
Other people also caught the aroma from Ding Huan’s cooking, but no one dared to come over and ask for food.
Out here, everyone looked out for themselves.
As for Deacon Qiong and Elder Gu, both had reached the level where they could abstain from food, and though they still had desires of the palate, they were not uncontrollable like ordinary people.
At most, they just thought to themselves that this future Young Sect Master’s wife really knew how to enjoy life; not forgetting to have the chef prepare delicious food even on the journey to the Sect.
Since the Yanyue Sect was not yet within the vast ravines of the Grand Canyon, the night passed without incident.
From the Mortal World to the Taoist Realm, the most dangerous area was the endless Great Ravine.
The next morning, Deacon Qiong summoned everyone to line up.
After everyone was in position, Deacon Qiong said gravely:
"I’ve given all the warnings I needed to. Before we enter the Great Ravine, I have one more thing to say.
Over the years, the missing new disciples were mostly lost within the Great Ravine. In the Great Ravine, we can only travel during the day and rest at night.
Therefore, our pace won’t be slow. Everyone must keep up with the group. If anyone falls behind, the group won’t wait for you."
Hearing this, a few of the less capable newcomers turned pale.
Thankfully, what Deacon Qiong said next made all the new recruits sigh with relief.
"I will give each of you a Speeding Talisman, which can be used for about half a month.
Those who can’t keep up should use it sparingly, otherwise, you’ll have to stay alone in the Great Ravine Canyon."
Ding Huan thought to himself, that’s more like it.
Otherwise, the new recruits without prior cultivation experience would find it difficult to keep up with the group forcibly.
Surprisingly, Ding Huan was also given a Speeding Talisman, in fact, he received two.
One of them was Lao Liu’s and was temporarily kept with Ding Huan.
Once the talisman was in hand, Ding Huan knew that it was a third-level talisman; if he had a talisman pen, he should be able to draw it.
After everyone had received their talismans, Deacon Qiong said:
"This Speeding Talisman is of medium quality, a first-level talisman, and part of your initial resources. If you can exit the Great Ravine Canyon without using the talisman, it will remain yours."
Ding Huan felt somewhat stunned by this.
This was just a first-level talisman? And merely a medium-quality first-level one at that?
Even the foolish knew, the so-called third-level talismans he had been drawing were actually first-level talismans, and even the lower-quality ones at that.
The joke was on him, as he had always thought he was about to be able to draw fourth-level talismans.
So it turned out he could only draw first-level talismans?
Deacon Qiong did not care about Ding Huan’s dismay; he had already entered the Great Ravine Canyon.
The rest followed him into the canyon.
Ding Huan had to accept the fact, probably because he did not fully understand the cultivation and talisman systems.
Without a master, he had always been groping forward alone.
Outside the Great Ravine Canyon, it still felt somewhat hot.
Once inside, Ding Huan felt a chilling cold seeping into his body.
Ding Huan found that not only he, but all who entered the canyon felt this bone-chilling cold.
Involuntarily, the newcomers shivered and subconsciously shrank their necks.
Elder Gu, who was the leader of the protection team for the new recruits, paid close attention to the new disciples.
When he saw that all twenty-three new disciples involuntarily shivered upon entering the canyon, unlike the chef who seemed unaffected, he found it strange.
Fortunately, once everyone adapted to the chilling cold, their pace did not slow down.
Elder Gu and Deacon Qiong walked at a brisk pace, and Ding Huan did not mind.
After all, Lao Liu was a Level 9 Genetic Beast and could easily keep up.
Among the twenty-three disciples, three were slightly weaker and needed to run at full speed to keep up.
Continuous running was definitely not feasible, and lagging behind was inevitable. Luckily, Deacon Qiong had distributed the Speeding Talismans for use when they couldn’t run anymore.
However, Qing Yu impressed Ding Huan with her speed, which was not slow at all and even faster than many of the new disciples.
On the first day, everyone managed without using the Speeding Talisman, and those three weaker disciples barely kept up with the running.
Even though it was just one day, the differences among everyone were clearly visible.
Before nightfall, Deacon Qiong ordered them to set up camp again.
The campsite was very spacious and judging from the traces, it seemed to be an old campsite.
Once the camp was set up, Ding Huan left the camp.
This time, none of the Yanyue Sect’s Guardian Disciples bothered with Ding Huan; after all, if he died, it was his fault, as they had warned him once.
Deacon Qiong also saw Ding Huan leaving the group, but he would not interfere.
His accompanying mission was to protect Miss Guan; as for someone as insignificant as Ding Huan, he did not care whether he lived or died.
Thousands of meters away from the group, Ding Huan’s Divine Will swept out.
Soon under his Divine Will, he discovered a Golden Spot Dog that was at least several meters long, that he knew to be a highly poisonous Demon Beast.
This creature resembled a python but had legs.
One bite from this creature was almost certainly fatal.
Usually, there was no need for the Golden Spot Dog to bite; anyone who approached it was doomed to die.
Because the Golden Spot Dog could also spew a sort of Poison Fog that was without antidote.
The Golden Spot Dog was extremely delicious and had one characteristic, wherever this creature appeared, there was definitely a treasure.
This several-meter-long Golden Spot Dog must be guarding a Top Treasure.
Once Ding Huan was sure it posed no threat to his life, he cautiously approached.
Perhaps due to long dominance over this area and extreme confidence in the poison fog around itself, the Golden Spot Dog was not very vigilant. Ding Huan had approached it from behind, and it was still unaware.
Ding Huan raised his long blade, gathered his True Yuan, and struck the Golden Spot Dog.
"Puff!" A stream of blood sprayed out, but Ding Huan’s heart sank.
The skin of the Golden Spot Dog was extremely thick; his blade had severely injured it but had not cut it in two.