"Brother Huan, is it possible that only a few of us are left in the entire sect?"
Yan Mei, feeling the emptiness of Purple Mist Valley, couldn’t help but ask.
"It’s unlikely that only a few of us are left. Purple Mist Valley is so vast, and there are many Concealing Arrays. There must be many people hidden among them,"
Ding Huan explained.
"Ding Huan, what do we do now?" After suddenly settling down, Liu Yinzhu felt lost.
Before, she had been working hard for Purple Mist Valley, keeping busy both for the sect and improving her own cultivation.
Now that Purple Mist Valley was gone, she didn’t know what to do.
"First, let’s deal with the bodies here and gather everything together," Ding Huan had already made a plan in his mind.
Ding Huan, a creator of his own path in the Great Dao, understood many things that others did not.
He vaguely felt that if he didn’t establish a sect or spread his Cultivation Technique and his path, it seemed like his Great Dao was missing something.
He might not feel it now, but what about in the future?
It was very likely the foundation he needed. For his path to have a foundation in the vast universe, he must have a lineage belonging to his path.
Because any Great Dao that exists in the vast universe must have a foundation and a lineage.
Losing the lineage of the Great Dao was like losing the foundation of the Great Dao, like water without a source or a tree without roots.
He wasn’t supposed to think about these things now, but such a great opportunity was right before him. If he didn’t act, it would be like rejecting a gift from heaven.
Isn’t it said, "To reject a gift from heaven is to invite misfortune"?
If that was the case, why should he wait for later?
Among a pile of bodies, there were nine cultivators from Purple Mist Valley who were barely alive.
One of them, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, had lighter injuries; he was stunned into unconsciousness by Hao Wudao’s impact on his Sea of Consciousness, which was lucky.
Truly lucky, because those who were cleaning the battlefield hadn’t arrived yet. Once they did, he would be dead too.
Two Qi Cultivators, after being treated by Liu Yinzhu, could move freely again.
The rest were either severely injured internally or had lost arms and legs, and one even had his Sea of Consciousness shattered.
Even if they were saved, they couldn’t continue cultivation.
"Elder Liu?"
The rescued Foundation Establishment Cultivator saw Liu Yinzhu, then looked at the bodies all around, his face filled with confusion and horror.
"You must be Qin Qingshan, right? I knew you when you reached Foundation Establishment," Liu Yinzhu recognized the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
"Disciple is indeed Qin Qingshan," the Foundation Establishment Cultivator bowed respectfully.
"What about you two?" Liu Yinzhu turned to the other two rescued Qi Cultivators, one of whom had lost an arm.
"Disciple Shen Jiankai, Disciple Chen Ding, have met Elder Liu, thank you for saving our lives," the two Qi Cultivators also hurried forward to pay their respects.
Including Qin Qingshan, none of them had yet understood exactly what had happened.
"Elder Liu, our Purple Mist Valley..."
Qin Qingshan swept around with his Divine Will, and it seemed that besides the few before him, all were corpses. He started to feel frightened.
Liu Yinzhu sighed:
"Purple Mist Valley is gone, the Sect Master died in battle, and other than us few, the rest of the sect’s disciples also died in battle."
Ding Huan knew it wasn’t possible that everyone had died in battle, not to mention others, Dong Lishang had fled, and he wasn’t the only one who followed Dong Lishang in escape.
Apart from these traitors, Liu Yinzhu’s disciple Mo Huaping, and Guan Pou had also not been seen by him. Clearly, Liu Yinzhu had already instructed her disciples and Guan Pou to escape.
"What do we do now?" Qin Qingshan asked, anxious and unsettled.
Liu Yinzhu said:
"Whether your lives or mine, they were saved by Ding Huan. Purple Mist Valley is gone, and here, Ding Huan is in charge. From now on, we will listen to Ding Huan’s decisions."
It dawned on Qin Qingshan and the others that the one in charge here was no longer Elder Liu Yinzhu, but Ding Huan.
They had all heard about the disputes between Ding Huan and Dong Lishang and Gong Hua.
They had also heard that Master Gu had intended for Ding Huan to become the Young Sect Master, but Ding Huan had refused and ultimately taken the status of an honorary elder.
With the Sect Master gone, it was certain that Purple Mist Valley was under Ding Huan’s control.
Qin Qingshan, Shen Jiankai, and Chen Ding hurriedly paid their respects to Ding Huan, thanking him for saving their lives. In their hearts, they had already acknowledged Ding Huan as the future Sect Master of Purple Mist Valley.
Being a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Qin Qingshan understood the importance of choosing sides early, especially now when there was only one team:
"Elder Ding, if you decide to rebuild Purple Mist Valley in the future, I, Qin Qingshan, will definitely offer my life to assist."
Ding Huan waved his hand:
"Let’s talk about these things later. Qin Qingshan, take Shen Jiankai and Chen Ding to bring the other injured to the sect’s healing area, then come back here and deal with the bodies."
"Yes," Qin Qingshan and the others answered promptly. Ding Huan was the future master of Purple Mist Valley, how could they dare to slack off?
With three additional people, the tasks were completed much faster.
Soon, all kinds of storage devices were organized by them and handed over to Ding Huan for safekeeping.
Thinking about the possibility of later rebuilding the sect here, Ding Huan did not hold back; he stored these things in the Star House.
As for all sorts of Magical Artifacts, they were sorted out by Qin Qingshan and placed in the storeroom.
After burning over ten thousand corpses, Purple Mist Valley finally had a bit less of a gloomy atmosphere.
"Sect Master, what should we do next?"
Qin Qingshan knew that although Purple Mist Valley had almost been completely destroyed, this could still be an opportunity.
Now that Purple Mist Valley had sealed its Mountain Gate, under normal circumstances, no one would be able to invade again.
That meant they would have enough time to recuperate and enhance their strength.
"Qin Qingshan, you and Yan Mei go seal up the Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, storehouses, cultivation rooms, alchemy rooms, Artifact Pavilion, and the like, and then hand them over to Dawn Peak.
Also, Yan Mei, gather all artifact refining materials of Second Level and above from the storehouse and send them to me. After doing these things, everyone will proceed to Dawn Peak to close up and improve their cultivation.
Qin Qingshan, your task is heavier. Yan Mei, Shen Jiankai, and Chen Ding will be under your supervision.
There are still some disciples hiding in Purple Mist Valley, but there is no need to look for them. As long as they come out, gather them together."
Ding Huan didn’t plan to treat this place as his territory just yet.
Before he killed Elder He, he was in constant danger of losing his life here, let alone establishing a Sect.
Once Qin Qingshan, Yan Mei, and Lao Liu had all left, Ding Huan then asked,
"Sister Yin Zhu, do you know approximately when Elder He will come out of seclusion?"
Liu Yinzhu was jolted awake by Ding Huan’s words, and she suddenly remembered the presence of such a powerful figure in Purple Mist Valley.
She instinctively shuddered. With Elder He here, she might be safe, but once Elder He came out of seclusion, Ding Huan would be the first to be killed.
"Elder He has been in seclusion for fifty years. During these fifty years, he has never come out. Each time, it’s Elder Dong Lishang who sends resources to him. It’s done once a year without fail."
Hearing Liu Yinzhu’s words, Ding Huan’s eyes lit up:
"Do you know when the resources are sent, and how much is sent?"
Liu Yinzhu said,
"However much is sent, at the end of each year, Elder He sends out a jade scroll, and Dong Lishang sends the required items according to what’s listed in the scroll."
Ding Huan was delighted:
"Sister Yin Zhu, could you please help me to make sure, at the end of the year to receive that jade scroll and then send the required items over?"
Liu Yinzhu immediately understood what he was planning. Ding Huan wanted to enhance his power secretly without alerting Elder He.
However, she sighed in her heart,
"Ding Huan’s plan is good, but he probably doesn’t understand how vast the gap between Foundation Establishment and Primordial Soul is. Even for cultivators with first-rate aptitude, sometimes it takes one or two hundred years to cross this stage."
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"Ding Huan, I suggest that this place is really not for long-term stay."
Liu Yinzhu couldn’t bear the thought of Ding Huan facing death, and she couldn’t help but speak out.
Ding Huan understood Liu Yinzhu’s intentions and smiled without responding.
He had no way back. If he missed a good cultivation place like Dawn Peak, how could he improve?
To obtain a good cultivation site, how could he not take any risks? Where in the world could such good fortune be found without risk?
…
After returning to Dawn Peak, Ding Huan immediately took out the rings and bracelets of Chang Qi, Hao Wudao, and Gong Hua, among others.
Chang Qi’s ring was given to him by Liu Yinzhu, as Chang Qi was the Sect Master of the Nine Sounds Sect. Ding Huan naturally wanted to check it.
Hao Wudao was an elder of the Primordial Soul of the Nine Sounds Sect, and Ding Huan was very much looking forward to the contents of his ring.
Looking at the storage magical treasures laid out before him, Ding Huan also garnered some experience.
At no time, even if one thinks they are certain to win, should they gamble everything they have.
Chang Qi, as the Sect Master of the Nine Sounds Sect, gambled everything on Purple Mist Valley, and the outcome was hardly different from being completely destroyed.
One could imagine that the Nine Sounds Sect only had one path moving forward, and that was, like Purple Mist Valley, to close off their Mountain Gate.
Being a Third-level Array Master, it only took Ding Huan a moment to unlock Chang Qi’s ring.
With his Divine Will settled on Chang Qi’s ring, Ding Huan was filled with admiration.
The Sect Master really did have a lot of good things - at least ten million top-grade Spirit Stones. There were also two Spirit Veins, one of which was brimming with Spiritual Energy; it was definitely not a Low-Grade Spirit Vein.
As for Low-Grade Spirit Stones and Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, Ding Huan did not count them; they were piled up like a small mountain, perhaps even more.
Besides Spirit Stones, various Medicine Pills, Spirit Grass, Cultivation Techniques, materials...
No wonder Dong Lishang lusted after the position of Sect Master; once becoming a Sect Master, the benefits were truly vast.
The contents of Gong Hua’s storage bracelet were ordinary, just about a hundred thousand top-grade Spirit Stones and the rest were Mid-Grade and Low-Grade, along with a few Spiritual Artifacts that Ding Huan didn’t rate highly.
As for the prohibition on Hao Wudao’s ring, it was a bit troublesome.
Ding Huan took half a day to unlock Hao Wudao’s ring.
Compared to Hao Wudao’s cultivation, the content was not much: just a few million top-grade Spirit Stones.
There were almost no Mid-Grade and Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
But various Medicine Pills and materials were all top-notch.
The best Magical Treasure was a Disguise Spirit Artifact.
Ding Huan had obtained about a dozen of these Disguise Spirit Artifacts from the storage magical treasures of Chang Qi, Gong Hua, and previously from Can Ping and others.
Only this Spirit Artifact pleased Ding Huan.
What surprised Ding Huan was that inside Hao Wudao’s ring, he also found a gray-brown box enveloped in prohibitions.
Ding Huan stopped for a moment, abandoning the idea of removing the prohibitions.
He could not deduce the outcome of opening this box; although his future would not turn entirely blank, it seemed to not be a promising sight.
(Today’s update ends here, friends. Good night!)