After the battle between Purple Mist Valley and Nine Sounds Sect, news about these two sects was everywhere in the Taoist Realm.
Rumors had it that both sects were severely weakened by the battle, leading Purple Mist Valley to close its mountain gate. Similarly, Nine Sounds Sect was no better off and did the same.
By this time, Dual Soul Sect had already investigated Ding Huan’s whereabouts, who had left with Elder Liu of Purple Mist Valley.
However, with Purple Mist Valley’s mountain gate sealed, Dual Soul Sect had to wait until the gate was reopened.
Since entering seclusion inside Purple Mist Valley, Ding Huan hadn’t come out after three consecutive months of studying arrays, and at this moment, Ding Huan had become a fourth-level array master.
But Ding Huan was sure, to confront Elder He, a fourth-level array was definitely not enough, he needed to advance to a fifth-level or even sixth-level array master.
Fortunately, Ding Huan now had an abundance of materials, and Array Dao Jade Scrolls were piling up.
The Array Formation Jade Scrolls from both Purple Mist Valley and Nine Sounds Sect were with him, as were those from the rings of Hao Wudao and Gu Mo, two Primordial Soul cultivators.
These Array Formation Jade Scrolls, along with the array knowledge already in Ding Huan’s memory, allowed him to make rapid progress in Array Dao.
The spiritual energy in Dawn Peak was extremely abundant, and as another year was almost over, Yan Mei had reached the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation.
Qin Qingshan had cultivated to the late stage of Foundation Establishment and couldn’t advance in the short term.
Yet, he had managed a lot within the sect, gathering together those who had been injured and the scattered cultivators hiding within the sect.
Now, the population of Purple Mist Valley had grown to over thirty people.
In this year, Ding Huan hadn’t cultivated for even a second; all his energy was spent on refining Array Flags, studying arrays, and cracking prohibitions.
What’s called cracking prohibitions was that pot; after Ding Huan stepped into being a fifth-level array master, he took half a month to crack the pot’s prohibitions.
After half a month, he hadn’t even touched the surface of the pot’s prohibitions, so he had to give up again and stored the pot at his residence until his cultivation was higher in the future.
That day, while Ding Huan was refining new Array Flags, he received a message from Liu Yinzhu.
Ding Huan quickly opened the Protecting Array to let Liu Yinzhu in:
"Sister Yin Zhu, are you in such a rush to find me because of Elder He’s matter?"
In Dawn Peak, where the spiritual energy was abundant, Ding Huan dared not cultivate precisely because he worried about this Elder He.
He couldn’t and didn’t dare to cultivate here until Elder He, this old turtle, was dead.
It seemed unrealistic to kill the old turtle through sheer strength alone.
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For Ding Huan, the fastest shortcut was the Array Dao.
His knowledge base contained a heap of various array knowledge, and once he researched them to a certain depth, this knowledge would be stimulated.
"Yes, today I received a message from Elder He, requesting me to collect Tricolor Zilin Flowers with all my effort and definitely provide them to him within three months..." said Liu Yinzhu urgently.
Ding Huan immediately understood; this guy wanted to refine a Void Network Pill.
Tricolor Zilin Flower was one of the three main herbs required to refine a Void Network Pill, and if Elder He only wanted Tricolor Zilin Flower, it indicated this guy had the other herbs.
"Is Elder He also an Alchemy Master?" Ding Huan thought then.
Liu Yinzhu nodded, "Yes, not only is he an Alchemy Master, but he can also refine fifth-level Spirit Pills."
Well, a fifth-level Spirit Pill Master was rare throughout the entire Taoist Realm.
Ding Huan felt he could no longer wait. A Void Network Pill was a Spirit Pill used for advancing to the Void God Realm. Once Elder He advanced to the Void God Realm, would Ding Huan then have to step into being a seventh-level array king?
Originally, he wanted to take action when he reached the sixth-level array master, but as Array Dao grew more complex later on, the more anxious he became, the less he could break through.
This had left him stuck at the level of a fifth-level array master for over four months.
"How did you respond to him?" Ding Huan asked urgently.
"I said I’d notify the sect master immediately to find the Tricolor Zilin Flowers, and we must find them within three months," Liu Yinzhu replied.
If they couldn’t find the Tricolor Zilin Flowers within three months, then they’d have no choice but to flee Purple Mist Valley.
"Okay, leave the rest to me. I’ll handle the old bastard. Before that, I need to leave the sect for a while," Ding Huan decided not to wait any longer.
Liu Yinzhu was shocked:
"Ding Huan, if you leave the sect, you definitely have to open the Sealing Array that protects the sect. Wouldn’t that lead to the self-destruction of Purple Mist Valley?"
"No need, I have a way to leave the sect without triggering the Sealing Array, and I will be back at most in two months," Ding Huan said with a smile.
Liu Yinzhu, being only a second-level array master, had no idea how Ding Huan would manage to leave the sect without activating the sect’s big array.
However, she was aware that Ding Huan had spent almost the entire year studying various Array Daos.
Given Ding Huan’s learning progress, he must be close to being a fourth-level array master, right?
A fourth-level array master dealing with Elder He might still be risky.
Mainly because there wasn’t a strong cultivator on Ding Huan’s side. If there were a strong cultivator with Ding Huan, there might be a chance to trap Elder He using a fourth-level Killing Trap Array and kill him.
...
Indeed, Ding Huan wasn’t bluffing.
The Protecting Array of Purple Mist Valley barely qualified as a fifth-level Protecting Array.
Ding Huan, who had been a fifth-level Array Master almost five months ago, could set up such an array quite easily.
Over the past few months, his mastery in Array Dao had advanced once more, almost reaching the threshold of a sixth-level Array Master.
It wasn’t difficult for him at all to break the fifth-level sealing array and leave Purple Mist Valley.
An hour later, Ding Huan left Purple Mist Valley with ease, and the sect’s mountain-sealing Protecting Array hadn’t been disturbed in the slightest.
Upon leaving Purple Mist Valley, Ding Huan donned a disguise mask, transforming into a somewhat ruthless Loose Cultivator.
He was quite satisfied with this disguise mask. Instances involving ruthless Loose Cultivators like this were generally not provoked by others.
Firstly, because such cultivators were merciless, and secondly, they didn’t possess many worthwhile items.
The mask made Ding Huan quite thankful to Hao Wudao, after all, he had obtained it from Hao Wudao’s ring.
There were numerous storage bags and rings in Purple Mist Valley, but Ding Huan didn’t bother opening them as he had enough materials.
If in the future he established a sect, these items would become the property of the sect. If he could no longer stay in Purple Mist Valley, he’d distribute the items among everyone.
Just from the rings belonging to Hao Wudao, Chang Qi, Can Ping, and Gong Hua, Ding Huan had already acquired more than ten disguise spiritual artifacts.
The disguise spiritual artifact from Hao Wudao’s ring was of the highest quality, a superior-grade spiritual artifact.
Indeed, apart from an unknown prohibition box, the superior-grade disguise spiritual artifact was the most valuable item in Hao Wudao’s ring.
Ding Huan’s destination was Hidden Sword Mountain; he had to deal with Elder He, and going there was inevitable.
He needed to collect some Poison Fog from Hidden Sword Mountain to set up in his Killing Trap Array against Elder He.
To collect Poison Fog from Hidden Sword Mountain, he needed a container capable of holding the poison fog.
Ding Huan was decent in artifact refining, but he primarily crafted Array Flags, so he was temporarily unable to produce a container capable of holding poison fog.
So, Ding Huan’s first stop was True Essence Tao City, reputed to be the number one Tao City in the Taoist Realm, where he would undoubtedly find what he needed.
True Essence Tao City was too far from Purple Mist Valley; if he controlled the spaceship himself, it would take at least half a month.
And that didn’t account for any problems encountered en route; a slight error could mean he might not return to Purple Mist Valley within three months.
Thus, Ding Huan first went to Yanyue City.
One good thing about Yanyue City was that it had a Teleportation Array directly to True Essence Tao City.
Ding Huan hadn’t visited Yanyue City before; the previous time he accompanied Guan Pou to Yanyue City, they only waited in an area far from the city.
Upon entering Yanyue City, Ding Huan immediately felt the difference between it and West Wind City.
Even though West Wind City had undergone significant changes under his influence, no matter its transformation, it remained a city predominantly for ordinary mortals.
In West Wind City, one basically wouldn’t see any Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and the various goods coming in and out were all low-grade.
Upon entering Yanyue City, everywhere Ding Huan looked, he saw hardly any ordinary, un-cultivated people on the streets.
Foundation Establishment Cultivators were not exactly a common sight, but they were frequently visible.
He even spotted several True Pill Realm cultivators.
Some shopfronts displayed various Spiritual Artifacts and Medicine Pills for sale.
It’s not that they didn’t sell Magic Artifacts, but showcasing Spiritual Artifacts made things seem more upscale. Most of the cultivators who came in still only purchased Magic Artifacts.
Ding Huan planned to enter a Rest Building to ask about the location of the Teleportation Array since this city was controlled by the Yanyue Sect; naturally, one couldn’t scan with Divine Will as freely as in West Wind City.
"Yan Dao Commerce’s biggest annual auction, obtain inside information for just one Low-Grade Spirit Stone..."
A skinny Qi Cultivation boy was peddling booklets on the street.
Ding Huan was also heading to True Essence Tao City to purchase a container capable of holding the Poison Fog from Hidden Sword Mountain, and since there was an auction here, he decided to check what items were for sale.
Just as Ding Huan was about to step forward, a familiar figure flashed before his eyes and approached the boy, tossing a Spirit Stone to him:
"Give me one."
The boy swiftly took the Spirit Stone and handed a booklet to the man.
A surge of killing intent flashed through Ding Huan’s mind and disappeared; he clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and relaxed his emotions before approaching the boy with a Low-Grade Spirit Stone:
"Give me one too."
"Sure thing." The boy was in high spirits, having earned two Spirit Stones in a blink.
"Will there be any True Pill seniors attending this auction?"
Ding Huan asked casually, his gaze still fixed on the man who had just bought the booklet.
Qi Yushan—that was the man who had led a few people to Tripple Heaven Star Lund from Four-direction Star Land and had abducted him and Lou Buzhi.
Had he not mastered the Prediction Technique, he would have been killed by that man long ago.
"Of course. Not just True Pill experts, even Primordial Soul experts often come here."
While the boy answered proudly, Ding Huan had already walked away.
Although Ding Huan’s intention was just to inquire if there were any cultivators from the Primordial Soul Realm at the auction, seeing that Qi Yushan was about to disappear, he certainly couldn’t let him go and immediately followed after him.