Shi Qi Qiu was quick, arriving at Wanbao City while it was still daylight.
What infuriated him was that Ding Huan and his two companions had entered the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield an hour before he arrived.
Wasn’t it supposed to take two or three days? How had they left in less than half a day? Weren’t they supposed to buy some supplies? Why didn’t he see any purchases?
This made Shi Qi Qiu certain that there was something suspicious about the backpack Ding Huan was carrying.
As for why Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were also carrying backpacks, he believed it was very likely they were covering for Ding Huan.
After all, only Ding Huan had obtained the relics of an Ancient Cave Mansion.
Shi Qi Qiu never knew he could be so sagacious and martial, for he had guessed correctly.
Even though Ding Huan and his companions never mentioned anything about covering for each other, they indeed understood each other’s intentions.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng wanted to befriend Ding Huan, so naturally, they didn’t mind helping him out a little.
…
Ding Huan looked at the scene before him, feeling an indescribable sensation.
The sky was gray, and the ground was barren, evoking a sense of unease as if the atmosphere was suffocating.
In the distance, some skeletal remains lay on the ground, with fragments of broken weaponry faintly visible.
They were identified as weapon fragments because there was no trace of magical treasure fluctuations on them.
Divine Will scanned the area, finding no signs of life, not even an ant.
Ding Huan, who cultivated the Great Universe Technique, was very sensitive to the Heaven and Earth Rules, despite not having grasped the actual rules yet.
He faintly felt that the rules here were fragmented.
The regulations seemed higher than those in the Ascension Realm but also seemed inferior to the Mortal World.
This perception was strange, yet it undoubtedly existed.
"It’s not very cold, but I feel a chilly breeze," Mo Zheng couldn’t help commenting.
Hu Wuxin agreed wholeheartedly with Mo Zheng, feeling the same way.
Ding Huan was about to use the Big Calculation Skill, but as soon as it was deployed, everything became blurry.
Now Ding Huan was no longer a novice.
He understood what was happening, it wasn’t that his Big Calculation Skill had a problem, it was him who had the issue.
Ultimately, his own power was too weak to be effective in a place where the rules were unclear.
"Let’s go, let’s follow this path."
As Ding Huan spoke, he also hung the Identity Plate and Ascension Token on his waist and wore the bracelet.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng naturally followed suit, aware that since entering the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield, their every move was likely being watched.
According to their plan, the first thing to do now was to discard these few cumbersome items.
Ding Huan moved quickly, and Mo Zheng and Hu Wuxin also used the Escape Technique to keep up tightly with Ding Huan.
At this moment, in an inconspicuous small building in Wanbao City, Shi Qi Qiu stared unblinkingly at Ding Huan.
Since he was convinced that Ding Huan carried top-level treasures, he could no longer calm down.
Especially about the backpack Ding Huan was carrying; he kept wondering what treasures might be hidden inside it?
He had to know where Ding Huan would eventually fall, then he would make a note of the location.
Then he would try to activate the Teleportation Array Pattern on the Ascension Token to transfer the items from Ding Huan.
If that was not possible, then he would send someone to retrieve Ding Huan’s backpack and ring.
Once someone acquired Ding Huan’s backpack and ring, then they would activate the Teleportation Array Pattern again.
"Ding Huan, I feel that my cultivation technique is somewhat hindered, the Heaven and Earth Rules here seem to suppress the cultivator’s techniques," Hu Wuxin urgently said.
As Ding Huan cultivated the Great Universe Technique and his Sea of Consciousness evolved into the Great Dao, though the rules were still nascent, he was not concerned whether the surrounding Heaven and Earth Rules suppressed his techniques.
Now that Hu Wuxin mentioned this, he immediately circulated the Great Universe Technique for a full cycle, indeed finding that the local Heaven and Earth Rules greatly affected cultivators.
It affected cultivators’ power and even their judgment; continuing to travel here might even weaken their cultivation.
"Don’t worry, let’s find a safe place to rest first."
Although Ding Huan couldn’t calculate where it was safe, having used the Big Calculation Skill for a long time, he could still intuitively feel where was safe and where was not.
The direction he was heading now seemed not very safe, but he didn’t think it was life-threatening.
In Wanbao City, Shi Qi Qiu in the Monitoring Array saw Ding Huan and the others frantically hurrying deeper into the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield, cursing furiously.
Are these three people pigs?
Didn’t they know that the deeper they went into the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield, the more dangerous it became? Moreover, who would hurry so madly deeper as soon as they entered the battlefield?
Although Hu Wuxin often resorted to unscrupulous means for his own benefit, he had gotten to know somewhat what kind of person Ding Huan was during their time together.
Ding Huan was definitely not a scheming type; he surely wouldn’t harm his companions for no reason.
Besides, there was no need for Ding Huan to bring him and Mo Zheng deep into the battlefield if he planned to betray them.
After rushing for a day, Ding Huan suddenly stopped:
"Lao Hu, Lao Mo, it seems somewhat safe here; how about we rest here for a day and then slowly explore in one direction?"
"It’s easy to say that," Ding Huan said, standing there with an increasing sense of unease.
Hu Wuxin immediately replied, "Of course it’s possible."
Mo Zheng was about to say he had no objections when he suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet collapse.
Endless soul soldiers swept towards them, terrifying Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng to the core.
Not good, Ding Huan was going to harm them.
They now had no way to ascend; a strong force swept over, and they could only barely manage a slow descent.
"Lao Hu, Lao Mo, quickly activate the talisman, this is a Floating Charm. You absolutely cannot fall, if you do, there’s only death."
Ding Huan threw two talismans to Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng grabbed the talismans and activated them immediately, having no other choice.
Upon activation of the talismans, their descending bodies instantaneously stopped, then slowly began to ascend.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, realizing they had previously misjudged Ding Huan.
The endless soul soldiers lunged at the trio, all of whom brandished Magical Treasures to defend themselves.
Some soul soldiers were slain by them, while others fell into the abyss below their feet.
Mo Zheng, noticing Hu Wuxin and Ding Huan’s laborious efforts, thought to himself that these soul soldiers weren’t very strong, but...
He quickly understood when another wave of soul soldiers attacked, and he also began to struggle.
This was just the beginning; in the next moment, a puppet three zhangs tall burst out from among the soul soldiers and spewed a stream of fire at the trio.
Ding Huan, taking the brunt of it, was immediately engulfed by the flames and exclaimed,
"This is definitely not ordinary fire, be careful, ah..."
A shrill cry of agony followed.
Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were startled by Ding Huan’s screams.
They soon realized the fire was not very strong and identified it as Yin Fire. With their power, blocking this fire was absolutely no struggle.
Both turned their gaze towards Ding Huan, who was now in a state of utter disarray.
His Identity Plate was lost, his hair burned away.
Not only that, the Ascension Token had disappeared, and even his bracelet was lost while defending against the flames.
As for his clothes, they were burned to tatters, and even his skin was grievously burned.
Knowing what had to be done, when the flames lunged at them, Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were even more pitiable than Ding Huan.
At least Ding Huan still had his backpack; they not only lost their backpacks but their clothes and skin were all turned to ash.
What of hair, bracelets, Identity Plates, Ascension Tokens?
These items had long been lost while resisting the flames.
"We’ll burn our Essence Blood together and then unleash our strongest Divine Skills on that puppet. As long as the puppet is driven back, we’ll have a chance to escape," Ding Huan yelled.
"Alright!" The charred Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng responded vigorously.
Meanwhile, Shi Qi Qiu, watching the monitor in Wanbao City, cursed loudly; these three idiots.
Couldn’t they have kept at least one bracelet?
A single puppet’s fire was enough to push these three fools into such a pitiful state, and they dared to venture into the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield?
But wait, could this be the Samadhi True Fire bred by the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield?
The more Shi Qi Qiu thought about it, the more it made sense; ordinary fire shouldn’t have overwhelmed Hu Wuxin, a cultivator of the Void God Realm. If it were the higher Samadhi True Fire, they wouldn’t need to resist; they would have already been burnt to death.
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Only the Samadhi True Fire could have forced the trio into such a state.
Just then, he happened to hear Ding Huan’s voice again:
"Start acting, oh no, my bracelet is gone..."
Unfortunately, he could monitor neither the visuals nor the audio after that, as the bracelet had long since sunk somewhere unknown.
Boom!
The trio never burned their Essence Blood; they merely unleashed their Magical Treasures on the massive puppet.
Without even using their full strength, the three broke out of the encirclement of soul soldiers and quickly vanished into the distance.
Half a day later, the trio stopped beside a devastated rock pit.
"Ding Huan, how did you know there were soul soldiers there?" Mo Zheng asked, still shaken.
Ding Huan waved his hand:
"Let’s clean up first, and then we’ll talk." Ding Huan switched to a different pack.
Actually, he was only lightly injured. With Ding Huan’s recovery capabilities, it only took a short while to return to normal.
However, Hu Wuxin and Mo Zheng were somewhat more seriously injured, but that was also intentional; a single Medicine Pill would soon have them recovered.
"Ding Huan, we’ve lost our Ascension Tokens and bracelets, how will we return?" asked Hu Wuxin.
Ding Huan chuckled,
"Even if we are able to return in the future, having bracelets can only bring you side effects. What I mean is, since we’re here, let’s settle down first and then see."
(Today’s update ends here, good night, friends!)