According to reason, once a soul mark is imprinted, it is eternally impossible to eradicate. This has nothing to do with one's cultivation.
Even if the soul mark left by Ding Huan was from when his cultivation was weak, Lao Liu couldn't possibly remove it so easily.
Lao Liu believed it was removed because he cultivated the Little Universe Technique and had reconstructed his meridians and acupoints.
Then, after this guy partially recovered his memory, he used his own abilities in conjunction with the Little Universe Technique to remove the soul mark that Ding Huan left in his soul.
Of course, this removal was only what Lao Liu thought had happened.
In truth, after Ding Huan cultivated the Great Universe Technique, the soul mark left in Lao Liu's divine soul hadn't been removed at all. Instead, it had merged into the depths of Lao Liu's soul, becoming one with Lao Liu's spirit.
Unless Ding Huan took action himself, Lao Liu would never be able to remove that mark.
Lao Liu quickly realized this and wasn't in a rush as he said,
"Brother Huan, you might have only heard one side of the story. I am now in the Star Domain Realm, but I don't possess a single decent magical treasure, so I planned to refine Purple Garden Mountain into a magical treasure.
Brother Huan, you weren't in the sect, and I had no idea when you would return, so I thought of refining Purple Garden Mountain to increase my strength first. Refining Purple Garden Mountain would also benefit the Blue Star Sect."
Ding Huan said coldly, "Although you were arrogant in the past, you weren't this foolish. Tell me, who put you up to this?"
Ding Huan knew Lao Liu inside out. This guy would definitely not think of refining Purple Garden Mountain.
It's possible that he didn't even know of Purple Garden Mountain's existence—or even if he did, he wouldn't care about it. Someone must have whispered something into his ear.
"Brother Huan, I know you have shown me kindness, but I truly can't allow you to leave a soul mark on me, so I removed the soul mark myself..."
Ding Huan didn't let Lao Liu finish speaking and interrupted him directly,
"Cut the crap. Tell me directly who told you to refine Purple Garden Mountain, and who sent you to the Scripture Pavilion?"
Lao Liu huffed, "Brother Huan, in terms of strength, I might even be stronger than you..."
Before Lao Liu could finish, Ding Huan slapped down through the void.
Although Lao Liu saw Ding Huan's slap coming, he felt unable to evade it. In that moment, the surrounding space was entirely locked down by Ding Huan's slap.
Lao Liu was shocked. How could he be stronger than Ding Huan? His strength was far inferior to Ding Huan's.
"Slap!" Ding Huan's slap turned half of Lao Liu's head into a mist of blood, with teeth and blood flying everywhere.
"If you don't speak now, then I will just burn you to ashes right here," Ding Huan said icily.
He didn't even tell Lao Liu that with just a flick of his divine will, Lao Liu's spirit would crumble. Because Lao Liu believed he had removed the soul mark, he didn't realize it had actually grown deeper.
"Brother Huan, spare me, please. Consider our loyalty from coming together from Blue Star..."
With Ding Huan's slap, Lao Liu finally snapped out of it and recognized reality. It turned out that the belief in his own superior strength was merely wishful thinking.
Even without the soul mark, Ding Huan could easily kill him.
Yan Mei, watching Lao Liu getting half of his face smashed by Ding Huan's slap, laughed joyfully and said,
"Lao Liu, oh, I mean, Mr. Liu, weren't you full of swagger? Why have you turned into such a coward now? You, loyal and devoted? Don't insult the term, alright?"
Liu Yinzhu, who was sitting next to Ding Huan, was shocked. After Lao Liu easily suppressed her, a cultivator of the Star Transformation Realm, she thought Lao Liu's strength couldn't be much less than Ding Huan's.
Now she realized how much weaker Lao Liu was compared to the Sect Master.
Sect Master is truly Sect Master, no wonder he could make a sect established by the Taoist Realm become the foremost sect of the Triple Heaven Star Land. Her choice to trust Ding Huan had indeed been correct.
"One thing at a time, why did you want to go to the Scripture Pavilion?" Ding Huan's voice was calm.
Lao Liu, clutching his bloody face, spoke in a panicked tone, "I've only reached the Star Domain Realm, so I wanted to go in and search for the Star Bridge Realm cultivation techniques..."
This was well known to everyone in the Blue Star Sect.
The techniques Ding Huan left in the Scripture Pavilion were locked with top-tier prohibitions. Only those who cultivated the Little Universe Technique and reached the peak of the Star Cloud Realm could unlock the techniques of the Star Storage Realm.
And only by reaching the peak of the Star Storage Realm could one unlock the techniques of the Star Realm...
Despite Lao Liu being in the Star Domain Realm, without reaching its peak, he could not get the techniques of the Star Bridge Realm.
Ding Huan knew right away that this guy was still spewing nonsense.
"This is your last chance. If you don't speak the truth, then prepare to die," Ding Huan said, tired of wasting words.
Lao Liu panicked, all too aware of Ding Huan's ruthlessness.
Back on Earth, how many demon beasts had Ding Huan slaughtered without the slightest hesitation?
Had Lao Liu not yielded quickly and given up the soul mark, he would have been finished by Ding Huan long ago.
"Mr. Huan, I'll speak, I'll speak."
Lao Liu dared not hide any further: "It was Mo Huaping. She said that even though I am now the number one fighter of the Blue Star Sect, why should I still rely on the Blue Star Sect? Why should I beg for a living under someone whose cultivation is inferior to mine?
She also told me that I could be even stronger. She said I lacked a suitable magical treasure, and Purple Garden Mountain was the best choice."
"As long as I refine the Purple Garden Mountain, my strength will increase manyfold..."
Liu Yinzhu's face turned pale upon hearing this. She had never expected that, in the end, this matter would still be related to her own disciple.
She was utterly disappointed, a decade had passed, if one desired a cultivation technique, then why not rejoin the Blue Star Sect to obtain it? Why incite Lao Liu to rebel against the Blue Star Sect?
"Was it also her who asked you to steal the Little Universe Technique?" Ding Huan's tone, on the contrary, became calm.
This proved that he hadn't misjudged this foolish monkey, who, apart from being frenzied in battle, seemed to be of questionable intelligence in other matters.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sold off and made a scapegoat all those years ago.
"Yes, she told me that as long as I got the Little Universe Technique, she could find a way to help me recover the memories I had completely lost..."
Lao Liu didn't dare to hide anything.
Yan Mei stared at Lao Liu with wide eyes, finding it hard to believe, he said, "Lao Liu, you couldn't possibly have become a Taoist couple with her..."
But as he spoke, Yan Mei suddenly remembered that Liu Yinzhu, Mo Huaping's teacher, was present.
If he said that Lao Liu and Mo Huaping had become a Taoist couple, that would be a slap in the face to Liu Yinzhu.
However, everyone in the hall understood what Yan Mei was getting at, even though no one voiced it.
Ding Huan also realized what Yan Mei had in mind, but he was certain that Lao Liu would not get involved with Mo Huaping in such a relationship.
A monkey like Lao Liu had absolutely no interest in the concept of a Taoist couple.
If monkeys were interested in women, one certainly wouldn't use an immobilization technique on the Seven Fairies only to go pick peaches instead.
Lao Liu was one of the Chaos Four Monkeys, and his nature was probably not much different.
As for Mo Huaping's offer to help him recover his memories, that must have truly mattered to him.
It seemed that Lao Liu had entrusted all his past to Mo Huaping; that was quite some trust.
Mo Huaping had managed to have Lao Liu smash the doors of the Sect Council Hall, refine the Purple Garden Mountain, and even raid the Scripture Pavilion. It suggested she had given Lao Liu some incentive to taste, otherwise he wouldn't have acted thus.
"Where is Mo Huaping?" Liu Yinzhu clenched her fists, deciding to eliminate this menace for her sect, a disciple she had taught herself.
Lao Liu shook his head, "I don't know, we agreed that she would come to find me as soon as I finished refining the Purple Garden Mountain."
"You, a mere beast I brought here, do not think of contributing to the Blue Star Sect, instead aiming to refine the Sect's Purple Garden Mountain, even attempting to snatch from the Scripture Pavilion.
If that's the case, then I shall allow you to enter the cycle of reincarnation..."
With those words, Ding Huan made a move.
Lao Liu was terrified, knowing that if he were killed again, there would be no one else to save his life.
He quickly knelt on the ground, handing over a Jade Scroll to Ding Huan with both hands:
"Mr. Huan, these are some things I've remembered, the ones you asked about before. I've finally been able to inscribe them, take a look."
With a flick of his hand, the Jade Scroll landed in Ding Huan's palm.
"Earth Evil Seventy-two Illusion Techniques." Ding Huan was startled upon seeing this.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
His Divine Will scanned the scroll, and indeed it was the Earth Evil Shapeshifting Technique. It looked crude, clearly Lao Liu's memory of it was incomplete.
He pocketed the Earth Evil Seventy-two Illusion Techniques and stared coldly at Lao Liu.
The creature had clearly grasped his nature well; it knew that bargaining would ultimately lead to its handing over these things regardless, and it would still lose its life here.
So it gave the Earth Evil Seventy-two Illusion Techniques to Ding Huan first, and whether or not it would be spared was entirely up to him. Experience more content on Freewebnovel
"You're smart, now scram, and from this day forth, you are not permitted to step foot in the Taoist Realm." Ding Huan gave another slap, sending Lao Liu flying out of the hall.
The fact was, even if Lao Liu hadn't handed over the seventy-two techniques, Ding Huan wouldn't have killed him.
He would not have killed Lao Liu, nor would he have stripped him of his cultivation.
From the very beginning, Ding Huan had sensed that Lao Liu was not a good being.
Even so, he had never acted against Lao Liu and even helped him cultivate, changing his meridians with the help of the Little Universe Technique.
The reason was that Ding Huan knew that when the Immortal Gods disappeared, there had to be some secrets unknown to others.
These secrets might only be known to Lao Liu; it didn't matter that Lao Liu couldn't remember now, but as he grew stronger, he would definitely recall many crucial things.
The whereabouts of the Ancient Immortals and that Cosmic Position Disk, why it was necessary to enter it to leave Earth Star?
What exactly was a celestial position? Who allocated these positions? These mysteries, perhaps, only Lao Liu had the chance to unravel.
Once Lao Liu's cultivation reached a certain level, he would naturally seek out his past.
Lao Liu bore his Dao Rhythm Imprint; no matter where he went, he could not escape his grasp.
Moreover, he had left a soul mark deep within Lao Liu's Primordial Spirit. No matter how powerful the creature became, Ding Huan could kill him with a single thought.
These were just some ideas Ding Huan had at first; now, he had brought Lao Liu from Earth to the Triple Heaven Star Land and cultivated him to the point where he could escape on his own — why would he now kill Lao Liu?