Chapter 9: Confrontation Between Master and Disciple

  "Oh, so it's Master Chen who has arrived. Junior Master Ding is disturbing the sect rules for no reason, I'll teach him a lesson and see what's wrong with him. Elder Chen has just reached the Yuan Ying period and isn't hurrying to close up and consolidate his cultivation, he's quite leisurely!" Zhang Li's words were still arrogant, but he made a bow nonetheless!

  "Haha, what a joke! You're disturbing the sect's tranquility? Chen Shizhong took action to teach you a lesson, and now the Wujimozong is in an uproar. I was meditating in seclusion, but your commotion woke me up. Don't you think you've also disturbed the sect's tranquility? Three of you ganging up on one person, and your cultivation is higher than his by a level. Is this not bullying the weak with the strong, or outnumbering him? You'd better explain yourself to me! Should I take action to teach all of you a lesson?" Chen Ling's eyes had turned into eerie green flames once again.

  Being stared at by those eerie eyes, Zhang Li felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart, making him feel uneasy all over. Chen Ling had never taken on an apprentice and was known for being extremely ruthless in his actions. However, since Zhang Li had never had any conflicts with him and hadn't interacted much, he didn't expect Chen Ling to arrive so quickly after beating Ding Hao! It was somewhat unexpected, but despite the surprise, Zhang Li wasn't afraid of him due to his grandfather's favoritism. Since Chen Ling was a disciple of Ma Feng, he wouldn't dare to take Zhang Li's life, but losing face was inevitable!

  "Master Chen, we may have been in the wrong, but Dai Zhen has already suffered severe injuries. It seems that he's not much better off than Ding Hao. Your disciple is too ruthless in his methods! He and I are both third-generation disciples, so it's not like I'm bullying someone weaker if I fight him back. If Master Chen wants to discipline me, then you're the one who's actually bullying a junior!" Zhang Li said calmly and clearly.

  After glancing at Chen Ling, whose anger had somewhat dissipated, he looked again at Ding Hao, who was adjusting his breath, and continued: "In that case, I have a piece of medium-grade spirit stone to give to Brother Ding as an apology to Uncle Chen. What do you think?"

  Chen Ling's face was unpredictable, and by his nature, he wouldn't normally offend Zhang Heng for the sake of a disciple. After all, Zhang Heng was the strongest cultivator outside of the Sect Master, even surpassing Ma Feng, who was also an elder. Although Ma Feng offered protection, considering how much Zhang Heng doted on Zhang Li, if Chen Ling were to anger Zhang Heng, it's likely that even Ma Feng wouldn't be able to intervene.

  Ding Hao had swallowed the thousand-year-old inner elixir of the Eight-Winged Purple Python, and after so many days, it should have been digested by now. Recently, he hadn't cultivated himself, waiting for him to digest it completely before forcefully occupying his body. This way, his own cultivation would definitely make further progress. After possessing his body, even the small Eight-Winged Purple Python could be fed at the same time, and the benefits to himself were unimaginable!

  Ding Hao had finally managed to exhaust the inner elixir of the Eight-Winged Purple Snake, and he was about to possess such a powerful physique. The mere thought of it made him excited, but now he was severely injured by these three people. Even if he were to occupy it now, his cultivation would be greatly reduced, and he could only wait until he fully recovered. How could this not make him angry?

  But looking at Zhang Li's approach, it's also acceptable to some extent. One can't push him too hard, otherwise, if he were to anger Zhang Heng, the consequences would be unbearable.

  "Since that's the case, I'll give Zhang Shibo some face. You can just hand over the jade stone directly to me and we'll consider this matter settled. Hurry up and take Dai Zhenjun down for treatment!" In his heart, Chen Ling secretly praised Ding Hao for being so impressive. With his mid-term cultivation in the Bixia Valley, he had actually managed to turn Dai Zhenjun into such a state, which was beyond his expectations. Chen Ling silently attributed this miracle to the wonders of the Eight-Winged Purple Wyrm's inner elixir, and his heart couldn't help but look forward even more to possessing Ding Hao's body soon!

  Chen Ling put the jade stone into his storage bag after Zhang Li and the others left, as if it was meant for him all along. He walked up to Ding Hao's face and said in a low voice, "You little brat, stop pretending in front of me! I saw that you've already absorbed the thousand-year-old inner elixir of the Eight-Winged Purple Python. Chen Li's slap earlier, I also witnessed it. With your current body, how could you possibly stand up? The way you use your skills and powers doesn't seem to be from practicing the Wuji Magic Cultivation Technique. What's going on? Tell me honestly, or else don't blame me for cleaning house right now!"

  Ding Hao secretly cursed in his heart, although he knew that Chen Ling might be looking for him, but he didn't expect that during the fight just now, he was actually hiding and watching from the side. The realm of the few people was too far apart from Chen Ling's, so they couldn't discover it at all. Zhang Li and the others didn't know what kind of skill Chen Ling had used, thinking it was something Chen Ling had taught them, but how could Chen Ling not know what kind of skill he himself had passed on?

  "I report to Master Fu, the method I used is actually the same as the one written in the Wuji Magic Manual. It's just that when I was digesting the internal elixir of the Eight-Winged Purple Python, it may have produced some variation and led to this unorthodox method, which caused you to misunderstand."

  "Oh, I've never heard of the Wuji Magic having a function that creates variations with other things. You're the first to discover it, aren't you? Even so, the ghostly movement you just used is hard to understand and explain!" Chen Ling said coldly.

  "Ghostly, Master truly loves to joke, but after I absorbed the inner elixir of the Eight-Winged Purple Python, my physical strength has improved a bit and my speed has increased. How can it be said that I'm ghostly? Master should understand the effects of the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir better than me and know that his disciple is not speaking nonsense!" Ding Hao hastily added.

  Chen Lingcai didn't believe his nonsense, and from the first time they met, he knew that Ding Hao was not a straightforward person. He couldn't get any useful information out of him, and he couldn't immediately kill him in search of it either. So he ordered him to hurry up and recover from his injuries, and once he was healed, to come find him at Chen Ling's residence, saying that he had some other skills to pass on to him!

  Ding Hao would certainly not believe that he had such a good heart, and did not argue with him. The most important thing at the moment was to take care of his injuries, and when something happened later, he would have some leverage!

  After Chen Ling left, Ding Hao began to treat his injuries. As Chen Ling said, Ding Hao's injuries were not as serious as they seemed on the surface. Ding Hao's body was strong and had been tempered by the Wuji Magic, making it even more resilient. Zhang Li's blow had caused him internal injuries, but it was not enough to make him lose his chance to counterattack. He just pretended that his injuries were severe because he knew that the gap between their realms was too great, and counterattacking would be futile. And precisely because of Zhang Li's overconfidence, he did not pursue his victory, so Ding Hao's injuries did not worsen.

  At the time when Chen Ling and Zhang Li were arguing, Ding Hao had already used magic to treat his injuries. By the time they finished arguing, Ding Hao's injuries had actually healed more than half way. He was just pretending to be weak because he was afraid that Chen Ling would make another move!

  After a night of adjustment, the injury has healed, and the power is showing signs of breaking through the middle stage of the Valley. It's possible that yesterday's battle consumed too much of my magic, causing the medicinal properties of the Eight-Winged Purple Python to be fully activated in my body. It seems that fighting can also be an effective way to improve one's cultivation!

  Chen Ling should have been eager for a long time, looking at his eyes as if he were an inner alchemist, with greedy and naked gaze, without any scruples!

  Relying on the speed of the Inverse Heaven Demon Sword, I have nothing to fear from him. However, this matter must be resolved as soon as possible. Although he has something in his hand that can be used against me, he also has the eye corners and scales of the Eight-Winged Purple Python, all of which are excellent materials for refining equipment. If I were to expose them, with his cultivation level, it would be impossible for him to keep these items safe in Duanhun Mountain! First and foremost, Ma Feng would not let him off! Hehe... In that case, talking to him might not be a bad idea after all!

  Having thought this through, Ding Hao inspected his equipment and then headed towards Chen Ling's residence.

  "Master, disciple Ding Hao has come to pay his respects!" Ding Hao said in front of Chen Ling's gate.

  "Come on in, the Eight-Winged Purple Snake is indeed extraordinary! Judging from your expression, your injuries have already healed overnight. Since that's the case, follow me to the back mountain and I'll teach you a few secret techniques of the Demon Gate!" Chen Ling's expression seemed as if he couldn't wait even for a moment!

  "Disciple thanks Master!" Ding Hao followed Chen Ling to a secret cave behind the mountain, but didn't enter!

  "Why don't you enter the cave? Could it be that Master will harm you?"

  Ding Hao was speechless with laughter, it seems that the greedy heart has indeed harmed people's intelligence. Someone as cunning as Chen Ling also made such an obvious low-level mistake because of this. Listening to his words isn't he incriminating himself? Looking at him like that, I don't want to continue circling around with him anymore!

  "Not bad, Dīng Hào is indeed afraid that the master will harm me. It's very quiet here, if the master wants to pass on his skills now is a good time. The cave is dark and gloomy, I'm actually worried that it's not clear enough to see, which would be a waste of the master's kindness!" Dīng Hào said slowly.

  Chen Ling didn't get angry, but instead laughed. His laughter was like the howling of wolves and the wailing of ghosts. "Good, good, at such a young age you're already so cautious, it's rare, really rare. But did you think that with your current cultivation level in the Valley of Abstinence, you could escape from my grasp? How ridiculous! Today I'll send you on your way, haha, and take back the great favor I've given you!"

  In a burst of sinister laughter, Chen Ling finally lost his temper, his eyes flashing with green light as he pounced on Ding Hao like an evil spirit.

  Ding Hao was already prepared, the dark reverse heavenly sword had been raised in his hand, and almost at the same time as Chen Ling pounced, he took advantage of the sword to soar. Before Chen Ling arrived in front of Ding Hao, Ding Hao's figure had disappeared. However, the sound had already come from far away!

  "Haha, Master can think of it, the disciple has also thought about it. Recently, the disciple's lucky sword, although not yet in the Yuan Ying period, can already ride the sword and fly, the speed is extremely fast! I don't know if Master's Yuan Ying period cultivation can catch up with the disciple's flying sword? The disciple is very curious, ah, Master, can you hurry up... this speed is not even the limit of this sword..."

  Ding Hao's teasing words kept coming, but Chen Ling had already used all his strength and still couldn't catch up, almost falling off the sword in a counterattack!

  "Good for you, daring to treat your master like this! Even if I couldn't catch up with you, I'd rather give up the benefits of having an Eight-Winged Purple Dragon's inner elixir than not tell the entire Duanhun Mountain's Xiūmó Mén about your connection to the Eight-Winged Purple Dragon. I'll make sure you're left with no place to rest your soul!" Chen Ling was so angry that his five viscera were on the verge of collapse, and in his furious attack on his heart, he had already lost all reason.

  "Master, why must you be so stubborn? We are master and disciple after all. If I were to tell everyone about the Eight-Winged Purple Python's scale fragment that you possess, I'm sure they would all be very interested. Just think of Master Ma Feng's expression when he saw the scale fragment! As your disciple, I was worried for your safety! But if we both die like this, it will only bring joy to others, and that would be a pity!"

  Chen Ling finally fell from the air, calming down and saying slowly: "Good disciple, my vision is indeed correct, I'm lucky to have taken you as a disciple, you're so poisonous and cunning, it's really beyond my expectation! Alright, since that's the case, stop now, let's talk things over between us, master and disciple!" Since he knew he couldn't defeat Ding Hao, Chen Ling could only choose to compromise.

  "Ah, Master can just stand there, no need to get too close, I can hear you clearly! " Chen Ling said hastily as he watched Ding Hao approach. Seeing how cautious Ding Hao was being, Chen Ling felt a sense of helplessness and powerlessness, unable to take control of the situation.

  Chen Ling stopped in his tracks as Ding Hao spoke up for the first time with a serious tone, "Master took me in as a disciple and brought me to the Ru Xiu Zhen Realm. He also taught me the Wu Ji Magic Technique to counter the Eight-Winged Purple Python's internal dan eruption. Although I know Master doesn't have good intentions, I'm still grateful. I've had some unexpected encounters that I don't dare reveal to Master, but I promise I won't let Master down. Here are a few pieces of top-grade crystal stones that I didn't intend to get, and a powerful half-portion magic technique manual. I'll offer these as tribute to Master. Although I respect Master, if you dare to harm me again, I'll fight to the death and make sure you're left with nothing but bones!" By the end of his speech, Ding Hao's expression had turned cold and gloomy, and he slowly backed away.

  Chen Ling picked up the crystal stone and magic manual that Ding Hao had placed on the ground, and after a moment, his face was filled with an expression of crazy joy. His voice trembling, he said: "Master has not wasted his time taking you as his disciple! Although I knew early on that you were no ordinary person, your good fortune is still something for Master to marvel at. Now that we have these two things, Master's cultivation will make great progress and it won't be long before we can achieve our goals. Since this is the case, Master guarantees that he will not take advantage of you in the future, but instead will cultivate you well and share his many years of cultivation experience with you as a token of good faith. Although these methods are not extraordinary, they are some small techniques that you can use for now! I hope you will cultivate them well, Master knows that you don't believe him, so he's leaving the method here, go into closed-door training and take care of yourself!" Chen Ling's expression was overjoyed, and with a flick of his sleeve, he flew up into the air on his flying sword, actually moving even faster than when he had been chasing Ding Hao!

  Ding Hao finally let out a sigh of relief, though he didn't know whether Chen Ling's words were true or false. But for now, it seemed to have temporarily resolved the biggest crisis at hand! He picked up the Jade Simplified Method left by Chen Ling and immersed his mind in it. The ecstatic expression that had just appeared on Chen Ling's face also surged onto Ding Hao's face!