Chapter Ten: The Mantis Catches the Cicada

  The technique in the Jade Book is not an extraordinary magic skill, but it's what Ding Hao needs most right now. The secret method of the Unbounded Magic Skill is indeed extraordinary, but it requires strong True Yuan to support its use, and with Ding Hao's current cultivation level in the middle stage of Valley Closure, he can't cultivate it at all.

  Some of the kung fu left by Chen Ling is what Ding Hao can currently cultivate. Just now, Ding Hao and Zhang Li's fight was completely relying on physical strength to contend with each other. Although they were not at a disadvantage against Dai Zhenjun and Wang Yunfei, Zhang Li made himself completely unable to resist. On the one hand, it was because the gap between his and Zhang Li's realms was too great, and on the other hand, it was because his close-range attacks didn't even have the opportunity to get close to him. But with Chen Ling's kung fu, although he still doesn't pose a threat to Zhang Li, he is no longer completely at his mercy!

  Still coming to the deep pool secret cave for another closed door, Ding Hao felt that this might be the most secluded and quiet place within the Wuji Demon Sect!

  Without the help of the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir, Ding Hao's progress in cultivation was somewhat slow. However, relying on his own hard work and perseverance, he managed to raise himself from the middle stage of the Void Refining Realm to the early stage of the Open Enlightenment Realm, a process that took him nearly three years.

  Chen Ling has also completed his cultivation of the Dharma that he left behind for himself.

  Ling Jue can bind those with similar cultivation realms to oneself for about three seconds. Although it's only three seconds, it can play a decisive role in battle. However, this technique must be used at close range and emits a white chain-like glow when activated. If others are careful, they can completely defend against it, but for Ding Hao, it's already an invaluable treasure.

  Han Bai Jue, when attacking the enemy, it comes with cold air damage. Unfortunately, this method is incomplete and Ding Hao can't fully exert its power. However, when used in conjunction with the Ni Tian Mo Sword, it can make up for this shortcoming. The power still makes Ding Hao feel satisfied. The other few techniques are also incomplete, and Ding Hao doesn't see the need to practice them either.

  The eight-winged purple python, after devouring its mother's flesh and absorbing Ding Hao's top-grade spirit stone, had also awakened. It was now three zhang in length. Due to Ding Hao having swallowed its mother's inner dan, it had taken Ding Hao as its only kin. Ding Hao could already communicate with it, and it was a great help.

  At this time, Ding Hao believed that if he continued to fight with Zhang Li, relying on these few helpers, although he didn't dare say he could defeat Zhang Li steadily, he wouldn't necessarily fall behind either. Of course, the premise was that Chen Li had not made any progress in these years. Otherwise, if the gap between them opened up too much, his chances of winning were still extremely low!

  It feels like even if I make progress in my cultivation, it won't be too great. Cultivation is also about cultivating one's heart, and if one doesn't have enough experience, it's hard to make a bigger breakthrough. And the foundation materials for some of the spells and formations I've been practicing haven't made any progress either. Last time, I had planned to collect some, but Zhang Li's unexpected appearance disrupted my plans!

  Chen Lingyu's notes had some basic information about the materials, indicating where they could be found in Duanhun Mountain. This made Ding Hao even happier, as he wouldn't have to take a detour when searching for them himself. This also gave Ding Hao a slightly better impression of Chen Ling.

  Although Chen Ling had always been ill-intentioned towards himself, it was also him who brought himself to such a mysterious and unpredictable world of cultivation. From this point of view, Chen Ling still had some kindness towards himself; otherwise, he would probably be forever trapped in the mountains, repeating the steps of his predecessors and living a life of mediocrity.

  Ding Hao tidied up the objects on him and left the secret cave!

  The Duanhun Mountains stretch for tens of thousands of miles, and it's because of this mountain that the spiritual energy is abundant, with strange flowers and grasses, and ferocious beasts are countless. Various secret caves and deep pools are as numerous as cow hair, which is a treasure trove for cultivators, but if one doesn't know where to find what they need, searching for it would be extremely troublesome. Fortunately, the Chenling Jade Manual introduces the origins of some basic materials, saving Ding Hao a great deal of effort!

  He had avoided the sensitive areas near other sects and spent several months collecting some of the basic materials he needed. The rhinoceros horn was one of the most essential materials at present, but it only appeared in the vicinity of the Holtung Mountain Cave, which was also the boundary between the Blood Slaughter Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect. Although the rhinoceros was not a precious object, people from both sects often lingered around this place.

  Two factions are quite powerful, and if they were to clash, even with the help of the Inverse Heaven Devil Sword's speed, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to escape from a cultivator above the Yuan Ying stage.

  After some thought, he was still willing to take the risk. Being timid and hesitant wasn't Ding Hao's style. He focused his mind and carefully searched for the rhinoceros' tracks. After an hour of effort, his hard work paid off, and he successfully found two rhinos. With one sword strike, the heads of the two beasts were separated from their bodies. He summoned the Eight-Winged Purple Python to devour the corpses cleanly. Looking at the rhino horns, he was surprised to find that they were of exceptionally good quality, and couldn't help but feel grateful for his good luck.

  The Eight-winged Purple Python played a huge role in Ding Hao's search over the past few months. Ordinary magical beasts had no resistance to the Eight-winged Purple Python, which saved Ding Hao a lot of effort. The Eight-winged Purple Python had also benefited greatly from following Ding Hao all these years. Although Ding Hao knew that the spiritual medicine and jade stones in his Jade Simpleness were precious, he didn't think about going to famous mountains and rivers to search for them himself. He believed that if he was strong enough, he could obtain them again through plundering and seizing. Moreover, the Eight-winged Purple Python's consumption of those items wasn't much, so Ding Hao basically gave it whatever it wanted. Under the nourishment of the spiritual medicine and jade stones, the Eight-winged Purple Python even showed signs of breaking through and evolving.

  At this time, a sudden quarrelsome voice came to his ears, Ding Hao was shocked, and he wanted to escape with his sword immediately, but the content of the two men's conversation had already entered his ears.

  "The Soul Refining Sect's gathering, which occurs once every fifty years, is about to arrive. Du Mingwei, you'd better close your doors and cultivate diligently until then. Looking at your current progress, I'm afraid you won't even finish the third layer of the Blood Slaughter True Scripture by the time of the opening ceremony, let alone have the qualifications to enter!" A cold laugh followed, and this voice was the first to enter Ding Hao's ears!

  "Hmph, I'm just in the middle of opening up, you're not even past that stage yet, don't think you're any better than me without the qualifications to enter Ru. Last time, your Xī Hún Zōng only had three people survive, our Xuè Shā Zōng may not be doing well either, but we still had five people come out, two more than you! I really don't know what makes you think you have the right to mock me!" Another cold laugh echoed in, this one even hoarser than before.

  Upon hearing that the two men's cultivation was not much higher than his own, although winning would be difficult, he could at least defend himself. He didn't rush to leave and instead became curious about the Soul Refining Sect they mentioned. He drew closer, careful not to be discovered, and began to listen intently.

  "If it weren't for your Blood Evil Sect relying on the souls of your own sect members scattering, how could you possibly have five people come out alive? You're so ruthless to your own people, truly shameless!" The mocking voice came again.

  "Survival of the fittest! As cultivators, we should only care about the outcome, not the process! But let's put that aside for now. What brings you to this place? I'm here at the invitation of Jiang Ruyun from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect. You're not here to admire the scenery and enjoy the flowers, are you? Hehe, Brother Hao, it's best if you leave us alone and don't disturb my romantic affair!" said Du Mingwei with a self-satisfied smile.

  "Oh, you're also here at Jiang Ruyun's invitation, unfortunately I am too. Although Jiang Ruyun is a third-generation disciple of the Yin Yang Harmony Sect, her mastery of the Yin Yang Magic has some small accomplishments. If she were to... it would definitely be a thrilling experience, heh heh. As for the style of the Yin Yang Harmony Sect's disciples, we both know it well. It seems that today only one of us will have the privilege of enjoying this pleasure. Du Mingwei, you're not my match, why don't you retreat early and avoid embarrassment?" The man sneered repeatedly.

  "Hao Chengzhong, you're only half a step ahead of me in terms of cultivation, I don't believe you can do anything to me!" The first to make a move has the upper hand, the last to make a move suffers the consequences. This person seemed to understand this principle deeply, and yet he didn't seem to have made any moves, but a pair of chicken claws with yin-yang blades had already appeared, shrouded in a bloody red mist, rapidly clawing towards Hao Chengzhong.

  "A grain of rice dares to compete with the bright moon for light, and although your Chicken Claw Yin Yang Token is a treasure, but with your Blood Slaughter True Classic cultivation that's less than three layers, how can you unleash its power? You still want to contend with me? You're really courting death!" As he spoke, a black flag wrapped in ghostly faces and dark souls flew towards the Chicken Claw Yin Yang Token. The moment they made contact, the ghostly faces violently exploded, wrapping the token completely like an octopus.

  "I didn't expect you to cultivate the Soul-Devouring Flag to the point of letting a hundred ghosts run amok! Today I'm unlucky, return my Chicken Claw Yin-Yang Halberd and we'll part ways!" Seeing the power of the Soul-Devouring Flag, Du Mingwei began to feel uneasy!

  Having suffered a loss, he thought of running away. Is there such an easy thing to do? Ha ha! Another banner flew towards Du Mingwei, with a ghostly face and a dark soul that seemed to be leaving the banner, wrapping him completely before he could even escape.

  "Hao Chengzhong, you dare to treat me like this? The Blood Fiend Sect will never let you go!" Du Mingwei shrilled in a stern voice! The ghostly face on the Soul-Devouring Flag was sucking away at Du Mingwei's body like a leech, and his tall and sturdy physique was gradually withering away.

  "You're about to die soon and still dare to be arrogant, under my Soul Devouring Banner you won't even have a soul left. If anyone finds out about today's events, what can your Blood Massacre Sect do? Our Soul Devouring Sect isn't afraid of your Blood Massacre Sect!" Seeing Du Mingwei like this, Hao Chengzhong couldn't help but laugh maniacally!

  "Damn it, I'll never let you go!" Du Mingwei shouted loudly, his body suddenly emitting a blood-red glow, rushing towards Hao Chengzhong. The initial red glow was weak, but by the time he reached Hao Chengzhong's face, it had become extremely vigorous!

  Hao Cheng's delighted expression suddenly turned into a huge shock, and he fled in panic. He hadn't run out a few steps when Du Mingwei let out a loud roar "Blood Slaughter Exploding Decision". His entire body exploded like gunpowder in mid-air. The ghostly face on the Soul-Devouring Banner seemed to sense danger as well, and with a whoosh, it disappeared into the banner.

  After the explosion, Du Mingwei didn't even leave a single bone behind, while Hao Cheng was also affected by the blast and fell to the ground, with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth and gasping for air. He cursed and scolded, "Damn it, the people of Blood Slaughter Sect are all crazy! Who created this technique? They want to take others down with them even in death! Luckily I saw through it early and ran away quickly, otherwise you would have succeeded!"

  "Hehe, you'd better save your energy for running away from me, you can run fast but don't ejaculate too quickly, or how would that be fair to our appointment!" A soft and sweet female voice suddenly appeared in Ding Hao's ear!