Chapter 950: The Depths of the Sunken Sea; An Ancient Cultivator’s Pocket World (I) |
Ding Yi was still the same build and the same easy-going manner. Yet Luo Chen could not help but frown. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Ding, how come you haven't lost any weight?"
Ding Yi burst out laughing. "Azure Yang, you're quite thoughtful, aren't you?"
Luo Chen said with a helpless smile, "I was just worried the Dustfall Pill didn't work and that's why you came looking for me today."
Ding Yi waved it off. "Don't worry. A deal is a deal. I agreed to it, so how could I hold you accountable for anything? Besides, that Dustfall Pill did actually work on me."
If it had worked, then why had he not slimmed down at all? Luo Chen gave him another curious glance but did not press the matter. Perhaps the man practiced some technique that made him maintain such a build. He was doing that himself, after all—he’d earned the nickname Red-Faced Daoist because of his long-term use of True Flame Pills, which left his face perpetually flushed. Such things were fine to mention once, but pressing further would only irritate others.
The chubby Ding Yi walked across Surging Island and looked around. He let out frequent words of praise, with the occasional sigh of regret. "Such a huge lake, and in under twenty years, you've already built it up this well…. No wonder rogue cultivators are jealous of you. Still, it's a pity… some parts aren't fully developed yet. Otherwise, you'd be earning even more spirit stones each year."
Luo Chen smiled. "You must find me quite laughable, Fellow Daoist."
Over the years, his focus had never been on managing spirit lands. Reaching this scale was just the result of Heavenjade and the Zhang family's best effort. If Luo Chen had taken charge himself, Surging Lake would have changed drastically over the past twenty years. At the very least, there would have been far more people than there were now. The spirit lands were scattered, but there were numerous spirit veins, and their quality was not low. It was especially suited for establishing a sect. With enough manpower, he could develop a wide range of industries. In fact, these were all lessons drawn from experience. He understood them well and had even managed things in this way before. Now, however, his ambitions lay elsewhere.
"Back at Coldlight Island, you really made quite a scene. If everyone hadn't been focused on that war, the one who'd have made a name for himself that day would've been you, Devil Lord."
Ding Yi clicked his tongue. "Come on. The rest of that group was one thing; even Qian Ting wasn't much. But the master of Hundred Craft Mountain? He's no weakling. Even I'd have to put in some serious effort against him. And you were getting surrounded like that and still walked away without a scratch. In fact, you even took a few down on your way out. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest."
Luo Chen’s lips twitched. He knew better than anyone how formidable the mountain lord was. If he had not seized the moment and unleashed that overwhelming strike that sent the man flying far away, he would have found it difficult to escape unless Han Zhan intervened. Still, though Ding Yi spoke modestly, there was clear confidence in his tone that Luo Chen could defeat the mountain lord. That was somewhat unexpected.
He scrutinized Ding Yi. The man did not attempt to conceal himself, letting his mana spread freely. Luo Chen's brows rose slightly—the energy signature screamed “ninth-stage Adept.” This man had concealed himself well the first time they met, appearing only at the middle stage. Now, without any restraint, his cultivation felt as deep as the sea. Among all the Adepts Luo Chen had encountered, only the Angler surpassed him. Purple Empress and Ghost Spirit Child, whom he had met briefly before, both fell short.
Actually… there was one more who could certainly surpass Ding Yi. The Supreme Elder of Ice Fortress, Ice Torrent. Back then, Luo Chen had only been at the Foundation Establishment Realm and could not discern the true strength of Adepts. Ice Torrent had always kept her spirit pressure tightly restrained. Now, looking back with his current perspective, she had been exhibiting all signs of Perfected Mastery, where vital essence, qi, and spirit had begun to merge.
"Didn't expect you to be the one who's been hiding your strength all along," Luo Chen said with a faint sigh as he stopped beneath a willow by the lakeside.
Ding Yi chuckled. "Out here in the Northern Sea, demons are everywhere and people can’t be trusted. If you don't keep a bit of your strength hidden, you'll just end up being targeted. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? Besides, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black? You hid your cultivation back then, but you're actually at the fourth st—eh?!"
Words caught in his throat as the mana fluctuations from the white-robed man grew stronger, revealing a genuine sixth-stage cultivation. More than that, the purity and dominance of that mana brought with it an immense pressure, forcing him to instinctively counter with his own. The two pressures collided for a moment before withdrawing, neither having gained the upper hand. Ding Yi was obviously shocked, yet to Luo Chen’s surprise, he seemed also delighted. "Fellow Daoist, your cultivation has advanced so quickly! I've always acknowledged your combat strength. But now that I've seen your actual level… I'm even more impressed."
Luo Chen pushed back the overwhelming pressure into his body. He fixed his eyes on Ding Yi, not missing even the slightest shift in expression. "Since you came to see me, why beat around the bush? Let's get straight to the point. From what I know, you should have arrived at the Society quite some time ago."
Ding Yi did not deny it and nodded calmly. "That's right. Fourteen years ago, I arrived at Hidden Dragon Mountain and I had Devil's Cloud make a treasure for me."
"A treasure?"
"Yes. It's tied to a place I'm planning to enter. If the treasure hadn't been finished, I wouldn't be going, and I wouldn't have come to find you either."
"A place you’re planning to go?" Luo Chen’s brow arched, sensing the conversation had finally reached its point. "Since you came to find me, should I assume it’s to invite me along?"
"That’s the plan," Ding Yi admitted openly.
He walked over to Luo Chen's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking over the lake. "That place is extremely dangerous, far worse than the Endless Valley, Soulbreaking Cliff, and the other dangerous lands of the Northern Sea. In fact, in my view, even the Heaven of Northern Yama doesn't compare."
Luo Chen was shocked. The places Ding Yi mentioned were all infamous in the Northern Sea cultivation world. Endless Valley was known as a place where demons entered but never left. All demons at the third tier or lower perished within it, and even Demon Emperors did not dare enter lightly. Soulbreaking Cliff was a forbidden zone deep within the Demon Sea. It was first discovered by a rogue cultivator. Later, the Primordial Devil Sect sent a group of Sages and Adepts there, but more than half perished, earning it the name Soulbreaking. And if those were not enough, then the Heaven of Northern Yama was even more daunting. It stood as one of the most dangerous regions in the Northern Sea, bordered by the Sunken Sea and flanked by naturally formed Primal Magnetic Auroras. Anyone who ventured there was almost certain to meet a grim end.
"More dangerous than all those places? Isn't that just seeking death?"
Ding Yi laughed. "How is that seeking death? Haven't you seen that even the Heaven of Northern Yama was sieged and taken down by the demon clans?"
Luo Chen chuckled. "That was done by multiple Ancient Demons leading an army of millions of demonic beasts. You and I are only two Adepts. How could we compare?"
Ding Yi shook his head. "That's not how it works. Dangerous places exist to be conquered. Endless Valley was conquered by Sage Spirit Tamer and turned into a cultivation land. The Heaven of Northern Yama was transformed into a sect stronghold by the Primordial Devil Sect. As for the place I'm heading to, people have been probing it for years now. They've figured out some of its features. If they can go, so can I."
Seeing the resolve on the man's face, Luo Chen did not try to dissuade him and asked where this dangerous place was.