Chapter 102: 99 chapters, 9 methods

After the destruction of the God-seeking ship, Ding Huan finally felt a bit of relief in his heart. He was sure that Shi Keling was one of the top masters of hidden patience, likely even more sinister than Shi Changyi. Not killing that thing and leaving it on Earth would spell disaster. But now that the creature had taken away tens of thousands of Blossom God Crystal Stones, who could kill it once it grew stronger? "Lao Zhong, now that we have no flying vehicle, you should head back on your own. Oh right, after you reach Pu Hai, help me deliver a letter to Nian Jinqing's residence at the Beast King Society. Just drop the letter at the door," Ding Huan said, then picked up a wooden chip and casually scribbled a few lines before handing it to Zhong Chi. All the paper in the bag was waterlogged and useless, so he could only leave a message on a wooden chip. Originally, he planned to return to Pu Hai, but now without the plane, and knowing Qu Yi should be safe, he didn't bother to go back. He'd simply write a letter to Lao Liu, telling him to find his own way to the Kunlun Mountain Range. If he couldn't make it there, then go back to Qianluo Mountain. With Lao Liu's craftiness, there surely wouldn't be any problems. "What about you?" Zhong Chi asked skeptically as he took the wooden chip. Ding Huan replied, "Lao Zhong, as you saw, one guy escaped from the spaceship. Do you think he'll keep his head down? Add to that the Demon Dragon and the giant ape, the peace on Earth is only temporary. Therefore, I need to find a place to enhance my strength. We'll meet again. After you get back to Pu Hai, look after Qu Yi for me, she's my friend." "Then... alright," Zhong Chi agreed, eager to return, with revenge as his first order of business. Ding Huan saw through Zhong Chi's intentions and reminded him, "Lao Zhong, revenge is fine, but use some strategy. Don't just barge in blindly or you might get killed in your own den. Remember to get some people; make it big, better if the whole world knows. Make the world see what Shi Changyi and the Genetic Alliance are all about before you strike. It'll be much simpler then. Shi Changyi ambushed you, so you have every reason to suspect that Shi Changyi is in cahoots with the Fierce Beast. Some things don't need evidence." Without a reminder, this guy might get ambushed a second time. Zhong Chi nodded, "Brother Ding, rest assured, being ambushed once was due to my carelessness, but if I get ambushed a second time, it means I deserved it for being incompetent and unworthy. I'm going now, we'll meet again." "Brother Ding, where do we go next?" After Zhong Chi had left, Qi Xinyue looked at Ding Huan with some concern. She was afraid Ding Huan would leave her too. She felt a bit dependent on Ding Huan, afraid that without him, she might struggle to survive. And that was without even encountering other Earth People, whom she feared she would hardly last against. "We will stay here and cultivate. I'm sure that Shi Keling will come here again," Ding Huan said as he looked around the museum, contemplating some sort of trigger mark. It's just a pity that he only knew of Arrays but had no idea how to set one up. Hearing that Ding Huan didn't want her to leave, Qi Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief. After touring the museum and finding nothing of value, Ding Huan brought Qi Xinyue to an abandoned hotel near the beach. In Ding Huan's estimation, Shi Keling definitely wouldn't stray too far from Bioko Island. The creature was sure to come for the God-seeking ship eventually. Would Shi Keling die in the tide of beasts? Heh, if such a person could die in a beast tide, they'd be blind. Qi Xinyue had no objections; whatever Ding Huan chose to do, she'd simply comply. If he wished to cultivate by the sea and wait for Shi Keling, she had no complaints. "Here, take one of these," Ding Huan said as he handed her a Blossom God Crystal Stone. Qi Xinyue quickly refused, "I don't need it." "Take it. If we catch Shi Keling, you can have as many Blossom God Crystal Stones as you want," Ding Huan insisted, pushing it towards her again. Qi Xinyue did not accept it, looking at Ding Huan earnestly, "Shi Keling got so many Blossom God Crystal Stones, and you only have five. If you don't strengthen yourself, we won't have a way out when Shi Keling comes. If you get stronger, as long as we catch Shi Keling, there will be plenty of Blossom God Crystal Stones." Ding Huan thought it over and agreed, "In that case, let it be so. We'll cultivate in one of the top-floor rooms. You can share a room with me." This hotel was quite nice; the top floor had several suites, and Ding Huan chose one of them. He worried that while he was cultivating, Shi Keling might come and kill Qi Xinyue. The guy was deeply cunning, and it was better to be cautious. Qi Xinyue had no such ulterior motives; cultivating in the same room as Ding Huan was even better for her. The hotel had not been attacked by Fierce Beasts for long, and thanks to the locked food storage, it had remained intact. Ding Huan and Qi Xinyue first gathered a pile of food in the room before they started their seclusion. As his cultivation improved, Ding Huan's need for food decreased while his craving for Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi grew increasingly intense. In the room, Ding Huan took out a Blossom God Crystal Stone. Previously, with Zhong Chi around, he hadn't had the opportunity to closely observe the stone. Now examining it thoroughly, he realized that the stone contained ten times, if not more, Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi than regular Qi stones. But that wasn't the most important part; what was key was that Ding Huan could distinctly feel that the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in this Divine Crystal Stone seemed more suited for absorption and cultivation. It was as though the Qi contained more complete components—he could not fully articulate this, but he understood the implications. Luo Shijin in operation, the pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi circulated a cycle inside his body in an instant. Ding Huan opened his eyes in surprise, this cultivation method was simply invincible. This cycle not only strengthened the True Yuan within his body but more importantly, it seemed to cleanse the impurities within his meridians. Ding Huan immersed himself in this pleasant cultivation method as he operated Luo Shijin again. Previously, Ding Huan was a bit away from becoming a sixth-level gene cultivator, but after just one day of cultivation, he had broken through from a level five gene cultivator and reached the realm of level six. At this moment, Ding Huan understood why his current advancement was not as excruciating as before. Previously, when he cultivated, he would purely absorb the Primordial Qi between heaven and earth. The environment on Earth had mutated, and the Primordial Qi between heaven and earth was much denser than it had been decades ago. Yet, it was still far from sufficient to operate Luo Shijin for cultivation. Therefore, every time he advanced in level, there wasn't enough Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, making every advancement extremely difficult. Later, when he used Primordial Qi stones for cultivation, they contained a much denser Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Thus, when he advanced to a level five gene cultivator using the Primordial Qi stones, he did not experience that painful process. Now, using the Blossom God Crystal Stone, which even contained a denser Primordial Qi than the stones, cultivating felt as smooth as water flowing into a channel without the slightest bit of difference. It looked like it wasn't that his aptitude was poor, but rather that he lacked resources. After reaching level six as a gene cultivator, Ding Huan did not stop. He continued to push towards becoming a level seven gene cultivator. As time passed during Ding Huan's secluded cultivation, Qi Xinyue would come out to check on him every day after her own cultivation. Seeing that Ding Huan was still in seclusion, she continued her cultivation at ease. Previously, a Primordial Qi stone would quickly get used up by Ding Huan, but now with the Divine Crystal Stones, one could sustain several days of his cultivation. A week passed by, and Ding Huan awakened from his seclusion. After eating something and cleaning up, he went back to cultivating in seclusion. ... When Ding Huan had been in secluded cultivation for nearly a month, four flying objects appeared at the outer layer of Earth's atmosphere. Two of them looked like disks, while the other two bore no difference to the Seek God spacecraft that Ding Huan had seen before. "Is this the planet?" A pale-skinned man in one of the disk-shaped spacecraft asked as he stared at the outline of Earth on the large screen in front of him. "It is, according to our coordinates," replied a young woman beside the man. The pale-skinned man looked around at the rest of the people in the room: "What do you all think?" It was clearly a temporary meeting, with seven people sitting in the room. "I suggest we wait. This place doesn't seem like it's home to the God race. We've detected extremely scarce Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi," spoke a slightly fat and short middle-aged man. Although he looked somewhat fat, he had a particularly fleshy chin that would quiver every time he spoke. An assertive young man said carelessly: "What is there to wait for? The civilization level of this planet is extremely low. All we need to do is apply a bit of shielding, and they won't have the slightest awareness. Since that's the case, we just crush them." Apparently the captain, the pale-skinned man moderated his tone: "Everyone, first, we can be sure that this planet is not a dwelling of the God race. Second, our Seek God vehicle is definitely on this planet. Since all the signals we have sent have gone unanswered, it indicates that the Seek God might have encountered a problem. Of course, what's most important is that this is a Life Planet, and this Life Planet might contain things beyond our wildest dreams. My suggestion is that first we find a way to take control of the life on this planet, and then take control of the planet itself. As for the valuable things within, we'll distribute them when the time comes." No one opposed the captain's words. Controlling a Life Planet with a lower civilization was a necessary step for any Advanced Civilization to progress further. "Ting Ti, Ji Yuan, An Qinger, you three scout for the best landing site. Peng Tong, Gai Lin, Zang Yuding Hui, you three prepare defense and offense, the moment we land on Earth, establish a defense counterattack system..." The captain issued a stream of orders, already treating Earth as one of their subordinate planets. ... "Crack, crack..." Ding Huan could even feel his bones cracking, but this didn't startle him, rather, it brought him joy. The violent Primordial Qi wildly surged into his body, and Ding Huan's aura also climbed up frantically. In just a few short minutes, Ding Huan could feel the powerful force of a level seven gene cultivator. Ding Huan opened his eyes, quite pleased with himself. If he were to face the giant ape now, he wouldn't need to exert much effort at all. It was just too bad that the Wind Blade Skill and Fireball Technique were small magics not fit for the big stage. If only he had a grand finishing move... Just as Ding Huan wished for a top-level finishing skill, an unexpected passage suddenly appeared in his memory. "Nine paths, the spear embodies nine paths, each path corresponds to one of the Nine Heavens. With nine paths, tear apart the Nine Heavens..." How arrogant, Ding Huan thought to himself in shock. He knew this information originated from the leather scroll, and the owner of this scroll, whether it was him in another life or not, was undoubtedly a highly capable being. The scroll's owner definitely knew what the Nine Heavens meant; it was where the Saints dwelled, the ultimate pinnacle of the immortal path. And this person claimed to tear apart each of the Nine Heavens with one path, could their arrogance be any greater?