Night quickly approached as the concerns over Tian Qi Sect and Great Sword Gate had everyone in the tents, but few slept. Most were anxious and on edge.
After all, the matters involving Tianqi Sect and the Great Sword Gate were rather terrifying.
Han Wei Cheng brought a living Tianqi Sect master disciple and stood on the left.
"Good day, Brother Han."
Ding Huan approached Han Weicheng and greeted him proactively.
"Good day, Ding Dao Yuan." Han Wei Cheng quickly responded.
He was actually quite peculiar. As long as one wasn't an idiot, at this time, no one would willingly come out to take a turn on guard.
He came out to take the shift because he had to.
Ding's chef wanted to take the shift, but Han Wei Cheng couldn't figure out why.
Ding Huan smiled and said:
"Brother Han must be wondering why I'm volunteering to take the shift," Ding Huan said with a smile.
Han Wei Cheng smiled and was puzzled by Ding Huan's choice, but he had no intention of knowing.
Ding Huan said proactively:
"I am not a member of the Yanue Sect, but a chef hired by the Yanue Sect for the ordinary people. After this journey is over, I will leave the Yanue Sect," Ding Huan said voluntarily.
Han Wei Cheng could only listen as his mind wandered, wondering how this was even related to him.
"I have great admiration for the Tianqi Sect and would like to ask Brother Han, what are the requirements needed to join the Tianqi Sect?"
After listening to Ding Huan say this, Han Wei Cheng finally understood.
It seems that this chef wants to join a Daoist Sect. Perhaps he thought that joining Tianqi Sect would be easier than joining Yanue Sect. This is obviously not possible, and Han Wei Cheng could only shake his head:
"I'm sorry, but Tianqi Sect has very high requirements for its disciples' qualifications, and I can't make that decision on my own."
Ding Huan naturally didn't think he could join the Tianqi Sect, but he just wanted to come around the outer perimeter by using an excuse.
"Brother Han, I have great admiration for the Tianqi Sect. I'm confident in my culinary skills. If I can't join the Tianqi Sect, is there any way for me to stay near it?"
Ding Huan's tone was extremely sincere.
No matter if Qixin Yue can leave the Divine Tribe and come to Tianqi Sect to look for him, he still needs to wait outside Tianqi Sect for a while, just in case.
The point is to leave, but also to leave a mark.
Han Wei Cheng did not reply to Ding Huan's words. They didn't have any personal connection to each other.
Plus, a chef isn't worth him making friends with. Even if this chef could talk to Gu Changlao, so what?
If he was the chef, making delicious food along the way, he could also have a word or two with the elders.
"You look, Yuhai. Is it... ?"
Han Wei Cheng didn't pay much attention to Ding Huan, but he felt something was off when he greeted the Tianqi Sect disciples beside him.
"Yuhai..."
Han Wei Cheng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Yuhai, who had been following him all along, had disappeared.
"Brother Ding, have you seen Yuhai?" Han Wei Cheng stared nervously at Ding Huan.
He was well aware that Yuhai, even if he had to leave for some reason, would definitely inform him beforehand.
Moreover, Yuhai's departure wasn't so sudden. He disappeared almost instantly, definitely something was off.
Ding Huan waved his hand, indicating Han Wei Cheng to be quiet, and then stepped out of the safe area.
Unlike before, though he was talking to Han Wei Cheng, he had been using his spiritual awareness to cover the surroundings, and Yuhai was still within his range.
He had seen Yuhai leave the safe area himself, seemingly entranced by something.
"Brother Ding, what are you doing?" Seeing Ding Huan actually heading out, Han Wei Cheng was scared and hurriedly called out to him.
Ding Huan charged out in one step, before Han Wei Cheng could even catch up, a cold breath pierced through.
This was a neurotoxin. Ding Huan, though he didn't mind these toxins, dared not linger. He slapped Yuhai unconscious and pulled him back.
Han Wei Cheng, who was about to notify Gu Changlao, felt a sigh of relief upon seeing Ding Huan return with Yuhai.
Ding Huan knew that Yuhai had been poisoned when he grabbed him.
He did not intend to detoxify Yuhai, but instead said:
"Brother Han, he's poisoned. Do you have any medicine?"
Upon hearing Ding Huan's words, Han Wei Cheng quickly pulled out a pill and put it into Yuhai's mouth.
Ding Huan kept his eyes on Yuhai, and he felt that Han Wei Cheng's antidote pill might not be effective. But after Yuhai returned, the toxins seemed to be dissipating on their own.
This is quite an odd poison.
A few minutes later, Yuhai opened his eyes and saw Han Wei Cheng, calling out, "Brother Han."
"Youhai, what happened? Why did you walk out alone just now?"
Han Wei Cheng asked urgently.
"I don't know. I just saw Senior Judge Zhenfeng, and he asked me to go over, so I went over," Yuhai replied.
Yuhai still seemed somewhat dazed.
"Brother Han, is everything alright over there?"
The anxious voice of Gu Changlao carried over, followed by Gu Changlao himself walking over.
"We're fine, it's just Yuhai almost walked out." Han Wei Cheng quickly replied.
Gu Changlao's expression was serious:
"Just now, two of our escort disciples went missing. Be careful, this place is strange, don't leave the protection line."
Han Wei Cheng unconsciously shivered at this. If it hadn't been for Ding Huan, Yuhai who was beside him would have also disappeared.
After speaking, Gu Changlao seemed to remember something and turned to ask:
"Brother Han, what happened just now when you said Yuhai almost walked out?"
Han Wei Cheng said quickly:
"I found Yuhai missing, and it was Brother Ding who went out and brought Yuhai back."
"Ding Huan? How do you know where Yuhai is?" Gu Changlao looked at Ding Huan in confusion.
Ding Huan explained:
"I've been following Brother Han all along, and just happened to see that Yuhao was a bit disoriented and walked out. I didn't think too much about it and rushed over to pull him back."
Gu Changlao nodded, feeling that Ding Huan was indeed quite talented.
The night came to an end in this process of worry and fear.
Early the next morning, as everyone was packing up their tents, they discovered that two people were missing.
Qiongzi Shi's face wasn't very good-looking. After all, the two disciples of Yanue Sect who had disappeared were those who followed him.
"Gu Changlao, the place where the accident occurred is not far from here. If we just go over like this... " Han Wei Cheng was still after the incident.
"All right, we will set out at noon." Gu Changlao made a decision.
Everyone thought that Gu Changlao chose noon to set out, as the vital energy at noon was very strong, and some evil spirits might not dare to harm people.
Only Gu Yuchang himself understood that he was waiting for other sects to join.
Don't look at their group of over thirty people; their power is still too weak.
Only by joining forces with other sects, can we enhance our strength and pass through this eerie section.
Before noon, the group saw a group of people approaching from a distance.
"It's Shuanghun Sect and Zixia Valley..." Qiongzi Shi exclaimed with excitement.
Shuanghun Sect and Zixia Valley are both powerful sects, and the ones who came this time are all elders leading the group.
"Gu Changlao, why are you stopping here?"
A middle-aged beautiful woman went ahead first and greeted Gu Yuchang from a distance.
Following the beautiful woman was a young man.
Gu Yuchang also greeted with a bow and clasp of the hand:
"I have seen Zixia Valley Liu senior and Shuanghun Sect Qū senior."
Ding Huan watched from afar and thought to himself that the Shuanghun Sect's Qū senior really was young. Huh, a sect of soul transplantation.
"Yes, Gu brother, why isn't Yanue Sect advancing?"
The young Qū senior from Shuanghun Sect also asked in confusion.
Gu Yuchang called Han Wei Cheng over.
"Brother Han, can you recount what happened yesterday?"
Han Wei Cheng, after showing respect, recounted the almost complete annihilation of Tianqi Sect and Daguan Sect yesterday.
"Is there such a strange incident?"
Liu senior from Zixia Valley frowned slightly.
Dahe Gorge is indeed riddled with dangers, but most of the dangers are from sudden attacks by beastly creatures, getting lost and killed by treacherous plants, or getting stuck in quicksand.
It's truly unprecedented to encounter such strange events while traveling on the road.
Gu Yuchang said:
"Now that we have more people, let's go together."
Both Shuanghun Sect and Tianqi Sect agreed with Gu Yuchang's proposal, recognizing that more people mean more strength.
The original group of over thirty people was suddenly increased by fifty more.
With nearly a hundred people in the group moving forward, with several elders and officials keeping watch in front and back, it seemed safer on the surface.
With over a hundred people, the pace naturally slowed down.
There were too many strongmen here, so Ding Huan dare not casually extend his spiritual awareness. However, he could penetrate downward.
After an hour, Ding Huan sensed something amiss. The soil beneath his spiritual awareness seemed disordered.
Some bloodstains were buried in the soil, and some broken clothes were mixed in as well.
Ding Huan's spiritual awareness was carefully spread out, and it was confirmed that this was the place where Tianqi Sect and Daguan Sect had encountered trouble.
Why does it seem as if there are no traces here, yet all the traces are neatly buried beneath the soil?
Moreover, Han Wei Cheng seems to have noticed nothing unusual.
Ding Huan felt a bit of unease in his heart. He no longer cared about being noticed by the strongmen, spreading his spiritual awareness outward.
To Ding Huan's shock, they were not on the path but had walked into the forest.
Both Gu Changlao, Liu senior from Zixia Valley, and Qū senior from Shuanghun Sect were extremely vigilant, paying close attention to their surroundings while also moving deeper into the forest.
Ding Huan retracted his spiritual awareness. What he could see in front of him was still a wide path that had been trodden for a long time.
This made him involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air. He could be sure that everyone else was seeing the same as he was now.
Could it be because his spiritual awareness had been refined in the universe, making it almost a tangible existence?
That's why he could feel that his current location was not on the main road.
Ding Huan rubbed his eyes, and to his astonishment, he could now see with his own eyes that they were not on the main road but in the forest.
What's going on?
Why can only I see it clearly while others cannot?
No, what he saw seemed to be on the main road as well. It's just that after observing with his spiritual awareness that they were not on the main road, his eyes had also returned to normal.
Ding Huan sighed and couldn't believe the elders of these sects. If they continued to follow them, they might be led to the gates of hell.
