Just as everyone was preparing to set off, another figure rushed over.
Ding Huan had seen the figure rushing over from afar and knew that something was wrong in his heart.
"Elder Qu." Elder Liu of the Zixia Valley had already called out.
Ding Huan could only curse his bad luck. If they had left earlier, this Qu surname wouldn't have stopped here, he would definitely have rushed to the opposite forest.
Elder Liu's shout was equivalent to saving the life of this turtle-dog.
"Elder Liu, Elder Gu..." The Douhun Sect's Elder Qu suddenly woke up with a jolt and quickly stopped in his tracks.
However, Ding Huan heartily disliked this turtle-dog. Although Elder Liu of Zixia Valley had brought over five or six disciples, this guy had run alone.
If not for one disciple following the people from Zixia Valley to escape, this Douhun Sect would have been wiped out completely.
The few elders wanted to chat, so the rest of the group had to continue waiting.
"Elder Gu, do you know what's going on?"
After the initial panic, Elder Qu of the Douhun Sect had already calmed down.
Gu Youchang sighed:
"I suspect that we have encountered a high-level Huanbá. We have always believed ourselves to be in the middle of a major road, but in fact, we have been in the deep mountains before. This place is truly the main road."
Elder Liu Yinyinzhu of Zixia Valley also realized this problem not long ago. She was moved by the fact that she had survived this time, truly a stroke of luck.
Elder Qu Yuanshan of the Douhun Sect had not fully realized it yet. It was only when Gu Youchang mentioned that they had been in the mountains before, and now they were back on the road, that he truly comprehended.
Looking around, Elder Qu Yuanshan let out a sigh of relief and only then realized that he had been frightened out of his wits.
"It's the phantom toxin of the Huanba, so dangerous…"
As he spoke, it seemed as though he suddenly remembered something and rushed to Ding Huan's front, scolding him loudly:
"You are just a small cook, and you know we were in the mountains, yet you didn't directly alert us. What are you thinking?"
Ding Huan looked at the guy in front of him blankly. Is this guy an idiot?
"Are you out of your mind? Are you a senior or am I a senior? I am just a cook, and you want me to remind you? Old Six, retreat."
Ding Huan was not going to tolerate this guy's behavior, retreating several steps after speaking.
If this guy dares to lay hands on him, he would immediately flee into the jungle with Old Six.
Moreover, both Elder Gu Youchang and Elder Liu Yinyinzhu should not let this guy start a fight.
If neither of the two people spoke up, he would get as far away as possible.
"Die!" With a fury, Elder Qu Yuanshan was about to attack Ding Huan.
Gu Youchang's face turned cold:
"Elder Qu Yuanshan, the people I Der Yue Zong requested are not something you can handle. Is it that your Douhun Sect thinks it's very powerful and wants to fight with my Der Yue Zong?"
Elder Qu Yuanshan hesitated, then looked at Gu Youchang with some confusion.
This is just a cook, and for cultivators in the Daoist world, it doesn't matter whether he is an elder like Qu Yuanshan or a newly-entered disciple. They can easily beat up a cook.
"Elder Gu, what are you doing?" Elder Qu Yuanshan, taking the initiative and due to his usual habit, was about to chastise Ding Huan.
Being halted by Gu Youchang's reprimand, Elder Qu Yuanshan then felt that this cook seemed not to be an ordinary cook.
That's not right. He was introduced earlier as just an ordinary cook.
Elder Liu Yinyinzhu also frowned and said:
"We are able to stand here and speak because of the great merit of Ding the cultivator. Elder Qu's words earlier were excessive."
The Qion Zhi Ge didn't want to create hostility between the Der Yue Zong and the Douhun Sect due to a single cook, so he quickly stepped in to distract them and said:
"It's just a misunderstanding. So let's get on the road quickly. This place has always been unsettling."
Ding Huan glanced at this Qion Zhi Ge, thinking he was another ungrateful wolf. Having given him a Jingsheng bamboo, he didn't even show any favoritism towards him. This only made Ding Huan more determined to retrieve the Jingsheng bamboo.
"Ding the cultivator, perhaps we should first continue on our journey?"
Qion Zhi Ge wanted to play both sides, and after comforting the Qu elder, even though he knew they needed to start their journey now, he still approached Ding Huan for a query.
Elder Qu Yuanshan cast a cold glance at Ding Huan. By the time they left the Great Abyss Valley, he vowed that he would be the first to kill this ant-like cook in front of him.
Ding Huan greeted Elder Gu and Elder Liu with a bow:
"Elders, I'm not particularly keen on walking with Elder Qu. As a cook, if Elder Qu's mood is bad, I wouldn't even have a chance to survive his backhand."
The lethal intent in Qu Yuanshan's eyes was something that Ding Huan had long been aware of.
Ding Huan smiled coldly in his heart. This turtle-dog, if he made him lead the way out and then tried to kill himself, he would never let it happen.
When he emerged from the Siuxiang Star Continent, he had been humbly begging for survival. There was no choice but to do so because he needed someone to take him to a high-level civilization star continent.
Now that these people wanted him to lead the way, that was fine, but they also wanted to kill him later? Ding Huan wasn't that despicable.
If they want to start a fight, he will run into the jungle immediately. He doesn't dare to walk together with Qu Yuanshan.
Ding Huan's words drew expressions of astonishment from both Elder Liu and Elder Gu.
To say such a fearless thing, could he really be a cook?
Qu Yuanshan was enraged, his face turned ashen. If it weren't for Elder Gu being here, he would have slapped Ding Huan already. No, he couldn't let this little cook die so easily.
This time, even Qion Zhi Ge's face looked unpleasant.
Ding Huan indeed had merit, but for a cook to use that as leverage over a sect elder was not only excessive; it was akin to defying the heavenly laws.
When he saw Elder Gu's calm expression, Ding Huan had a heart attack. Then he quickly abandoned his thoughts.
No matter whether Ding Huan is a cook or not, no matter how low his status may be. If Elder Gu is on Ding Huan's side, then Qion Zhi Ge does not have the right to speak.
Seeing that neither Elder Gu nor Elder Liu spoke, Qu Yuanshan felt somewhat frustrated.
Could he, as a prestigious sect elder, be forced to look at the cook's face?
But thinking about the Huanba, he could only bear this frustration.
If Ding Huan does not leave, neither will he.
This old man's skin is really thick.
Ding Huan could only say to Elder Gu:
"Elder Gu, let's set off."
"Okay." Elder Gu immediately commanded the others to stand up and set off.
Seeing that everyone had set off, Elder Qu also started his journey.
After about half an hour, Ding Huan stopped.
As Ding Huan is now the one leading the way, everyone has to stop when he stops.
"Dong Huan stops abruptly and turns to Elder Qu. "Which path should we take, Elder Qu?" he asks rudely.
Qu Yuanshan snorts coldly:
"How dare you? Is this road your property? Only you can walk on it, and I can't? I will take this main road, and if you don't like it, so be it?"
Ding Huan stretches out his hand:
"If that's the case, Elder Qu, please go first. We'll take a different path."
The others looked at Ding Huan in confusion and disbelief. Take a different path? There's only one road here, isn't there? Are you suggesting they go into the mountains instead?
That's why they encountered the Huanbá with hallucinogenic poison just now. It was because they accidentally left the main road and entered the forest.
If Ding Huan knew that someone thought this way, he would only say "haha".
If walking on the main road would prevent them from encountering the Huanba's hallucinogenic poison, then how did the group end up in the forest before?
"So what? This little cook thinks he's something."
Qu Yuanshan snorted and walked ahead on his own.
Even if Qu Yuanshan was unhappy and had a thick skin, if Ding Huan, this cook, dared to confront him face to face, if he continued to bear grudges and swallow his anger, then this matter would be spread around and he would never be able to show his face in front of others in the future.
Seeing that Qu Yuanshan had left, Ding Huan really walked into the forest.
"Ding the cultivator, Elder Qu is also someone who values his dignity. We can just walk slower; he won't follow us together."
Elder Liu Yinyinzhu of Zixia Valley couldn't help but say one sentence.
Ding Huan smiled and said:
"Elder Liu, what I said earlier was just in anger. If Elder Qu really wants to walk with us, I won't say much. I'm just a little kid in your presence at most, and I might say a few angry words occasionally. Elders, please don't take offense."
"My sixth sense tells me to take this path, and I don't know why. I've always followed my intuition, and I've generally not made any major mistakes."
At this point, both Qion Zhi Ge and Han Weicheng, and others, had sobered up from the hallucinogenic poison quite a bit, making the distinction between the main road and the forest much clearer.
Seeing Ding Huan walk deeper into the forest again, as if deliberately provoking Elder Qu by going into the mountains, they all felt some hesitation.
"Ding the cultivator, am I still under the hallucinogenic poison? Are we still on the main road?" Qion Zhi Ge couldn't help but ask.
Ding Huan held great contempt for this guy, who took advantage of his position as a cook to ally with elders from other sects.
Feeling disdain in his heart, Ding Huan still hesitated and said,
"I'm not sure. I just have a feeling that we should go this way, but I can't be completely sure. You all choose for yourselves. I think things like this require personal decision-making."
After all, I am just a cook. As a mortal with limited eyesight, if anything goes wrong, I can't afford to take the responsibility."
Everyone knew that Ding Huan's decision to take the forest path was likely due to a disagreement with Elder Qu, but this was no laughing matter.
Such jokes could be fatal if taken lightly.
Qion Zhi Ge decided not to follow Ding Huan into the forest. What kind of joke is that? You're a cook and you're fighting with an elder. You can die if you want, but nobody else wants to play your game.
As Ding Huan said, Ding Huan is merely a mortal cook whose life is not valuable.
"I plan to accompany Ding the cultivator."
Elder Liu Yinyinzhu of Zixia Valley said without hesitation.
This left Qion Zhi Ge baffled. How could Elder Liu Yinyinzhu of the Zixia Valley intend to follow Ding Huan into the forest?
Han Weicheng, however, didn't want to enter the forest again. Seeing that Elder Liu of the Zixia Valley had approved of Ding Huan, he hesitated.
"Elder Gu, where do you plan to go?" Han Weicheng couldn't help but asked Elder Gu Youchang.
Elder Gu Youchang laughed heartily:
"I naturally follow Ding the cultivator, so I don't need to make a decision. I will follow whatever path Ding the cultivator takes."
"That's fine. I'll follow Ding Huan as well."
Han Weicheng immediately changed his mind.
For the first time, it was because he didn't expect it. But if something happened again because of this, then it would be his own fault.
Seeing that Ding Huan had already turned into the forest, Qion Zhi Ge hesitated for a moment, but had no choice but to follow.
He couldn't be the only one to walk on the main road while everyone else went into the forest, could he? If the main road was safe, they wouldn't have been lured into the forest in the first place.
"Humph, pretending to be supernatural." Elder Qu Yuanshan's spiritual thoughts scanned over Ding Huan and his group as they turned into the forest, sneering coldly.
Ding Huan trying to play such a small trick in front of him? Qu Yuanshan would be foolish enough to follow Ding Huan into the forest just because he did.
