Ding Hao’s thoughts returned to the time when he was in the golden tower.
Having inherited power from the golden light, Ding Hao ignited the divine fire and obtained the divine essence; as a result, his constitution had been strengthened to a terrifying level.
Ding Hao roughly estimated that his physical strength had reached the Four-apertured Martial Emperor Realm, which was much more powerful than his Qi cultivation.
More importantly, under the infusion of the golden light, he had finally entered the seventh level of the Mind Essential, the Heaven and Earth of the Will of the God. His Divine Senses were so powerful that they could easily detect minute objects up to an area of more than 25 kilometers.
Completing the six-level cultivation enabled Ding Hao’s body to reach a completely controllable state. His viscera had been transformed: his blood turned golden and his bones were like white jade. If Ding Hao wanted, he could even control a single, tiny cell in his body. His body was like a self-contained universe. Not only Qi circulated in the meridian channels, but also energy, which was being constantly absorbed from the outside, automatically improving the strength of his body.
After entering the seventh level, Ding Hao became able to use his divine senses to control external objects.
Using his senses, Ding Hao soon found Ren Xiaoyao and the others.
Thanks to the protection of his power, they had not been sent too far away. About 10 kilometers away in the wilderness, Ding Hao guided Ren Xiaoyao with his Divine Senses, helping him lead Ji Yingqi, Evil Moon and Mengmeng on their way back.
Everyone was in a good mood.
Having narrowly escaped from death, they managed to walk out of the Sage Battlefield alive.
It had been a precious experience.
Legend had it that whoever could walk out of the Sage Battlefield alive would achieve extraordinary feats in martial arts and eventually enter the realm of Martial Sage. With Ren Xiaoyao’s talent and luck, as long as he didn’t die young, he would surely be able to enter the realm of Martial Sage.
“Senior Brother Ding, what should we do next?” Ren Xiaoyao asked excitedly.
“First, we must figure out where we are. We have to return to the sect as soon as Junior Sister Xie is healed,” Ding Hao laughed and said, “The head must be anxious already. We should collect news on the way, trying our best to find other brothers and sisters, so that we can go back to the sect together. Hahaha, let’s see who can stop the rise of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect!”
Ren Xiaoyao was also extremely excited.
Yes, it had been half a year since he left the sect. It was time to go back.
That trip to the Sage Battlefield had been fruitful, and Senior Brother Ding had even made a name for himself. If the news were spread out, it would definitely bring glory to the sect, and the whole Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be in high spirits.
Ren Xiaoyao thought for a moment and said, “There seems to be a human-inhabited city in the distance. I’ll inquire about it first and find out what the place is.”
“Wait, Brother Ren, I’ll go with you,” Ji Yingqi suddenly said.
“You? Fine, hehe. It would be good for you to have a look.” Ren Xiaoyao did not hesitate. He mobilized his Qi and flew up to the sky with Ji Yingqi toward the human-inhabited area.
However, he didn’t notice the disappointment on Ji Yingqi’s face when she turned around.
“Meow, I’ll go with you…” Evil Moon rolled his eyes and left with Mengmeng.
For the first time, Ding Hao felt that this fat cat was considerate.
After a while, Xie Jieyu’s injury was slightly recovered.
Although Ding Hao was surprised to see the rapid growth of Xie Jieyu’s strength, he didn’t ask her. Everyone had their own secrets and luck. If Xie Jieyu was reluctant to tell, Ding Hao would not force her.
“Whew…” Xie Jieyu exhaled a mouthful of foul air; she withdrew her Qi, and slowly stood up.
Xie Jieyu looked at Ding Hao and said quietly, “Brother Hao, I’m sorry. I can’t go back to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect with you now.”
“Why?” Ding Hao asked in surprise.
“There are some private matters that I need to deal with. It’s about my naughty little sister Ding Ding,” Xie Jieyu explained.
Ding Hao suddenly remembered Ding Ding, the little girl with goat-horn braids, who was precocious beyond her age.
In the past two years, Ding Hao had only seen this smarty girl a few times. She didn’t seem to grow much; she still looked like the girl he had met for the first time two years before, which was a bit unusual. This time Xie Jieyu entered the Sage Battlefield, but Ding Ding failed to earn a place, so she had been left outside.
The two sisters had not seen each other for more than half a year. It was understandable that Xie Jieyu was in such a hurry to find Ding Ding.
However, from what she said, Ding Ding was not at the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect; she was somewhere else.
“All right,” Ding Hao nodded and said, “Find Ding Ding and return to the Sect as soon as possible.”
Xie Jieyu smiled and said, “Of course, there will be the Battle at Frozen Peak in less than a month, Brother Hao. This will definitely cause a sensation in the whole Snow Province. This is your battle to win. I will definitely go watch it.”
Ding Hao nodded with a smile.
After a while, Ren Xiaoyao and the others came back.
“Haha, what a surprise. This is Ice Province, a neighboring place to Snow Province. We are only tens of thousands of kilometers away and should be able to return to our sect soon,” Ren Xiaoyao said excitedly.
“Great!” Ding Hao was also overjoyed.
Everyone was anticipating a triumphant return.
After a brief discussion, Xie Jieyu was the first to leave. She turned into a rainbow and disappeared into the distant sky.
Ding Hao, Ren Xiaoyao and the others moved toward the north.
The fastest way to return to Snow Province was through the transmission formation door; the closest one to the Snow Province was located in the Sky Star City, the largest city in Ice Province. It was located in the north and was about 10,000 miles away. Given the speed of Ding Hao and the others, it would take them at most half a day to reach it.
The Jade Province where Ji Yingqi was from was still very far away.
She decided to follow Ding Hao to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect first. When Ding Hao finished his business in the Snow Province, he could personally escort her back to the Jade Province.
…
In the Sky Star City.
At a small inn.
In the backyard of the inn, a simple child of about three or four years old in a cloth gown glanced up at a middle-aged man and asked in an innocent voice, “Daddy, Daddy, are you upset? Why are you frowning?”
The dignified and portly middle-aged man was full of sorrow at the moment. His dark circles and tired expression showed that he was not in a good state. After hearing the words, he heaved a long sigh. Looking dotingly at the child, he said, “Ying, it seems that we won’t escape from this ordeal.”
“Dad, don’t worry. My brother is undefeatable. He’ll come to save us.” The big-headed boy waved his fist.
Next to the middle-aged man is a curvaceous woman. Upon hearing his reply, she shed a string of tears. The young child in front of her didn’t know that it was unknown whether his brother was alive or dead. He might have been killed. Otherwise, the entire Wang family wouldn’t have fallen into such despair.
“My lord, why don’t we just give them all of our belongings in exchange for Ying’s life? Would they still kill us all?” the woman said as she wiped away her tears.
“How I wish it could be this simple. Those monsters are notoriously greedy and cruel. They won’t let us go, even if we hand over all our possessions…” The middle-aged man said furiously, “I treated that traitor as my own son. This bastard colluded with the Falling Star Sect to swallow the property of our Wang family!”
The middle-aged man was so enraged at the thought of it that he couldn’t help coughing, spewing a mouthful of blood.
The woman was scared out of her wits and hurriedly patted the middle-aged man’s back, trying to comfort him. “Calm down, my lord. You have to stay strong. I will become a widow if you fall ill out of anger. What should Ying and I do then…?” While saying this, she hastily ordered the servants to serve tea.
“I wonder how Xiaoqi is doing now. The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect has been destroyed. It is said that many disciples have died, and the rest are being forced to work in the mines. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have sent Xiaoqi to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Now his life is uncertain…”
Sitting on the chair brought over by the servant, the middle-aged man stopped coughing and sighed. “During the past two or three years, our caravan has become more and more powerful thanks to Xiaoqi’s prestige, being a member of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. We have earned a lot of money, but we have also offended some people. Now that the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect has fallen, those evildoers are eager to take revenge.”
The middle-aged man paused and looked at a martial artist who was dressed like a swordsman beside him. He asked, “Do you have any news about the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect?”
The swordsman shook his head.
The middle-aged man sighed. He had paid such a high price to save his eldest son. He didn’t expect that he would then be in such deep trouble because of his adopted son’s betrayal, to a point that he couldn’t even save his own life,
Suddenly, they heard some footsteps from behind the back door, followed by the sounds of killing.
The middle-aged man and his wife were both stunned.
Clang!
The back door was blasted open.
A guard dressed as a swordsman was thrust into the room, dying. He opened his mouth and blood was spat out.
“Hahaha, father, why did you leave in such a hurry last night, without even telling me? You’ve run so far away that it took me some time to find you.” Amid loud jeering, a young man in a white robe walked in from behind the door, with a disdainful face.
Followed by more than 20 vicious warriors, he surrounded the whole backyard. The weapons in his hands were still dripping with blood. The guards ordered by the middle-aged man to stay outside had all been killed.
The young man had thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked simple, honest, and loyal, but the expression on his face revealed his cruelty and deceit.
He deliberately stepped on a guard’s back, and with a crack, he broke the spine of the seriously injured warrior. As if it were nothing, he flicked the dust on his clothes, laughed, and said, “Father, you are really senile. Do you think you can stop me by hiring these idiots?”
