Xiao Chunshui left, leaving Ding Yan with a partial map and telling him that if he changed his mind, he must go to the Cloud Sea Pavilion in Xiao Yun City within three days to meet him. At that time, the two would enter the Purgatory City, and whatever they gained would be split evenly.
Holding the partial map, Ding Yan's gaze looked through the window and gazed into the distant sky.
In Xiao Yun City, these days probably wouldn't be peaceful. Those cultivators who entered the mortal world for Huang Quan Old Immortal's technique would likely gather in Xiao Yun City these days, waiting to enter the Purgatory City.
"Three days..." Ding Yan looked at the partial map in his hand and swirled the wine in his cup, drinking it all in one gulp.
Different from the records on the partial map, among the records on the partial map Ding Yan obtained, after the Purgatory City appeared, there would be two days of mirage, and it would only be the last moment of the third day when the door to the demon's gate would truly open. Those who entered the demon city at other times would be sent to dead ends, facing an almost certain death.
Putting away the partial map, he set down his wine cup.
Ding Yan left the tavern.
After seeing the partial map in Xiao Chunshui's hands, Ding Yan had a conjecture in his mind, but this conjecture could only be confirmed after he responded.
In a secluded alley, a black-clad cultivator held a partial map, his right hand hanging at his side, with blood occasionally dripping from his fingertips. Not far from him in the corner, lay the body of a man from the Jianghu, with wide-open eyes and a throat that seemed to have been slit, blood continuously flowing out, filling the entire alley with a bloody smell.
"A mere ant, is this the map you could steal?" The black-clad cultivator took out a piece of white cloth from his sleeve to wipe the blood off his fingertips.
Tossing away the white cloth, the bright crimson blood stains on it were like blooming flowers, enchanting and eerie.
The black-clad cultivator was a scattered immortal sent by the sect to pay attention to the situation in Heji Town. Not long ago, while he was drinking at a tavern, he was accidentally robbed of this partial map by the man from the Jianghu. On discovering this, the black-clad cultivator did not say much, but followed the man to this alley and took the man's life.
In his view, mortals were all ants. Those who dared to offend him had no choice but to die.
Just as the black-clad cultivator was preparing to leave, he turned around and found that there was someone behind him, but he didn't know when that person had appeared.
The newcomer seemed to be around twenty years old, dressed in a green robe, hands behind his back, with an extremely indifferent expression. But for some reason, the black-clad cultivator, upon seeing this person, felt a shiver deep within his soul. This kind of sensation only occurred when facing his master.
Oppression on the level of the soul!
This person was a scattered immortal!
Unlike cultivators, after passing the Tribulation of Ascension, the soul of a scattered immortal would undergo a transformation, and the mortal body would be transformed into the force of life, merging with the soul. It was a qualitative transformation. Facing a scattered immortal, a cultivator who had not gone through the Tribulation of Ascension would involuntarily feel a sense of oppression in the soul.
The person in the green robe extended his right hand, and an empty space lit up. A nameless force materialized from the void, pulling the partial map in his hand toward him.
"Exactly as I expected..." After examining the partial map, the person in the green robe left a sentence, not even glancing at the black-clad cultivator.
His figure distorted for a moment, then vanished into thin air.
After the person in the green robe left, the black-clad cultivator finally resumed his actions, taking a long breath. Looking at the corpse of the man from the Jianghu behind him, a chill rose in his heart.
Compared to those scattered immortals, wasn't he just another ant?
...
On the street, Ding Yan walked aimlessly.
In the span of two hours, Ding Yan had successively taken partial maps from many cultivators in the city, discovering that these partial maps were different from the one he possessed. After a preliminary tally, the fake maps could generally be classified into three types, one of which had a relatively high level of authenticity, with about sixty percent of the information being true.
As for the remaining two types of partial maps, almost everything written on them was false. Following the contents of these fake maps to enter the Purgatory City would essentially mean there was almost no chance of survival.
"Judging from the types of fake maps, there should be three people who originally survived and escaped from the Purgatory City..." Ding Yan speculated. "There are three individuals who, for some unknown purpose, created many fake maps, deliberately circulated them, and then were obtained by those people."
Thinking of this, Ding Yan thought of Xiao Chunshui.
With Xiao Chunshui's strength, he couldn't possibly not know about the other two types of fake maps, yet he did not inform Ding Yan of the news about the other two types of fake maps.
"Has he not obtained the other two fake maps?" Ding Yan quickly dismissed this idea.
With his own abilities, it would only take two hours to find three fake maps. Xiao Chunshui certainly wouldn't lag behind.
"Forget it, no matter what he thinks... I must visit the Wasteland City." Setting aside his thoughts, Ding Yan strode towards Xiao Yuncheng's direction.
Even without the Huangquan Elder's experience in tribulation, Ding Yan still had to make this trip.
This is a test of the mind, as well as a test of survival, just like the words of the scholar who took the imperial examination in the small village. If Ding Yan feared the danger of the Wasteland Demon City and dared not enter, when facing the tribulation of a scattered immortal in the future, he would harbor a sense of fear, which would then evolve into a heart demon. This record about the heart demon, Ding Yan had already read in his previous life during the tribulation period. Now reborn, he naturally wouldn't go down this path.
This is an accumulation of experience, as well as an advantage of rebirth. Without knowing these things, Ding Yan might not go to the Wasteland City at all. Similarly, when facing the tribulation of a scattered immortal in the future, the chances of successfully overcoming the heavenly tribulation would be reduced by one or two levels.
This is also the main reason why so many people turn to dust under the heavenly tribulation.
Because everyone has been weak before.
When they were weak, there was always something to fear. At first, it may not have been obvious, but as their cultivation increased, this seemingly inconspicuous weakness also grew, eventually becoming the biggest obstacle to their ascension to the immortal path.
Because to reach the peak, one must have a fearless heart!
After leaving Heji Town, Ding Yan performed the divine technique, Thundercloud Step.
With each step he took, an illusory Bagua figure would appear at the spot where he stepped, and when the illusion dissipated, Ding Yan's figure would appear in the next location. This kind of footwork, akin to instant movement, appeared as if a mirage to ordinary people. Even if someone occasionally saw it, they would only catch a glimpse of a fleeting shadow, which then disappeared, like an illusion. The reason for not choosing to fly was that Ding Yan didn't want to attract too much attention. After all, there were more than a dozen scattered immortals and even three tribulation scattered immortals entering the mortal world this time. Being too conspicuous might attract the attention of those people.
Although Thundercloud Step was a divine technique, it was not as conspicuous as flying in the air. If one didn't pay special attention, they wouldn't notice Ding Yan's presence.
After entering the range of Xiao Yuncheng, Ding Yan felt a darkness all around as if the entire area had entered a premature night. Looking up, the sky was pitch black, as if something was blocking it.
Ding Yan sucked in a breath of cold air, "Eclipsing the sky! What a grand gesture!"