The two of them flew swiftly on their swords. Before long, they arrived at the region where the Wuji Demon Sect was located. Glancing at the approaching sect, Ding Hao descended from the air.
After Feng Xingran also landed firmly, Ding Hao said in a deep voice, "Miss, I'm extremely grateful for your kind escort. However, at this moment, I must retreat and heal my wounds. I'm afraid I don't have time to entertain you. Shall we part ways here?"
Feng Xingran surveyed Ding Hao with her beautiful eyes. Only after making Ding Hao feel rather uncomfortable did she smile charmingly and said, "You've already been so bold with me. Still addressing me as'miss'? Call me Xingran, Ding Lang. Doesn't it sound too distant? Anyway, you're not allowed to address me like that anymore."
"Oh, in that case, I'll just call you Feng Xingran by your full name," Ding Hao replied with a faint smile.
"No way. You can call me by my name, but skip the surname. Otherwise, I won't let you off easily, you rascal!" Feng Xingran retorted angrily.
"Alright, alright. Enough of this. Well, could you please go back and inform our sect master that I've returned to the sect first? And don't mention the fight between me and Cheng Xiong," Ding Hao said seriously.
"Got it. Ding Lang, you're so heartless. You've treated me like this and still refuse to change the way you address me. But I've decided to stick to you. You can't get rid of me. Anyway, you're staying in the Wuji Demon Sect to cultivate. When you recover from your injuries, if you dare not come to the Purgatory Demon Sect to find me, I'll surely raze the Wuji Demon Sect to the ground. Hehe!" Feng Xingran threatened. Then she moved closer, hugged Ding Hao, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek before flying away.
Seeing this woman leave, Ding Hao's heart was in a turmoil. His relationship with her was undoubtedly going to be a complicated one. Thinking of her character, he chuckled softly. Then he soared into the air on his sword and headed straight for the bottom of the Cold Pool Cave.
During this Soul Refining Sect Assembly, Ding Hao had reaped great rewards. Not only had he obtained a top-grade defensive armor, but his cultivation level had also advanced further. His combat experience had become even richer. Most importantly, he had restored the prestige of the declining Wuji Demon Sect.
Recalling Cheng Xiong's actions towards him, Ding Hao felt a surge of anger. Although Cheng Xiong claimed that he only wanted to teach Ding Hao a lesson, he had shown no mercy in his attacks. If Ding Hao hadn't been so powerful, he might not have been able to withstand even one of his strikes. It was obvious that Cheng Xiong had intended to kill him. Hmm? This man was powerful and had murderous intentions towards him. He was indeed a menace. If it weren't for his current insufficient cultivation level, Ding Hao would surely have slain him first.
Thinking that Feng Xingran wouldn't let Cheng Xiong off easily when she returned to her sect, Ding Hao felt a bit gloating. He just waited for the day when his strength would greatly increase and then he would slay all of them.
After cultivating in seclusion at the bottom of the pool for about half a year, Ding Hao finally recovered from his injuries. This was also due to the pill given by Feng Xingran. Without this pill, it might have taken him another half a year. Thinking of this, Ding Hao was truly grateful to Feng Xingran.
After pondering for a while, Ding Hao took out the armor he had obtained from the Soul Refining Sect Assembly and examined it carefully. He found that the materials used for this armor were of top quality and the forging technique was unique. No wonder it could be refined into a top-grade magic weapon.
A moment later, Ding Hao took out a piece of Rougang Stone from his storage ring. The Rougang Stone was an extremely rare item. It looked soft but was actually extremely hard and had a certain resistance to the invasion of true qi.
The Wubiao Demon Flame sprang up in his hand. Although Ding Hao was at the bottom of the Cold Pool Cave, the Wubiao Demon Flame seemed unaffected by the water flow and still bloomed brilliantly like a flower from the Demon Realm. He put the Rougang Stone into it. After three days, he dissolved the stone from a solid state into a liquid state. Using a secret method, he infused the liquid of the Rougang Stone into the armor in front of him. After another three months of refinement, he finally enhanced the power of the armor a bit.
The re-refined armor was still black. Only some strange patterns had appeared on the surface of the armor. When he channeled his true qi into it, these patterns seemed to flow slowly like living creatures. At first glance, one might think that the armor was covered with crawling insects, which was a bit creepy.
With a thought, the armor attached itself to Ding Hao's whole body. A black light flashed, and the armor penetrated his outer clothing and covered his body.
Ding Hao secretly sighed that it was fortunate that he had re-refined it. Otherwise, the armor couldn't be used so freely by him. When he channeled his true qi, a black light shield rose from his body, completely covering his figure. Looking around, Ding Hao was quite satisfied.
Another half a month passed. Ding Hao carefully considered the insights from his recent battles. When he felt that his cultivation level could no longer improve, he planned to leave seclusion.
Just as he left the Cold Pool, he was about to return to the sect when suddenly a sound of something breaking through the air reached his ears. Ding Hao was startled and concealed his figure. A moment later, a person appeared in his field of vision.
This was a first or second-generation disciple of the Wuji Demon Sect. Ding Hao had met him once at the previous sect assembly. It seemed that his name was Su Yunfeng, and he was a disciple of Sect Master Li Nantian with a cultivation level of the late Nascent Soul stage. Su Yunfeng was moving furtively, looking back from time to time as if afraid of being followed.
Ding Hao was immediately intrigued. After casting a Concealment Talisman on himself, he quietly followed behind at a distance. At this time, Ding Hao's cultivation level was much higher than before, and he could use the Concealment Talisman with great ease. With Su Yunfeng's Nascent Soul stage cultivation level, he couldn't detect Ding Hao at all.
A moment later, Ding Hao followed him to a cliff. There was a narrow passage in the middle of the cliff, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. This place was very secluded. Ding Hao couldn't figure out why this person had come here and was extremely curious.
After passing through the cliff, he was surprised to find that there was a different world inside. Behind the cliff was a small mine. All kinds of mining tools could be seen everywhere. Li Nantian and several second-generation disciples were sorting and polishing the materials from the mine. After observing from a distance, Ding Hao found that not only some medium and low-grade crystals had been mined, but also some basic ores used for refining weapons.
Now Ding Hao finally understood why Li Nantian had been so confident during the last tribute. It turned out that he had been sure of this all along. Ding Hao secretly hated this man. He clearly had the confidence but still forced his sect members. He was truly shameless.
Seeing that Li Nantian was here, Ding Hao became even more cautious and dared not approach any closer for fear of being discovered.
"Yunfeng, was everything done properly this time? Were you not discovered?" Li Nantian asked.
"Reporting to master, Yunfeng has already put the materials mined last time into the sect warehouse. No one noticed along the way," Su Yunfeng replied respectfully.
"Good. When this batch of materials is mined, you can distribute some low-grade crystals to your respective disciples. Our sect will surely become stronger in the future. Hmph, let's see if those four elders still dare to disobey me then!" Li Nantian said coldly.
"Of course, master is so brilliant. Those ungrateful elders will surely bow down at your feet. It's just that this place is close to the Soul-devouring Sect. Although our sect discovered this mine first, if we keep coming here, sooner or later their sect will notice. With our sect's strength, we surely can't compete with the Soul-devouring Sect for it," Su Yunfeng said with a bitter face.
"Alas, master knows that too. That's why I asked you to speed up the mining. As long as the minerals are in our sect warehouse, we don't have to worry about them taking them back. Well, mine as much as we can," Li Nantian sighed.
After that, the master and disciples stopped talking and continued to mine the mineral materials in silence.
Ding Hao had learned what he needed to know and didn't stay any longer. After carefully observing the surroundings, he left quietly.
He thought to himself that this mine would be his sooner or later. Let them have their fun for now.
An hour later, Ding Hao suddenly appeared in the Wuji Demon Sect.
Several second and third-generation disciples who hadn't been in seclusion came to congratulate him when they saw him. The way they looked at Ding Hao was extremely strange, as if he were the savior of the sect. Ding Hao responded modestly and politely, not showing any sign of arrogance. After a while, he got a bit tired of it and took his leave.
As soon as Ding Hao appeared in the library, Hu Shuo said loudly, "Junior brother, you're truly extraordinary. Although we knew you would make a splash, no one expected you to achieve such great results. It has really boosted the morale of our Wuji Demon Sect!"
Ding Hao swept his fierce eyes and knew that Hu Shuo's cultivation level had also advanced. Although not as fast as his own, compared to his peers, it was still remarkable. Ding Hao wouldn't be polite to him. Hu Shuo had practiced the Wuji Demon Art, and his life and death were completely in Ding Hao's hands. Moreover, after observing for a long time, Ding Hao knew that Hu Shuo was a trustworthy person. So he briefly described the events of the Soul Refining Sect Assembly.
After listening to Ding Hao's narration, Hu Shuo was silent for a moment and said, "According to what junior brother said, if junior brother can handle the matter with Feng Xingran properly, it will be of great benefit to the development of junior brother's power. Junior brother can also take control of the Wuji Demon Sect in the shortest time. Why doesn't junior brother...?"
"I don't want to rely on a woman's feelings to pursue hegemony. For me, the most important thing is the exciting process of striving for hegemony, not the final result. Yes, if I could make good use of Feng Xingran, it would indeed speed up this process, but it doesn't conform to my original intention. Hehe, and I have my own plans," Ding Hao said seriously.
Hu Shuo was startled at first, then stared at Ding Hao with genuine admiration. After a moment, he asked in confusion, "I wonder what junior brother's good plan is?"
"The reason our sect has declined is that we lack top-notch experts. If there is a top expert to guard our sect, I'm afraid no one would dare to look down on our sect anymore," Ding Hao said coldly.
"Oh, what kind of expert can junior brother recruit to our sect? If it can be done, that would be the best," Hu Shuo asked.
"Is the Blood Demon Lie Shan powerful enough?" Ding Hao smiled.
Hu Shuo's expression changed. After a moment, his face was filled with ecstasy, and he exclaimed, "Junior brother, are you really sure you can invite the Blood Demon Lie Shan?"
"Since we both practice the Wuji Demon Art, he has no choice," Ding Hao laughed.
Hu Shuo was stunned for a moment, and then he also burst out laughing.