Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1680 - 1717: The Final Struggle

Ah Du was truly dissatisfied with Ding Fan. He couldn’t quite understand why Ding Fan, whose cultivation was clearly much lower than his own, had such superior strength. It was simply baffling. The only conclusion he could reach was that Ding Fan possessed more treasures.

In other words, Ding Fan was just lucky, always acquiring opportunities and treasures, which was why his strength was so high. He believed that Ding Fan’s strength was entirely dependent on those treasures. Ah Du was convinced that if Ding Fan didn’t have those treasures, he definitely wouldn’t be his match.

Of course, he also thought that if he obtained some powerful treasures, he could defeat Ding Fan as well. Maybe even contending with a True Dragon for a few rounds wouldn’t be a problem. Even though he thought this, such extraordinary treasures were not easy to acquire, nor were they easy to come by.

But Ah Du hadn’t given up. During this journey in the Xuantian Secret Realm, he had already acquired a martial art, the "Sword Drawing Technique." He was well aware of its power, far surpassing most martial arts in the Cultivation World. He believed that once he cultivated it to a certain degree, he would be much stronger than Ding Fan. He also knew that his own cultivation was much higher than Ding Fan’s, and with the "Sword Drawing Technique," he believed his strength would soon surpass Ding Fan’s, and at that time, his status would be much greater than Ding Fan’s.

After all, up until now, he was already considered one of the most outstanding disciples in the entire Thirty-Six Grottos. He knew there was another guy named Lu Ferng in the Thirty-Six Grottos, supposedly quite formidable, but he hadn’t competed with him, so he didn’t acknowledge how formidable Lu Ferng could be.

Ah Du believed that as long as he could make it out of the Xuantian Secret Realm alive and return to the Cultivation World, he would soon become a sect master and maybe even take the position of Lake Master of the Thirty-Six Grottos in the future. Of course, for now, he just had to hope that the True Dragon wouldn’t find him.

After all, with less than an hour left, he and the other two would be transported back to the Cultivation World. He really hoped nothing would go wrong at the last minute.

...

Meanwhile, Ding Fan was feeling extremely excited. As time slowly passed by, seeing that the True Dragon still hadn’t found any of the three of them, this was quite a favorable situation. What made Ding Fan the happiest was that the True Dragon seemed somewhat worn out.

Moreover, the True Dragon didn’t seem as angry. This was good news for Ding Fan. He thought perhaps the True Dragon had already gotten somewhat accustomed to their escape and was no longer as frenzied, but rather very cautious.

This was not entirely good news for Ding Fan. While the True Dragon wasn’t as frenzied as before, which meant he wouldn’t be madly searching for them, this gave them precious time. However, if the True Dragon became cautious, and they slipped up, once the True Dragon found them, its attack would likely be many times more ferocious than before.

The True Dragon probably had a notion of hitting them with a single sure strike. If they were discovered, the creature would surely strike them with all its might instantly. Of course, Ding Fan knew that the creature was most concerned about him, so he needed to be the most careful.

Furthermore, the tactics they had employed before were already used up. The True Dragon’s intelligence had evolved to the equivalent of a human’s. It would certainly learn from previous experiences, and facing it again would be a terrifying ordeal.

Even Ding Fan knew that facing the creature again would not make escaping from its clutches any easier.

But for the time being, Ding Fan didn’t have another plan. He could only hope they wouldn’t be discovered by the True Dragon and exit the Xuantian Secret Realm smoothly and return alive to the Cultivation World. Ding Fan had gained a clear understanding of the perilous nature of the Xuantian Secret Realm, which was not something an ordinary cultivator could handle.

Moreover, Ding Fan was puzzled by something related to the Xuantian Secret Realm. From Long Ren’s account, he knew that only cultivators under twenty-five could enter. But from his own experience here, he could confidently say that such young cultivators couldn’t survive in this realm.

After all, even the most talented disciples, if they reached the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, it would be the pinnacle of their cultivation at that age. Ding Fan believed that even if they reached that level, it would only be the Spirit Severing Initial Stage.

Even aspiring to the Spirit Severing Mid Stage was simply impossible. Although Ding Fan was familiar with the situation in the Cultivation World, having spent nearly a year there, even the most brilliant core disciples of Great Gate Sects couldn’t reach beyond this level.

Ding Fan’s assessment was quite objective. Considering that he himself possessed decent cultivation talent, even with constant breakthroughs, he could only reach the Spirit Severing Mid Stage at most. As for those genius disciples, Ding Fan had met many in the Cultivation World, and hardly any surpassed him. Having witnessed the excellence of the Thirty-Six Grottos’ disciples, Ding Fan thought they were good, but none were stronger than him.

The perilous nature of this Xuantian Secret Realm, Ding Fan believed, could likely only be handled by those at the Spirit Severing Late Stage, or even those cultivators who have already broken through to the Transcendence Tribulation Stage. Therefore, sending cultivators of such age here is essentially sending them to their deaths. Despite the numerous treasures within the Xuantian Secret Realm, Ding Fan saw this too.

But no matter how many treasures there are, if you can’t bring them back alive to the Cultivation World, what’s the use?

This was something Ding Fan couldn’t quite wrap his head around. It stands to reason that Ding Fan trusted Long Ren, as Long Ren, being the Lake Master of the Thirty-Six Caverns, would absolutely not send his sect’s outstanding disciples to their deaths. Yet the perils within the Xuantian Secret Realm were indeed not something those disciples could handle.

Ding Fan believed that on this trip to the Xuantian Secret Realm, without his protection, Guo Linn and Ah Du would have long perished here. How could they have held on until now? Although Ding Fan didn’t know exactly how vast the Xuantian Secret Realm was, and whether the oasis he was in was the entirety of it.

From this, Ding Fan could deduce that even if this wasn’t all of the Xuantian Secret Realm, the other areas must also be equally perilous. Ding Fan truly believed that the other disciples of the Thirty-Six Caverns who entered the Xuantian Secret Realm were likely doomed...

For a moment, Ding Fan found it very strange that such a perilous place, no matter the treasures and opportunities it held, was fundamentally not something those cultivators could survive obtaining. Entering here could only lead to one outcome: certain death.

Ding Fan, at this moment, couldn’t overthink. He would never believe that Long Ren would harm his disciples, especially the most outstanding ones of the Thirty-Six Caverns. But Ding Fan knew the matter was likely not so simple, and not something he could comprehend in a short amount of time.

Thus, Ding Fan decided not to dwell on it. For now, he only focused on staying safely hidden, avoiding discovery by that True Dragon. Anything else, Ding Fan couldn’t consider too much at this moment. Moreover, it wasn’t the time to think about such things. As time went on, the moment for Ding Fan and his companions to return to the Cultivation World was drawing near.

In half an hour, Ding Fan and his companions would reach the time to return to the Cultivation World. Now, as victory seemed within reach, the anxiety in Guo Linn and Ah Du’s hearts lessened a bit, replaced by growing joy. After all, returning to the Cultivation World was no easy feat.

But just then, the True Dragon suddenly discovered Ding Fan’s location and launched ferocious attacks against him repeatedly.

Facing the True Dragon, Ding Fan, though aware that they didn’t have much time before being successfully transported out, was shocked when the creature discovered his presence. It was an unforeseen calamity, and for a moment, Ding Fan couldn’t even react to the True Dragon’s attack.

It seemed Ding Fan’s judgment was correct; although the True Dragon had slowed its search speed during this time, it examined its surroundings more meticulously. Ding Fan wasn’t sure if he could endure till the end, as this time the True Dragon came fully prepared.

His Transcendent Strike had been employed many times. While before, it allowed him to escape under the True Dragon’s eyes using this martial arts, this time Ding Fan worried if the opponent had devised a way to counter it, leaving Ding Fan on edge.

Boom boom boom...

The True Dragon opened its bloody maw, unleashing torrents of Mysterious Thunder at Ding Fan. Although Ding Fan could dodge some of the Mysterious Thunder, the spots struck by it became massive craters, with the ground within charred black, clearly indicating the formidable attack power of the Mysterious Thunder.

Boom boom boom...

The True Dragon’s attacks were relentless, refusing to give the opponent any chance to catch his breath. The True Dragon, knowing it was now very close to Ding Fan, wouldn’t let the human it sought so earnestly escape. Consequently, the barrage of Mysterious Thunder attacks left Ding Fan in a dire plight.

In desperation, Ding Fan could only release the Pure Thunder Pill, but realizing its previous absorption of a large amount of Mysterious Thunder had nearly reached saturation, Ding Fan knew the Pure Thunder Pill couldn’t absorb much more. He immediately manipulated the Pure Thunder Pill to launch Mysterious Thunder attacks on the True Dragon.

Thunder rumbled continuously as Ding Fan’s Mysterious Thunder clashed with the True Dragon’s. All around, thousand-year ancient trees, sandy hills, and earth were blasted into shreds. Yet in terms of Mysterious Thunder, Ding Fan was no match for the True Dragon, forcing him to retreat step by step, desperately trying to escape...