Chapter 1023: Chapter 1023

At this moment, Nan Gongling's head, after being slapped by Ding Fan, looked like a pig's head, appearing utterly disheveled.

"Stop hitting me, I was wrong, let me go," Nan Gongling said to Ding Fan with a crestfallen face.

By now, Nan Gongling had lost all his previous arrogance, realizing that Ding Fan wouldn't coddle him at all.

Slap... Ding Fan delivered another slap across his face. "Apologize to Qing Wen..."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I won't dare again in the future..." Nan Gongling knelt on the ground, utterly embarrassed.

Seeing Nan Gongling's appearance, Gusu Qingwen felt absolutely disgusted. This Nan Gongling, who usually bullied the weak and feared the strong, leveraging his father's position as the master of the Hundred Ranks Sect, acted recklessly in the Immortal Realm.

It was truly rare to see Nan Gongling in such a state today.

At this moment, Gusu Qingwen thought of a saying: the wicked are indeed best subdued by the wicked...

"Let him go, Ding Fan," Gusu Qingwen said from the side.

Now, whenever Gusu Qingwen saw Nan Gongling, she felt extremely nauseated.

Someone like Nan Gongling was beneath Ding Fan's notice, and had it not been for his unwise provocation, Ding Fan wouldn't have bothered to stomp on him.

"Get lost," Ding Fan said coldly.

"I'll leave, I'll leave right now!" Nan Gongling scrambled up from the ground as if he had been pardoned, and slunk away with Sang Long by his side.

During the fierce slapping from Ding Fan, Sang Long hadn't dared to utter a single word.

Watching Nan Gongling and his lackey slink away, Gusu Qingwen felt a burst of great satisfaction.

The reason for her good mood wasn't just because Ding Fan sent those annoying people away, but because Ding Fan acted on her behalf. Finally, there was a man who would fight for her...

A woman finds great comfort when she finds someone to rely on.

"Who exactly is this Nan Gongling?" With Nan Gongling and his lackey gone, Ding Fan directly asked Gusu Qingwen. "Why is he here?"

This was Immortal Sect territory, yet Nan Gongling claimed to be the master of the Hundred Ranks Sect. How could there be another sect within the territory of the Immortal Sect?

Gusu Qingwen, understanding Ding Fan's confusion, began to explain.

"The place where our Immortal Sect is located is an extensive area. Our people even refer to the Immortal Realm as a Small World. Initially, there were five sects in this Small World. Immortal Sect was just one of them; the Dire Straits Palace we stumbled into is where the Demon Sect was located."

The Immortal Realm was indeed vast, so much so that Ding Fan couldn't even use his Divine Sense to probe the edges of this Small World. And Ding Fan's Divine Sense could detect areas over thirty kilometers away.

This indicated that the expanse of this Small World was indeed large.

Gusu Qingwen continued, "Eventually, the Demon Sect was destroyed, and the two smaller Ancient Martial Sects were also eliminated, leaving only two main powers in the Small World. One of them is the Hundred Ranks Sect, and the other is our Immortal Sect."

By now, Ding Fan finally understood there were so many secrets within this Small World.

Ding Fan also realized why the Ghost Sect first attacked the people of the Immortal Sect. Located in a vast area rich in resources and talented individuals, the Immortal Sect was the greatest adversary to the Ghost Sect's ambition to dominate the world.

Thus, the Ghost Sect deemed the Immortal Sect their primary enemy.

Just then, a streak of white light flashed by.

The white shadow vanished in an instant, and by the time Ding Fan used his Divine Sense to track it, the figure had already darted far away.

However, Ding Fan quickly realized with his Divine Sense that the white figure was a spiritual beast adept at treasure hunting.

Back in the desert outside Yisi City, Ding Fan discovered Gusu Qingwen was tracking this treasure-hunting spiritual beast. Ding Fan clearly remembered that Gusu Qingwen was also searching for this treasure-hunting spiritual beast at that time.

"Treasure-hunting spiritual beast?" Gusu Qingwen exclaimed, noticing the spiritual beast.

Gusu Qingwen was visibly excited; even in the Immortal Realm, spotting such a spiritual beast was scarce.

Saying its occurrence was rare is no exaggeration at all.

Growing up, Gusu Qingwen had only seen a treasure-hunting spiritual beast twice.

Once was when she discovered it as a child accompanied by her master, and the other time was in the forbidden area of the desert outside Yisi City.

Back then, Gusu Qingwen nearly lost her life there; it was Ding Fan who stopped Gui Xing, giving her a chance to survive.

Now, Gusu Qingwen was thrilled to unexpectedly discover the spiritual beast again.

Finding this treasure-hunting spiritual beast indicated nearby treasures.

At that moment, Ding Fan pulled Gusu Qingwen into his embrace and carried her, chasing after the direction where the spiritual beast had vanished.

Ding Fan's Divine Sense was extremely powerful, so locking onto the treasure-hunting spiritual beast wasn't difficult.

Since he could clearly determine the direction of the spiritual beast, Ding Fan deliberately maintained a certain distance, knowing the treasure-hunting spiritual beast was highly cautious. If it detected tailing, it would tirelessly lead its follower in circles until it completely lost the tracker, then return to its nest.

Generally, the nest of the treasure-hunting spiritual beast was where the treasure was hidden. Therefore, dealing with such a spiritual beast, one cannot use brute force, only a tracking approach.

However, this spiritual beast, Lingling, is inherently alert. Although Ding Fan really pays attention to the tracking distance, the beast still deliberately circled around several times.

Nevertheless, Ding Fan is not anxious.

Dealing with the spiritual beast requires patience.

After accompanying the spiritual beast in circles for two to three hours, the beast suddenly darted into a marshland.

"Ding Fan, this marshland is extremely dangerous. There's an ancient rule from the Immortal Sect forbidding disciples from entering it. Even if one must enter, they must be accompanied by at least two Mysterious Level Warriors." Just as Ding Fan was about to carry Gusu Qingwen into the marsh, Gusu Qingwen said to him.

After hearing Gusu Qingwen's words, Ding Fan hesitated for a moment.

If it were Ding Fan himself, he would have entered the marsh without any hesitation, despite knowing there was danger. He certainly wouldn't have delayed.

Cultivation inherently involves defying destiny, going against the heavenly way, and facing hardships. Without danger, how can one hope to find treasures?

Yet now, Ding Fan hesitated mainly because he was accompanied by Gusu Qingwen.

If Ding Fan encounters danger himself, it doesn't matter much, but it would be bad if Gusu Qingwen got implicated with him.

Ding Fan used his Divine Sense to investigate. At this time, the spiritual beast Lingling had already entered a cave.

Ding Fan cautiously explored the surroundings with his Divine Sense. After confirming there was no danger, he decided to take Gusu Qingwen into the marsh.

"I want to enter the marsh. Do you dare to go?" Ding Fan asked.

Given Gusu Qingwen's character, Ding Fan knew it was impossible to leave her at the edge of the marsh or send her back. Moreover, they were already far from the Immortal Sect. Sending Gusu Qingwen back could be dangerous, so it'd be safer to keep her by his side.

Gusu Qingwen nodded. As long as Ding Fan was with her, she had nothing to fear. "I'll go with you."

Immediately, Ding Fan grabbed Gusu Qingwen's hand, tightly keeping her by his side. With his other hand, Ding Fan drew out the Nine Profound Iron.

With Ding Fan's current cultivation, even if he encountered danger, it wouldn't be difficult to escape. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱

Holding Gusu Qingwen's hand, the two rapidly dashed towards the marsh.

At this moment, there was a sudden rumble of thunder from the Heavenly Level.

Soon, a thundercloud accumulated high in the sky, and then a thunderbolt roared down from the sky.

As the thunderbolt descended from the sky, it directly struck towards Ding Fan and Gusu Qingwen.

Gusu Qingwen clearly saw the thunderbolt strike down, her face turned pale with fear.

The power of the Mysterious Thunder is formidable; it can easily annihilate a Heavenly Level Martial Artist.

Now, Gusu Qingwen understood why the predecessors of the Immortal Sect said that entering the marsh required the protection of two Mysterious Level Warriors.

Gusu Qingwen closed her eyes in fright!

At this moment, Ding Fan's expression tensed. He dared not hesitate; he swiftly raised the Nine Profound Iron and shielded his head.

The thunderbolt struck Ding Fan's head, creating a pit about a meter deep where Ding Fan and Gusu Qingwen stood!

Though Gusu Qingwen is a Heavenly Level Martial Artist, the thunderbolt still paled her face. If not for Ding Fan using the Nine Profound Iron for protection, she would have been reduced to dust.

Gusu Qingwen glanced at Ding Fan beside her; his face was ashen, and even blood was smeared at the corner of his mouth.

It seemed that even Ding Fan could barely cope with that lethal thunderbolt.

At this moment, the thundercloud continued to accumulate, fierce winds blew all around, and raindrops began to fall.

Ding Fan glanced at the thundercloud looming above.

He realized that the Mysterious Thunder was likely drawn by the magnetic field created by him and Gusu Qingwen. When they entered the marsh, the surrounding aura changed, leading the heavenly thunder to target them.

Ding Fan furrowed his brows; seeing the situation now, unless the Mysterious Thunder extinguished them, it wouldn't relent.

Gusu Qingwen was now worried. Ding Fan had barely coped with the previous Mysterious Thunder, so she considered urging him to leave her quickly.

However, Ding Fan ignored Gusu Qingwen; he directly opened the storage ring and took out a handful of materials.

Ding Fan's hands flew deftly; within moments, two array flags were formed.

Gusu Qingwen knew Ding Fan planned to set up a Great Formation.

However, Gusu Qingwen lacked much confidence. Though she didn't understand formations, she had heard that they cover everything from astronomy and geography to mathematics and geometry, encompassing and complex.

Arranging even a simple Defensive Array is difficult; now, with Ding Fan setting up a Great Formation, Gusu Qingwen believed time was insufficient.

If the Great Formation wasn't set up in time, the thunderbolt would have already struck...