Ninth In the World

So long as Wei Shanshan was cleared of any suspicion, everything would be alright. Di Jiu became more cautious when moving forward. After walking for a few seconds, he came to a halt.

He had already spotted Qin Yin, He Tai and Jing Moshuang. Besides the three of them, there were also several other people who were being pierced by the pitch-black silk threads. They were all suspended above a lake as black as ink.

The black lake looked very strange. When Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force landed on it, it was unable to permeate it. He could only sense the fluctuations of an aura related to souls. A few white bones floated in the lake, bobbing in and out of sight. There was also a strange stink that made people nauseous.

Little Tree was right, this was not a good place. This had to be the Vile Soul Lake.

Just as Di Jiu reached this conclusion, he saw one of the pitch-black silk threads disintegrate. The cultivator suspended by that silk thread dropped into the ink-like Vile Soul Lake below with a blood-curdling scream.

A few black bubbles appeared in the lake and soon disappeared.

Di Jiu was horrified. His gaze landed on Qin Yin, Jing Moshuang and He Tai, who had all lowered their heads in resignation to this fate.

The fall of that cultivator must have shaken Jing Moshuang out of her reverie. When she lifted her head unconsciously, she saw Di Jiu. Di Jiu noticed that the black silk threads on her body had suddenly disappeared.

He immediately rushed over without a second thought. He would definitely not wait till Jing Moshuang dropped into the Vile Soul Lake. Once she fell, no one would be able to save her.

Di Jiu rushed to the Vile Soul Lake, feeling a terrifying oppression. This oppression did not target his Quintessential Essence and body, but his soul. It felt like an invisible pair of big hands tearing his soul into pieces, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Soon, his Spiritual Force was torn into several pieces by that pair of invisible hands. The remaining Spiritual Force was forcefully repressed back into his Spiritual Sea. Then, his body dropped from the air.

Di Jiu grunted. The Spiritual Force in his Spiritual Sea expanded frantically before the repressed Spiritual Force reached out once more and stopped his falling momentum.

This force was so powerful that it shocked Di Jiu. If his Spiritual Force had not been condensed by the Galaxy Art and the Forging Spiritual Art, he would have dropped into the black lake.

When she saw Di Jiu, Jing Moshuang opened her mouth soundlessly. Then, she watched in astonishment as he rushed towards her.

Di Jiu did not understand how scary the Vile Soul Lake could be, but she did. The Vile Soul Lake could oppress souls. Therefore, when one expanded their Spiritual Force to fly above the lake, their Spiritual Force would immediately be lacerated or repressed. When this happened, the cultivator in question would have no Spiritual Force anymore and would naturally drop from the air. Flying was prohibited above the Vile Soul Lake, regardless of whether one relied on their Spiritual Force or dharma treasures.

In other words, any cultivators who flew into the spatial range of the Vile Soul Lake would be pierced by the Vile Soul Threads and stay suspended above the lake.

Jing Moshuang frantically burned her Quintessential Essence. When Di Jiu grabbed onto her, she suddenly twisted her body and hugged him.

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force captured the black silk thread piercing Jing Moshuang’s body. When Jing Moshuang pushed him away, Di Jiu understood her intentions and did not resist. Thanks to Jing Moshuang’s motion, he landed outside the Vile Soul Lake.

“We can’t use our Spiritual Force above the Vile Soul Lake, so we can’t fly over…” Wei Shanshan said regretfully. She had been so nervous that she had failed to inform Di Jiu about this important detail.

“Why didn’t the black silk thread pierce me after piercing Senior Sister Moshuang?” Di Jiu was actually more curious about this matter.

Logically speaking, when Jing Moshuang had hugged him, both he and Jing Moshuang should have been pierced. However, the black silk thread had not pierced him.

“That black silk thread is called a Vile Soul Thread,” Wei Shanshan explained. “It can only pierce one person, so it could not pierce both of you. Anyone who is pierced by a Vile Soul Thread loses their ability to move and speak for half an hour. If you’d left the space above the Vile Soul Lake any later, a second Vile Soul Thread would have appeared and pierced you.”

Di Jiu finally understood why Jing Moshuang had hugged him. She had wanted to help him block the Vile Soul Thread.

Wei Shanshan’s eyes turned red when she saw that Jing Moshuang had been pierced by a Vile Soul Thread a second time. She knew very well that it was terrifying to be pierced by a Vile Soul Thread. She might not have experienced it first-hand, but she had witnessed it before.

A cultivator who was pierced by a Vile Soul Thread would let out blood-curdling screams and start to struggle. She dared not recall these screams even now. One could imagine how painful it was if the cultivators screamed like this. Their struggles only lasted for half an hour, for they were unable to scream or struggle afterward.

Senior Sister Moshuang was pierced because she had attempted to save Qin Yin.

“I got it. I will go save these people now. Don’t touch the people I save,” Di Jiu said before he rushed towards He Tai.

He possessed some understanding regarding the Vile Soul Lake now. Although he had suffered during his first attempt due to his ignorance, he would not make the same mistakes this time.

As expected, the frigid oppressive aura assailed Di Jiu once again when he leaped into the space above the Vile Soul Lake. Di Jiu released his maximum Spiritual Force. Even though his Spiritual Force was mostly torn, the remaining Spiritual Force would allow him to stay above the Vile Soul Lake without much trouble.

That aura suddenly seemed to sense something different about Di Jiu, so it transformed into a big black hand and reached for his Spiritual Sea.

Although the Spiritual Sea was hidden within the Purple Palace, the black hand was able to pinpoint the location of his Spiritual Sea.

Di Jiu was angry. The strength of his Spiritual Force would not matter if his Spiritual Sea was captured. This would only result in his death.

Before Di Jiu could resist, a black Vile Soul Thread shot out at lightning speed with the intention of piercing him.

When Di Jiu opened his palm, a ball of black flame appeared. He was prepared to retreat at any moment. If his Luminous Starry Sky was unable to burn down the Vile Soul Thread, he would just retreat and think of other ideas.

A crackle was suddenly heard and a burnt smell spread in the area. Di Jiu clearly saw the black Vile Soul Thread get burned into ashes by his Luminous Starry Sky.

The Dao fire was very powerful as it lunged at the black hand reaching for his Spiritual Sea.

When it collided with the hand, the pain was so great that Di Jiu screamed. That big hand immediately disintegrated.

Di Jiu did not care about the hand. His black Dao fire instantly landed on the Vile Soul Thread piercing He Tai. The Vile Soul Thread disappeared and the black imprint on He Tai’s body was removed by Di Jiu’s black Dao fire. With a wave of Di Jiu’s hand, He Tai was moved to the border of the Vile Soul Lake.

Meanwhile, thanks to his earlier experience, Di Jiu also placed Qin Yin and Jing Moshuang at the border of the lake.

Before he could save everyone else, the cultivators suspended above the lake by the Vile Soul Threads dropped like dumplings into the lake below.

Di Jiu did not know these people, so he did not risk his life to save them. Before he could rush out of the lake’s range, the Vile Soul Lake suddenly started to roar and boundless black water engulfed him from all sides.

Di Jiu’s expression changed when he realized that his Spiritual Force was unable to permeate the black lake water coming at him from every direction. He immediately shouted, “Little Tree, retreat with them! I will find you guys later!”

“Let’s go!” Little Tree followed its Big Brother’s command loyally. Several tree roots stretched out from its body and wrapped around Jing Moshuang, Qin Yin and He Tai, who were still unable to move. Then, it hollered at Wei Shanshan, “Leave! Big Brother will find a way to get out of here!”

Little Tree was a Level-Three Demon Tree. Its knowledge and experience were vast, so it knew that it would not be able to help Di Jiu much even if it stayed there. It would be wiser to leave this place as soon as possible instead of wait for its death. This way, Di Jiu would not worry about them. Helping Di Jiu not worry too much was Little Tree’s current job.

Wei Shanshan had been in a state of shock for a long time. The waves of the Vile Soul Lake were raging and the oppression on her psyche made it difficult for her to stay upright. When she heard Little Tree’s shout, she hurriedly followed Little Tree outside.

Perhaps it was because Di Jiu was taking the brunt of the attack, but Little Tree and Wei Shanshan encountered no obstacles as they rushed up to the white platform.

As they were heading up, they were not as cautious as Di Jiu had been when he had first walked down the stairway. In just an hour, Little Tree and Wei Shanshan exited the white jade platform and landed outside the abandoned mining hole.

When they looked back again, the platform had disappeared.

Jing Moshuang had already opened her eyes. She knew very well what had happened. As she looked at the black mining hole, she was filled with regret.

She would rather die than bring other people down. Furthermore, this involved Di Jiu, who had already saved her many times. Di Jiu had helped her intercept Ouyang Tao. If it hadn’t been for him, she would have died a long time ago. What had she ever helped Di Jiu with? The only thing she had done was not expose Di Jiu and bring him with her to the Lonely River City to participate in the Immortal Sect Ascension.

“I’m so useless… Big Brother Di has saved me three times already…” He Tai rubbed his head. He had some important news that he’d wanted to share with Di Jiu, yet Di Jiu had unexpectedly fallen into the Vile Soul Lake in order to save him.

Little Tree looked at the abandoned mining hole worriedly. Although it knew that Di Jiu was fine for now, that could change in the future.