Ninth In the World

Exhaling deeply, Di Jiu stood up inside the Ninth World. The black gonfalon of the Primordial Dao itinerant monk was too formidable. He had recovered only after spending one year in recuperation.

If it weren’t for the fact that he cultivated the Nomological Dao, it would have been impossible for him to dispel the killing intent within him in a year. Fortunately, he had the Ninth World. The itinerant monk would have been able to rely on the killing intent’s aura to find him if he was unable to dispel it.

It was only now that Di Jiu realized just how lucky he was. The ignorant were indeed fearless. He had actually thought of killing a Primordial Dao expert simply by relying on the surprise factor and some level-three Confinement Killing Arrays.

After what had happened, Di Jiu would have wanted to head over to the Vast Ruins even if Yu Qianxi had not invited him. However, several months had passed since the invite. He did not know if Yu Qianxi was still waiting for him in the Green Li Sacred Dao City.

Regardless, Di Jiu intended to make a trip down to the Green Li Sacred Dao City since he had already made a promise to Yu Qianxi. The Vast Ruins would be the next stop of his itinerary.

Heading to the Vast Ruins alone was quite troublesome in any case.

…

Yu Qianxi had heard about what had happened to Ding Chi and Di Jiu when she had left the Dao Ridge. A cold chill ran down her spine. She herself had almost not passed through the Inspection Array. Due to her more amiable personality, however, and the knowledge that Jiang Dai had once exterminated the Azure Sacred Elixir Sect, she had gritted her teeth and entered the Inspection Array despite her discomfort.

Now, the Great Buddha Mountain had sealed its gates and no one knew whether Ding Chi was dead or alive. As for Di Jiu, she did not know where he was.

No matter what, she had made a promise to him, so she had to make a trip down to the Green Li Sacred Dao City.

It was only after she arrived at the Green Li Sacred Dao City that she saw the wanted portraits of Di Jiu and Ding Chi pasted everywhere. She sighed in relief, as this showed that the two men had yet to be caught by Jiang Dai.

Even though she waited in the Green Li Sacred Dao City for two months, Di Jiu did not come. Therefore, she decided to head back to the sect first.

The first thing Di Jiu saw when he arrived at the Green Li Sacred Dao City was the huge arrest warrant outside the city. He, Di Jiu, was one of the two wanted people on it.

Jiang Dai was a bastard! Di Jiu scolded silently. In the future, when he attained the second step, the first thing he would do was uproot this bastard’s nest.

With a lowered head, Yu Qianxi walked out of the Green Li Sacred Dao City. She had yet to take out her Dharma treasure, when she heard a silent voice transmission. “Junior Sister Yu, it is me, Di Jiu. Didn’t you promise to head to the Vast Ruins with me? I was delayed due to some issues. If you are still willing to go, we can go now.”

Alarmed, Yu Qianxi turned around abruptly and saw Di Jiu, who was standing a short distance away.

He was disguised as an extremely ordinary, middle-aged Itinerant Cultivator, giving off the aura of someone who constantly traveled in search of cultivating resources.

Yu Qianxi simply could not understand why Di Jiu had still dared to come to the Green Li Sacred Dao City when he was wanted by someone as powerful as Jiang Dai. He was risking his own life. Nonetheless, Di Jiu’s disguising abilities were very good. She had cultivated with Di Jiu before, yet she could not sense a familiar aura coming from him.

“Let’s go immediately.” Yu Qianxi was very smart. She knew that Di Jiu would definitely not stay in the Green Li Sacred Dao City longer than necessary.

…

The Teleportation Array in the Green Li Sacred Dao City that led to the Vast Ruins was very empty. When Di Jiu came to the array with Yu Qianxi, he knew right away that he had made the correct call by working with her.

He would definitely have been unable to enter the Teleportation Array if he had come alone. Now, Yu Qianxi only had to show the Vast Pure Sacred Sect’s core disciple identification card and she could easily bring Di Jiu along into the Teleportation Array.

Yu Qianxi sighed in relief when they exited the Teleportation Array outside the Vast Ruins. She looked at Di Jiu and commented, “Senior Brother Di, what you’re doing is too risky.”

Di Jiu would not have agreed with her if he had heard that before fighting with that itinerant monk. He cultivated the Nomological Dao and had mastered the nomological escape technique. Therefore, it would not be easy for even a second-step expert to assassinate him.

However, after experiencing that battle, Di Jiu had understood that only death would await him if a Primordial Chaos expert was indeed chasing after him. The powerfulness of his nomological escape technique would not matter then.

That battle had allowed him to realize just how great the gap in strength between him and second-step experts was. Moreover, that itinerant monk could barely be considered a Primordial Dao cultivator.

Mentioning nothing about the fact that Jiang Dai was looking for him, Di Jiu cupped his fists with a smile and said, “Congratulations on successfully completing the Dao Birth, Junior Sister Yu. I no longer wish to go to that hall in the Vast Ruins. Why don’t we head to the Vast Ruins directly?”

“Sure,” agreed Yu Qianxi without any hesitation, well-aware of why Di Jiu did not want to head to that hall anymore. If she was in Di Jiu’s shoes, she would not have dared to come to the Vast Ruins, let alone enter the hall within.

“There are very few cultivators here. The fatality rate in the Vast Ruins is very high.” Yu Qianxi lamented as they stood outside the entrance of the major array of the Vast Ruins.

Di Jiu replied in disdain, “That is because the Five Major Sects of the Dao World are too high-handed. If an ordinary cultivator was allowed to enter the Vast Ruins, there would not be so few cultivators here.”

He looked down on the Five Major Sects’ way of doing things. The fatality rate of the Vast Ruins was very high, but this was also the place where one had the greatest chance of gaining insight into supernormal abilities.

One had to join the Five Major Sects or be connected to the Five Major Sects if they wished to enter the Vast Ruins.

Yu Qianxi did not refute Di Jiu’s words. Instead, she sighed and said, “Actually, cultivators who wish to enter this place can do it. It is not a very difficult feat to accomplish. The real reason there are so few people here is because most cultivators are unwilling to take the risk.”

Di Jiu had already stepped into the Vast Ruins. Immediately, the chaotic nomological aura surged towards him, although it did not affect him at all.

Upon seeing that Yu Qianxi had entered the Vast Ruins as well, Di Jiu suddenly took out a flying boat and asked, “Where is the place you mentioned? It would be faster if we used the flying boat to fly over.”

Yu Qianxi stared at Di Jiu dumbly. “Have you never been to the Vast Ruins?”

She was starting to suspect that what Mo Yejiu had said was right. Who would be so idiotic as to use the flying boat if they had been to the Vast Ruins? The Vast Ruins would not be so scary if flying boats could be used.

Di Jiu replied coolly, “I promise that nothing will happen to you. I attained the Dao Modeling in the Vast Ruins. What do you think?”

Sensing that Di Jiu was telling the truth, Yu Qianxi was extremely shocked. She had heard that even second-step experts dared not use the flying boat in the Vast Ruins. This made her wonder what cultivation technique Di Jiu was cultivating if he had become so heaven-defying. If Di Jiu really dared to fly a flying boat on the first level of the Vast Ruins, this proved that he possessed the strongest ability to survive in the Vast Ruins. Mo Yejiu had not been lying then.

“Come up quickly. You won’t die. At least not on the first level of the Vast Ruins. I am 100 percent certain of that.” Di Jiu reassured her.

The second level of the Vast Ruins might be a different story, but Di Jiu was certain that the chaotic laws on the first level would not affect him in the slightest even if he used the flying boat.

Upon calming down, Yu Qianxi bowed before Di Jiu and declared, “Senior Brother Di, my cultivation is not as strong as yours. I still need to explore the first level of the Vast Ruins and gain insight into the scattered laws here. As for the Dao fruit garden, my guess is that it should be located on the third level.”

The reason Yu Qianxi wished to explore the first level was different. It was actually because she wanted to search for the sect’s Saintess, Wen Xi-er, who had disappeared after entering the Vast Ruins while carrying the sect’s priceless treasure, the Vast Pure Sacred Kettle.

Di Jiu looked at Yu Qianxi’s expression and knew that she was lying immediately. He did not bother pointing that out, however. He refused to waste time with Yu Qianxi since she wanted to gain insight into laws. In his opinion, exploring the Vast Ruins’ first level was an utter waste of time.

Without hesitation, he replied, “I will wait for you at the entrance of the second level, Junior Sister Yu. Send me a message once you arrive. We will enter the second level together then.”

“Alright. I will probably need two to three years to reach the second level’s entrance from here. I will send you a message the moment I arrive.” Yu Qianxi agreed, as she knew herself that Di Jiu would not be willing to waste time by staying by her side.

She would not be in any danger on the Vast Ruins’ first level, although she might need Di Jiu’s help when they entered the second level. This was something everyone knew tacitly.

If that was not the case, why else would she have agreed to team up with Di Jiu? Why would she be willing to split the loot with others instead of keeping it all to herself if she knew about the existence of the Dao fruit garden?