Ninth In the World

Di Jiu smiled awkwardly. He didn’t know how to answer this old man.

Fortunately, the old man didn’t care and did not ask anything else. He only said, “There is actually a river in the Heavenly Witch Realm called the Heavenly Witch River. If anyone wants to survive, they have to be beside this river. Otherwise, they will definitely die…”

“Hold on, you said that one has to be beside the Heavenly Witch River to survive. Why are you guys okay with living in the stone city then?” Di Jiu asked in confusion.

Upon hearing that, the old man was stunned. He then recalled that Di Jiu had said that he had never seen the Heavenly Witch River.

He did not know whether anyone living in the Heavenly Witch Realm had never seen the Heavenly Witch River. However, he was aware that among the people he knew, nobody would dare to survive away from the Heavenly Witch River.

“The stone city is beside the Heavenly Witch River. Can’t you see that?” The old man frowned, wondering whether what Di Jiu had said was true or not.

The Heavenly Witch River was beside the stone city? Di Jiu was completely dumbfounded. He had only seen wilderness and a desert beside the stone city. Was there even a Heavenly Witch River? He couldn’t even see a drop of water.

Cao Xi, who was standing aside, said, “What he said is true. The Heavenly Witch River is indeed beside the stone city. You just haven’t seen it.”

“Yes, yes…” the old man said repeatedly upon hearing Cao Xi’s words.

Di Jiu told the old man awkwardly, “I’m a bit color-blind, so I can’t see. Don’t tell the others about this.”

The old man didn’t understand what being color-blind was like at all. When he was convinced that Di Jiu couldn’t see the Heavenly Witch River, his face turned somewhat pale. He lowered his head and quickly took a few steps away from Di Jiu.

Di Jiu, who didn’t care, turned his head to ask Cao Xi, “Do you understand?”

Cao Xi nodded and arranged her thoughts before saying, “The Dao of the world is never perfect. Even I, Du Bu, and the Dao cultivator I mentioned do not have a perfect Dao. I don’t know how Du Mo harmed Du Bu, but I can guess that Du Bu was not conspired against because Du Mo was powerful. Du Bu wanted to pursue perfection, so he was affected by Du Mo’s Dao.”

“What do you mean? Is it wrong to pursue perfection?” Di Jiu asked in confusion.

Cao Xi answered firmly, “You’re right. It’s wrong to pursue perfection. If your Dao is obsessed with pursuing perfection, it will definitely shatter and collapse completely. You, the universe, and the Dao do not exist perfectly. Therefore, pursuing perfection is an illusion. The Dao exists. If you cultivate the existing Dao and pursue something illusory, how can it not collapse and shatter?”

Di Jiu went silent and recalled his past. Cao Xi’s words were like one side of the mirror. He had not been perfect before cultivating or after.

“Cao Xi, how did Du Bu pursue perfection?” Di Jiu asked.

Cao Xi answered, “When the Five-Element Universe first separated, he obtained eight of the nine Primordial Dao Laws. However, he was still not satisfied. he wanted my Primordial Dao Law and he also wanted me to give him my body.”

“Could this be why Du Mo plotted against him?” Di Jiu was puzzled.

Cao Xi shook her head. “No. The true reason Du Mo plotted against him should be that he had overly pursued the Escapee.”

“What do you mean?” Di Jiu felt that Cao Xi’s words were somewhat incredible. The Escapee?

Cao Xi replied with a sigh, “When the Five-Element Universe separated Heaven, the nine Primordial Dao Laws landed in the Five-Element Universe. However, the Five-Element Universe did not only give birth to nine Primordial Dao Laws…”

“You’re saying that the Five-Element Universe gave birth to ten Primordial Dao Laws?” Di Jiu asked in shock.

“That’s right,” Cao Xi answered firmly. “The Five-Element Universe indeed gave birth to a tenth Primordial Dao Law. However, the Dao in the world, including the Dao of the Universe, was not perfect. Therefore, when the tenth Primordial Dao Law was born, it immediately escaped and became the Escapee.”

He had heard of that but had never expected to hear such an explanation from Cao Xi.

Cao Xi carried on. “Du Bu very likely knew that I had half of the Primordial Dao Law and I had been reborn. Thus, he mainly focused on looking for the escaped Primordial Dao Law. As far as I’m concerned… He he… I might have been part of his plan long ago. I suspect that the reason Du Mo plotted against him was that he had deduced the position of the tenth Primordial Dao Law. His excitement caused someone to plot against him.”

Di Jiu interrupted her, “In that case, Du Mo is even more terrifying. If things are really like that, he definitely knew what Du Bu was doing and when he was the weakest.”

Cao Xi answered, “Yes. Du Bu set his mind on finding the tenth Primordial Dao Law in the vast universe or outside it. He would have searched for it for many years. Perhaps, he might have consumed all his energy long ago. Plus, as soon as he found out about the tenth Primordial Dao Law, due to his unstable emotions, Du Mo plotted against him by joining forces with other people, which was not strange.”

At this point, Cao Xi took a breath, sounding even more worried. “Du Mo’s conspiracy against Du Bu was not the end. Since Du Bu definitely couldn’t die, once he was reborn and found the Escapee, nobody in the Five-Element Universe would probably be his match. Even if all the experts worked together, he would be able to crush them.”

Di Jiu waved his hand. “Cao Xi, I think you’ve overthought this. When Du Bu was plotted against, his Primordial Dao Laws were distributed. I heard that Du Mo brought the Primordial Dao Laws to the Chaotic Inner Realm to incorporate them. In the end, the Heaven-Opening Hatchet tore the Chaotic Inner Realm. The Primordial Dao Laws overflowed outward and were snatched away by eight people. After Du Bu was reborn, he obtained the Escapee. However, he couldn’t gather the other Primordial Dao Laws.”

Cao Xi looked at Di Jiu and said in a stern tone, “You don’t understand. The Primordial Dao Laws belonged to Du Bu first. He understood the heaven-opening Dao runes of the Primordial Dao Laws long ago. Besides, once Du Bu was reborn, he immediately wanted the Primordial Dao Laws. He didn’t even need to snatch them, as he could summon them back over from a few universes. Du Bu’s priority was not the few Primordial Dao Laws he had taken out but the Escapee he had never obtained.”

Di Jiu went silent again. He knew that he was inferior to Du Bu because he didn’t believe in fate. Thus, he could maintain his fighting spirit. Cao Xi had shocked him again and again, however. If what Cao Xi had said was true, as long as Du Bu was reborn and found the Escapee, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Du Bu at all.

“You told me earlier that I could fight Du Bu…” Di Jiu didn’t care about Du Bu pursuing perfection. What he cared about was how he was doing to deal with Du Bu.

Cao Xi replied, “I’m not saying you can fight Du Bu. I’m saying that you have a chance to do so.”

“What do I do?” Di Jiu asked earnestly. His priority was not to integrate his Nomological Dao anymore.

So what if he set up many Foundation Orders and laws of the universe or even constructed his own world? He could prevail over all the experts of the universe. However, what would be the use if Du Bu was around? He would still be killed by Du Bu.

Cao Xi looked at Di Jiu and lowered her tone. She then said, “You have to find the Escapee before Du Bu does and control that Dao Law of the Universe. This way, Du Bu will no longer be able to see through you or crush you…”

Upon seeing Di Jiu’s surprise, Cao Xi explained, “If my guess is right, your Dao should have gradually exceeded the scope of the Five-Element World and you should have started to set up your own laws of the universe. As long as you reach the third step, you will be able to set up your own cosmic world.”

Di Jiu nodded and did not utter a word. It was normal that Cao Xi could see his Dao direction. However, Cao Xi had underestimated him. He could use his consciousness to set up laws, which she could never have expected.

Cao Xi said calmly, “In fact, even though you have succeeded by doing that, you can only crush other people. You’re still far from being able to deal with Du Bu. I can see that your Dao is derived from the Primordial Dao Law before you set up your own Dao. On the surface, you have surpassed the Five-Element Universe. In reality, you’re still using the Dao laws of the Five-Element Universe as your foundation. Naturally, Du Bu can see that.”

“How do I find the Escapee?” Di Jiu was very straightforward. He immediately knew that she had spoken the truth.