Ninth In the World

Geng Jihua paced outside Di Jiu’s lodging for a day, yet Di Jiu did not open his door. Geng Jihua dared not knock. There was no more joy left on his face after entering the Galaxy Sect.

It had been four days ever since he had joined the Galaxy Sect. During the first three days, he had attended lessons and attempted cultivating before going back to his lodging. Three days had passed, yet he still failed to sense any Spirit Qi, much less cultivate the Galaxy Art by using one of the three methods.

Geng Jihua believed that his potential was truly garbage. Their teacher had clearly said that everyone could cultivate the Galaxy Art after all.

Boom! Geng Jihua, who had been pacing anxiously, suddenly sensed a vibration coming from Di Jiu’s house. He walked to the door hurriedly and pressed his ear against it.

One hour later, Di Jiu’s door suddenly opened.

“Geng Jihua! What are you doing here?” Di Jiu looked at Geng Jihua, who had been pacing outside the door, in confusion.

“Brother Jiu, I’m doomed!” cried Geng Jihua as he grabbed his hair with an anxious, dispirited expression.

Di Jiu was in a good mood. During the past three days, his cultivation had dropped to the fourth-stage Qi Refinement realm. However, once it reached the fourth-stage Qi Refinement realm, it started to soar again. This meant that his Quintessential Essence had been compressed to its maximum and thus could not be compressed anymore.

His Spiritual Force was now much more powerful than when he had been at the seventh-stage Qi Refinement realm. This improvement was something only Di Jiu was able to sense.

“What happened? Come inside before you start speaking.” Although he was quite hungry, Di Jiu decided to help Geng Jihua first.

“I can’t cultivate, Brother Jiu. I have a useless Spirit Root,” said Geng Jihua anxiously as soon as he entered the house. He sounded like he was about to cry.

Di Jiu immediately thought of Elder Yu. Geng Jihua’s incapability to cultivate was not something he could resolve. Elder Yu had recruited them by making an exception and then disappeared. Since Elder Yu had recruited Geng Jihua, he should be able to help him cultivate.

Geng Jihua seemed to calm down once he saw Di Jiu’s familiar face and told him about his anxiety. He told Di Jiu about everything he had learned during the lessons he had attended and said that he had been unable to absorb any Spirit Qi whenever he tried following the method the teacher had recommended.

“Hold on…” Di Jiu suddenly thought of his own cultivation method. “Jihua, you said that the third method has only ever been used by the Galaxy Sect’s ancestor, right? Did the teacher mention anything about a fourth method?”

Geng Jihua shook his head, “No. He only said that the third cultivation method would not be used again because the Polar Night Continent would not produce another genius able to cultivate by using it.”

Di Jiu frowned. He was certain that his Galaxy Art cultivation method was not the third method. According to the third method, an illusionary galaxy was supposed to form during the Galaxy Art circulation. Once that galaxy filtered the Spirit Qi, the Qi Circulation would be completed once again.

However, Di Jiu’s Galaxy Art cultivation method involved the formation of an internal illusionary galaxy. When the galaxy filtered the Spirit Qi, a Qi Circulation was formed.

Di Jiu was able to differentiate between a galaxy and a galaxy. A boundless galaxy could contain an infinite number of galaxys, while a galaxy had to exist within a fixed parameter confined by specific borders.

After he was done cultivating the Galaxy Art, he instinctively knew that that was a galaxy.

“What should I do, Brother Jiu?” Geng Jihua’s voice interrupted Di Jiu’s contemplation.

Di Jiu stood up and slapped Geng Jihua on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. There are still three years left to go. I will accept some missions in the future and search for cultivating resources outside. You could follow me. I will help you search for a way to cultivate in the process.”

Di Jiu was well aware of his situation. After cultivating the Galaxy Art, the amount of Spirit Qi he needed was so high it was almost unbelievable. If he stayed in this remote house and kept cultivating, his cultivation would most likely stay stuck at this Qi Refinement realm, no matter how many years he cultivated.

If he wanted to attain a higher cultivation realm, he needed to search for cultivating resources.

“I will listen to Brother Jiu.” Geng Jihua was currently out of his wits, so he had no idea what he should do.

“You are a man, Jihua,” Di Jiu said helplessly. “Don’t lose your mind every time something like this happens. You should have your own opinion. I also decided to change your name. You will be called Geng Ji from now on. Remove the word flower ¹ from your name.”

“Oh. Okay…” Geng Ji expressed his assent. He seemed to want to tell Di Jiu something, but did not quite dare to.

“Just say what you want to say. Stop being so hesitant from now on.” Di Jiu believed that Geng Ji was too honest a person, which was not a good thing in the Cultivation World.

“Yes,” Geng Ji said cautiously. “Yesterday, Senior Sister Jing Moshuang was beaten up by someone…”

Stunned, Di Jiu asked uncertainly, “Senior Sister Moshuang was beaten up? What happened?”

In his opinion, Jing Moshuang was a kind, intelligent person. Given her intelligence, she would not be one that had gone looking for trouble.

“When the lesson ended yesterday, the teacher asked a question no one was able to answer. Then, he took out a storage bag and said that if someone was able to answer his question, this storage bag would belong to them. Senior Sister Moshuang stood up and answered…”

Di Jiu suddenly interrupted Geng Ji. “You said that no one could answer the question except Senior Sister Moshuang? What kind of question was it?”

Geng Ji started to grab his hair again. After thinking for a long while, he said, “It was very complicated. I did not understand it. I think it was about what one should do when a problem arises during the Galaxy Art cultivation process.”

Di Jiu could tell that Geng Ji would not be able to explain clearly, so instead he asked him, “Did someone cause trouble because they coveted Senior Sister Moshuang’s storage bag?”

“I suppose,” Geng Ji answered. “After the lesson, I saw two Senior Brothers block Senior Sister Moshuang’s path on my way back. One of them took out three Spirit Stones and said that he wanted to purchase Senior Sister Moshuang’s storage bag. Senior Sister Moshuang said that she was not selling it, so the guy said that she should return his Spirit Stones. I was standing aside, so I had seen very clearly that he had not given her the Spirit Stones. He had stealthily kept them in his hands.”

Di Jiu’s expression became very ugly. This kind of thing was something even he would not have done back when he had been running rampant on the streets in the Ji Nation.

“Then, he slapped Senior Sister Moshuang, causing her to fly a long distance away. He also called her a freak and seized her storage bag before he pretended to find the three Spirit Stones in her clothes.” As soon as he said that, Geng Ji quickly added, “I intended to help, but they left too fast…”

Di Jiu, who could tell that Geng Ji had not even dared move back then, grunted and said, “I know that you are timid, Geng Ji, but if you keep being so timid, then you shall not join me in the future. A great man should not act like a coward. Besides, why would a coward want to practise immortal cultivation?”

As soon as he heard his strict words, Geng Ji quickly said, “Next time I encounter such a problem, I will rush over and solve it immediately.”

Stunned, Di Jiu said, “I’m not telling you to rush over immediately whenever you encounter such a situation. You must also observe who is involved. We were able to join the Galaxy Sect because of Senior Sister Moshuang, so if we don’t show our gratitude, we’ll be no better than beasts. Of course, you must also take into account the location of the incident. We are inside the Galaxy Sect, so no matter how bold those people were, they would not dare kill you. If you had helped, those fellas would have felt guilty about beating you up. If you encounter this kind of scenario outside the sect, your actions will depend on the situation.”

“Yes, Brother Jiu. I understand,” said Geng Ji, sounding a little vexed. Brother Jiu was right. If one didn’t show gratitude, they would be no different than beasts. Senior Sister Moshuang had helped him a lot. Without her, he would not have been able to enter the Galaxy Sect.

He did not question whether Elder Yu had really recruited them because of Jing Moshuang.

“Let’s go!” grunted Di Jiu.

“Go where?” asked Geng Ji unconsciously.

“We’re going to find the Senior Brother who beat up Moshuang, of course,” Di Jiu said with killing intent. “If he thinks that Moshuang is an easy target just because she just entered the sect, then he must be blind.”

Geng Ji instinctively got cold feet before he remembered Di Jiu’s words. Then, he slapped his chest and said, “Alright. Even if I get beaten to death, I will still stand up for Senior Sister Moshuang.”

“You won’t get beaten to death,” Di Jiu said helplessly.

The fella who had seized Jing Moshuang’s storage bag would most likely be at a mid-stage Qi Refinement realm. Given his current strength, Di Jiu believed that he would be able to deal with such an individual.