Ninth In the World

If the largest test trial site for lower-level cultivators in the northern province was the Marsh Ocean Forest, then the largest test trial site in the entire Polar Night Continent was the Million Sky Market.

The Million Sky Market was in the East, but the cultivators who went there for test trials were not only from the East. The cultivators of the entire Polar Night Continent were tested at the Million Sky Market. Even Golden Core cultivators would enter the Million Sky Market to find cultivation resources.

The reason the Million Sky Market was so famous was because it was close to the largest battlefield in the Polar Night Continent.

It was rumored that a long time ago, the Polar Night Continent had belonged to the Night Star Continent. It was unclear how the Night Star Continent had suddenly split into two continents, yet one of the two continents was the Polar Night Continent, while the other was called the Half-Screen Continent.

After the split and the creation of the Polar Night Continent and the Half-Screen Continent, a huge sky market had been formed in the middle. Every few years, the sky market would automatically connect, so the cultivators of the Polar Night Continent and the cultivators of the Half-Screen Continent would surely fight there.

The reason for this war was very simple. The connection formed by the sky market consisted of spirit meridians and Spirit Stone mines. There were also some precious blacksmithing materials and refinable advanced dharma treasures.

It was unknown how many years the Night Star Continent had existed, while the cultivation resources were inherently scarce. Once this kind of spirit meridians, Spirit Stone mines and natural dharma treasures appeared, the cultivators on both sides would desperately fight for them.

After stealing those Spirit Stone mines, spirit meridians and natural dharma treasures, the mainland would naturally split again, and the sky market would stay in the middle.

Some cultivators who came to the sky market battles would naturally go to the Million Sky Market during their free time to find cultivation resources.

Although the Marsh Ocean Forest was huge, it would only occupy a corner of the Million Sky Market.

There were forest swamps, deserts, mountains, even volcanoes and glaciers at the Million Sky Market. If it wasn’t for the absence of sea, all types of land would be present there.

An open-air market called the side market used to be outside the Million Sky Market. However, because of the many cultivators visiting the place, after a long time, the city square had been upgraded to a side market.

Two veiled women were currently looking at a notice outside the city wall in amazement.

The portraits on the notice were very clear, and so was the text. It was a notice about capturing Di Jiu and Geng Jihua for robbing the Qi Family’s Commercial Building. Anyone who had any accurate information about these two would be rewarded with 100,000 worth of low-grade Spirit Stones, 50,000 worth of middle-grade Spirit Stones, and 10 bottles of third-grade Spirit Elixir (Foundation Establishment Elixir requestable).

If someone caught Di Jiu and Geng Jihua alive, they would receive a reward of 100,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones, millions of low-grade Spirit Stones, and get the opportunity to ask for Foundation Establishment Elixir and Quintessential Growth Elixir.

Foundation Establishment Elixirs were extremely scarce, while Quintessential Growth Elixirs were very valuable for cultivators who had perfected the Foundation Establishment and wanted to reach the Golden Core. Considering the value of this reward, most people would even try to find a needle in a haystack.

Both women knew how scary this kind of reward was, so as soon as they read the notice, they looked at each other silently.

Half an hour later, in a simple cave abode at the edge of the side market, the woman in the gray coat took off her veil and said in disbelief, “Did my eyes fool me, Sister Yu? Is the person who is wanted Di Jiu?”

The woman called Sister Yu also took off her veil. If Di Jiu had been there, he would have been able to recognize both women. The two women were Yu Jie and Zeng Beizi, who had come from Earth just like him.

Both their qualifications were really good, as they had been cultivating martial arts on Earth. Ever since they had arrived there, they had begun their true cultivation.

It had been almost two years now, so Yu Jie had attained the sixth-stage Qi Refinement realm, while Zeng Beizi had attained the fifth-stage Qi Refinement realm. They used to cultivate martial arts, so their combat power was even stronger than the average late-stage Qi cultivator’s.

“It must be true,” Yu Jie said in a low voice. “Back on the Fairy Planet, Di Jiu was mysteriously powerful. He was the one who saved me. I guess he has become even bolder here. He must have a death wish if he dared rob the Qi Family’s Commercial Building.”

“I still owe him, but I really don’t know how to help him,” said Zeng Beizi, who had been feeling very guilty.

“He saved my life, so I owe him too. However, we can’t help him like this,” said Yu Jie. “If you want to help him, you must at least have a Foundation Establishment. There is an icy river at the Million Sky Market. Inside the river is an ice lotus. This kind of ice lotus has a better Foundation Establishment than the Foundation Establishment Elixir. Shall we cultivate for a while and wait until the late-stage Qi cultivation before we try our luck at the icy river?”

“Isn’t it true that few people who go to that river come back? Although some individuals have come back, even they found it difficult to get an ice lotus.” Zeng Beizi was hesitant.

“We have not found a suitable sect to join, Beizi,” said Yu Jie. “I heard that the sects rarely recruit disciples here. If we are going to find a sect to join, we have to spend at least one or two years on the road. I’m not even taking into account the dangers we might face. If we had the Foundation Establishment, then we would be able to leave the Million Sky Market at any time. If we don’t get the Foundation Establishment, then we’ll just wait here till we die. What’s the difference between dying now and dying later?”

When the Fairy Square was attacked by the Beast, Yu Jie knew that she would die.

People always died. Rather than fear death, it was better to do whatever one wanted.

“I’ll listen to you, Sister Yu.” Zeng Beizi immediately decided to obey Yu Jie. If she wasn’t able to build a Foundation Establishment that day, then she would just have wasted a day. It was rumored that after building a Foundation Establishment, one’s lifespan could increase by 100 years and reach 200 years. Maybe someday she would go back to Earth and find out.

…

Bang! Bang! Bang! Di Jiu’s long saber transformed into a twisted saber flare that struck the body of a second-level peak swamp lion.

A bloody flare exploded from the swamp lion’s body as it burst into screams of pain and tried to escape. It only took a few steps before it fell to the ground and its vitality started to gradually disperse.

Di Jiu was overjoyed. The move he had used was his fifth saber move. The fifth saber move was the same as the fourth saber move, which was also called the Wind-Rustling Move. Although he did not depend on the help of the Di Clan’s seven saber moves, his fifth saber move was based on the second fist move, the Furious Waves, which he had learned a few months ago.

After his second punch, his fists seemed to form a continuous wave and his fifth saber move transformed into saber waves that slashed downwards. However, the real damage was not this.

When the waves hit the reef, they would fall apart and turn into countless tiny waves. After his fifth saber move struck his opponent, the waves that crashed on the reef would burst into countless saber flares that burst directly in his opponent’s body.

This was what had happened to the swamp lion. When he smashed it, the beast did not die immediately. However, when the saber move burst at the wound of the swamp lion, it caused countless saber Qi to tear the body and veins of the beast, which ultimately resulted in its death. This was the power of the fifth saber move.

In the future, this move would be called the split-wave saber move. Di Jiu had been very lucky that he had made this decision.

Six months ago, he had decided to walk out of the Marsh Ocean Forest with Geng Jihua and the Tiny Treant. On the way, they had lost count of how many monsters they had killed. In six months, Geng Jihua had attained the third-level Foundation Establishment, so he now was at the peak third-level Foundation Establishment, just one step away from the fourth-level Foundation Establishment.

In the distance, the sound of thunder was heard constantly. Di Jiu knew that Geng Jihua had attacked a monster with a Thunder Sword.

“Geng Jihua, end the battle early. We will find a place to rest for the night and hurry on tomorrow.” Di Jiu estimated that they would walk out of the Marsh Ocean Forest in a couple of months.

Given their training speed, they expected to enter the mid-stage Foundation Establishment after they stepped out of the Marsh Ocean Forest. Even the Tiny Treant would attain the second-grade monster mid-stage then.

Just as Geng Jihua reacted, the other two felt tremors under their feet.

“Big Brother, I have an ominous premonition…” The Tiny Treant looked worriedly at the ground.

Di Jiu’s mental strength swept out. When he saw what was going on, his scalp went numb.

The countless swamp lions seemed to be madly rushing toward the three of them.

“Geng Jihua! Hurry back to me!” Di Jiu screamed.

He had read in the jade slips about the Marsh Ocean Forest that swamp lions occasionally rioted in teams. Almost no cultivators could survive this kind of collective riot.

The three of them had stayed in the Marsh Ocean Forest for two years, yet this was the first time they had met a rioting group of swamp lions.