Ninth In the World

As Du Zihen watched Di Jiu’s disappearing figure from the back, he said with a long sigh, “You have excellent opportunities, and you also work very hard. Unfortunately, you still have to perish in the hands of my master or Du Mo. I only hope you won’t meet them or will try to meet them as late as possible…”

He accepted Di Jiu’s jade bottle, knowing Di Jiu’s intentions. Di Jiu had received a pot of extraordinary wine from him. He hadn’t gotten along with Di Jiu for a long time but he knew that Di Jiu was not a person who liked to let his friends lose out. Thus, he had to accept what Di Jiu had gifted him.

Du Zihen opened the jade bottle and shouted in shock, “Quintessential Essence of the Universe!”

If there was something that he wanted the most in this universe, that would definitely be the Quintessential Essence of the Universe. Even Du Zihen had never thought that Di Jiu could take out such a precious treasure. Such a thing could not even be described as precious. Even Du Mo might not be able to obtain the Quintessential Essence of the Universe, as this was a treasure that one could get based on opportunity.

Du Zihen cupped his fists while looking in the distance. “Ah Jiu, you’ve helped me greatly. In the future, I’ll save you even if I have to sacrifice my life.”

…

As soon as Di Jiu stepped away from the foot of the Mountain Gaze, he sensed that something was amiss. The place where he had fallen was not the black stone path that had greeted him when he had come, but the square in front of the Dao Abyss’s Dao Trading Hall.

“Brother Di, you’re back?” Dao Lord Po Xu looked at Di Jiu in shock. Although he had been locked there, he still knew what was happening. Thanks to the cultivators who came and went there, he had also heard some news. He had heard that reaching the Mountain Gaze would take at least hundreds of thousands of years. In addition, it would take at least an additional hundreds of thousands of years to come back from the Mountain Gaze.

“Po Xu, how many years have I been away?” Di Jiu had been completely integrated into his own setup of orders when he had reached the Dao Integration in the Mountain Gaze, as his Nomological Dao had yet to be established fully and he had ignored the Heaven Earth Law of the Five-Element Universe. As a result, he wasn’t even aware of the time.

“It’s been 100 years… No, that’s not right. You’re at the Dao Integration already?” Po Xu sensed that Di Jiu’s aura seemed different than before.

Di Jiu opened his mouth. He didn’t think that before he felt the passage of time, 100 years would have passed. His Spiritual Force landed on Xiuqi, who was in the Ninth World. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Nong Xiuqi was already breathing. Her soul was also increasingly condensed, so it was obvious that she could wake up at any time.

Di Jiu was relieved. Previously, he had thought that after using the Two-Realm Fruit, Nong Xiuqi would wake up within a few years. Unexpectedly, Nong Xiuqi had not awakened for more than a hundred years. Fortunately, this situation had not deteriorated. At the very least, he could accept it.

Di Jiu, who was in a good mood, patted Po Xu’s shoulder again. “You’re right. I’m already at the Dao Integration, but I didn’t expect that a hundred years would have passed. You’re not bad either. Although you were locked here, you were not affected. It seems that the Dao Abyss is somewhat humane.”

Dao Lord Po Xu sneered. “Somewhat humane? He he… It’s just that I know too many people here. However, these bastards have turned their backs on me. Many of them were my little brothers in the past. Of course, this is not the point. They just don’t want this place to have strict rules. Rules are necessary. If they break them, they won’t have to be killed, as everyone here is thinking that maybe they will also break the rules one day.”

“How many years are you going to be locked here?” Di Jiu asked with a smile. He planned to take Po Xu along when he left, but not yet.

Po Xu sighed. “10,000 years. Although it isn’t very long, I’m locked here alone and I cannot cultivate. Time feels heavy.”

“Fret not. After I obtain the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus, I’ll bring you along immediately. Don’t worry. Given my current strength, not many people can stop me if they try to take me away forcibly,” Di Jiu said.

Po Xu looked at Di Jiu and hesitated for a while before he replied with a nod, “In that case, I’ll depend on you. At the very most, I’ll be locked for another million years.”

Po Xu knew very well that once Di Jiu forcibly broke the rules of this place, there would be severe consequences.

“I’ll go and ask when the next trade meeting will take place.” Di Jiu didn’t dare tear Po Xu’s restriction and take him away before he got the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus.

Po Xu chuckled. “Many cultivators in the Dao Abyss have felt some changes in the universe, so there are many trade meetings these days. The next one will be held in two days. If you go to the Dao Trade and take out a good stuff, they will definitely attract many people. If you don’t have any good stuff, I’m afraid even if you go there, you might not be able to see the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus, let alone trade for it.”

“That’s easy.” Di Jiu chuckled and looked at the Dao Trading Hall, which was not far away. Although he was not necessarily richer than the cultivators there, he could still come up with a few attractive things.

…

Di Jiu stood in front of the window on the right side of the Dao Trading Hall like a ticket-buying tourist, which made him feel displeased.

“There are three classes of cave abodes in the Dao Abyss. Which kind do you want to rent?” An ice-cold voice was heard from behind the window.

Di Jiu snorted and said in the same cold tone, “I’m not here to rent a cave abode. There is a trade meeting in two days, and I plan to trade two of my things. Of course, my things are very precious and are both at the connate level…”

Upon hearing that Di Jiu was there to participate in the trade meeting, the cultivator behind the window was about to scold him without hesitation, ask him to move aside, and tell him to just go to the trade meeting two days later. However, when Di Jiu mentioned the connate level, he made him swallow his words.

“You know, if you are lying, I’m afraid you won’t have the chance to reincarnate if you can’t take out the connate treasures.” The cultivator in charge sounded warm, but his words contained a bit of killing intent.

“This is not something you have to worry about. All you have to do is let everyone know.” Di Jiu snorted again.

“Alright. I’ll spread the word.” After the cultivator said that, he did not pay attention to Di Jiu again. A trade of connate stuff could indeed attract many experts, but there were too many connate treasures there and nothing that was really rare.

Nevertheless, Di Jiu’s words came into play. In just a short while, almost every cultivator who cultivated in the Dao Abyss understood one thing: Two days later, two connate treasures would appear in the Dao Trading Hall.

The cultivators who had been able to live to this day were not ordinary. If the people there took out a simple thing, they might not even take a look at it, let alone go to the trading hall.

However, connate treasures were also extremely rare. Even some cultivators who were planning to enter seclusion decided to postpone their seclusion and attend this trade meeting first. Even if they couldn’t trade something for such a connate treasure or see what kind of treasure it was, whoever obtained the treasure in the end would benefit.

…

After two days, Di Jiu had hardly seen a single figure on the usual road to the Dao Abyss. As soon as the Dao Trade started this time, he realized that people had come out. They were like ants. If one ant encountered a piece of sugar, the other ants would swarm over.

The door of the Dao Trading Hall opened and many cultivators walked inside in a line. Except for a few cultivators who were still conversing, the other cultivators were in a hurry. If Di Jiu hadn’t been able to sense that each of these people had a powerful aura and Dao runes all over, he would even have wondered whether he was an evil spirit that was entering the trading hall with a group of ghosts.