Ninth In the World

On the South Elixir Mountain, Shen Ziyu was looking a little pale. Only she knew that the lack of color on her face was not because of fear, but because of the injuries she had sustained. They had been caused by Di Jiu.

 She had already begged Di Jiu, but he had not even bothered to reply to her message.

 “Everyone, please be careful. They were killed by that demon beast here previously,” cautioned Luo Weike solemnly as he unsheathed his scimitar.

 The three of them carefully crossed the uneven valley. Soon, they were stupefied. Before them lay a huge demon beast in a pool of blood. Its head had been chopped into half.

 “It’s really dead…” muttered Tang Xueshan in disbelief.

 Everyone was similarly stunned. How could this be possible? How had Di Jiu managed to accomplish such a feat? When had he killed this demon beast?

 A long moment passed before Luo Weike stepped forward to carefully scrutinize the dead demon beast’s head. The observation lasted several minutes before he exclaimed, “This demon beast was killed in the past three hours! The fatal blow was caused by a saber swing, and it was attacked face-on. It did not even have a chance of resisting.”

 Everyone stared at each other silently after hearing what Luo Weike said. That sounded outrageous. It was beyond their imagination.

 “I think that we have misunderstood Senior Di. But… But…” Tang Xueshan knew that they had most likely misunderstood Di Jiu, but this situation did not make sense.

 Now that he intended to attain the Immortal Emperor Realm, he would be using the same method.

 He took out a few dozens of high-grade immortal meridians and the five-feet-long Green Essence Energy Meridian. Then, he set up a Spirit-Gathering Array on this planet.

 With each Nomological Qi Circulation, a spiritual aura whirlpool formed as the dense Essence Energy on the planet swiftly gathered around Di Jiu.

 This whirlpool quickly transformed into an independent nomological space where Di Jiu’s stagnant cultivation level finally started to rise.

 At the moment, Di Jiu was very calm. He did not attempt to feel for the barrier of the Immortal Emperor Realm, as he believed that the shackles would naturally break once his cultivation increased to a certain extent.

…

 When Nong Xiuqi tried to take more Grain Abstinence Elixirs, she discovered that she had run out of these elixir pills. After being in seclusion for two years, she had just attained the Foundation Establishment Realm.

 However, two years had passed and Di Jiu had yet to return. She was starting to miss him.

 Di Jiu had left behind a video crystal ball and told her to leave the Earth to search for another place and advance. He would definitely come back after one year or several years at the latest. However, she was still worried about his safety.

 She still possessed many cultivating resources and she had no intention of continuing to stay in seclusion. Di Jiu had told her before that solely entering reclusive cultivation was not the best method to increase one’s cultivation.

 A cultivator needed to frequently head out and put themselves to the test. It was only after they had experienced various dangers and undergone different situations that their cultivation would stabilize. Their state of mind would strengthen as well.

 Nong Xiuqi believed that it was about time that she put herself to the test given her current strength.

 “Senior Shen, why are you here?” Nong Xiuqi saw Shen Ziyu the moment she came out. The latter had been living in a hut built outside the Wang Chuan Temple. Seeing how skinny Shen Ziyu was, it was evident that she had been here for quite some time.

 “Xiuqi!” called Shen Ziyu, her gaze landing on the misty major array behind Nong Xiuqi.

 Nong Xiuqi was quite smart, so she immediately understood that Shen Ziyu was here to look for Di Jiu.

 “Senior Shen, did you come here to look for Big Brother?” inquired Nong Xiuqi hastily.

 Shen Ziyu nodded. “That’s right. How has Di Jiu been?”

 She refused to believe that Di Jiu would not know that she was here. It was clear that Di Jiu no longer had any feelings for her since he had not welcomed her inside during the six months that she had been here. After all, Di Jiu had been aware of her presence.

 Nong Xiuqi hastily replied, “Senior Shen, Big Brother left two years ago. He has yet to return.”

 “Di Jiu headed out?” Shen Ziyu felt better after hearing this. She would have felt very upset if Di Jiu had been here and made her wait in the hut outside for more than half a year. The fact that Di Jiu was ignorant about her arrival placated her.

 “Yeah, Big Brother hasn’t returned since he last headed out. He said that he would come back in a few years.” Nong Xiuqi was worried about Di Jiu but she had a feeling that Di Jiu was alright.

 “Xiuqi, don’t address me as ‘Senior’ from now on. I am indeed older than you, but you’re Di Jiu’s wife. In the past, Di Jiu and I came from the same generation. If you want to, you may call me Big Sister instead,” instructed Shen Ziyu warmly.

 Nong Xiuqi was stunned. Shen Ziyu was well-known worldwide. Now that the latter had allowed the former to address her so informally, she felt honored.

“I have stayed alone at the Valley Ocean in the past few years and have indeed been lonely. I don’t have many friends, perhaps because I’m not an eloquent speaker…”

 Shen Ziyu had yet to finish speaking before Nong Xiuqi hastily waved her hand. “That’s not it. I actually think that Big Sister Ziyu is a very approachable person.”

 Shen Ziyu was delighted when she heard Nong Xiuqi call her Big Sister Ziyu. She approached her and grabbed hold of her hand. “Xiuqi, where do you intend to head to? You have been in seclusion for a very long time. This should be the first time you came out, right?”

 “No, I’ve come out quite a few times.” Nong Xiuqi recalled the few times she had come out to test her flying sword and flying Dharma treasures. However, these things seemed to not be considered ancient martial arts, so she did not elaborate. “I sensed that the improvements in my strength were drastic during the period I was in seclusion. Big Brother is not around, so I am feeling very bored. Therefore, I intend to head out for some training.”

Upon hearing that Nong Xiuqi wanted to head out for a trial, Shen Ziyu chirped happily, “Let’s head to the Grain Sector Forest then. There are many ferocious beasts and demon beasts there. I heard that there is even a type of bird demon we could rear as our own mount if we could obtain an egg.”

 “Ah!” exclaimed Nong Xiuqi. She owned a flying Dharma treasure. However, it would be delightful if she could obtain a bird-type beast companion she could use as a mount.

 Then, she realized something. “Big Sister Ziyu, you are intending to come along?”