Ninth In the World

So long as Wei Shanshan was cleared of any suspicion, everything would be alright. Di Jiu became more cautious when moving forward. After walking for a few seconds, he came to a halt.

He had already spotted Qin Yin, He Tai and Jing Moshuang. Besides the three of them, there were also several other people who were being pierced by the pitch-black silk threads. They were all suspended above a lake as black as ink.

The black lake looked very strange. When Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force landed on it, it was unable to permeate it. He could only sense the fluctuations of an aura related to souls. A few white bones floated in the lake, bobbing in and out of sight. There was also a strange stink that made people nauseous.

Little Tree was right, this was not a good place. This had to be the Vile Soul Lake.

Just as Di Jiu reached this conclusion, he saw one of the pitch-black silk threads disintegrate. The cultivator suspended by that silk thread dropped into the ink-like Vile Soul Lake below with a blood-curdling scream.

A few black bubbles appeared in the lake and soon disappeared.

Di Jiu was horrified. His gaze landed on Qin Yin, Jing Moshuang and He Tai, who had all lowered their heads in resignation to this fate.

The fall of that cultivator must have shaken Jing Moshuang out of her reverie. When she lifted her head unconsciously, she saw Di Jiu. Di Jiu noticed that the black silk threads on her body had suddenly disappeared.

He immediately rushed over without a second thought. He would definitely not wait till Jing Moshuang dropped into the Vile Soul Lake. Once she fell, no one would be able to save her.

That aura suddenly seemed to sense something different about Di Jiu, so it transformed into a big black hand and reached for his Spiritual Sea.

Although the Spiritual Sea was hidden within the Purple Palace, the black hand was able to pinpoint the location of his Spiritual Sea.

Di Jiu was angry. The strength of his Spiritual Force would not matter if his Spiritual Sea was captured. This would only result in his death.

Before Di Jiu could resist, a black Vile Soul Thread shot out at lightning speed with the intention of piercing him.

When Di Jiu opened his palm, a ball of black flame appeared. He was prepared to retreat at any moment. If his Luminous Starry Sky was unable to burn down the Vile Soul Thread, he would just retreat and think of other ideas.

A crackle was suddenly heard and a burnt smell spread in the area. Di Jiu clearly saw the black Vile Soul Thread get burned into ashes by his Luminous Starry Sky.

The Dao fire was very powerful as it lunged at the black hand reaching for his Spiritual Sea.

When it collided with the hand, the pain was so great that Di Jiu screamed. That big hand immediately disintegrated.

Di Jiu did not care about the hand. His black Dao fire instantly landed on the Vile Soul Thread piercing He Tai. The Vile Soul Thread disappeared and the black imprint on He Tai’s body was removed by Di Jiu’s black Dao fire. With a wave of Di Jiu’s hand, He Tai was moved to the border of the Vile Soul Lake.

Meanwhile, thanks to his earlier experience, Di Jiu also placed Qin Yin and Jing Moshuang at the border of the lake.

Before he could save everyone else, the cultivators suspended above the lake by the Vile Soul Threads dropped like dumplings into the lake below.

Di Jiu did not know these people, so he did not risk his life to save them. Before he could rush out of the lake’s range, the Vile Soul Lake suddenly started to roar and boundless black water engulfed him from all sides.

Di Jiu’s expression changed when he realized that his Spiritual Force was unable to permeate the black lake water coming at him from every direction. He immediately shouted, “Little Tree, retreat with them! I will find you guys later!”

“Let’s go!” Little Tree followed its Big Brother’s command loyally. Several tree roots stretched out from its body and wrapped around Jing Moshuang, Qin Yin and He Tai, who were still unable to move. Then, it hollered at Wei Shanshan, “Leave! Big Brother will find a way to get out of here!”

Little Tree was a Level-Three Demon Tree. Its knowledge and experience were vast, so it knew that it would not be able to help Di Jiu much even if it stayed there. It would be wiser to leave this place as soon as possible instead of wait for its death. This way, Di Jiu would not worry about them. Helping Di Jiu not worry too much was Little Tree’s current job.

Wei Shanshan had been in a state of shock for a long time. The waves of the Vile Soul Lake were raging and the oppression on her psyche made it difficult for her to stay upright. When she heard Little Tree’s shout, she hurriedly followed Little Tree outside.

Perhaps it was because Di Jiu was taking the brunt of the attack, but Little Tree and Wei Shanshan encountered no obstacles as they rushed up to the white platform.

As they were heading up, they were not as cautious as Di Jiu had been when he had first walked down the stairway. In just an hour, Little Tree and Wei Shanshan exited the white jade platform and landed outside the abandoned mining hole.

When they looked back again, the platform had disappeared.

Jing Moshuang had already opened her eyes. She knew very well what had happened. As she looked at the black mining hole, she was filled with regret.

She would rather die than bring other people down. Furthermore, this involved Di Jiu, who had already saved her many times. Di Jiu had helped her intercept Ouyang Tao. If it hadn’t been for him, she would have died a long time ago. What had she ever helped Di Jiu with? The only thing she had done was not expose Di Jiu and bring him with her to the Lonely River City to participate in the Immortal Sect Ascension.

“I’m so useless… Big Brother Di has saved me three times already…” He Tai rubbed his head. He had some important news that he’d wanted to share with Di Jiu, yet Di Jiu had unexpectedly fallen into the Vile Soul Lake in order to save him.

Little Tree looked at the abandoned mining hole worriedly. Although it knew that Di Jiu was fine for now, that could change in the future.