Ninth In the World

Di Jiu’s heart sank. He knew about the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus, but it was said that it had gone extinct a long time ago. He had not been in the void for a long period, yet his knowledge and experience were incomparable to the average cultivator’s. Nonetheless, he had never heard of the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus appearing before.

Upon seeing the state Yimo was in, Ling Xiaoshuang felt extremely upset. However, she was too weak to help much, so she looked at Di Jiu helplessly and said, “Big Brother Di, I’m indebted to Yimo, yet I am too weak to save her…”

Di Jiu nodded. “Don’t worry. I will definitely try my best to save her.”

Mu Lianqi sighed. “Back when the Lost Dao World first opened, the Soul-Gathering Immortal Lotus could be found everywhere.”

Di Jiu had already decided that he would have to leave this place as soon as possible if he could not successfully attain Dao Integration there. He would try his best to save both Ye Yimo and Xiuqi.

“Big Brother Mu, Xiaoshuang, let us go our separate ways and gain insight individually. We will meet here again in three years. Leave a message if you need more time.” The Dao Integration cultivator had decided to find a place to enter seclusion for three years, regardless of whether he could successfully attain the Dao Integration Realm.

Speaking of leaving messages, Di Jiu looked at Ling Xiaoshuang and asked, “Xiaoshuang, I have sent you messages previously. Why did you reply to none of them?”

“Ah…” Ling Xiaoshuang took out her communication pearl subconsciously before explaining in embarrassment, “Sorry, Big Brother Di. I put it away. I will put it on my wrist immediately.”

Di Jiu nodded. “Alright. Farewell then. See you in three years.”

Upon saying that, Di Jiu turned and swiftly entered the deep recesses of the Half-Patterned Swamp. He did not inquire about the matter any further, as it was clear that Ling Xiaoshuang possessed a top-notch world.

Even if it was not a Five-Element World, it was definitely a Connate treasure.

…

When the crowd dispersed, Shang Huijue invited Huang Peng and Fa to his cave abode.

Huang Peng actually suspected that Di Jiu knew the way out. Therefore, he could not help but ask when Di Jiu left, “City Lord Shang, do you think that Di Jiu knows how to leave the Lost Dao World?’

Shang Huijue did not answer his question directly, choosing instead to look at Fa and ask, “Brother Fa, what do you think?”

Fa shook his head. “I’m certain that he does not know, or so my intuition tells me. However, I feel that this man is not simple and might just find the exit himself.”

Obviously, once Di Jiu found the exit, he would definitely not come back to the Lost Dao City. This was something that Shang Huijue and the majority of the cultivators in the Lost Dao City were aware of.

Shang Huijue nodded. “Brother Fa is right. Di Jiu most likely does not know. As for what Fa said, Di Jiu is not simple. He possesses a few Connate treasures. I might not be his match if I don’t use my full strength.”

In truth, Shang Huijue himself knew that he might not be Di Jiu’s match even if he did use his full strength. This was something he would never say out loud, however. He was the City Lord of the Lost Dao City and he had to maintain the image of an apex expert.

“City Lord, you mean that Di Jiu might really find the exit?” asked Huang Peng worriedly.

Shang Huijue chuckled. “Just how many experts have entered the Lost Dao World in the past? Besides, I’m not the strongest of them all. The life-force of the Lost Dao World has disappeared, yet who has found the way out? Di Jiu is indeed very capable, but it is not quite possible for him to find the exit. I believe that he will seek me out in the future, as he too knows that he will get an opportunity if he finds me first.”

Upon hearing that last sentence, both Huang Peng and Fa looked at Shang Huijue in excitement.

Shang Huijue added coolly, “I do not know where Di Jiu obtained the Reincarnation Bridge. If it is used with my Heaven-Opening Writing Brush and Star-Covering Umbrella, we might just open a hole and leave the Lost Dao World through the Half-Patterned Swamp.”

“Di Jiu owns a Reincarnation Bridge?” Both Huang Peng and Fa were alarmed upon hearing that. Even Du Bu had not obtained one in the past.

Shang Huijue replied affirmatively. “That’s right, he did have a Reincarnation Bridge. If it had not been for that, he would have already been captured or killed by me.”

“Tell us what we should do, City Lord.” Huang Peng and Fa supported Shang Huijue wholeheartedly upon hearing Shang Huijue’s words.

They knew that the reason Shang Huijue had called them over was not just because he wanted to tell them that Di Jiu possessed this Reincarnation Bridge.

Shang Huijue commanded them. “If Di Jiu comes to find me, contact the rest of the people in the Lost Dao City. It will not be simple to break open the Lost Dao World even with the combined effort of the Reincarnation Bridge and my Heaven-Opening Writing Brush. Perhaps we will need everyone’s help. If Di Jiu and I engage in combat, I hope that both of you will help me. Di Jiu is powerful. I do not fear him but I do not wish to get injured while trying to kill him.”

“Rest assured, City Lord. We will perform our duties perfectly,” Fa and Huang Peng promised.

…

Meanwhile, Di Jiu had stopped in his tracks. Ravines and Dharma treasure fragments existed everywhere within the swamp. Only a field of gray filled one’s line of sight, no matter how far one could see or how far one’s Spiritual Force could reach.

Di Jiu did not intentionally search for a place, as he only wanted to gain insight into the opportunity to attain Dao Integration.

After completing a Nomological Qi Circulation, he immediately sensed the heaven-opening aura within the stretch of swamp he was in. It was faint but it contained some form of Origin Dao runes.

Only three months passed before Di Jiu stopped trying to gain insight. He knew that he would definitely be unable to attain Dao Integration simply by relying on these heaven-opening Origin Dao runes. He had sensed this kind of Dao runes before in the Universe Membrane fragment. Even now, he had one such small fragment on him.

Since the agreement had occurred three years ago, he decided to use the remaining time to gain insight into Shang Huijue’s supernormal ability, the Heaven-Opening Mantra.

Di Jiu had experienced the Heaven-Opening Mantra before and was confident that Shang Huijue had yet to even master one percent of this supernormal ability. However, it was already really powerful. Just how frightening would it be if it was fully mastered?

Di Jiu had come into contact with the six words “Solitary Void without Yin and Yang” of the Heaven-Opening Mantra. He did not know if there was more, although he guessed that there was.

Even Shang Huijue would not have expected that Di Jiu would be able to gain a slight understanding of the supernormal ability’s essence after using it only once. If Shang Huijue had been privy to this fact, he might have chosen to admit defeat rather than engage in a fight with Di Jiu.

In Di Jiu’s opinion, he would be able to learn Shang Huijue’s supernormal ability even if he did not have the original Dharma Art.

All supernormal abilities were transformed and condensed from laws. No matter how powerful the Heaven-Opening Mantra was, the same rule applied to it.

Di Jiu knew the laws of the word ‘Solitary’. However, he did not have the Heaven-Opening Writing Brush, so he could only use the Heavenly Aqua Saber to carve out the word ‘Solitary’ in the air.

When the saber aura was condensed, the laws engulfed the surrounding space in an instant.

The word ‘Solitary’ transformed into numerous laws and the space was filled with an extremely desolate aura, as though the whole universe had suddenly entered its last moment.

Boom! The saber aura stopped and the ‘Solitary’ supernormal ability took shape, immediately exploding violently. A huge ravine formed at Di Jiu’s position.

Di Jiu sighed. He knew that he needed the Heaven-Opening Writing Brush if he wished to practice the Heaven-Opening Mantra. The Heavenly Aqua Saber was indeed powerful, but the lack of intent the Heaven-Opening Writing Brush contained resulted in failure to create the ‘Solitary’ intent. The ‘Solitary’ word he had carved using the saber was more like an explosion of saber aura.

How could he obtain the Heaven-Opening Writing Brush if it was in Shang Huijue’s possession?