Ninth In the World

“Give me 10 million high-grade Spirit Stones each and scram.” Di Jiu knew that if they fled, he would have no other choice but to kill Zong Min.

Zong Min’s face was pale. A weakling had been able to oppress him effortlessly. Zong Min had always been a proud son of heaven. There were extremely few geniuses in the Constant Heaven Continent with a cultivation speed faster than his.

Cheng Bijun was also angry, so her breasts kept rising and falling. As the only daughter of the Constant Heaven Continent’s Enduring Immortal Sect Master, she had never been bullied by anyone like this.

She quickly calmed down. She had witnessed Di Jiu’s mercilessness. Di Jiu had killed two early-stage Golden Core Realm Cultivators from the Constant Heaven Continent earlier, so he was evidently a killing demon.

“I can’t give away 10 million high-grade Spirit Stones. I can give you five million high-grade Spirit Stones at best. If you don’t accept them, then let’s all fight to the death.” After she calmed down, Cheng Bijun’s seven-colored silk belt created several rainbows between her and Di Jiu.

Di Jiu waved his hand. “Such a pauper… Okay, I accept. Five million high-grade Spirit Stones each.”

They both threw their storage bags into Di Jiu’s hands. Cheng Bijun and Zong Min possessed storage rings, so they did not care that much about a storage bag.

“You two scram before I change my mind,” said Di Jiu harshly as he pointed to a distant place.

Although Zong Min and Cheng Bi Jun both coveted the flame on the flaming mountain, they could only leave right now.

No one in the Constant Heaven Continent would believe that a perfected Golden Core Realm Cultivator and a first-stage Essence Soul Realm cultivator of the Enduring Immortal Sect had been bullied by someone in the Sky Screen, yet that was exactly what had happened.

…

After chasing Zong Min and Cheng Bijun away, Di Jiu immediately started to observe the flaming mountain.

If he failed to obtain this flame, he would not gain anything from this situation. Without this flame, he would have to research array formation to the best of his ability. If he failed to become a level-nine Array King, he would also be unable to remove the tarsus Spiritual Force imprint on his body.

He might have become a level-six Array Great-Master in a few years, but he believed that he might not become a level-nine Array King, even if he had a few more years.

When it came to array formation, things became increasingly complicated as one advanced higher. If his cultivation could match up, it would be easier for him to research array formation. If he focused on researching array formation though, his cultivation would definitely fall behind. This vicious cycle would not allow his array formation skills to improve much.

Therefore, his cultivation could not fall behind. Di Jiu was worried that the fella who had given him the Spiritual Force escape technique was waiting for him outside the Sky Screen. He would be walking to his death if he left the Sky Screen without any swift, significant increase in his cultivation.

This was why he had to obtain this flame.

The temperature outside the flaming mountain was extremely high. When Di Jiu reached the foot of the mountain, he immediately had some difficulty breathing. His long hair started to burn on its own, and his skin started to sizzle like barbecued meat. The flow of the Quintessential Essence within him also started to become less smooth.

Di Jiu’s heart sank. He was still very far from the mountain peak. How could he obtain the flame if he could not even survive at the foot of the mountain?

Di Jiu retreated. He would not die there simply because he wanted this flame.

He stared at the blue flame at the mountain top with an ugly expression, his body covered in soot. He had arrived too late. If the flame was within the seal when he got there, he would still have a chance of obtaining it. However, his cultivation had to improve significantly first…

Unfortunately, it was dangerous to advance so much. Perhaps only a cultivator with a Tempered Body could obtain this flame.

Tempered Body… Tempered Body…

Di Jiu did not care anymore. He had to attain a Tempered Body. He suddenly had a premonition that he would have a hard time in the future if he failed to obtain this flame.

He had been extremely lucky to even come across a flame. Finding a second one anytime soon would be impossible.

Inside Di Jiu’s rings were some body-tempering cultivation techniques. However, he had looked through them before and realized that they were trash.

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force landed on Little Tree. “What kind of Spirit Elixir could you refine right now, Little Tree?”

“I could refine a level-three Spirit Elixir,” Little Tree said hurriedly. It knew that Di Jiu was asking this to determine how much it had improved in alchemy.

After attaining level-three, it could only slowly accumulate experience before it attained level-four. Therefore, it used the majority of the spirit herbs Di Jiu had given it to refine Spirit Elixirs.

Little Tree had been following Di Jiu for a long time now, so it kind of understood his temperament. It knew that if it did not improve significantly despite the many alchemy resources Di Jiu had given it, Di Jiu might abandon it.

At first, it had been forced to recognize Di Jiu as its owner, yet now it wanted nothing more than to follow him. Otherwise, it would have to hide in the forest and absorb blood for years before it could attain level-three. By then, it would surely get killed by someone.

“Can you refine a Quintessential Growth Elixir?” Di Jiu was extremely satisfied with Little Tree.

He had given all the spirit herbs he had obtained to it, so the fact that Little Tree was able to refine level-three Spirit Elixirs meant that it had not become indolent.

“I have already refined Quintessential Growth Elixirs, Big Brother,” said Little Tree before giving a bottle to Di Jiu proudly. If it could not even refine backward elixirs like the Quintessential Growth Elixir, it could not have been considered a level-three Spirit Elixir Master.

The Quintessential Growth Elixir was one of the top Spirit Elixirs that perfected Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators used to break through to the Golden Core Realm. The main spirit herb ingredient required was the Forge Elixir Herb. Both Big Brother and Little Tree did not need to use this type of elixir.

Little Tree had omitted the fact that it had only refined the Quintessential Growth Elixir successfully two months ago.

When Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force landed on the elixir, he immediately knew that this was a bottle of high-grade elixir. If the level of Little Tree’s alchemical fire had not been insufficient, this elixir would have been a special-class elixir.

Demon trees were indeed natural-born alchemists. Di Jiu put away the elixir and said, “Give me all the elixirs you have refined.”

Little Tree had refined various elixirs, including Quintessential Growth Elixirs, Foundation Establishment Elixirs, Rejuvenating Quintessential Elixirs, Essence Growth Elixirs and Profound Essence Elixirs.

Whether Di Jiu would be able to obtain a top body-tempering cultivation technique would depend on his luck.

As he took out the array flags and was about to set up some Dharma Arrays, several streams of light went past the borders of his Spiritual Force. Travelling so fast in the Sky Screen came with great risks. No one would choose to travel at such a speed if there were no great benefits.

Di Jiu had originally intended to set up a huge Spirit-Gathering Array and use the Spirit Qi whirlpool to attract people over. Then, he would set up a Spirit Elixir and Dharma treasure booth and exchange them for body-tempering cultivation techniques.

When he saw someone traveling at such a great speed, he put away the array flags in his hand and followed them. The aura of his pet beetle was coming from within the flaming mountain. Thus, he could not search for the beetle without entering the mountain.

“Please hold on, Daoist.” Di Jiu sped up and stopped the rushing early-stage Golden Core Realm Cultivator.

When the cultivator realized that Di Jiu’s speed was faster than his and he could not sense Di Jiu’s cultivation, he stopped hurriedly. Then, he cupped his fists and said cautiously, “May I ask what the matter is, Daoist?”

Di Jiu also cupped his fists before he said, “I noticed that many Daoists are rushing in the same direction. May I ask what has happened?”

The Golden Core Realm Cultivator let out a breath of relief as he replied politely, “The historical ruins of an ancient sect have been discovered. This ancient sect was protected by a Defense Array, so everyone has been attacking this array. However, the array is simply too powerful, so it has not broken yet. I’ve only just heard this news. If you wish to head over, we can go together. It would be better if more people went, as the strength exerted would be greater.”

“Then I would like to join you.” When he heard that all the cultivators in the area were gathering outside the entrance of an ancient sect, Di Jiu naturally wanted to head over as well.

It would be best to have as many people as possible in the area considering that he wanted to purchase a top body-tempering cultivation technique.

The cultivator cupped his fist and increased his traveling speed. Di Jiu followed him. Half a day later, they both stopped.

When he saw the extremely dense crowd, Di Jiu was astonished. There were at least 1,000 people there. He did not know how many cultivators had entered the Sky Screen, yet there were countless cultivators outside these historical ruins.

Di Jiu was shocked by the vast aura of the ruins. These were indeed the historical ruins of an ancient sect. Even after an unknown period of time, these ruins still possessed a majestic aura. When he saw the vague cordillera around this sect, Di Jiu could picture the past grandeur of the sect.

“All Essence Soul Realm cultivators form a line with me. All Golden Core Realm Cultivators stand at the sides. All Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators stand in between the two groups of Golden Core Realm Cultivators…” A deep voice interrupted Di Jiu’s daydream about this sect.

All Essence Soul Realm cultivators? When Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force swept over, he discovered in astonishment that the speaker was a second-stage Essence Soul Realm Warrior. There were also at least three first-stage Essence Soul Realm cultivators standing beside him, including someone that Di Jiu knew. It was Cheng Bijun.

Cheng Bijun and Zong Min, who also saw him, did not speak. Zong Min’s limb seemed to be back to normal, so these big sects indeed possessed some top-notch healing elixirs.

As Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force swept over, the second-stage Essence Soul Realm cultivator immediately sensed it. His gaze landed on Di Jiu before he said coldly, “Everyone here is working together to attack this ancient array. The fact that you are hiding your cultivation has caused a disturbance to my arrangements. Remove your magic invisibility technique and show me your real cultivation level.”