Ninth In the World

“No, Di Jiu. Even if I die, I will never beg for mercy like this!” shouted Lan Ru hurriedly upon hearing Di Jiu’s words and seeing that he was going to do his utmost.

Liu Zi’er was also stunned. She had not expected Di Jiu to be so loyal as to exchange his life for theirs. Although she believed that he would not succeed, his words unexpectedly stirred up her emotions slightly.

Dazed, Zhen Man also looked at Di Jiu, unable to understand what he was thinking. Could he have a different opinion about her?

Back when he had been arrogant, Di Jiu had been pursuing her because he’d had a crush on her. Later on, he had surpassed her by far and had no longer looked at her, completely forgetting his love for her. Was it because of her current status that far surpassed his that he once again thought the same way? If this was the case, then he really liked pursuing the unreachable.

If Di Jiu really thought this way, she could only disappoint him. No matter what the outcome was today, she knew that she could never be with him.

Di Jiu gestured with his hand and stopped Lan Ru from speaking. Looking at Jiang Dai, who frowned, he said, “There is a limit to my patience. If you disagree, everyone will go their separate ways.”

For Jiang Dai, the supreme-grade Dao meridian that Di Jiu had taken from Dai He Hall was secondary. The Five-Element Flags and the Yin-Yang Taijitu were his priority. No matter what, he could not let him take away these two things.

“I agree. However, you have to swear that you won’t commit suicide,” said Jiang Dai in a low tone while staring unwaveringly at Di Jiu.

Di Jiu laughed. “I swear that as long as you let three of my friends go, I will not commit suicide.”

Although Di Jiu’s oath was nothing, he acknowledged it. He would not commit suicide even if the universe was destroyed.

Jiang Dai nodded his head. “You three, leave now. Don’t interfere with me.”

“Di Jiu, you can’t do this. If I, Lan Ru, lived like this, I would rather…”

Before Lan Ru could finish her words, Di Jiu once again interrupted her, telling her, “Are you idiotic or stupid? If the three of you don’t leave, don’t tell me you can kill Jiang Dai? At most, there will only be three more dead souls. If you guys leave, you can send a greeting to me around this time every year.”

Lan Ru realized that Di Jiu was right. Staying here would only cause them to die with him. If they left, they might be able to find someone to save him in time.

At this thought, Lan Ru immediately said, “Let’s go.”

Upon seeing that Jiang Dai did not have any intention of making a move, Liu Zi’er promptly picked up her broken arm and stared at Di Jiu with a complicated look before quickly leaving with Lan Ru.

Jiang Dai did not look at Lan Ru at all. He instead kept his gaze on Di Jiu. One hundred Lan Rus were not as valuable as Di Jiu. If Di Jiu had the slightest intention of activating the talisman, he would not hesitate to make a move.

After waiting for half an hour, Jiang Dai said, “They should have left. You can put away your talisman.”

Di Jiu smiled slightly. “You’re right.”

Upon saying that, Di Jiu immediately put away his talisman.

As he did that, Jiang Dai grabbed Di Jiu and his frantic Primordial Chaos domain completely sealed this space.

As soon as Jiang Dai’s domain aura appeared, Di Jiu knew that Jiang Dai was probably not weaker than the half-step Dao Integration expert from the Kun Peng Clan.

Although he had no intention of fighting with Jiang Dai here, Di Jiu’s figure flickered. Jiang Dai then found out in shock that Di Jiu had rushed out of the Confinement Array he had set up earlier before disappearing in the distance.

Would Jiang Dai let Di Jiu take away something he had almost had in his hands? He frantically executed his Five-Element escape technique. Even if he was exhausted to death here, he could not let Di Jiu escape from him.

While using his Spiritual Force escape technique, Di Jiu could sense Jiang Dai’s speed distinctly. It was much faster than when he had chased after him. It seemed like after Jiang Dai’s cultivation had improved, so had his Five-Element escape technique. However, despite Jiang Dai’s improvement, Di Jiu was not incompetent.

Back then, he had not matched Jiang Dai in terms of speed. Since Di Jiu was nearly at the half-step Primordial Chaos now, despite Jiang Dai’s quick speed, Di Jiu would not take him seriously. He could only dream about catching up with him. If he didn’t want to search for a secluded place to get rid of Jiang Dai, he would have left long ago.

…

Lan Ru stopped, unable to get past the fact that Di Jiu had used his life to save hers.

“Senior Sister Ru, if we don’t leave quickly, I’m afraid that Jiang Dai will catch up,” Zhen Man could not help telling Lan Ru upon seeing her stop.

If Jiang Dai had not suppressed Lan Ru and Liu Zi’er a short time ago, she might have perhaps escaped. After escaping from evil Jiang Dai’s clutches with a lot of difficulty, she simply did not want to end up there again.

Lan Ru glanced at Lan Ru and then at where Di Jiu and Jiang Dai were. Sentimentally, she said, “I only met Di Jiu once. Even though he saved me, he only did it because it was convenient. I’m afraid I can’t be happy even if I survive if I let him exchange his life for mine.”

Zhen Man, who was somewhat desperate, subconsciously said, “Senior Sister Ru, if we hurry up, we might be able to find someone to help.”

Once again, Lan Ru looked at Zhen Man and replied in a slightly faint tone, “We are only deceiving ourselves. Given Jiang Dai’s strength, Dai He Hall won’t have such a huge prestige when we go back to find help later. Besides, even if we do, we might not necessarily be able to find help.”

Lan Ru knew very well that it was very hard to ask her father to save a nobody like Di Jiu.

Aware of her own desperation, Zhen Man did not dare say anything. However, Liu Zi’er said, “Sister Ru, why don’t you think of it this way? You’ve saved him, and this matter was indeed his fault. If Jiang Dai had not overheard us talking about Di Jiu, he wouldn’t have intercepted us. You did not betray Di Jiu.”

Lan Ru took a deep breath and looked at where Di Jiu was before responding in a low voice, “I, Lan Ru, hereby vow that I will definitely seek revenge on behalf of Di Jiu and kill Jiang Dai. Let’s go.”

Then, Lan Ru turned and left.

Relieved, Zhen Man still wondered how Di Jiu had come out of the Leaping Dao Door Divine City. Didn’t people say that nobody could come out of there? It seemed like the Leaping Dao Door Divine City Lord was afraid of the Cloud Distant Palace. That was why he had let Di Jiu go, right? She simply could not find a better explanation.

While Zhen Man was still thinking about this, Lan Ru suddenly asked, “Junior Sister Zhen, how did you get to know Di Jiu?”

“Ah…” Zhen Man exclaimed, not knowing how to answer Lan Ru for a moment.

…

The more Jiang Dai chased him, the more anxious he got. When he had chased Di Jiu to the Search Lake before, Di Jiu had been slower than him. If not for the Search Lake, he might have caught up to Di Jiu.

Thousands of years had passed, so how could his Five-Element escape technique not be much faster than before? After reaching the late-stage Primordial Chaos, he had believed that he was the fastest person in the Dao World. However, he could not catch up to Di Jiu now, so he was lacking a little after all.

Why was he still lacking a little? Could Di Jiu be deliberately drawing his attention when Di Jiu’s speed was far better than his? This was impossible. Jiang Dai simply could not find a more reasonable explanation.

While Jiang Dai was still wondering how Di Jiu had improved his speed so quickly, Di Jiu halted all of a sudden and turned around to wait for him.

Jiang Dai also stopped, standing before Di Jiu but not grabbing him imprudently. He had understood that Di Jiu was probably not weaker than him.

This person was too terrifying. How long had it been? His strength was comparable to his. In a few more years, would Jiang Dai still be Di Jiu’s match?

After taking a breath, Jiang Dai looked at Di Jiu and said, “Di Jiu, you concealed yourself well. If my guess is correct, you’re not afraid of me at all. You led me here on purpose, right?”

Di Jiu chuckled. “You’re not an idiot. You are a clever one indeed. Why ask such a stupid question?”