Ninth In the World

Shan Xiuqi hesitated for a minute before deciding to save Di Jiu eventually. She would be captured back by the Shan Family at most, which was similar to having her life taken away. However, if she did not return, there would be a thorn in her heart eventually.

She cultivated martial arts and did not seek to be like the peak experts whose lifespan increased by 200 or 300 years after attaining the Semi-Core. She only sought to cultivate martial arts in a carefree manner.

Once she had a thorn in her heart, her martial arts pathway would not only be obstructed, but she would also not be able to live cheerfully in the future.

…

“That’s right, I’m Di Jiu.” Di Jiu walked to the middle of the hall.

“You seem to have a lot of confidence. If that’s the case, let me, Shan Beihe, test whether your mouth and techniques are strong as well.” Shan Beihe naturally sensed that Di Jiu was the person who had killed the members of the Shan Family who had gone to capture him previously.

In his eyes, the men who had gone to capture Di Jiu were only a group of incompetent people. They could only deal with people with a cultivation level lower than theirs and had no way out when they met anyone slightly stronger. Shan Beihe could deal with an early-stage Earth Tier alone. The people who had gone to capture Di Jiu were just a bunch of idiots, even though their cultivation level was at the Black Tier.

“Beihe, you may retreat. You’re not his match.” Shan Youzhi stood up.

He saw this more clearly than Shan Beihe. Shan Shitang, who had gone to capture Di Jiu the previous night, had certainly died in Di Jiu’s hands. Shan Shitang was an Earth Tier cultivation expert. Even though his strength was far below his, Di Jiu was certainly an Earth Tier expert if he could kill an Earth Tier expert. Shan Beihe was strong but not strong enough to deal with an Earth Tier expert.

Before Shan Beihe could say anything, Di Jiu had already lifted his hands and thrown four fireballs out.

Four people, including Shan Beihe, were turned into dust immediately by Di Jiu’s fireballs without any chance to resist.

When Shan Youzhi saw Di Jiu’s technique, fear appeared on his face. This was certainly a Semi-Core expert. Otherwise, how could he lift his hands and throw out fireballs?

He was like an ant in front of a Semi-Core expert, even though he was a late-stage Earth Tier. Although there was someone who was close to being a Semi-Core expert in the Shan Family, he was still unable to lift his hands to throw fireballs out.

“Senior…” Shan Youzhi only said two words, as he could sense something inappropriate in Di Jiu.

Di Jiu stood in place, blood flowing from the corners of his mouth as his face was full of gloominess.

Was he injured? Shan Youzhi very soon felt certain that Di Jiu was injured. Overjoyed, he drew out the long saber by his side before frantically striking at Di Jiu.

Di Jiu did not move at all. He only watched as Shan Youzhi struck with his long saber. At the moment, he couldn’t care less about Shan Youzhi. He just frantically withstood the Poison Dao pattern spreading in his body.

He felt like he was carrying more weight than one could. This comparison could be used to describe Di Jiu’s current situation.

Thanks to Shan Xiuqi’s help when he had stayed at the hotel previously, he had cultivated for a night without taking any precautions. Not only had he contained the Poison Dao pattern which formed a balance with his Nomological Qi Circulation, but he had also stripped off some poison, which had allowed him to use some of his Spiritual Force.

The reason there was such a result was because he had utilized the string of energy he had originally used to guard his surroundings to dispel the Poison Dao pattern.

So far, he had continuously used many fireballs. The resistance of his Nomological Qi Circulation and the Poison Dao pattern, which had risen with a lot of difficulty, dropped once again. Apart from that, the balance was broken because he had used too much of his Spiritual Force.

At that moment, his meridians started to turn into dust. He would have died without his Starry Sky meridian.

Bam! Shan Youzhi’s long saber struck Di Jiu’s neck and only left a white mark.

Shan Youzhi stared blankly at his long saber, which was a top-notch weapon known as a divine weapon. It faced no difficulty cutting steel but it did not chop off Di Jiu’s skin. What kind of skin was that?

Was that the iron-clothed robe? That’s right, it was definitely the iron-clothed robe.

The legendary iron-clothed robe really did exist. Excitement flashed past Shan Youzhi’s eyes as he took out a triple-edged bayonet and stabbed while he looked Di Jiu in the eye.

He did not believe that the iron-clothed robe could be cultivated. As long as he killed Di Jiu, he could slowly investigate the secrets on him.

Even if Di Jiu did not have any intention of dealing with Shan Youzhi at the moment, he could not allow Shan Youzhi to stab his eyes with the triple-edged bayonet.

He had to kill Shan Youzhi as soon as possible. The situation would get more dangerous as time passed.

When Shan Youzhi stabbed with this triple-edged bayonet, Di Jiu barely set up a nomological blade flare and struck the spot between his eyebrows.

Pfft! The space between Shan Youzhi’s eyebrows was ripped into two halves. His triple-edged bayonet stopped in the void and he stared firmly at Di Jiu before he fell to the ground. He did not know where that invisible blade flare had come from.

Pfft! Di Jiu spit out blood at the same time. His face was getting gloomier and gloomier, and a hint of deadly aura lingered between his eyebrows.

While his body was fighting against the Poison Dao pattern, he was in a disadvantageous position. However, he had still dared to use the nomological blade flare to kill Shan Youzhi, which had weakened his resistance even further.

Di Jiu turned around with difficulty and rushed out of this place. He had to reach his room immediately and enter seclusion to recuperate.

Bam! Di Jiu rushed out of the entrance and fell to the ground. He was still far from reaching his hotel.

He knew that he could not faint on the streets, but that Poison Dao pattern was simply too terrifying. He had no control over it whatsoever.

When Shan Xiuqi arrived, she happened to see Di Jiu fall. She immediately rushed forward without any consideration and carried him before turning to leave.

She did not consider why Di Jiu had escaped or even why nobody from the Shan Family had chased after him immediately.

…

The sky had grown completely dark and a frantic beastly roar could be heard from the surrounding area. Shan Xiuqi became clear-headed.

She realized that she had already rushed out of Honor Parade City and even gone around half of the Major Crooked District and entered the really dangerous district.

She had been there before. It was where formidable ferocious beasts roamed.

Once she stopped, she immediately got scared, even though she was a late-stage Yellow Tier warrior.

Shan Xiuqi slowed down. She knew there was an extremely hidden cave a mile away, where she used to hide from a formidable ferocious tiger.

In the Major Crooked District, the cold wind whimpered along with the beasts’ roars at night. The snow on the ground covered the sound of Shan Xiuqi’s footsteps.

Shan Xiuqi spent almost two hours walking until she arrived outside that cave.

A pile of weeds grew outside the cave, which was already covered by snow. Shan Xiuqi knew that there was a huge rock after the weeds that blocked the cave entrance.

She removed the snow but the huge rock did not move. She then shifted the huge rock away and carried Di Jiu into the cave before she let out a long sigh.

The following day should be safe as long as it snowed the entire night. At least, the Shan Family would not find her.

The cave was not big. It was no more than five to six square feet, so it was somewhat spacious for one person but rather small for two people.

Shan Xiuqi put Di Jiu on the ground and turned around to cover up the cave with the huge rock.

When she was about to check on Di Jiu’s condition, she suddenly felt that something was not right. Theoretically, she should not have saved Di Jiu after he had escaped from the Shan Family’s garrison. Since someone from the Shan Family had arrived in Honor Parade City, how could they have let her escape so easily?

Someone from the Shan Family had also injured Di Jiu. How could they allow him to escape with these serious injuries?

She could not think of any answer no matter how hard she racked her brains. Thus, she could only let it be. She cleared up the cave and moved Di Jiu to a piece of rock in the middle of the cave.

Shan Xiuqi could not take it any longer after carrying Di Jiu on her back and running in the snow for such a long time. She leaned against the rock and very soon entered a deep sleep.

Shan Xiuqi woke up from the cold. She could not withstand the cold in this cave, even though she was a Yellow Tier warrior. She stood up and stomped on the ground, feeling puzzled. It was already March. During this time of the year, it should certainly not be this cold in Honor Parade City.

Everything had been normal in Honor Parade City this year, but it had suddenly snowed the previous day, causing the temperature to drop very quickly.

It looked like they could not continue staying there. She could freeze to death.

Shan Xiuqi turned to look at Di Jiu, who was still unconscious. When she reached out to feel his nose, he still had a faint aura circulation.

Di Jiu was not rigid when she touched his body. He seemed to still be alive.

Shan Xiuqi sighed. She could not leave if Di Jiu was alive. It was impossible for her to escape with Di Jiu.

She had to go out and hunt one or two hares. Otherwise, she reckoned that she would die before Di Jiu.