Ninth In the World

The old man pointed to the end of the crossroad. “Head this way and you will reach the Wormhole in one hour of journey. Every district will guard the Wormhole for a month…”

He then paused and looked at Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia. “It looks like both of you are very smart and did not join any of them, but you won’t be any better off. You both have to go to the Wormhole at least once within four months and you have to go there at least three times a year.”

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force scanned along the end of the crossroad. As his Spiritual Force scanned this huge city, he was stopped by a valiant isolation Dharma Array which he knew he could not break even if he used the nomological array flags.

He withdrew his Spiritual Force and once again asked, “May I ask if we are supposed to join a power?”

The old man shook his head. “Not necessarily. You two can choose a place of residence in any of the four districts and you will be considered a resident of that district. When the time comes, the leader of this district will assign both of you to the Wormhole, which you can’t refuse to do. If you refuse, only death will await you. Of course, if you two are unfamiliar with the Wormhole, you can purchase Wormhole resources at some shops. There is only something you don’t expect, but nothing you can’t buy.”

“May I ask if this is the Dao World?” When Di Jiu saw someone coming over, he spoke faster.

“Of course, this is the Dao World. However…” Before he could finish saying that, the old man saw someone coming over so he did not continue. He then cupped his fists before Di Jiu. “Thank you for the immortal crystals. I will take my leave now. If you really have to reside somewhere, I would recommend residing in the East District…”

The old man then hurriedly turned and left.

“Let’s go. We’ll find a place to stay first.” Di Jiu did not continue pushing the old man. He understood what he needed to know and could just purchase some introduction jade slips later for details.

“To the East District?” Zhuo Wujia looked at Di Jiu.

Di Jiu laughed slightly. “I plan to reside there. Look at the big lake on the far north side. Nobody is residing on that side of the lake, and I think it would be suitable to reside there. If you want to, we could reside together. If you are reluctant…”

Before Di Jiu could finish, Zhuo Wujia immediately answered, “I want to.”

Ever since he had come here with Di Jiu, Di Jiu had been clear about what he was saying and doing. He also had his own opinions. At the same time, he did not act rashly.

Upon seeing Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia head toward the far edge of the lake in the East District, a man who had been ready to stop Di Jiu stopped instead. He mumbled to himself in disbelief, “Don’t tell me this fellow is going to choose to reside at the side of the Murderous Dao Lake?”

“How come nobody stays here?” When Zhuo Wujia reached the side of the lake, he sensed that something was wrong.

The Heaven Earth Essence Energy here seemed to be even richer than in other places. Apart from that, the environment was also better. Thus, this should be a place everyone fought over. Something was evidently not right since nobody had resided here until now.

Di Jiu naturally felt that something was strange about this. Besides needing a place with an abundance of Heaven Earth Essence Energy, a cultivator would also wish for a peaceful environment to cultivate. In this city, there was no better place than this.

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force instantly scanned the entire lake and its surroundings but did not discover anything. Everything was obviously very normal.

“Let’s reside here first.” Di Jiu then immediately drew out a cave abode Dharma treasure.

Too many people and Spiritual Forces were observing him and Zhuo Wujia, so it was not very suitable for him to use his Dao eye. After he set up Defense Arrays in this place, he definitely had to use his Dao eye to check why nobody had resided here until now.

Upon seeing Di Jiu draw out his cave abode Dharma treasure, Zhuo Wujia also drew out a Dharma treasure and said, “I will set up a Defense Array.”

Di Jiu had planned to set up the Defense Array himself since his Array Dao had surpassed the level-nine Immortal Array Emperor. However, since Zhuo Wujia wanted to set it up, Di Jiu did not insist on doing so. As he set up nomological array flags, he said, “Alright, set up the Defense Array.”

Zhuo Wujia’s Array Dao was not bad, so it could even set up a level-eight Immortal Array.

Di Jiu did not modify Zhuo Wujia’s Immortal Array. Instead, he once again set up a spare Nomological Defense Array in the surroundings with his Spiritual Force. This was a major array that surpassed a level-nine Immortal Array and was mainly used for backup.

In addition to that, the Defense Array of his cave abode had also surpassed a level-nine Immortal Array.

Just as both of them were done setting up the Defense Arrays, a middle-aged man came across Di Jiu’s cave abode.

Upon seeing Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia approach him, the middle-aged man said with a wide smile and cupped fists, “I’m Shen Changshui from the North District. First, I would like to welcome you both to my district and congratulate you for ascending to the Dao World.”

“So you are Leader Shen. Please have a seat in the cave abode,” Di Jiu said politely. He did not know how long he was going to reside here, but since this was the North District leader, he naturally did not want to be too rigid.

Shen Changshui looked very honest and straightforward. However, Di Jiu definitely did not believe this fellow was really like that. He had a faint bloodlust on his body which had been formed by killing many people. He had not simply relied on his capability to become the leader of the North District.

Shen Changshui said with a smile, “Daoist, you are very polite. I will leave after saying a few words, so I will not take a seat inside.”

Upon seeing that Shen Changshui did not want to befriend him, Di Jiu got straight to the point. “Leader Shen, please advise us.”

Shen Changshui nodded. “I wouldn’t dare to advise you. Since both of you have become part of the North District, you have the responsibility to go to the Wormhole three times a year to guard it…”

“How long each time?” Di Jiu had never been to the Wormhole before, but it was definitely dangerous since he had to guard it.

Shen Changshui explained, “Both of you better join a power. The North District is responsible for guarding the Wormhole three months every year. We have a total of 3,120 people, including both of you. Each time, one-third of the people will head over for around 10 days. Of course, you can continuously guard it for a month, which is three times put together.

However, this is not a fixed number. If we encounter a lot of Worm Tide, the remaining people of the North District will have to head over as well. Regardless of whether you have guarded it for a month or not, you’ll still have to go.”

“What if we don’t join any power?” Zhuo Wujia asked.

Shen Changshui still smiled as he said slowly, “It’s fine if you don’t join any power as long as both of you give me your identification jade slips. When I arrange for you two to go to the Wormhole, you’ll just need to guard it for a total of one month per year.”

Di Jiu believed that the old man earlier had said something correct. If the newcomers joined a power and could not take anything good out, they would become cannon fodder. Di Jiu was also aware that even if they did not join a power, they would still become cannon fodder. A newcomer simply did not have the power of speech. Thus, there was no need to join any powers since they would become cannon fodder anyway.

Di Jiu took out his identification jade slip and handed it to Shen Changshui. “I don’t plan to join any powers at the moment. This is my identification jade slip. Leader Shen, please make the right arrangements.”

Upon seeing Di Jiu take out his identification jade slip, Zhuo Wujia immediately took his out too and handed it to Shen Changshui.

Shen Changshui did not find this strange. These two were definitely ignorant if they had chosen not to join any powers. If they had known this place well, they would not have chosen to reside beside the Murderous Dao Lake. After he recorded the information on their identification jade slips, he left another voice transmission and handed their jade slips back. “When it’s both your turns to guard the Wormhole, the identification jade card will transmit a message…”

Shen Changshui paused for a while before adding, “If there is no need, don’t reside beside the Murderous Dao Lake. This place is not suitable to reside in. Although my district is the weakest among the four districts, we also have many places to reside in.”

“May I ask why we can’t reside by the Murderous Dao Lake, Leader Shen?” Di Jiu hurriedly asked.