Ninth In the World

“One can’t go to the Sky Screen alone?” Di Jiu had just bought a jade slip, so he had not carefully read its contents yet.

When he heard Di Jiu’d question, Zheng Feisheng opened his mouth for a while before he eventually said, “Pal, you must not have understood what’s relevant about the Sky Screen. The Sky Screen is on the westernmost side of the Polar Night Continent, so even if a Golden Core cultivator entered it alone, they would have a 9:1 probability of dying. In other words, even if you passed, being alone could easily divert you from your goal. There is only one flying boat a month in the Granular Sand City, and this is only because the Sky Screen is about to open. Otherwise, there may not even have been a single flying boat for several years.”

It turned out that a flying boat was going to the Sky Screen from the Granular Sand City. This news was very useful for Di Jiu.

“How many Spirit Stones do you need to go to the Sky Screen?” Di Jiu estimated that the price would not be too low. If it were, these people would not be teaming up.

Zheng Feisheng sighed and said, “If you live in a common area, it’s not very expensive. As long as you have 10,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones…”

“It’s that expensive?” Di Jiu was surprised.

10,000 Chinese Spirit Stones was a very small amount for him right now, as he had made a fortune by robbing the Qi Family. This amount of Spirit Stones, however, was too high for ordinary cultivators, both stray and not.

Zheng Feisheng smiled. “Expensive? That’s actually very cheap. You need 5,000 top-grade Spirit Stones for a single cubicle. Slightly better single cabins cost 20,000. Big cabins with several separate cultivation rooms cost at least 40,000 top-grade Spirit Stones. If we got five people to share a room, each person would just need to pay 8,000 top-grade Spirit Stones.”

Di Jiu was not naive. Zheng Feisheng’s big cabin was actually just a room for rich cultivators that included a pet room, a living room, a cultivation room and an alchemy room.

“I heard that there are places in the Sky Screen that many sects have to compete over. Why do ordinary people spend so many Spirit Stones to go to the Sky Screen?” Di Jiu asked automatically.

Zheng Feisheng, who was once again surprised, asked, “Aren’t you going to the Sky Screen to enter the outside screen, pal?”

Di Jiu knew that he had made a blunder, but he had asked this question because he had a jade slip about the Sky Screen. In order to make up for his mistake, he quickly explained, “I heard that some stray cultivators can go in before the Sky Screen opens. I want to try my luck.”

Di Jiu had just made that up. He had never heard of such a thing.

“Ha ha… If you think like this, you will be disappointed. The Sky Screen is indeed a stray cultivator competition platform, but the places reserved for the stray cultivators have already been booked. Plus, the competition is just for show. If you go to the stage to fight without knowing anything, even if you win, you will still die very fast,” said Junior Brother Wang, who had walked over when he saw Zheng Feisheng and Di Jiu speaking for so long. Junior Sister Bing and the lady named Qi Qian had also come along.

“Junior Brother Wang is right,” Zheng Feisheng said cautiously. “You don’t have to think about that number of places. In fact, there are auctions and treasure exchanges before the opening of the Sky Screen where you may get a place. However, I suggest that you don’t put your hopes in getting a place through these activities. Even if you have enough Spirit Stones, it is not advisable to book a room alone on the flying boat to the Sky Screen. Such actions expose one’s fortune and only bring about disaster. Regardless of the fight, if something goes wrong on the flying boat, you should just admit that you are unlucky. I thought that you came from a big family, pal. You are supposed to know this.”

Di Jiu smiled. “The Di Family is not considered a big cultivation family, but it is not a target for bullies either.”

“I forgot to ask. How may I address you?” Zheng Feisheng asked when Di Jiu said that he was from a cultivation family.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Di Zimo.” As Di Jiu spoke, his mental strength swept through the jade slips he had bought. Thus, he learned what was the outside screen.

After the opening of the Sky Screen’s mystic area, a large area outside the Sky Screen would be filled with countless precious spirit herbs and ores. Once, someone in the outside screen had even found something more precious than what was within the Sky Screen.

“Junior Brother Wang is called Wang Zheng. He and Junior Sister Jing Mobing are both from the True Li Sword Sect. Junior Sister Qi Qian and I are from the Cloud Seed Sect. At first, Junior Sister Bing had planned on using the True Li Sword Sect’s flying boat to enter the Sky Screen. However, she missed that chance because she came to cultivate with us. Now, we are preparing to take a flying boat from the Granular Sand City.” When he sensed that Di Jiu wanted to team up with them, Zheng Feisheng explained everything in more detail.

The True Li Sword Sect and the Cloud Seed Sect were both first-class sects. Di Jiu had tried entering these sects at first, but his Spirit Root had not been good enough.

Di Jiu suddenly realized that Jing Mobing was a member of the Jing Family, so she had to be Jing Moshuang’s elder or younger sister.

The reason she had seemed familiar was because he had seen her outside Jing Moshuang’s house.

Di Jiu was certain that Jing Mobing had joined the True Li Sword Sect very early, way before Jing Moshuang had joined the Galaxy Sect, as it would have been impossible for her to build a Foundation Establishment in three years.

He had only been able to attain the sixth-level Foundation Establishment Realm in little more than three years because of the gray stones. Geng Jihua, who had had his help, had also possessed a top-notch Spirit Root.

Di Jiu didn’t know if Jing Mobing could sense the arrogance and ignorance of the people who came from cultivation families like his, but she did not look very enthusiastic about him. She actually seemed too lazy to even nod. Meanwhile, Qi Qian was enthusiastically calling him Senior Brother Mo.

Di Jiu believed that Jing Mobing and Jing Moshuang were not close. If they’d had a good relationship, Jing Moshuang would not have deliberately emphasized that she was not closely related to Jing Mobing. Jing Mobing ignored him, so Di Jiu ignored her as well.

“How about we go together, Daoist Zimo?” Zheng Feisheng asked once again, his tone much more enthusiastic than earlier.

“Okay. Although this is much more expensive than a big common area, there’s still a single room. The price is also acceptable. Let’s go together!” Di Jiu agreed with Zheng Feisheng’s suggestion without hesitation.

He thought that Zheng Feisheng was right. If he looked for a room alone, he would probably be targeted.

Although Di Jiu would not have been afraid anywhere else, he did not want to start a fight at this place, so he had to keep a low profile. In the event that someone found out something and contacted the Qi Family’s Essence Soul, he would not be able to escape.

“Alright, Daoist Zimo is straightforward!” Zheng Feisheng said joyfully.

It was really hard to find an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator willing to team up with them in this small remote city. At first, the four of them had decided that if they did not find someone, they would share a large room for four people. In that case, each person would have to pay 1,000 or 2,000 top-grade Spirit Stones, which would be a big expense for them.

He didn’t know that Di Jiu was only one step away from the late-stage Foundation Establishment. If he had known, he would definitely not have asked him to join their team.

…

The Granular Sand City was not too far away from the Brook Border City, so it took Zheng Feisheng’s top-grade flying boat half a day to reach the Granular Sand City.

A giant flying boat was parked outside the city so that anyone who came would definitely see it.

“This flying boat travels to the Sky Screen. There are still several days left before it departs. We will buy tickets first and then get some necessities in the Granular Sand City. If we don’t, we will pay at least 5 to 10 times more for the same items on the flying boat.” Zheng Feisheng had a higher cultivation level than Jing Mobing, Qi Shao and Wang Zheng. He was a second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he was their leader most of the time.

“I’m going to buy the tickets. Give me the Spirit Stones. I need 8,800 top-grade Spirit Stones per person.” After Zheng Feisheng spoke, he looked at Di Jiu and explained, “Everyone has to pay an extra 800 top-grade Spirit Stones to buy a boarding pass. Otherwise, we will not be able to get on the flying boat.”

Di Jiu could tell that the other man was worried that he did not have the Spirit Stones. However, 8,000 to 9,000 top-grade Spirit Stones were nothing for him. He didn’t have to say anything. He just took out a big bag and handed it to Zheng Feisheng. Inside the bag were 8,800 top-grade Spirit Stones.

“Daoist Zimo is very generous.” Zheng Feisheng gave him a thumbs-up. When he collected everyone’s Spirit Stones, he walked over to the ticket booth.

Di Jiu read the ticket prices on the outside of the booth. Big cabins with multiple rooms cost 40,000 top-grade Spirit Stones at best.

He suddenly understood why Zheng Feisheng could not find people for his team. Team information was pasted all around the surrounding areas. It seemed that it was not easy to find teammates here.

Zheng Feisheng was very quick. He actually bought the tickets in a very short time. Although many people were going to the Sky Screen, a flying boat left from the Granular Sand City every month, so finding tickets was not particularly difficult.

Zheng Feisheng handed Di Jiu a boarding pass. “Here’s your room ticket, Daoist Zimo. We have Room 31 on the second floor. Now let’s go to the Granular Sand City to buy what we need. We’ll gather in Room 31 on the second floor when the time comes.”