Ninth In the World

“Everyone, get ready. Once you are, we will head up to the 72nd level.” Di Jiu, who had collected nearly 200 million Spirit Stones, was happy.

It did not matter to him that he was bringing along so many people while climbing the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. In any case, no one knew that he was gaining insight into the Foundation Orders.

There was only one thing he had to do from then on, and that was to ensure that the fake Five Continent Dao Disc would not leave the pagoda. No one there could recognize that the array disc was fake. However, the moment it left the pagoda, Di Jiu would not be able to make sure that no one else would not recognize it as a fake either. If a True Form Realm Cultivator discovered that his Five Continent Dao Disc was fake, all his efforts would be wasted.

He would definitely get captured and his memory would be forcefully searched. Once anyone knew that he could gain insight into the Five Continent Dao Pagoda’s Foundation Orders, his fate would be horrendous.

“We’re all ready.” Everyone was extremely excited. Thanks to the immortal Five Continent Dao Disc, they looked forward to ascending to an even higher level of the pagoda.

Di Jiu nodded his head and said, “As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards. I will hand the Five Continent Dao Disc to Ling Yixiao from the Mirage Sword Sect. I already have some experience, so I will be the team leader. Everyone will walk in a line and advance and retreat together. Otherwise, if anyone is teleported out, I will not take responsibility for it.”

Everyone naturally did not object to this. Pleased, Ling Yixiao took the Five Continent Dao Disc Di Jiu passed to him.

Di Jiu told Ling Yixiao to hold onto the Five Continent Dao Disc and follow him. Then, everyone ascended to the 72nd level together.

Di Jiu had already put all the Foundation Orders obtained from the previous levels into the array disc. Everyone was walking in a straight line and Di Jiu had activated the Foundation Orders of the pagoda within the disc, so the Foundation Orders protected the entire stairway. As a result, they reached the 72nd level without facing any difficulties.

“This is indeed very easy.” Everyone looked happily at one another, but no one poke.

There were also some other cultivators on the 72nd level. Thus, if they spoke now, they would be basically telling everyone that they had a treasure.

“The array disc will be placed in the center. Everyone will cultivate around it for two hours before we head to the 73rd level. Remember, some of your Spiritual Force should be on the Five Continent Dao Disc. If it’s not, don’t blame me if you are pushed out of the pagoda,” Di Jiu, who was the leader, commanded them.

He would definitely not teach anyone how to gain insight into the Foundation Orders, nor would he use his gray stone to help them gain such insight. Instead, he asked everyone to leave a bit of their Spiritual Force on the array disc so that they were able to sense the over 70 Foundation Orders at any time. So long as they sensed the Foundation Orders, no matter how much insight they gained into the Foundation Orders, they would not be pushed out of the pagoda.

No one was willing to contradict Di Jiu. Two hours was an acceptable period of time. Everyone yearned to head to an even higher level. The 72nd level was good, yet the higher levels would be better.

Di Jiu gained insight into the 72nd Foundation Order at the earliest opportunity. His cultivation level might be the lowest, but his Spiritual Force was still the most condensed.

The other six people all placed a small portion of their Spiritual Force onto the array disc. No one knew that Di Jiu had merged the 72nd Foundation Order into the array disc.

When the group of them left the 72nd level and entered the 73rd level, Xuanyuan Kong said in astonishment, “Did everyone realize that there was an additional aura on the Five Continent Dao Disc? It seemed to be the Dao Law Aura of the 72nd level…”

Everyone nodded their heads. Actually, when Xuanyuan Kong pointed this out, everyone else noticed it too.

Laughing, Di Jiu said, “This is normal. The Five Continent Dao Disc will automatically gain a Dao Law Aura with every level we ascend. We could continue advancing by relying on the special characteristics of the Five Continent Dao Disc.”

“That’s right.” Ling Yixiao nodded his head in agreement. He could vaguely sense that the Five Continent Dao Disc would be very helpful to him. His cultivation would definitely improve when he gained insight into the Dao Law within the Dao disc and left the Five Continent Dao Pagoda.

In any case, the Five Continent Dao Disc was in his possession. Once they ascended to the highest level possible, he would only have to hold the Five Continent Dao Disc and teleport out of the pagoda.

They moved to the 73rd level, the 74th level, the 75th level…

The group advanced without any obstacles. In a short period of time, they reached the 81st level. Whenever they met fellow disciples during this period, no one spoke, no matter how surprised these fellow disciples were. This was an opportunity no one was willing to share, not even with any fellow disciples.

…

Di Jiu and company had a great time climbing the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. However, the whole Five Continent Square was dumbfounded.

What was going on? A total of seven people had reached the 81st level at the same time. This would not have been as surprising if it were not for the fact that these seven people had started heading up the pagoda together from the 71st level. They also did not stay long on each level.

Could these seven people have joined forces and found a way to climb the Dao Pagoda? Logically, this was not quite possible. If one could ascend the Five Continent Dao Pagoda simply by joining forces, the Five Continent Dao Pagoda would not be so famous.

Other than Ji Hongchuan, who was at first place, the second to eighth places on the Five Continent Dao Pillar were occupied by the seven people who had been ascending the pagoda together from the 71st level.

Although everyone was depressed that these seven people had found a way to ascend the Dao Pagoda, the Mirage Sword Sect, the Genesis Sect, the Axe Overlord Palace, the Heaven Medicine Valley and the Star Mesh Mountain were all extremely happy. This was because each of those seven people were their disciples. Thus, they would discover their secret when the Five Continent Dao Convention ended.

“The Young Master Red Embellishment is also among them!” Di Jiu had the lowest cultivation level, so despite the fact that they were ascending the levels in a group, his name was ranking the highest among the seven of them. He was currently second, which was a position that could not be ignored.

“The Young Master Red Embellishment is indeed very powerful. He’s really formidable!”

“He he… These large sects only know how to join forces and bully people. The Young Master Red Embellishment is definitely being targeted by them.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Think about it. The Young Master Red Embellishment managed to quickly ascend to the 71st level alone. The other six people were originally on the 71st level. It was only later that the seven of them started ascending the pagoda together. It’s very obvious that the Young Master Red Embellishment was attacked by those six disciples. Hence, he had no choice but to tell them his secret to ascending the Five Continent Dao Pagoda.”

“That’s right, this has to be what happened. At first, only the Young Master Red Embellishment was able to climb up to that level, yet in the end…”

If the bystanders knew what had happened, then the sects would naturally know as well. All the sects planned on forcing these seven people to tell them the secret to climbing the Five Continent Dao Pagoda when this Five Continent Dao Pagoda ascension ended.

…

Upon entering the 81st level, Di Jiu sensed the surging of Sword Qi. Various sword intents and sword auras formed a spatial sword wave in the air. A cultivator with a weaker cultivation level would not need to attempt to gain insight, for they would get shredded by these sword intents and sword auras.

Dong Youjian cupped his fists and said, “Brother Di Jiu, I’m staying at this level. Thank you for bringing me here. I will never forget what you did for me.”

“Don’t say that, Brother Dong,” said Di Jiu. “I should be thanking you for imparting this knowledge to me. When we leave this place, you can tell me if there’s anything I could help you with.”

Among the six cultivators, the only person Di Jiu liked was Dong Youjian. The relationship between him and the other cultivators was based on profit. The only exception was the respect he felt for Dong Youjian’s sword array.

“There is actually something I might need your help with,” Dong Youjian said. “If I am to ever die, please help the Sword Array Sect find a successor.”

“You can leave this to me, Brother Dong,” Di Jiu said solemnly.

Xuanyuan Kong from the Genesis Sect laughed. “We could be considered friends after climbing the pagoda together, Daoist Dong. Besides, we are both on the Sea Roll. Doesn’t Hong Kui only have a mere Life Tribulation Realm cultivator to support him? This time, I will let my sect’s elders warn him. I bet that he will not dare attack you afterwards.”

When he heard what Xuanyuan Kong said, Di Jiu felt some respect for him. This fella was more forthright than the shorty from the Mirage Sword Sect.

Dong Youjian laughed before cupping his fists at Xuanyuan Kong and saying, “Thank you, Brother Xuanyuan. I am the only successor to the Sword Array Sect. If the Sword Array Sect is destined to be exterminated, then so be it. How could I, the only disciple of the Sword Array Sect, defer to a mere Life Tribulation Realm cultivator?”

Although Dong Youjian did not speak explicitly, his intention was obvious. He would rather die along with the Sword Array Sect than live under the wings of another sect.

Di Jiu was very satisfied with Dong Youjian’s reply. He would do the same thing in his place. A sect could protect another sect once, but what about the second or third time anything happened?

This was how the Galaxy Sect had also been exterminated. It had always yielded before pulling itself together. However, things were different for an individual. A sect required certain beliefs. Once these beliefs disappeared, the sect would no longer be able to pull itself together.

“Alright, but I still recognize you as my friend. Daoist Di, let’s cultivate for two hours here before advancing to the 82nd level,” said Xuanyuan Kong loudly with a clap of his hands.

Di Jiu sensed a frosty aura as soon as he entered the 82nd level. Nine humongous ice rings were right in the middle. This was obviously a body-tempering level.

When his Spiritual Force permeated one of the ice rings, his Spiritual Sea almost froze and cracked. Di Jiu instantly realized that he was unable to temper his body here given his current strength.

If one’s cultivation level was currently at the Void Spirit Realm or the Pioneer Sea Realm, one could only stay and cultivate one’s physical body to the True Monarch Realm of the Three-Monarch Realm. Unfortunately, Di Jiu was currently only at the seventh-stage Essence Soul Realm, so he was too weak.

It seemed like he would have to find a place to increase his cultivation level on the next levels.

After gaining insight into the 82nd level’s Foundation Order, Di Jiu stood up and headed to the 83rd level.

He was currently the leader, so since he was heading to the 83rd level, the rest of the group naturally had to follow him.

“Daoist Di, I intend to cultivate on the 90th level for a month or two,” said Xin Qilun when he noticed that Di Jiu spent less than two hours on each level.

He was a disciple of the Heaven Medicine Valley, a sect with high demands on one’s Spiritual Force. The 90th level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda was a level that everyone dreamed of reaching, for it could help one condense their Spiritual Force and expand one’s Spiritual Sea. Unfortunately, most people were not able to reach it.