Ninth In the World

“The next wave of worm attacks should occur between one to four hours later. Dao-Seeking Union, guard Position A. Stretch the perimeter according to your numbers. The rest of the groups should do this as well. North Itinerant Coalition, guard Position B; Golden Saber Union, Position C…”

Following Mu Jie’s commands, Di Jiu saw that the groups of cultivators started spreading out. The Dao-Seeking Union, which consisted of around 100 people, spread out to occupy a distance of around 500 feet. The North Itinerant Coalition, which had around 70 people, spread out to occupy around 350 feet…

Di Jiu realized that this assigning method was meant to ensure that two people would be in charge of guarding 10 feet. It was of no wonder that around 1,000 people would come here each time.

The assignment ended quickly. Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia were the last to be assigned. However, there were still around 30 feet left, which would usually be guarded by six people.

The two of them did not speak, as they wanted to watch and see how Mu Jie intended to relegate the responsibilities of guarding the last 30 feet.

Mu Jie looked at them and said, “This is your first time here at the Wormhole, so you might need to join one of the teams. If you have nowhere else to go, you can join the Dao-Seeking Union.”

“What if we have no intention of joining a team?” Di Jiu frowned. He had already clearly stated his stance. Did he need to repeat it?

Mu Jie nodded her head. “I know. It is just that there are 30 feet left. If you could convince a group to help you guard 20 feet, you guys would have no problem with the last 10 feet.”

Di Jiu understood and tried to clarify this. “Union Lord Mu, do you mean that if I join the Dao-Seeking Union, the distance the union has to defend would extend to 30 feet?”

“Exactly,” confirmed Mu Jie. She was kind-hearted, and the two of them were lucky to have her as their leader for this expedition. If the leader had been someone else, they would not have cared about the two of them. After all, a newbie should act like a newbie. If they were unwilling to join any powers, those 30 feet would belong to them.

Of course, she also wanted Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia to join one of the factions. Otherwise, she could have assigned the extra 20 feet to the other teams since she was the leader. One needed to join a power in a place like this, or they would die for certain.

Di Jiu said, “Union Lord Mu, we are okay with guarding 20 feet more. However, does guarding more mean that we will gain more contribution points?”

Mu Jie affirmed that. “That is right. Every extra 10 feet guarded each day will give you two contribution points.”

“Alright, we will guard these 30 feet then,” Di Jiu informed her without hesitation.

“Ah…” Mu Jie looked at Di Jiu in astonishment. The rest of the cultivators were speechless as well.

Fortunately, Mu Jie quickly came to the realization that this was the first time Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia were at the Wormhole. Therefore, they did not know how difficult it was to guard this place. With a sigh, she explained, “Daoist Zimo, it is not a simple feat to guard the Wormhole. Furthermore, this does not last one day but 11 consecutive days. There is no way to differentiate between day and night here… If you guys really do not wish to join anyone, then…”

Di Jiu waved his hand dismissively. “Thank you for your kind intentions. We will guard the 30 feet then, as it is still within our capabilities to do so.”

Upon seeing that Di Jiu was determined to guard the 30 feet, Mu Jie said, “Alright then. However, please remember that every worm that bypasses the area you are defending is worth one negative point. If 10 worms bypass your defense, you are not allowed to enter the contribution point league in the next 1,000 years. If the number exceeds 100 or more, you will completely lose the qualification to enter the Leaping Dao Door.”

“Thank you, we got it.” Di Jiu took no heed of this. In a short period of time, this entire area was already filled with his nomological array flags.

Mu Jie did not continue to advise Di Jiu when she saw how stubborn he was. She instead turned to the crowd and said lowly, “Everyone, we are going to guard this place for 11 days. We must kill all the worms that come here during this time.”

Zhuo Wujia asked dubiously, “Union Lord Mu, didn’t Leader Shen say that other people would aid us if the Worm Tide was too scary?”

Mu Jie answered coolly, “We would all be submerged by the Worm Tide by the time other people provided aid. The Defense Array behind does indeed prevent the worms from entering the Dao World, but it also prevents us from heading back during this period. The Defense Array will open once again only when it is time for the next shift.”

Di Jiu also posed a question. “Did such a thing happen before? Did the Worm Tide happen suddenly while there were too few cultivators guarding the place, thus resulting in complete annihilation?”

Mu Jie laughed self-derisively. “This happens once or twice every year.”

Upon hearing these words, the cultivators who had been mocking Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia became somber.

If such an incident occurred, none of them would survive.

As everyone fell silent, Mu Jie spoke up again. “Don’t be so pessimistic, everyone. Such a thing only happens once a year. When attacking the worms, try using your own backs. The most efficient method is through collaborative offense.”

Then, Mu Jie looked at Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia. In truth, both of them would definitely die since they refused to listen to her. The best way to go when faced with such a high number of worms was to collaborate. For example, the Dao-Seeking Union that she was leading included over 100 people who were guarding more than 500 feet. When the worms came, not every spot would be attacked by them, which was why everyone could concentrate their attacks.

Moreover, the worms liked to attack the corners the most, which was where Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia had been assigned to. She had no choice in this matter, for the rules clearly stated that the newbies had to guard the corners.

The worms had yet to arrive and some cultivators who were experienced in the Array Dao had already scattered some array flags around in case of an emergency.

They did not have to wait much longer. One hour had just passed when they heard a shrill sound. Without needing Mu Jie to remind them, almost everyone took out their Dharma treasures at the same time.

A dense, seemingly endless wave of worms appeared.

This was the Worm Tide? Di Jiu subconsciously looked at Mu Jie and the others. Noting their calm expressions, he realized that this was not the Worm Tide.

Boom! When the worms at the very front collided with the cultivators on the defensive line, the battle started.

A frighteningly pungent smell and a faint poisonous mist aura engulfed the air with every worm that was torn apart. According to the defense circumference of each individual, Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia were covering the widest area. Several dozen worms reached their area almost as soon as the first worm collided with the defense line.

Di Jiu saw very clearly with his Spiritual Force that their density was definitely several times bigger than the number of cultivators. It seemed that worms did indeed like to appear from the corners.

Zhuo Wujia had already taken out his Dharma treasure, which was a Cosmic Kun Pagoda. With its appearance, a wave of killing intent enveloped the area, its strength increasing…

Mu Jie had originally intended to help Di Jiu out, but the number of worms this time was evidently greater. It was a bit difficult to defend the Dao-Seeking Union’s territory, much less to help Di Jiu and Zhuo Wujia.

After unsheathing the Heavenly Aqua Saber, Di Jiu executed a saber screen. At the same time, the nomological array flags were activated, forming a Poison-Dispelling Array and a Strangulation Array. Only Di Jiu was capable of using nomological array flags to construct a major array.

The Strangulation Array Di Jiu created was different from other Strangulation Arrays, as there was a safe space within.

More than 100 worms were forced into that safe space by the Strangulation Array. Then, a wave of white saber flash streaked across that space. It was the Sky Screen Saber Move…

Pew! Pew! Pew! Numerous colorful bloody mists exploded as the over 100 worms were all slaughtered by Di Jiu’s singular saber move.

Zhuo Wujia had just killed a worm, but all the worms in the area had disappeared and the worms behind had yet to fill in the gap. He stared at Di Jiu in astonishment. He knew that Di Jiu was not weak, but he had not expected that he would be so strong.