Ninth In the World

“Which direction should we head towards?” Mu Jie asked the moment they left the Mission Hall as she looked at Di Jiu.

The jade slip the three of them had received stated clearly seven locations within the Lackluster Ocean where large amounts of Stacked Partition Herb could be found.

Among the three of them, Di Jiu had the weakest cultivation level while Mu Jie had the strongest after attaining the Dao Modeling. Now, however, both Mu Jie and Zhuo Wujia were looking at Di Jiu for directions.

“Let’s go to Honeycomb Beach,” replied Di Jiu without hesitation.

Zhuo Wujia instantly commented, “Brother Di, I don’t think we can obtain many Stacked Partition Herbs at the Honeycomb Beach. Indeed, Honeycomb Beach produces the biggest amount of Stacked Partition Herbs, but it is also located nearest to the Lackluster Ocean Divine City. Due to this proximity, it is likely that there will not be many left by the time we get there.”

Mu Jie looked at Di Jiu curiously as well, for she’d had the exact same thought as Zhuo Wujia. Honeycomb Beach was indeed the location that produced the largest amount of Stacked Partition Herbs on the jade slip. However, it was also true that it was located nearest to the Lackluster Ocean Divine City. Such a place most likely would not have many Stacked Partition Herbs left even if the information stated was true.

In other words, even if there were Stacked Partition Herbs there, those herbs must have been obtained by others given the number of people who had accepted this mission.

Di Jiu explained, “The reward for the Stacked Partition Herb mission suddenly increased and more people accepted the mission. We do not own any top-notch flying Dharma treasures, so we will definitely be unable to catch up to anyone no matter where we go. This is because we do not have any divine crystals to purchase the Lackluster Ocean’s introduction jade slip. Therefore, we do not know what kind of place Honeycomb Beach is.”

“However, given how close Honeycomb Beach is to the Lackluster Ocean Divine City, the number of Stacked Partition Herbs there remains the biggest. This means that it is a dangerous place to be, so not many people will actually choose to visit it. Even if others make the same decision as us, we will still have a chance since we are headed to such a dangerous place.”

“Alright, we will head to Honeycomb Beach,” agreed Mu Jie immediately. Di Jiu had virtually never made any fatal mistakes since they had been at the Wormhole.

Furthermore, Di Jiu was right. The flying Dharma treasures they possessed currently were all trash, so they would be falling behind no matter where they went. This also meant that the distance to the place they were headed to did not matter.

…

Di Jiu and company entered the city from the East Gate and exited from the West Gate.

The traffic flow of people at the West Gate was several times greater than that at the East Gate. Most cultivators clearly came to the Lackluster Ocean Divine City so that they could head to the Lackluster Ocean.

Unfortunately, Di Jiu and company did not possess any divine crystals. Therefore, they were unable to purchase any Lackluster Ocean introduction jade slips, nor did they know what produce the Lackluster Ocean specialized in.

Upon leaving the Lackluster Ocean Divine City, the space before them seemed to be dyed with black ink. It was pitch-black. If they didn’t use their Spiritual Force, they could step straight into a bottomless abyss. In the recesses of the Lackluster Ocean, occasional lights could be seen blinking from a distance before disappearing.

The ocean wind blew at the ocean waves, slamming them onto the ocean bank. The wind carried the smell of the ocean, making it clear to its visitors that before them was not a bottomless abyss but a boundless ocean.

Di Jiu extended his Spiritual Force directly into the recesses of the Lackluster Ocean. The ocean water forming the Lackluster Ocean was no different from that anywhere else. The only disparity was in the lack of illumination here. Numerous cultivators and various types of flying Dharma treasures transversed the Lackluster Ocean, informing the three of them that large amounts of cultivating resources and treasures could be found in the Lackluster Ocean.

Di Jiu also took out a flying boat and said, “Let’s go. We will enter the Lackluster Ocean as well.”

Mu Jie and Zhuo Wujia did not hesitate before boarding the flying boat. The flying boat was merely a supreme-grade immortal weapon, but its Defense Array was not simple. It actually surpassed the ranks of an Immortal Array.

With a faint gust of wind, the flying boat was lifted, joining the numerous flying Dharma treasures charging into the Lackluster Ocean.

“The location jade slip is working. It is just that the signal is a little weak!” exclaimed Zhuo Wujia happily as he stood on the deck and took out the jade slip they had received from the Mission Hall.

Something like this would not be an issue for other people. The cultivators who lived in the Lackluster Ocean all year round owned various kinds of information and locale balls. However, this was the first time the three of them arrived at the Lackluster Ocean. They had nothing in their possession, nor did they have any divine crystals to purchase these items. It was definitely a cause for celebration when they discovered that the location jade slip given by the Mission Hall worked.

There were no restrictions within the Lackluster Ocean, but the darkness suppressed Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force. Nevertheless, Di Jiu was not worried about that. Mu Jie, who was a Dao Modeling expert, might not possess a Spiritual Force more powerful than his.

Various types of flying Dharma treasures flew past in Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force, making Di Jiu realize that his judgment was slightly off.

This was indeed the Dao World, but not everyone owned their personal flying divine weapon. Most of the cultivators were like them: They owned only supreme-grade flying immortal weapons. He had even seen some high-grade flying immortal weapons.

Any cultivator who owned a low-grade flying divine weapon was considered very wealthy. As for middle-grade flying divine weapons, the cultivators who owned them were few and far between.

Di Jiu suddenly thought that he could open a store selling flying Dharma treasures in the Lackluster Ocean Divine City. Surely, many cultivators would come to purchase them.

He cultivated the nomological cultivation technique, so it would not take too much time for him to become a blacksmith who could refine low-grade flying divine weapons given his understanding of the Heaven Earth Law and his Array Dao standards.

However, Di Jiu quickly discarded this notion. He would not open a store even if he intended to sell flying Dharma treasures in the Lackluster Ocean Divine City.

The Lackluster Ocean Divine City evidently appeared to be a very lawless place. It seemed to be similar to a market. There was also no one guarding the city given how they’d entered and left the Lackluster Ocean Divine City without any obstacles. This also meant that the management of this divine city was messy and weak. In that case, it would not be a good place to open a store.

The flying Dharma treasure brought them deeper and deeper into the Lackluster Ocean, and Di Jiu sensed that his Spiritual Force was increasingly being suppressed. The boundless darkness seemed like a brick wall. The further in they went, the worse the suppression of their Spiritual Force was.

Mu Jie was about to say that this place caused some kind of suppression when a black shadow charged toward his flying boat.

Bam! The black shadow collided with the flying boat, causing the Defense Array restriction of the flying boat to emit cracking sounds.

“It is an ocean demon…” Zhuo Wujia was very experienced. Therefore, he knew that it was an ocean demon from the Lackluster Ocean the moment this black shadow collided with the flying boat.

“It is an Eight-Legged Ocean Rat.” Mu Jie’s Spiritual Force was much more powerful than Zhuo Wujia’s, so she was able to see more clearly. The thing that had lunged at the boat looked exactly like a rat. Its two teeth looked like two sharp sabers, its eight legs were covered by a thick layer of scales, and each leg had three pointed claws. The collision of these pointed claws with the Defense Array was what had caused the flying boat to shake violently.

Di Jiu activated the Defense Array, and Zhuo Wujia used his Cosmic Kun Pagoda to attack the rat.

Boom! The Cosmic Kun Pagoda slammed onto the Eight-Legged Ocean Rat, causing the flying boat to shake from the impact even more violently. Zhuo Wujia’s face turned red and he took a few steps back.

That rat was completely uninjured. Moreover, it screeched and lunged forward again.

Mu Jie hastily charged forward. Her two Half-Moon Blades released a circle-shaped blade flare.

Pew! Blood exploded as the air seemed to be invaded by a fishy smell.

Mu Jie was about to comment on how smelly the rat’s blood was when she stared off in the distance, paralyzed. Through her Spiritual Force, she sensed that a tide of Eight-Legged Ocean Rats was swarming over, the sheer number making them appear like dark clouds.

After guarding the Wormhole for so long, Mu Jie had even seen a true Worm Tide before. However, the infinite Eight-Legged Ocean Rat Tide was something she had never seen. It was different on a significantly larger scale.

This Rat Tide was about to surround them completely, and once that happened, they would no longer be able to escape or stay alive.

Upon sensing the space getting increasingly smaller with her Spiritual Force, Mu Jie felt desperate. She knew very well that even though Di Jiu’s flying boat was considered a low-grade divine weapon, it might not be capable of escaping this entrapment.

Di Jiu shouted, “Let me take both of you away!”

As soon as he said that, he lifted both of them and immediately executed the Spiritual Force escape technique without waiting for Mu Jie and Zhuo Wujia’s reply.

He could escape so long as his Spiritual Force could slip past the gaps in the Rat Tide. These gaps were swiftly disappearing. He was worried that they would be trapped there forever if he hesitated for even a second.