Chapter 197: Would You Die
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I also intend to cultivate on the 90th level for a period of time,” said Ling Yixiao without being prompted.
“What about the three of you?” Di Jiu looked at Xuanyuan Kong, Yue Qiongyu and Xu Bai.
When they saw him looking at them, the three of them nodded their heads, expressing their desire to cultivate on the 90th level for some time.
At first, they had considered the 69th level the most valuable level in the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. This was because one could condense one’s Spiritual Force there. Unfortunately, they did not possess the strength to seize one of the nine futons.
The strength of a cultivator’s Spiritual Force and the size of their Spiritual Sea would affect their future development and potential.
They had originally had no more opportunities, yet they had never expected to encounter Di Jiu, who possessed the Five Continent Dao Disc. Who would be willing to stay on the 69th level if they could reach the 90th level and condense their Spiritual Force and expand their Spiritual Sea?
This had also been Di Jiu’s original intention. When everyone agreed, Di Jiu fell silent for a while. Eventually, he said, “I originally intended to head to the 100th level to cultivate. I may be the team leader, but I must take everyone’s opinions into account as well. We will head to the 90th level to condense our Spiritual Force.”
Everyone was satisfied with Di Jiu’s reply. He was the current leader, so if he disagreed, the group would exist no more. However, no one wished to have a dispute with Di Jiu, as they all wanted to use the disc to reach the uppermost level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda.
Even Ling Yixiao, who had been displeased with Di Jiu earlier, changed his opinion due to Di Jiu’s impartiality. His displeasure stemmed from the fact that Di Jiu was a weak Itinerant Cultivator.
How could a genius disciple from a nine-star sect like him treat a weak Itinerant Cultivator like Di Jiu seriously? He would not look Di Jiu in the eye, even if Di Jiu was to kneel in front of him, if it had not been for the fact that Di Jiu possessed a Five Continent Dao Disc.
“Everyone, I have a question,” Di Jiu said, seizing this opportunity.
“We are considered brothers, Daoist Di,” said Xuanyuan Kong. “Just say anything you want. Don’t hold back. When you asked for Spirit Stones earlier, you weren’t so talkative.”
“Alright, I wanted to ask how I could find out the level of my Spiritual Force.” Although Di Jiu estimated that his Spiritual Force level was not low, he unfortunately had no idea at which level his Spiritual Force was at.
When they heard Di Jiu’s words, the others looked at each other. Upon seeing the sympathy Yue Qiongyu showed, Di Jiu suspected that he’d said something wrong.
“Ha ha…” A few moments later, Xuanyuan Kong laughed. “Daoist Di, I’m certain that you came here from a remote corner of the world. After attaining the Essence Soul Realm, one needs to open up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation to discover one’s Spiritual Force level. The average cultivator of a large sect could open up their own Spiritual Sea Dao foundation.”
It was no wonder that there was nothing on this matter in the Polar Night Continent considering the scant few Essence Soul Realm cultivators that existed there.
Before Di Jiu could inquire on how to open up his Spiritual Sea Dao foundation, Xuanyuan Kong said, “Cultivators from small sects and Itinerant Cultivators will generally head to associations that will help them open up their Spiritual Sea Dao foundation. There are only a few places in the Five Continent City where people can head over to open up their Spiritual Sea Dao foundation. The best place would be the Prophecy Pavilion’s branch in the Five Continent City. The Five Continent Pavilion could also open up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation.”
“How many Spirit Stones would that cost?” asked Di Jiu.
Xuanyuan Kong chuckled. “That would depend on your wealth. The cost of opening up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation is calculated in terms of medicinal herbs. When one heads to an association to open up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation, one has two choices. One, bring along your own medicinal herbs and pay a Spirit Stone fee. Usually, that fee is determined by the value of the medicinal herbs brought along, but it is at least one million Spirit Stones. Two, the association could provide the spiritual herbs. In that case, the price would be determined based on the cost of the spiritual herbs chosen.”
Di Jiu thought of Fu Che and company. He was certain that, like him, they had yet to open up their Spiritual Sea Dao foundation. Otherwise, they would not have gone to the Herald Night Lake to discover the level of their Spiritual Force.
“How beneficial is opening up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation?” Di Jiu continued this line of questioning. He had no master and had never joined a sect. Therefore, there was no way he would know how to open up his Spiritual Sea Dao foundation.
Xuanyuan Kong pointed to the space in-between his eyebrows. “After opening up the Spiritual Sea Dao foundation, one can sense which area to improve on while cultivating a technique. One can also choose a magic technique that suits one more. Furthermore, when one opens up one’s Spiritual Sea Dao foundation for the first time, one can rely on medicinal herbs to allow one’s Spiritual Force level to improve drastically. I’ve heard of a powerful cultivator who used top-notch medicinal herbs to open up their Spiritual Sea Dao foundation and his Spiritual Force improved by two levels.”
“If one has yet to open up their Spiritual Sea Dao foundation, when one’s Spiritual Force level reaches Level Seven, one can automatically sense their Spiritual Force level,” Yue Qiongyu could not help but add.
Xuanyuan Kong nodded his head. “That’s right. If you wait, you will discover your Spiritual Force level when your Spiritual Force reaches Level Seven, even if you do not open up your Spiritual Force Dao foundation. However, Level Seven is not easy to attain. Some weaker True Form Realm Cultivators might not even have a Level Seven Spiritual Force.”
Di Jiu cupped his fists and said, “Thank you for answering my questions.”
It was impossible for Di Jiu to head to any associations to open up his Spiritual Force Dao foundation. The secret of his Spiritual Sea was simply too great. He was not willing to take a risk, regardless of whether opening up his Spiritual Sea Dao foundation would reveal this secret.
Di Jiu did not know anything about Spiritual Sea Dao foundation. Everyone was now even more certain that he was an Itinerant Cultivator who had come from some remote place.
The six of them started to swiftly advance to the 90th level. Every time Di Jiu reached the next level, they would cultivate there for two hours. Each level after the 80th level was filled with dense Spirit Qi and clear Laws. Therefore, whenever they reached a new level, everyone would make the best use of these two hours by cultivating frantically.
When they reached the 87th level, the six of them saw that there was someone there.
It was an extremely young cultivator with skin as white as a woman’s, eyes that curved upwards, inverted V-shaped eyebrows, and thin lips. He was also carrying a saber that, unlike Di Jiu’s, had no red embellishments on it. The saber’s scabbard gave out waves of bloodlust, as though it had killed an unknown number of people.
Back when Di Jiu had been practising medicine, he had also learned about physiognomy. The facial features of this young cultivator, especially his inverted eyebrows, showed that this was an extremely ill-tempered fella. He was the kind of person Di Jiu did not like interacting with.
“It seems like the six of you have mastered a technique that has allowed you to get here at the same time.” The young cultivator’s gaze swept across the six of them before landing on Di Jiu.
Di Jiu, who did not want to cause any trouble, said, “Everyone form a circle. Start cultivating.”
The young cultivator stared at Di Jiu as he said slowly, “Considering that you could climb up to the 87th level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda, I could spare your life if you destroyed your saber and never used one again.”
Di Jiu looked at the young man speechlessly. “Are you crazy?’
“He is indeed crazy. Extremely crazy,” laughed Xuanyuan Kong as he took out his Aerial Star Axe. “I also intend to use a saber when I leave this place. What could you do about that?”
The young man looked at Xuanyuan Kong as he said coolly, “You are Xuanyuan Kong from the Genesis Sect. You rank 83rd on the Sea Roll. Not bad. However, you don’t have the qualifications to fight with me. Ju Qi, who is also from your sect, does.”
Xuanyuan Kong laughed again. “How dare a mere first-stage Pioneer Sea Realm cultivator like you say that I don’t qualify to fight with you? I would like to see if your bite is as powerful as your bark.”
He was about to use the Aerial Star Axe, when Di Jiu stopped him. Di Jiu would definitely not stop a battle between Ling Yixiao and this young man. However, he was certain that regardless of whether Xuanyuan Kong was able to defeat his opponent, he would definitely be teleported out.
His Foundation Orders were incapable of protecting Xuanyuan Kong if he were to have a fight there. He rather liked Xuanyuan Kong, which was why he stopped him.
“You should count your blessings. I will settle this matter with you when we leave the pagoda.” Xuanyuan Kong understood why Di Jiu had stopped him. His future potential was at stake here. He was naturally unwilling to be teleported out of the 87th level.
The young man’s gaze landed on Di Jiu as he said coolly, “I’m Ji Hongchuan. When the Five Continent Dao Pagoda ends, I will be waiting for you at the Five Continent Square. I hope that you will not be carrying a saber when I see you again. You lack the qualifications to do so.”
As soon as he said that, Ji Hongchuan turned around and left. He walked straight towards the stairway that led up to the 88th level.
“Hey, Ji guy! Hold up!” Di Jiu called out to Ji Hongchuan.
Ji Hongchuan stopped, turned his head and stared at Di Jiu coldly. He had no expression on his face and his eyes were filled with superiority, as though everything he said was how it should be.
“Can I ask you something?” Di Jiu grinned. His bright smile seemed to be implying that the question he was going to ask was not important.
“Yes,” Ji Hongchuan said coldly.
“Would it kill you to stop acting so pretentious?” Di Jiu asked seriously.
Ji Hongchuan was a first-stage Pioneer Sea Realm cultivator. However, this was the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. If this fella really wanted to fight, Di Jiu would force him out of the pagoda. He would deal with the consequences when he left.
Ji Hongchuan did not quite understand the first part of Di Jiu’s sentence, yet he understood the second part. “No,” he said calmly before he stepped onto the stairway that led up to the 88th level.
“I don’t think so. You would definitely die.” The instant he stepped onto the stairway, Di Jiu’s words traveled to his ears.
“What does ‘pretentious’ mean, Brother Di Jiu?” Xuanyuan Kong was so grateful to Di Jiu for advising him not to attack that he even started addressing him as ‘Brother’. He was not afraid of Ji Hongchuan, but he was worried that he would lose this opportunity to reach the 90th level.
Di Jiu clapped Xuanyuan Kong on the shoulder and said with a sigh, “That is a long-lost supernormal ability. I only gained a rudimentary mastery of it when I was in Pearl City. Now my skills are rusty. However, I sensed this supernormal aura on Ji Hongchuan. It worried me, so I asked him that question. Alright, let’s cultivate quickly. We will deal with that fella when we leave this place.”
“Yes, we will deal with that weakling later,” replied Xuanyuan Kong, who seemed annoyed.