Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“That woman is definitely at Dao Integration. She sneaked an attack on me and I fought back in a haste. As a result, a counterattack was caused. My Dao runes stagnated and my Dao foundation degenerated. However, I instantly struck back and inflicted serious injuries on her. Despite that, she still had the ability to kill me. Just when I thought I was definitely going to die and was prepared to plead for reincarnation, the Winter Valley’s Grand Elder Jiu You suddenly passed by and saved me.” After saying all this, Ling Xiaoshuang sighed.
She was too unlucky. If she had been given another chance, she would at least have been a top-notch Dao Integration expert. Would she have ended up like this?
Di Jiu asked, “Afterward, you followed Jiu You to the Great Ultimate Realm’s Winter Valley?”
Ling Xiaoshuang nodded. “Yes. At the time, Elder Jiu You had also suffered injuries after saving me. He said that my Dao foundation had collapsed, so it would be better for me to recuperate with him in the Winter Valley. Although the Winter Valley might not necessarily allow my injuries to fully recover, it wouldn’t allow them to worsen.”
“After that woman got injured, she still had very powerful techniques?” Di Jiu asked.
Ling Xiaoshuang shook her head. “I believe that woman’s strength was so-so. In fact, if she had not sneaked an attack on me the instant I’d reached Dao Integration, I definitely could have killed her. Even so, she still suffered serious injuries due to my counterattack.”
“What about Elder Jiu You’s battle with her?” Di Jiu asked.
Evidently, Ling Xiaoshuang remembered that scene extremely clearly. She immediately answered, “As soon as Jiu You stepped forward, he made a move on her. Due to her injuries, her movements were slower so she suffered injuries again. However, the woman’s technique was very terrifying. She unexpectedly rushed toward Elder Jiu You and used her domain to lock him while self-exploding at the same time. Therefore, Elder Jiu You suffered serious injuries.”
Di Jiu immediately grasped the problem. “Xiaoshuang, I’ll now ask you a few questions. According to what you said, the woman who sneaked an attack on you was already seriously injured and Jiu You suffered serious injuries due to her self-explosion. Does that mean that she didn’t have a chance to escape at the time? Otherwise, why would she have blown herself up?”
Ling Xiaoshuang froze and then frowned. Back then, Jiu You had been blocking the entrance of the cave abode’s Defense Array and the woman who had attacked her had been seriously injured by her counterattack. However, the other party still had some hope of escaping by using all her might.
“At the time, there was a slim chance of escaping, but she had a chance.” Ling Xiaoshuang told the truth.
Di Jiu chuckled. “The woman who sneaked an attack on you was apparently trying to take something from you or get your opportunity. Such people have vigorous ambitions, so they would never self-explode casually. I heard you say that the woman fought with Jiu You but she blew herself up after Jiu You sneaked an attack on her. This is not normal.”
Ling Xiaoshuang froze. She naturally understood what Di Jiu meant. However, she shook her head and said, “That’s impossible. Jiu You was also seriously injured and he forced that woman to blow herself up.”
She was unwilling to speculate on the bad side of humanity and she did not believe that Jiu You would come with a purpose or even team up with that woman to deal with her. Finally, in order to achieve his goal, he would even have had to kill his partner.
Di Jiu said, “The next problem is that Jiu You said that you would at least not deteriorate in the Winter Valley. In fact, your injury obviously worsened there.”
Ling Xiaoshuang could only say, “Big Brother Di, Elder Jiu You must really have been sincere about saving me. It was hard for me to survive even in the void. He brought me to the Winter Valley, perhaps because he really wanted to help me. I’m afraid even he didn’t know that my injuries could not recover. I know that there are too many sinister and deceitful cultivators in the universe, but I still believe that there are more beautiful things in this universe. I’ve met many kind and selfless friends who have helped me a lot.”
She was tactfully telling Di Jiu that although guarding against someone was inevitable, they could not go overboard or they would tire themselves out.
Di Jiu faintly said, “If I were like you, I might have been taken advantage of many times. Not only am I sure that Jiu You had bad intentions for you, but I also know that you have something that he wants, even though I don’t know where you keep it.”
If this had happened a long time ago, Ling Xiaoshuang would not have continued talking to Di Jiu. However, Ling Xiaoshuang was no longer a naive, innocent young girl.
After pondering this for a while, she looked at Di Jiu and asked seriously, “Big Brother Di, since you said so, you must have an explanation?”
“That’s right,” Di Jiu said. “Do you remember me asking you earlier whether you cultivated here or if you are even sure that you cultivated here?”
“Yes, but I never did,” Ling Xiaoshuang answered doubtfully.
“That’s the problem,” Di Jiu said with a sneer. “I’m extremely sensitive to the Heaven Earth Law. The Heaven Earth Law in the Winter Valley contains a special aura. You’ve never cultivated here, but I sensed this kind of nomological aura in you.”
In fact, Di Jiu had not sensed any special nomological aura but Foundation Order Dao runes. The Heaven Earth Law in each place was set up by countless Foundation Orders, and the Winter Valley was no exception.
Since Di Jiu cultivated the Nomological Dao, he had an extremely thorough understanding of all sorts of Foundation Orders. As long as he was within it, he could sense this clearly. Because he had sensed the Winter Valley’s Foundation Order Dao runes in Ling Xiaoshuang, he had suspected that she had cultivated here.
Since Ling Xiaoshuang had not cultivated, the only possibility was that before she had gotten injured, she had fought with cultivators from the Winter Valley. Furthermore, the Foundation Order Dao rune aura on her had yet to dissipate.
“Ah…” Ling Xiaoshuang responded in shock and then frowned. If anyone else had said that, she might have thought it was false. He could even sense the aura contained in the Heaven Earth Law? Wasn’t this a bit too nonsensical? However, she did not doubt him, as she subconsciously trusted him.
While Ling Xiaoshuang was thinking about Jiu You’s coincidental appearance Di Jiu said, “Don’t you think that Jiu You’s appearance was too coincidental? If he had come a little later, you might have perished. Not even your Principal Spirit or a hint of your soul would have been left.”
“But it clearly wasn’t Jiu You who sneaked an attack on me. Could this woman also have been from the Winter Valley? After I came to the Winter Valley, I only heard that there was a Dao Integration expert here called Elder Jiu You,” Ling Xiaoshuang said, feeling even more puzzled. She had been somewhat swayed by his words.
Di Jiu calmly responded, “I can’t be sure now, but after I meet Elder Jiu You, I will confirm right away whether that woman was Jiu You.”
“What?” Ling Xiaoshuang, who was startled, immediately calmed down. What Di Jiu had said was credible. However, Jiu You was a male cultivator. Even if a male cultivator cloned himself, how could he cultivate into a woman?
Upon seeing Ling Xiaoshuang’s expression, Di Jiu knew that she had guessed what he meant. Thus, he said, “I suspect that Elder Jiu You cultivates a cloning divine power and that woman might be his clone. I’ll say a few things and you’ll confirm it. First, was he especially fast while saving you? Cloning is most proficient in this kind of mutual shifting divine power.
“Second, that woman got seriously injured and self-exploded. After self-exploding, did she leave nothing behind? If that’s the case, that’s right. A self-exploding clone would harm the user. I suspect that Jiu You absorbed all the essence Qi and blood of the Dao runes after his clone self-exploded. Even though he got injured, he would recover after entering seclusion for 10,000 years. If my guess is right, Jiu You should have quickly recovered. If his clone had not self-exploded and been wrapped by the self-explosion of a true Dao Integration cultivator, it would have been fine even if he had not recovered one-fifth, let alone fully.”
Ling Xiaoshuang took a deep breath. All of a sudden, she somewhat understood why Valley Master Su had hesitated a little when she had asked Valley Master Su to let her leave. Previously, she had not thought of leaving, as she could not have done so even if she’d wanted to.
