Yang Ye spoke decisively, “None of them!”

Lady gazed at Yang Ye for a long time, and then she withdrew ring. The ring was dark golden and had the head of a ferocious beast on it. There was a small ‘戰’ character which represented war at the center of the head. She placed it on Yang Ye’s index finger and said, “Come to Clouds of Heaven Stellar Region in 3 years, and then tell it to me again. You don’t have to come if more than 3 years pass. Because it would be pointless then. Understand?”

Yang Ye looked her in the eyes, “I’ll definitely come if you tell me your name!”

She replied, “Zhuang Weiran!”

Yang Ye said, “Wait for me!”

She looked up at the sky and said, “This stellar region is called Skyriver Stellar Region, and it’s under the control of a power called the Alliance of Guardians. They control around 30 worlds, and your current strength is utterly insufficient to fight them. So, I’ve decided to send you to Dark Hell Stellar Region instead. It’s a very chaotic stellar region that’s without a Heaven Dao and practically without any order. The people there are willing to do anything in order to gain spirit veins and energy stones. It’s a dog eat dog world!”

Yang Ye said, “I have no choice, right?”

“Once you gain a foothold there, you’ll be able to improve your strength swiftly. Because the Heaven Dao doesn’t exist there. So even if you advance into the Emperor Realm, the Heaven Dao wouldn’t send its wrath down upon you. But it wouldn’t be the same in any other world. Just like this world. If you are to advance into the Saint Realm here, the Heaven Dao itself would definitely descend. I was unable to rival the strength of the Heaven Dao even when I was at my prime.”

She continued, “Most importantly, there’s something there that’ll be extremely helpful to you. You must get it.”

Yang Ye asked, “What?”

She replied, “The Stellar Sword Diagram!”

Yang Ye frowned, “The Stellar Sword Diagram?”

She nodded slightly, “It was created by an ancient expert through observing the universe. Once it’s activated, you can transform the energy of the stars into sword energy! If you have a peerless sword as a catalyst, it can even destroy an entire stellar region. Most importantly, it might be able to help you master the Sword Domain.”

“Master the Sword Domain?” Yang Ye’s pupils constricted. Even though she’d told him that he had to gain comprehension in order to master the Sword Domain. The problem was how to gain such comprehension! He didn’t have the slightest clue because he hadn’t even seen another Sword Domain. If he meditated for a few hundred years behind closed doors, then perhaps he could comprehend something. But the problem was that he didn’t have the time to do so!

Lady nodded and said, “Because the Sword Domain is a requirement to utilize it. So, it definitely possesses techniques to utilize the Sword Domain.”

A moment of silence ensued before Yang Ye said, “Do you have its exact location?”

She shook her head slightly in response.

Yang Ye was at a loss for words.

Lady said, “Actually, it might be related to you!”

Yang Ye was stunned, “It’s related to me?”

She replied, “Remember the Tree of Creation?”

Yang Ye nodded, “Of course!”

Lady said, “All those years on Clouds of Heaven Stellar Region, while I was still young, I met a white haired old man who wore a blue and white Daoist Robe and held a horsetail whisk. He seemed to be looking for someone and mistook me for that person. In the end, he noticed that he’d found the wrong person. But he said that us meeting was fate, so he gave me a Fruit of Creation and taught me for some time. In the end, I planted that fruit, and it grew into a Fruit of Creation.”

Blue and white Daoist Robe? A horsetail whisk?

Yang Ye frowned and pondered deeply for a while, and then his eyes suddenly opened wide, “It’s him!”

The person Yang Ye spoke about was naturally the old man who had appeared within the Primordial Pagoda. That old man who came from the same place as Xiao Qi.

Lady said. “At that time, he had a tiny pagoda with him, that same tiny pagoda within you. Besides my desire to heal my injuries, there was another reason why I asked you for it. I hoped to use the pagoda to help him find that person he was looking for. But I never expected that it had acknowledged you as its master.”

Yang Ye fell silent for a short while before he said, “Do you know how strong he was?”

“Very strong!” Lady looked Yang Ye in the eyes and spoke with a serious expression on her face, “You know… Dark Hell Stellar Region was once a medium world. It was around the size of 100 Radiant Dimension, and it had countless experts. However, the Heaven Dao and some mysterious experts of that world had offended that old man for some reason. After that, the Heaven Dao of that world and those mysterious experts were annihilated. Besides that, it was reduced to a small world, and its spirit energy gradually dried up. Moreover, a mysterious barrier of energy covered it, causing none to be able to leave it…. Yet he was just one of a billion clones….”

Yang Ye was speechless.

A short while passed before Yang Ye finally said, “What does the Stellar Sword Diagram have to do with that?”

Lady explained, “The strongest expert of that medium world was a sword cultivator, and he utilized the Stellar Sword Diagram in the battle with the old man. He drew down the energy of the stars and transformed them into sword energy…. In the end, the old man vanished, but he died as well. However, the Stellar Sword Diagram was lost within Dark Hell Stellar Region.”

Yang Ye remained silent for a short while and said, “How will I find you in the future?”

“You’ll naturally be able to find out once you possess sufficient strength; if you don’t have sufficient strength, then it’s pointless to know that!” As soon as she finished speaking, she waved her right hand lightly. The scene here changed, and it didn’t take long for the scene around them to return to normal.

Fen Cangyan was about to speak when he suddenly gazed at the ring on Yang Ye’s hand. His expression changed drastically at the sight of it and spoke furiously, “How dare you….”

Fen Cangyan stopped abruptly because Lady was looking at him, “I gave it to him!”

Fen Cangyan was slightly stunned, and then his face grew extremely unsightly, “Young Miss, what right does he have to possess it? That’s….”

She replied, “Do I need your approval when I do things?”

Fen Cangyan hurriedly lowered his head and spoke with a trembling voice, “No!”

Lady withdrew her gaze from him and looked at Qiong Qi, “10 years. Stay with him for 10 years and I’ll save you now.”

Qiong Qi glanced at the red robed old man’s group in the sky. He didn’t hesitate for long before he nodded to her. After all, 10 years were only a moment for him.

Lady looked up at the red robed old man and said, “I’ll make him leave this world, and we’ll let the matter rest. Alright?”

The red robed old man gazed at Lady and the others for a short while, and then he said, “Everyone related to him must leave this world!”

“3 years!” Lady said, “They’ll leave in 3 years. If they don’t, then you can kill or banish them as you please!”

The red robed old man pondered deeply for a long time, and then he said, “Alright!”

Lady turned around to gaze at Yang Ye, “It’s quite harsh to you. However, it’s a price you have to pay for being one who would rather die than yield. Remember that if you can’t return with absolute strength, then everyone related to you will die!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hands slightly. In an instant, the space around Yang Ye and Qiong Qi started to tremble, and then both of them vanished on the spot.

“AHHH!”

“ROAR!”

Yang Ye and Qiong Qi’s shrill cries resounded.

“Young Miss, they are probably unable to endure the impact from traveling through the void….”

“I forgot.”

— End of Book Nine —