Such a powerful punch landed on the burly male cultivator, yet it did not send him flying out of the spaceship. However, when he crashed to the ground, he was like a pile of broken flesh—every bone in his body shattered by Joe Di’s blow. If Joe Di hadn’t intentionally spared his life, this man’s fate would have already been sealed.
"You..." The burly man slumped to the ground, his eyes filled with utter despair.
He simply could not understand why a cultivator who had just entered the Providence Gate and arrived at the Grand Way Path could be so powerful. It made no sense at all. Indeed, there was no logic to it—if there had been, or if he had witnessed such power before, he would never have casually boarded Joe Di’s spaceship. But then he realized, with Joe Di’s strength, even if he hadn’t boarded, the outcome would not have been much different.
If Joe Di had just punched him out of the spaceship, he was confident he could have escaped using forbidden arts. Unfortunately, that was only a hypothetical—he was still on the ship now.
"Answer a few questions for me. If I’m satisfied, I might let you go. Of course, before you leave, you must open your universe and let me see how much Ascendant Gold remains inside. I need that Ascendant Gold." Joe Di said calmly.
After speaking, Joe Di simply gazed calmly at the burly man before him.
Yu Zhai swallowed hard, a bit dazed. Joe Di’s strength was absolutely beyond the Sixth Step, and not just by a little.
He had witnessed Joe Di’s strength before—it wasn’t weak, but at best, Joe Di could contend with Bai Junxiao or San Wu, holding his own or possibly defeating one of them. But to kill someone stronger than Bai Junxiao with a single punch? That was impossible for Joe Di before. Now, Joe Di had done it with ease, which could only mean that after passing through the Life-and-Death Gate, his power had risen by several levels.
"Ask your questions—but you must leave me half of the Ascendant Gold. Otherwise, I’d rather die." The man, lying limp on the ground, hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.
He was unwilling. Having come this far, just one step away from reaching the Seventh Step, how could he possibly accept this?
Joe Di was deeply puzzled. By rights, anyone who had reached this stage of cultivation would never say they’d rather die. Since this man was so stubborn, why was he even willing to answer Joe Di’s questions?
Joe Di was confused, but he didn’t say anything more. He could always seek Ascendant Gold himself in the future—half was enough for now. With that thought, he softened his tone and asked, "When you chased Zachary Yu, it seemed you didn’t use your full strength. Did you know he wouldn’t get far?"
With the strength this man possessed, if he had truly gone all out to hunt Zachary Yu, Joe Di doubted Zachary Yu would have made it onto his ship.
"Yes, I knew he couldn’t escape. Because once you set foot on the Grand Way Path, there’s no turning back. If Zachary Yu kept moving forward, he would eventually be crushed by the cosmic Grand Way rules and forced to turn back." The burly man replied without the slightest hesitation.
Zachary Yu felt a chill in his heart—he truly hadn’t known that once you stepped onto the Grand Way Path, there was no turning back. This was common knowledge among cultivators on the Grand Way Path, so he’d never bothered to ask.
Joe Di frowned. "You mean, once you’re on this path, you can only pursue higher realms, step by step, with no way to retreat at all?"
The burly man nodded. "Yes, once you’re on the Grand Way Path, you can only move forward—there’s no way back. Many powerful cultivators, unable to cross the Ascendant Gate, can only wait for death at the Wayfarer’s Stone..."
Joe Di snorted. "Don’t tell me that even those who’ve reached the Fifth or Sixth Layer of Divinity, or even a Dao Forging Pillmaster, would just wait to die."
The burly man sneered, "You’ll understand after spending some time on the Grand Way Path. Maybe you won’t notice in the first few years, but after a while, your Dao resonance will start to be stripped away and absorbed into the Grand Way Path, becoming fragments of its law. Each year, the loss of your Dao resonance will multiply, until finally even your Dao Foundation collapses and your universe crumbles...
Heh, a Fifth Step cultivator? Even someone at the Ninth Step would struggle to withstand such damage here. Eventually, your Dao will be completely stripped away, your world will collapse, and you’ll only be left to die of old age. The Wayfarer’s Stone is where cultivators on the Grand Way Path go to await death..."
At this moment, Joe Di finally understood why the man hesitated in the face of death—without enough Ascendant Gold to cross the Ascendant Gate, death was inevitable here.
No wonder this man had wavered between life and death just now—he knew that if he couldn’t enter the Ascendant Gate, he was doomed sooner or later.
Zachary Yu’s expression had turned grim. Even though traveling with Joe Di meant he didn’t have to worry about being killed at random, his own strength meant he had no future in the Ascendant Gate’s Star City.
Joe Di fell silent. After more than a dozen breaths, he finally asked, "After entering the Ascendant Gate, is there a chance to reach the Seventh Step?"
The burly man said, "After entering the Ascendant Gate, there’s a Sanctification Pool where you can refine your Dao Foundation and Grand Way. It’s said that if you perfect your Dao Foundation in the pool, you have more than a fifty percent chance of reaching the Seventh Step."
Joe Di sighed. He had many more questions, such as the origins of the Providence Gate and who placed the Life-and-Death Gate there. But he didn’t ask—he was sure this man wouldn’t know. Raising his hand, he tossed a Dao Pill into the burly man’s mouth and said, "Hand over half of your Ascendant Gold."
As soon as the Dao Pill entered the man’s mouth, it instantly dissolved into boundless Dao resonance, permeating his body. The bones shattered by Joe Di’s punch rapidly reformed. In no time, the man who had been lying limp on the ground was standing again.
Though his Dao Foundation hadn’t recovered yet, that was only a matter of time. All his other injuries had been completely healed by Joe Di’s Dao Pill.
This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!
"You only asked two questions?" The burly man stared at Joe Di in disbelief. He thought Joe Di wouldn’t let him off without suffering, and might even kill him after questioning. He never expected Joe Di not only spared him, but also healed him with a Dao Pill after asking just two questions.
"That’s right, just those two questions. Hand over the Ascendant Gold and you’re free to go," Joe Di said calmly.
"Yes, yes." Cyril Night hurriedly pulled out a ring and handed it to Joe Di. "Thank you for your generosity, Daoist friend. There’s sixty percent of my Ascendant Gold inside."
Joe Di’s generosity wasn’t just about saving his life—more importantly, Joe Di hadn’t forced him to open his universe. For a cultivator, their universe was the core of all their secrets; once opened, much would be exposed to outsiders.
But that wasn’t even the most important thing. The true danger was if someone else opened your universe, it would leave a permanent mark on your Grand Way—one that might never fade, not even in death. With a scar on your Dao, how could you ever pursue higher realms?
Joe Di casually took the ring and said, "You may go."
"May I ask your name, Daoist friend?" Cyril Night respectfully cupped his fists and asked again.
Joe Di knew this wasn’t provocation, but genuine gratitude. He didn’t mind and answered casually, "My name is Joe Di."
"Then I’ll take my leave. Farewell, Brother Di." Cyril Night bowed again, then slipped out of the spaceship and vanished in an instant. His farewell was a sign he knew Joe Di would certainly be heading to the Ascendant Gate’s Star City.
"Brother Di, you’re truly magnanimous. If it had been anyone else just now, Cyril Night would have lost his life for sure." After Cyril Night left, Zachary Yu sighed.
Joe Di shook his head and said nothing. In truth, what did it matter if he opened Cyril Night’s universe? Whether Cyril Night lied to him or not, after obtaining the Ascendant Gold, Joe Di would still need to seek more for himself.
More importantly, Joe Di felt a sense of shared fate. The Grand Way Path sounded glorious—here, one could reach higher realms, even the Seventh Step. But in truth, after coming to the Grand Way Path, most people could only wait for death at the Wayfarer’s Stone.
If what Cyril Night said was true, then one day Joe Di himself might perish at the Wayfarer’s Stone. Even if not at this stage, it could happen later on.
Since everyone here was a fallen cultivator on the Grand Way, why kill someone who was already waiting for death?
He could only hope Cyril Night’s words weren’t entirely true, and that there was a way to prevent his Dao resonance from being stripped away here.
"Let’s go. We’re heading to the Ascendant Gate’s Star City." With that, Joe Di’s divine sense moved, and the spaceship beneath his feet transformed into a streak of escape light, shooting toward the distant Ascendant Gate’s Star City.
No matter what others said, he needed to see for himself. Once he arrived at the Ascendant Gate’s Star City, he would immediately inspect the Ascendant Gate to see if, with his own formation skills, he could discover anything. After all, he had already broken through the ancient Life-and-Death Gate and stripped away its Grand Way.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)