"Percy Payne, this stone is an excellent place for cultivation," Joe Di turned to Percy Payne and asked.
Joe Di still felt some goodwill towards Percy Payne. Although this fellow coveted his Ninth Dao Principle, he at least acted with the demeanor of a true powerhouse. Percy Payne had waited for Gavin Strider and Master Julian to finish fighting before making a move, and hadn't tried to take advantage of the situation. That was commendable.
Percy Payne nodded in agreement, "That's right. This stone gathers the essence of the Grand Dao from the birth of countless universes. There's no place with clearer laws than this. Cultivating here yields twice the result with half the effort, and you hardly need any heaven and earth energy at all."
Joe Di understood. At their level of cultivation, progressing further was not about the abundance of heaven and earth energy, but about the clarity of universal laws and their own comprehension of the Grand Dao.
"So everyone stays here just to cultivate?" Joe Di asked doubtfully.
Percy Payne chuckled, "Even the best place becomes pointless after cultivating for more than a hundred thousand years. Everyone remains here simply because they can't leave."
"Why can't they leave?" Joe Di was genuinely surprised.
This time Percy Payne didn't answer, only saying lightly, "You'll find out when the time comes."
Joe Di didn't press further. Instead, he pointed to Gavin Strider and Master Julian who were fighting. "Percy Payne, a single day of cultivation here is probably worth years elsewhere. Master Julian has cultivated here for so many years and has reached the Third Step. He should be able to completely overpower Gavin Strider, so why are they evenly matched?"
Percy Payne laughed heartily, casting a meaningful glance at Joe Di. "When you step into the Third Step and return to cultivate here, you'll understand."
Boom! The Dao aura of Master Julian and Gavin Strider collided, and both spat out a spray of blood, flying backward.
Neither seemed to have gained the upper hand, but they didn't continue fighting. No one else tried to take advantage either. Gavin Strider had a mysterious background and secrets, but who here didn't? Who among them was without secrets? If Gavin Strider could fight Master Julian to a draw, he clearly wasn't afraid of anyone. To take him down, one would have to risk their life. No one here was foolish enough to do that—everyone around was a potential enemy.
"Holy Master Joe, it's our turn now..."
Percy Payne summoned his artifact, but before he could finish his sentence, Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade was already slashing toward him.
Feeling the force and domain of Joe Di's blade, Percy Payne sneered inwardly. Just from this strike, he could tell Joe Di's foundation was not as deep as Gavin Strider's. He was confident he could finish Joe Di within an hour.
Joe Di's slash swept up several blade rays—none particularly powerful. The blade intent it carried could only be described as fierce. As Percy Payne summoned his Worldsplit Spade, it formed a spade-shaped force, instantly transforming into an endless wall of Dao aura. Even before exchanging blows, he already held the advantage.
Those watching all nodded quietly. This was the style of a true master—Percy Payne didn't attack directly but gathered his momentum. Joe Di was too impulsive, striking to kill right away.
Percy Payne first ensured an invincible position. No doubt, his second technique would be a devastating attack. Some present began to doubt Joe Di's words—he claimed to be the Ninth Universe's Founder, yet his battle experience seemed rather poor.
Boom, boom, boom! As Joe Di's blade intent gathered, three curtains of blade energy formed. His Azure Veil Blade seemed to leap through space, returning to its starting position, and struck again at the same time.
The first three blade curtains had just formed when Joe Di's second slash unleashed four more. The two slashes combined to create a small wave of blade curtains.
After witnessing Joe Di's first strike, Percy Payne decided to end the fight quickly—he had overestimated Joe Di. So his second technique gathered nearly all his momentum, and his Worldsplit Spade roared through the void, tearing at the rules with a grinding sound.
But his second technique had only gathered half its force when Joe Di's second slash crashed down.
Is this a spatial law? Percy Payne was startled. Every powerhouse here knew spatial laws, but Joe Di's mastery was so smooth, so seamless, it seemed completely natural.
If his second technique continued like this, when the Dao aura of their second techniques clashed, his third move would surely be at a disadvantage. Joe Di's second slash was almost twice as strong as his first.
Percy Payne prioritized avoiding mistakes over seeking glory—not out of temperament, but because he knew he absolutely couldn't afford to be injured here. Even a minor wound was dangerous; a serious one would be fatal.
Midway through Percy Payne's second move, the Worldsplit Spade's rules shifted dramatically, changing from a fierce offensive to a defensive stance, like a barrier between realms.
Such instantaneous changes between attack and defense aren't common. Percy Payne could do it because he'd cultivated here for so long. When you first start training here, it's astonishing, but after a long time, you realize this place doesn't actually improve your cultivation much.
Percy Payne's cultivation hadn't improved much, but his mastery of Dao aura and divine techniques was far beyond what it once was.
When Percy Payne shifted his Worldsplit Spade to defense, he immediately realized he'd made a grave mistake.
"Such incredible mastery of spatial law..." A nearby cultivator watched as Joe Di's blade, just as its momentum peaked, crossed space and slashed down from its starting point, without the slightest delay. This was true mastery of spatial law—he could wield his own spatial rules with a casual gesture.
A female cultivator who had spoken earlier sneered, "That's a temporal domain technique, not spatial law at all!"
Not only did she see that Joe Di wasn't using spatial law, but everyone else realized it too—this wasn't a spatial technique.
Joe Di, however, was overjoyed. He hadn't struck suddenly to ambush Percy Payne, but because he'd been struck by a sudden insight—an epiphany that compelled him to attack. In that instant, he comprehended Time's Third Loom.
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click 'Next Page' to continue reading the exciting content!)
Triple Loom: Wind and sand swirl beneath the sea, waves roll and innocence floats. Endless Blade Curtain stretches ninety thousand miles, not a trace of dust remains.
When he comprehended Fate's Loom, he crossed the Lethe Bridge. Now, he hadn't even used Fate's Loom yet, but was already unleashing the newly awakened Time's Third Loom.
Joe Di knew better than anyone—his Time's Third Loom had already transcended temporal laws. It was a blade momentum accumulated through time itself.
Crack, crack, crack! Several blade rays crashed against Percy Payne's defensive Dao laws, exploding with a series of sharp cracks above the giant stone.
But this was only the beginning. Joe Di's second slash returned to its original starting point, and the third slash crashed out as well—stronger than the second.
The blade curtains from the third slash finally joined with those before, forming a series of small blade waves. But this was not the end—then came the fourth slash...
The blade waves grew larger. By the fourth slash, it was as if the killing intent of the entire universe had been swept up, forming an endless tide of blade waves.
From the initial blade curtain just over ten feet long, it grew to hundreds of feet of surging blade waves.
The killing intent enveloped the entire giant stone in a chilling haze, as the aura of death spread everywhere.
Joe Di felt a trace of exhaustion. He was certain that with one more slash, he could kill Percy Payne. Time's Third Loom was truly terrifying—anything in its path would be reduced to dust beneath the Endless Blade Curtain.
Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't unleash a fifth slash. He lacked the strength—his Dao aura and divine sense were both depleted. Even with his rule-based Grand Dao, borrowing the world's laws to strike four consecutive times, otherwise, he would have managed at most two and a half slashes.