Boom! It was as if a volcano erupted—terrifying magma burst forth around the Spirit Herb Garden, the tallest jets surging dozens of zhang into the sky.
Joe Di’s heart sank at the sight of the magma—its ferocity rivaled the earthfire vein he once obtained beneath the Mystic Flame Sect. The searing flow surged madly toward the center of the herb garden. Now, unable to move a muscle, Joe Di knew that once the magma engulfed him, death was certain.
"I'm sorry, Joe Di. This is all my fault." Joanna Brooks' face paled. Her divine sense was only at the eighth tier—though stronger than Joe Di’s, her perception of the surroundings was on a completely different level. Surrounded by such terrifying magma, she knew she was doomed.
Joe Di ignored Joanna Brooks and sent his tenth-tier divine sense surging outward. He refused to believe this place could completely restrain his divine sense.
Just as Joe Di expected, when his divine sense reached its limit, he faintly sensed a subtle crackle in the surrounding space. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been broken—Joe Di immediately felt the pressure around him lighten.
The terrifying magma was already upon him. Joe Di had no time to think—he stepped beside Joanna Brooks and grabbed her. Before he could use his divine sense to escape, he felt his spiritual power stall.
Unable to use his divine sense to flee, Joe Di hurriedly hurled Joanna Brooks away. Before he could break free of the spiritual restraint and escape himself, the terrifying magma swept over him.
Joe Di’s soul nearly scattered. At this moment, he dared not retreat into his small world—the magma’s terrifying heat would mean certain death inside.
Sss—! The moment the magma touched Joe Di’s clothes, he felt as if his entire body would vaporize. Frantically, he activated the Titan Body Technique, while using Celestial Nightfire to form an elliptical shield around himself. He was certain that, had his body not reached the Sovereign Realm, he would already have perished.
Celestial Nightfire, having barely ascended to ninth-tier flame after devouring the earthfire vein, had yet to stabilize. But now, summoned by Joe Di, it formed an elliptical shield.
To Joe Di’s delight, Celestial Nightfire truly blocked the terrifying magma. It quickly stabilized, and not only that—Joe Di could feel the flame’s power rising steadily. It seemed Celestial Nightfire was about to become a true ninth-tier flame.
The Titan Body Technique further strengthened Joe Di’s flesh. He tried to extend his divine sense, but to his disappointment, the magma completely blocked it.
Joe Di could only allow Celestial Nightfire to release some of the magma’s terrifying heat into the shield, so he could refine his body within.
......
Joanna Brooks landed outside the crystal array, staring blankly at the roiling magma within the Spirit Herb Garden—there was no trace of a single spirit herb left. Thankfully, the crystal array held back the magma. Otherwise, even if Joe Di had thrown her out, she would have had to flee at once.
After a long while, Joanna Brooks bowed three times toward the magma. "I'm sorry. I brought this upon you. I, Joanna Brooks, owe you my life."
She knew clearly that if Joe Di hadn’t tried to save her, he would have escaped already. As for herself, she had no way out—even if she had a method, without her divine sense, she couldn’t activate it. In that situation, all she could do was wait for death.
Not only that, Joe Di had warned her several times before, but she hadn’t listened once—and in the end, she brought disaster upon him.
After bowing, Joanna Brooks took out a piece of black jade and carved a tombstone, erecting it outside the array. Only then did she activate the disc in her hand and vanish from the magma-filled herb garden.
Faced with such terrifying magma, Joanna Brooks was certain Joe Di could not have survived. Moreover, as the magma kept seeping out, it would eventually engulf her own foothold. She had obtained many spirit herbs she needed, and even a rare supreme-grade spirit vein.
By rights, Joanna Brooks should have felt happy—her cultivation would surely advance further compared to her peers in the True Domain. Yet at this moment, she felt no joy at all. Perhaps she should never have come to the Little Central World.
......
Joe Di continued to operate the Titan Body Technique. At first, he only allowed Celestial Nightfire to let in a trace of the magma’s heat. Later, he even began to let some of the magma itself seep inside.
Under such extreme heat and magma, Joe Di’s physical body advanced rapidly. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he felt his bones restructure once again—radiating a crystalline glow, as if his entire being had ascended to a higher plane.
Had he refined his flesh to the Sovereign Realm?
Overjoyed, Joe Di dispelled Celestial Nightfire’s shield. The endless magma swept over him, yet not a single hair was singed.
Joe Di walked a few steps through the magma, completely unaffected.
He stretched out his hand—the blue streak on the black Celestial Nightfire grew even clearer. The flame had truly reached the ninth tier, and was now utterly stable.
Unfortunately, in this terrifying magma, not a single spirit herb could survive. Even the spirit vein had been reduced to nothing.
After the magma erupted, Joe Di sent his divine sense out again. Now that he had refined his body to the Sovereign Realm, he could move freely through the magma. His divine sense was no longer blocked, and the entire sea of magma was within its reach—though he saw no treasures within.
Joe Di knew this place had been established by the spirit cultivator woman. He suspected the True Spirit World she spoke of was hidden here. But with such terrifying magma erupting, he wondered if the True Spirit World could endure it.
Just as Joe Di was about to leave, another fissure opened beneath the magma...
Before Joe Di’s divine sense could probe inside, a pool beneath the fissure was swept away by the magma. Joe Di’s heart trembled—was this a Prime Spirit Marrow Pool?
Just how many treasures did this woman possess? Back beneath the snow mountain, he’d obtained her Spirit Marrow Pool, and here he glimpsed a Prime Spirit Marrow Pool. No wonder the spirit herbs here flourished so wildly.
[Irrelevant meta passage skipped per guidelines.]
The Prime Spirit Marrow Pool was swept away by endless magma—Joe Di had no chance to extract it. As he sensed the increasingly dense spiritual energy and clearer cultivation laws around him, unease grew in his heart. He feared he’d brought disaster upon himself.
For a woman to possess so many top-tier treasures—Joe Di would never believe she had no background. And now, he’d destroyed two places tied to her: the Terraflame Banner had become his, a whole Spirit Marrow Pool had been snatched away, the Fortune Spiritfire had nourished his Celestial Nightfire, and now this magma—clearly prepared for the Fortune Spiritfire—had become fuel for his flame.
He’d destroyed the woman’s spirit and taken everything—if her backers ever learned it was him, there would be nowhere in the world he could hide.
Joe Di let out a long breath and quickly cast aside his worries. Right now, making use of the Prime Spirit Marrow Pool he’d just absorbed was the most important thing.
Let today’s wine bring today’s joy—let tomorrow’s sorrow wait for tomorrow. For now, Joe Di could only embrace this mindset, remaining at the bottom of the magma to cultivate.
Joe Di fully activated the Starstream Technique, drawing out the spiritual energy from the Prime Spirit Marrow Pool newly fused into the magma. The energy flowed ceaselessly into him.
Joe Di’s veins were like bottomless pits—no matter how much spiritual energy came, he absorbed it all. Cycle after cycle passed, and wave after wave of energy was drawn into him, causing his cultivation to soar rapidly.
Fifth-tier Sea Opening Realm, sixth-tier Sea Opening Realm...
......
Fivefold Dao Tower Plaza.
Xian Ze stared at the Fivefold Dao Monument in disbelief—he saw Joe Di’s name there. Not only had Joe Di climbed to the ninetieth tier of the Fivefold Dao Tower, he was now ranked among the top ten on the monument. It was astonishing. While Jing Mo Shuang and the others didn’t understand the significance of the top ten, Xian Ze did. It proved he hadn’t misjudged Joe Di; Joe Di could fulfill his dream.
At that moment, those following Xian Ze were Jing Mo Shuang, Geng Ji, He Tai, Yu Jie, Zeng Bei Zi, and Wei Shanshan—the strongest among them was Geng Ji.
In the Little Central World, even a ninth-tier Soul Realm cultivator was nothing special.
"Ah, I see Senior Brother Joe Di!" Wei Shanshan exclaimed as if she’d discovered a new continent.
In fact, everyone here saw Joe Di’s name—he’d climbed to the ninetieth tier of the Fivefold Dao Tower and ranked tenth. So conspicuous—how could anyone miss it?
"Joe Di is your senior brother?" A cultivator in a blue-patterned robe—short in stature—suddenly appeared before Wei Shanshan, staring at her with an unmistakably interrogative tone.
Wei Shanshan sensed the unfriendly tone and instinctively stepped back two paces.
"You know my Brother Joe?" Geng Ji didn’t care—he stepped forward and asked.
Xian Ze snorted coldly, glanced at the blue-robed cultivator, and said nothing.
The blue-robed cultivator clearly sensed Xian Ze’s superior cultivation. He clasped his hands and said, "I am Ju Qi, an outer elder of the Kun Sect. Young Master Joe Di may be connected to our sect leader’s disappearance. The Kun Sect is searching for his whereabouts."
[Irrelevant meta passage skipped per guidelines.]