"Stop! We can talk this out..." Charles Shao screamed frantically, feeling the suffocating pressure of true death.
But Joe Di had no intention of stopping. The Time Arrow tore forth.
Thud! The Time Arrow pierced through Charles Shao's brow, unleashing endless Way Resonance. Laws shattered and the surrounding space trembled violently. Without waiting for Charles Shao's Way Resonance and laws to fully collapse, Joe Di rushed forward in a single bound, his hand scattering boundless law aura.
He opened up an entirely new cosmic world, and in an instant, swept away everything within it.
Despair flashed in Charles Shao's eyes—so he really did want to see what was inside his world. This was the first time he'd ever seen someone open up the cosmic world of a cultivator at his level. Was this the Fourth Step?
But his thoughts ended here, everything fading into nothingness.
When Joe Di turned his head again, the fair-skinned cultivator had already vanished. He glanced in the direction where the cultivator disappeared but did not pursue. For him, obtaining the Cosmic Dao Vein was now the true priority.
This time, Joe Di did not act rashly, but began to set up a defensive array. He had no desire to attract more plunderers; although he could seize others' worlds, it was not something he enjoyed. Besides, killing too many experts here was not a good thing.
When the time for the Cosmic Debate comes, he'll only have more enemies.
Having finished the defensive grand array, Joe Di summoned the Tiansuo Blade and unleashed Time's Third Loom without hesitation.
Waves upon waves of blade energy surged outward, crashing against the defensive barrier outside the Dao Vein.
The void trembled violently. When the fifth wave of blade energy struck, the barrier emitted a sharp cracking sound. With his hands weaving Way Resonance, Joe Di tore open the natural defense with ease.
Rich cosmic essence swept in, and a Dao Vein of cosmic energy, pale yellow and suspended in the void, appeared before Joe Di. Even its portion lingering in the void stretched over a thousand zhang.
Joe Di scattered array flags of law across the void. After a full day, the natural barrier finally shattered, and nearly three thousand zhang of the Cosmic Dao Vein was swept into his world.
In the instant he claimed the Dao Vein, Joe Di vaguely sensed a black hole lurking in the void. His spiritual sense swept inside, only to be devoured completely. Within, there was an unfamiliar law aura—something he'd never encountered—yet there was not a trace of life.
The sensation lasted only a moment before vanishing without a trace. Joe Di's spiritual sense landed upon the Cosmic Dao Vein he'd just stored in his world. The resonance emanating from it truly surpassed Genesis Aura, so dense and pure it was perfect for cultivation—yet he still felt something was missing.
Was the Cosmic Dao Vein he obtained different from those of others? Joe Di immediately thought of the items in Charles Shao's world. Perhaps Shao had acquired a Dao Vein too—he only needed to compare them to know for sure.
Joe Di swept his spiritual sense across and was nearly stunned by what he found.
He had always considered himself wealthy—top-tier Dao Fruits, materials, techniques, treasures, all in abundance. Yet compared to Charles Shao’s possessions, he seemed almost destitute.
The only thing he had in greater quantity than Charles Shao was Cosmic Dao Crystals. Shao’s ring contained only a few, while Joe Di possessed tens of thousands.
Joe Di could only sigh inwardly; it wasn’t that his luck was inferior to Charles Shao’s, but rather that he’d simply had much less time to accumulate resources.
His spiritual sense quickly landed on an item thousands of zhang long, sealed by layer upon layer of restrictions. He didn’t need to break the seals to know it was a Cosmic Dao Vein.
Joe Di tore open the restrictions, and as expected, it was a Cosmic Dao Vein, nearly three thousand zhang in length.
Joe Di frowned slightly. Whether it was the Dao Vein he had obtained or the one Charles Shao possessed, both seemed to be missing something.
Soon, Joe Di realized what it was—both Dao Veins lacked a truly majestic, boundless aura. He knew this because he’d once seen a Cosmic Dao Vein in the Genesis Nest.
Although Joe Di knew that, if he wished, he could always find more new Cosmic Dao Veins in the Genesis Nest, at this moment he had lost interest. He headed straight for Genesis Gorge.
The information Miles Gray had left him said that a Dao Vein lay within that gorge. He had visited it with Sterling Night and others, and indeed, a Cosmic Dao Vein was there. Back then, lacking the strength to claim it, he sealed the Dao Vein within Genesis Gorge.
Now, the reason he felt the Dao Veins he’d obtained were missing a grand, transcendent aura was because he’d first glimpsed that Dao Vein in Genesis Gorge.
Joe Di was certain—the Dao Vein in Genesis Gorge was far more worthy of the title than the other two he had acquired.
...
What pleased Joe Di was that, even before he approached Genesis Gorge, his spiritual sense detected that the gorge was still locked by his array. Although he didn’t understand why Chi Yao hadn’t arrived yet, he decided to take the Cosmic Dao Vein first. The strength he now possessed made it possible.
Chi Yao hadn’t come, most likely because they didn’t know about this Cosmic Dao Vein.
Yet, just as Joe Di was about to rush into Genesis Gorge, a vague unease flickered in his heart. He didn’t hesitate or pause, but pressed forward at full speed.
After another full day of rapid travel, Joe Di finally stopped. Before him lay a vast, dried lake, its center shrouded in black mist, surrounded by chaotic fluctuations of law.
Joe Di landed at the heart of the black mist, casually pulling out an array flag, as if preparing to seal the area with a grand formation.
Before Joe Di could even begin to set the flag, a loud, boisterous laugh echoed through the air. "I knew you’d come here. The thing Miles Gray found should be here, right?"
"Xiang Chenchen?" Joe Di’s gaze sharpened. He hadn’t expected his pursuer to be Xiang Chenchen.
Xiang Chenchen’s body had been nearly destroyed by him—how could he have recovered so quickly? It was unreal. Had Xiang Chenchen truly found a top-tier Cosmic Dao Fruit? But even the finest Dao Fruit shouldn’t have restored his strength so completely.
If Xiang Chenchen hadn’t regained his strength, how would he dare appear before Joe Di? Not only had he tracked Joe Di without being noticed, his cultivation was clearly even stronger than before—perhaps fully restored to its former peak. What puzzled Joe Di most was that, even if Xiang Chenchen had recovered, how could he have known about this place?
"That’s right, it’s me." Xiang Chenchen’s smile faded. "Back then, you destroyed half my body. If not for a stroke of luck, I wouldn’t be standing here today."
Joe Di laughed heartily, having shaken off his doubts. The Azure Veil Blade appeared in his grasp. "Xiang Chenchen, since you’re so confident, let me see what you’re truly capable of. Can you handle your grandpa’s blade?"
Xiang Chenchen replied calmly, "Though I’d love to finish you off right now, reason tells me we shouldn’t fight. I’m not speaking idly—neither of us is a match for Chi Yao. Only by joining forces, and with this true Prime Cosmic Dao Vein, do we stand a chance of wounding Chi Yao. Even if we can’t kill him, we could at least delay his advance to the Fourth Step by millions of years."
"That’s what I did in the past," Xiang Chenchen continued, "but few of my old allies survived, and those who did lost their fighting spirit. I need your help now."
Joe Di snorted. "Take a taste of your grandpa’s blade first, then we’ll talk."
He had no intention of teaming up; Xiang Chenchen made him profoundly uneasy.
The Azure Veil Blade swept up a curtain of blades toward Xiang Chenchen, unleashing Time’s Third Loom. Joe Di wanted to test Xiang Chenchen’s strength, and this technique was wielded at nearly eighty percent of its full power.
Blade waves roared down, wrapping Xiang Chenchen in Joe Di’s momentum—he was nearly reduced to ashes. Yet, at that critical moment, Xiang Chenchen didn’t summon any artifacts; he simply raised his fist and struck.
Boom! The blade tide shattered, dissolving into endless fragments of law. The surging blade momentum was suppressed by Xiang Chenchen’s punch.
Bang! Blood welled from Xiang Chenchen’s fist, and even his bones broke, but his fist was not destroyed by the Azure Veil Blade.
Joe Di withdrew his seventh strike, once again sensing that something was amiss.
"I never imagined the Cosmic Dao Vein Miles Gray found would truly be here. No wonder I searched for so many years without success." A faint voice drifted over, and both Joe Di and Xiang Chenchen leapt into defensive stances, standing apart at the ready.
"Chi Yao, I knew you’d follow." Xiang Chenchen’s tone was calm, at least to Joe Di’s ears—there was no hint of fear.
It was Chi Yao who had arrived. He glanced at Xiang Chenchen with disdain. "You betrayed me in the past, and now you want to repeat your old tricks? Too bad—aside from a handful of you, most of those who plotted against me have already been killed."
(End of today's update. Good night, friends!)