"Far away at the horizon, yet right before your eyes," Cassie Cao said.
Joe Di looked at Cassie Cao with even greater confusion. Cassie Cao took a breath and slowed her tone, saying, "If my guess is correct, then the Shaman River is the Vanished One. Both of us cultivate the Dao resonance of the Five Elements Universe, and even Dominic Du's power stems from that resonance, so it's normal that we can't see the Vanished One."
A faint understanding dawned on Joe Di. "Cassie Cao, are you saying that if I comprehend the Dao resonance of this Shaman Realm, I'll be able to see the Vanished One? At the very least, my Dao won't be weaker than Dominic Du's?"
Cassie Cao nodded affirmatively. "That's right. But for most people, even if they find the Vanished One, they probably couldn't shake even half a finger of Dominic Du. Comprehending the Vanished One only gives you a theoretical chance to contend with Dominic Du; it doesn't mean you can overpower him. But I believe in you. If you do comprehend the Vanished One, you will one day have a chance to deal with Dominic Du, maybe even defeat him one-on-one."
Joe Di cupped his fists to Cassie Cao and said sincerely, "Thank you, Senior Sister Cao. If you hadn't chased me, I might have died at Dominic Du's hands someday without ever knowing why. At least now I understand the gap between me and Dominic Du, and how vast it is."
Hearing Joe Di's words, Cassie Cao smiled slightly. "You still can't let go of me chasing you, but you're right. I didn't have the ability, yet I did things beyond my means. Although I never truly intended to kill you, I can't deny it was unfair to you. You call me Senior Sister, and that's fitting. If my guess is right, you've also obtained a Prime Law, and not just any Prime Law, but an extraordinary one?"
"Are there ordinary and extraordinary Prime Laws?" Joe Di suddenly recalled the pride of the Ninth Prime Law, as if it had been abandoned by Dominic Du, and felt quite dissatisfied.
Cassie Cao nodded. "Yes. It's said that Dominic Du possesses an extraordinary Prime Law. This law is golden, and it's the one he values most..."
Joe Di frowned and asked, "Senior Sister Cao, are the nine Prime Laws actually eight purple and one golden?"
"That's right." Cassie Cao wasn't surprised by Joe Di's question, since many people knew Dominic Du had a golden Prime Law.
Joe Di decided not to hide anything from Cassie Cao. He said sincerely, "Senior Sister Cao, just as you said, I did obtain a Prime Law. The one I got is golden. But according to what I've heard, Dominic Du despised the golden Prime Law as trash, so he wanted to throw it into the Sea of Creation, planning to make it part of the cosmic chaos and have it dissipate into the universe. Why do you say this golden Prime Law is extraordinary?"
Cassie Cao let out a chuckle, then realized she was mimicking Joe Di and shook her head. "Do you think someone like Dominic Du would really throw a Prime Law into the Sea of Creation and let it vanish? Even if that golden Prime Law were truly trash, he wouldn't do that. No matter how worthless a cosmic Dao principle may seem, it's still an Opening Dao Law—how could it ever be trash?"
"So what did Dominic Du mean, then?" Joe Di was puzzled too. He believed the golden Ninth Prime Law hadn't lied to him.
Cassie Cao said, "Dominic Du knows very well that the golden Prime Law has gained sentience, so he intended to have it fuse with his Purple Mansion. Although Dominic Du didn't plan to refine the Five Elements Universe, he wanted to make it his backyard. His ambition was so great he wished to merge the Sea of Creation of the Five Elements Universe into his own spiritual sea. The golden Prime Law's escape was something he allowed. Do you really think, if Dominic Du didn't permit it, a Dao principle could escape his grasp?"
No matter where the golden Prime Law fled, no matter what it experienced, in the end it would become a Dao resonance within Dominic Du's spiritual sea. So all the trials and tempering the golden Prime Law underwent were just laying the groundwork for Dominic Du. But neither Dominic Du nor the golden Prime Law expected Dominic Du to be ambushed by Morgan Du, and the golden Prime Law's feigned escape became real. Without Dominic Du, the golden Prime Law was truly free. For you to obtain it is an incredible stroke of fortune. Without its permission, I doubt you could have gotten it..."
At this point, Cassie Cao suddenly froze, then murmured, "I understand now. So that's how it is."
Joe Di heard Cassie Cao's words but didn't pay attention to her muttering or what she understood. Instead, he found his own naivety laughable, actually believing the Ninth Prime Law's words were true. If he were the master of the universe, would he ever discard an Opening Dao Law?
Joe Di rubbed his hair, feeling defeated by his own foolishness.
After a long while, he suddenly remembered something. "Senior Sister Cao, once I saw the golden Prime Law locked by the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array. Who could have such ability? At the time, I was only an Immortal Lord, but I broke the array and freed the Ninth Prime Law."
"To use the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array to lock the golden Prime Law?..." Cassie Cao frowned and muttered to herself, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, only a few of Dominic Du's disciples have that kind of power. If you obtained something from the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array, you should be careful in the future. That array must have lacked a supreme treasure to anchor its core, otherwise with your Immortal Lord strength, you couldn't have broken it..."
At this point, Cassie Cao was puzzled herself. "Still, that's not right. Without a true supreme treasure to anchor the array's core, the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array shouldn't be able to function. Unless someone took something away halfway..."
Thinking about it, Cassie Cao still couldn't figure it out. If someone had taken one of the elemental treasures anchoring the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array, why not seize the golden Prime Law and everything else as well?
Cassie Cao didn't dwell on it. "Joe Di, your fortune is truly extraordinary. You obtained the golden Prime Law, which was exiled by Dominic Du, so that's one of your sources of confidence. No wonder you could so quickly comprehend the language rules here. If you could also obtain the Vanished One..."
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!)
Cassie Cao herself grew excited as she spoke. Previously, when she said Joe Di might have a chance to defeat Dominic Du if he comprehended the Vanished One, it was mostly to comfort him. Now, she was starting to truly believe it.
Joe Di took a deep breath and said, word by word, "No matter what, I won't let Dominic Du treat me like a fish on the chopping block. Even if I don't obtain the Vanished One, who can say what the future holds?"
He had comprehended his own rule of the Grand Way, using his consciousness to understand and communicate with the rules of heaven and earth. Just this alone was something Cassie Cao couldn't do. Dominic Du was far stronger than Cassie Cao, but that didn't mean Dominic Du could do what Joe Di did.
"Yes, a true powerhouse must have the mindset of a powerhouse. Otherwise, no matter how much fortune one has, it's all for nothing." Cassie Cao greatly admired Joe Di's attitude.
Joe Di said, "Senior Sister Cao, you must be right. After the Five Elements Universe was formed, maybe there really were ten Prime Laws. I obtained the golden one, the other eight purple Prime Laws were divided in the Chaotic Inner Realm, and if you add the Vanished One, that makes ten in total."
Cassie Cao shook her head. "Joe Di, that's where you're mistaken. When the Chaotic Inner Realm was opened, there weren't eight Prime Laws, but seven and a half."
"But all the rumors I've heard say there were eight," Joe Di asked in confusion.
Cassie Cao smiled slightly. "The rumors you heard aren't the true story. The real rumor should be that there were nine."
Before Joe Di could ask, Cassie Cao explained proactively: "You see nine because eight Prime Laws were present when the Five Elements Universe was formed. The ninth Prime Law, however, is fake—it's Morgan Du's Fused Dao Principle. Morgan Du's ambition was even greater than Dominic Du's; he wanted to merge all eight Opening Prime Laws of the universe into one and make it his own Dao principle."
On the surface, it looks the same, but that's because Morgan Du hasn't truly merged those eight Prime Laws. So this Prime Law can't be taken by anyone. As for why I say seven and a half, it's because there's one that's only a shell, without true spirit.
"That's the one you possess?" Joe Di realized.
"Yes," Cassie Cao nodded.
(Second update is a bit late.)