The Dao Molding cultivator stood up excitedly. "Senior, Jaden Dai came to Crimson Sanctuary City a few years ago. The first thing he did was to issue a warrant for Joe Di, and he even posted the wanted notice for Joe Di outside the city gates."
Xu Bai Shang's face remained expressionless; he naturally felt this was normal. Jaden Dai had come here specifically to pursue Joe Di, so of course he'd issue a warrant. With Jaden Dai's strength, posting a wanted notice for Joe Di in this city would be an easy task.
The Dao Molding cultivator continued, "After Jaden Dai posted the warrant, he didn't wait long here. He left with several Hunyuan and half-step Hunyuan experts from the Void Sea and went to the Void Market..."
"To the Void Market?" Xu Bai Shang repeated in surprise.
Others might not know about the Void Market, but he did. He had originally planned to leave this realm for the Void Market once he reached the Hunyuan stage.
He hadn't expected Jaden Dai to reach the Void Market before him, which gave Xu Bai Shang an increasing sense of urgency. Among the top ten prodigies of that year, nearly all had reached the Hunyuan Realm. Only he, trapped between two realms by Voidmount, was still lingering at the Dao Origin stage.
If this continued, the gap between him and the other prodigies would only grow wider.
The Dao Molding cultivator had no idea what Xu Bai Shang was thinking. He assumed Xu Bai Shang didn't know about the Void Market and quickly explained, "Yes, Senior! Rumor has it that the Void Market allows cultivators to reach even higher realms, and some say one can even achieve Dao Integration there. There's also talk of a Dao Fruit Tower in the Void Market, where Dao Fruits are scattered everywhere."
Xu Bai Shang waved his hand. "Go on."
The Dao Molding cultivator quickly continued, "Two years ago, Joe Di arrived at Crimson Sanctuary City by the Void Sea. When he saw the wanted notice at the city gate, he didn't hesitate to slash it into pieces with a single strike..."
The Dao Molding cultivator could sense that Xu Bai Shang wasn't friends with Joe Di or Jaden Dai, so he simply called them by name. After all, he planned to leave as soon as he got what he wanted.
It was no surprise to Xu Bai Shang that Joe Di slashed his wanted notice to pieces. That was just the kind of person Joe Di was. What puzzled him, though, was that Joe Di was so brazen—yet no experts in Crimson Sanctuary City came to teach him a lesson?
"Do you mean all cultivators above half-step Hunyuan in the Void Sea have gone to the Void Market?" Xu Bai Shang quickly understood. If all the experts had left, it made sense that no one would step forward to deal with Joe Di.
"Yes. Later, the Young Pavilion Master of Surging Alchemy Hall offended one of Joe Di's friends, so Joe Di threw him into the Void Sea and destroyed Surging Alchemy Hall. He then built the Pill & Artifact Pavilion in its place, and is now in seclusion there." The Dao Molding cultivator finished, glancing nervously at Xu Bai Shang. He spoke in such detail because he was worried he wouldn't get the thousand God Origin Pills.
"Are you saying Joe Di is still in seclusion here?" Instead of being pleased, Xu Bai Shang felt his heart sink. If Joe Di could destroy Surging Alchemy Hall, his strength was likely no less than Xu Bai Shang's own. There was nothing for him to be happy about if Joe Di was just as strong.
The Dao Molding cultivator hurriedly replied, "Yes, Senior, Joe Di is in seclusion at Crimson Sanctuary City."
"Were there any Dao Origin cultivators in Surging Alchemy Hall?" Xu Bai Shang continued to ask.
The Dao Molding cultivator answered, "Yes, but the mid-stage Dao Origin expert only managed a few moves against Joe Di before being killed."
Xu Bai Shang waved his hand, and a thousand God Origin Pills landed in the Dao Molding cultivator's hand. "These pills are yours. You may go."
"Yes, thank you, Senior!" The Dao Molding cultivator quickly grabbed the God Origin Pills and rushed out of Crimson Sanctuary City.
A thousand God Origin Pills was a nice reward, but not enough for anyone to chase after and rob him.
At this moment, Xu Bai Shang had entered Crimson Sanctuary City and arrived outside the Pill & Artifact Pavilion where Joe Di was in seclusion. When his divine sense was blocked by the protective array, Xu Bai Shang became completely calm.
He hadn't misjudged Joe Di. Joe Di could easily kill a mid-stage Dao Origin cultivator, and even if his strength was slightly less than Xu Bai Shang's, the gap wasn't large. As for the protective array Joe Di had set up, Xu Bai Shang, confident as he was, knew he couldn't create something like that himself.
Xu Bai Shang sighed and didn't try to attack Joe Di's protective array. He knew clearly that unless he found his father, he probably wouldn't be able to reclaim Voidmount by his own strength.
Joe Di's strength had grown too quickly. Back when Xu Bai Shang first met him, Joe Di hadn't even counted as an ant in his eyes. He hadn't paid him any attention at all. Now, Joe Di could stand as his equal. Soon, Xu Bai Shang feared, he wouldn't even be worth Joe Di's notice.
Heh, the Ten Dao Prodigies...
Xu Bai Shang gave a self-mocking laugh. Joe Di dared to remain in seclusion at Crimson Sanctuary City, showing he no longer feared Jaden Dai. Now that Joe Di wasn't afraid of Jaden Dai, if Jaden Dai tried to pursue him again, it would be a joke. Compared to Joe Di, the Ten Dao Prodigies were far behind—Xu Bai Shang shook his head at the thought.
Joe Di must have top-level secrets, but unfortunately, those secrets were no longer something Xu Bai Shang could touch.
Xu Bai Shang restrained his impulse. No matter how desperately he needed Voidmount, he didn't dare make a move on Joe Di's place of seclusion.
Xu Bai Shang turned and walked toward a nearby Resthaven Inn. He wouldn't leave either. Since he couldn't break through Joe Di's protective array directly, he'd wait until Joe Di emerged from seclusion.
Joe Di had no idea that Xu Bai Shang was waiting outside for him, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. At this moment, he had just stabilized his mid-stage Transformation Realm, and was swallowing a second Stellar Breakthrough Fruit to advance to the late stage.
With the Supreme Dao Vein supporting the Stellar Breakthrough Fruit, Joe Di's strength was skyrocketing every moment.
Time passed as Joe Di's strength soared, while Xu Bai Shang grew increasingly anxious—but all he could do was wait.
By the time Joe Di finished consuming the Stellar Breakthrough Fruit and advanced to the late Transformation Realm, two years had already passed since Xu Bai Shang arrived at Crimson Sanctuary City.
Joe Di let out a breath and stopped cultivating. Of the tens of millions of God Origin Pills he had, not a single one remained—they had been nearly all consumed.
Joe Di felt deeply grateful to Ann Tu Ning of the Origin Dao Sect. If she hadn't taken him to the Great Geng Pill Essence River, he wouldn't have obtained a hundred million God Origin Pills, and there was no way he could have reached late Transformation Realm so quickly.
He had relied on a vast amount of God Origin Pills to advance to the Nurturing Dao Realm. Even after reaching Transformation Realm and obtaining two Stellar Breakthrough Fruits, it was only by using a Supreme Dao Vein and tens of millions of God Origin Pills that he barely reached late Transformation Realm.
Although he had stopped cultivating, Joe Di had no intention of going out yet. He swept his divine sense over the area, focusing on the surveillance formation he'd set up for the protective array.
During his more than four years of seclusion, two second-step experts had lingered outside his protective array. One of them Joe Di didn't recognize; that person only glanced around before leaving. The other, though thin and frail, was instantly recognizable to Joe Di—it was definitely Xu Bai Shang.
Xu Bai Shang had actually come to Crimson Sanctuary City? Judging by his quick recovery, he must have used some top-tier heaven-and-earth treasure—otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to recover so fast.
Joe Di understood Xu Bai Shang's purpose for coming—he was after Voidmount. Since Xu Bai Shang hadn't attacked his defenses, it meant he was wary of Joe Di. Joe Di was certain Xu Bai Shang wouldn't just leave Crimson Sanctuary City; even if he did, he'd meet with Joe Di first.
He wasn't afraid of Xu Bai Shang, and Xu Bai Shang certainly wasn't afraid of him.
As for Voidmount, Joe Di had never intended to leave it to Xu Bai Shang. Originally, after reaching late Transformation Realm, Joe Di planned to refine the Taiji Diagram first. But now, seeing Xu Bai Shang, he didn't hesitate to start refining Voidmount.
Back when his cultivation was too weak, he couldn't fully refine Voidmount. Now, in the late Transformation Realm, Joe Di didn't believe he couldn't do it.
Joe Di entered the Ninth World and drew out the White Jade Stele. Voidmount was still filled with crisscrossing Dao Rhythms, and waves of corrosive aura seeped through. Joe Di marveled—despite having refined part of the restrictions, the baleful energy and fragmented souls within Voidmount were still chaotic and mottled.
Previously, it would have taken him tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years to strip away these auras. Now, as Joe Di's divine sense penetrated the White Jade Stele, under the full cycle of his rules, those restrictions that once required time to wear down were now as fragile as eggshells.
Only now could Joe Di clearly sense how much stronger he'd become.
Joe Di didn't stop for a moment. Before, it had taken him ten years to refine just a bit of the restrictions, and Voidmount couldn't be stored away. Now, in just a month, he refined all one hundred and eight restrictions. Voidmount lay in his palm, transformed into a seal-like miniature mountain, wild Dao Rhythms swirling on its surface—one glance showed its immense power.
"What a treasure!" Even Joe Di couldn't help but exclaim. Its power in battle was completely different from the Azure Veil Blade.
Just imagining summoning Voidmount, turning it into a vast, million-mile-high peak and smashing it down—that feeling was exhilarating.
Refining the Taiji Diagram could wait; it was time to go see Xu Bai Shang.