When Shane Rivers assigned the Wormhole Gate defense, Joe Di and Zane Wu were once again placed at the very end. However, this time, more people had arrived, so Joe Di and Zane Wu didn’t need to guard for long—between them, they only defended a single zhang.
Even Richard Ni was keeping an eye on him, so Joe Di had nothing left to fear. As soon as Shane Rivers assigned their spot, he immediately set up an array flag, isolating the area he and Zane Wu were guarding with a barrier formation.
Joe Di set up a seventh-grade shielding immortal array. Unless someone forcibly probed with their spiritual sense, there was absolutely no way to know what he and Zane Wu were doing inside.
Shane Rivers saw Joe Di’s actions and showed no reaction at all. To him, anyone who had taken the Ascension Pill was already as good as dead.
Since Shane Rivers didn’t say anything, none of the other cultivators spoke up either. Using a defensive array to protect one’s area at the Wormhole Gate wasn’t unheard of. Some cultivators worried about exposing their techniques would do the same. Joe Di wasn’t the first, nor would he be the last.
“Brother Zi Mo…” Seeing Joe Di shield their area with a defensive array, Zane Wu couldn’t help but want to remind him.
That was because those who did this usually had secrets. Cultivators without secrets wouldn’t bother. Doing so was the same as inviting suspicion.
Joe Di gazed at the deep Wormhole Gate and said, “This time, we must earn a top ten contribution score. We have to leave here within a year, or we’ll surely die.”
Zane Wu looked at Joe Di in confusion, not understanding what Joe Di meant.
Joe Di sighed and said, “I made a mistake, and now I’ve offended Richard Ni. If I don’t leave within a year, I’ll surely die. And if I die, I’m afraid you’ll be dragged down with me.”
"What do you mean?" Brother Zane was even more perplexed.
Joe Di spoke frankly, "Lake Defiance truly cannot be used for cultivation. There's a Seven-Pointed Dao Seed there—if you try to cultivate, it will shatter your Dao foundation. I used to think it was an ownerless object, but now I understand that the Seven-Pointed Dao Seed absolutely has a master. It resides within Lake Defiance, devouring the Dao foundations of cultivators who have yet to form a Dao Seed, condensing a perfected Dao Seed..."
"There's a Dao Seed in Lake Defiance?" Brother Zane was stunned.
Joe Di nodded. "Yes, and I even destroyed that Dao Seed. Now that I think about it, its master must be some existence from the Dao Domain. For someone to dare leave a Dao Seed in Lake Defiance to devour the foundations of cultivators, they must be far from ordinary."
"But before we entered Lake Defiance, Captain Shen said it was uninhabitable, and someone above warned us not to stay there..." Brother Zane frowned.
Joe Di let out a cold laugh. "If those orders truly came from above, do you think we would have been able to stay at Lake Defiance at all?"
Brother Zane looked at Joe Di in confusion.
Joe Di snorted, "That warning is meant to scare away ordinary cultivators. Only those with unwavering Dao hearts—like the two of us—wouldn't be frightened off."
"I understand now. The Seven-Pointed Dao Seed requires a cultivator with a firm Dao heart and foundation. Only then can..." Brother Zane suddenly grasped the truth.
Joe Di sighed, "It's a pity that fellow overestimated himself. He failed to devour our Dao foundations, and instead I destroyed his Dao Seed. So this matter is far from over. What puzzles me is why no one has come looking for us yet. It doesn't make sense."