Joe Di didn't have the power to stop others from hunting Lostlake Peacocks, but he himself would never participate in such a hunt. Sometimes, humans are not necessarily nobler than birds. The devotion shown by the Azure Peacock moved him deeply.
Two days passed quickly. Sean Yu was true to his word—without waiting for Joe Di to contact him, he proactively sought him out. "Let's go, Daoist Di. We're heading to the Lostlake Exchange. If you don't mind, you can ride my skyship."
This was just Sean Yu being polite. Unless someone was foolish, no cultivator would willingly board a stranger's skyship. Even though Joe Di and Sean Yu had met once, they were still essentially strangers.
Sean Yu was merely making conversation; he didn't expect Joe Di to actually accept his offer. He figured Joe Di would bring out his own skyship, which was perfectly normal.
"Thank you, Daoist Yu." To Sean Yu's complete surprise, after Joe Di thanked him, he actually boarded Sean Yu's skyship.
Sean Yu was momentarily stunned, then asked in surprise, "Daoist Di, do you trust me that much?"
Normally, Joe Di's cultivation was a level lower than his own. Boarding Sean Yu's skyship was tantamount to putting his life in Sean Yu's hands.
Joe Di smiled, "Of course. I believe Daoist Yu is a true friend. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so welcoming to a low-level cultivator like me, who just arrived in Lostlake."
"Haha..." Sean Yu laughed heartily and clapped Joe Di on the shoulder. "For that, I consider you my friend, Joe Di. Let's go! If you don't find a suitable place, don't worry. When we return from the Lostlake Exchange, I'll help you look. It's actually easy to find a safe spot around here."
...
Sean Yu was clearly a veteran of these exchange meetings. The skyship raced ahead at incredible speed, and from the flight path, Joe Di could tell Sean Yu knew this region was safe.
After a day, the skyship landed on a sizable island. Joe Di swept his spiritual sense outward and saw other skyships arriving one after another.
"Sean Yu, why did you bring someone with you?" someone called out to Sean Yu after stepping off their skyship.
Sean Yu greeted each person with a cupped fist, then introduced Joe Di as a newcomer who had just arrived at Lostlake.
"Daoist Yu, you really have patience. I could never be that patient." A scholarly cultivator in blue robes holding a Spirit Whisk laughed, his tone teasing.
He was clearly teasing Sean Yu for bringing along someone with such a low cultivation, as if he wasn't afraid of extra baggage.
Joe Di was a bit speechless. This guy was only a Transformation Realm cultivator, yet he mocked Joe Di's weak cultivation? At least Joe Di was at Dao Nurturing Perfection.
"This newcomer seems rather extraordinary, heh heh..." Another Transformation Realm cultivator, Burt Su, glanced at Joe Di and made a cryptic comment, then chuckled again.
"Brother Di, these are Daoist Eugene Yuan and Daoist Burt Su." Noticing the group wasn't very welcoming, Sean Yu quickly made introductions.
Only then did Joe Di realize that, as a newcomer, he hadn't offended these two at all—yet their words were oddly sarcastic.
Heh, so it was because he hadn't greeted them as a junior. Just two Transformation Realm cultivators, and they expected him to take the initiative to pay respects? Those two must be dreaming. If they had spoken politely, Joe Di might have greeted them. They were probably stuck in Lostlake for so long that they tried to find confidence by picking on newcomers like him.
"Sean Yu, is this where the exchange meeting is?" Instead of greeting the others, Joe Di asked a question with little substance.
Sean Yu immediately understood—his new friend Joe Di was not someone without a temper. It seemed his previous impression had been mistaken.
Sean Yu laughed, "That's right, it's here. Come on, I'll take you inside."
The two Transformation Realm cultivators who had mocked Joe Di saw Sean Yu introduce him, but Joe Di still ignored them. Their eyes immediately turned cold.
Newcomers weren't unusual—Lostlake often saw new cultivators arrive. But a newcomer with weak cultivation who was so arrogant was just asking for trouble.
Sean Yu led Joe Di into a grand hall built from giant stones. Inside were more than a dozen people, and Joe Di felt relieved not to see any Prime Realm cultivators.
It seemed those two Transformation Realm cultivators did have a reason to look down on him—cultivators always formed their own groups. Joe Di didn't believe there were no Prime Realm cultivators here; they probably had their own circle.
As Joe Di and Sean Yu sat down, more cultivators arrived. After half a day, over thirty people had gathered. Burt Su's earlier comment was correct—except for Joe Di, everyone here was a Transformation Realm cultivator.
Joe Di finally spotted two powerful cultivators at half-step Prime Realm. As soon as they arrived, they took the lead seats, clearly the leaders of the group.
The half-step Prime Realm cultivator seated at the head—Quinn Huang—had a sharp, cold gaze. Whether it was his water spiritual root or years spent in Lostlake, his entire presence radiated a water attribute aura.
The other half-step Prime Realm cultivator—Brandon Feng—was tall and imposing, his eyes narrowed to slits and his aura fierce, clearly a veteran of countless Fiend Beast hunts.
"Sean Yu, is there a newcomer?" Quinn Huang asked, his cold gaze sweeping the room.
Sean Yu quickly stood and cupped his fists. "Greetings, Brother Quinn Huang, Brother Brandon Feng. This is Brother Joe Di. He just entered Lostlake and got lost, so I brought him here when he heard about the exchange meeting."
Joe Di also cupped his fists to greet the two leaders. He wasn't intimidated by half-step Prime Realm cultivators—he was here to gather information, so it was only proper to show respect.
"The young man has some backbone," Brandon Feng said coolly, clearly displeased that Joe Di greeted them from afar and didn't bow.
"Alright, let's stick to the usual rules—let's start with the exchange. Brother Brandon Feng, you go first." Quinn Huang waved his hand, not bothered by Joe Di's lack of formality.
Brandon Feng laughed heartily. "Alright, I'll start. I've brought something good today—everyone, take a look."
With that, Brandon Feng produced a cage.
Seeing the cage, Joe Di nearly jumped to his feet. It was the same pair of Lostlake Peacocks he had spared two days ago—he was certain, as their aura was unmistakable.
"Brandon Feng, you actually caught a living pair of Lostlake Peacocks? That's unheard of. Truly valuable!"
A late-stage Transformation Realm cultivator exclaimed in delight—he urgently needed live Lostlake Peacocks. Joe Di recognized him as Burt Su, whom Sean Yu had introduced earlier.
Not only Burt Su, but all the cultivators stared eagerly at the caged peacocks. Their inner core was prized for cultivation, but using the fresh blood and core of a living Lostlake Peacock was ten times more effective. With a pair, there was a sixty percent chance of advancing to half-step Prime Realm.
Brandon Feng grinned. "Catching a living pair like this is truly rare. If I weren't already at half-step Prime Realm, I wouldn't part with them. Let's start the bidding—if I see something I like, I'll make the trade."
Quinn Huang was also astonished. "Brother Feng, it's hardest to catch live Lostlake Peacocks, let alone a pair. How did you manage it?"
Everyone knew that even if a Lostlake Peacock was restrained, it would self-destruct upon contact. Capturing them alive was nearly impossible.
Brandon Feng chuckled. "It was just luck. When I found them, the pair seemed injured, so I was able to take advantage."
No one pressed Brandon Feng for details; they would have kept such secrets to themselves if they were in his place.
Joe Di clenched his fist, suddenly understanding what had happened. Moved by the peacocks' devotion and thinking of Serena Yu, he had given them a ring containing two Spirit Essence Fruits and a pile of God Origin Pills.
Spirit Essence Fruit is a Dao Fruit; once consumed, it allows a Lostlake Peacock to rapidly advance a rank, and its intelligence also increases.
Brandon Feng must have struck while the peacocks were advancing, which is how he caught them. Fortunately, his abilities were limited—he didn't realize their loss of mobility was due to consuming Dao Fruit. Otherwise, he would have gutted them on the spot.
"I offer a wood attribute law fragment..." The first bid drew surprised looks—wood attribute law fragments were highly valuable.
"I have a level-five Gale Beast egg..."
Suddenly, Joe Di stood up and said, word by word, "No one can take away this pair of Azure Peacocks..."