Joe Di watched Ken Blaze and another Genesis Realm master depart, feeling a bit puzzled. Had Franklin Young not arrived?
No, Joe Di quickly realized that if it were only Ken Blaze and a single Genesis Realm master, they wouldn't dare claim they could keep him here.
That meant Franklin Young must have arrived—and was likely still in Shadowhold. Joe Di had originally planned to wait until both Ken Blaze and Franklin Young left before entering Shadowhold and rescuing Darren Rice as quickly as possible. Now that Ken Blaze and a Genesis Realm master had left, Franklin Young must be waiting inside with other companions.
Realizing only Franklin Young was waiting for him in Shadowhold, Joe Di changed his mind. If they wanted to hunt him, he would turn the tables and hunt them instead.
Joe Di began setting up a grand formation again, this time placing all four Five Element Banners. Not only did he arrange a Deathtrap Array, but also a spatial lockdown array.
With his understanding of space, once this spatial lockdown array was set, even Kunpeng Clan experts wouldn't be able to send messages out from here.
In Joe Di's view, Ken Blaze and his companion from the Kunpeng Clan had probably gone to the Void Market to gather information about him. If that was the case, he would take them down one by one, starting with Franklin Young.
......
After Ken Blaze and a Genesis Realm master from the Kunpeng Clan left, Franklin Young felt uneasy. He was even starting to regret plotting against Joe Di. Joe Di had killed a Genesis Realm Saint Emperor of his Demon Clan, but hadn't Ye Mo also killed a Genesis Realm expert of his clan years ago? What could his Demon Clan do about it? Joe Di and Ye Mo were cut from the same cloth.
Unfortunately, it was too late for him to back out now.
Franklin Young made up his mind in secret: after this was over, no matter if he encountered Joe Di or not, he would never get involved with the Kunpeng Clan again. He finally understood—unless Joe Di could be cornered, trying to kill him was nothing but a fool's dream.
Franklin Young's unease was immediately noticed by Lowell Huen, who sneered inwardly. If you can't afford to provoke someone, why bother? Did you really think your Demon Clan was still on par with the Kunpeng Clan, able to cause trouble at will?
Just as Lowell Huen thought this, his heart skipped a beat. He was certain Joe Di had arrived.
Shadowhold was his territory, and he had set up top-tier trigger restrictions throughout it. When Joe Di arrived, he activated one of Lowell Huen's restrictions.
A cold sweat broke out on Lowell Huen's back. If Joe Di's timing was so perfect, Lowell Huen would have to be an idiot. Joe Di's arrival now meant only one thing: he'd been waiting outside, and moved in as soon as Ken Blaze and Ken Xue left.
Should he inform Ken Wayne and Franklin Young of the Kunpeng Clan that Joe Di had arrived? If he didn't, he was sure Joe Di would launch a surprise attack.
The thought flashed by and Lowell Huen suppressed it. He absolutely couldn't get involved; for now, he'd pretend to know nothing. After all, neither the Kunpeng nor Demon Clan experts knew he'd detected Joe Di's arrival.
In fact, as soon as Joe Di triggered Lowell Huen's restriction, he realized something was wrong. He had intended to ambush someone, but before he even reached the guest hall, he'd already set off a restriction.
However, Joe Di soon realized that no one had noticed, and he was instantly overjoyed. This hidden trigger restriction was definitely set up by the master of Shadowhold. Since it was the fortress master, if he triggered it, the master would know. The only reason for no reaction was that the fortress master didn't want to get involved in the struggle between him, the Demon Clan, and the Kunpeng Clan.
Joe Di silently approached the entrance of the guest hall, careful not to touch the hall's restriction with his spiritual sense. He knew that, no matter how profound his understanding of cosmic laws, probing the restriction now would immediately alert those inside.
He summoned the Skythread Blade, closed his eyes, and at that moment, all the surrounding laws and energies flowed within his mind. Even without using his spiritual sense, a hazy sense of space emerged in his perception.
Ken Wayne, who had been sitting in place, suddenly sensed something was wrong. He abruptly looked up, just as a faint cyan blade light tore through the restriction and completely locked him in.
Ken Wayne sprang to his feet and threw a punch.
Boom! Violent divine essence exploded, shattering the entire guest hall into fragments. Joe Di's strength was far greater than it had been at the Dao Fruit Tower square, and while Ken Wayne was also a half-step to Dao Fusion, he couldn't compare to Ken Blaze. Besides, caught off guard, Ken Wayne's domain was completely torn apart by Joe Di's Skythread Blade.
Even so, Joe Di still spat out a blood arrow, his whole body feeling as if his bones had been shattered, a sensation of splitting pain coursing through him.
Bang! Ken Blaze's left shoulder burst into a cloud of blood, and one of his arms was shredded into pieces by Joe Di's blade.
The next moment, Franklin Young, having recovered, frantically grabbed a handful of array banners and threw them out. He wanted to activate the Deathtrap Array immediately, to restrain Joe Di until Ken Blaze could return to help. He didn't even need to ask; he knew Ken Wayne would send a message to Ken Blaze at once.
Ken Wayne did indeed send a message instantly—this was a Kunpeng Clan technique. Unfortunately, Joe Di had already locked down the area with four Five Element Banners, so Ken Wayne's message couldn't get out at all.
"Join forces and kill him..." Ken Wayne, realizing his message couldn't be sent, charged madly at Joe Di. He summoned a massive Jagged Gong, filling the space with a piercing, unnerving grinding sound.
Franklin Young felt his heart sink. The array banners he'd thrown out did nothing; he didn't even need to look to know Joe Di had broken the Deathtrap Array. He was speechless—his suspicions had been right: the Kunpeng Clan's array master was still no match for Joe Di. He recalled how Ken Xue had boasted his array skills were far superior to Joe Di's, and now Franklin Young only wanted to spit in Ken Xue's face.
The second thing that made his heart sink was that, after Ken Wayne sent his message, he should have immediately joined forces to hold off Joe Di, not recklessly charge at him. The only explanation for Ken Wayne's desperate attack was that his message had been blocked.
This line is irrelevant to the novel's content and can be skipped.
At that moment, Franklin Young wanted to escape. Joe Di had ambushed and severely injured Ken Wayne right from the start, and Darren Rice's stance still remained unclear. Their Deathtrap Array was useless. Now, Franklin Young and Ken Wayne couldn't even hope to kill Joe Di; escaping with their lives would be difficult enough.
But Joe Di wouldn't let Franklin Young get away. He tossed out dozens of array banners, combining them with law banners to instantly form a level-six divine Deathtrap Array that enveloped Franklin Young.
Franklin Young was stunned. Not only was their own array useless, but now Joe Di had turned the tables and trapped him instead. In a frenzy, Franklin Young summoned his treasures, trying to tear through Joe Di's array and escape.
Darren Rice watched everything unfold clearly. Without hesitation, he unleashed his treasure at Franklin Young, knowing exactly what he needed to do at this moment.
Lowell Huen was the only one who hadn't made a move; he kept retreating, as if trying to escape.
Crack! Ken Wayne's Jagged Gong clashed once again with Joe Di's Skythread Blade, causing the space to tremble. Waves of divine essence pressed down; Ken Wayne's heart chilled. He knew that if he weren't injured, he might barely be able to hold off Joe Di, but now, wounded, he couldn't handle Joe Di at all.
He had to escape; if he didn't, he'd lose his life here today.
With this realization, Ken Wayne's spatial domain suddenly expanded. At the same time, his Jagged Gong grew to over ten meters, nearly covering a corner of Shadowhold.
Ken Wayne's figure began to fade.
Joe Di knew exactly how Ken Wayne intended to escape. As a Kunpeng Clan expert, Ken Wayne could have his messages blocked by Joe Di's spatial lockdown array, but there was no way to prevent his physical escape.
However, Joe Di had already decided not to let Ken Wayne get away. For the first time, he summoned the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram.
As soon as the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram appeared, it transformed into a massive Taiji. In that instant, all domains—Ken Wayne's, Joe Di's, and everyone else's—became sluggish beneath its power.
Ken Wayne, who had been fading, suddenly became solid again.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)