A suffocating aura of death swept over him. Although Joe Di knew it was the breath of death, he still couldn't sense where the opponent's artifact was hidden.
Unable to perceive where the enemy's artifact would strike—how could he possibly fight back?
The deathly aura was overwhelming. Dao Rhythms surged wildly around Joe Di, whose physical body had long surpassed the Saint Physique. Now, with the circulation of Dao Rhythms, his flesh and bones were enveloped by endless streams of Dao.
"Puff!" A burst of blood exploded from Joe Di's neck. He distinctly sensed a blade, nearly invisible even to divine sense, swiftly slicing toward his throat.
Joe Di felt neither joy nor sorrow. Since his debut, it was the first time he'd faced an artifact he was utterly powerless against. Even though this space was governed by his own world rules, the opponent's artifact still managed to tear through the skin of his neck. It was a weapon that could attack independently, without any fluctuation of time or space.
Fortunately, his Dao rules permeated this entire realm. Otherwise, that strike would have severed his neck completely.
Joe Di was certain that after Lucas Tyrant tore open his neck, he would never allow him a chance to heal.
"Crack..." The sound of a blade cutting into bone made Joe Di's teeth ache. He knew the opponent's blade had sliced through his skin and was now beginning to carve into his neck bone.
...
Lucas Tyrant felt no joy at all from his Immortal Severing Dagger tearing Joe Di's neck. The moment he unleashed the dagger, he sensed something was wrong. The surrounding world rules seemed to conflict with his Immortal Severing Gourd's powers, making his dagger not only traceable, but also several times slower than before.
The reason Lucas Tyrant never took Joe Di seriously wasn't arrogance, but because his Immortal Severing Dagger had never failed before.
Now, however, Lucas Tyrant felt that his treasured dagger might not be able to kill Joe Di this time. Sure enough, just as the thought crossed his mind, he sensed endless Dao laws locking down the Immortal Severing Dagger.
The Immortal Severing Dagger hadn't even cut through a tenth of Joe Di's neck bone before it got stuck. The colorless blade, undetectable by divine sense, shook violently, but Joe Di seemed to be wrapped in countless binding laws. These laws piled relentlessly atop the blade, and as it was completely immobilized, countless laws condensed into rules.
Under the new Dao rules, the dagger was utterly restrained.
"Come back, my treasure..." Lucas Tyrant was shocked to find his cherished artifact struggling more and more. Not only could he not kill Joe Di, but now his treasure was about to be taken away.
Very quickly, Lucas Tyrant understood just how powerful Joe Di's Dao rules were. He also realized what kind of Dao Joe Di cultivated—the vast Dao of rules.
At first, he thought he had control over this domain, but that was merely an illusion. The true master was Joe Di, whose rules had long since enveloped the space. Within his own rule-bound world, Joe Di seemed perfectly at ease.
Joe Di's hands blossomed into a myriad of flowers as he unleashed wave after wave of Dao Rhythm techniques. At the same time, his divine sense drew out endless restriction laws.
If he let the dagger escape, that would be a true disaster.
"Stop!" Lucas Tyrant, who hadn't tried to recall his dagger right away, felt its agitation and grew increasingly panicked. If this continued, Joe Di would take his dagger away.
There are truly terrifying beings in this world. If Lucas Tyrant had known Joe Di was this formidable, he would never have used the Immortal Severing Dagger under these circumstances.
Lucas Tyrant could no longer care about anything else and lunged at Joe Di. At the same moment, Joe Di had already bound the dagger and sent it into his own universe world.
Within Joe Di's universe world, not even Chi Yao could take it away. Besides, the dagger was now completely restrained by Joe Di's laws.
Joe Di was not one to show mercy. After capturing Lucas Tyrant's Immortal Severing Dagger, he unleashed the Tian Sa Blade, sending out a curtain of blades.
Lucas Tyrant charged straight into Joe Di's blade curtain. In such a predicament, he could only hastily summon the gourd in his hand.
The gray-brown gourd transformed into a vast gray sea, sweeping out an aura of death and decay—a breath built upon countless deaths. Even Joe Di's blade curtain was blocked; as it struck the gray sea, waves of death Dao Rhythms surged.
Just as Joe Di was about to restrain the gourd as he had the dagger, Lucas Tyrant retreated.
As Lucas Tyrant withdrew, the gourd followed him out of Joe Di's blade curtain and landed back in his hand.
Joe Di could only sigh in regret, but he didn't give chase.
Even if Joe Di could defeat a powerhouse like Lucas Tyrant, it would be extremely difficult to kill him.
Lucas Tyrant didn't attack either. He now understood that Joe Di was stronger than him—not just by a little, but by a wide margin. Among all the cultivators he knew, none seemed stronger than Joe Di.
"Daoist Joe, I was wrong before. Please return my treasure to me," Lucas Tyrant said, hanging the gourd at his waist and clasping his fists with sincere honesty.
Joe Di looked at Lucas Tyrant helplessly. Was this guy missing a screw? From the beginning, Lucas Tyrant had only spoken to himself, never considering his opponent's thoughts.
Seeing that Joe Di ignored him, Lucas Tyrant spoke again: "I didn't intend to kill you. My Immortal Severing Dagger has slain many, but only those who provoked me. My plan was to seriously injure you... and then let you go."
Joe Di paused, then let out a cold laugh. "After injuring me, you'd open my world and take everything inside. If I refused, you'd threaten my life, wouldn't you?"
Lucas Tyrant hesitated, but that was exactly what he intended. If Joe Di refused to hand over what he wanted, he wouldn't be polite.
Joe Di was certain Lucas Tyrant's true goal was the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram. But if Lucas Tyrant saw the treasures in his world—World Book, Life-and-Death Register, Jianmu, Chaos Gate, and so on—he'd take everything without leaving a single item behind.
"Daoist Joe, I must get my dagger back. It's no use to you. If you keep it, my treasure will be left homeless. Please, do me this favor..." Lucas Tyrant pleaded again, but his words sounded weak and unconvincing.
Joe Di chuckled and unleashed the Tian Sa Blade once more. "Lucas Tyrant, if I hadn't had a few tricks up my sleeve just now, my head would probably be in your hands by now..."
As he spoke, Joe Di's Tian Sa Blade slashed toward Lucas Tyrant again.
Blood still marked his neck—how could he return the dagger to Lucas Tyrant? Joe Di was certain the artifact spirit within the dagger was extraordinary. The fact it was called the Immortal Severing Dagger rather than the Immortal Severing Gourd meant the dagger was even more important.
If Lucas Tyrant got the dagger back, then in the future Cosmic Debate, should he help Chi Yao, Joe Di would have more than a sixty percent chance of being killed.
If Chi Yao suppressed Joe Di's Dao Rhythms, Lucas Tyrant could kill him however he pleased.
Seeing that Joe Di not only refused to return the dagger but also attacked him directly, Lucas Tyrant realized he wouldn't be getting the dagger back today. Unable to defeat Joe Di, his only option was to seek allies.
The Tian Sa Blade whipped up a vast curtain of blades, the Dao Rhythms becoming tangible. In this space, built from Joe Di's Dao rules, time and space were completely under his control.
Lucas Tyrant's face turned pale. He drew out a talisman and activated it without hesitation.
But in his haste, Lucas Tyrant forgot that this space was saturated with Joe Di's Dao rules. Although he managed to activate the talisman, its speed was several times slower than usual.
"Puff!" Blood burst from Lucas Tyrant's back, nearly splitting him in two. Only then did the talisman finally swirl up a ball of white light and carry him away.