Although Samuel Woodson knew perfectly well that Joe Di's arrival here must be related to Ascendant Gold, when he heard Joe Di wanted to take the Ascendant Gold away, he still fell silent.
His survival—and his new insights into cosmic construction through his Vitality Dao Heart—were ninety percent due not to himself, but to the Ascendant Gold.
Fortunately, his cosmic world had already been constructed. Otherwise, all his efforts would have been for nothing.
Joe Di was in no hurry. Bolt had brought him here, so a little more time didn’t matter. Samuel Woodson had used Ascendant Gold to build a brand new Grand Way world here, so of course he was reluctant to let Joe Di take the Ascendant Gold.
After a long silence, Samuel Woodson finally spoke, "May I ask how I should address you, fellow Daoist?"
"My name is Joe Di, and this is Bolt." Joe Di cupped his fists, showing Samuel Woodson ample respect.
Samuel Woodson sighed and said, "Brother Di, it is truly remarkable that you could see I used Ascendant Gold to construct a new cosmic world. I am certain that your future achievements will not be much less than those of the Sage of Life and Death."
Joe Di didn’t respond. Samuel Woodson’s words implied that even if Joe Di reached the highest peak, he still wouldn’t be a match for the Sage of Life and Death. On this point, Joe Di saw no need to argue.
In Joe Di’s view, he was certainly no match for the Sage of Life and Death right now; if he encountered him, he might only meet his end. After all, just one Life-and-Death Grand Way from the Sage nearly killed him before. But who can say what the future holds? When he steps into the Fifth Step, or even the Sixth and Seventh Steps, the Sage of Life and Death may be nothing special.
Samuel Woodson continued, "Although my new world was constructed in the Forgeworld, it is actually related to Chaos. I have been to Chaos, and the Ascendant Gold is also a product of vast Chaos, not something that exists in the Forgeworld itself. Since you intend to take the Ascendant Gold, I hope that before you do, I can use the immense Dao rules contained within it to fuse my Vitality Dao Heart with my new cosmic world..."
Joe Di himself had once constructed a new universe within Chaos, so even before Samuel Woodson finished speaking, he knew exactly what Samuel intended. Everything was as he had expected.
Samuel Woodson continued, "Brother Di, you have never survived alone within Chaos, so you might not fully understand the immense suppression within it..."
The purpose of these words was to tactfully tell Joe Di that when Samuel Woodson fused his self-constructed world, Joe Di would not be able to help.
Joe Di didn’t argue; since the other party was convinced, there was no need to correct his thinking.
"When my Vitality Dao Heart fuses with my newly constructed world, Brother Di, please lend me some Divine Ley Lines so that my fusion energy does not wither..."
After saying this, Samuel Woodson didn’t wait for Joe Di’s reply. A surge of vibrant, vast Dao rules erupted from that broken piece of wood, then began to merge with the new rule aura beneath the marsh.
He was essentially throwing caution to the wind. If Joe Di was willing to help, he would naturally offer some Divine Ley Lines. If not, asking would be useless, and Samuel now had no choice but to fuse the new rule world he had built.
Although Samuel Woodson’s strength now far surpassed what he, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning had achieved together, Joe Di still felt that Samuel’s newly constructed cosmic world was far inferior to the one they had built. Samuel’s world rules, though surpassing ordinary Grand Way rule categories, still bore the imprint of his own Dao rules—a clear limitation.
This wasn’t Samuel Woodson’s fault; it was because he cultivated his Grand Way alone, while Emperor Ye, Nick Ning, and Joe Di had worked together.
As Samuel Woodson continued to fuse the rules of the new universe, the roar of rule collisions and the explosions of discarded laws intertwined throughout the marsh, as if the whole world was on the verge of shattering.
The marsh was constantly upheaved, forming a massive void. Joe Di no longer searched deeper with his divine sense; he already sensed the aura of Ascendant Gold. With Samuel Woodson’s reckless commotion, it was clear that given a little more time, the entire marsh would be swept up.
"Grandpa, with all this ruckus from the rotten wood, I’m afraid the entire Forgeworld will know there’s Ascendant Gold here soon," Bolt grumbled, dissatisfied with Samuel Woodson’s noisy actions.
Joe Di nodded. Bolt was right; it was entirely possible. Without hesitation, he began constructing a Guardian Array to shroud the entire marsh.
Samuel Woodson probably hadn’t expected that fusing his new rule world would cause such a terrifying disturbance. He knew that if this continued, Joe Di would surely be displeased. Yet he couldn’t stop—if he did, it would mean his death and the dissolution of his Dao.
But Samuel Woodson soon fell into despair—not because Genesis Vitality was lacking, but because his comprehension of rule Dao was insufficient. If he kept forcing the fusion, his newly constructed rule world would collapse regardless.
Knowing that his rule world would collapse, Samuel Woodson still had no choice but to continue fusing the new rules—there was no retreat.
Joe Di had long since constructed new rule worlds. He could immediately sense Samuel Woodson’s impending collapse. With a helpless sigh, he raised his hand and sent wave after wave of Grand Way rules into the crumbling marsh below.
Just as Samuel Woodson and his new rule world were about to collapse, he felt the arrival of Joe Di’s brand new Grand Way rules and was overjoyed. Without hesitation, he used these Grand Way rules to continue fusing his new world. All the rules on the verge of collapse instantly stabilized under the new Grand Way rules.
The marsh continued to collapse, and even without sweeping with his divine sense, Joe Di could see the Ascendant Gold.
Beneath this marsh lay another void. Suspended in the void space below was a colossal planet—not smaller than the Vast Iron Crystal Joe Di had obtained before. The enormous planet was dark gray, and astonishingly, it was entirely made of Ascendant Gold.
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Beside the dark gray planet, another rule world was taking shape. Clearly, this brand-new rule world belonged to Samuel Woodson.
Bolt clicked his tongue twice on the side. "That old guy is pretty impressive, actually managing to construct such a powerful new cosmic rule world. But if Grandpa hadn’t felt sorry for him, he’d have kicked the bucket ages ago."
Bolt had survived in Chaos for a long time; naturally, its perspective was far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
Joe Di’s divine sense, however, was focused on the planet-sized Ascendant Gold nearby, his gaze grave. He cultivated rule Dao, and the aura surrounding this planet-sized Ascendant Gold was all too familiar—it was definitely the place where he had once obtained that massive Vast Iron Crystal.
No need to think further; Joe Di had already guessed what was going on. Long ago, there had been two planet-sized materials here. One was the Vast Iron Crystal he acquired, the other was Ascendant Gold.
The Vast Iron Crystal had been taken away, while the Ascendant Gold remained. If anyone claimed the cultivator who took the Vast Iron Crystal didn’t know the value of Ascendant Gold, Joe Di wouldn’t believe it. Since the person knew its worth but didn’t take it, only taking the Vast Iron Crystal, there was only one explanation: at that time, the Ascendant Gold hadn’t yet been fully refined by the Grand Way, so taking it would’ve meant leaving with a half-finished product.
Now that the Ascendant Gold was fully formed, it was certain that the cultivator who took the Vast Iron Crystal would return for the Ascendant Gold someday. As for why they hadn’t come yet, Joe Di couldn’t figure it out. Nor could he understand why that person had sent the Vast Iron Crystal to be auctioned at Starhaven City’s Ascendant Gate Auction.
Anyone who could obtain the Vast Iron Crystal here was definitely a powerhouse among powerhouses. Such a figure couldn’t be threatened by Ezra Hu.
"Brother Di, I, Samuel Woodson, was truly blind to have thought you were like me." At this moment, Samuel Woodson had completely fused his new rule world. Without waiting for his physical body to stabilize, he landed before Joe Di and bowed deeply.
Even a fool could now understand Joe Di’s terrifying power. Not only had Joe Di set up a grand array to seal the collapse caused by Samuel’s rule fusion, he’d also sent top-tier Grand Way rules when Samuel was on the verge of failure.
The only explanation was that Joe Di’s Grand Way was vastly superior. The newly fused rule world, in Joe Di’s eyes, was probably nothing remarkable.
Other than the Sage of Life and Death, this was the first time Samuel Woodson had encountered a peerless powerhouse like Joe Di.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)