Bang! Quinn King's body fell from the void, clearly showing that his escape technique was nothing but a joke before Joe Di’s trapping array.
When Joe Di saw Quinn King trying to flee, he immediately sensed trouble.
Sure enough, Max Lune hesitated for a moment when he saw Quinn King blocked by the trapping array, but then he retreated without hesitation. Instantly, half of the endless golden leaves split off, wrapping around Max Lune’s domain.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Waves of violent killing intent exploded. The endless golden leaves that even the seven waves of Joe Di’s Fourfold Loom blade couldn’t tear apart, were now ripped open by the berserk killing Dao, revealing a passage. Max Lune’s body appeared beneath Joe Di’s divine technique.
However, Max Lune let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected Joe Di’s array skills to be at such a level. Unknowingly, Joe Di had leveraged the rules to set up a deadly trapping array. If Quinn King hadn’t suddenly tried to escape, Max Lune might actually have been ambushed by Joe Di.
Although his current divine technique was suppressing Joe Di, Joe Di’s Dao was extraordinary. If Joe Di found an opening, he could easily turn the tables.
Joe Di sighed inwardly, knowing Quinn King had ruined his plan. Against someone with Max Lune’s strength, even his Fourfold Loom of Time couldn’t do much, so Joe Di hadn’t intended to use it. Instead, he had prepared a deadly trapping array constructed from rule flags.
Unfortunately, Quinn King’s sudden escape exposed the array, making Max Lune wary. With the trapping array exposed, Joe Di could only activate the killing array early, which merely tore open Max Lune’s domain and weakened his divine technique.
Austin Ninefold saw everything clearly and immediately realized that Joe Di’s plan had been sabotaged by Quinn King. He didn’t hesitate any longer—his Ninefold Tower swept up layer after layer of elemental rule worlds, enveloping Quinn King.
Previously, Quinn King could still restrain Austin Ninefold, but after Joe Di split his body with a blade—and with Joe Di’s divine Dao still circulating within him—Quinn King could no longer withstand the layers of killing intent from Austin Ninefold’s Ninefold Tower.
In just a few breaths, Quinn King was enveloped by Austin Ninefold’s Ninefold Tower and its world of killing intent.
...
Even though he had lost the initiative, Joe Di didn’t give up. He swept out his Azure Veil Blade and struck once more.
It was an ordinary-looking strike. Compared to the violent blade waves of the Fourfold Loom, this slash was like a gentle breeze over a lake, causing only faint ripples.
At the peak of cultivation, even a casual slash is a divine technique. Joe Di didn’t strike casually because he understood this, but because he knew that all his techniques were, to Max Lune, not much different from a casual slash.
Moreover, this was not a casual strike—it was his blade Dao technique: Slipstream Strike.
Since reaching mastery, Joe Di had rarely used this ordinary blade technique. Today, he was forced to use the Slipstream Strike again—after all, Max Lune’s strength was overwhelming, and his luck was extraordinary.
The light of the Slipstream Strike borrowed the passage torn open by the earlier killing array and slashed toward Max Lune.
Without the earlier activation of the killing array, Joe Di’s Slipstream Strike would never have been able to tear through Max Lune’s Golden Leaf artifact and Dao domain. Even though the killing array was prematurely triggered because of Quinn King, it still helped the Slipstream Strike rip open Max Lune’s divine technique and Dao domain.
Joe Di suppressed his inner excitement—the Dao of the Slipstream Strike was being pushed to the limit!
Life between heaven and earth passes in a flash, like a fleeting colt.
“Heh, so that’s all.” Max Lune waved his hand, and the endless Golden Leaves once again sealed the tiny gap torn open by the Slipstream Strike, sweeping toward Joe Di in a vast wave.
Joe Di’s Slipstream Strike truly was as fleeting as a colt—just a gray rift flashing before Max Lune’s eyes, then vanishing.
Max Lune was puzzled. Joe Di’s technique was clearly a time technique, and that gray rift was obviously the effect of the Slipstream Strike. But that was all—it couldn’t even harm a single hair of his. He couldn’t understand why Joe Di would use such a useless technique.
Moreover, with Joe Di’s time technique, the Slipstream Rift should have been white. Under the rules of their domains, this place had become a world of light, so why did Max Lune see gray?
But none of that mattered now. His countless Golden Leaves swept toward Joe Di; even with his unstable realm, crushing Joe Di was no challenge.
Joe Di knew the gap between himself and Max Lune was vast. Facing the endless Golden Leaves, he unhesitatingly summoned the World Tome and Cosmic Gourd, two artifacts that fully protected his body.
Boom! Crack! Joe Di’s domain was torn open by the endless Golden Leaves. At the same time, the Cosmic Gourd—an artifact surpassing the Creation tier—split apart. The next divine Dao strike slammed into the World Tome, sending Joe Di flying, now a man of blood.
His bones cracked inch by inch, and his skin was squeezed into fissures by the violent divine technique.
Max Lune snorted coldly and reached for Joe Di. He couldn’t kill Joe Di yet—Joe Di was a treasure, a key to reaching the Ninth Step. But Joe Di was no simple man; Max Lune knew he must deal with him soon.
But Max Lune’s hand suddenly paused, and his face lit up with delight. The hand seal that was reaching for Joe Di abruptly turned toward the chaos at the edge of their battlefield.
The next moment, a pale-faced man was dragged out of the chaos by Max Lune. Looking at the man in his grasp, Max Lune burst into laughter. “So that’s how it is.”
Joe Di’s gaze also landed on the pale-faced man. He quickly understood and sighed, “So it’s you. I never thought you’d be doing so well, even making it into the chaos.”
The pale-faced man laughed, “I thought that when we met again, I’d be able to trample you underfoot. But it turns out you’re still stronger than me.”
Joe Di shook his head. “What’s the use of being stronger than you? I’m still getting beaten down.”
The pale-faced man suddenly looked at Max Lune. “Let Joe Di go. I’ll serve you. I know what you want—Joe Di’s Dao of rules originates from me.”
After saying this, the pale-faced man turned to Joe Di. “Joe Di, thank you for saving me back then. Over the years, I’ve seen too much and lived long enough. I’ll trade the life I should’ve lost for yours. By the way, I’ve met countless cultivators over the years. After everything, you’re the only one I find interesting. At least, you’re a true cultivator—daring to speak and act. You’re my friend. Unfortunately, we’re both too weak to reminisce. This is farewell.”
With that, the pale-faced man turned into a golden Dao and vanished into Max Lune’s hand seal.
Max Lune’s eyes gleamed with delight and fanaticism. He looked at Joe Di and said lightly, “It’s a pity—your friend made his own decision before I could promise to spare you. Maybe he didn’t know, but I, Max Lune, never let others make decisions for me.”
As soon as Joe Di saw the middle-aged man, he knew this was the Ninth Prime Law. He had released the Ninth Prime Law before, but never expected it to grow so much.
Joe Di chuckled. “Do you think your Grandpa Di needs a clown like you to spare him?”
As he spoke, the Azure Veil Blade swept out once again.
But the smile on Max Lune’s face froze as a violent aura rampaged through his body. Even a fool could see that the Ninth Prime Law was trying to self-destruct its Dao to deal with him.
Heh, a mere Dao law wants to use self-destruction to bind me, Max Lune? Is it looking down on my Dao, or is this law just too conceited?
Max Lune couldn’t be bothered with Joe Di’s Azure Veil Blade. Dao rhythm flowed around him, and the violent aura quickly subsided.
But after only a breath, Max Lune’s expression changed again, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
In the distance, Austin Ninefold had already subdued Quinn King and watched in surprise. With that Dao law’s cultivation, it shouldn’t have been able to push Max Lune to such a state.
The next moment, Austin Ninefold understood. Gray death energy swirled around Max Lune, and black mist rose above his head—he was poisoned. Could someone as strong as Max Lune be poisoned? What kind of poison was this? No one could answer Austin Ninefold’s many questions.
Max Lune glared at Joe Di, furious. “Was your Slipstream Strike meant to use that tiny gap to poison me?”
Joe Di couldn’t be bothered with Max Lune. The killing intent of the Azure Veil Blade surged violently, as if sweeping up the vast chaos. This was his first time using the Venom Law technique—a rule outside his Dao of rules. He hadn’t used it before because it was too vicious.
Now, with Max Lune bound by the self-destruction of the Ninth Prime Law and poisoned by the Venom Law, it was clear his Dao was poisoned. Joe Di couldn’t let this chance slip by. At this moment, Joe Di was grateful for the Venom of Delusion that nearly killed him before, and also to Cyrus—these experiences helped him comprehend the Venom Law beyond his Dao of rules.