......
After Joe Di left, news of the destruction of the Inferno Sect spread across the entire Aaron Continent at lightning speed.
Few people knew that the Inferno Sect was destroyed as an act of revenge by Joe Di. Most believed the sect was wiped out because it possessed a top-tier Earthfire Vein, which attracted the covetous eyes of powerful cultivators and led to its downfall.
Only Hiram Hai, president of the Starhenge Guild, suspected Joe Di was responsible. Joe Di hailed from the Central Realm and was originally from Aaron Continent, making him the prime suspect in the Inferno Sect's destruction—which, as many guessed, was all for the Earthfire Vein.
......
After leaving the Inferno Sect, Joe Di didn’t rush his journey. He summoned a flying artifact and drifted leisurely toward Starhenge Cultivation City, teaching Di Di the Starstream Technique along the way.
Joe Di’s original plan was simple: as long as Di Di had a spiritual root, he would help her just as he had helped Geng Ji, using the golden lightning in his sea of consciousness to open her Starstream Vein.
To Joe Di's surprise, the very first time Di Di circulated her energy, she triggered the surrounding spiritual energy and began to absorb it.
Seeing how easily Di Di could cultivate, Joe Di quickly turned his divine sense to the World Tome in search of answers. What kind of spiritual root did Di Di possess to be so extraordinary?
The World Tome was far too vast. Even though Joe Di had spent several months studying it, his understanding still barely scratched the surface.
Fortunately, the World Tome had actively entered his sea of consciousness and now resided beside the Little Gray Stone. As long as he used his divine sense to search, he could quickly find what he needed. In just a dozen breaths, Joe Di found the entry on the Sacred Spirit Eyes.
The Sacred Spirit Eyes are derived from the Dao Rhythms of heaven and earth. Cultivators possessing the Sacred Spirit Eyes can only have one of three types of spiritual roots: Earth Root, Heaven Root, or Sacred Root.
Seeing this, Joe Di couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. Even the lowest Earth Root was far superior to a Dissolute Root.
Aside from not knowing what his own spiritual root was, Joe Di was certain that Di Di's was the best he had ever seen.
This meant that even if he hadn’t come to save Di Di today, Liang Lu would still have been unable to fuse with the Sacred Spirit Eyes.
Moreover, according to the World Tome, the Sacred Spirit Eyes have another trait: once cultivation begins, the aura of the Sacred Spirit Eyes is completely masked by the spiritual energy used in training. Back in Pearl City, if Di Di had started cultivating, her possession of the Sacred Spirit Eyes would never have been discovered.
Joe Di piled a heap of mid-grade spirit stones beside Di Di. In just half a day, Di Di’s cultivation broke through to the first level of Qi Refinement. Joe Di’s divine sense was so powerful that, without disturbing her, he could clearly see that the spiritual energy Di Di was absorbing came from a Starstream Vein.
This meant that, even without his help, Di Di cultivated the Starstream Technique and automatically formed a Starstream Vein.
Joe Di didn’t disturb Di Di’s cultivation. He took out Liang Jue Ren’s ring. According to Gai Yi, Liang Jue Ren had discovered traces of a powerful Di family ancestor in a secret realm, then sent Sang Li to Pearl City to massacre the Di family and search for anything they left behind.
Since that was the case, whatever Sang Li took from the Di family would surely be in the ring of Sect Master Liang Jue Ren.
Inside Liang Jue Ren’s ring, Joe Di found millions of high-grade spirit stones and some excellent spiritual herbs. But what truly left him speechless was a copy of the Di Clan’s Seven Blades manual.
If the Inferno Sect thought the Di family’s legendary cultivation treasure was merely this Seven Blades manual, then the Di family’s annihilation was a terrible injustice. The original manual was already with him; this version was just a replica.
Joe Di casually flipped through the Seven Blades manual, shook his head, and tossed it into his own ring.
Five days later, when Joe Di arrived outside Starhenge Cultivation City, Di Di had already reached the third layer of Qi Refinement—a speed of cultivation Joe Di had never witnessed before.
"Ah Jiu, where are we? This city..." Awakened and led out of the flying vessel by Joe Di, Di Di was awestruck by the sight of the cultivation city before her.
Di Di had never seen a city as majestic as Starhenge Cultivation City. The largest she’d known was Pearl City, but standing here, she couldn’t even fathom Starhenge’s true scale—she just knew Pearl City would be utterly dwarfed.
"This is Starhenge Cultivation City. I have matters to attend and can’t bring you along. Wait here for me." Joe Di intended to visit Earth, which required a Realm-Cleaving Talisman. He dared not risk Di Di’s safety—the talisman would tear through the void between realms, and a single mistake meant certain death.
To Joe Di, the Northern Ridge Mountains were the ideal place to use a Realm-Cleaving Talisman. After all, that was where he’d once departed and eventually arrived on Earth.
Di Di hadn’t yet spoken when Hiram Hai’s hearty voice echoed, “Hahaha… Fellow Daoist Di, I’ve finally been waiting for you to arrive!”
Joe Di stepped forward and cupped his fists, "Guildmaster Hai, I'm here to trouble you this time."
Hiram Hai waved his hand with easy familiarity, "Fellow Daoist Di, there's no need to be so formal. I genuinely want to be friends with you. If you need anything, just tell me directly. If you talk about trouble, it means you don't see me as a friend."
Even Joe Di didn’t know why Hiram Hai was so familiar with him, but he supposed it was because he hailed from the Central Realm.
Since Hiram Hai was so warm, Joe Di didn't stand on ceremony. "Brother Hai, this is my eighth sister, Di Di."
Di Di didn't dare to be as casual as Joe Di. She quickly bowed, "Di Di greets Senior."
"No need for that, come, let's go inside and talk." Hiram Hai stopped Di Di from bowing and invited Joe Di into the city.
As president of the Starhenge Guild, Hiram Hai’s residence in Starhenge Cultivation City was truly extravagant. Situated beside the guild itself, the estate sprawled over a hundred acres. A floating garden was concealed by powerful arrays, and the entire compound was suffused with spiritual energy.
"What a place," Joe Di exclaimed as he entered. Although the spiritual energy here couldn’t match the depths beneath the snow mountain, it was top-tier for Starhenge Cultivation City, where every inch of land was precious. Besides, the cultivation environment here far surpassed that under the snow mountain.
As soon as Joe Di and Di Di sat down, someone brought over spiritual tea.
Hiram Hai got straight to the point, "Fellow Daoist Di, if you need anything, just say the word. As long as I can help you, I will."
Joe Di cupped his fists and recounted how the Inferno Sect had destroyed his family, then explained that he was the one who wiped out the sect—omitting only Di Di's Sacred Spirit Eyes.
Hiram Hai sighed, "When I heard the Inferno Sect was destroyed, I knew it had to be you. The sect dared to wipe out a family in a mortal city—they deserved their fate."
Though he spoke thus, Hiram Hai didn’t truly agree in his heart. The Inferno Sect had simply chosen the wrong target. Had it been any ordinary family, their destruction would have meant nothing. Cultivators stood above mortals; even annihilating an empire was of little consequence to them.
Joe Di cupped his fists, "Fellow Daoist Hai, I’ll be traveling far soon. Di Di’s cultivation is still weak, so I’d like to purchase a residence here for her to train. If any trouble arises, I hope you’ll help me out."
Hiram Hai waved it off, "That’s a small matter—leave it to me. Xun Yi, help Fellow Daoist Di find a residence, preferably near mine."
"Yes!" A gray-robed man at the door responded and quickly departed.
Joe Di didn’t mention spirit stones. For a late-stage Tribulation cultivator, the cost of a residence was negligible—hardly worth considering.
"Fellow Daoist Di, since you come from the Central Realm, are you aware that in three months, five geniuses from Aaron Continent will qualify to enter the Central Realm via the teleportation array?" After handling Joe Di’s request, Hiram Hai, worried he might leave soon, couldn’t help but ask.
Joe Di shook his head, "I wasn't aware of this."
Hiram Hai quickly explained, "Every thirty years, five geniuses from Aaron Continent are chosen to enter the Central Realm. At that time, a powerful cultivator from the Central Realm will come to select candidates, though most recommendations come from us. Actually, I have a favor to ask, Fellow Daoist Di."
Joe Di cupped his fists, "Please, Guildmaster Hai, go ahead."
Normally, Hiram Hai wouldn’t ask for a favor so soon after helping Joe Di. His urgency now revealed how important the matter was to him.
"Fellow Daoist Di, I’ve been stuck at the ninth level of Tribulation for many years. If I don’t advance soon, I may die here on Aaron Continent. Do you know how you got to the Central Realm? If I want to go there, is there a way you can help?" Hiram Hai’s tone was earnest—he needed to reach the Truth Transformation stage, which required entering the Central Realm.