"What do you want, friend?" Seeing Joe Di blocking his way, Senior Lucas, who was about to leave, immediately grew wary and stared at Joe Di.
Joe Di clasped his fists and politely said, "Could you repeat what you just said, fellow Daoist? Oh, please don't misunderstand, I feel there might be some... uh... misunderstanding in those words."
Joe Di knew he was being rather forward. He didn't know these two at all, yet he asked them to repeat what they had just said.
Senior Lucas glanced at Joe Di again, realizing he couldn't discern Joe Di's cultivation level. Suppressing his displeasure, he said, "A year ago, Eli Huang hadn't yet formed his Dao Seed. Junior Harriet and I didn't mind his low cultivation and took him to Gale Valley for the trial. But after he returned with a well-condensed Dao Seed, he went around claiming he did it all by himself, and even helped Junior Harriet and me a lot. He said his Dao techniques were much stronger than ours, so how could he rely on us to form his Dao Seed? Now we're heading somewhere else, and someone like him is simply too much trouble for us to bring along."
Joe Di's eyes lit up, as if a beam of light had pierced his mind. The fog before him suddenly lifted, and he subconsciously said, "He's absolutely right..."
Hearing Joe Di actually speak up for Eli Huang and say Eli Huang was right, Senior Lucas's face darkened. He snorted and said to the female cultivator next to him, "Junior Harriet, let's go."
The two quickly left the entrance of the shop, clearly believing Joe Di was on Eli Huang's side.
But Joe Di was overjoyed—he had finally understood his own path.
He was, after all, the creator of the Rule Cycle, yet he had been foolishly listening to others discuss how to form Dao Seeds and forge their Dao. This was simply putting the cart before the horse.
Just as Eli Huang said, does his Rule Cycle really need to rely on someone else's Dao intent to form a Dao Seed? Even if he managed to form one, would it be a Dao Seed of his Rule Cycle, or just a branch of Grandmaster Hunyuan from the Origin Dao Sect?
He was simply lost in the mountains, unaware of the immense wealth he possessed, yet begging others for mere copper coins. That was truly putting the cart before the horse.
At this moment, what he needed was not to listen to Grandmaster Hunyuan's Dao Symposium, but to find a place to temper himself, condense his own Rule Cycle Dao Seed, and forge his Rule Cycle.
"Friend, you agree with me, don't you? They really are..." Eli Huang immediately spoke up when he heard Joe Di agree with him, his tone filled with resentment.
Joe Di shot Eli Huang a cold glance. "Get lost. Even speaking one more word with trash like you is a waste of my time."
"You..." Eli Huang hadn't expected Joe Di to tell him to get lost, and his anger surged instantly.
Joe Di's killing intent swept over, and Eli Huang instantly felt a chill. He didn't dare say another word; after uttering just one, he lowered his head, turned around, and quickly left. He even forgot about pestering Senior Lucas and Junior Harriet.
Joe Di had gained insight into his Dao direction from Eli Huang's words—it couldn't be achieved by listening to others discuss the Dao. But he still despised someone as ungrateful as Eli Huang.
Clearly, Eli Huang was able to condense his Dao Seed thanks to the help and guidance of Senior Lucas and Junior Harriet. Not only was he ungrateful, he even claimed everywhere that they hadn't helped him at all, and that he had helped them instead. If Joe Di could respect someone like that, it would be a miracle.
"Friend, may I ask, which trial ground here has the greatest changes in the world's rules?" Joe Di returned to the counter and asked the attendant.
He cultivated the Rule Dao, and to forge his own Dao, it was best to find a place where the world's rules were most unpredictable.
The attendant smiled and said, "You must be new here, fellow Daoist? If you were a local, you'd know that the place with the most unpredictable changes in the world's rules is the Vast Ruins. It's filled with Five Element Beasts, and the world's rules shift constantly inside. But trying to enter the Vast Ruins is no easy matter."
"Why is that?" Joe Di asked in confusion.
The attendant explained, "The Vast Ruins are extremely dangerous. Many cultivators who go in for trials end up being transformed by the shifting world's rules into Five Element Beasts—losing all reason, knowing only slaughter. So, the major sects have set rules: ordinary cultivators aren't allowed to enter the Vast Ruins. But the Vast Ruins are also the best place to train in top-tier divine abilities and Dao techniques. There, it's easiest to comprehend the laws of the world and take your cultivation to the next level.
That's why every year, the major sects can recommend a few cultivators to enter the Vast Ruins. Once inside, you can't come out until you've reached a certain level."
At this point, the attendant glanced at Joe Di. "If you could join a top sect like the Origin Dao Sect, getting a spot to enter the Vast Ruins would be much easier."
"Thank you." Joe Di thanked the attendant, and all thoughts of listening to Dao discourses vanished from his mind.
He now had no interest in attending the auction, either. Compared to forging his Dao, everything else was secondary. Since he was heading to the Vast Ruins, he needed to keep some spirit crystals on hand. No matter how good the items at the auction were, he probably wouldn't use them now. If he competed for treasures with others, he'd only make more enemies.
An hour later, Joe Di left Origin Saint City. In front of the Pearl Chamber of Commerce, he sold his private auction room jade token at half price. He didn't even return to the Resthaven Inn; instead, he hurried straight to the Origin Dao Sect.
He didn't want to listen to the Hunyuan Dao discourse, but Ding Zhonghe had told him that his jade token could still get him in as an outer sect disciple.
......
From a distance, the Origin Dao Sect looked like a giant character, slanting upward all the way to the sky.
Joe Di marveled inwardly. He knew this was a top-tier grand array—one so advanced he couldn't even begin to comprehend its edges.
"Halt." At the entrance to the sect's protective array, a cultivator stopped Joe Di.
Joe Di hurriedly took out the jade token Ding Zhonghe had given him and handed it over. "I'm here to apply to join the Origin Dao Sect. This is my identification token."
The guard glanced at the token in Joe Di's hand, a trace of surprise in his eyes. He recognized the token, of course, but this person was actually using the token for listening to Ancestor Yan Yun's Dao discourse to join as an outer sect disciple?
However, Joe Di's token did indeed allow him to join the outer sect. The guard pointed to a side road and said, "Follow this path straight to the disciple hall—you can apply to be an outer sect disciple there."
"Thank you." Joe Di quickly expressed his gratitude and followed the path as instructed. Right now, joining the sect as an outer disciple was not his main concern—his real goal was to reach the Vast Ruins.
The disciple hall of the Origin Dao Sect was crowded. Even before Joe Di got close, he could feel the hurried atmosphere. In the Origin Dao Sect, the disciple hall handled many affairs. Inner sect disciples managed tasks at the mission hall, but outer sect disciples did so at the disciple hall.
Joe Di easily found the registration desk for outer sect disciples. The recruitment process for Origin Dao Sect's outer disciples was quite loose, with almost no strict evaluations.
Ahead of Joe Di, several cultivators holding sect steward command tokens were also applying to join the outer sect.
When Joe Di handed over his jade token and said he wanted to join the outer sect, the responsible cultivator was stunned by his token.
Using a jade token that allows you to listen to Ancestor Yan Yun's Dao discourse to join as an outer sect disciple? Is this guy for real?
"Strictly speaking, you should only register as an outer sect disciple after listening to the Dao discourse with this jade token. If you register first, you might not be able to attend the Dao Arena." After his surprise, the responsible cultivator still explained to Joe Di.
Joe Di waved his hand. "I just want to join as an outer sect disciple and then go to the Vast Ruins for a trial. As for Ancestor Yan Yun's Dao discourse, I've thought it over—my cultivation is probably too weak to understand it anyway."
Upon hearing this, the responsible cultivator became excited. He grabbed Joe Di's jade token and asked, "May I ask your name?"
"My name is Joe Di." Joe Di didn't hide his name—this was the Origin Dao Sect, after all, and even the strongest wouldn't dare cause trouble here.
The responsible cultivator quickly said, "Junior Brother Di, although going to the Vast Ruins isn't difficult, you'll have to wait a while. But I have an idea: I'll get you an outer sect spot and immediately give you a trial quota to teleport to the Vast Ruins, if you let me have your jade token for listening to Ancestor Yan Yun's Dao discourse. What do you think?"
After he finished speaking, the responsible cultivator looked at Joe Di expectantly.
Joe Di agreed without hesitation. "Deal, let's do it."
......
Sha Wushang had spent several days in seclusion, mainly to prepare for the upcoming Ancestor Yan Yun Dao discourse. He planned to participate this time. But after a few days, he felt uneasy; something seemed off.
It took him a while to realize—the problem was still that Joe Di. Joe Di was just an Immortal Emperor, a mere rogue cultivator, yet he was staying at the Resthaven Inn for a thousand top-grade spirit crystals a night. That was clearly abnormal.
He knew how tough it was for rogue cultivators. Any spirit crystals they saved would be used for cultivation or buying resources, not wasted like this.
No, something's wrong. Sha Wushang suddenly stood up and headed straight for Joe Di's cave residence.