This jade slip was sealed by a restriction; the contents could only be seen once the restriction was broken.
Joe Di, after all, is a level five formation master. The level five restriction on this jade slip did not stop him for long.
In just half a day, Joe Di broke the restriction on the jade slip and saw its contents. To Joe Di's surprise, the divine ability recorded in this jade slip was almost intact; at least, according to what it described, he could learn this technique.
Half an hour later, Joe Di put down the jade slip with some helplessness.
He did not learn this divine ability, as he felt it was a useless technique, not worth much at all. No wonder this divine ability jade slip was being sold at the Qi Trading House.
Vitality Concealment—if it were for concealing one's own vitality, it would have some value. But this Vitality Concealment was only meant for pets. Joe Di only had one tree brother; if he died, what use would it be to conceal his tree brother's vitality and protect him?
The tree brother would die just the same.
When Joe Di was about to put away the jade slip, he suddenly remembered something. Back on Celestia, he had obtained a fragment of a magical artifact.
On that artifact fragment, he sensed a faint fluctuation of vitality, but he could never figure out what kind of vitality it was. Later, after he succeeded in foundation establishment and improved in formation techniques, he tried to probe the fragment with his divine sense; apart from sensing an even weaker vitality fluctuation, he still could not find the reason.
Could it be that the faint vitality fluctuation on the artifact fragment was concealed by the Vitality Concealment technique? Because so much time had passed, the technique had weakened, which allowed him to sense the leaking vitality?
Thinking of this, Joe Di, who originally had no interest in this divine ability, immediately began to study the fragment of the magical artifact.
If his guess was correct, then whatever was hidden on the artifact using a divine ability must be truly extraordinary.
When Joe Di gets serious, few people can match his learning speed. After a few days, he had grasped the basics. After half a month, he could already perform the divine ability. His technique was still somewhat rough, but that would improve with time.
Just like his Mountain Crest Fist and Raging Tide Fist, as his cultivation progressed, each time he used them, the results were completely different.
Joe Di learned the Vitality Concealment technique solely to study the vitality fluctuation on the artifact fragment. Once he had a basic grasp of the technique, he did not continue to delve deeper; his first action was to take out the artifact fragment.
Some things feel like a thin sheet of paper separates you when you understand them, but like a mountain when you don't. That was how Joe Di felt now. Each time he took out the artifact fragment before, aside from probing it with his divine sense, he could see nothing.
This time, as soon as he held the artifact fragment, he immediately sensed traces of the Vitality Concealment technique. Just as he suspected, someone had used Vitality Concealment to hide something within it. Because of the passage of time and other factors, the technique had left traces, and the concealed vitality had leaked out for him to discover.
Joe Di began to strip away the remnants of the divine ability. He was only at the Foundation Stage, and had just learned the Vitality Concealment technique. It took him three full days to completely remove the concealment.
A similarly damaged restriction appeared before Joe Di. If it had not been damaged, Joe Di estimated that even if he could set up a level nine restriction now, he would not be able to break it.
But now the restriction was severely damaged, and Joe Di broke it in just half a day. A black beetle, no bigger than a pea, appeared before Joe Di.
When Joe Di saw the beetle, he was deeply disappointed.
He had thought something remarkable was hidden so carefully, but it turned out to be just a Shadow Scarab.
Joe Di was certain he was not mistaken—this was a Shadow Scarab. Six legs, a pointed head like a sharp spike, a horn, and a black carapace.
What else could it be but a Shadow Scarab?
The Shadow Scarab's aura was extremely faint, as if it could dissipate at any moment. Joe Di hesitated for a long time with the artifact fragment in hand, unsure whether he should throw away the Shadow Scarab.
Logically, if someone went to such lengths to hide this beetle, it should be more than just an ordinary Shadow Scarab.
Joe Di also knew that in the cultivation world, there were indeed many eccentric people. It was not impossible for someone to hide a Shadow Scarab so carefully.
“Rootling, take a look—what kind of beetle is this?” Joe Di called out Rootling.
Rootling stared at the beetle for a long time. Seeing Rootling’s expression, Joe Di knew Rootling didn’t recognize the beetle either. Just as he was about to ask Rootling to step aside, Rootling said ingratiatingly, “Big Brother, it’s just a drop of blood. This beetle is extremely weak right now. Give it a drop of blood—if it’s useful, keep it; if not, throw it away.”
To Rootling, this was no big deal at all. When the boss fought, he lost countless drops of blood—hesitating over a single drop was pointless.
Joe Di was moved—if all it took was a drop of blood, then it really was no big deal. If it truly was a Shadow Scarab, it shouldn't be able to absorb his blood; even if it could, it would not be able to give him any information…
No, this definitely isn’t a Shadow Scarab. How long do Shadow Scarabs live? The beetle on the artifact fragment had been leaking vitality for who knows how long, and it still had some vitality fluctuations. Clearly, its life force was far stronger than that of an ordinary Shadow Scarab.
Joe Di immediately dropped a single drop of essence blood onto the beetle. In an instant, the beetle absorbed the drop completely.
The beetle’s aura grew stronger, and Joe Di sensed a feeling of longing from it. It seemed the beetle wanted more blood.
Joe Di sneered inwardly—even if it wasn’t a Shadow Scarab, it shouldn’t expect a second drop of his blood.
After waiting a while without receiving anything he wanted, Joe Di’s divine sense suddenly caught a familiar aura.
Was it trying to recognize him as its master? Joe Di was familiar with this aura of submission because he had sensed it from Rootling before.
But to take a beetle as a pet—especially one that looked so much like a Shadow Scarab—Joe Di was truly reluctant. Not only would it be useless to him, but he’d also have to bear the bad reputation of keeping a Shadow Scarab as a pet.
Perhaps, after not sensing Joe Di’s intention to accept it as a pet for some time, the beetle’s aura became tinged with disappointment and sadness.
Joe Di immediately sensed this disappointment. He had felt the same way when he failed the martial root tests in the past, and also when Zhen Man rejected him.
Sighing, Joe Di sent out a divine sense imprint—just to share in its misery.
Sure enough, upon sensing Joe Di’s divine sense imprint, the beetle became elated. Joe Di handed some Verdant Vitality to Rootling. “Take this beetle to the Elixir Chamber. I’ll be leaving soon. Be sure to take good care of it—if it dies, I’ll hold you responsible.”
“Don’t worry, Big Brother, I’ll definitely handle it.” Rootling could handle loneliness because it was once a tree. Now, as a tree spirit, having seen the world with Joe Di, spending every day in the Elixir Chamber was driving it stir-crazy.
Now, with a beetle around, at least there was someone to talk to.
Clearly, Joe Di’s luck didn’t always hold. This time, he gained nothing but a useless divine ability—Vitality Concealment.
He could finally go to Skyveil. Joe Di packed away all the jade slips he had checked and disguised himself as a disciple from a cultivation family.
Joe Di had no idea where Skyveil was or how to get there.
He wasn’t worried—everyone was talking about Skyveil now, and he could buy an introductory jade slip about Skyveil anywhere.
Even Borderedge Outpost, though small, sold such jade slips. After buying a few introductory jade slips about Skyveil, Joe Di left the Trading Post.
At the exit of Borderedge Outpost, Joe Di noticed a team formation notice.
Before Joe Di could look closely at the team notice, a young man in white cultivator robes approached him and cupped his fists. “Friend, are you heading to Skyveil?”
“That’s right, I’m heading to Skyveil,” Joe Di nodded. He could tell this young man was only at Foundation Stage Two.
The young man said, “You probably know how expensive tickets to Skyveil are, and ordinary cultivators can’t afford a large room alone. Shared bunks are unsafe and lack privacy. Why not team up with us? We can rent a large room together and look out for each other.”
“Who else is in your group?” Joe Di asked.
The young man in white pointed to a man and two women standing nearby. “There’s Junior Sister Sherry Frost, Junior Sister Echo Young, and Junior Brother Tang. My name is Felix Zheng.”
Joe Di thought Junior Sister Sherry Frost looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.