Chapter 1014: Following the Feeling
The long-bearded, pale-skinned man instinctively shuddered. He felt a kind of fear—a terror that hovered between life and death.
He saw it—a long arrow, entirely condensed from Dao resonance. Before the arrow was even released, the crushing killing intent in the void made every movement suddenly difficult.
Whoosh! The long arrow tore through the void, breaking space as it left the bow. In the instant the arrow departed, the bow itself dissolved into nothingness.
Bang! The Dao resonance arrow crashed into the Phantom Banner, and in an instant, the surging Phantom Banner collapsed. The arrow shattered into fragments of Dao resonance, but the long-bearded, pale-skinned man could only close his eyes in despair. If he had just a few more breaths, he could recover. Once he did, he could still contend with Joe Di. But he knew he didn’t have those few breaths—not because Joe Di wouldn’t give them, but because he couldn’t. The curtain of blade waves was already sweeping in.
Boom boom boom! The relentless waves of blades swept over. With the Phantom Banner gone, the long-bearded, pale-skinned man was engulfed by the blade waves, unable to resist at all.
"Pfft!" Blood mist exploded—the long-bearded, pale-skinned man was torn apart by the blade light, reduced to scraps.
But this was not the end. Joe Di stepped forward, and the Azure Veil Blade struck once more. Joe Di knew that if he didn’t deliver this final blow, the long-bearded, pale-skinned man wouldn’t be truly killed—at most, he would heal on that giant stone for years and eventually recover.
Joe Di showed no mercy—not only because the long-bearded, pale-skinned man wanted him dead, but because he had to kill this guy. Otherwise, there would be trouble.
After the blade curtain passed, all was calm. Only a single Phantom Banner remained, which Joe Di took. As for the rest of the long-bearded, pale-skinned man’s belongings, Joe Di had no intention of taking them. Everything was stored within the man’s world, and Joe Di didn’t have the ability to open it.
After slaying the long-bearded, pale-skinned man, Joe Di ignored the remaining few and sped toward the yellow Stellar Tier.
Just as Joe Di expected, no one tried to stop him this time. The cultivators who had been vying for the Stellar Tier stared blankly at Joe Di’s departing figure, their eyes full of dread.
They realized their earlier suspicions were correct—Joe Di did indeed have a trump card he hadn’t used. Against such a trump card, no matter how strong your defensive artifact, it would likely be useless. How could any artifact compare to the Phantom Banner?
Joe Di landed on the Stellar Tier, and no one else dared ascend. The Stellar Tier was important, but their lives were more so. Besides, fewer than sixty people remained here—even the last could leave after tens of thousands of years. For a Third Stage cultivator, that wasn’t too long to wait.
On the gray boulder, Gavin Strider watched Joe Di ascend the Stellar Tier, his expression dark and unpleasant. The Stellar Tier had appeared far too quickly—if it had waited a thousand years, he really would have made a move.
No matter how strong his cultivation on the gray boulder, it had only been a hundred years or so. He doubted he could handle Joe Di. The fact proved him right—Joe Di’s blade waves and Dao resonance arrow were simply terrifying.
The Stellar Tier slowly vanished, and everyone returned to their places as if nothing had happened.
...
Standing on the Stellar Tier, Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief. His decisive killing had made the other cultivators wary—no one tried to seize the Stellar Tier again.
Although the next Stellar Tier hadn’t appeared yet, Joe Di knew that those on the gray boulder platform probably couldn’t see his position anymore.
This time, several months passed before the next Stellar Tier appeared. Instead of one or two, eleven Stellar Tiers appeared at once.
Even after walking the Stellar Stairway with Gavin Strider for so many years, Joe Di had never seen this—eleven Stellar Tiers appearing at once.
Joe Di traversed the void to the edge of the eleven Stellar Tiers and immediately noticed a brown one. In terms of color, it was neither the darkest nor the lightest. Yet Joe Di felt this Stellar Tier did not reject him. As for whether its Dao resonance conflicted or matched, he could not sense it.
As Joe Di landed on the brown Stellar Tier, a thought occurred to him: If he chose this way, wouldn’t other cultivators do the same? Most cultivators would probably pick the Stellar Tier that feels closest to them—so why are thousands still stranded on the gray boulder?
Most have been walking the Stellar Stairway for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years—could it be this choice is wrong?
Joe Di frowned, pondering for a long time but couldn’t find the right answer. In the end, he decided to follow his own way. Since he didn’t know the right answer, he would follow his feelings.
Time passed as Joe Di continued to ascend the Stellar Stairway, always following his feelings when choosing each Stellar Tier.
Joe Di vaguely felt he was on the right path. According to Gavin Strider, sometimes the next Stellar Tier could take tens or even hundreds of thousands of years to appear. But so far, the longest Joe Di had waited was only fifteen years.
If Gavin Strider could honestly tell him how to walk the Stellar Stairway, that would be strange. Based on Joe Di’s understanding, that bastard would definitely try to trick him on the Stellar Stairway. If he hadn’t been ambushed by Gavin Strider on the previous gray boulder, he’d think he was cautious. He asked Gavin Strider about the Stellar Stairway’s method just to eliminate it as a possibility.
Joe Di felt his experience was still lacking. Following Gavin Strider, he hadn’t taken time to summarize the rules of the Stellar Stairway. Gavin Strider had mostly chosen light-colored Stellar Tiers, but some were dark-colored. According to Gavin Strider’s conclusion, the dark-colored Stellar Tiers they’d walked were those whose Dao resonance faintly conflicted with Gavin Strider’s.
This time, several months passed before the next Stellar Tier appeared. Instead of one or two, eleven Stellar Tiers appeared at once.
Even after walking the Stellar Stairway with Gavin Strider for so many years, Joe Di had never seen this—eleven Stellar Tiers appearing at once.
Joe Di traversed the void to the edge of the eleven Stellar Tiers and immediately noticed a brown one. In terms of color, it was neither the darkest nor the lightest. Yet Joe Di felt this Stellar Tier did not reject him. As for whether its Dao resonance conflicted or matched, he could not sense it.
As Joe Di landed on the brown Stellar Tier, a thought occurred to him: If he chose this way, wouldn’t other cultivators do the same? Most cultivators would probably pick the Stellar Tier that feels closest to them—so why are thousands still stranded on the gray boulder?
Most have been walking the Stellar Stairway for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years—could it be this choice is wrong?
Joe Di frowned, pondering for a long time but couldn’t find the right answer. In the end, he decided to follow his own way. Since he didn’t know the right answer, he would follow his feelings.
Time passed as Joe Di continued to ascend the Stellar Stairway, always following his feelings when choosing each Stellar Tier.
Joe Di vaguely felt he was on the right path. According to Gavin Strider, sometimes the next Stellar Tier could take tens or even hundreds of thousands of years to appear. But so far, the longest Joe Di had waited was only fifteen years.