Agreed? The Immortal Lord was momentarily stunned by Joe Di's words. Previously, he had intended to lead Joe Di out of Outer Crucible City, since he had witnessed Joe Di entering the city.
Most cultivators feel a pang of regret when handing over several thousand top-grade Immortal Crystals as the entry fee. He noticed that Joe Di showed no such hesitation, and guessed that Joe Di must be quite wealthy.
His intention in approaching Joe Di to buy Sprout was to earn a million consultation fee. Since it was Joe Di's first time in Outer Crucible City and he didn’t know the city’s rules, it would be easy to lead him astray. He wasn’t the first to do this, nor would he be the last. However, when Joe Di asked about Great Cauldron City, he started to want more from Joe Di.
When Joe Di said he needed time to consider, he knew he would end up with only the million Immortal Crystals, so he planned to force Joe Di to pay. Unexpectedly, just when he was about to give up, the situation reversed—Joe Di agreed to accompany him to the Voidliner.
"You truly are a discerning cultivator. My name is Ron Gray—may I ask what I should call you?" Ron Gray responded quickly, giving Joe Di a thumbs up in praise.
"Lead the way. I’m in a hurry," Joe Di waved impatiently.
"Alright." Ron Gray turned and walked ahead, and Joe Di followed without hesitation.
Seeing Joe Di lead a female cultivator who hadn’t even reached the True Immortal stage, along with a ninth-rank fiend beast, following Ron Gray, many people in the hall shook their heads. What a clueless youngster—how did he even make it to Outer Crucible City?
"Wait..." As Joe Di reached the doorway, a clean-shaven cultivator blocked his path and handed him a ring. "I’m actually interested in buying your tree demon, fellow cultivator. What do you think of this price?"
The other party appeared to be a Grand Ether Immortal. Although Joe Di’s spiritual sense was only Third Rank Immortal Sense, his mind had been tempered countless times by the Soul Refining Art and further refined by Scorching Spirit Grass. Even an average Fourth Rank Immortal Sense might not be as focused as his.
As soon as Joe Di’s spiritual sense landed on this Grand Ether Immortal, he realized the man was actually an Immortal King—he was certain he hadn’t guessed wrong.
He had fought Immortal Kings before, and had killed more than one. Even if he couldn’t discern their exact strength, the aura of an Immortal King—even when concealed—could not escape his spiritual sense, for he could detect that faint trace of Dao resonance.
Joe Di’s heart chilled. If it were an ordinary cultivator, he wouldn’t care at all. But if an Immortal King wanted to buy Sprout, he couldn’t afford not to pay attention.
Joe Di grew wary, but spoke as if nothing was amiss: "Fellow cultivator, your cultivation may be weaker than mine, but not by much, I suppose? My tree demon is of little use to me now. Even if you buy it, it won’t help you much."
The Immortal King replied calmly, "I simply like this tree demon. I have a Spirit Grass Garden. Although its cultivation is low, it’s still suitable for tending my garden."
Joe Di pondered briefly before saying, "How about this? I’ll go check out the Voidliner and be back soon. Once I return, we can discuss it in detail. My beast companion may be low-ranked, but I’ve poured a lot of effort into it. I wouldn’t sell it for the price of an ordinary ninth-rank beast."
"Of course, take your time. I reside at the Mingxu Immortal Lodge; just ask for Paul Qian when you arrive." The Immortal King seemed unconcerned that Joe Di might not return, waving his hand casually.
He guessed that Joe Di’s strength was probably at the Grand Ether Immortal level. For an Immortal Lord to trick a Grand Ether Immortal out of Outer Crucible City—wasn’t that courting death? Joe Di’s conversation with Ron Gray hadn’t gone unnoticed.
As the Immortal King waved his hand, a faint and hidden aura settled on Joe Di. Joe Di was furious—he couldn’t understand what was so special about Sprout, an ordinary tree demon. Yet the Immortal King had placed a spiritual mark on him. Clearly, if he left Outer Crucible City for too long, Paul Qian would come after him.
If his spiritual sense weren’t so refined, he wouldn’t have noticed the mark at all.
After the Immortal King left the trading hall, Joe Di didn’t follow him out. Instead, as he passed by the Grand Ether Immortal whom he’d messaged earlier, he handed him a ring.
The Grand Ether Immortal hadn’t expected Joe Di to suddenly give him a ring at this moment. He took the ring and scanned it with his spiritual sense—one million top-grade Immortal Crystals, not a single one missing.
The Grand Ether Immortal immediately understood Joe Di’s intent and handed him a jade slip without hesitation.
Joe Di took the jade slip without looking at it, tossed it into his ring, and followed Ron Gray out of the trading hall.
It was common for someone to be tricked out of Outer Crucible City like Joe Di had been. As he left, no one paid much attention.
......
After leaving Outer Crucible City, Ron Gray immediately summoned a low-grade flying immortal artifact. He turned to Joe Di and asked, "Would you like to ride in my flying treasure, or follow behind me?"
Joe Di didn’t bother replying. He simply brought Moria Lane and Sprout aboard Ron Gray’s ship. "Of course I’ll take your ship—it’s much faster, isn’t it?"
"Right, right..." Ron Gray echoed, then piloted the ship into the void.
He felt a twinge of doubt. If Joe Di truly knew nothing, there’s no way he could have made it to Outer Crucible City unscathed.
If Joe Di really understood what was happening, why would he get on Ron Gray’s ship? But then it made sense—Joe Di’s female companion wasn’t even at the True Immortal stage, and his beast was just a ninth-rank fiend beast, not even an Immortal Fiend. If Joe Di were truly strong, that would be the real surprise.
Joe Di didn’t wait for Ron Gray to think it through. He summoned the Azure Veil Blade, sending a wave of blade light slashing toward Ron Gray.
"How dare you..." Ron Gray was furious to see Joe Di attack first. He had been wondering why Joe Di dared to board his ship, but he was also considering whether to kill Joe Di himself or call his companions to help.
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Based on his guess, Joe Di’s cultivation was at most Golden Immortal. A Golden Immortal was someone he could kill instantly.
In fact, his guess about Joe Di’s cultivation was correct. The only thing he got wrong was that Joe Di wasn’t an ordinary Golden Immortal—he was one who had killed Immortal Kings.
As the Azure Veil Blade swept toward him, Ron Gray felt something was off—the space around him was sealed by Joe Di’s blade, and even the trapping array on his ship couldn’t be activated.
Ron Gray twisted his body frantically, trying to break free from Joe Di’s blade aura.
But with his second-layer Immortal Lord cultivation, under Joe Di’s blade aura, it was like being trapped in a giant pit of mud.
Even so, he managed to escape the fate of having his head split open by Joe Di’s blade.
With a splatter of blood, Ron Gray’s arm and a large swath of flesh beneath his armpit were sliced open by Joe Di’s blade.
"Stop...!" Ron Gray was terrified. He knew he’d run into someone ruthless. "If you kill me, you’ll never leave Outer Crucible City alive..."
Joe Di actually believed this. But what he feared wasn’t Ron Gray’s companions—it was the Immortal King. That Immortal King had clearly seen he intended to kill Ron Gray and was only waiting for him to come back and trade Sprout.
So he had no intention of ever returning to Outer Crucible City. Under the frenzied killing intent of the Azure Veil Blade, a sweeping arc of blade light slashed out—a curtain of blades swept across, slicing Ron Gray in half. Not even his soul escaped; it was shredded by Joe Di’s blade intent.
Joe Di snatched Ron Gray’s ring, quickly grabbed a faint shadow from his body, and tossed a dozen Array Banners to lock the shadow onto the ship. Then he said sternly, "Moria, Sprout—get into the True Spirit World, quick. I need to make my escape."
His opponent was indeed an Immortal King, but for an Immortal King to think he could mark Joe Di with a spiritual imprint—Paul Qian was overestimating himself.
"Boss, I thought you really didn’t want me anymore." Sprout, who had been trembling with fear, spoke timidly. It even regretted following Joe Di into Outer Crucible City—after just one short trip, it had nearly been sold off.
Moria Lane simply responded with a quiet "Mm," not asking for any explanation.
With a sweep of his hand, Joe Di sent Moria Lane and Sprout into the True Spirit World, then used a spiritual escape technique to vanish into the void. His ship continued speeding along its original course.
......
Paul Qian at the Mingxu Immortal Lodge wasn’t worried about Joe Di not returning. After all, he was just a Grand Ether Immortal. Paul could clearly sense his spiritual mark; if Joe Di didn’t come back for a long time, he would hunt him down without hesitation.
What he was really pondering was the tree demon beside Joe Di. Although it seemed ordinary, there was something strange about it—almost as if it could pierce through the false aura of the void domain.
Paul Qian knew that was impossible—even a perfected Immortal Emperor couldn’t tear open the void domain here. So it must be a false aura.
Why would such a low-level tree demon have this false aura of tearing through the void? Paul Qian couldn’t figure it out. He could only plan to bring Joe Di and Sprout to a secluded place for a thorough inquiry.
"Huh? Something’s not right..." After thinking for a long time to no avail, Paul Qian sensed his spiritual mark moving in the wrong direction.
As he saw it, Joe Di wouldn’t have much patience. As soon as he left Outer Crucible City, he’d kill that Immortal Lord and immediately return.
But now his spiritual mark was getting farther and farther away, with no sign of returning.
Realizing this, Paul Qian stopped pondering and immediately vanished from his room, rushing out of Outer Crucible City.
(That’s all for today’s update—good night, friends!)