On the fifth year, Joe Di ceased his array deductions. He stood up, somewhat disappointed. Perhaps only after he stepped into the Prime Realm would he have a chance to become a Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign.
When Joe Di stood up, the surrounding array Dao aura dissipated completely. Ethan North, who had been watching Joe Di intently, asked in astonishment, "Why did you stop deducing the array Dao?"
Joe Di sighed and said, "Senior Tai Yi, you were right. I’m afraid I won’t be able to advance to Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign in a short time."
Joe Di was well aware of his own progress. At this rate, it wasn’t that he couldn’t advance to Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign, but by the time he did, ten thousand years might have passed. Joe Di didn’t have that much time to comprehend the array Dao; if he did, he’d rather use it to step into the Prime Realm first.
At this moment, Ethan North no longer regarded Joe Di as an arrogant upstart. Anyone who could leap from Eighth-Rank to Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign in just a few months had every right to speak as he did.
"Fellow Daoist Joe, if you don’t mind, please don’t call me ‘senior.’ Just use my name, or call me North Tai Chu—many of my friends do. As for the name Tai Yi, even if I were more arrogant, I wouldn’t dare to use it." At this moment, Ethan North already saw Joe Di as his equal.
In the vast universe, longevity alone is not enough to command respect. In the cosmic void, strength is what truly matters.
With the extraordinary talent Joe Di displayed, he was qualified to befriend anyone.
"Then I’ll just call you Old North." Joe Di didn’t care about such things at all. Ethan North’s background was likely extraordinary, but so what? He was extraordinary too.
Ethan North accepted the nickname, then said, "Little Joe, I could sense that as you comprehended the array Dao, the array pattern rules flowed rapidly—your progress was obvious. Why did you stop?"
Since Joe Di called him Old North, he simply called Joe Di Little Joe. This way, as friends, they felt even closer.
Joe Di sighed, "Although I am making progress, I feel that it will take a very long time to step into Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign."
If Ethan North knew that the 'very long time' Joe Di spoke of was only a few thousand years, or even less than ten thousand years, he would be speechless with exasperation.
But since Joe Di hadn’t specified the exact time, Ethan North really thought it would take tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. If before, he hadn’t believed Joe Di could escape, now he was starting to believe it. So he took the initiative and said, "Little Joe, my array Dao may be weaker than yours, but I’ve seen a lot. Can you tell me, what’s the main obstacle in your breakthrough to Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign?"
Joe Di didn’t hide anything and said directly, "My cultivation is limited. I haven’t reached the Prime Realm yet, so I can’t inscribe Ninth-Rank array patterns, nor can I sketch the law array banners of a Ninth-Rank array. If I use the law array banners of an Eighth-Rank Formation Sovereign as the foundation, I can still make progress, but it’s far too slow."
"Using array banners to deduce the array Dao is indeed the fastest way…" Ethan North mused after a pause. He naturally understood Joe Di’s approach.
There are countless ways to deduce the array Dao. If you can refine a Ninth-Rank array banner before attempting to deduce a Ninth-Rank array, your progress will be twice as fast with half the effort. But refining a Ninth-Rank array banner isn’t something ordinary people can do. Many set up high-level arrays, but aside from the array foundation, the array banners they use are of much lower rank.
To refine a Ninth-Rank array banner, one must be an Artifact Saint. If someone has already reached that level, how much time would they need to spend on artifact refinement? Given that, where would they find time to study arrays?
Although every powerful artifact refiner must study arrays, in the end, priorities must be set.
Therefore, for arrays of the same rank, their strength depends not only on the person who sets them up, but also on the rank of the array banners used.
"Snap!" Joe Di slapped his forehead. "How foolish of me."
"What is it?" Ethan North asked Joe Di in confusion.
Joe Di sighed, "I actually forgot that I can refine Ninth-Rank array banners, yet I insisted on using divine sense to sketch law array banners. That’s really ridiculous."
It was just like how he’d been lured by Vera Tang’s message before, only to end up trapped here. Vera Tang had been taken by the Celestial Beyond, and even though he’d seen her communication bead on her wrist, who could say whether someone else had copied it?
So, other people could have Vera Tang’s communication bead too—it didn’t necessarily mean she’d been captured. Right now, he hadn’t advanced to Ninth-Rank Formation Sovereign and couldn’t inscribe Ninth-Rank law array banners, but he could refine them.
"You can refine Ninth-Rank array banners? You’re an Artifact Saint? An Artifact Saint who can craft supreme artifacts?" Ethan North was utterly shocked by Joe Di.
An Eighth-Rank Formation Sovereign and also a Ninth-Rank Artifact Saint? The key was, this guy’s cultivation wasn’t all that impressive—just at the Unity Realm. But even so, he could still move freely at the bottom of the Silent Abyssal Magma, amidst the void flames. This meant Joe Di might also be a top-tier body refiner.
Joe Di grinned, and with a thought, the Azure Veil Blade flew out and landed before Ethan North. "Old North, take a look at my blade."
The Azure Veil Blade radiated powerful blade intent. Ethan North could tell at a glance that this was a top-tier supreme artifact. He couldn’t help but exclaim, "Excellent blade, truly an excellent blade."
He couldn’t help but wonder if Joe Di’s blade once contained white Starfuse Gold. Not only that, it likely also had Violet Silksand. If that was the case, then this blade could advance on its own, and its future potential was simply unfathomable.
"I refined it myself. Pretty good, right?" Joe Di grinned and recalled the Azure Veil Blade. "Later, I'll use this blade to help you break the Shadowsteel sealing your cultivation."
Ethan North shook his head, "It’s useless. Unless your blade advances further and becomes a Sacred Artifact, it can’t cut through my Shadowsteel."
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Ethan North knew exactly how terrifying the Shadowsteel binding him was. This was no ordinary Shadowsteel—inside, a peerless expert had inscribed forbidden array patterns. Ordinary artifacts couldn’t possibly break it.
Joe Di frowned. The Azure Veil Blade in his hand suddenly slashed out, sending a blade shadow toward the Shadowsteel. He could also see that there was a supreme Dao restriction inside the Shadowsteel. This strike aimed to tear open the restriction’s laws and then break the Shadowsteel.
"Crack!" With a crisp sound, Joe Di’s Azure Veil Blade struck the Shadowsteel, leaving a fissure.
But in the next moment, the fissure in the Shadowsteel disappeared without a trace—almost instantly. At the same time, Ethan North spat out a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper.
Feeling apologetic, Joe Di quickly took out several pills and fed them to Ethan North. "Old North, I really didn’t expect the Shadowsteel to be so powerful. Sorry for hurting you."
In this situation, even if he could break the Shadowsteel, Ethan North’s life might not survive the ordeal.
After swallowing several pills, Ethan North felt much better. He waved his hand, "It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to have a technique that could tear apart restriction laws. Even so, you still can’t break this Shadowsteel."
Joe Di nodded, "I know. Let me think of a solution. By the way, do you know what can tear open this Shadowsteel?"
Ethan North replied, "Whether I know or not doesn’t matter, because such a thing surely doesn’t exist. By the way, the pills you just gave me—are those Dao Origin Pills? They’re not easy to come by. How did you get them?"
"I refined them myself. Too bad I don’t have a Unity Dao Fruit, otherwise I might even be able to refine Unity Dao Pills right now," Joe Di said casually.
"You’re also a Dao Origin Pill Saint?" Ethan North felt like he was going crazy—an Artifact Saint, Eighth-Rank Formation Sovereign, Dao Origin Pill Saint, and a body refiner too. How was anyone supposed to compete with that?
Joe Di waved his hand, "Those are secondary. For now, just tell me—what method can break the Shadowsteel binding you?"
Ethan North finally calmed down and sighed, "Only Dao Fire, and not ordinary Dao Fire. It must at least be Sacred-grade Dao Fire to break the Shadowsteel sealing my Purple Mansion."
"Dao Fire?" Joe Di looked at Ethan North with a speechless gaze. Dao Fire was right there on his wrist.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)