Joe Di had already stopped cultivating. Ten years had passed since he reached the peak of the Ninth Layer Immortal Sovereign, but in all that time, his cultivation had not advanced in the slightest.
It was as if something on his path of the Dao was blocking him, making it impossible to progress even an inch.
Stowing away the Azure Essence Vein, now reduced to a mere fragment, Joe Di sighed. Continuing to cultivate was meaningless; perhaps he should make a trip to Earth.
Once he acquired the Reincarnation Bridge, even as an Immortal Sovereign, he should have nothing to fear—not even someone as powerful as Li Lei.
Leaving Harmony Hall, Joe Di glanced at his Commsphere—no messages had arrived. That meant Peace Inn was fine. If anything happened, Blackfire or Guildmaster of the Alchemist Guild, Qu Hen, would have contacted him.
Joe Di searched the void for an extremely secluded spot before finally taking out the Worldbreaker Talisman that Qu Hen had given him.
As he held the Worldbreaker Talisman, Joe Di suddenly wondered—what if this talisman didn’t send him to Earth, but to the Cultivation Realm instead? Compared to the Four Immortal Continents, Earth’s interface level was simply too low.
Should he seek out a master talisman refiner to craft a few low-grade Worldbreaker Talismans—ones that could specifically take him from the Cultivation Realm to Earth?
But Joe Di quickly smacked his own forehead. Even if he could only refine low-grade talismans now, if he truly wanted to learn talisman craft, he should be able to make a Worldbreaker Talisman like the one in his hand. Becoming a low-grade Immortal Talisman Master and crafting a talisman that could return from the Cultivation Realm to Earth shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
As for talisman crafting materials, his True Spirit World had them in abundance.
Dao Resonance flowed over the Worldbreaker Talisman, forming ring after ring of Dao Marks in Joe Di’s hand.
It was indeed a top-grade talisman, Joe Di thought to himself. If this talisman were put up for auction, it would fetch a sky-high price.
Joe Di’s Spiritual Sense landed on the Worldbreaker Talisman, and just as his True Essence was about to activate it, a sudden sense of restlessness welled up inside him.
Joe Di furrowed his brow and stopped activating the talisman. What was going on? He focused his Spiritual Sense on the talisman, inspecting it thoroughly, but found nothing amiss.
It seemed he was just being overly cautious. After all, this talisman was given to him by Qu Hen. Joe Di knew Qu Hen’s character well—he didn’t believe Qu Hen would harm him, and even if he did, using this talisman would serve no purpose.
With that thought, Joe Di cast aside his hesitation and activated the talisman without reservation.
The talisman burst forth with a ray of Dao light that tore through the void. Before Joe Di’s eyes, the void split open, revealing a passage filled with the aura of countless realms.
Joe Di swept his Spiritual Sense outward and immediately sensed the aura of several familiar realms. Without hesitation, he stepped into the void passage created by the talisman. It didn’t matter which familiar realm he ended up in.
Almost the moment Joe Di entered the void passage, the Worldbreaker Talisman shattered, transforming into strands of faint gray Dao light under his Spiritual Sense. These rays instantly enveloped Joe Di.
Joe Di immediately felt cracks spreading across his Spiritual Sea, his meridians beginning to collapse, and even his Dantian echoed with cracking sounds...
Not good, I’ve been ambushed...
Joe Di’s heart raced with anxiety—he was certain he’d been set up. The gray Dao light unleashed by the talisman was not only corroding his Spiritual Sea and meridians, but also threatening to destroy his Dao Foundation.
At that moment, Joe Di frantically activated his Rule Cycle. Fortunately, his Stellar Meridian was vast beyond measure—even though he’d been ambushed, his Stellar Meridian remained completely unaffected.
But his Spiritual Sea was immobilized. If this corrosion continued, Joe Di estimated his Spiritual Sea wouldn’t last long before it was annihilated along with his meridians.
Such a vicious talisman—the one who refined it had not only reached the pinnacle of the Talisman Dao, but was also a top master in Arraycraft and Alchemy Dao.
Joe Di figured even Qu Hen didn’t know about the talisman’s hidden dangers. If Qu Hen had known, he would never have put him in harm’s way.
If it were any other cultivator, they could only await death. Even Joe Di, before mastering the Rule Cycle, would have been just as helpless.
Now, Joe Di’s Rule Cycle barely kept his Spiritual Sea from collapsing. The annihilation no longer corroded his Dao Foundation, but he couldn’t go further—he couldn’t fully neutralize the damage to his body and Dao Foundation.
This annihilation was more than just a deadly poison; it was also the ultimate application of the Venom Law. Only Joe Di could survive—anyone else would have perished under this talisman.
Joe Di was most adept at various Foundational Laws. Although the Venom Law was formidable, as long as he could block its further corrosion of his foundation, he could slowly recover.
All he needed was time—lots of it.
Although Joe Di had been ambushed by the talisman, it was genuine—the void passage it created still remained.
Joe Di tumbled through the void passage, occasionally slashed by razor-sharp Voidblades that left bloody marks.
At this point, Joe Di could only hope that this void passage wasn’t afflicted by Void Displacement—that it wouldn’t kill him outright.
Fortunately, the talisman was indeed powerful. The void passage it opened had no fatal Void Displacement or deadly Void Strangulation. Plus, Joe Di possessed a Divine Physique—even though he was covered in wounds, he could barely keep his body intact in the void.
......
Cauldron Haven, Peace Inn.
Sprout stood proudly at the inn’s entrance. He’d just advanced to sixth-rank Immortal Fiend, and his delight was hard to contain.
As for how many cultivation resources he’d used—he didn’t care. Too bad Big Brother wasn’t here; if he were, he’d surely offer some praise.
Even Blackfire was only... well, only an eighth-rank Immortal Fiend, just two ranks higher. Blackfire had extraordinary talent, while Sprout was just an ordinary old root. In the end, the Dao rewards diligence—his hard work had finally paid off.