"Fellow Daoist Franklin, we meet again." Tammy Tang forced herself to suppress the panic deep within her heart and greeted him. What she was really wondering was: would Franklin Young forcibly take her away next, or use some other means?
Franklin Young gave an awkward smile, his gaze landing on Vera Tang. A trace of surprise flickered in his eyes. He could instantly tell that Vera Tang was a Human Clan woman, but it had been years since anyone from the Human Clan—especially such a beautiful woman—had come to the Void Market.
"May I ask what brings you to see me, Fellow Daoist Franklin?" Tammy Tang asked again. Her greatest worry was that Franklin Young would take her away right now; if he did not act immediately, she would not be afraid.
Franklin Young cupped his fists and said, "Junior Sister Tammy, as you know, before the Dao Fruit Tower opens, the Void Market usually hosts a major auction. Because there is an important matter to discuss this time, I consulted with Mark Mariner of the Sea Clan and Gavin Hung of the Demon Clan. We all agreed to move the auction forward a bit."
Tammy Tang responded with a puzzled expression, "I have no objections, of course."
She was indeed confused in her heart. No matter how much earlier the auction was held, she had no objections—what did it have to do with her? She could not understand why Franklin Young was bringing this up to her.
Franklin Young raised his hand and cast a restriction, then sighed and said, "This time, it concerns a very major matter. So we are using the auction to gather the Hundred Clans and discuss it together."
"What matter?" Tammy Tang frowned, starting to suspect Franklin Young might have some scheme in mind.
Franklin Young's tone grew serious. "Junior Sister Tammy, I truly can't reveal the details, and I know very little myself. The main insider is a Saint Emperor from the Demon Clan, known as the Hunyuan Umbrella Saint. He returned from the Outer Heavens not long ago, but is gravely wounded and is currently recuperating. Once he recovers, we will use the auction to bring the clans together and discuss the matter in detail. He will explain everything himself."
Tammy Tang, guided by her instincts, was convinced Franklin Young was up to no good. So she replied without hesitation, "Since it is a major matter, Fellow Daoist Franklin can attend on behalf of us. The Phoenix Clan is currently focused on recuperation and is not suited to participate in such affairs."
Franklin Young frowned, then said, "Junior Sister Tammy, the Phoenix Clan is one of the great clans of our universe—how could you not participate? The Human Clan must also attend. I hope you will pass a message to the Human Clan's experts: the summit will be held in three years, at the Dragon Clan's domain. Emperor Ao Kui of the Dragon Clan has personally invited us, mainly because the Cosmic Coiling Dragon Fruit will be ripe, and he wishes us to taste it together."
Tammy Tang sneered inwardly. Was the Dragon Clan really so generous? Just as she was about to speak, Vera Tang suddenly spoke up, "I will represent the Human Clan at the summit."
Tammy Tang looked at Vera Tang in confusion. This was her first time meeting Vera Tang, though she had heard of her before. Given Vera Tang's status, she certainly wouldn't collude with Franklin Young against Tammy Tang. Was there truly something going on that Tammy Tang didn't know about? Vera Tang had never been to the Void Market before—how could she know about this?
Hearing Vera Tang claim to represent the Human Clan, Franklin Young looked at her in surprise. "You can represent the Human Clan?"
Vera Tang's cultivation was decent, but she was only at the early Genesis Realm. Rumor had it that the Sacred Dao World was thriving these years—not only late Genesis experts, but even Dao Integration powerhouses had appeared. Why would Vera Tang, an early Genesis cultivator, represent the Human Clan?
Franklin Young's question made Vera Tang frown slightly. Before Vera Tang could answer, Tammy Tang interjected, "Fellow Daoist Franklin, Junior Sister Vera is indeed qualified to represent the Human Clan."
With Tammy Tang's confirmation, Franklin Young did not press further. He knew well that the Phoenix Clan and Human Clan had a good relationship. He nodded, "In that case, I'll take my leave. We'll meet again at the Dragon Clan's domain in three years, as announced in the auction's publicity."
With those words, Franklin Young turned to leave. Seeing that Franklin Young did nothing to her—not even a threat—Tammy Tang grew even more unsettled. Unable to hold back, she called after him, "Fellow Daoist Franklin, may I ask if Brother Di has returned? Where is he now?"
Franklin Young gave a bitter smile. "Junior Sister Tammy, you know well that Brother Di would never be with me. So I truly don't know where he is now."
Franklin Young understood Tammy Tang's meaning—she was worried he might act, even against the Phoenix Clan. The Phoenix Clan's strength had indeed declined sharply; if the Demon Clan really wanted to strike, they could easily crush them.
If Joe Di had been killed, Franklin Young would not have held back. Even if he spared Tammy Tang due to the Hundred Clans Summit, the Phoenix Clan would still have to pay a heavy price.
But right now, he truly did not dare to act—at least not until Joe Di reappeared. Before that, he absolutely would not lay a finger on Tammy Tang.
To be honest, when Franklin Young first heard that Joe Di had killed Graham Ming, he didn't think much of it. Graham Ming's abilities were mediocre; if Joe Di couldn't kill him, he wouldn't be so arrogant.
Later, when Joe Di single-handedly broke through the Ancient Eight Trigram Array, Franklin Young began to take him seriously. He realized that Joe Di was anything but simple—not just in combat ability, but in his methods as well.
Subsequent events proved Franklin Young's caution was justified. He had suspected Jason Silentwood was scheming, but was not afraid. What he hadn't expected was that Jason possessed a Ninth-Rank Array Disk, though now the disk was in Franklin's hands. If Cody Cobb hadn't intervened suddenly, Franklin Young might have been defeated by the disk.
One of the frightening things about Joe Di was that he had known in advance that the Chaos Lotus could not be obtained. Otherwise, Franklin Young believed Joe Di would never have left it behind. How did Joe Di know something that none of the rest of them did?
They were not afraid of Joe Di setting up a deathtrap array, because even if he could, his array would not be able to stop seven or eight Genesis Realm Saint Emperors working together.
The second frightening thing about Joe Di was that he had predicted only three people would make it out in the end. His deathtrap array not only trapped Warren Wraith, but also allowed him to profit from the rest.
How could Franklin Young dare to touch Tammy Tang if someone like this was still alive?
Franklin Young actually overestimated Joe Di. While it was true that Joe Di knew beforehand the Chaos Lotus could not be obtained, he hadn't predicted that only three people would escape in the end. Joe Di's plan was to trap a group of Genesis Realm Saint Emperors with the deathtrap array, suppress two of them, and let a batch go.
Tammy Tang grew even more puzzled by Franklin Young's words. Could it be that Joe Di was really fine? She quickly realized that Joe Di's situation could not be rushed right now. Instead, she needed to ask Vera Tang why she would agree to attend the Dragon Clan's summit without even asking a single question.
......
Joe Di did not return to the Void Market. At this moment, he was on a desolate void planet. He was certain that as long as he did not show up, no matter how bold Franklin Young and Mark Mariner were, neither would dare lay a hand on Tammy Tang.
But if he appeared in the Void Market, things would be different. Both Franklin Young and Mark Mariner knew he possessed Jason Silentwood's ring. If either of them lost their minds and joined forces with other Genesis powerhouses to attack him, he might really be in trouble.
So, taking advantage of this time, Joe Di simply found a desolate planet and began to improve his strength.
With so many Dao Fruits and Jason Silentwood's ring in hand, not making use of them would be foolish.
The first thing Joe Di did was not refine the rings of Jason Silentwood, Warren Wraith, or Graham Ming, but to enter the Ninth World and stand beneath the Chaos Lotus.
In his own world, no matter how powerful the Chaos Lotus was, it could not escape.
Joe Di reached out, and the Chaos Lotus trembled as if trying to break free. Yet in Joe Di's Ninth World, it seemed to be pulled by an invisible force and fell right in front of him.
Joe Di took a deep breath. At this moment, he even felt his spiritual sea become much clearer. Staring at the Chaos Lotus before him, Joe Di thought to himself: this is truly a treasure.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)