Brother Joe, what should I do?' Seeing Joe Di frown, Garrett realized things might be complicated.
Joe Di laughed. “What’s there to be afraid of? Back when we were just at the Qi Refining Stage, we still took down the Qi Family Merchant House. Even if the gap between us and the Starshatter Lord is huge, it’s no bigger than it was back then. There are nearly seven years left before we have to leave Little Central Star. You and I will stay here and train. I don’t believe the Starshatter Lord can do anything to us.”
Joe Di already felt surrounded by danger, and now Garrett had brought an even greater crisis. Joe was more desperate than ever to improve his cultivation. Garrett’s talent was no worse than his—he was already at the first layer of the Seabreaker Stage. In a few years, he might reach the Tribulation King Stage too.
Brother Joe, I can’t train here. I found a better place—it suits me more.' Garrett replied quickly.
Where?' Joe Di looked at Garrett skeptically. Was there really a place better than this—with prime ley lines, a spiritstone mountain, and now a Royal Herb Vein? Joe Di was unconvinced.
It’s Thunder Valley. I reached peak Void Spirit Stage there, but unfortunately I didn’t have a Breakthrough Pill—otherwise I would’ve kept training there.
Joe Di hesitated, then said, “Let’s go together and train there. But first, I’ll teach you a few life-saving techniques: Spirit Shift, Mindforge, and the Dakun Body Refinement Art.”
Training on Spiritstone Mountain, the spiritual energy was certainly rich, but Joe Di felt it was too monotonous—he was only improving his cultivation for the sake of improvement.
Now he could absorb thunder sources, and with plenty of ley lines on hand, training in Thunder Valley would better unlock his potential.
Brother Joe, I have something from Thunder Valley for you to see.' Garrett took out an Octagon Bronze Hammer.
Before Byron Wu could finish his sentence, Garrett’s giant axe swept horizontally once again.
Splat! Blood mist exploded as Garrett’s axe split Byron Wu in two, followed by a burst of flame landing on Byron Wu’s primordial spirit.
"Stop... My father already knows it was you who destroyed my body. If you dare to burn away my..." Byron Wu’s words were cut short as Garrett’s flames completely enveloped his primordial spirit, leaving him no chance to escape.
Son of the Starshatter Lord in the True Domain? Brother Joe always said that anyone who wants to kill you must be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly, never giving the enemy a chance to breathe. Mercy to your enemy is cruelty to yourself.
Back then, Brother Joe led him to take down the Qi Family Merchant House in the same way. Now that Byron Wu wanted to kill him, how could Garrett hold back? Brother Joe also said that you must never let others know about good things. The Royal Herb Vein is incredibly precious—how could he let Byron Wu live?
After killing Byron Wu, Garrett quickly tidied up the scene, extracted the Royal Herb Vein, picked up Byron Wu’s ring, and left in a hurry.
Although Garrett followed Brother Joe’s advice and finished off Byron Wu in time, he still felt uneasy. Byron Wu’s words didn’t seem entirely baseless—at the moment Garrett killed him, it felt as if something had glanced at him.
Now he had to find Brother Joe—only Brother Joe would know what to do.
Garrett sent message after message to Joe Di as he walked, but Little Central Star had too many natural restrictions. If the message went beyond a certain range, it couldn’t be received. Garrett’s method was crude and relied on luck.
There weren’t many fiend beasts on Little Central Star. After all the spirit herbs had been taken by cultivators, most were in seclusion. Garrett encountered no strong enemies on his way.
Joe Di reached the third layer of the Tribulation King Stage, half a year after entering closed-door cultivation. After stepping into the Tribulation King Stage, Joe Di found his cultivation progress increasingly difficult.
On Spiritstone Mountain, surrounded by several prime ley lines and occasionally taking a pill or two, it still took him half a year to advance from the second to the third layer of the Tribulation King Stage.
By this estimate, it might take him almost a year to reach the fourth layer of the Tribulation King Stage. And that was with decent talent—if his aptitude were lacking, advancing would be even harder.
Joe Di sighed helplessly, but could only continue his closed-door cultivation. Just as he was sorting out his thoughts and preparing to resume training, the communication bead on his wrist suddenly flashed.
Garrett? Joe Di rushed out of the array, landing directly in front of Garrett, who was still hurrying forward.
"Brother Joe!" Garrett was even more excited and thrilled to see Joe Di than Joe was to see him. He’d been searching for almost half a year, and finally found Joe Di.
"Let’s go inside first." Joe Di saw that Garrett seemed troubled, so he waved his hand and brought Garrett to Spiritstone Mountain.
"A mountain? Prime ley lines?" Garrett was stunned by the scene before him. He wasn’t inexperienced—back then, obtaining a Spirit Marrow Pool was what allowed him to break through to the Soul Ancestor Stage so quickly.
Now, in front of him were several prime ley lines and a spiritstone mountain.
Garrett immediately thought of his Royal Herb Vein. He quickly took it out and placed it on the ground. “Brother Joe, this is the Royal Herb Vein I obtained. Take a look.”
A rich medicinal aura filled the air, and Joe Di instantly sensed the benefits of the Royal Herb Vein. Though this was a superior-grade Royal Herb Vein, Joe Di knew its value was truly immeasurable.
“This is a treasure. You’re really lucky—even a Royal Herb Vein came your way.” Joe Di praised.
With this Royal Herb Vein, his cultivation progress would accelerate once again.
Brother Joe, I think I’ve gotten myself into trouble." Garrett pointed at the Royal Herb Vein on the ground. "Right after I broke through to the Seabreaker Stage, I discovered this vein. Then a guy named Byron Wu showed up and tried to kill me for it, so I killed him. Later, I heard him say he wasn’t ordinary…
Joe Di slapped Garrett. “Good kill! Who cares about his background? He wanted to kill you—why should you care? So, what was his background?”
He said he was from the Starshatter Domain in the True Domain—apparently the Starshatter Lord’s son…
Hearing this, Joe Di drew a sharp breath. He didn’t know how powerful the Starshatter Lord was, but he’d seen Lord Goldwin in action. Lord Goldwin could send a sixth-layer Transforming True cultivator flying with a casual slap—the Starshatter Lord couldn’t be much weaker, right?
Garrett was really in big trouble—the mess he’d gotten into was even bigger than Joe Di’s.
Joe Di laughed. “What’s there to be afraid of? Back when we were just at the Qi Refining Stage, we still took down the Qi Family Merchant House. Even if the gap between us and the Starshatter Lord is huge, it’s no bigger than it was back then. There are nearly seven years left before we have to leave Little Central Star. You and I will stay here and train. I don’t believe the Starshatter Lord can do anything to us.”
Joe Di already felt surrounded by danger, and now Garrett had brought an even greater crisis. Joe was more desperate than ever to improve his cultivation. Garrett’s talent was no worse than his—he was already at the first layer of the Seabreaker Stage. In a few years, he might reach the Tribulation King Stage too.
Brother Joe, I can’t train here. I found a better place—it suits me more." Garrett replied quickly.
Where?" Joe Di looked at Garrett skeptically. Was there really a place better than this—with prime ley lines, a spiritstone mountain, and now a Royal Herb Vein? Joe Di was unconvinced.
It’s Thunder Valley. I reached peak Void Spirit Stage there, but unfortunately I didn’t have a Breakthrough Pill—otherwise I would’ve kept training there.
Joe Di hesitated, then said, “Let’s go together and train there. But first, I’ll teach you a few life-saving techniques: Spirit Shift, Mindforge, and the Dakun Body Refinement Art.”
Training on Spiritstone Mountain, the spiritual energy was certainly rich, but Joe Di felt it was too monotonous—he was only improving his cultivation for the sake of improvement.
Now he could absorb thunder sources, and with plenty of ley lines on hand, training in Thunder Valley would better unlock his potential.
Brother Joe, I have something from Thunder Valley for you to see." Garrett took out an Octagon Bronze Hammer.
Joe Di’s spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate the Octagon Bronze Hammer, which meant it was something special. His gaze fell on the surface of the hammer, which was covered in script…
This is Primordial Script…' Joe Di was far more knowledgeable than Garrett; one look at the writing and he recognized it as Primordial Script, just like the introduction in the World Book.
Brother Joe, what’s Primordial Script? I just followed the flow of true essence in my meridians according to the directions on the hammer, and I could condense a thunder sword. That’s how I managed to defeat Byron Wu.
Joe Di recognized the Primordial Script—it was definitely a cultivation technique, though he wasn’t sure if it was a divine ability or a spell. Hearing Garrett say he trained according to the flow of true essence and could form a thunder sword, Joe was stunned. The text clearly described a thunder-type technique, but how had it become a cultivation map?
Joe Di discarded the information about Primordial Script in his mind and forced himself to see it as a diagram. Sure enough, he soon felt the guidance of true essence flow.
Garrett, where did you get this?" Joe Di was sure the Octagon Bronze Hammer was extraordinary.
"From Thunder Valley," Garrett replied.