Joe Di continuously cast array flags, knowing that to break this Concealment Array, he first had to force it to reveal itself.
Despite setting up several directional arrays and even a Blast Array to shatter the area, the Concealment Array showed no sign of appearing.
"Senior Brother Joe, I was too naive. This Concealment Array is extremely advanced; I'm afraid we..." Serena Yu felt helpless, seeing Joe Di busy for so long with no effect, and was somewhat discouraged.
Joe Di could still arrange directional arrays and Blast Arrays, but she could do nothing to help.
Joe Di waved his hand, "Wait quietly to the side. Let me divine the mysteries a while longer."
His array mastery had already reached the peak of third rank; with another breakthrough, he would ascend as a Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster.
In the Dao Domain, cultivators who could set up Fourth- to Sixth-Rank Divine Arrays were known as Array Grandmasters. Once he advanced to a Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster, his status would rival that of a Prime Realm expert. Moreover, Array Grandmasters were far rarer than Prime Realm cultivators in the Dao Domain.
Joe Di began deducing the formation, while Serena Yu could only wait on the side. Though her cultivation was similar to Joe Di's, her array skills were worlds apart.
Standing motionless, protected by Joe Di's defensive arrays, Serena Yu was able to block the occasional fragments of shattered rules that swept by. Unable to cultivate or do anything else, she could only watch as Joe Di immersed himself in the mysteries of arraycraft.
Time slowly passed as Joe Di became completely absorbed in deducing the Concealment Array. At first, his figure was clear in Serena Yu's eyes, but as he delved deeper into the evolution of the array, his form grew increasingly blurred, eventually merging with layer upon layer of Dao resonance.
Serena Yu was truly astonished. As a core disciple of the Purelight Sect, she had attended Dao lectures by Hunyuan experts. When those experts reached a certain level in their discourse, their bodies would be enveloped in Dao resonance, and even their words would carry the aura of the Dao. The most powerful would have Dao resonance lingering throughout the entire space.
But what cultivation did Joe Di have? At best, he was only at the Dao Nurturing stage, still far from the Second Step. Yet now, she could no longer sense Joe Di himself, only the Dao resonance flowing around him.
Gradually, Serena Yu was drawn into this Dao resonance. Once again, she sensed the supreme Dao that set Joe Di apart from ordinary cultivators. It was like a morning bell or evening drum, striking the depths of her soul. Serena Yu completely forgot her own inheritance and began to comprehend the Dao resonance of Joe Di's path.
Even when fragments of broken rule blades swept past, Serena Yu instinctively avoided them in her state of enlightenment, hardly expending any effort.
Three years passed in a flash. When Joe Di suddenly opened his eyes, all traces of Dao resonance around him vanished.
After three years of deduction here, his array mastery had advanced to Fourth-Rank. Now, he was a true Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster. If he were to set up a Linked Deathtrap Array to ambush that monk, Joe Di was confident he could take him down.
"Senior Brother Joe..." The moment Joe Di awoke, Serena Yu's enlightenment was abruptly interrupted.
"Let me try again and see if it works." Joe Di nodded to Serena Yu. While he was comprehending the traces of the Concealment Array here, Serena Yu was also gaining insights into his array mastery. To Joe Di, this mattered little; unless he taught his Dao rules personally, others could only grasp the superficial aspects.
Joe Di considered it superficial, but Serena Yu would never think so—and neither would any other cultivator.
She bowed respectfully to Joe Di and said, "Senior Brother Joe, after three years of secluded cultivation with you, I have gained immensely. Thank you, Senior Brother Joe."
Originally, she could barely set up a semi-divine array, but now Serena Yu was certain she could easily construct a First-Grade Divine Array. With a little more time, she could even advance to a Second-Rank Array Master.
What took others tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years to overcome, she had accomplished simply by following Joe Di in secluded cultivation.
This alone showed just how defiant Joe Di's Dao truly was.
Joe Di cast thousands of array flags, but after an hour, he was once again disappointed. Even as a Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster, he still could not open this Concealment Defensive Array.
"Senior Brother Joe, should we wait a few more years before returning?" Serena Yu understood that Joe Di's array mastery had improved, but even now he could not open this Concealment Protective Array, showing just how formidable it was.
Joe Di frowned. He did not have that much time to spare.
Not to mention he was waiting for Dao Fruit to advance to Pill Saint, his cultivation also required a large quantity of Dao Fruit. He had progressed too quickly—even though he cultivated the rules of creation, at this stage he could not break through to the Transformation Realm in the shortest time. To reach Transformation Realm, he would have to rely on Dao Fruit or Dao Pills.
It was not simply about increasing his own strength. Jiang Dai was already hunting him. He had ruined Jiang Dai's plans, and if caught, he would face complete annihilation.
Joe Di glanced at the Dao Fruit Orchard within arm's reach, hesitated, and said to Serena Yu, "Junior Sister Yu, I am going to set up a Concealment Array and meditate a while longer. If it doesn't work this time, then so be it."
"Alright." Serena Yu did not think much of it. She had teamed up with Joe Di for years now; though they had not interacted much, Joe Di always left a different impression from most cultivators.
Joe Di was now a Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster; with a mere wave of his hand, he set up a Fourth-Rank Concealment Array. Once the array was in place, Joe Di stepped into the Ninth World.
Even a Fourth-Rank Array Grandmaster could not break through this Concealment Protective Array. Anyone else would have no choice but to leave and return only when their strength had grown, just as Serena Yu had suggested.
But Joe Di had another option: the Five Direction Banners. Before Grandridge, he would have used them without hesitation. Now, however, he dared not openly reveal the Five Direction Banners; the events at Grandridge had proved that using them might alert Jiang Dai.
If Jiang Dai could sense the Five Direction Banners at Grandridge, who could guarantee he would not detect them here in the Grand Ruins?
The reason Jiang Dai could sense the Five Direction Banners was that Joe Di had not fully refined them; Jiang Dai's mark remained within. Previously, Joe Di would not have considered refining them again. Now, with his Dao Flame upgraded to the peak of Lower-Grade Divine Flame, he might be able to find the problem with the banners.
Joe Di summoned his Dao Flame and threw the Terraflame Banner into the fire, circulating his rule cycle to fully refine the banner.
Even in his own Ninth World, it took Joe Di several days to completely refine all the restrictions on the Terraflame Banner.
Just as Joe Di expected, he clearly identified a trace of Jiang Dai's mark within the Terraflame Banner. To Joe Di's admiration, this mark was actually fused with the restrictions on the banner—if one did not know to look, it would be easy to overlook.
Back when he refined the Terraflame Banner in the Immortal Realm, Joe Di had simply treated this special mark as part of the banner's restrictions and ignored it. This showed just how formidable Jiang Dai's mastery of arrays was.
This convinced Joe Di even more that advancing his Dao Flame to Divine Flame was the right choice. Without Divine Flame, even if he found the mark, he might not have been able to remove it.
This time, Joe Di spent only a short while to strip the mark from the Terraflame Banner.
Immediately, Joe Di found the same mark on the other three banners. He removed the marks from all four, checked them repeatedly, and, satisfied that there were no problems, finally left the Ninth World.
If, after all this, Jiang Dai still managed to track him down, Joe Di could only accept his fate.
"Senior Brother Joe, how did it go?" Serena Yu immediately asked when she saw Joe Di return.
"Let me give it a try." Joe Di first tossed out a handful of array flags, then arranged the Five Direction Banners according to their positions.