Bolt stomped his foot in frustration. The purple-haired man felt suffocated, yet he didn't dare to fight back. Now, all he felt was regret—regret for recklessly charging into someone else's Guardian Array.
Perhaps it was because he was used to being powerful, or perhaps he was accustomed to seeing others as mere ants before him. So when he barged into Joe Di's Guardian Array, he felt no psychological burden at all. Ironically, this seemingly harmless step turned out to be a fatal mistake—one that could very well cost him his soul, leaving him with no hope of survival.
The Grand Way truly is full of danger, even the slightest misstep can be fatal. If he hadn't entered this Guardian Array, even if he couldn't beat his opponent, his strength would have allowed him to escape with ease.
"Boss, it's a long story. How about I deal with these little pests first, then explain everything in detail?" Bolt glanced cautiously at the frustrated purple-haired man and the other dark-skinned cultivator.
Joe Di nodded in approval. "Not bad. It seems you've finally learned something."
"Senior, though I may have offended you, I possess a tremendous secret—a secret about the Grand Way Path..."
Seeing that Joe Di wasn't going to let him go, the purple-haired man dared not be careless. He hurriedly spoke, his voice trembling with fear.
Joe Di was puzzled. This guy had arrived even later than he did—how could he know the secrets of the Grand Way Path?
Seeing Joe Di hesitate instead of acting immediately, the purple-haired man repeated, "People say the Grand Way Path cannot be retreated from, nor can one leave it. But that's not entirely true. As long as you possess enough Dao strength, you can retreat on the Grand Way Path, even exit from where you entered."
"If that's all you have to say, then there's no need to continue." Joe Di replied coolly.
Ever since Joe Di entered the Grand Way Path, he never believed it was impossible to retreat; he simply never chose to. If he wanted to turn back, or even leave the Grand Way Path, he was confident he could do so. This wasn't just self-assurance—it was a certainty born from the Dao he cultivated. He had survived even in the depths of Chaos; what path could there be that Joe Di couldn't retreat from?
"No, no..." the purple-haired man said anxiously, "Actually, to reach the Seventh Step, you don't necessarily have to enter through the Ascendant Gate. I know someone who didn't enter via the Ascendant Gate and still broke through to the Seventh Step. His name is the Sage of Life and Death. On the Grand Way Path we traveled, he left behind a Life-and-Death Gate..."
Joe Di frowned. The matter of the Life-and-Death Gate was something he was well aware of. He hadn't expected that this cultivator of the Life-and-Death Grand Way had even left a Life-and-Death Gate on another Grand Way Path.
In Joe Di's eyes, he and the so-called Sage of Life and Death were already mortal enemies. The Sage of Life and Death wanted to seize the Dao of others to nourish his own Dao Tree. Yet, unexpectedly, within the Life-and-Death Gate, Joe Di managed to seize the Life-and-Death Grand Way himself. The Sage of Life and Death was bound to find out. Joe Di knew that when they finally met, it would truly be a battle of life and death.
The purple-haired man stopped talking. He believed that as long as Joe Di was interested in his information, Joe Di would ask for more. If Joe Di questioned him, then he would have a chance to survive.
Joe Di fell silent for a long moment. Suddenly, the Azure Veil Blade whipped up, unleashing a torrent of blade curtains that tore through the air.
Within Joe Di's array space, neither the purple-haired man nor the dark-skinned cultivator had the strength to resist. They were swept up by Joe Di's blade curtain.
The purple-haired man let out a shrill, despairing scream before vanishing without a trace.
Joe Di showed no mercy. He blasted open the cosmic worlds of both men, sweeping away everything inside. Only then did he toss out a ball of flame, reducing both of them to nothingness.
It wasn't just that these two had hunted Bolt for so many years—even without that, showing leniency to people like the purple-haired man on the Grand Way Path would be cruelty to oneself.
Joe Di knew very well who could be spared and who could not.
"Well done! Wiping out those guys is the least they deserve," Bolt exclaimed, venting his anger.
Joe Di looked at Bolt. "Now, tell me—why did you come to this place?"
Bolt finally spoke, "Back when I was in Chaos, I gained insight into the source of my Dao, and felt I was about to awaken certain talents and fragments of inherited memory. But right at that moment, the Chaos of my universe abruptly dissipated, as if a brand-new cosmic law was assimilating all existing laws..."
Joe Di nodded. He knew this must be the result of the new universe that he, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning constructed, gradually assimilating all the cosmic laws of the Rivergate Universe. Given enough time, the broken Rivergate Universe would become part of the new universe.
But Bolt continued, "At that moment, I saw a huge vortex array gate within the Chaos, and inside it was something I desperately craved. I hesitated for a long time before finally charging into the vortex gate. Inside, I was nearly torn apart. Fortunately, my innate divine ability awakened, and not only did I survive, but my strength soared to a new level."
"After coming out of that vortex array gate, where did you end up?" Joe Di suddenly wondered if Bolt had arrived at Ninefold Heaven after leaving the false Chaos of the Rivergate Universe. But that couldn't be right—the new universe was assimilating all laws, so both the Rivergate Universe and Ninefold Heaven would be absorbed.
Bolt replied, "I arrived in true Chaos, and only then realized that the Chaos I had been in wasn't real—it had been assimilated by the laws of the Genesis Realm. Although it had chaotic energy, compared to true Chaos, it was worlds apart."
Joe Di nodded. The Chaos in the Rivergate Universe did contain chaotic energy, which benefited anyone who cultivated there and was the best place for cultivation.
But in true Chaos, ordinary people cannot survive. If survival were possible, the rewards would far exceed those found in the false Chaos of the Rivergate Universe. How did he obtain his Dao Tree? Wasn't it precisely from the harvests in true Chaos?
What puzzled Joe Di was how Bolt managed to survive in Chaos.
Before Joe Di could ask, Bolt excitedly said, "The moment I entered Chaos, I felt an overwhelming pressure and thought I was done for. But then my innate talent awakened..."
Joe Di looked at Bolt in confusion. "You have Leviathan blood, right? But I've never heard of any special abilities tied to Leviathan blood."
What Joe Di meant was that, at best, Leviathans were divine beasts. In Chaos, divine beasts received no special treatment—if it was their time to die, they would die.
Bolt chuckled and proudly raised his seven claws. "I don't really know, but I seem to be a Chaos remnant, a bit different from a Leviathan. All I know is that in Chaos, I thrive like a fish in water. What is a deathtrap for others is easier for me than surviving in ordinary places. I can directly absorb Chaos to cultivate, and I can even refine my own Chaos divine abilities..."
Joe Di sneered. "Heh, you sound so impressive, yet you were chased all over by three pieces of trash."
Bolt lowered his head in embarrassment. "That wasn't my fault. When I left the false Chaos, my strength was actually pretty poor. But after entering true Chaos, I not only comprehended my Dao, but also awakened various innate talents and divine abilities. Otherwise, I really might not have escaped those three pieces of trash."
Joe Di agreed. If Bolt's speed had been any slower, it really would have been hard to escape the purple-haired man's pursuit. Bolt's strength now was probably comparable to an early Sixth Step cultivator. Yet, in truth, he'd only recently stepped into the Fourth Step—his actual realm was about the same as Joe Di's.
"If that's the case, why did you leave Chaos?" Although Joe Di asked, he'd already decided that once they entered Chaos again, he'd toss Bolt in to cultivate.
But Bolt immediately grew nervous. "Boss, I think you should hurry back and save them..."
"Save who?" Joe Di looked at Bolt in confusion.
Bolt quickly said, "I encountered two unbelievably powerful cultivators in Chaos..."
"Wait—you mean you met other cultivators surviving in Chaos?" Joe Di interrupted, astonished.
Bolt could survive in Chaos thanks to his innate divine abilities. He could live there because he cultivated the Path of Rules, and eventually refined his own Dao Tree.
Could Chaos be different now than before? Bolt actually met two powerful cultivators who could survive in Chaos? Could it be that, like him, their Daos also allowed them to exist in Chaos?
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)