If anger could truly ignite, Martin Shane's fury would have already burned the Sanctuary Realm to ashes. The more enraged he became, the more wary he felt within.
The young man named Di before him was clearly someone who acted with reckless abandon. Otherwise, he would never have dared to provoke the Morrison Clan.
To act so brazenly against the Morrison Clan in the Sanctuary Realm, there could only be two reasons: either the opponent was immensely powerful and feared nothing, or they had a top-tier force backing them, making the Morrison Clan unable to retaliate.
Regardless of whether Joe Di had a top-tier power behind him, Martin Shane was certain that Joe Di was no weakling—he was very likely a Prime Realm expert as well.
But so what if he was a Prime Realm expert? The Morrison Clan had Prime Realm experts too—and not just one.
"Elder Shane." The cultivator guarding the array gate saw Martin Shane approach and quickly bowed in greeting.
"Scram!" Martin Shane kicked the guard, sending him flying.
"Brother Di, my clan's guard has offended you. I'll send him to the Judiciary Hall shortly." After kicking the guard aside, Martin Shane spoke to Joe Di with apparent remorse.
Of course, sending this guard to the Judiciary Hall was impossible. Martin Shane had two reasons for his actions: first, the man named Di had come seeking the clan leader, and this guard had failed to report it. While it seemed minor, anyone suddenly seeking the Morrison Clan's leader was highly unusual. Second, Martin Shane intended to seal the array gate himself; if he did so abruptly, this guard might panic and cause trouble.
It was important to note that the Morrison Clan's array gate was always open, as no one had ever dared to cause trouble here.
Joe Di sneered inwardly, but only responded with an "Oh?" He asked with interest, "This guard was just doing his duty. What punishment will the Judiciary Hall give him?"
Martin Shane replied sternly, "This man obstructed an honored guest of the Morrison Clan and will certainly face severe punishment. Stripping his cultivation would be lenient—our Law Hall elders despise guards who act on their own initiative..."
Joe Di quickly interrupted, "Elder Shane, let me plead for mercy—don’t punish him so harshly. Stripping his cultivation is enough, isn’t it? Never mind, I know you’ll feel indebted to me and want to punish him severely, but I can’t bear it. How about this: I’ll handle it myself, and you mustn’t punish him further. Since this happened because of me, let’s end it here."
With that, Joe Di raised his hand and unleashed a Spirit Blade at the Transformation Realm guard. The guard, still reeling from Martin Shane’s kick and barely recovered, suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his Spiritual Sea. In an instant, his Spiritual Sea collapsed, followed by the breakdown of his meridians.
He stared blankly at Martin Shane, unable to believe that for merely blocking an outsider, he had lost his cultivation and foundation.
Martin Shane was completely stunned. He stared at Joe Di, only to hear Joe Di say earnestly, "Elder Shane, let’s leave it at that. I know your clan values details, and I’ve already acted as you suggested. Please tell the Judiciary Hall elder not to punish him further—it would put me in an awkward position."
"You..." Martin Shane finally couldn’t hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Joe Di immediately stopped and grabbed Martin Shane’s shattered shoulder bone, squeezing it tightly while asking with concern, "Elder Shane, are you alright?"
As he spoke, Joe Di was already inscribing array flags one after another. This was the array gate, and he was sure Martin Shane wanted to close it, which was why he’d kicked out the Transformation Realm guard. Since this was the array gate, Joe Di needed to make some preparations.
Unfortunately, his Five Direction Banners weren’t here. If they were, he wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.
The Morrison Clan’s Guardian Array was far from simple—it was likely an Eighth-Rank Divine Array. If he got trapped, he’d have to fight his way out.
A faint spatial ripple sounded—"crack!" If Joe Di hadn’t inscribed so many law array flags nearby, he might not have noticed it at all.
Martin Shane had kicked away the guard, hoping to secretly seal the array gate, but he hadn’t expected Joe Di to see through the attempt.
With that faint sound, Joe Di immediately knew his guess was right—the Morrison Clan’s Deathtrap Array had been sealed. From now on, if he wanted to leave, he’d have to force his way out.
In fact, when Joe Di first arrived, he had never expected the Morrison Clan to treat him cordially.
Ever since the Morrison Clan twisted the truth and arrogantly nailed Shelby Young to the plaza, burning her with underground filth flames for tens of thousands of years, Joe Di knew they were no virtuous clan.
Knowing a fight was inevitable, Joe Di didn’t bother with formalities. He disliked procrastination—since he was destined to be enemies with the Morrison Clan, he wouldn’t wait for them to strike first.
Suddenly, a jade-white staircase descended from the void, landing at the feet of Joe Di and Martin Shane. At its end, a hearty voice laughed, "My friend, you’ve come from afar—may I ask your name?"
Joe Di had called himself Old Master Di before Martin Shane, so Martin Shane only knew his surname. In other words, until now, the Morrison Clan still didn’t know which great figure had come seeking trouble.
With the staircase and the voice, a powerful Prime Realm domain surged forth, enveloping Joe Di in its aura.
Early Prime Realm—the moment Joe Di sensed the opponent’s cultivation, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped Shelby Young’s intelligence was correct: the Morrison Clan had no Third Step powerhouse.
Joe Di patted Martin Shane again. "Go rest—you’ve worked hard bringing me here. I can walk the rest of the way myself."
When Joe Di removed his hand, Martin Shane’s face turned pale. Although Joe Di had repeatedly broken his leg and shoulder bones, those weren’t major issues—he only felt humiliated. But just now, as Joe Di let go, Martin Shane suddenly sensed something new within his body.
Instinctively, Martin Shane performed a Cosmic Cycle, and everything seemed normal. His gaze fell on the Transformation Realm guard whose foundation Joe Di had destroyed, and a shadow crept into his heart.
"My name is Joe Di—many call me Old Master Di. Actually, I got this name from Old Master Jiao." As he spoke, Joe Di stepped onto the White Jade Staircase.
At the end of the White Jade Staircase stood a middle-aged cultivator in coarse clothes with a sallow face. Judging by his early Prime Realm cultivation, Joe Di guessed this must be Martin Yun, the Morrison Clan patriarch Shelby Young had mentioned.
"Ha! Fellow Daoist Di, you truly are bold—ordinary people aren’t qualified to enter my Morrison Clan’s White Sand Hall." The sallow-faced man laughed heartily, his tone friendly but his words full of threat.
Joe Di, an array master close to the Seventh-Rank Formation Sovereign, knew the moment he stepped onto the White Jade Staircase that he’d entered a Seventh-Tier Slaughter Array.
A genuine Seventh-Tier Slaughter Array—even a Prime Realm cultivator trapped within would find it impossible to escape easily.
Joe Di didn’t care at all. Standing before the sallow-faced man, he asked curiously, "I’ve already given my name. Why haven’t you introduced yourself yet?"
Martin Yun looked at Joe Di in surprise. The moment Joe Di stepped onto the White Jade Staircase, Martin Yun’s Prime Realm domain had locked onto him. Not only that, the surrounding Slaughter Array could be activated at any time. What gave Joe Di such confidence?
A faint voice sounded in Martin Yun’s ear, "This man is no ordinary cultivator. He must know he’s entered a trap. If he knows and still has such confidence, he’s not to be underestimated. Let him enter the hall—we’ll meet him ourselves."
Joe Di felt the spatial ripples and knew someone was transmitting a message. The man before him was early Prime Realm, likely the Morrison Clan patriarch. Anyone able to send a transmission to the patriarch must also be Prime Realm—probably the mid-stage Prime Realm elder Shelby Young had mentioned.
If not for knowing that a mid-stage Prime Realm elder could strike at any moment, Joe Di might have already dealt with the Morrison Clan’s early Prime Realm patriarch.