Within the Rift of Annihilation, time lost all sense. Joe Di himself had no idea how many years had passed. In those first dozen years, even with the support of his Grand Law, his body was relentlessly torn apart by the ruinous Dao rhythm within the rift—no part remained whole. Fortunately, he had faced similar ordeals during his body-tempering days. Now, with his own world and the backing of his Grand Law, he managed to survive.
If endurance failed him, Joe Di was ready to tear open the void and escape. The void domain within the Rift of Annihilation was far more unstable than that of the Genesis Universe, and with his current power, he was certain he could break through.
Years slipped by, and Joe Di gradually mastered survival within the Rift of Annihilation. His body even began to heal. When the aura of Grand Law collapse finally dissipated, Joe Di found himself standing on solid ground.
Looking back, the Rift of Annihilation had vanished.
Joe Di knew he had traversed the Rift of Annihilation and now stood at the edge of the Genesis Cradle.
His divine sense swept outward, meeting no resistance. Yet, even with Joe Di’s formidable perception, all he found was desolation—no sign of life, only the occasional scar of battle.
Joe Di carried the Azure Veil Blade on his back, moving at an unhurried pace. Along the way, some regions of the void were dotted with burning planets, bathing those places in perpetual daylight. Other regions, by contrast, were swallowed by endless night.
As for places where day and night alternated with clear boundaries, Joe Di had yet to encounter such a sight.
After half a year of relentless travel, Joe Di reached a conclusion: this was certainly not a place to attain the Creation Realm.
To pursue the Creation Realm here might be even less fruitful than returning to the Five Elements Universe.
Still, Joe Di did not think Henry Vaughn was deceiving him. First, Henry himself did not truly know what the Genesis Cradle was. Beyond that, the Genesis Cradle was vast and boundless—perhaps Joe Di simply had not found the right place yet. At the very least, he had not seen a single person so far. According to Henry Vaughn, only the strongest of the strong gathered at the Genesis Cradle, so how could there be no one at all?
After several more months, Joe Di slowed his pace, advancing while carefully sensing any fluctuations in the surrounding laws.
If this truly was a place to attain the Creation Realm, then the fluctuations of the laws should only grow stronger.
One day, as Joe Di was searching for his bearings, he suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation in the laws. He stopped, closed his eyes, and carefully attuned himself. After half a stick of incense, Joe Di opened his eyes—he had identified the source of the fluctuation.
Miranda Qian—the woman he once slew, only for Zane Edge to rescue her. That fluctuation was undoubtedly Miranda Qian’s. Having killed her before, Joe Di could not possibly mistake her Dao rhythm.
Joe Di could well imagine that Zane Edge had come here, bringing Miranda Qian with him. It seemed Henry Vaughn’s speculation was correct: for Zane Edge to perfect his Grand Law, he must come to the Genesis Cradle.
Zane Edge’s strength was currently a bit greater than Joe Di’s, but even if they met face to face, Joe Di had no intention of fleeing—he simply did not fear Zane Edge. Now that Zane Edge’s Grand Law was damaged, Joe Di had even less reason for concern.
Joe Di quickened his pace, heading toward the source of Miranda Qian’s Dao rhythm. He was certain that wherever Miranda Qian was, Zane Edge would be there as well. The Genesis Cradle was endless, and if Joe Di searched blindly, he might never find what he was looking for. If he could locate Zane Edge and ask for directions, it would save him a great deal of time.
Using his Law-Stepping technique, Joe Di reached the place he had sensed in just half a stick of incense.
To Joe Di’s shock, Miranda Qian was nowhere to be seen—instead, he found Zane Edge.
But this was not the living Zane Edge—it was the dead Zane Edge.
Joe Di landed beside Zane Edge, astonished. Zane Edge sat on the ground, his head drooping, eyes open but filled with confusion—and deep within that confusion, a pain that words could not express.
What happened here?
Though Joe Di and Zane Edge were rivals, even mortal enemies, Zane Edge was undoubtedly a hero and a formidable figure. Otherwise, he would never have become City Lord of Genesis City, ruling over countless elite cultivators from many universes.
There were indeed a few beings in Genesis City stronger than Zane Edge, but consider who gathered there—powerhouses from the boundless, vast universes.
When the struggle for the Saint Seat began, if Zane Edge’s Grand Law was restored, he might well have had a chance at claiming it. For such a strong figure to be slain here, seated and defenseless, was almost beyond Joe Di’s imagination.
Joe Di was certain—even if Zach came here to ambush Zane Edge, there was no way Zane Edge would have gone down without a fight, just sitting there waiting to be killed.
And as for Miranda Qian, if she had struck at Zane Edge while his guard was down, Joe Di found that even harder to believe.
Whether Miranda Qian had the ability or not, Joe Di was sure Zane Edge would never give her the chance. Besides, Miranda Qian was Zane Edge’s Dao companion—she had betrayed him once, and now regretted it deeply. Why would she plot against him again?
Joe Di took a few steps forward, swiftly weaving arrays of law with his divine sense. The banners of law quickly condensed into rules, merging seamlessly with the surrounding void until their traces vanished.
Joe Di was quite satisfied with himself; after creating his own arraycraft system, his formations no longer depended on banners, nor even on the surrounding space-time. Next time he faces Zach in battle, he must factor his arraycraft mastery into the strategy.
After a stick of incense’s time, faint shadows appeared in the space. Gradually, those shadows solidified, becoming as clear as images. To manifest Time Reversal Vision to such a degree, there were truly few in the vast cosmos who could match Joe Di.
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
To Joe Di’s surprise, the first to appear in the vision was neither Zane Edge nor Miranda Qian, but another familiar face—Morgan Du.
Morgan Du was just a pretty boy; upon appearing, he did nothing but sit cross-legged, as if meditating on some Dao technique. Judging by the Dao rhythm of Time Reversal Vision, Joe Di sensed that half a month had passed before Miranda Qian arrived in haste from afar.
When Morgan Du saw Miranda Qian, he immediately stood up. His eyes brimmed with longing, anticipation, and even a hint of resolve.
“Qianqian, are you here to kill me?” Morgan Du murmured, yet his eyes held no fear of death—only longing and hope.
“Am I here to kill you?” Miranda Qian looked exhausted. Seeing Morgan Du, she stared blankly for a long while before murmuring those words, completely forgetting her original purpose for coming.
Ever since Zane Edge saved her, she had followed him, though he neither told her to leave nor spoke to her. Day after day, year after year, it went on like this.
Until she followed Zane Edge to the Genesis Cradle, after decades of trailing him, she had made up her mind to end things here. Just as she was about to leave Zane Edge and seek her own death, she sensed Morgan Du’s presence.
To be honest, when Zane Edge abandoned her in silence, what she thought of most was not the bits and pieces she had shared with Zane Edge, but the days spent with Morgan Du—secretive, thrilling, and full of excitement. Whenever she felt melancholy, it was Morgan Du who stayed by her side and comforted her.
Now, as she resolved to end her own life, sensing Morgan Du’s presence once more, she came here without hesitation.
“Qianqian...” Morgan Du suddenly rushed forward and embraced Miranda Qian.
Miranda Qian did not push Morgan Du away. Perhaps it was a need, perhaps it was utter surrender—she reached out and embraced him in return.
All this time, Zane Edge had allowed Miranda Qian to follow him. But the moment she left, a sense of emptiness welled up within him, and he, too, followed her here. Then he witnessed Morgan Du and Miranda Qian’s heartfelt embrace. Perhaps, at that moment, he understood for whom Miranda Qian had truly left him.
Or perhaps, he finally understood that Miranda Qian had truly left him.
(That’s all for today—good night, friends!)