Joe Di was extremely cautious this time. After returning to the canyon and confirming he hadn't been followed, his first move was to set up a Concealment Grand Array.
He spent three days arranging the Concealment Grand Array and a Shielding Grand Array before finally opening the protective array he had set up earlier.
The gray aura reappeared before Joe Di, making him somewhat excited. This should be a genuine Cosmic Dao Vein. Back then, when he struck with his blade, the gray aura hadn't budged at all, but now his strength had multiplied many times over.
No matter what, today he was determined to take away this Cosmic Dao Vein.
Although the Concealment Grand Array outside masked the aura leaking from the Cosmic Dao Vein, Joe Di decided, just to be safe, not to use the Azure Veil Blade to split the gray aura. Instead, he activated Fate's Loom, unleashing the Time Arrow to pierce through the gray aura.
Even though the area was locked down by Joe Di's grand array, the moment the Time Arrow was unleashed, the space-time laws of this region instantly became chaotic. The violent aura threatened to shatter Joe Di's own array, leaving him no choice but to release the Time Arrow immediately.
The Time Arrow, wrapped in space-time Dao resonance, split the gray aura open. Before the gray aura could repair itself, Joe Di unleashed endless Dao resonance with both hands, dropping a series of law array flags.
In just a short time, the gray aura was broken open by Joe Di's grand array.
Joe Di kept his divine sense focused outside the array, confirming that no one was approaching before finally relaxing. The commotion from Fate's Loom just now had been tremendous—even though he hadn't fully drawn the bow, its power was still terrifying.
With the grand array separating the gray aura, Joe Di finally turned his gaze to the Cosmic Dao Vein. Its surface was still covered in a thin mist, but now it was no longer gray—it had turned a pale gold.
Joe Di walked over, condensing Dao resonance in both hands, and tore open the pale gold mist. A pure white Snowvein Dao Vein hung down from the void before him, as pristine as condensed snowflakes, utterly free of dust. The densest Heaven-Earth energy surged forth, so intense that every pore on Joe Di's body seemed to open wide.
With it came the sweeping resonance of the Grand Way contained in this Heaven-Earth energy—vast and majestic, far surpassing the Goldvein Dao Vein he had obtained before.
Similarly, it was different from the half Obsidian Dao Vein he had obtained previously. That black Dao Vein seemed to contain more universal laws, or rather, not only did it hold the laws of all things, it also had some Dao resonance not present in this vast expanse.
But the Dao Vein before him was pure top-grade Heaven-Earth energy, with no miscellaneous Dao resonance at all.
Such a treasure! Joe Di immediately began setting up law array flags.
After half a day, Joe Di grew increasingly anxious. This Dao Vein was certainly over ten thousand zhang long, and he wanted to send the complete Dao Vein into his world, so the arrangement of law array flags was progressing slowly.
Normally, taking it slow wouldn't be a problem, but as time passed, the Snowvein Dao Vein's Heaven-Earth energy kept spreading. Its energy was so potent that even the Shielding Grand Array couldn't fully contain it. Joe Di knew that if he couldn't take the Dao Vein away quickly, cultivators would be drawn by the pure, intense Heaven-Earth energy and begin attacking his protective array.
But he couldn't do as before and just take half. Only a complete Cosmic Dao Vein was truly valuable.
Joe Di forced himself to remain patient and continued arranging array flags. After more than an hour, he heard a thunderous roar from outside.
Joe Di's heart sank—he knew someone was attacking his protective array.
Though he wanted to speed up, Joe Di was already moving as fast as he could.
Crack! The sound of shattering rang out beyond Joe Di's protective array. With a wave of his hand, he swept the Cosmic Dao Vein into his own universe world.
Boom! Joe Di's protective array was completely destroyed. Four Creation Realm experts rushed into the canyon, surrounding him from all sides.
But Joe Di was relieved—he had managed to put away the pure white Snowvein Dao Vein at the last moment. Otherwise, even if he wasn't afraid of these four, it would have been nearly impossible to collect the Dao Vein intact.
What reassured Joe Di even more was that Chi Yao wasn't among these four.
"You have quite the luck, fellow Daoist. The Dao Vein you just collected wasn't the pale gold one, was it?" said a woman with long hair wrapped up, dressed in black. Dao resonance surged around her, and the aura of the Grand Way was vast and majestic. Clearly, she was a top Cosmos Lord from some universe.
As she spoke, the others kept their eyes on Joe Di. Their Dao resonance was just as dense, none weaker than the woman. In fact, she was probably the weakest of the four.
Especially the middle-aged man standing a bit farther away, his hair a wild tangle like straw—he gave Joe Di an intense sense of danger.
Next to the woman stood a tall, handsome man. He seemed to be moving his hands, yet they appeared perfectly still.
As a cultivator of the Grand Law of Rules, Joe Di immediately understood what he was doing—he was using the surrounding Heaven-Earth laws to construct a new world. To attempt to build a world of laws within Joe Di's own rule space was truly a display of skill before a master.
Joe Di said calmly, "Not bad luck. So, what exactly do you all want by blocking my way?"
"What do we want?" The woman looked at the others in confusion, not quite understanding Joe Di's words. But she didn't care and continued, "Finders, keepers. Hand over your spoils so everyone gets a share, or you won't be leaving here."
"So this is a mugging?" Joe Di chuckled, killing intent gathering around him. Without even moving his hands, the Azure Veil Blade strapped to his back let out a clear ring and flew out, hovering by his side with an overwhelming murderous aura.
The woman glanced disdainfully at Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade and said, "We're not robbing you—this is a negotiation. I'm Fiona Yuen from Kenworld, and these three are Zane Jin from Westgold Universe, Andy Young from Evolence Universe, and Jip Boone from Leadstar Universe. Do you still think we're here to rob you?"
Judging by her confidence, Joe Di knew these four had made a name for themselves in the Cosmic Nest. Otherwise, they wouldn't think that just announcing their names would intimidate him.
Joe Di ignored Fiona Yuen and focused on Zane Jin. With his wild, straw-like hair, Zane was clearly the most dangerous of the group. If they tried to rob him, Joe Di wouldn't back down.
Finally, Joe Di's gaze settled on the man still constructing a world—so this was Jip Boone. Seeing him here, whether or not Jip Boone tried to seize the Cosmic Dao Vein, Joe Di wouldn't let him go.
It wasn't just because Jip Boone had killed his friend, the Soulfall Sovereign. Jip Boone had also killed Luke Bao of Leadstar Universe and reclaimed the territory that the Soulfall Sovereign had held. Letting Jip Boone escape would put Zhao in danger. Not just Zhao—even this planet would be at risk.
Noticing Joe Di's attention on Jip Boone, a flash of killing intent appeared in Fiona Yuen's eyes. No matter how strong Joe Di was, he couldn't possibly be a match for any of the four. Apparently, they hadn't killed enough experts in the Cosmic Nest to strike fear into this newcomer.
Just as Fiona Yuen was about to make a move, Joe Di spoke, looking straight at Jip Boone: "You're Jip Boone from Leadstar Universe. You killed my friend, the Soulfall Sovereign, and seized his territory at Saint Seat Plaza, didn't you?"
Jip Boone, still building his world, raised his brows and stared coldly at Joe Di. "That's right. I killed him. Do you have a problem with that?"
Joe Di chuckled, "Why would I? I simply turned your lackey, Luke Bao, to ash and reclaimed the territory myself."
(Today's update ends here. Good night, friends!)