South Pill Mountain. Zoe Shen's face was slightly pale, but only she knew she wasn't afraid—she was hurt, and the one who hurt her was Joe Di.
She had pleaded with Joe Di so sincerely, but Joe Di couldn't even be bothered to reply to her.
"Everyone, be careful. Earlier, Feng and the others were killed here by that fiend beast..." Rovik drew a curved blade, his tone heavy.
The three cautiously crossed the rugged valley entrance, then froze. Before them lay a massive fiend beast, sprawled in a pool of blood, its head torn completely in two.
"It's really dead..." Tom Hsueh muttered, but it seemed impossible.
Not just Tom Hsueh—even Zoe Shen and the others were stunned. How could this be possible? How did Joe Di kill it, and when?
After a long moment, Rovik strode forward and carefully examined the dead fiend beast's head. He observed for several minutes before exclaiming, "This beast was killed less than three hours ago. The fatal wound was a single slash, delivered head-on, and the beast didn't even have a chance to resist."
Rovik's words left everyone exchanging glances. It was simply too unbelievable, far beyond what they could imagine.
"I think... we may have misunderstood Senior Joe," Tom Hsueh said, "but... but..." He knew they might have been wrong about Joe Di, yet there was no way to explain what had happened.
Zoe Shen recalled the time she first met Joe Di in the Wangchuan Mountains, the Rouge Tiger fiend beast he had slain, and how he left without a sound. Suddenly, she felt she might have wronged Joe Di again.
Maybe the impression she left in Joe Di's eyes was getting worse and worse...
...
With a flick of Joe Di's hand, six crystalline Imperial Elixirs appeared in his palm—three of superior grade and three of exceptional grade. This was just his first batch, and he had already produced exceptional Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills. Even if they didn't have nine marks yet, it was only a matter of time. This was what set Joe Di's alchemy apart.
His approach to alchemy was all or nothing—either he couldn't refine the pill, or it would be top-tier.
For most of the next half month, Joe Di was constantly perfecting his alchemy, refining all kinds of Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills.
The marks on his Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills grew steadily. Eventually, almost every batch he produced was a Nine-Mark, Ninth-Grade Immortal Pill.
Nora Xiu's aptitude was only average, but after Joe Di used the Ninth Prime Law to open her star meridians and provided ample cultivation resources, her progress was like a thousand miles a day.
In less than a month, Nora Xiu had already reached the third layer of Qi Refinement.
Joe Di didn't disturb Nora Xiu. He left her a message recording, then passed through Earth's atmosphere and entered the vast expanse of the Milky Way.
He planned to find a place to break through to the Immortal Emperor realm. With his level of power, he wouldn't dare to face tribulation on Earth. The intensity of his Lightning Tribulation would be so great that just one wave could utterly destroy the planet.
A few days later, Joe Di landed on an unknown, uninhabited planet. He estimated that he had already left the Milky Way.
In a place like this, no matter how powerful the Lightning Tribulation, it shouldn't affect Earth.
Every plane has its own laws of heaven and earth. Although Joe Di had left the Milky Way, the plane he was in was still a low-level one.
If another expert found out Joe Di intended to face Immortal Emperor Lightning Tribulation in such a low-level plane, they'd be utterly speechless.
A low-level plane is called low-level because, no matter how much you cultivate, you can't reach higher realms. Furthermore, high-level cultivators who enter a low-level plane are immediately crushed into nothingness by its laws of heaven and earth.
The reason Joe Di dared to face Immortal Emperor Lightning Tribulation here was his faith in his own Prime Law. His Dao was unlike anyone else's. For him, tribulation was more about borrowing the cosmic might to deepen his understanding of the Prime Law, rather than using the world's laws to break into a higher realm.
It's just like his refinement of Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills. Even if an Immortal Emperor could keep their body from being crushed by the world's laws, any Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills refined in a low-level plane couldn't survive.
Such Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills would be instantly crushed by the world's laws and reduced to dust.
Joe Di was different. He condensed the laws of heaven and earth with his own Prime Law, refining Ninth-Grade Immortal Pills under his own rules.
Now, as he prepared to advance to Immortal Emperor, he would use the same method.
Joe Di pulled out over a dozen superior-grade immortal veins, even that half-zhang-long green energy vein. On this planet, he set up a grand spirit-gathering array.
As Joe Di's rules circulated, the rich energy of the planet swiftly formed a vortex of spiritual resonance around him.
The vortex quickly became an independent space of rules, and within it, Joe Di's cultivation, which had stagnated for so long, finally began to rise.
At this moment, Joe Di felt calm. He didn't even try to force the breakthrough to Immortal Emperor; he believed that once his cultivation reached a certain level, the barrier would naturally dissolve.
...
When Nora Xiu went to get another Fasting Pill, she found they were all gone. After two years in seclusion, she had just stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage.
But two years had passed, and Joe Di still hadn't returned. She found herself missing him.
Although Joe Di had left a recording crystal, telling her he'd left Earth to seek advancement and would return in a year or several at most, she still worried about his safety.
She still had plenty of cultivation resources, but Nora Xiu decided not to continue her seclusion. Joe Di had told her that blindly shutting herself away wasn't the best way to improve.
A cultivator must often venture out for trials. Only by facing dangers and experiences can one stabilize their cultivation and also their state of mind.
She believed that with her current strength, a period of training outside should be just about right.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content!)
"Senior Shen, what are you doing here?" As soon as Nora Xiu stepped out, she saw Zoe Shen. Zoe Shen was actually living in a thatched hut outside their Wangchuan Temple. From her thin appearance, it was clear she had been here for more than a day or two.
"Xiuqi..." Zoe Shen called out to Nora Xiu, her gaze falling on the mist-shrouded grand array behind Nora Xiu.
Nora Xiu was not slow to react—she immediately realized Zoe Shen was here to look for Joe Di.
"Senior Shen, are you here to find Big Brother?" Nora Xiu quickly asked.
Zoe Shen nodded. "Yes. Do you know how Joe Di is doing?"
She didn't believe Joe Di was unaware of her arrival. Joe Di knew she was here, yet in all these months he had never invited her in. Clearly, he truly had no feelings left for her.
Lin Xiuqin quickly said, "Senior Shen, Big Brother has been away for two years now and still hasn't returned."
"Joe Di went away?" Zoe Shen snapped back to herself, and actually felt a bit relieved. If Joe Di had been inside all this time, leaving her to wait outside in a hut for months, she would have felt terrible. But now, knowing Joe Di didn't know she had been waiting for months, she found herself at peace.
"Yes, Big Brother hasn't come back since he left. He said he'd return in a few years." Nora Xiu was worried about Joe Di, but she had a feeling he was fine.
"Xiuqi, you don't need to call me 'Senior' anymore. I'm older than you, but you're Joe Di's wife. Back then, Joe Di and I were equals. If you'd like, just call me 'Sister' from now on." After regaining her composure, Zoe Shen grew warmer in her tone.
Nora Xiu was taken aback. Zoe Shen was famous both at home and abroad—everyone knew Senior Shen. Now Zoe Shen wanted her to call her 'Sister,' and Nora Xiu felt honored and surprised.
"I've lived alone in Guhai for years, and it's actually been quite lonely. I don't have many friends. Maybe I'm not very good with words..."
Before Zoe Shen could finish, Nora Xiu quickly waved her hand. "That's not true! I think Sister Ziyu is very kind and approachable."
Hearing Nora Xiu call her Sister Ziyu, Zoe Shen was delighted. She stepped forward and took Nora Xiu's hand. "Xiuqi, where are you headed? I noticed you spent a long time in seclusion. Is this your first time out since then?"
"No, I've gone out several times..." Nora Xiu remembered her previous outings were mostly to test flying swords and flight treasures, which weren't really ancient martial arts. She trailed off, then continued, "During my seclusion, I felt my strength grow quickly, and with Big Brother gone, I got bored alone, so I decided to go out for training for a while."
Hearing Nora Xiu say she was going out for training, Zoe Shen said happily, "Then let's go to Kemi! The Kemi Forest is full of fierce beasts and fiend beasts. I heard there's even a bird fiend there—if we can get an egg, we might raise our own mount."
"Ah..." Nora Xiu exclaimed. She had a flying treasure, but if she could have a bird beast pet to ride, how wonderful would that be?
Then she realized, "Sister Ziyu, are you coming too?"