At this moment, Cynthia Xing was stunned. She thought she could crush Joe Di, but the overwhelming force Joe Di displayed showed not the slightest sign of being overpowered by her.
In an instant, Cynthia Xing snapped back to her senses. The twelve lotus blade rays transformed into an illusory blossom of blade energy, exploding and then crashing against Joe Di’s Azure Veil Blade Curtain.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Violent divine essence and Dao resonance exploded in the void. Cynthia Xing spat out a jet of blood, retreating over ten steps, then stared at Joe Di in shock.
She was certain Joe Di had reached the Prime Realm; otherwise, he could never have blocked her twelve Lotus Blade Petals. What terrified her even more was how powerful Joe Di had become after entering the Prime Realm—not only could she no longer suppress him, but Joe Di could easily overwhelm her. After all, she was at mid-stage Prime Realm, and this was her reborn Prime Realm at that.
Joe Di was equally shocked. He had slain more than one Third Step cultivator, yet Cynthia Xing was at most only mid-stage Prime Realm. How could a mid-stage Prime Realm cultivator be so powerful?
But Joe Di didn’t hesitate for a moment. The Creation Brush was already summoned, and in the next instant, it was sweeping across the void, writing the grand character ‘Realm’.
One word shatters ten thousand Daos; ‘Realm’ divides Yin and Yang!
The domain Cynthia Xing had just extended after being shattered by Joe Di was once again reduced to nothingness under the character ‘Realm’. Cynthia Xing was terrified to discover that the space she occupied had been completely locked down by Joe Di’s ‘Realm’.
In the next moment, Joe Di’s Azure Veil Blade swept forth once again, his blade Dao divine art passing through the gap.
Space froze, and time froze as well. In that instant, the entire universe contained only a single blade ray advancing forward. Joe Di felt his scalp tingle—this was the first time he had unleashed his own Fleeting Rift Slash after constructing his own rules. Though his understanding of time laws was still lacking, his blade Dao divine art had completely transcended the Five Elements Universe.
Time rule divine art? Cynthia Xing sensed it instantly. As the former master of the Genesis Lotus, she was far too familiar with time rule divine arts.
Joe Di was indeed stronger than her, but if he thought he could bind Cynthia Xing with a time rule divine art, he was dreaming.
Waves of Dao resonance swirled around Cynthia Xing. She was certain that under her Dao resonance, any time rule divine art would dissolve away. In the end, space remained space, and time remained time.
At this moment, Cynthia Xing had already decided to escape. She was sure she wasn’t Joe Di’s match—perhaps her Dao Fusion wasn’t yet complete. As soon as she broke free from Joe Di’s time rule divine art, she would smash his ‘Realm’ domain and flee.
Bang! When Cynthia Xing’s Dao resonance rules collided with Joe Di’s gap divine art Dao resonance, everything truly stopped—or rather, the cosmic void slowed to an infinite crawl. In that moment, Joe Di’s ‘Realm’ became even clearer.
Cold sweat broke out layer after layer on Cynthia Xing’s back—no, even her cold sweat was frozen in that instant, though her consciousness could still move.
This was definitely a time rule divine art that transcended the Five Elements Universe. Joe Di was just a fortunate junior—how could he possibly know that only by comprehending rules beyond the Five Elements Universe could one truly break free from it?
She could sense it because, back then, she had already stood at the peak of the Five Elements Universe, and had even touched upon the Creation Realm…
Far off, the Lotus Sage who was watching the battle also showed shock in her eyes. In fact, the height Cynthia Xing had once reached was no lower than her own. Joe Di was using a time rule divine art—Cynthia Xing saw it, and so did she.
Cynthia Xing, caught in the midst, sensed that Joe Di’s time rule divine art had surpassed the rules of the Five Elements Universe, and the Lotus Sage felt it too. As masters of Creation Treasures, the Lotus Sage knew that to transcend the Five Elements Universe, one must possess rules beyond its scope. Knowing is one thing, but truly achieving it—only those at her level understand how difficult that is.
Joe Di’s time rule divine art clearly surpassed the laws of the Five Elements Universe—but how had Joe Di managed such a feat?
Almost at the instant the Azure Veil Blade sliced through Cynthia Xing’s brow, her body suddenly shuddered and twisted.
Joe Di stared at Cynthia Xing in astonishment. Though his own rule Dao was not yet fully formed, this Fleeting Rift Slash was undoubtedly his current pinnacle.
Cynthia Xing managed to break free just before being torn apart by the rift—this woman was truly terrifying.
"Pfft!" The Azure Veil Blade fell from Cynthia Xing’s brow. Her eyes flashed with an intense hatred toward Joe Di, and then her physical body collapsed and dissipated.
Joe Di gripped the Azure Veil Blade, momentarily dazed.
Something was off. In truth, Cynthia Xing could have escaped. The moment she broke free from his Fleeting Rift Slash, she could have fled with her life. At worst, she’d lose an arm, but she definitely shouldn’t have let his Azure Veil Blade cleave down from her brow without resistance.
But that wasn’t the most perplexing part. What truly confused Joe Di was that after Cynthia Xing was slain, not even her primordial spirit emerged—it simply dissipated.
"Daoist Di, doesn’t this strike you as strange? Cynthia Xing could have escaped, yet she didn’t—and even her primordial spirit didn’t surface." The Lotus Sage suddenly spoke from the side.
Joe Di lifted the ancient zither into his hand, then looked at the Lotus Sage with a hint of apology. "Daoist Lotus, that woman killed my friend and stole his Primordial Zither. I couldn’t restrain my killing intent and struck her down."
The Lotus Sage had been ambushed by Cynthia Xing. She wished to perfect her own Grand Way, but as long as Cynthia Xing lived, she would have to kill her herself—and do it with her own hands. Since Joe Di killed Cynthia Xing, he naturally owed her an apology.
The Lotus Sage shook her head. "No, that’s not what I care about. In fact, Cynthia Xing could have escaped at the last moment, but she let you kill her on purpose."
Joe Di had seen much of the world, traversing countless places in the cosmic void, but this was the first time he’d heard such a thing from the Lotus Sage. Who would tire of living and let themselves be killed on purpose?
The Lotus Sage sighed. "The Genesis Lotus was one of the five great Creation Treasures at the dawn of the universe. Its Dao resonance possesses something no other Creation Treasure can match—rebirth. Long ago, many who lost their physical bodies used Nine-Grade Divine Lotuses or Luopo Immortal Lotuses to reconstruct them."
But the Genesis Lotus was produced at the very beginning of heaven and earth—it does far more than restore the body. Any cultivator who has practiced the Lotus Grand Way and stepped into the Third Step has two chances at rebirth. This rebirth isn’t just starting over—it’s advancing further upon the original Grand Way. After Cynthia Xing broke free from your time rule divine art, she still let you strike her down, just to enable her rebirth. This time is her last chance at life, and after rebirth, she’ll be even stronger. So, Daoist Di, you must be cautious if you meet her again."
Joe Di was inwardly shocked and couldn’t help but say, "What a ruthless woman."
He finally understood why Cynthia Xing broke free from his time rule divine art only to be killed—it was to gain another chance at reincarnation.
The Lotus Sage shook her head. "If she hadn’t seen me appear, she probably wouldn’t have made that choice. When she saw me, she knew that to surpass me, she must reincarnate once more. After her second rebirth, the sharp edges of her Grand Way will be thoroughly smoothed—Dao without edge. That is the highest realm of the Lotus Grand Way."
Joe Di didn’t dwell on Cynthia Xing. Even if she was reborn again and her Dao became more refined, so what? Was he, who kept advancing, not superior to someone starting over?
Seeing that Joe Di didn’t care, the Lotus Sage didn’t say more. She had witnessed Joe Di’s power—he was one of the strongest she’d ever seen. Even after her final rebirth, Cynthia Xing might not be able to do anything to Joe Di. But the Lotus Sage herself had to be careful; she too had used the Lotus Grand Way for rebirth. Though she had a drop of Cosmic Essence from Joe Di, she needed to reach the Prime Realm quickly and perfect her Lotus Grand Way, or else she’d still fall to Cynthia Xing in the future.
"Daoist Di, I must find a place to reach the Prime Realm. Farewell." The Lotus Sage cupped her fists to Joe Di; she had just perfected her physical body and didn’t have much time to spare.
Joe Di hesitated, then said, "Daoist Lotus, if you want to reach the Prime Realm, I do know of a place. But once you enter, it’s extremely difficult to leave."
The Lotus Sage’s heart stirred at Joe Di’s words and she immediately asked, "Please tell me, Daoist Di."
"The Grandway Abyss in the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. Inside the Abyss, there’s a path leading to Mountainview, which has many Creation Resonance Pools—ideal for Dao enlightenment. But once inside, escaping is nearly impossible. As of now, many Third Step cultivators are trapped in there." Joe Di spoke frankly.
The Lotus Sage thanked him again. "Thank you, Daoist Di. I’ll head to the Mountainview Forbidden Zone immediately."
With that, her figure flickered and vanished. She didn’t even ask Joe Di where Mountainview was. For someone like her, the Dao is everywhere. Joe Di’s Mountainview was surely a fixed place, but she knew it well—it was where Creation Resonance gathered. Only the Mountainview she sensed herself was the true Mountainview; that’s why she didn’t ask Joe Di for directions.
Joe Di watched the spot where the Lotus Sage vanished and remained silent. He knew that the Lotus Sage had to prove the strongest Dao, or her existence would be meaningless, and she would still be slain by Cynthia Xing in the end.