Hearing Joe Di's bold declaration, Immortal King Howard Hao was momentarily stunned. In any other place, he would have killed Joe Di without a second thought. But here, as the leader, he still needed everyone's strength to search for the Underground Trading Post.
If he killed Joe Di now, the rest would feel threatened, as if any disobedience would mean death. That would make it harder for him to unite everyone in the search for the Underground Trading Post.
He needed to find the Underground Trading Post as quickly as possible; otherwise, more cultivators would arrive, and once someone stronger appeared, he wouldn't even get a taste of the treasures.
Realizing that news of the trading post couldn't be spread in the Lunar Celestial Sea, Howard Hao suppressed his urge to kill Joe Di. He stared coldly at Joe Di and said, "I, Howard Hao, have always acted with a clear conscience and never forced anyone. Everyone here teamed up of their own will. But not just anyone can profit in front of me. It's your choice not to join our team, but if we find the place and you try to take advantage without contributing, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Joe Di replied calmly, "Whoever finds the place first gets to enter first. No one is obligated to wait for you, Howard Hao. Don't overestimate your importance."
Joe Di's words stirred many cultivators. Indeed, if someone found the entrance, it wouldn't require a crowd to break through. Why should they wait for Howard Hao?
Howard Hao snorted coldly but still refrained from attacking. "Let's move. Each team takes a different direction. If anyone finds the array gate, gather everyone to attack together. The defensive array of a major trading post can't be broken by just a few dozen people."
Howard Hao's last words were meant for those harboring selfish intentions, reminding them that the trading post's array gate was solid and required everyone's combined effort to break.
More than a hundred cultivators surged into the ruins, vanishing from sight as the Stellar Fire Essence shimmered nearby.
Randy Jen and his companions finally relaxed when they saw Howard Hao hadn't made a move. Howard Hao was an Immortal King—if he attacked, even if they joined forces, it would be a dead end. With over a hundred cultivators present, all having chosen Howard Hao as their leader, none would simply stand by and watch.
Joe Di had saved their lives; to abandon him now would be both unreasonable and dishonorable. In the Lunar Celestial Sea, survival depended on loyalty—abandoning a teammate was unforgivable, and anyone who did so should just leave.
"Brother Qu, what should we do?" Julia Lou, finally able to breathe easy, turned to ask Joe Di.
Joe Di immediately said, "We move, too. We must find the entrance to the Underground Trading Post before they do. Just follow me, all of you."
Randy Jen and his group didn't doubt Joe Di's words. While his cultivation might be similar to theirs, his mastery of arraycraft was leagues ahead.
Joe Di swiftly plunged into the ruins, heading in a direction completely different from the four teams ahead—toward a spot near the edge.
Randy Jen wanted to remind Joe Di that if there really was an ancient trading post here, it would surely be at the center of the ruins, never on the outskirts.
But now Joe Di was leading the team, so even if he wanted to say something, he'd wait until Joe Di failed to find the entrance.
The farther Joe Di went, the more surprised he became. Logically, if there was a trading post here, it should at least be within the ruins—even if not at the center. But now he was clearly moving beyond the ruins, and a little further on, he’d be at the shoreline.
"Brother Qu, those people said there’s an ancient trading post in the ruins—they must have gotten some information. Shouldn’t we search the ruins instead?" Randy Jen finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
Joe Di waved a hand at Randy Jen and stopped, for the Cosmic Flame at his position was flickering more violently than ever.
In front of him was the withered root of a vine—a Waterlock Vine. It contained little spiritual energy and wasn't considered a true immortal herb, but it could grow to enormous size given enough years, sometimes reaching several meters thick.
The section of Waterlock Vine before Joe Di now spanned at least ten meters across.
Even with Joe Di's eighth-rank Immortal Array Master skills, he couldn't detect any trace of formations here. He signaled for Randy Jen and the others to step back, then activated the Eye of the Way.
Through the Eye of the Way, faint traces of array laws appeared. Joe Di was ecstatic and quickly began tossing out formation flags one after another.
This was a high-level formation—if not for the Eye of the Way, he might never have noticed it. But now that he'd found a clue, breaking it open wouldn't be too hard.
After tossing down more than a dozen formation flags, a pitch-black entrance appeared before the four of them.
The three with Randy Jen cried out in delight, "Starfire Trading Post..."
It really was the Starfire Trading Post. Above the dark entrance, four characters were inscribed: Starfire Trading Post.
"Everyone, get in!" Joe Di was the first to charge inside.
Suppressing their excitement, Randy Jen and the others rushed inside. With a wave of his hand, Joe Di retrieved the formation flags he had thrown out, causing the entrance to the trading post to vanish.
After traversing a short stretch of darkness, the path ahead suddenly lit up, revealing a dazzling scene.
"This is the Radiant Celestial Array... so many corpses..." Julia Lou exclaimed, her voice catching as she realized that all the items in the shops remained untouched. Even the rings on the skeletons were still there.
In moments, everyone was overcome with joy. Skyler Xue could no longer contain himself and dashed forward, frantically grabbing as many rings as he could.
Randy Jen and Julia Lou looked to Joe Di. Although they were tempted to rush forward like Skyler Xue, they knew Joe Di had led them here. Since he hadn't started collecting or discussed how to divide the spoils, it would be inappropriate to snatch things without his guidance.
Even if Joe Di wasn't formally named as the leader, everyone understood that he had become the team's captain in spirit.
Within a few breaths, Skyler Xue rushed into a large merchant building, disappearing from the others' sight.
Joe Di sighed, took out two formation flags, and handed them to Randy Jen and Julia Lou along with hundreds of intricate seals. "There are many treasures here, but I advise you not to linger. The trading post has more than one entrance, and those cultivators will likely find another way in soon. Once you've gathered enough resources, leave immediately. Activate these flags to teleport out through the gate we entered."
"Thank you, Brother Qu." Randy Jen and Julia Lou gratefully accepted the flags, not mentioning anything about Skyler Xue not receiving one.
Joe Di nodded. "Alright, everyone, go seek your fortunes. This trading post is vast, and I have my own treasures to find. Until we meet again."
With those words, Joe Di stepped aside and headed down a small path beside the trading post.
The trading post was indeed filled with treasures, but Joe Di saw that many had been corroded by time. Even the rings were not all useful. What mattered most was finding the source that had stirred the Cosmic Flame—that was the true treasure for him.
"Brother Qu is truly remarkable," Randy Jen murmured as he watched Joe Di's direction. Then he said to Julia Lou, "Junior Sister Lou, let's go look for treasures. We'll meet at the edge of Shadowfire Isle and leave together."
"Alright." Julia Lou understood Randy Jen's meaning. Skyler Xue had forgotten gratitude in his excitement and, without Joe Di's flag, would not be leaving with them. As for Qu Xiaoshu, she was sure he wouldn't return with them either.
Joe Di unleashed his spiritual sense, moving with incredible speed. Within minutes, he stopped before an inconspicuous stone house.
Outside the stone house, restrictive arrays abounded. Joe Di raised his hand and broke through the barriers, rushing inside as a wave of intense, scorching heat swept over him.
Without hesitation, Joe Di threw a punch.
Boom! The searing heat paused, and a ribbon more than ten meters long appeared before Joe Di—Stellar Fire Essence.
Stellar Fire Essence? Joe Di instantly recognized it. Now he understood why the Cosmic Flame had led him here. After reaching the eighth rank, advancing the Cosmic Flame was extremely difficult, but Stellar Fire Essence could solve that problem.
Without hesitation, Joe Di summoned the Cosmic Flame, which immediately lunged at the Stellar Fire Essence.
No matter how powerful, Stellar Fire Essence was still just a material born of the stars. When seized by the Cosmic Flame, it erupted in a wave of fire hundreds of meters high.
Joe Di ignored the Cosmic Flame, stunned by the pile of Yanlight Divine Iron at the center of the room. Even a single piece of Yanlight Divine Iron was priceless, but here he saw a small mountain of it.
Beside the heap of Yanlight Divine Iron was a nearly completed flying shuttle.