"Big Brother, are you leaving already?" After several years of cultivation, Aaron Jace had reached the eighth level of Grand Ether Immortal. With a bit more time, he could attempt the breakthrough to Grand Supreme Immortal.
"No, I still need to cultivate for a while before I leave," Joe Di replied, turning to Aaron Jace. "You're already at the eighth level of Grand Ether Immortal. I'll be cultivating here for about two more months. During that time, you should be able to reach the ninth level. I'll leave you some Ether Essence Pills. When I return, try to break through to Grand Supreme Immortal."
Joe Di had already planned everything out. Now that he was at the eighth level of Grand Ether Immortal, a bit more time would let him reach the ninth. After crossing his tribulation and advancing to Grand Supreme Immortal, he would head to Great Cauldron City.
In Joe Di's view, spending another two months cultivating here wouldn't cause any delay. With his current fifth-rank Spiritual Sense and eighth-level Grand Ether Immortal cultivation, even using a Superior Grade Flying Immortal Artifact, it would take nearly four or five months to reach Great Cauldron City. Using Spirit Shift would take about the same amount of time.
There couldn't be any delays along the way, and the Cauldron Haven Grand Auction would begin in half a year. If something held him up, everything could fall apart.
By cultivating here for two months, Joe Di was confident he could reach the first level of Grand Supreme Immortal. Once he achieved that, his Spiritual Sense could advance to the sixth rank.
With sixth-rank Spiritual Sense, as long as he used Spirit Shift, it would take at most two months to reach Great Cauldron City.
This would not only save time, but also allow his cultivation to rise to a new level.
Aaron Jace was overjoyed. He quickly took out a ring and handed it to Joe Di. "Big Brother, this is a Superior Grade Flying Immortal Artifact. Please take it as a gift from me."
Joe Di waved his hand. "I don't need a Flying Immortal Artifact. I have a faster way to reach Great Cauldron City. For now, let's all focus on cultivating."
---
To accelerate his cultivation, Joe Di used a large quantity of Ether Essence Pills. With the density of Immortal Spiritual Energy here, the support of the Ninth Prime Law, and the additional Ether Essence Pills, he broke through from the eighth to the ninth level of Grand Ether Immortal in just over half a month.
It didn't even take two months—Joe Di's cultivation reached the peak of Grand Ether Immortal Ninth Level.
Worried about possible delays on the road, Joe Di gave a few simple instructions to Aaron Jace and the others before leaving the Grand Ether Hall.
To prevent anyone else from using Drew Chu's Ancient Tortoise Shell Map to arrive here, Joe Di spent three days before leaving, reconfiguring the Void Array Gate.
Even if a cultivator skilled in Arraycraft entered through the Void Array Gate, they would end up in a different void entirely, never glimpsing the Grand Ether Hall where Aaron Jace and the others cultivated. Joe Di doubted any Ninth-Rank Immortal Array Emperor could obtain such an ancient map.
With all this done, Joe Di finally felt at ease and left. He needed to find a place for his tribulation crossing.
A day later, Joe Di landed atop a massive meteorite drifting through the void.
There were no ruined planets to be found here. If not for the meteorite, he would have had to undergo his tribulation directly in the void. Joe Di anchored the meteorite with Void Array Flags and scattered tens of thousands of immortal crystals across its surface.
Normally, a cultivator advancing from Grand Ether Immortal to Grand Supreme Immortal would require a Radiant Ascension Pill. Joe Di had these pills, but he prepared them not for the breakthrough itself, but to replenish his world essence after entering the new realm.
With the Ninth Prime Law and Joe Di's clear understanding of cosmic laws, there was theoretically no bottleneck in his cultivation.
As expected, after only three cycles, Joe Di touched the barrier to Grand Supreme Immortal. The moment he attempted his breakthrough, tribulation lightning crashed down from above.
With his late-stage Immortal Physique and tempered body, the Grand Supreme Immortal tribulation lightning was several times stronger than the one for Grand Ether Immortal—but for Joe Di, it was still nothing to fear.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The first wave of lightning arcs struck Joe Di in rapid succession, shattering the shackles of Grand Supreme Immortal and letting him faintly sense the Grand Dao Laws. The wild immortal spiritual energy was swept up by Joe Di, but even with tens of thousands of immortal crystals, the energy was still too thin for his breakthrough from Grand Ether Immortal to Grand Supreme Immortal.
Without hesitation, Joe Di grabbed several Radiant Ascension Pills and swallowed them. The terrifying immortal essence from the pills surged through his meridians, and Joe Di officially stepped into the ranks of Grand Supreme Immortal cultivators, feeling as if he'd opened a new door.
At the same moment, his spiritual sea emitted a cracking sound as his Divine Sense expanded exponentially. Joe Di was overjoyed—his guess had been correct. Upon entering Grand Supreme Immortal, his Divine Sense advanced to the sixth rank of Immortal Sense.
Unfortunately, he hadn't found any treasures like the Firegod Herb in the Immortal Realm. Otherwise, with the Soulforge Technique, his Divine Sense might have advanced even further.
The tribulation lightning continued to rain down, but it no longer affected Joe Di in the slightest.
The meteorite beneath Joe Di was reduced to nothingness by the lightning, but his cultivation at the Grand Supreme Immortal First Level was now firmly stabilized.
---
In Cauldron Haven, the number of visitors had surged over the past few months. Fortunately, this wasn't the city's first time handling such crowds—while the streets were packed, order was still maintained.
A young man dressed in a pale gold immortal robe arrived at the Liberty Pass exchange station in Cauldron Haven. He handed over a thousand Superior Grade Immortal Crystals to receive a new Liberty Pass before entering the city.
The youth's face was slightly pale, a hint of murderous intent between his brows, and a faint bloody aura clung to him. Subtle watery markings lingered on his cheeks—anyone seeing him would know he was a seasoned cultivator who trained by the sea.
This youth was none other than Joe Di, who had just reached the Grand Supreme Immortal First Level. After his breakthrough, it took him about two months to arrive at Cauldron Haven.
His disguise technique worked by altering the laws themselves—no matter how powerful the observer, they couldn't detect his disguise unless their understanding of the fundamental laws of the world matched or surpassed his. Such people might exist, but Joe Di doubted any would appear in Cauldron Haven.
The bloody aura came from a run-in with a pack of void beasts on his way to Cauldron Haven. After slaughtering the beasts, he was stained with blood. Joe Di decided to use this aura, coupled with simulated water attribute laws, to mimic the look of someone who trained by the sea.
This time, Joe Di didn't visit Skyrest Lodge or return to his Starry Sky Teahouse. Instead, he headed straight to the Blue Haven Inn.
Among all the resthouses in Cauldron Haven, the Blue Haven Inn ranked above average. Its owner was a Seventh-Rank Immortal Array King, and all its protective arrays were seventh-rank. Because of these arrays, the inn's prices were nearly double those of similar establishments, making its cost-effectiveness rather poor. Yet with the Grand Auction approaching, even the overpriced Blue Haven Inn was packed to capacity.
When Joe Di arrived, only the most luxurious room was available, costing five hundred Liberty Credits per night.
Normally, no one would ever pay such a price for a room. But with the Grand Auction about to begin, plenty of people were willing to spend for a place to stay.
With nearly a month left before the auction, Joe Di simply paid a month's rent in immortal crystals.
After entering his room, Joe Di changed the name on his new Liberty Pass to Zi Mo. Originally, it was Di Zi Mo, but he worried the name was too conspicuous and might cause suspicion, so he shortened it to Zi Mo.
Once the name was changed, Joe Di transferred all eleven hundred million Liberty Credits to the Zi Mo identity. This would be his entire fortune for the auction.
All the protective arrays in his room were seventh-rank, but Joe Di still set up a fifth-rank Immortal Protective Array inside. As an Eighth-Rank Immortal Array Master, he wanted to keep a low profile while bidding for the precious Trueglass Elixir.
With a fifth-rank array, not even Divine Sense could penetrate the room.
After confirming the room's security, Joe Di picked up a scroll from the table. Every high-tier room came with one, provided by the resthouse, containing information about the upcoming auction and the treasures that might appear in Cauldron Haven.
With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Joe Di immediately spotted the Trueglass Elixir. He breathed a sigh of relief—this was the very reason he'd come.
Once he confirmed the Trueglass Elixir would be present, Joe Di began reviewing the other auction items.
Spiritfire Escape—rumored to be an incomplete escape technique. This method burns the spiritual sea and Divine Sense to break free, allowing the cultivator to escape even the range of an Immortal Emperor's Divine Sense.
Joe Di couldn't look away—this was the ultimate life-saving technique. Incomplete or not, he wasn't worried; with the Ninth Prime Law, he could perfect it himself.
He had to obtain this cultivation technique.
Prime Iron...
Just as Joe Di decided he had to win Spiritfire Escape, he spotted Prime Iron—he couldn't tear his eyes away.
This was another item he absolutely needed. His Heavenly Sable Blade was forged from Celestial Blade Essence Gold and Pusa Sand. Especially the Pusa Sand—an unrivaled treasure even in the Immortal Realm. This magical weapon could absorb world essence and advance in rank.
But it wasn't without flaws—every upgrade shortened the blade by an inch, and it was extremely difficult to reach the peak of Immortal Artifact.
Currently, his Heavenly Sable Blade was three feet nine inches long. It needed to be upgraded, but Joe Di didn't want it to shrink further. Prime Iron, a Ninth-Rank Immortal Forging Material, could not only raise the blade to Superior or even Supreme Immortal Artifact, but also prevent further shortening.
He was determined to acquire this material, no matter what.