As Joe Di called for Shu Di to leave, the Celestial Nightfire had already enveloped his entire body.
The black waters of the Soulbane Pool had yet to reach him, but the intense soul-corroding aura was already present. Joe Di was certain he could not withstand the corrosion of this black pool water.
A shield of black flames formed around Joe Di, the Soulshade Waters of the Soulbane Pool crashing against it with a sizzling hiss.
A foul stench filled the air, and Joe Di channelled his true essence, intensifying the Celestial Nightfire.
Joe Di quickly discovered that as his black flame burned away the Soulshade Waters outside, the strength of his Cosmic Flame was gradually increasing. Soon, it broke through the second tier and advanced into the third tier.
Could the Soulbane Pool actually help upgrade his Celestial Nightfire? Joe Di was pleasantly surprised.
It seemed as if the Soulshade Waters of the Soulbane Pool recognized Joe Di's power. The surrounding black waters surged toward him in wave after wave. This reminded Joe Di of his own technique, Raging Wave Fist—the black waves were nearly identical to the fury unleashed by his punch.
After being burned by Joe Di's Celestial Nightfire, the black water revealed densely packed Soulbane Threads, enough to make one's skin crawl. Yet these threads could not survive even a single breath, as Joe Di's black Cosmic Flame incinerated them completely.
As Joe Di's black Celestial Nightfire advanced, its burning power grew ever stronger.
With the overwhelming black water unable to do anything to Joe Di, it began to recede. Even if Joe Di hadn't known that the black water could help his Celestial Nightfire advance, now that the Soulbane Pool had forced him down here, he wouldn't let the opportunity slip away.
As the pitch-black waters receded, Joe Di's black flame spread wildly.
"That's a Cosmic Flame—you actually possess a Cosmic Flame... Stop at once, I'll back off and let you go..." A grinding, unpleasant voice echoed from the Soulbane Pool, its words urging Joe Di to leave quickly. The tone was filled with terror and panic. If souls fear anything, it is certainly the Cosmic Flame.
This voice was always domineering, as if its retreat was a tremendous opportunity for Joe Di. Faced with such a 'chance,' Joe Di should have hurried away.
Joe Di acted as if he hadn't heard. He already knew the Soulbane Pool was controlled by a powerful soul, likely one that survived by devouring the nascent souls and spirits of cultivators.
Since he had been forced into the Soulbane Pool, and his Cosmic Flame could advance here, leaving so easily was out of the question. The black flames swept out even more wildly, filling the entire Soulbane Gorge with a burnt stench. Joe Di could feel his Cosmic Flame growing stronger by the moment.
"Stop now! You can name your terms—just stop..." The voice from the Soulbane Pool grew increasingly desperate.
Joe Di replied coolly, "What could you possibly offer that would tempt me?"
"I have heaps of magical relics, cultivation arts, and spirit stones..."
Joe Di's interest was piqued. "Do you have any body-tempering techniques?"
"Yes, yes..." As it spoke, several memory stones appeared outside the Celestial Nightfire. With a sweep of his spiritual sense, Joe Di brought the stones before him.
Joe Di quickly tossed the dozens of memory stones aside. "What a mess—how dare you call these body-tempering memory stones? Take them and get lost."
The Celestial Nightfire flared even more fiercely, and the sizzling sounds grew denser.
"No, please... I can agree to any condition, just stop burning me with the Cosmic Flame, I beg you..." The voice from the Soulbane Pool was truly terrified. It had always delighted in absorbing others' souls, but now that Joe Di was burning it, panic took over.
Joe Di did not lessen the intensity of his black flame and spoke again: "There is one thing I haven't been able to solve. I come from a place called Hengyu Star. If you have a way to let me return, I might spare you."
Joe Di truly longed to return to the Yalen Continent, to destroy King Hubert Wu of Jade Nation, and he was also deeply worried about Trevor Qu.
"There is a way, there is a way..." The Soulbane Pool's voice cried out, not daring to hesitate for a moment.
Joe Di reduced the Celestial Nightfire's intensity and spoke menacingly, "Go ahead. If you can't satisfy me, you're dead."
The Soulbane Pool's voice grew even hoarser: "If your Hengyu Star is in the same plane as this place, you can tear through the boundary when your cultivation is strong enough, or use void positioning to fly there. If it's not in the same plane, then..."
After stammering for a while, the Soulbane Pool's voice failed to provide a clear answer.
Joe Di's Celestial Nightfire blazed again as he scoffed, "Tear through the boundary—do I need you to tell me that?"
"There's another way—you can use a Rift Talisman to cross over. But the place you arrive may not be where you want to go..." The Soulbane Pool's voice called out anxiously.
Joe Di once again reduced the Celestial Nightfire's intensity. He knew about tearing through boundaries, but that likely required reaching the True Transformation Realm. The Rift Talisman, however, was new to him—perhaps it was another possible solution.
A Rift Talisman capable of tearing through boundaries probably couldn't be found on the Aurora Continent.
"What exactly is the black water in this Soulbane Pool?" Joe Di asked, because it could help his Celestial Nightfire advance.
"It's Soulshade Waters, and those Soulbane Threads are formed from the evil thoughts within cultivators' souls..." Fearing Joe Di would strike again, the Soulbane Pool answered swiftly this time.
"I've heard that an azure radiance once appeared here, and many people advanced after witnessing it. What was that azure radiance? Bring it out for me to see." Joe Di pressed further.
The Soulbane Pool's voice fell silent, then after a long pause replied, "That azure radiance was a fragment of a magical relic, but it wasn't mine."
"Just the glow of a relic fragment could help Foundation Establishment cultivators break through to Golden Core? What shape was it?" Joe Di exclaimed. Even his World Tome couldn't help a Foundation Establishment cultivator reach Golden Core with just a glance.
"It was a piece..." The Soulbane Pool had only begun to answer when the depths of Soulbane Gorge split open once more, and a beam of azure radiance shot skyward.
In that instant, Joe Di sensed an incredibly clear cosmic law. His once-fuzzy star river became distinct, and the veins of the starry sky grew ever stronger...
Joe Di wasted no time and frantically circulated the Starstream Technique. Under these clear cosmic laws, the dense spiritual energy around him seemed to be compressed into his vicinity, requiring no effort to absorb—it automatically surged toward him.
Within just a few cycles, Joe Di felt his cultivation break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul, First Level, advancing into the Nascent Soul, Second Level. As for his injuries, they had long since vanished without a trace.
Not only that, but his cultivation continued to rise. Far from being unstable, his foundation grew even more solid as his understanding of the cosmic laws deepened upon reaching the Nascent Soul, Second Level.
Even his Celestial Nightfire advanced at this moment, reaching the peak of third-grade flames.
This was definitely a treasure. Within the azure radiance, Joe Di could only make out a faint Azure Leaf Fragment. Seeing the light about to fade again, he couldn't afford to hesitate—he activated his Spirit Sense Escape Technique and reached directly for the Azure Leaf Fragment.
The entity within the Soulbane Pool saw Joe Di about to leap forward and hurriedly tried to call out to stop him, but was too slow. After advancing to the Nascent Soul, Second Level, Joe Di's Spirit Sense Escape Technique was astonishingly fast.
Just as Joe Di's fingers touched the Azure Leaf Fragment, before he could grasp it, the surrounding space suddenly became chaotic. Blades of void appeared, mixed with spatial distortions, terrifying Joe Di to his core.
'Thwack! Thwack!' Two voidblade fragments sliced past Joe Di. Despite his Nascent Soul, Second Level cultivation, he was as vulnerable as thin paper before these blades. Blood mist erupted from his chest and thigh where the blades passed through.
Fortunately, these two voidblades were only fragments and didn't split Joe Di in half. If they had been any larger, he was certain he would have been torn apart.
Joe Di could no longer think about grabbing the Azure Leaf Fragment. His spirit sense frantically stretched outward, and he relied on his ability to sense spatial rules to roll and dodge through the dense voidblades.
He did his best to avoid being shredded by the larger voidblades. If he couldn't dodge, he let the smaller ones graze him. At this moment, he was immensely grateful for his ability to perceive spatial rule fluctuations—otherwise, he'd be reduced to a bloody pulp instead of just accumulating more injuries.
A thunderous roar echoed through Soulbane Gorge, as if the entire canyon was being tossed and turned, with dirt flying and the cosmic rules thrown into chaos.
'It's over...' cried the voice from the Soulbane Pool. The pitch-black Soulshade Waters were flung apart, splintering into countless black specks and vanishing into the chaotic voidblades.
[Author's note skipped as per guidelines.]