Shawn Montague hesitated briefly before finally speaking, "I swear on the Grand Dao: if Zane Wu poses any threat to your life, I will intervene to help you."
Joe Di let out a cold snort. It was clear they wanted him to use his essence blood to sacrifice to the Life-and-Death Gate. Whether or not his life was threatened, at his level, every drop of essence blood contained the aura of the Grand Dao. Using it to make an offering to the Life-and-Death Gate would inevitably weaken his Dao. But that wasn’t the greatest threat—the real danger was that, once his essence blood was sacrificed to the gate, anyone passing through it could sense the direction of his Life-and-Death Grand Way.
Emperor Ye and Nick Ning were his closest friends, bound by life and death; none of them hid their Grand Way or Dao resonance from each other. But why should Joe Di have to reveal his Grand Way unilaterally to those scheming against him?
"Fine." Joe Di snorted again, his figure flickering as he tried to break free from the Life-and-Death Sand.
But in the next moment, Joe Di froze—his feet and the Life-and-Death Sand seemed to have become one, forming a seamless whole. He couldn't move an inch.
Zane Wu spoke calmly, "Joe Di, once you step onto the Life-and-Death Sand, there is only one path—to enter the Life-and-Death Gate. If the Providence Gate's time arrives and we have not entered the Life-and-Death Gate, there are two choices: first, sacrifice a leg; second, force your way into the Life-and-Death Sand."
"There’s half an incense stick left. If you don’t use your essence blood to sacrifice to the Life-and-Death Gate, don’t blame me for taking action," Jasper Bai’s voice carried a hint of killing intent. He was eager for Joe Di to refuse—if Joe Di refused, then today, Joe Di would surely die.
Joe Di finally understood—these people didn’t care if he disagreed. If he dared refuse, three Sixth Step cultivators would attack him at once, with Wendy Jing and Redlin Patriarch standing by. The only one here who might not attack him was Zachary Yu.
Zachary Yu sighed, lowering his head. He didn’t dare utter a word—he had no right to speak here.
Wendy Jing and Redlin Patriarch were overjoyed. They decided that as soon as the Sixth Step experts made a move, they would be the first to strike at Joe Di. Alone, they weren’t a match for him, but with the Sixth Step cultivators besieging him, their attack would surely claim Joe Di’s life.
Joe Di felt the faint pressure of Zane Wu’s Grand Dao, and Jasper Bai’s undisguised killing intent, sinking in his heart. Though Shawn Montague said nothing, Joe Di knew that if a fight broke out, Shawn Montague would surely intercept him. Besides, he was now locked by the Life-and-Death Sand, unable to move at all.
Joe Di simply closed his eyes, letting the rules of his Grand Dao seep into the Life-and-Death Sand beneath his feet.
Soon, Joe Di discovered that no matter how much God Origin or Spiritual Sense he infused, it all vanished without a trace. When the cosmic circulation reached the soles of his feet on the Life-and-Death Sand, it was instantly blocked. This sand was like a giant furnace, able to dissolve all God Origin and Spiritual Sense, stopping the Grand Dao’s circulation.
Joe Di’s heart sank. He knew that if he couldn’t free himself quickly, he might really have no way out—even escaping with a broken leg would be impossible.
Within the Life-and-Death Sand, a supreme Dao resonance also flowed. Joe Di recalled that when he first stepped onto the sand, he sensed a Dao as powerful as his own Rule Dao.
Clearly, the restraint of the Life-and-Death Sand was a Dao constraint. If his Grand Dao couldn’t surpass the Dao left by its creator, he would never break free.
In fact, his Rule Dao couldn’t surpass the other’s—at best, it was about equal. However, Joe Di felt he should be able to break free, because his Dao now was more than just the Rule Dao; he possessed the Dao Tree, a Dao path formed from the fusion of three Daos.
He refused to believe that, with the combined Daos of himself, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning, they still couldn’t crush the other’s Dao restraint.
"Daoist Joe, time is short. I’ll give you three breaths to consider—after that, don’t blame me for taking action." Though Zane Wu’s round face still wore a smile, the killing pressure was already bearing down.
Joe Di sneered inwardly. He was certain Zane Wu wouldn’t give him three breaths—at most, two, before Zane Wu struck.
After Zane Wu spoke, Jasper Bai’s killing intent surged even more violently, and even Wendy Jing and Redlin Patriarch extended their domains of killing intent to bind the space around Joe Di.
Shawn Montague, however, still didn’t make a move. He simply stared calmly at Joe Di, as if waiting for him to make a choice.
Joe Di’s Dao Tree trembled slightly, and a supreme Grand Dao cycle began to form. Like a flood bursting forth, as soon as the Dao Tree’s fused three-Dao cycle started circulating, Joe Di felt the earth binding his feet shattered by the flood. The Life-and-Death Sand could no longer block his cosmic circulation. Without hesitation, he activated Lawstride, his body turning into a blur and vanishing.
Joe Di’s Grand Dao cycle was incredibly swift—less than a single breath. Just as he broke free from the Life-and-Death Sand’s restraint, Jasper Bai’s Grand Earth Shovel, shrouded in terrifying killing intent, swept toward him. At the same time, Zane Wu formed a hand seal, reaching for Joe Di’s head.
Zane Wu wasn’t trying to kill Joe Di; clearly, he intended to reinforce his binding domain, preventing Joe Di from fully resisting Jasper Bai’s Grand Earth Shovel.
Seeing Jasper Bai and Zane Wu attack simultaneously, Wendy Jing and Redlin Patriarch didn’t hesitate—they unleashed their treasures, blasting the space where Joe Di stood. They absolutely wouldn’t let him escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Furious Dao resonance smashed into Joe Di’s position, shattering all rules in the clash of divine abilities. God Origin exploded, and the weaker cultivators—Wendy Jing, Redlin Patriarch, and Zachary Yu—felt as if struck in the chest by a massive God Origin spike, each coughing up a jet of blood.
The Life-and-Death Sand surged in layers of sand waves, shattering all rules at Joe Di’s location—let alone any person.
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But Zane Wu and Jasper Bai’s expressions grew dark as they both looked toward the Life-and-Death Gate. They knew that in the split second before their attack, Joe Di had escaped the Life-and-Death Sand and rushed toward the Life-and-Death Gate.
"He actually surpassed the Life-and-Death Grand Way..." Jasper Bai drew a sharp breath, as if muttering to himself, or perhaps speaking to Zane Wu and Shawn Montague.
"A perfect Life-and-Death Grand Way..." Zane Wu murmured, staring at the Life-and-Death Gate just like Jasper Bai. They both knew Joe Di’s Grand Way was perfect, but hadn’t expected it to be so powerful, even surpassing the Life-and-Death Grand Way.
Because if Joe Di’s Grand Way hadn’t surpassed the Life-and-Death Grand Way, he would never have escaped the Life-and-Death Sand without a blood sacrifice.
Jasper Bai was stunned to see Joe Di stop before the Life-and-Death Gate.
Can anyone stop before the Life-and-Death Gate? It can only be sacrificed to or entered—who has the power to pause before it? Yet, they saw Joe Di standing still before the gate.
The Life-and-Death Gate’s Dao resonance tugged at him, but the Dao resonance flowing from Joe Di’s Dao Tree was so strong that, until he entered of his own will, the gate’s pull couldn’t drag him in.
Sensing Joe Di’s defiance, the Dao resonance of the Life-and-Death Gate grew even more rapid and urgent, emitting waves of mournful Dao sounds.
Joe Di ignored it completely. With a flick of his hand, the Creation Brush appeared in his palm. In the void, it instantly sketched out a massive Time Bow, with several Time Arrows formed from his Dao resonance resting on its string.
In the next moment, the bow was drawn, and the spacetime Dao resonance before the Life-and-Death Gate shrouded everything. As Dao resonance surged around Joe Di, three Time Arrows tore through spacetime, blasting forward.
After firing the three Time Arrows, Joe Di didn’t pause for an instant, turning and stepping into the Life-and-Death Gate.
As Joe Di fired the Time Arrows, Wendy Jing felt a chill envelop her entire body, as though a terrifying giant hand had seized her. She tried to move, but found she couldn’t control the shifting spacetime around her.
Everything slowed to a standstill. In his eyes, only a single spacetime arrow was rushing closer and closer, straight for his brow.
At the same time, Redlin Patriarch wasn’t faring much better than Wendy Jing.
With all their might, they could only move their bodies a tiny bit. It was certain that when the Time Arrows pierced their brows, they’d have no way to dodge.
"Senior Zane, save us..." Almost simultaneously, Wendy Jing and Redlin Patriarch cried out to Zane Wu for help. At this moment, the third arrow was headed straight for Jasper Bai, who clearly had no time to save them.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)