Joe Di activated Lawstride, his Spiritual Sense sweeping across the entire area within reach.
After just a single day, Joe Di grew puzzled. There was no one here at all—no wonder the place felt utterly lifeless, steeped in deathly silence. This vast expanse not only lacked people, but also plants and animals. Up to now, he hadn't seen a single living plant, let alone any animals.
However, he did spot quite a few low-grade magical relic materials scattered about.
Suddenly, Joe Di halted, bent down, and picked up a shard of rubble.
A faint Way Resonance drifted from it—it was actually a fragment of a Supreme Artifact. Yet, this relic had weathered countless years; with a slight squeeze, it crumbled to dust in Joe Di's hand.
Soon Joe Di realized that the further he walked, the more relic fragments littered the ground beneath his feet. Most were Supreme Artifact fragments, with a few Superior Artifact shards mixed in.
Joe Di drew a sharp breath. What kind of place was this? Could it be an ancient battlefield? No, that couldn't be right—if it were, the laws of heaven and earth here wouldn't be so clear and perfect, nor would it be so free from outside corruption.
As Joe Di pondered what this place could be, a figure flickered at the edge of his Spiritual Sense, quickly slipping past without noticing him.
Without hesitation, Joe Di followed. After just over an hour, a vast, boundless cultivation city appeared before his eyes.
The cultivator he'd been tracking also entered the city.
A cultivation city here? Why did everything look so devoid of life? Joe Di was puzzled, and just as he was about to rush toward the city, a thought struck him.
He quickly retreated and set up a Portal Array.
After finishing the Portal Array, he approached the towering city. Though imposing in scale, Lost Dao City looked weathered and ancient, as if it had endured endless ages.
Normally, with a city like this, cultivators should be bustling about. Yet even as Joe Di neared the city gates, he hadn't seen a single cultivator emerge.
Three massive characters hovered above the city: Lost Dao City.
What stunned Joe Di was that this city didn't even have a Guardian Array—no defenses, and not a single cultivator guarding the gate.
Without a Guardian Array, his earlier Portal Array was pointless. With his Lawstride, even a Third Step cultivator wouldn't be a threat. He'd set up the Portal Array only out of concern that a Guardian Array would block his escape.
His Portal Array could break through any Divine Guardian Array below rank nine, allowing him to escape. Even if there was a Guardian Array here, he could still slip away at any time.
After stepping through the wide-open gates, Joe Di came to a halt. He could hardly believe his eyes—the main street stretched dozens of meters wide, but from the gate, he saw only two cultivators.
One of those cultivators was the very person he'd tracked earlier.
In a typical cultivation city, the streets are lined with shops, but here, not a single storefront could be found. Both sides of the street were closed-off Cloudspire Sanctuaries, each protected by its own Barrier Seal. What caught Joe Di's eye was a flowerbed right in the middle of the street.
The flowerbed itself was nothing special, but what mattered was the riot of blooming flowers atop it. Placed in the city's main thoroughfare, these blossoms were like a spring bubbling in a stagnant pool, bringing a touch of vitality to the scene.
Just from this patch of flowers, Joe Di could tell that the people here longed for vitality.
Joe Di had barely taken in the scene when dozens of cultivators suddenly burst out from both sides of the street. But that was only the beginning—hundreds more surged out behind them, and soon, cultivators were streaming in from all directions.
Clearly, word had spread: a newcomer had arrived.
The number of cultivators in this city didn't surprise Joe Di; what did surprise him was how reclusive they all seemed. If he hadn't shown up, these people would probably have spent years holed up in their sanctuaries.
Some were already heading his way. Joe Di swept them with his Spiritual Sense and was immediately astonished.
Late Prime Realm, mid Prime Realm, late Prime Realm...
And some had surpassed the Prime Realm entirely...
Joe Di's expression finally changed. He realized that among the cultivators rushing out, aside from a handful in the Genesis Realm, nearly all were Prime Realm experts—and a few had even advanced beyond that. Here, his own cultivation was at the very bottom.
Just what kind of place was Lost Dao City, to have so many Prime Realm experts?
"New arrival?" A man with skin like kiwi fruit had already stepped up to Joe Di. His excitement was barely contained as he questioned Joe Di. If he didn't know that taking Joe Di away would get him blocked, he might have already done so.
At that moment, another dozen cultivators closed in on Joe Di, some even circling behind him, clearly intent on keeping him trapped.
Joe Di cupped his fists and said, "I only arrived here by accident not long ago. May I ask, fellow Daoists, what is this place?"
"Ha! And what kind of place do you think this is?" A late Prime Realm cultivator laughed, suddenly reaching out to grab Joe Di.
But his hand was stopped by another late Prime Realm cultivator nearby. "Hold on, Peng. No need to rush. Not long ago, a woman arrived, and now a young man—looks like Lost Dao Domain finally has a way out."
"Right, right, let's not be hasty. We wouldn't want to scare this young fellow—reaching the Genesis Realm isn't easy, you know." Another Prime Realm cultivator chimed in.
Joe Di sighed inwardly. He cultivated the Rule Cycle, so almost no one outside could discern his actual realm. At best, they could only guess by his Way Resonance. Yet these people seemed to know he was in the Genesis Realm.
"Brother Peng is here. Let's hear what he has to say," someone nearby suggested.
The crowd of cultivators parted naturally, and a thin man walked through the center.