By now, more and more cultivators had gathered here. Everyone surrounded the area, waiting for Joe Di’s response and to see what would happen next.
Not a single weakling was present—this was Joe Di’s only impression.
Joe Di chuckled and said, "Grind my bones to dust? And who might you be?"
"Damon Tai of the Genesis Cradle." Damon Tai spoke, but his divine sense still wasn’t focused on Joe Di—instead, he was scanning the surroundings. He was eager to know who was backing Joe Di.
No matter how hard he looked, Damon Tai couldn’t pinpoint any threat against him, nor did he feel any sense of danger. This made him wonder if the newcomer was just a clueless rookie who, upon hearing about the Lawless Cradle, thought he could snatch it for himself? If that was the case, then...
Joe Di had already guessed why Damon Tai hadn’t made a move yet. His deathtrap array was set, so he wasn’t afraid of Damon Tai striking first. "The Genesis Cradle belongs to everyone. Who says you can’t fight here?"
Damon Tai felt a flame of irritation rising in his heart. Maybe this guy really was just a reckless fool.
"Ha!" Damon Tai burst into laughter, his aura surging wildly. "Everyone in the Genesis Cradle knows this place has a master, and that master is me, Damon Tai!"
Even as he spoke, Damon Tai didn’t wait for Joe Di’s reply. His colossal Demonbane Cudgel transformed into a mountain-sized peak and came crashing down, without even extending his domain.
Crack! Before the peak could land, Joe Di’s domain shattered inch by inch under the violent pressure. Only now did Joe Di realize why Damon Tai hadn’t bothered to use his domain.
It wasn’t that Damon Tai underestimated Joe Di; under the Dao rhythm of this mountain peak, any domain would shatter. Joe Di had heard of the Power Dao, and there was a legend of a Power Dao Sovereign in the Five Elements Universe who later came to the Genesis Universe. Although Joe Di had never met the Power Dao Sovereign, Damon Tai’s attack far surpassed the limits of mere strength.
One force breaks ten techniques—this wasn’t just a saying, but an ironclad fact.
The pressure unleashed by the Demonbane Cudgel was simply not something Joe Di’s current domain could withstand; he couldn’t even put up the slightest resistance.
Joe Di suppressed the urge to cough up blood under the crushing Dao rhythm. He dared not slacken—his Azure Veil Blade swept out, unleashing a torrent of blade light that instantly formed a vast tide of blade force crashing forward.
Damon Tai’s strength was by no means inferior to Zach’s. Back then, Zach was injured, but Damon Tai was not. Compared to Damon Tai now, Joe Di was like an egg striking a stone. If not for the deathtrap array he had set up here, the smartest thing would be to flee as far as possible.
The moment Time’s Third Loom was unleashed, it swept up millions of feet of blade force, wave after wave. Joe Di didn’t hold back at all; in the shortest time, he unleashed the sixth strike of Time’s Third Loom. Right after the sixth, the seventh strike followed seamlessly.
This was the first time Joe Di had so urgently unleashed six strikes of Time’s Third Loom. As Damon Tai’s Demonbane Cudgel tore apart the rules of Joe Di’s domain, the seven strikes merged into a towering flood—an endless surge of blade waves.
Strike after strike built an endless curtain of blade waves. One wave overtook the next, and in the vast void, they condensed into a roaring sea of blades.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The tide of blade force collided with the mountain peak conjured by the Demonbane Cudgel—Dao rhythm exploded, rules shattered. The Demonbane Cudgel’s killing intent weakened for a moment, but Joe Di’s tide of blade force collapsed even faster.
According to Joe Di’s plan, this was the moment to unleash Time’s Fourth Loom. But sensing Damon Tai’s terrifying might and the range of the Demonbane Cudgel’s killing intent, Joe Di abandoned that idea. Against such power, even Time’s Fourth Loom couldn’t withstand the Demonbane Cudgel.
It wasn’t that his technique was lacking, but that his Dao rhythm was far weaker than Damon Tai’s.
Damon Tai was simply terrifying. Without hesitation, Joe Di activated his deathtrap grand array and simultaneously summoned the Time Bow.
If the deathtrap array had no effect on Damon Tai, Joe Di was prepared to flee, since Fate’s Loom alone couldn’t restrain him. The Lawless Cradle was a great prize, but life was even more precious.
Before Joe Di could unleash Fate’s Loom, the endless killing intent of the deathtrap array locked onto Damon Tai’s Dao rhythm. The Demonbane Cudgel, which had already torn through tens of millions of feet of blade force from Time’s Third Loom, suddenly slowed down.
Though the Demonbane Cudgel’s killing intent still locked onto Joe Di’s life force, he didn’t miss the opportunity—he activated Fate’s Loom, drew the Time Bow, and set the Fate's Arrow upon the string...
At the brink of life and death, he drew his bow northward to shoot down the celestial wolf!
Having utterly crushed Joe Di’s Time’s Third Loom, Damon Tai suddenly felt a chill run through his body—his Dao rhythm stalled in an instant. A faint killing intent locked onto him, and Damon Tai immediately understood what was happening.
This was the most advanced deathtrap grand array. Damon Tai had sensed it earlier, but hadn’t expected it to be so formidable. Even he felt a hint of danger. He was certain this array wasn’t laid out by ordinary means, nor was it derived from conventional array techniques—it was a wholly new method of array formation.
But just a mere deathtrap array—even if it had caught him off guard and posed a slight threat—Damon Tai didn’t take it seriously.
As his Dao rhythm surged, the Demonbane Cudgel completely tore apart Joe Di’s tide of blade force. Damon Tai decided to destroy Joe Di’s deathtrap array along with everything else. The array was impressive, but if Joe Di thought he could use it to defeat Damon Tai, he could only laugh.
Just as Damon Tai’s Demonbane Cudgel was about to surge once more, he suddenly felt the threat of death. It wasn’t the deathtrap array’s killing intent—it was a true sense of mortal peril.
A long arrow appeared in Damon Tai’s mind, stretching along with the drawn bow, and its killing intent kept rising.
This was an arrow that transcended time and space. Damon Tai shuddered instinctively; he was certain that if this arrow was loosed, even if he survived, he’d be stripped to the bone.
Then, under his divine sense, a second arrow appeared. In other words, this Realm Fusion cultivator could shoot not just one, but two arrows.
Damon Tai drew a breath and, without hesitation, tore open the void and fled. He left the Demonbane Cudgel behind; if Joe Di dared to fire the Time Arrow, the cudgel would block his retreat. What worried him most was that Joe Di might shoot the arrow the moment he escaped. If that happened, he wouldn’t be hurt, but the Demonbane Cudgel would be lost forever.
To Damon Tai’s relief, Joe Di didn’t shoot the Time Arrow as he escaped. Damon Tai realized that Joe Di probably couldn’t fire it lightly. Even so, he wouldn’t risk it. Leaving now didn’t mean giving up on the Lawless Cradle—removing it would take more than a day, and he would certainly return.
The moment Damon Tai disappeared, the Demonbane Cudgel vanished with him through the void passage.
Joe Di let out a sigh of relief. Just drawing Fate’s Loom had consumed half his life force; if he’d held out much longer, even if Damon Tai hadn’t left, he would have been drained to a husk by Fate’s Loom.
Joe Di knew that Damon Tai’s retreat was likely due to Fate’s Loom, but more than that, it was fear of the surrounding powerful onlookers. None of them were easy to deal with. If Damon Tai were injured, his death would soon follow.
Without waiting for the others to react, Joe Di, having driven Damon Tai away, immediately locked down the deathtrap array. The space was once again sealed off, becoming a separate domain. Joe Di breathed easier—now, even Damon Tai couldn’t break in so easily. His protective array and deathtrap array fused together, and by becoming the array’s master banner himself, he doubted anyone could tear through his formation from the outside.
What was this? Damon Tai was gone, and that Realm Fusion ant actually restored the barrier? Did he drive Damon Tai away to forcibly seize the Lawless Cradle?
Soon, the crowd understood—that was exactly what had happened. With the threat of the powerful onlookers, Joe Di, the Realm Fusion ant, had managed to drive off Damon Tai.
Two Genesis Realm powerhouses realized this and immediately rushed forward. With Damon Tai here, no one dared act, but now even a Realm Fusion ant dared to use borrowed strength to seize the Lawless Cradle?
(That’s all for today. Good night, friends!)