Jude Wan did not hesitate to pull out the tortoise shell and said, "Let's set up an exchange array and put our items inside."
"Alright." Joe Di raised his hand and sent out dozens of array flags, and in the blink of an eye, a third-rank Divine Exchange Array was set up.
Jude Wan's eyelids twitched as he watched. For Joe Di to set up a third-rank Divine Exchange Array so quickly and effortlessly, it was clear that his array mastery was at least at the level of a Fifth-Rank Array Grandmaster. Although Jude himself was an expert in formations, he knew he would have to be especially cautious when dealing with Joe Di.
Once the Divine Exchange Array was complete, both Joe Di and Jude Wan unhesitatingly placed their items inside. Jude Wan was ecstatic—he could clearly sense an extreme Dao Rhyme emanating from the jade vial Joe Di had placed inside. That was unmistakably the aura of the Cosmic Essence.
As soon as Joe Di grabbed Jude Wan's tortoise shell from the Divine Exchange Array, he didn't hesitate—he threw a punch straight at him.
With that punch, the laws of the entire space seemed to be torn apart by Joe Di, transforming into wave after wave of raging torrents surging toward Jude Wan.
Just as Jude Wan grabbed the jade vial, he felt a crushing aura of death bearing down on him. He sensed that in another instant, this space would no longer belong to him. At this moment, Jude Wan was utterly terrified.
If, before fighting Joe Di, Jude Wan had no fear of him, now, with that punch, he was certain—not only was he no match for Joe Di, but the gap between them was far greater than he had imagined.
If Jude Wan hadn't feared facing Joe Di before, now he didn't dare entertain any other thoughts. Without hesitation, he activated the Starshift Technique.
"Bang!" Jude Wan was confident that with his Starshift Technique, he could escape even from a third-step powerhouse.
But at the very instant he activated the Starshift Technique, Joe Di's punch tore through his Dao Rhyme domain and struck him squarely in the back. Jude Wan felt his bones shatter and his organs turn to mush, spitting out a jet of blood on the spot.
But in the next moment, he had already vanished from where he stood.
Joe Di casually tossed aside the tortoise shell in his hand, gazing in the direction Jude Wan had disappeared, secretly astonished. He was certain that Jude Wan's escape technique was the strongest he'd ever encountered—even the renowned escape artist Jiang Dai was not in the same league.
The moment he grabbed the tortoise shell, he knew it was a fake, and immediately threw a punch. There was almost no delay between these actions, yet Jude Wan still managed to escape—showing just how formidable his escape technique truly was.
If Jude Wan really used the Starshift Technique, then that technique is truly impressive.
Joe Di wasn't bothered at all by Jude Wan's escape. If that guy didn't let him catch him next time, he'd be lucky—because if Joe Di caught him again, he wouldn't be so fortunate. Joe Di summoned his flying shuttle, took out the invitation from Cason Xian, and set off for Xianhai.
......
Jude Wan stopped and immediately took out a pill and swallowed it.
Although he now possessed the Cosmic Essence, Joe Di's strength left him deeply unsettled. At least he had waited until they left Alliance Star before making his move—if it had happened inside Alliance Star, he might have escaped, but his injuries would likely have been much worse.
Right now, he was even more desperate to break into the Prime Realm. Otherwise, he felt he could no longer survive in this universe.
After the pill dissolved, Jude Wan cautiously took out the jade vial.
For the sake of this single drop of Cosmic Essence, no matter how badly he was injured, it was worth it. With the jade vial in his hand, his ambition surged once again.
Once he recovered his strength, he would go back for revenge.
As Jude Wan opened the jade vial, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. When he probed it with his spiritual sense, his face immediately turned pale.
He had clearly sensed the aura of Cosmic Essence emanating from the outside of the jade vial—so why was it empty inside?
Jude Wan quickly realized that just as he had tried to deceive the other party with a fake tortoise shell, the other party had not given him the real Cosmic Essence either.
Jude Wan's expression grew dark and ugly, but soon the gloom in his eyes faded. He glanced back in the direction he had fled, knowing that even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare go back. That person was simply too terrifying.
With a sigh, Jude Wan no longer dared to wait at Alliance Star. He decided to try his luck at the site of the ancient battle.
......
Xianhai was not far from Alliance Star. Joe Di did not travel quickly, often stopping along the way, and after half a year, he finally arrived at the outskirts of Xianhai.
Previously, Joe Di thought Xianhai was just another vast ocean suspended in the void—a place he had encountered more than once before.
But when Joe Di arrived at the outskirts of Xianhai, he realized it was actually a cultivation planet.
Upon entering the planet, he found that there was almost no land—it was entirely covered by ocean. It looked similar to the Void Sea, but in truth, it was completely different.
Outside the planet was a protective array, and beyond the array lay an enormous Void Plaza. The plaza was bustling with people coming and going. Joe Di noticed that although there were guards at the array gate, they didn't seem to be charging any fees.
There were also many stalls at the Void Plaza. As Joe Di casually swept his spiritual sense over them, he discovered that the item most commonly sold here was a type of silvery ore.
Joe Di walked up to one of the stalls and picked up a piece of the material for a look. He immediately noticed something unique: although the material appeared silver on the surface, there was a faint starry hue overlaying the silver. His spiritual sense touched it and felt as if it was covered by a vast, starry sky. This must be Extreme Glaze Silver, right?
"Friend, are you interested in Extreme Glaze Silver? This is second-grade Extreme Glaze Silver—you can already see the starry pattern on the surface," the stall owner quickly introduced when he saw Joe Di examining the ore.
From that sentence, Joe Di guessed that the grade of Extreme Glaze Silver must be related to the clarity of the starry pattern on its surface—the clearer the pattern, the higher the grade.
"How many Divine Crystals for this piece of Extreme Glaze Silver?" Joe Di asked casually.
Upon hearing Joe Di's question, the stall owner immediately replied, "If you really want it, I'll give it to you for two thousand two hundred high-grade Divine Crystals. I can drop the change—just two thousand is fine."
"Alright." Joe Di didn't bother haggling and directly handed over two thousand high-grade Divine Crystals to the stall owner, then pocketed the Extreme Glaze Silver.
This second-grade Extreme Glaze Silver wasn't very useful to Joe Di. He bought it mainly to break it down with Dao Fire and study its composition.
"You must be here for the first time, right? If you're looking for Extreme Glaze Silver, this second-grade stuff is actually not very useful," a voice sounded by Joe Di's ear just as he was about to enter Xianhai. Turning around, he saw a slightly chubby young man smiling at him.
This guy's cultivation wasn't high—only mid-stage Dao Nurturing. He couldn't see Joe Di's true strength, which was why he dared to speak up. Otherwise, a Dao Nurturing cultivator would never address a late-stage Hunyuan cultivator as 'friend.'
Joe Di nodded, "That's right, it's my first time here. But from what I can see, there doesn't seem to be any higher-grade Extreme Glaze Silver around."
The chubby youth lowered his voice, "Actually, I have a way to get higher-grade Extreme Glaze Silver—even fifth or sixth grade is possible."
Joe Di was a bit impressed. Although the chubby youth spoke quietly, it was actually a kind of divine ability—even if someone stood right behind him, they wouldn't hear a word.
Joe Di smiled slightly. "But what if I want seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver?"
The chubby youth was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Friend, you must be joking."
Joe Di replied calmly, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Sensing Joe Di's seriousness, the chubby youth asked in surprise, "Are you serious? You should know how rare seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver is. In fact, 'rare' doesn't even begin to describe it..."
Joe Di took out a ring and said, "Take a look at what's inside this ring—will it be enough to buy seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver?"
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)