Jaden Dai's face was ashen. Five Grandmaster Hunyuan experts and twenty-one Dao Origin cultivators had searched the third layer of the Grand Ruins for two months. The idea that Joe Di was hiding in the third layer and they hadn't found him was simply impossible.
Yet this was the reality. After days of searching the Grand Ruins, they hadn't seen a trace of Joe Di—not even a single hair.
So many people had searched the Grand Ruins for months without finding Joe Di. Some began to suspect he had already left, or that Jaden Dai was lying. A number of cultivators started to take their leave. The Chaotic Qi was valuable, but wasting time on the third layer of the Grand Ruins for nothing was not what they wanted.
Moreover, the swirling maelstroms of cosmic law and the chaotic distortion of rules in the Grand Ruins had already become deadly hazards, especially for Dao Origin cultivators whose foundations were weak.
With the first person announcing their departure, more cultivators soon followed. Even Qiang Mu, who desired Primordial Chaos Essence the most, gave up after two and a half fruitless months.
He, too, believed Jaden Dai was lying. If Joe Di were truly in the third layer of the Grand Ruins, even with his Five Element Banners, so many powerful cultivators searching for months would have found him by now.
......
Even Jaden Dai began to suspect Joe Di had left the third layer. But if Joe Di had left, where could he go? It was absolutely impossible for him to reach the second layer or even leave this place entirely.
He was certain that if Joe Di tried to escape the Grand Ruins, he wouldn't get past his blockade. If Joe Di wasn't in the third layer, then the only possibility was that he had entered the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins. As for using talismans to leave, Jaden Dai believed Joe Di wouldn't dare. The Grand Ruins' shattered and chaotic laws were far too complex. Using talismans here would only hasten one's death.
But how could that be? Even Jaden Dai himself couldn't remain in the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins for long. What cultivation did Joe Di have? Unless Joe Di had already attained the Sacred Physique.
To refine the body to the Saint Body—Jaden Dai wasn't underestimating Joe Di. Even among the top ten geniuses of the Dao Domain in those years, who had ever achieved the Saint Body?
Jaden Dai lingered for a long time at the entrance to the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins, but ultimately did not go in.
Whether Joe Di was in the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins or not, the chance of finding him after entering was minuscule.
But knowing Joe Di was somewhere in the Grand Ruins, leaving just like this was simply too hard to accept. Not only did Joe Di possess Chaotic Qi, but the Five Direction Flags were most likely all in his hands.
After hesitating for half a stick of incense, Jaden Dai decided to wait for a while at the entrance from the third to the second layer. As for marrying Yu Qianxi at the Grand Purity Sage Sect, he postponed that matter.
Yu Qianxi had already left the Grand Purity Sage Sect—he'd received that news long ago. But that didn't matter. Any woman Jaden Dai set his sights on couldn't escape, no matter where she fled. Now, he was waiting for news about the sect's Integration Realm expert. If the Grand Purity Sage Sect truly had such a powerhouse, going there might not be a good idea.
......
Joe Di gazed at the twelve Zixiao Pills in his hand, each bearing nine Dao markings, and felt deeply satisfied. He was now not only a Dao Transformation Pill Saint, but could directly refine nine-mark Dao Transformation Pills.
The Zixiao Pill was a Dao Transformation pill that allowed cultivators at the Dao Nurturing Perfection stage to comprehend the Dao Transformation Realm. A single pill could drive an entire cultivation city mad with desire, and he had just refined twelve in one furnace.
He was now both a Dao Origin Pill God and a Dao Transformation Pill Saint. As long as his strength continued to grow, how could he ever lack cultivation resources and treasures in the future?
After putting away the pill furnace and all the Dao pills, Joe Di marveled at the power of the Law Dao. In just half a year, he had advanced from a Dao Pill Saint to a Transformation Pill Saint. Though the Dao Fruit contributed, the greater credit belonged to his cultivation of the Law Dao—or rather, the Ninth Dao Principle he once possessed.
If not for that Ninth Dao Principle trying to control his Dao World, even attempting to erase his soul and will to force him onto a predetermined path, Joe Di would never have destroyed the Dao Principle and fused it with his Saint Yin Pearl to create the Ninth World.
After reflecting for a while, Joe Di still didn't dare to venture outside.
He wasn't sure if Jaden Dai was still lurking nearby, and it was always better to be cautious.
Inside the Ninth World, Joe Di sat beneath the Jianmu Tree atop a supreme Dao vein, with fifty million Divine Essence Pills scattered around him. As the Rule Cycle circulated, he was delighted to find his cultivation beginning to rise slowly.
He hadn't even used any pills yet, and his cultivation was already climbing. Clearly, this was the effect of advancing to the Saint Body. The Saint Body had broadened his Rule Dao even further.
Even so, Joe Di still took out a Zixiao Pill and swallowed it.
Others used Zixiao Pills to break through to the Dao Transformation Realm, but Joe Di used them simply to cultivate faster in the Dao Nurturing Realm. If anyone found out, their furious glares alone might kill him. Yet he had no choice—if his cultivation was too low, he might face pursuit as soon as he left.
Once his cultivation began to rise, Joe Di completely forgot he was still in the fifth layer of the Grand Ruins, immersing himself in deep seclusion.
One year, two years...
By the third year, Jaden Dai could wait no longer. He set up several hidden surveillance formations at the entrances between the second and third layers, and did the same at the entrances between the second and first layers.
At the outermost exit, Jaden Dai even stationed a Dao Transformation Saint Emperor to wait for Joe Di. The moment Joe Di appeared, the formation would trap him instantly, and Jaden Dai would arrive at the Grand Ruins in the shortest time possible.
......
The fifty million Divine Essence Pills he'd scattered around had long since been exhausted, and he'd used ten Zixiao Pills. He hadn't yet checked how much of the Dao vein had been depleted.
Despite consuming so many resources, Joe Di had only reached Dao Nurturing Perfection—still a step away from the Dao Transformation Realm.
Joe Di knew very well that trying to use Zixiao Pills to comprehend Dao Transformation in the Grand Ruins now was nothing but wishful thinking.
Joe Di sighed, knowing his cultivation progress was already extremely fast—reaching Dao Nurturing Perfection in just a hundred years.
Across the Dao Domain, there were probably very few who cultivated as quickly as he did. But beyond his speed, the resources he'd consumed were even more astonishing: tens of millions of Divine Essence Pills, high-grade Divine Crystals, supreme Dao veins, Chaotic Qi, and Zixiao Pills...
If any Dao Nurturing Saint Emperor had used all these resources, they wouldn't just reach Dao Nurturing Perfection—they might have achieved Dao Transformation long ago. The only thing Joe Di surpassed others in was his speed at absorbing Divine Essence.
A hundred years had passed—surely Jaden Dai wouldn't still be searching for the Grand Ruins?
Staying in the Grand Ruins no longer held any meaning; Joe Di wanted to leave immediately. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that now wasn't the right time.
He'd already waited a hundred years—what was a few more? Joe Di decided to spend a few more years refining mid-grade artifact blades. Now that he was a Grandmaster Array Master, if he encountered Jaden Dai, his blade formations could at least put up some resistance.
......
After learning that Yu Qianxi from the Grand Purity Sage Sect had gone to the Void Sea, Jaden Dai ultimately decided not to attack the sect's protective array.
The main reason was that the Grand Purity Sage Sect was far too mysterious. He still hadn't determined whether the Integration Realm expert was real or fake. Either way, he couldn't take that risk yet. He felt his strength was still lacking—he might not fear Integration Realm cultivators, but escaping unscathed would still be difficult.
And right now, he absolutely couldn't afford to be injured. If he was hurt, Jaden Dai would surely face the combined assault of countless Grandmaster Hunyuan experts.