"This is a Drifting Star Isle." Standing outside the Guardian Array of this star isle, Charlotte Ling immediately recognized it.
A Drifting Star Isle isn't truly a star continent, but rather a landmass that abruptly appears in the void and may vanish just as suddenly. Because these isles emerge and disappear unpredictably, their rules are often incomplete. With many cultivators traversing the void, such isles are typically used as temporary stops or places for trading goods.
The stability of a Drifting Star Isle is even inferior to that of some void cities.
Joe Di noticed it too; outside this Drifting Star Isle, two floating void formation characters hung: 'Yi Tu'.
"Looks like this place was claimed by someone with a literary streak. We'll go in soon." After speaking, Joe Di began to set up array flags.
However, after carving just a few array flags, he suddenly paused, his expression turning sour.
"What is it?" Charlotte Ling noticed the change in Joe Di's expression and asked in confusion.
Joe Di sighed, "What a cunning woman—she managed to escape."
"How do you know?" Charlotte Ling looked at Joe Di. He hadn't even entered Yi Tu Star Isle yet. Since he hadn't entered, how could he know the woman had left? Besides, with the Guardian Array protecting the isle, even if it was a Drifting Star Isle, one would have to leave through the array's entrance.
Joe Di slapped his forehead in frustration. "I can only blame myself for being careless. I was so focused on trapping her with a confinement array, I didn't realize she'd already set up a void surveillance array here..."
As he spoke, Joe Di reached out and pulled an ancient Array Disk from the void. He was accustomed to using arrays, but hadn't expected this woman to favor them as well.
Charlotte Ling stared blankly at the disk. It was clearly no low-grade artifact, but something aged and of considerable rank. Because the disk was concealed within the void, neither she nor Joe Di had noticed it before.
"It's even a seventh-grade Divine Array Disk—truly a fine item." Joe Di gazed at the ancient disk in his hand, sighing again.
Charlotte Ling understood now—the woman must have used this disk to detect that she and Joe Di were tracking her. Seeing Joe Di arrive here so swiftly, the woman must have been frightened. Charlotte could only marvel, "I never expected her to be so composed, setting up an array disk before entering the Guardian Array of the isle."
Her experience was certainly greater than Charlotte Ling's.
Joe Di shook his head. "Under my divine sense, she wouldn't have been able to set up the array disk before entering. This disk was prepared long ago—she must frequent this place. She probably came to check if she was being followed. I really fell for it this time."
Charlotte Ling knew Joe Di couldn't be blamed. Even a Third Step powerhouse might not have realized this. The fact that Joe Di identified the issue immediately and retrieved the hidden disk was already remarkable.
"Can you still sense where she went?" Charlotte Ling asked.
"Not anymore," Joe Di replied helplessly. "She must have been startled by me tracking her here and immediately activated a rare Realmshatter Talisman to leave this realm."
When she heard the woman had used a Realmshatter Talisman, Charlotte Ling was speechless. She knew well how precious such talismans were—virtually impossible to obtain, each one an ancient relic. No one had heard of anyone crafting Realmshatter Talismans these days. If the woman escaped using one, it would be a miracle for Joe Di to catch her.
"What do we do now?" Charlotte Ling asked.
"Let's go ask the owner of this Drifting Star Isle. That woman comes here often, or might know the owner." With that, Joe Di stepped into the array gate entrance.
There were two Dao Nurturing cultivators guarding the array gate. Joe Di and Charlotte Ling each paid ten thousand high-grade divine crystals to enter the Guardian Array.
This Drifting Star Isle wasn't very large, but it was still quite crowded with cultivators. Even with various isolation wards, Joe Di's divine sense swept over and estimated nearly a million people inside.
No matter how small, an isle is still an isle. A million people may sound like a lot, but scattered throughout the isle, it felt rather sparse.
Joe Di's divine sense immediately locked onto a massive building at the center of the isle. Floating above it were three characters: 'Yi Tu Hall.' This must be the owner's residence.
At this moment, in the reception area of Yi Tu Hall's main hall, a middle-aged man stood frozen, staring blankly at a patch of void before him. He couldn't understand why Feng Yuer would use a Realmshatter Talisman in his domain.
Not only was it completely unreasonable, it was also a grave disrespect to him.
A Realmshatter Talisman was an invaluable treasure. He decided to stop thinking about it.
As a mid-stage Dao Fusion Realm cultivator, Tu Zhong felt Feng Yuer's actions were truly excessive. For whatever reason, Yi Tu Star Isle would never allow someone like Feng Yuer to enter again.
"Feng Yuer, how dare you use a Realmshatter Talisman in my Yi Tu Star Isle! What have I, Tu Zhong, ever done to offend you?" The more Tu Zhong thought about it, the angrier he became, until he finally couldn't help but shout in fury.
A clear voice suddenly interjected, "Star Lord Tu, I wonder if I may come in and have a seat?"
"Who is it?" Tu Zhong snapped awake, cold sweat instantly breaking out.
His Yi Tu Hall was protected by multiple Guardian Arrays and trigger formations, yet someone had reached his door unnoticed. He only realized it when the person spoke, which meant the visitor had broken through his arrays without warning.
Joe Di and Charlotte Ling had already entered the main hall. "That woman's name is Feng Yuer? I'm hunting her down—didn't expect her to hide here."
Hunting her down? Tu Zhong suddenly understood—he finally realized why Feng Yuer had used a Realmshatter Talisman to escape. She was being pursued!
Tu Zhong was deeply shocked. He knew better than anyone how formidable Feng Yuer was. Though she now appeared as a young girl, that was only because she was in the midst of the Dao Fusion Realm's great decline. Once she overcame it, she'd have more than a forty percent chance of advancing to the Third Step.
Precisely because of Feng Yuer's promising cultivation future, Tu Zhong had done everything he could to befriend her. What he hadn't expected was that someone would hunt her down. When Feng Yuer left just now, it was clear her strength had mostly recovered. If she still had to flee, how powerful was her pursuer?
"It seems Star Lord Tu isn't very welcoming toward us," Joe Di said, his voice turning cold. He knew that in the void, strength was everything—without it, no one would respect you.
And even if you had strength, acting humble would get you nowhere—no one would care about you regardless.
Sure enough, after hearing Joe Di's words, Tu Zhong came to his senses and quickly cupped his fists, saying, "You two have come from afar—my apologies for not greeting you sooner. Please, fellow Daoists, have a seat."
As he spoke, Tu Zhong personally invited Joe Di and Charlotte Ling to sit and poured tea for them. He couldn't gauge Joe Di's cultivation, but Charlotte Ling seemed to be at the early Dao Fusion Realm.
Regardless of whether he could see through Joe Di's strength, anyone who could frighten Feng Yuer into using a Realmshatter Talisman was no ordinary figure.
Joe Di didn't stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Star Lord Tu. My name is Joe Di, and this is my friend Charlotte Ling. The woman who escaped is a bloodthirsty killer—she slaughtered tens of thousands aboard a void ship not long ago, which is why I was hunting her down here."
As Joe Di spoke, he watched Tu Zhong's expression closely. When he mentioned Feng Yuer had killed tens of thousands, Tu Zhong's eyes didn't even flicker. Joe Di realized that, at least, Tu Zhong knew exactly what kind of person Feng Yuer was.
He couldn't help feeling helpless. In his view, someone like Feng Yuer deserved to die a hundred times over, yet here, her actions seemed perfectly acceptable.
Tu Zhong's expression remained calm, so Joe Di pressed on, "Just now, I heard Star Lord Tu say her name is Feng Yuer. I'd like to ask—can you tell me where she comes from?"