Boom! Joe Di was swept out of the Liora Cavern by the raging astral winds, leaving all the cultivators waiting outside in shock.
"How is this possible?" one cultivator finally reacted, murmuring to himself.
Everyone understood what he meant. No one had entered the Liora Cavern for most of the day, so if someone was coming out now, it could only be someone who had gone in long ago.
Realizing Joe Di had entered the cavern much earlier, the rest of the crowd quickly surrounded him.
Joe Di swallowed a healing pill and stood up, inwardly marveling at the resilience of his late-stage Celestial God body.
"Step aside, let me question him." A deep voice rang out from the crowd, and everyone immediately made way when they saw the speaker—Ryan Xiling.
Even though everyone suspected Joe Di might have the Liora Starfruit, they still stepped aside, not daring to utter a word.
Ryan Xiling's cultivation was only at the fifth level of Grand Celestial, not the highest here, but his father was no ordinary figure—the Unending Immortal Sect's master, Eugene Xiling, one of the five Immortal Emperors of the Magic Garment Immortal Continent.
Although the successor of Unending Immortal Sect was Ryan Xiling's brother, Paul Xiling, no one dared to underestimate Ryan.
"Hand over your ring and let me take a look." Ryan Xiling was satisfied with his commanding tone; with just a few words, the surrounding cultivators parted to either side.
Joe Di guessed that Ryan Xiling's background was far from simple—otherwise, cultivators strong enough to stand here would never give way to him.
Most cultivators who survive year-round in the Lunar Celestial Sea are used to living with their lives on the line—who would willingly hand over a treasure to someone else?
Seeing Joe Di ignore him, Ryan Xiling said coolly, "My name is Ryan Xiling, from the Unending Immortal Sect."
As he spoke, Ryan Xiling stretched out his hand, and a silver spear appeared in his grasp.
Joe Di had heard of the Unending Immortal Sect. Its master, Eugene Xiling, was one of the five Immortal Emperors of the Magic Garment Immortal Continent. According to Jie Huang, Eugene Xiling also possessed a Su-Colored Cloud Realm Banner. With such arrogance and widespread fear, Ryan was most likely his son.
Joe Di suddenly grew eager—would Eugene Xiling pass the banner down to Ryan Xiling?
"To last nearly a day in the Liora Cavern, you must be a body-refining expert, right? If I'm not mistaken, you're disguised—you look unfamiliar. Years ago in Cauldron Haven, a nobody used a Veinburst Elixir to escape. That ant was also a body-refiner and master of disguise..." Ryan Xiling grew more excited as he spoke, his eyes shining.
To be honest, when Ryan Xiling first spoke, he hadn't guessed this was Joe Di. But as he mentioned disguise and body-refining, he couldn't help but think of the name Joe Di. By the end, he was certain—the man before him was Joe Di. If so, he couldn't let him use the Veinburst Elixir.
Having guessed Joe Di's identity, Ryan Xiling stopped wasting words and swept his spear toward Joe, gun patterns swirling and smashing forth. He even regretted revealing Joe's identity.
"I've figured it out—this man is Joe Di!" Someone in the crowd also deduced Joe Di's identity from Ryan's words.
Joe Di wiped his face clean, decisively shedding his disguise. The Azure Veil Blade appeared in his hand, and he struck out with a single slash—the Bleakwind Blade.
After reaching the peak of the eighth level of Grand Celestial, Joe Di's understanding of Dao and the laws far surpassed what he had when he first created the Bleakwind Blade.
As the blade fell, the entire space was engulfed in a bleak, murderous aura.
Ryan Xiling was a formidable opponent among his peers, even capable of defeating those who had perfected the Grand Celestial realm. Yet under Joe Di's blade, he felt only a desolate chill.
He even sensed that after unleashing his spear and witnessing this blade, in this wintry, bleak aura, his future had vanished.
The wind is bleak at Yi River, and the water is cold!
Thud! Ryan Xiling heard the sound of his own skull shattering and even saw his own blood. The spear in his hand had already frozen in place.
"You can't kill me..." Ryan Xiling had just uttered these words when the Azure Veil Blade tore through his body.
An indescribable feeling surged forth as the Azure Veil Blade in Joe Di's hand let out a cry of release. Joe suddenly gained a new insight.
Lately, he'd kept his Azure Veil Blade hidden in his ring and moved about in disguise, which made him act timidly. Now, having cast off his disguise and struck openly, his mind felt clear and unburdened, free of all restraint.
Crack! Almost at the same time as Joe Di sliced through Ryan Xiling, his cultivation broke through from the eighth to the ninth level of Grand Celestial.
"Who dares kill my son!" a piercing voice rang out, and from the center of Ryan Xiling's shattered brow, a faint shadow burst forth.
The shadow resembled a scholar, yet radiated an arrogant aura as if he could trample the heavens. As soon as it appeared, it struck out at Joe Di with a palm.
One look at the shadow and Joe Di knew it was Eugene Xiling. He also remembered that when he escaped from Cauldron Haven, Eugene Xiling had been the one chasing him.
"Old bastard, you chased my grandfather back then—now, face my blade!" Without hesitation, Joe Di swept out with the Azure Veil Blade, slashing at Eugene Xiling's soul avatar.
Afraid to kill Ryan Xiling? Ha! Joe Di only wanted to say Eugene Xiling was overthinking it—he dared kill Eugene Xiling himself, let alone Ryan.
If Joe Di had used the Lawbreaker Slash, this attack could have reduced Eugene Xiling's soul avatar to nothing. But instead, he struck with a simple slash, its blade intent crackling with arcs of lightning.
Crack! Eugene Xiling's soul avatar had barely spoken before Joe Di's blade reduced it to nothingness. As for the palm strike, under Joe's slash, it was laughable.
Billions of miles away from the Lunar Celestial Sea, at a celestial fruit banquet, Eugene Xiling suddenly stood up, his killing intent overflowing. He roared, "Dare kill my son and destroy my soul avatar—you're courting death!"
After shouting, Eugene Xiling took a single step and charged straight into the void.
The other Immortal Emperors at the celestial fruit banquet looked at each other, stunned. After a long silence, someone finally realized that Eugene Xiling's son had been killed.
Who would dare kill Eugene Xiling's son? This guy must be unbelievably audacious!
...
On Sandstone Island, the hundred or so surrounding cultivators were all frozen in shock.
With a single slash—just one—Joe Di had killed Ryan Xiling.
Ryan Xiling was a Grand Celestial powerhouse, and not an ordinary one at that. Yet before Joe Di, he couldn't even withstand a single slash.
That wasn't all—the key was that Joe Di dared to strike.
Several cultivators near Joe Di instinctively stepped back a few paces. Compete with someone like him for loot? Ha, their lives were more important.
With a flick of his hand, Joe Di caught Ryan Xiling's ring. Then, casting a flame, he reduced Ryan's corpse to nothingness.
After finishing, Joe Di strode unhurriedly toward the Lunar Celestial Sea. No one dared speak, and no one dared stand in his way.