Tyler He recounted how he was pressured by the Mariner Alliance, how Joe Di stepped in to teach the Mariner cultivators a lesson, then handed Tyler a genuine Skyveil Token, and finally took his Ranking Token to the Skyveil Token Hall to exchange for the Skyveil Token. He explained everything in detail.
After listening to Tyler He, Sherry Jing nodded. She once again cast her gaze toward the place where the Voidblade aura roiled. She believed Tyler's words, since she had spent some time with Joe Di and knew what kind of person he was.
Qin Yin was a bit stunned; some things that had puzzled her before now became completely clear.
So Joe Di went to the Skyveil Token Hall to exchange a Skyveil Token to help Tyler He, because he knew Tyler couldn't make it to the hall himself. At the same time, she understood why Joe Di had teased her earlier—it was because the Mariner Alliance people were blocking the entrance. If Joe Di fought with the Mariner Alliance, the Qi Trading House would definitely notice, and Joe Di would lose his qualification to enter Skyveil.
Joe Di teased her simply to find an opportunity to remain at the Skyveil Token Hall. No wonder, inside the hall, Joe Di had never tried to peek at her; things were completely different from what she had imagined.
If she hadn't mocked Joe Di with that one remark, he probably wouldn't have teased her at all. To remain in that hall, Joe Di would have found another way.
In the end, Joe Di killed a ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Mariner Alliance before the Skyveil. He had been blocked by the Mariner Alliance at the Skyveil Token Hall for so long that he was quite frustrated. With Joe Di's straightforward and vengeful nature, he would never swallow his anger. Just like how Joe Di had wiped out several Qi Trading Houses—because the Qi family provoked him. Sherry Jing never mentioned the Qi Trading House, clearly thinking there was no need to argue about it.
She was wrong; she had misunderstood everything from the very beginning.
She had always had a poor impression of Joe Di. Even though Joe Di had saved her several times, she always suspected he had ulterior motives. Now, after understanding the truth, she realized that from the start until now, she had been the one in the wrong, and she owed Joe Di. All her thoughts were the result of preconceived notions.
The only thing she had done for Joe Di was help him find a cave dwelling. Even that was only possible because Joe Di had risked his life to save her, giving her the chance to help him search for a cave.
...
No one knew how much time had passed. When the tearing of the Voidblade aura finally subsided, Joe Di was completely exhausted. His face was as pale as paper, and his body was covered in blood and mud.
Joe Di checked his own body. Both his arms were barely hanging onto his shoulders by a bit of skin, and his wrists were almost completely broken. His legs were equally mangled, and his abdomen and chest had been swept by so many Voidblade auras that even bone and intestines were exposed.
There was even a Voidblade aura that had cut across his neck. If he hadn't dodged quickly, his head would have been severed.
His injuries were several times worse than when he had endured the Primordial Soul and Dao Fire Lightning Tribulations, yet Joe Di actually breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to his powerful spiritual sense and acute sensitivity to spatial laws, he had managed, through sheer desperation, to avoid losing any body parts.
No matter how severe the injuries, they could eventually heal. If he lost an arm or a leg, even if he could one day restore his physical body, with his current cultivation level, it would be extremely difficult to recover his Dao sense.
After confirming he had no major problems, Joe Di relaxed, nearly fainting. With tremendous willpower, he forced himself to stay conscious.
He was probably deep underground now. Although the danger wasn't great, this was Skyveil, and anything could happen. Besides, he had no idea when the Voidblade wind might reappear. If it did while he was unconscious, he would be doomed. As for his Pocket World, he didn't dare enter it at all. Without his protection, a single Voidblade aura could easily tear his Pocket World apart.
Once he knew he was safe, Joe Di's first action wasn't to heal, but to direct his spiritual sense to the Scripture Pavilion of the Skyblade Sect in his Pocket World.
He hadn't planned to touch the Scripture Pavilion of the Skyblade Sect. He felt a resonance with the sect—even though he didn't know a single disciple, he sensed that the blade intent of the sect overlapped with his own. It was a kind of mutual recognition.
But now he had no choice but to check the Scripture Pavilion of the Skyblade Sect—he craved a body-tempering technique. If he were a body cultivator, he would have already obtained the flame from Flame Mountain. If he were a body cultivator, he would have claimed the long blade atop Skyblade Peak. And if he were a body cultivator, he wouldn't have nearly died under those endless Voidblade auras.
Body-tempering was now Joe Di's most urgent need.
Joe Di had already drawn away the spiritual vein from the Scripture Pavilion, so all the protective arrays were now just for show. His spiritual sense quickly swept into the pavilion.
Rows upon rows of jade slips for cultivation techniques, skill techniques, pill refinement, and artifact refinement...
Joe Di was deeply shocked. Compared to the Scripture Pavilion of the Skyblade Sect, all the shops in the Qi Trading House combined were nothing but a small peddler's stall.
All kinds of blade techniques, and even blade dao divine abilities, dazzled Joe Di. What surprised him even more was seeing the various methods for forging blades used by the Skyblade Sect.
This was a true treasure trove. The World Tome might be far more precious than the Scripture Pavilion of the Skyblade Sect, but for Joe Di, right now, the pavilion was the greatest help.
Joe Di resisted the urge to examine all those blade techniques. They were not what he urgently needed. His spiritual sense traveled upward through the pavilion until it finally landed on a jade slip for tempering the flesh.
The very first jade slip caught Joe Di's attention: Genesis Body Codex.
What drew Joe Di's attention wasn't just the words 'Genesis Body Codex,' but the introduction inside.
At the dawn of chaos, the mightiest physical bodies were all born from the Genesis Body Codex. There was a line of small characters following that, likely added by later generations: The Genesis Body Codex has several major branches, including the Witch Tribe's Witch God Formula, the Hong Tribe's Tianhong Codex, and the Qixi Tribe's Diqui Body-tempering Scroll—all originating from the Genesis Body Codex.
Joe Di drew a sharp breath. What does it mean to be truly powerful? This is it.
He hadn't heard much about the Hong Tribe and the Qixi Tribe—he'd only seen them mentioned on the Forging God Technique jade slip not long ago. Those two tribes were one thing, but the Witch Tribe was extremely famous.
It was said that the Witch Tribe's ancestor was connected to Pangu. And who was Pangu? The creator of heaven and earth. Although this was a bit of myth and legend, it still showed just how formidable the Witch Tribe was.
Even the Witch God Formula of the Witch Tribe originated from the Genesis Body Codex. What was there to doubt about this Genesis Body Codex? He would cultivate it, no question.
He never imagined that the Skyblade Sect would have such a body-tempering technique. If he'd known earlier, he would have started cultivating it long ago—instead of waiting until now.
Joe Di's thoughts shifted quickly. He immediately realized that the Genesis Body Codex must be related to Skyblade Peak. To reach the very top of the peak, simply comprehending blade intent wouldn't be enough; he would also need a body-tempering technique. This Genesis Body Codex was surely meant for disciples of the Skyblade Sect.
The Skyblade Sect was truly remarkable—even the body-tempering formulas of several tribes that cultivated only the flesh and not the soul had been acquired. The notes beside the Genesis Body Codex must have been the Skyblade Sect's own modifications. These altered body-tempering methods would be even easier for Joe Di to cultivate.
Without any hesitation, Joe Di let his spiritual sense penetrate the jade slip. Every detail of the body-tempering technique appeared in his mind, forming a complete method. Some parts were the Skyblade Sect's modifications, some were from the original codex. For Joe Di, anything that suited him was worth using.
The first step of the Genesis Body Codex is to be tempered by ten thousand blades—each blade passing through the flesh refines the body.
Joe Di had just been ravaged by endless Voidblade auras, his body covered in shocking wounds. Although this wasn't the ideal state for cultivating the Genesis Body Codex, it still met the requirement of being tempered by ten thousand blades.
As Joe Di began to temper his flesh according to the flow of true essence described in the Genesis Body Codex, he was delighted to find his injuries healing faster and faster. Tempering the body with the Genesis Body Codex had no effect on his cultivation of the Star River Formula.
Time gradually passed, and Joe Di became completely immersed in the process of cultivating while tempering his flesh with the Genesis Body Codex.
In just half a month, Joe Di's physical body had crossed the Bone Stage within the Three Master Realm and reached the Gang Stage.
The nine realms of body-tempering are the Three Master Realm, Three King Realm, and Three God Realm.
Cultivators who haven't tempered their bodies are all in the Flesh and Blood Stage. As their cultivation improves, their bodies will naturally advance to the Three Master or even Three King Realm.
However, with some techniques, even upon reaching the True Transformation Stage, the body remains in the Flesh and Blood Stage.
The Three Master Realm consists of the Bone Stage, Gang Stage, and Master Stage. The Master Stage is essentially the peak of bone and gang refinement.
Joe Di had reached the Gang Stage in just half a month. Besides the power of the Genesis Body Codex, it was mainly because his body had suffered so much damage recently. During the Primordial Soul Lightning Tribulation, he was blasted nearly to death, but later recovered his body thanks to his powerful self-healing ability.
Not long ago, he had almost died among the Voidblade auras. With such injuries still unhealed, tempering his flesh with the Genesis Body Codex was a perfect fit.
Another two months passed. Joe Di's body was completely healed, and his body-tempering had reached the peak of the Gang Stage. He was just one step away from entering the Master Stage, and his cultivation was stabilized at the second level of Primordial Soul.
This actually made Joe Di miss those Voidblade auras. Now, when he wanted them, they didn't appear.
Joe Di stood up. Although the Voidblade auras were gone, he could still sense the instability of the surrounding space. Leaving this underground area, he might trigger the Voidblade auras again.
If not for the Genesis Body Codex, Joe Di would still be worried. Now, he almost wished for the Voidblade auras to return.
Whether or not he could rely on the Voidblade auras to temper his body, Joe Di had formed a grudge with that green leaf. If he ever encountered that green leaf again and had the strength, he would definitely reduce it to dust.
Joe Di had obtained the World Tome, so he knew that treasures like the green leaf were absolutely top-tier. He didn't believe that the Voidblade auras that had torn him apart had nothing to do with the green leaf. Since they were connected, it was clearly trying to take his life.