Joe Di cupped his fists toward Austin Ninefold. "Thank you, Daoist Friend Austin."
If it weren't for Austin Ninefold, they would never have found Quinn King so quickly.
"Grandpa, I've reached the Fifth Step!" Bolt shouted excitedly as he rushed over.
Joe Di had already noticed that Bolt had reached the Fifth Step. With a wave of his hand, two Grand Dao Principles seeped into Dean Bell and Bolt's Purple Mansion. In just a moment, Joe Di let out a cold snort.
Austin Ninefold, noticing Joe Di's actions, smiled faintly. "Did Dean Bell and Bolt both get branded with a Dao Seal?"
Joe Di nodded. "Yes, but now I can strip away that seal at any time."
"It seems Quinn King and Max Lune know we're here. Let's go—they're likely waiting for us," Austin Ninefold said.
Joe Di sensed a subtle Dao resonance mark stirring within the Dao Tree. He immediately realized Quinn King was checking his location. In that instant, Joe Di knew exactly where Quinn King was.
"Let's go. We'll head over. If there's anything amiss with the Cosmic Rule World, I won't kill these two," Joe Di said calmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Sometimes, letting someone live is more terrifying than killing them. If Joe Di chose not to kill, he would make Quinn King regret ever cultivating the Dao.
The Chaos Star sped through the primordial chaos, coming to a halt after just one hour.
"What a grand undertaking," Quinn King exclaimed when he saw the Chaos Star, secretly admiring Joe Di's luck. To think he could find such a massive Vast Iron Crystal and even forge it into the Chaos Star.
How many universes had Quinn King visited? How much time had he spent in chaos? Yet even he had never seen such a colossal Vast Iron Crystal.
"So my Vast Iron Crystal and Ascendant Gold were taken by you." Max Lune stared coldly at the planet-sized Vast Iron Crystal beneath Joe Di's feet, his voice icy and filled with murderous intent.
His killing intent in the chaos automatically formed a transmission rule, echoing in everyone's ears.
Even Quinn King was surprised as he looked at Max Lune. Max Lune had always been calm and composed, never showing such murderous intent or such a twisted expression.
"You set it out here?" Joe Di looked at Max Lune in surprise. This guy truly had some nerve—leaving Ascendant Gold and the Chaos Star to grow on their own. Unfortunately, just as the Ascendant Gold matured, Joe Di took it.
"That's right, I set it out. I should thank you for delivering it to me," Max Lune said, his tone now calm and measured.
Joe Di gave a faint smile and said nothing more.
Max Lune continued, "The Vast Iron Crystal must have come from somewhere else, right? The Ascendant Gold is what you snatched from the place I set it."
Joe Di didn't bother asking Max Lune how the Vast Iron Crystal ended up elsewhere. He spoke with calm indifference, "The Vast Chaos is immeasurable in size and scope. If anyone could simply claim any part of it as their own, then the entire Vast Chaos would belong to me. Would you agree?"
Max Lune ignored Joe Di, but Quinn King said coolly, "I always wondered who constructed such a well-ordered universe. So it was you. What puzzles me is how you managed to build this universe."
Quinn King was truly puzzled. He sensed the vast cosmic laws within the Cosmic Rule World, as well as the Way of All Things and the Way of Unity.
Even if Joe Di cultivated three Daos, he couldn't use chaos alone to create such a universe. It's not a matter of ability, but of Dao itself. Unless three people simultaneously constructed the same universe within chaos, trusting each other completely and without any hidden motives—only then would it be barely possible to create such a top-tier Cosmic Rule World.
But Quinn King thought it was impossible. First, finding three such people would be nearly impossible, since each would possess a supreme Dao. Finding even one is a challenge, let alone three. Second, even if you found them, Quinn King would never believe that three such extraordinary cultivators would trust each other enough to reveal their Dao principles completely.
For any cultivator, their Dao is the ultimate secret—more important than life itself.
A cultivator's Dao is the deepest secret, more vital than their very life.
At this moment, Joe Di sensed the Cosmic Rule World. It was still bound by various Daos, not yet broken open, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Joe Di couldn't be bothered to answer Quinn King's question. Instead, he mocked, "You should be glad you haven't made a move against the Genesis Realm yet. Otherwise, you'd regret ever cultivating the Dao."
"Ha!" Quinn King laughed wildly, then suddenly reached out to grab Joe Di, his artifact flying out at the same time.
"Do you think that just because you've stripped away the Life-and-Death Dao Principle from my Life-and-Death Gate, you're qualified to duel with me? Today, I will show you what it truly means to strip away the Dao..."
As Quinn King spoke, Dao Principles surged endlessly between his hands.
As Quinn King's hand seals unfolded, Joe Di's face turned pale, his hands trembling. The Azure Veil Blade he had summoned seemed to freeze in midair, and even his footing faltered as he staggered off the Chaos Star, completely locked within Quinn King's domain. The Dao Principles around him became utterly chaotic.
Austin Ninefold instinctively stepped back. Something was off. Could it be that the Life-and-Death Dao Principle Joe Di stripped away still retained Quinn King's Dao Mark?
"Give me..." Quinn King stared at the staggering Joe Di, his eyes ferocious, his massive head trembling with excitement. He could clearly sense that the Dao Mark he had left behind had already locked onto Joe Di's Life-and-Death Dao Principle, making Joe Di's Dao circulate chaotically in his haste.
He knew exactly how powerful Joe Di’s Dao was. Once he obtained Joe Di’s Dao, he could immediately step into the Seventh Step of Divinity. After reaching the Seventh Step, he would strip away all the Dao Principles within this newly discovered universe. At that point, he might well become the only one to reach the Ninth Step in all of Vast Chaos.
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No, something was wrong—Quinn King saw the cold, unwavering calm in Joe Di’s eyes.
Joe Di’s Dao resonance, soul, and body seemed completely unified. At the same time, Quinn King sensed a desolate, heroic aura of time slipping away.
This sense of time’s desolation was strikingly clear within the chaos—carrying with it a loneliness and helplessness that could never return.
A single thread, weaving shuttle—the years fly by! Truly, life is but a fleeting guest, never glimpsing the twilight.
Quinn King's hand seals abruptly stopped. He couldn't even control his own movements as he gazed up at the boundless Vast Chaos, sorrow streaming in his eyes.
See the blossoms fall as they must; our hair has turned gray with the passing years.
Feeling such sorrow, even a fool would know that the Life-and-Death Mark Quinn King planted on Joe Di’s Dao had no effect at all. What he sensed before was just an illusion. In fact, Joe Di could even use the Life-and-Death Dao Principle to kill Quinn King.
But Joe Di didn’t do that. Instead, he used his own divine techniques to deal with Quinn King.
"Pfft!" A burst of blood exploded as Quinn King's body was slashed in two by the Azure Veil Blade’s Dao Principle of Time and Space.
Quinn King frantically circulated his Dao resonance, forcibly restoring his body. But his face was now pale as snow, and the Dao Principle of Death kept flowing from his wound. Even though Quinn King had once stepped into the Seventh Step, he could not stop the Dao Principle of Time and Space from draining away at the injury.
Only now did his artifact tumble down from the void, landing at his feet. It was a pair of Life-and-Death Rivers, which had accompanied Quinn King through countless years. Now, they fell to the dust like discarded trash.
Max Lune stopped in his tracks. Even before Joe Di made his move, he sensed something was wrong. Unfortunately, Joe Di’s Dao domain was so strong that even he couldn’t tear through it in a hurry. He could only watch helplessly as Joe Di struck Quinn King down.
Quinn King, such a powerful cultivator, was struck down before he could even make a move against Joe Di. What a pity. Max Lune knew how strong Quinn King's Life-and-Death Rivers were—if Quinn King fought at full strength, even Max Lune would have to be cautious. But now...
"Even if you didn't ambush me, I still wouldn't be your match..." Quinn King's voice was low and heavy, blood spurting from his waist. Under the Dao Principle of the Thread, there was no hope for his wound to heal.
Joe Di said coldly, "It's good that you know your limits. Even if I didn't ambush you, in my eyes, this is all you amount to."
"But you..." Quinn King only managed to say two words before stopping. He understood now—Joe Di's ambush wasn't out of fear of him, but of Max Lune.
"You're absolutely right." Joe Di knew Quinn King had guessed his intent. After saying a few words, he turned to Austin Ninefold, "Daoist Friend Austin, leave Max Lune to me. Quinn King is yours."
"Ha ha!" Austin Ninefold laughed wildly. "Rest assured, Daoist Joe."
If Austin Ninefold couldn't defeat the gravely wounded Quinn King, then he had no right to be in the chaos at all.
(That's all for today's update—good night, friends!)