"It's Lethe, not Wangchuan..." Nora Xiu corrected Joe Di's mistake.
It's still the meaning of 'longing gaze into the autumn waters.' Joe Di gently stroked Nora Xiu's hair, saying with guilt, "Lethe and Autumn Waters were both raised by you alone. I failed in my responsibilities. You've suffered all these years."
Nora Xiu's eyes reddened, but she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of them. Autumn Waters' marriage was unfortunate. Because of the cultivation technique I taught her, she was used by others. Later, Lethe and I rescued Autumn Waters, but one of her daughters died young."
As she spoke, she was already immersed in memories of those years—the happiest days of her life, the days she became Joe Di's wife.
Being with Joe Di was carefree, but one day he left and never returned. She waited for years, but Joe Di did not come back. During an adventure with Shen Ziyu, she accidentally entered a teleportation array and left Earth.
She had thought more than once that she might never see Joe Di again in this lifetime. Because of that, she didn't value her own life much. Burning her soul? So be it. Maybe after reincarnation, she could see Joe Di again.
What she never expected was that after burning her soul, she ended up meeting Joe Di again. If she had known that burning her soul would let her find him, she might have done it long ago.
"Are you talking about Nina Di?" Joe Di asked immediately.
Nora Xiu looked at Joe Di in surprise. "Big Brother, how did you know about Nina Di? I'm sorry..."
Speaking of Nina Di, she felt deeply ashamed. Back then, she didn't want anything to do with the Ning Clan's child. At that time, Autumn Waters was longing for her husband and had already forgotten about Nina Di. So many years have passed, and the anger from those days has long faded. No matter how ruthless the Ning Clan was, no matter what they did wrong, it had nothing to do with the child. Nina Di was innocent.
Joe Di said, "That year, I was gravely injured and fell onto Grand Abyss Star. It was Nina Di who saved me. I think there must have been some kind of fate at work—when I saw Nina Di, I missed you all even more."
"Ah..." Nora Xiu covered her mouth, her eyes full of fear. If the Ning Clan had taken out their anger on Nina Di and killed her, then who would have saved Joe Di when he landed on Grand Abyss Star?
Seeing Nora Xiu's expression, Joe Di knew what she was thinking. He sighed and said, "The Ning Clan didn't spare Nina Di—they abandoned her, just a few years old, in a filthy ditch. If it hadn't been for her two friends, Nina Di might have died there. When I met her, she and her two friends were struggling to survive. Life was hard, but at least she had companions. Later, I took her with me. When I entered the Immortal Realm, I left her in an immortal city. I never expected that once I left, I would never return."
Joe Di had made up his mind to take Nora Xiu with him to find Nina Di.
Nora Xiu couldn't hold back her tears. The thing she regretted most was not taking care of Nina Di.
"I'm sorry, I... I..." Nora Xiu stammered, feeling deeply ashamed. She couldn't say another word.
Joe Di patted Nora Xiu, comforting her, "You don't need to worry. Nina Di won't blame you."
Nora Xiu shook her head. "No, Nina Di will definitely resent me."
Joe Di smiled. "Nina Di is very kind. She only remembers love, rarely holds grudges. In her heart, she only misses you and Autumn Waters—there is not a trace of resentment."
Hearing Joe Di's words, Nora Xiu felt even more ashamed. Despite all her experiences, she couldn't compare to Nina Di.
Joe Di changed the subject, saying, "In a while, I'll take you to see Nina Di. By the way, where did Autumn Waters and Lethe ascend? Why have I never been able to find any trace of them?"
Nora Xiu's mood sank even further at Joe Di's words. "I didn't take good care of them. After Autumn Waters lost her husband, she became withdrawn and was mentally affected. However, her cultivation progressed even faster. When she reached the peak of Huazhen, because Lethe wanted to return to Earth to look for you, Autumn Waters insisted on going with her.
Originally, I planned to go with them, but Sister Ziyu said that maybe you had already left Earth, or even ascended to the Immortal Realm. So I agreed to split up with Lethe and Autumn Waters—I would ascend to the Immortal Realm to search for you, and they would go to Earth. If they couldn't find you, they would ascend and meet me in the Immortal Realm."
Joe Di frowned and asked in confusion, "Xiuqi, you said Autumn Waters and Lethe went to Earth to look for me? How did they get back?"
"We met a powerful talisman master and asked him for several Realm-Breaking Talismans. After Autumn Waters and Lethe left Grand Abyss Star, I never saw them again. When Sister Ziyu and I ascended to the Immortal Realm, she lost contact with me. I cultivated desperately, hoping one day I could tear open the lower realm and return to Earth. I was lucky and found a legacy site..."
At this point, Nora Xiu seemed to remember something. She quickly took out a Way-Nurturing Pearl and handed it to Joe Di. "Big Brother, this is for you. After I got this pearl, my cultivation improved by leaps and bounds."
As soon as Joe Di took the Way-Nurturing Pearl, he immediately sensed a faint flow of Dao aura—a fresh and pure energy. Just holding it for a moment, he felt his own Dao become clearer. This was definitely a treasure.
Joe Di's divine sense instantly fell upon his World Book, and he noticed a new page had appeared.
Way-Nurturing Pearl, a primordial treasure, can nurture any Dao, enhance Dao comprehension and cultivation speed, and purify lingering Dao remnants. No wonder Nora Xiu was able to ascend to the Dao Realm so quickly and her strength improved so rapidly.
"Xiuqi, this is the Way-Nurturing Pearl. Why haven't you refined it yet? If you did, your cultivation would be much stronger than it is now." Joe Di returned the Way-Nurturing Pearl to Nora Xiu.
Nora Xiu pushed it back and shook her head, saying, "Big Brother, I deliberately didn't refine it—it's for you. Only when your cultivation is strong will our family be safe. I'm always by your side, so whether I have it or not doesn't matter."
Joe Di still put the Way-Nurturing Pearl in Nora Xiu's hand. "Xiuqi, the cultivation technique I practice is extraordinary. My cultivation is far stronger than yours, so having the Way-Nurturing Pearl doesn't make much difference for me. You keep it—I'll give you something else."
With that, Joe Di produced a Doom Lotus and placed it in front of Nora Xiu.
The innate Dao aura swept over her, and Nora Xiu immediately knew this was one of the universe's top treasures. She stared at Joe Di with her mouth agape. "Big Brother, is this...?"
"This is the Doom Lotus. I obtained it by chance. Not only that, I also got a fragment of Genesis Lotus Essence, which I'll give you as well. If you use the Genesis Lotus Essence to nurture this Doom Lotus, it's very likely you'll cultivate a Creation Black Lotus." Joe Di explained. This Doom Lotus was one of the most promising treasures he had acquired, and now he was giving it to Nora Xiu. As for the Jiangshan Pot, Joe Di decided to leave it for Lethe.
He had plenty of good things. It was better to pass them on than to keep them all for himself.
"The legends are true—there really is a Doom Lotus?" Nora Xiu looked at Joe Di in delight. She knew the legends of Huaxia well.
Joe Di nodded. "I'm sure the Huaxia legends aren't baseless. Many things really do exist—I've already seen several. You keep this black lotus. I have plenty of treasures."
Glancing at Joe Di's Heaven-Opening Pen and Void Mountain, Nora Xiu nodded and put away the Doom Lotus.
Joe Di then took out a True Spirit World and gave it to Nora Xiu, filling it with a pile of treasures before saying, "I must quickly merge with my Dao. Once I do, I'll take you to Earth to find Lethe and Autumn Waters."
"You can go to Earth?" Nora Xiu looked at Joe Di with immense surprise.
Joe Di affirmed, "Yes. Once my Dao merges a bit more, I can tear open the Five Elements Universe and go to Earth to find them."