Joe Di had reached the seventh level of the Golden Core after six months of secluded cultivation, but now he stopped training. He didn’t know when the Skyveil would close, nor did he want to waste all his time in isolation.
With the Azure Ley Line, he could cultivate at any time after leaving—there was no need to remain inside the Skyveil.
"Congratulations, Big Brother, your cultivation has advanced greatly! Thanks to your breakthrough, I’ve also reached the third stage." Sprout spoke with a hint of pride.
Plant demons usually advance slowly, and Sprout wasn’t a particularly distinguished demon plant—just one that had lived a little longer. For it, reaching the third stage was already a tremendous joy.
Looking at the Azure Ley Line, now noticeably thinner, Joe Di felt a pang of heartache. He quickly raised his hand to stow away the ley line, then put away the icy pearl as well.
He vaguely sensed that the value of this pearl surpassed even that of the Azure Ley Line.
When he sent the ley line into the Herb Garden Ring, Joe Di was surprised to find that there were still unrefined restrictions inside the ring.
"Big Brother, I suspect the dung beetle is still in that pool..." Sprout said, somewhat missing the beetle.
Joe Di quickly replied, "Wait a moment, there’s something wrong with my ring."
Joe Di sent his divine sense into the Herb Garden Ring, and sure enough, he sensed a new restriction within the herb garden.
Back when he refined this ring, he was still on Celestia, and his cultivation was only at the Qi Training stage.
It seems his cultivation was far too low then; this ring is far more than a simple Herb Garden Ring. Now, having reached the late Core Formation stage, his spiritual sense has multiplied, and upon using the ring again, he immediately sensed something was amiss.
Joe Di quickly removed everything from inside the ring, then began refining it once more.
...
Within the Skyveil, nearly ten million miles away from Joe Di, a beautiful woman suddenly raised her head, looking in his direction.
Standing beside her was a man in golden robes, strikingly handsome, with a long spear strapped to his back. Together, they looked every bit the perfect couple.
"Jade Cheng, what is it?" The golden-robed man noticed the beautiful woman fixated on a distant point, a strange light flickering in his eyes, and asked quickly.
"Miles, I sense the aura of one of my family's artifacts..." Jade Cheng clenched her fists, staring into the distance.
"But this is the Skyveil?" the golden-robed man asked in confusion.
Jade Cheng took a deep breath. "That's right. It's my brother's artifact. I must go immediately."
"Wait, Jade Cheng. While we may not fear anyone in the Skyveil, caution is always wise. Besides, you’ve sensed the artifact’s aura—so long as the Skyveil remains open, the treasure will stay here." Miles stopped the beautiful woman.
Jade Cheng calmed herself. Her father had told her countless times that composure and careful planning were the marks of a true cultivator.
Seeing her calm down, Miles spoke gently, "Jade Cheng, hasn’t your brother been missing for many years?"
Jade Cheng nodded. "Yes. Years ago, my brother represented our sect in a trial on Skystar. But unexpectedly, Skystar—a planet that had existed in the cosmos for countless ages—suddenly vanished. Every cultivator in that trial, including my brother, disappeared and never returned. I wasn’t even born yet when my brother went missing, but the aura of our family’s artifact is unique. I’m certain I’m not mistaken. Someone must be refining the restrictions on our Cheng Family treasure."
Our family’s top-tier artifact—except for the one my brother took—has never been lost. That means the artifact being refined is my brother’s. Even if the person didn’t steal it directly, they must be connected to him. Whoever laid hands on my brother must die."
By the end, Jade Cheng’s killing intent was palpable.
Miles suddenly asked, "Jade Cheng, I’ve heard about this. Could it be your family’s Pocket World?"
Jade Cheng nodded. "That’s right. It’s the Pocket World."
Miles drew a sharp breath. The rarity of a Pocket World was unmatched in the cultivation world; only the sect leader of the Zhuxian Sect possessed one. But this Pocket World had vanished years ago—who would have thought it would reappear in the Skyveil?
"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!" Miles said decisively.
...
Crack! As Joe Di refined the first restriction, his array mastery advanced to the rank of sixth-level Array Master.
Since escaping the blue cave, Joe Di hadn’t studied arrays; if he had, he would have reached sixth-level Array Master long ago.
The void array guarding the pearl above the blue pool had given him significant insights. Once he integrates all he has learned and combines it with the World Tome, his array skills will advance even further.
As Joe Di refined the first restriction and became a sixth-level Array Master, a point of light landed on his arm.
A spiritual mark? Joe Di stared at the clear imprint on his arm, speechless.
Spiritual marks are meant to be hidden, ideally never noticed—only then are they truly marks. He had never seen such an overt spiritual mark before.
Was the person who placed this mark an idiot? Didn’t they realize it could be removed?
Joe Di swept his spiritual sense over it, trying to erase the mark immediately. But in the next moment, his expression changed—he couldn’t remove it at all.
This mark was even stronger than the one placed by a ninth-level Array Master; openly branded on his arm, it simply couldn’t be erased.
Joe Di drew a sharp breath. Clearly, this ring’s origins were far from simple. He recalled reading about a spiritual mark called 'Fugu' in a jade slip at the Qi Family Trading House.
The Fugu spiritual mark is placed directly on the skin. Removing it by severing a limb is futile. There are only three ways to erase such a mark: first, if your restriction sense far exceeds your opponent’s; second, if your cultivation is vastly superior; third, if you possess a powerful flame capable of burning away the mark.
This is merely the rudimentary form of the Fugu mark. At its highest level, it becomes undetectable, no longer attached to the skin but to the bones themselves—if you have bones, the mark remains, impossible to remove.
Unfortunately, Joe Di had only read descriptions of this spiritual mark and had no idea how to create one himself.
Realizing he might be marked by the Fugu imprint, Joe Di stopped trying to remove it. He’d acquired the ring on Celestia, so it shouldn’t be traced to him so quickly.
As long as he refined the ring and found a suitable flame, he could remove the Fugu spiritual mark.
With his decision made, Joe Di accelerated his efforts to refine the ring’s restrictions.
Once the first restriction and the Fugu mark were dealt with, the remaining restrictions posed little difficulty for Joe Di.
Several days passed. Joe Di had refined every restriction on the ring. Seeing the ring after this second refinement, he was utterly stunned.
No, it wasn’t just a ring—it was a world, albeit a small one.
Joe Di was no stranger to such things; he immediately recognized it as a Pocket World.
In one corner of the Pocket World lay at least ten million high-grade spirit stones. Previously, he’d only refined the surface restrictions and hadn’t discovered them. Now, with the Pocket World fully refined, he saw everything: spirit stones, piles of minerals and herbs, and a few mediocre artifacts.
Unfortunately, the herbs had long since withered from neglect and hadn’t been refined into pills.
"What a treasure," Joe Di thought, delighted. His trip to the Skyveil had truly yielded unexpected rewards.
After checking for any remaining restrictions, Joe Di stored everything in the Pocket World once more. "Sprout, let’s go find that beetle."
Joe Di’s feud with the Qi Family Trading House was now out in the open. With Sprout having advanced to a third-level tree demon and himself at the seventh layer of Core Formation, he feared no one.
...
"Hmm!" After days of hurried travel, the beautiful woman suddenly stopped, surprised.
Before Miles could speak, the woman said, "How strange—this person has changed locations."
Miles guessed, "It must be from refining the Pocket World. That’s why the location changed. Jade Cheng, let’s follow."
Jade Cheng shook her head. "No, the restrictions on the Pocket World are extremely complex. My father told me there are two layers—the first is simple and preliminary. If that was all that was refined, I wouldn’t sense anything.
The second layer is deeper and much more complicated. Even a Soul Core cultivator would need a long time to refine it—it’s impossible in just a few days. Only when the second layer is refined does the Cheng Family’s spiritual mark activate... For someone to refine it so quickly, they must be a peak fifth-level Array Master at least."
"Can you sense the spiritual mark?" Miles asked urgently.
Jade Cheng nodded. "Yes. No matter how strong he is, no one under a hundred years old could possibly remove the Cheng Family’s spiritual restriction."