"Crack!" With a forceful twist, Jaden Jiao snapped Florin's neck, causing it to droop instantly.
Jaden Jiao released his grip, tossing Florin far away. Joe Di could see clearly that Jaden Jiao hadn’t killed Florin, but had already crippled his cultivation foundation.
Jaden Jiao snorted, "Franklin Young, for your sake, I won’t kill this trash. Make sure he doesn’t cross paths with Grandpa Jiao again."
Franklin Young’s expression darkened, but he replied coolly, "Thank you, Grandpa Jiao."
With those words, he turned and left. Quentin Ho hurriedly picked up Florin and followed after him, not even bothering to repair the ruined shop.
Joe Di felt a bit emotional. Jaden Jiao might seem brash, but his actions were anything but thoughtless.
The crippled Florin was clearly a top-tier alchemist of the Demon Clan. Now that Jaden Jiao had destroyed his foundation, even if he continued refining pills, he’d be stuck at the Transformation Pill Saint realm for life. For other clans, a Transformation Pill Saint wasn’t much of a threat. But if one advanced to Prime Dao Pill Saint, the danger would rise by several levels.
Once Franklin Young departed, Jaden Jiao’s gaze finally landed on the ring in Joe Di’s hand. But before Jaden Jiao could speak, Joe Di took the initiative, "Fellow Daoist Jiao, does your disciple want that Nine-Star Bamboo refined into Star Dao Pills? If so, I can help."
"Are you a Prime Dao Pill Saint?" Jaden Jiao stared at Joe Di in shock, genuinely taken aback.
Joe Di chuckled, "That’s right, I am a Prime Dao Pill Saint."
Joe Di actually had a stalk of Nine-Star Bamboo himself, but he hadn’t been willing to refine it yet.
"Quinn Jiao, hurry and give Brother Joe the Nine-Star Bamboo," Jaden Jiao immediately called to his disciple. He had just returned the Nine-Star Bamboo to his disciple, and now he was asking for it back. Although he didn’t fully believe Joe Di was a Prime Dao Pill Saint, he trusted that even if Joe Di ruined the Nine-Star Bamboo, he’d compensate with something equivalent.
Jaden Jiao’s disciple didn’t hesitate at all, handing the Nine-Star Bamboo to Joe Di with both hands. Since Joe Di and his master called each other brothers, he was clearly a Parasol Saint Emperor as well.
"Please wait a moment, I’ll go inside to refine the pills," Joe Di said, then took the Nine-Star Bamboo and entered his own shop.
Jaden Jiao rubbed his hands together, muttering under his breath, "Impressive, impressive..."
"Master, that Franklin Young is the Demon Clan’s patriarch, and I heard he’s at the peak of the Parasol Saint Emperor realm..."
Jaden Jiao raised his hand and slapped his disciple, sending him flying. He then said, "That’s nothing! Your master isn’t even afraid of Zhuge Zhichen, let alone some Franklin Young. The Demon Clan? Ha! Ever since Grandridge appeared, the Demon Clan is just a bunch of nobodies. Ah, what a pity... what a pity..."
Hearing his master lament, Jaden Jiao’s disciple dared not speak further. He knew exactly what his master regretted. He’d heard this story countless times: that year, his master didn’t go to Grandridge with Sect Master Felix. If he had, maybe he’d be rich by now.
......
The Demon Clan’s stall was destroyed and never rebuilt, and no cultivator dared to set up shop here again.
After waiting a while, with Di Jiu still not coming out, Jiao Da simply built a temporary abode on the ruins of the demon clan’s Xu Pavilion Pill Hall.
Jiao Da’s strength was not only known to the demon clan; anyone with a bit of seniority in the Void Market knew it too. He might seem solitary, but there were few who dared provoke him.
He waited for more than an hour before Di Jiu finally emerged from the shop.
"So quick? How did it go, Brother Di?" Seeing Di Jiu come out, the anxious Jiao Da hurried over.
Di Jiu handed a jade bottle to Jiao Da and said, "Brother Jiao, I did not disappoint. I obtained six Dao Star Pills."
A single batch of Dao Star Pills yielded twelve pills. Di Jiu kept six for himself. He was being generous; if he weren’t, three pills would have sufficed for Jiao Da.
Even though Jiao Da was a Hunyuan Saint Emperor, the value of Dao Star Pills was undeniable.
Jiao Da took the jade bottle and found six Dao Star Pills inside—three of them were top-grade, and three were high-grade.
"Brother Di, you truly are a top-tier Dao Origin Pill Saint!" Jiao Da exclaimed excitedly.
Di Jiu pointed at the sign and said, "I wrote it long ago—I am a Dao Origin Pill Saint."
Jiao Da chuckled, offering no explanation. He knew very well that anyone who truly believed the claim on Di Jiu’s sign would be a fool.
There were countless people in the Void Market who used such gimmicks to deceive others. He’d thought it was fake too, but now he realized Di Jiu’s sign was truer than gold.
"Senior, can you also refine Qianyuan Dao Pills?" Jiao Da’s disciple asked Di Jiu expectantly.
Di Jiu nodded, "That’s right, I can indeed refine Qianyuan Dao Pills. But you’ll need to provide me with Qianyuan Fruits first—without them, I can’t make the pills."
After retrieving a Qianyuan Fruit from Furen’s ring, Di Jiu had already refined a batch of Qianyuan Dao Pills. His relationship with Jiao Da wasn’t close enough to give one to Jiao Da’s disciple.
"Master..." The black-haired youth looked at Jiao Da with hopeful eyes. What he needed most right now was a Qianyuan Dao Pill.
Jiao Da slapped his disciple’s head, "Don’t worry! Grandpa will definitely acquire a Qianyuan Fruit here. Go hang up a sign—specializing in buying Qianyuan Fruits."
"Alright, Master!" The black-haired youth replied happily and went to work.
Di Jiu watched and secretly found it amusing. Hanging a sign to buy Qianyuan Fruits—who would fall for that?
The days that followed were surprisingly peaceful. The demon clan didn’t come looking for Jiao Da over the Dao Fruit Tower plaza shop, and no one else came to cause trouble either.
During the days before the Dao Fruit Tower closed, Di Jiu found himself with unexpected free time.
One day, as Di Jiu was chatting idly with Jiao Da at the shop entrance, a tall, imposing man suddenly appeared before them. His back was bulging, as if something was hidden beneath.
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Di Jiu immediately stood up, and so did Jiao Da. Both sensed this newcomer was anything but ordinary. Even standing still before Di Jiu, the man’s violent aura crashed over him like raging waves.
Though the man’s domain hadn’t been fully unleashed, Di Jiu still felt as if he couldn’t breathe—an absolute suppression of cultivation.
Di Jiu drew a sharp breath. How could there be such a powerhouse in the Void Market? Was this a true Integration stage expert?
The tall man’s gaze swept over Di Jiu, but he didn’t pay him any attention. Instead, his eyes landed on Lightning, who stood beside Di Jiu, and suddenly burned with excitement.
In the next instant, he reached out to grab Lightning.
Di Jiu didn’t hesitate—he threw a punch, fierce as crashing waves and towering peaks.
Boom! Boom! Boom! His wild, wave-like punches crashed one after another into the tall man’s hand seal, sending tremors rippling through the space.
The overwhelming backlash shattered Di Jiu’s gathered peaks, leaving him feeling suffocated. He staggered back several steps, nearly coughing up blood.
The tall man’s hand seal was also shattered.
Jiao Da stepped forward just in time, his perfected Hunyuan domain overlapping with Di Jiu’s. The tall man’s domain was instantly weakened, forcing him to retreat several steps as well.
"Integration stage expert?" Di Jiu drew a sharp breath, his tone calm.
Jiao Da said from the side, "He’s not Integration—just half a step there. Brother Di, I helped you out just now. You have no idea where you picked up such an enemy."
Di Jiu now understood—this man was definitely from the Kunpeng clan. He knew the Kunpeng rarely appeared, and it was too much of a coincidence for this one to show up just as he arrived.
The man was clearly here for Lightning. Besides Tang Xitan, only the demon clan knew Lightning’s origins.
At this moment, Di Jiu was almost certain—it was Fan Yuan who had sent this Kunpeng powerhouse.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)