"Can you tell me where my pet went?" Joe Di sheathed his blade, walked over to Melody Qin, and tapped her several times as he asked.
The restriction on Melody Qin was child's play for Joe Di now.
Melody Qin felt the seal within her collapse in an instant. Her strength quickly returned, and in moments, her true essence surged back into her body.
"Thank you for saving me, big brother." Melody Qin was secretly shocked by Joe Di's mastery of seals and restrictions; it was clear he was used to handling such things.
Joe Di chuckled, "There's no need for pleasantries. I suppose you already know who I am, so let's not be fake. Just answer my question directly."
Joe Di had entered the skyveil so flamboyantly that if he still thought others couldn't guess he was Joe Di, he wouldn't have survived until now. Besides, he'd already announced that the Rootling was his pet. On Aurora Continent, there were probably few who didn't know he, the Rootling, and Geng Ji had seized the Qi Trading House in Marshsea Town.
He hadn't planned to keep disguising himself anyway. Since everyone had figured out he was Joe Di, every cultivator entering the skyveil would surely pay attention to him. With his current strength, unless he encountered a Soul Ancestor, he had no need to hide anymore.
If he ran into a Soul Ancestor, he'd just escape. Once he found his tree brother and forged his own artifact, he'd immediately temper his spiritual sense. No matter what, he had to master Mindshift.
Joe Di didn't think he'd truly mastered Mindshift yet. He'd only just begun to learn it. For an escape technique, even if he couldn't break out of someone's spiritual sense range in one try, he should at least be able to get a hundred li away.
"Yes," Melody Qin replied quickly, secretly wondering if Joe Di's teasing in the grand hall earlier had some other purpose.
If Joe Di truly fancied her, having just saved her, he would surely be gentle now. She had never been in love, but she had seen how other Dao companions interacted.
Her thoughts drifted for a moment, and she sensed Joe Di's impatience. She quickly said, "When I arrived, I saw your Rootling pet being led into the valley by a Golden Core cultivator. I heard others say your Rootling discovered a supreme treasure..."
"If there's a supreme treasure, why didn't you all go in?" Joe Di's gaze swept over the other cultivators.
At this moment, Joe Di was the top expert here. Seeing his gaze and hearing his question, a first-level Golden Core cultivator stepped forward and cupped his fists. "Fellow Daoist, it's because entering the valley requires passing through the Spatial Severance Array. Your pet is a natural spirit and can pass through the array. The one who caught your pet is a seventh-level Golden Core cultivator; he only allows those at fourth-level Golden Core and above to enter with him. Those left here are below fourth level."
Joe Di swept his spiritual sense outward and quickly sensed the fluctuation of rules. There was indeed a spatial array in the valley ahead, and it seemed to be a natural formation, probably fifth or sixth grade.
Though the array's grade wasn't high for Joe Di, he couldn't set it up himself. The formation involved rules—he'd witnessed countless rules, but in truth, he didn't understand them, so naturally he couldn't construct such a spatial grand array.
Still, while Joe Di couldn't set up this grand array, he could pass through it. He had an ability others couldn't match—he could sense the fluctuations of rules. Besides, he was a fifth-grade Array Master.
His tree brother was, after all, his pet. Now that his pet was being forced into the valley, Joe Di didn't hesitate to enter after it.
Melody Qin saw Joe Di enter the valley and hurried after him.
Joe Di casually pulled off his mask and turned to Melody Qin. "Why are you still following me? I've changed my mind—I don't intend to pursue you as a Dao companion anymore."
Melody Qin stared blankly at Joe Di. Though she had seen his face on the wanted posters, seeing his true appearance now, she was still struck by how young he was.
Compared to the previous cultivator from a cultivation family, this Joe Di seemed far more pleasing to the eye. Thick brows like willow leaves, a gentle face, yet sharply defined features, black hair and bright eyes together gave him an air of resolve. His eyes seemed to hold a sense of age and experience—just how much had this young cultivator gone through to give her such a feeling? Likewise, she couldn't understand why someone with such promise would oppose the Qi Trading House.
Melody Qin had studied physiognomy, and no matter how she looked, Joe Di didn't seem like the type to snatch Ranking Tokens from rogue cultivators.
But thinking about Joe Di's situation, it wasn't hard to understand why he'd snatch Ranking Tokens. Pursued by the Qi Trading House, he couldn't obtain them through duels. Since dueling wasn't an option, there was only one way left—taking them by force.
Melody Qin sighed inwardly, recalling a saying: 'You were born a beauty, but fate made you a thief.'
Seeing Melody Qin lost in thought, Joe Di didn't bother with her and turned to step into the canyon.
Melody Qin hurried after him, saying, "Senior Brother Joe, if I stay outside, I'm doomed. It's not because of my looks, but because my constitution is perfect for being a furnace."
"If that's the case, follow me if you want. Watch where I step—make a single mistake and get sliced up, it's your own fault." Joe Di didn't pause at all, already stepping into the Spatial Severance Array within the canyon.
He spread his spiritual sense completely. In such a dangerous grand array, Joe Di dared not be careless. As for whether Melody Qin could keep up, that was up to her luck.
Melody Qin wanted to warn Joe Di about how terrifying the array was—she'd seen a Golden Core cultivator shredded to bits by this Spatial Severance Grand Array. If she weren't too afraid to stay behind alone, she would never have followed Joe Di into such a deadly formation.
As Joe Di stepped into the grand array, constantly changing direction, Melody Qin grew more and more impressed. Even her master probably wouldn't dare claim to cross such an array so easily. Joe Di moved through it with such ease, he might well be a King Array Master.
She wasn't clueless about arrays. For natural grand arrays like this, only some sentient spirit plants could sense danger; ordinary Array Masters couldn't pass through. The Spatial Severance Array in this valley was at least fourth or fifth grade. A fourth or fifth grade natural grand array was impassable for even Array Grandmasters.
Melody Qin knew how terrifying this natural severance array was, so she stuck close to Joe Di as they moved. A faint fragrance wafted over, and Joe Di felt as if he had returned to the indulgent days in Pearl City. But none of the women there had the clean scent that Melody Qin carried.
Joe Di pushed aside these messy thoughts and quickened his pace. In just half a stick of incense, he crossed the natural grand array. Before him was a cave entrance, glowing with blue light. Joe Di sent his spiritual sense inside, but the blue glow blocked it after just a few zhang. He could only tell the cave sloped downward.
With his tree brother's life at stake, Joe Di didn't hesitate and stepped into the blue-lit cave.
Melody Qin had no choice but to follow Joe Di inside.
The cave was indeed sloped. The deeper Joe Di went, the denser the spiritual energy became. He had just entered the Golden Core stage and desperately needed rich spiritual energy. Joe Di also discovered something incredible—there was no barrier to cultivation within this cave mansion.
"Oh, this is actually a Skyveil Sanctuary!" Melody Qin exclaimed in surprise, then spoke with delight.
"What's a Skyveil Sanctuary?" Joe Di asked casually.
Melody Qin replied, "Most places within the Skyveil can't be used for cultivation—the spiritual energy there can't be absorbed. But there are a rare few places where cultivation is possible. These rare locations are called sanctuaries and blessed lands. Many cultivators who make great progress within the Skyveil do so by finding one of these sanctuaries."
Only now did Joe Di realize he wasn't the only one who could cultivate within the Skyveil—anyone who found a sanctuary could do so. It seemed his understanding of the Skyveil was still far too limited.
After walking just a dozen or so zhang, Joe Di spotted his tree brother. Not only was his tree brother there, but six Golden Core cultivators stood nearby. The weakest among them was at fourth-level Golden Core. One fifth-level Golden Core cultivator was from the Qi Trading House—Joe Di recognized their storage pouch.
In front of the Golden Core cultivators and his tree brother was a large blue pool. Joe Di guessed the blue light was reflected from this pool.
His tree brother looked miserable—one of his arms was missing.
"Who are you?" The highest-ranked Golden Core cultivator was the first to notice Joe Di's arrival. He suddenly turned and stared at Joe Di and Melody Qin.
When he saw Melody Qin's cultivation, he relaxed. Joe Di's cultivation was hard to gauge, but anyone teaming up with someone of Melody Qin's level couldn't be much stronger.
Soon, he was captivated by Melody Qin—she was breathtakingly beautiful. Not only that, the spiritual charm around her was pure and flawless, marking her as the ideal furnace.
"Big brother..." The tree brother let out a miserable cry upon seeing Joe Di. Before Joe Di could respond, a beetle hidden in the tree brother's hair flew out and landed instantly on Joe Di's shoulder.
(Please follow my official WeChat: eslw26, or search for 'Goose Is Old Five'. As the book is about to be released, I truly don't have time to write things unrelated to the novel, but there are a few words I just have to say—see you on WeChat.)