Jed Carey's killing intent couldn't affect Joe Di in the slightest. It didn't even reach Joe Di before being blocked by Zhong Ao at his side, vanishing without a trace.
Jed Carey's heart sank. Even though he possessed the strength of a ninth-level Immortal Emperor, he still doubted whether he could defeat Zhong Ao. With such a top-tier expert by Joe Di's side, and with Nate Shee not stepping forward to speak for him, he truly didn't dare to act recklessly anymore.
In Joe Di's impression, Nate Shee was deeply scheming; his actions were never as simple as they appeared. Nate Shee bringing out this lifelike Azure Lotus Banner was most likely targeting the Plain Cloud Realm Banner in Joe Di's possession.
What puzzled Joe Di, however, was that when he thought Nate Shee would focus his attention on him, Nate Shee instead seemed to be observing a long-bearded man with sixth-level Immortal Emperor cultivation.
"Nate Shee, Palace Lord, I have a cauldron that I also cannot refine. But my cauldron is definitely not a fake—it's the real deal, a truly fine item. I don't practice alchemy, but if you're interested, perhaps we could make a trade." Eugene Young, Island Lord, a seventh-level Immortal Emperor, laughed heartily, raising his hand to produce the Cosmic Cauldron.
Most cauldrons have three legs, but the Cosmic Cauldron had five.
The moment Joe Di saw the Cosmic Cauldron, he sensed it was extraordinary. His divine sense instantly landed on the World Tome.
To Joe Di's delight, the World Tome had indeed gained a new page, and that page depicted the very shape of this cauldron. The cauldron's name was the Cosmic Cauldron.
This was definitely a treasure. If it wasn't, the World Tome wouldn't reveal its name.
The description following the Cosmic Cauldron read: Its name is the Cosmic Cauldron. Born of heaven and earth after the cosmos was forged, it transforms all things, gives birth to yin and yang...
This seemed to be a divine artifact cauldron for refining, and Joe Di decided to acquire the Cosmic Cauldron for alchemy. Though he was an eighth-grade Grandmaster Alchemist, he had always lacked a good Essence Furnace. The reason Eugene Young, Island Lord, presented the Cosmic Cauldron was clearly because he couldn't tell whether Nate Shee's Azure Lotus Banner was real or fake.
Nate Shee had originally been watching the long-bearded Immortal Emperor at the sixth level. In Joe Di's view, Nate Shee seemed to covet the treasure in the man's possession.
After Eugene Young, Island Lord, produced the Cosmic Cauldron, excitement immediately flashed in Nate Shee's eyes. But the excitement vanished in an instant—if Joe Di hadn't set up so many law array flags nearby, he wouldn't have sensed it at all.
Just as Nate Shee was about to speak, Joe Di suddenly stepped forward and said, "Fellow Daoist, Palace Lord Nate's Azure Lotus Banner is absolutely a fake. I've already seen it. I have something you need here, and I can also offer this as a gift."
With that, Joe Di directly tossed a jade bottle to Eugene Young, Island Lord.
He wanted the Cosmic Cauldron so badly that, otherwise, Joe Di would never have given away his own item first. His divine sense was constantly constructing law array flags, making him highly sensitive to the fluctuations around him. He sensed that Eugene Young, Island Lord's sea of consciousness was somewhat abnormal; his divine sense seemed discontinuous.
Seeing Joe Di call his item fake and even offer something up first, Nate Shee's expression darkened. His tone turned cold as he said, "Grandmaster Alchemist Joe, although I can't be certain my banner is the Azure Lotus Banner, isn't it a bit much for you to call it fake after just one glance?"
Joe Di laughed heartily. "Nate Shee, you can fool others, but you can't fool me. I have a Plain Cloud Realm Banner right here—everyone is welcome to inspect it with their divine sense."
With that, Joe Di produced the Plain Cloud Realm Banner and placed it before him. Previously, Jed Carey had wanted Joe Di to reveal the banner, but Joe Di had mocked him instead. Now, Joe Di took it out on his own initiative, leaving Jed Carey's face as dark as the bottom of a pot. Clearly, it wasn't that Joe Di refused to show it—Jed Carey simply wasn't qualified to make him do so.
Dozens of divine senses instantly swept over Joe Di's Plain Cloud Realm Banner. As the saying goes: it's not about not recognizing the goods, but about comparing them.
No one had ever seen the Five Element Banners, so no one could be sure if Nate Shee's was truly the Azure Lotus Banner. Now that Joe Di had brought out the Plain Cloud Realm Banner for everyone to inspect with their divine sense, it was immediately clear—Joe Di's banner was genuine, while Nate Shee's seemed rather odd. The aura was similar, but the Dao rhythm was worlds apart.
In other words, Joe Di was likely telling the truth—Nate Shee's Azure Lotus Banner was probably a fake.
"It's too far away; I can't see clearly," someone said, reaching out to grab Joe Di's Plain Cloud Realm Banner.
Joe Di sneered, and his Azure Veil Blade slashed out as he called, "Old Zhong..."
Zhong Ao didn't even need Joe Di's instructions; his aura instantly bound the opponent's hand seal, while Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade had already struck down.
Zhong Ao's aura was so powerful that even Felix Fang dared not act rashly. After a period of recuperation, Zhong Ao's presence had grown even stronger. The Immortal Emperor trying to snatch Joe Di's Plain Cloud Realm Banner was only a newly advanced seventh-level, and with Zhong Ao's domain killing intent locking him down, Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade had already severed his arm.
The one who tried to snatch Joe Di's Plain Cloud Realm Banner was a thin, black-clad man. When Zhong Ao's domain killing intent locked onto him, he knew things were bad. But Joe Di's slash was too fast—before he could break free, his arm was already severed.
The black-clad man's expression changed as he reached to retrieve his severed arm. Joe Di, without hesitation, used two law array flags; the arm broke free from the man's domain, then exploded into a mist of blood in the void.
"What do you mean by this?" the black-clad man suddenly stood up, pale-faced, glaring at Joe Di.
If not for Zhong Ao's overwhelming strength beside Joe Di, he would have already made a move.
"Don't take what isn't yours, or you might lose all your claws," Joe Di said coolly.
There were simply too many people here today, and Joe Di still wanted to rescue Guildmaster Quentin Qu—otherwise, he would have already acted. With so many present, if he was going to make a move against Nate Shee and save someone, he needed a solid reason. Joe Di guessed Nate Shee was thinking much the same. If Nate Shee wanted to kill him here, he probably wanted the world to see that killing Joe Di was justified.
Of course, Joe Di was certain Nate Shee hadn't made a move yet because he had other motives—though what they were, Joe Di couldn't yet tell. The most likely reason was that Nate Shee didn't want to kill him outright, but rather imprison him to slowly extract his secrets, or even force him to refine pills exclusively for him.
Nate Shee's expression turned cold. "Grandmaster Alchemist Joe, wasn't that a bit ruthless? Henry Yi, Pavilion Lord of Aurora Elixir Pavilion, only wanted to take a look at your item, and you crippled his arm. That's excessive, isn't it?"
"It's fine to look at someone else's things, but at the very least you should get their permission. By your logic, Nate Shee, Palace Lord, does that mean I can just inspect your ring without your consent?" Joe Di retorted sarcastically.
Nate Shee snorted coldly and said no more, turning instead to Eugene Young, Island Lord. "Eugene Young, Island Lord, if you want my Azure Lotus Banner, I'll trade it to you."
To him, Joe Di was already a dead man—why bother arguing with a corpse?
Henry Yi, Pavilion Lord of Aurora Elixir Pavilion, who had just lost an arm to Joe Di, was deeply disappointed. As a seventh-level Immortal Emperor, he thought that if he acted quickly, Joe Di wouldn't be able to respond in time. If he could snatch the Plain Cloud Realm Banner, he could make up any excuse and Joe Di wouldn't be able to get it back.
He never expected to fail, much less lose an arm in the process. The key was that Nate Shee was only acting according to his own plans, never intending to stand up for him. After all, the Aurora Elixir Pavilion was Nate Shee's property, and Henry Yi's earlier move had been for Nate Shee's sake. Nate Shee had even told him before that, if necessary, he could make a sudden move.
If Joe Di hadn't produced the Plain Cloud Realm Banner, Eugene Young, Island Lord, would certainly have traded with Nate Shee. He had brought out the Cosmic Cauldron specifically to exchange for the Azure Lotus Banner. Now, seeing Joe Di's banner, even if he couldn't be completely sure Nate Shee's was fake, he was unwilling to trade such a treasure for something uncertain.
Joe Di didn't know Eugene Young, Island Lord, but before he could respond to Nate Shee, Joe Di spoke up: "Eugene Young, Island Lord, you can try the pill I gave you."
He believed that, unless Eugene Young, Island Lord, was a fool, after seeing the Plain Cloud Realm Banner, he wouldn't trade with Nate Shee anymore.
Eugene Young, Island Lord, apologized to Nate Shee, saying, "Nate Shee, Palace Lord, I do want the Azure Lotus Banner, but I just realized that if even you can't refine it, then I surely can't either."
If he didn't urgently need one of the Five Element Banners, Eugene Young, Island Lord, wouldn't have hastily brought out his Cosmic Cauldron.
Nate Shee's face darkened, but he said nothing.
Eugene Young, Island Lord, knew he couldn't possibly trade with Joe Di. But Joe Di was clearly a ruthless character, so he couldn't just ignore him. He took the initiative to open the jade bottle Joe Di had given him and drew out the single Mindweave Pill inside.
Before he even put the pill in his mouth, he felt waves of coolness in his sea of consciousness. Eugene Young, Island Lord, was shocked—could this be a Mindweave Pill that restores the spiritual sea? But he had never heard of such a pill in the Immortal Realm.