Just as Joe Di was about to give up, he sensed a desolate emotion emanating from the Creation Brush.
A sudden clarity arose in his heart. When he made the Creation Brush his own artifact, it had already become part of his divine techniques.
All primordial treasures possess spirit; the Creation Brush recognized him as its master. Now, the brush was still fighting desperately, yet he was about to abandon it.
Joe Di had wanted to give up before because he always saw the Creation Brush as merely an auxiliary tool for his divine arts. Now, as he suddenly realized the error in his thinking, the deepest part of his heart no longer regarded the brush as a mere treasure, but as a companion.
With this thought, Joe Di let out a long howl. Even if he was running on fumes, he could not let the Creation Brush bear this suppression alone. Unless the brush could retreat safely with him, since it could not, he must stand with it against the oppression of these dark laws.
In the midst of his howl, Joe Di's divine sense surged, and his God Origin Power poured forth in torrents.
Joe Di frantically unleashed his God Origin Power and divine sense, immediately feeling the strength of the Creation Brush. Seemingly understanding that Joe Di had not abandoned it, the brush's Way Resonance continued unbroken, and the aura of the 'Domain Sigil' grew ever more majestic.
Crack, crack, crack! The dark law resonance that had been wildly sweeping toward the Creation Brush began to fracture. With the first law split, the subsequent laws could no longer remain continuous, growing ever more fragmented.
It was like a defeated army collapsing. As the Domain Sigil's momentum rose and the domain grew ever more vast, the dark law resonance became increasingly unsustainable. Not only the resonance beneath the Domain Sigil, but even the space around Joe Di began to see the dark laws weaken. Large swathes of space suppressed by the dark law resonance appeared.
Joy filled Joe Di's heart, though he felt a touch of shame. If he hadn't sensed the brush's emotion, he might really have given up.
Only now did he realize that when he was on the verge of collapse, his opponent was just as close to the edge. He just couldn't tell whether the other could endure any longer.
Sometimes, victory or defeat is separated by only a thin line. When everyone, even you yourself, thinks you can't hold on any longer, yet you persist—then you have already won.
Lord Nightshade clearly understood this principle, which was why he nearly crushed Joe Di. Now that Joe Di hadn't fallen, it was Lord Nightshade's turn to falter.
The Domain Sigil crushed the resonance of the dark laws, its momentum now unstoppable. At this moment, Joe Di could easily reclaim his Creation Brush and command the Domain Sigil's resonance, no longer influenced by others, nor would his divine techniques be affected.
But now, it was Joe Di's turn to refuse to relinquish this suppression. Having gained the absolute upper hand, how could he give it up now?
Crack, crack, crack, crack! The continuous shattering of laws made the black space dissolve like melting ice and snow, vast sections dissipating.
Boom! A figure wrapped in darkness suddenly appeared before Joe Di. At the same time, the resonance of the dark laws receded like a tide.
"You are formidable. I was minding my own business in the Taiji Realm, never provoking you—why do you insist on opposing me? Aren't you afraid of entangling your karma and losing your chance to attain the Grand Way?" The shadowy figure stared at Joe Di, speaking each word with deliberate emphasis.
He no longer attacked Joe Di. Even with his dark laws unleashed at full force, he could not crush Joe Di. If he continued fighting, even if he won, he would be unable to refine the Taiji Realm.
Joe Di sneered, "Only trash like you would think that stopping you would entangle karma. Killing garbage like you only brings boundless merit—how could it taint one's karma? Old fool, take a blade from your grandmaster!"
Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade swept up a powerful blade force, enveloping the shadowy figure in an instant.
"I will come back for you." The shadowy figure had no intention of fighting Joe Di, but tore open a fissure in the void with a wave of his hand and stepped in, vanishing from sight.
Crack! Joe Di's blade force only managed to slash a white streak through the void, failing to trap Lord Nightshade in the slightest.
Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief and took out several Dao Pills, swallowing them. Lord Nightshade was at the end of his strength, but Joe Di was not much better off. Lord Nightshade fled not because he failed to see Joe Di's weakness, but because he knew fighting further was pointless. If he could not defeat Joe Di, and with the dark laws broken, countless cultivators would soon arrive—he might not even be able to escape by then.
Though relieved, Joe Di looked at the torn void with a silent sigh. The Guardian Array of the Taiji Realm was simply too weak. If it were stronger, even with Lord Nightshade's tricks, he would not have been able to tear open the realm boundary so easily.
After this, he was determined to establish a brand-new Guardian Array for the Taiji Realm.
......
Outside the Guardian Array set up by Joe Di in the Taiji Realm, although many cultivators still gathered here, the numbers were less than half compared to when they first arrived. Most cultivators and sects had already left the Taiji Realm.
Cultivators have a keen sense of danger. They did not wish to wait until darkness engulfed the entire Taiji Realm before fleeing in panic—by then, they might not even have the chance to escape.
Jason Ren looked somewhat despondent. He was the last person who wanted to see Joe Di fall—not only because Joe Di had saved him and his only son, but more importantly, if Joe Di perished, no one could save the Taiji Realm. Otherwise, Jason Ren could only flee into the void himself.
Luna Fairchild and her apprentice from the Prime Essence World would not spare Jason Ren and his son; compared to Serene Carp Palace, his Moonspire Temple was far too weak.
"Hahahahaha..." A wild laugh rang out, and a figure in red lunged toward the edge of the Guardian Array, grabbing at one of the array bases.
Barry Jack was truly excited. He had heard something was wrong in the Taiji Realm and came to see for himself. Unexpectedly, he arrived just in time to witness the Terraflame Banner—one of the Five Directional Banners. Because the Guardian Array set up by Joe Di had been battered by the resonance of dark laws for so long, the Terraflame Banner was stripped from the void by those laws.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
To think such a treasure could be picked up so casually—just a moment ago, he would never have dreamed of such a bizarre turn of events.
"Stop! This Guardian Array was set up by Sect Master Di—you can't touch the array banners here!" Seeing the red-robed cultivator trying to seize the banner, Jason Ren hurried forward to intervene.
Boom! Before Jason Ren could get close, the red-robed cultivator kicked him square in the chest. Blood spurted from his mouth as he flew backward; his domain was as fragile as an eggshell before the red-robed cultivator.
"The black mist is retreating..." Suddenly, someone in the crowd cried out in delight, and all eyes turned to the black mist within the Guardian Array.
At once, everyone grew excited. Just as that person had said, the darkness that had nearly swallowed the entire Taiji Realm was now rapidly fading. The mountains and rivers of the realm began to reappear before their eyes at a visible pace.
Before the crowd could see deeper into the scene, a blue haze of blade light slashed out from the receding darkness.
The blade's killing intent locked onto the red-robed cultivator. As the blade struck, darkness still lingered, but when its intent locked onto the target, the blackness had already dissolved. Joe Di's figure stepped forth from the void, as if he had cleaved through the darkness and walked out with that single slash.
"A mere mid-stage Ascendant dares covet my array banner..." As Joe Di's voice echoed in the red-robed cultivator's ears, he realized his domain had been torn apart, and the blade light he could not stop had already split his brow in terror.
(That's all for today's update—goodnight, friends!)