"Friend, I didn't make a move just now." Quinn Huang watched Joe Di approach, his once calm and sinister eyes now stripped of composure.
Joe Di stopped and looked at Quinn Huang. "Oh, I heard it loud and clear. Even if Brandon Feng didn't make a move, you would have attacked me anyway, since I'm just an arrogant piece of trash in your eyes."
Quinn Huang forced himself to calm down, clasped his fists to Joe Di, and said, "I apologize for what I said earlier, that was my fault. I didn't know Brandon Feng really stole your Lostlake Peacock. If I had known, I would have dealt with Brandon Feng myself, without you needing to intervene."
Quinn Huang knew better than anyone that his strength was no greater than Brandon Feng's. If Joe Di could easily kill Brandon Feng, it meant he could just as easily kill him.
The surrounding crowd suppressed even their breathing—Joe Di had slain Brandon Feng as if slicing through melon, and now Quinn Huang was begging for mercy. Anyone who valued their life wouldn't dare utter a word now.
Burt Su's face turned deathly pale. He had considered fleeing, but where could he run? Survival here depended on following the rules—if he tried to escape now, it would mean certain death. All he could do was hope Joe Di would be magnanimous and not hold a grudge. After all, he hadn't offended Joe Di too severely before.
He glanced at Sean Yu, hoping that when Joe Di came looking for trouble, Sean Yu might put in a good word for him.
Sean Yu was just as stunned, mouth half open as he stared at Joe Di. Now he finally understood why Joe Di, a mere Dao Nurturing cultivator, had dared to chase him down for answers and even board his ship.
It wasn't that Sean Yu had been lucky to meet someone easy to talk to—it was Joe Di who had been fortunate enough to encounter Sean Yu.
"Oh, unfortunately, I'm not the forgiving type." Joe Di raised his hand, and the Azure Veil Blade began to hum, waves of blade aura rippling outward.
Quinn Huang slapped himself. "Brother Di, I'm trash. I spoke out of turn just now."
Since Joe Di refused to give him any face, Quinn Huang didn't dare insist. If he kept pushing, he was sure the Azure Veil Blade would target him next.
Joe Di said coolly, "First, give me all the information you've gathered about Lostlake over the years. Second, compensate me with some items. Third, swear that you'll never hunt Lostlake Peacocks here again."
"Yes, yes." Realizing Joe Di wasn't going to pursue the matter further, Quinn Huang didn't dare bargain. Without hesitation, he handed over a ring to Joe Di, then swore, "From today onward, if I ever kill another Lostlake Peacock, may I perish by heavenly tribulation."
"Go sit aside." Joe Di snorted coldly, not bothering to deal with Quinn Huang further. People like him were everywhere—there was no end to them.
"Senior..." Burt Su's voice trembled.
Joe Di swept a cold gaze over Burt Su and said blandly, "I have the same question as you—how have you managed to survive until now? You're just a minor Transformation Realm cultivator, yet you act like the master of the universe."
Burt Su bowed respectfully, not daring to utter a single word.
"Brother Di..." Sean Yu called out with a wry smile. Not long ago, he thought he was the one protecting Joe Di—now he realized it was Joe Di who had been shielding him.
Joe Di patted Sean Yu's shoulder, then addressed the crowd, "Everyone, please have a seat."
Even Quinn Huang had to watch Joe Di's mood before acting; at this moment, no one dared to speak out of turn. When Joe Di told them to sit, no one objected—they all took their seats.
In a place like Lostlake, the rule of strength was absolute. Offend a powerful cultivator here and you'd most likely end up dead. Despite its vastness, there was truly nowhere to escape.
"Everyone, I entered Lostlake not long ago. Originally, I intended to head to the Voidsea. But after arriving, I realized there were no directions at all. May I ask, how does one find the way to the Voidsea?" Joe Di clasped his fists and spoke politely.
No one answered. These people were speechless at Joe Di's question—if anyone knew the way to the Voidsea, why would they still be trapped here? And only after entering Lostlake did he realize there were no directions—how could this guy...
Several who wondered how Joe Di had survived cut off their thoughts halfway. The answer had already been made clear with what happened to Brandon Feng.
Joe Di didn't care what the others thought and continued, "Of course, I doubt anyone knows a direct route to the Voidsea. But that's fine—if you have any experience navigating Lostlake, or clues about possible directions to the Voidsea, I'm open to trading."
Still, no one spoke. If Joe Di weren't so powerful, someone might have even mocked him aloud.
Joe Di produced a pile of jade bottles and placed them before him. "I have Cloud Severing Pills, Divine Cloud Pills, Soul Battle Pills, Luo'e Pills... even Destiny Dao Fruit, if you need it. Of course, if you don't want these Dao pills and prefer offensive artifacts, I have those too. Besides these, I also have True Essence Dew. As for Divine Origin Pills, you can have as many as you want—provided what you offer is valuable enough."
The cultivators who had been indifferent now found their breathing quicken after Joe Di finished speaking.
Some even wondered if they were dreaming—Joe Di had brought out Dao pills? And even Dao fruit? This was madness. Cloud Severing Pills and Luo'e Pills were top-tier healing Dao pills, Divine Cloud Pills could restore a Saint Emperor below Dao Origin, and Soul Battle Pills were famed for strengthening the soul...
Each of these pills was something cultivators dreamed of, and now this young cultivator had produced a whole pile of jade bottles. On top of that, there was True Essence Dew, which was even more precious than Dao pills.
Could a cultivator really be this wealthy? Such treasures weren't just rare in Lostlake—even in the Dao Domain, you might never encounter them.
If Joe Di weren't so overwhelmingly powerful, someone would have tried to snatch them by now.
The scene grew quiet—everyone wanted what Joe Di had, but none could offer what he demanded in exchange.
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"Senior, I have a jade slip here. Please take a look and see what you might offer in exchange?" After a long silence, a late Transformation Realm cultivator carefully handed a jade slip to Joe Di.
Joe Di took the jade slip and swept it with his spiritual sense, then was overjoyed. The slip actually contained a route to the Voidsea. Above Lostlake, the area with the most misaligned spaces was the direction of the Voidsea. With this jade slip, Joe Di was certain he could find it. Misaligned space—wasn't that just a region spiritual sense couldn't penetrate? He'd encountered plenty along the way.
The jade slip was clearly newly inscribed, but Joe Di didn't care. He put it away and regained his composure. "Not bad, this is useful to me. What do you want for it?"
"I want a Soul Battle Pill," the cultivator replied quickly.
Joe Di took out a jade bottle and tossed it to the cultivator. "Done. In addition, I'll throw in a Cloud Severing Pill as a bonus."
"Thank you, Senior!" The cultivator was overjoyed—his soul was damaged, but with a Soul Battle Pill, he was sure to make another breakthrough. Once his soul recovered, he'd head straight for the Voidsea. As for the Cloud Severing Pill, that was a healing treasure among Dao pills—where else could he possibly get one?
Joe Di's gaze swept the room again. "Anyone else have something to trade? Let me be clear—if you waste my time with junk, don't expect me to be merciful."
A few cultivators who had planned to trade worthless information slips with Joe Di forced themselves to hold back. When Joe Di said he wouldn't show mercy, it wasn't a joke—he'd killed Brandon Feng with just two strikes, not even leaving a scrap behind. Tempted as they were by Joe Di's treasures, their lives mattered more.
Joe Di didn't wait long; after just a dozen breaths, he put away his items, stood up, and said to Sean Yu, "Brother Yu, I'm heading for the Voidsea. Would you like to come with me?"
Sean Yu already understood Joe Di's strength. He simply laughed heartily and said, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Brother Di. I'll follow you!"
"Then let's go." Without hesitation, Joe Di turned and walked out of the exchange stone house.
In this stone house, aside from Sean Yu, no one else had ever helped him. So Joe Di hadn't planned to invite anyone else along.
The pair of Lostlake Peacocks followed Joe Di out. Landing atop Lostlake, Joe Di took out another ring and handed it to one of the peacocks. "You just swallowed Dao fruit and haven't stabilized your cultivation yet. It's best to leave this area and find somewhere safe to consolidate your strength. I'm about to cross Lostlake, and the journey will be dangerous."
One Lostlake Peacock took Joe Di's ring, then, together with its mate, circled him three times before calling out in unison and soaring into the clouds, vanishing into the distance.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)