Quentin Qu did not answer. He simply took out a jade box and handed it to Joe Di. Joe Di accepted the box and immediately opened it, revealing a talisman inside, swirling with Dao aura.
Joe Di could craft some low-level talismans, and he had used Boundary-Breaking Talismans before. But the talisman in his hand now was far superior to any he had ever used.
Seeing the surprise and longing in Joe Di’s eyes, Quentin Qu smiled. “Protector Joe, go ahead and use this. It’s yours.”
“Thank you, Guildmaster Qu,” Joe Di said sincerely. He resolved that after reaching the Immortal Emperor realm, he would find a way to visit Earth.
As for rule suppression, Joe Di believed that with the Ninth Prime Law, as long as he could reach a lower plane, he could avoid being suppressed by the world’s laws.
Quentin Qu waved his hand. “Brother Joe, if it weren’t for you, I’d still be spending my old life refining pills for others, only to die in frustration. There’s no need for us to be so formal.”
Shen Zishun chimed in from the side, “That’s right, Brother Joe. From now on, let’s drop the formalities between the three of us. Quentin and I may be a few years older, but we’re better off as brothers.”
“Alright, since that’s the case, I won’t stand on ceremony with you two. After leaving Thundercrest Continent this time, I have some matters to attend to. As for the Grand Cauldron Alchemist Association and my restaurant in Cauldron Haven, I’ll be counting on you, my elder brothers, to look after them.” Joe Di clasped his fists in respect.
He decided to enter seclusion in Harmony Hall for a while. Now that he was an eighth-grade Immortal Pill Master, he should be able to unlock the fourth floor of Harmony Hall.
Once he opened the fourth floor, he would begin his closed-door cultivation to break through to the Immortal Emperor realm.
For Joe Di, advancing to the Immortal Emperor realm was now the most important thing. He was capable of handling Immortal Emperors, but only the ordinary ones. Against someone as powerful as the Thunder Emperor, he could only rely on the Deathtrap Array. If he encountered another cultivator as strong as the Thunder Emperor, and they gave him no time to set up his array, wouldn’t he be doomed?
Now that the Primordial Thunderstone had been exposed, it was inevitable that powerful cultivators would come searching for him.
“Don’t worry, Brother Joe. As long as the two of us are here in Grand Cauldron Immortal City, nothing will happen to Peace Inn.” Quentin Qu’s tone was firm and reassuring.
Joe Di said nothing more. Quentin Qu piloted the flying treasure while Joe Di began to unlock Riley Thunder’s ring.
The restriction on Riley Thunder’s ring was indeed strong, but in front of Joe Di, it was nothing. In just half an incense stick’s time, Joe Di had opened the ring.
Inside was yet another small world, and its rules were nearly on par with the True Spirit World. Of all the rings Joe Di had seized, only Night Shee’s contained the True Spirit World, but this one was the highest grade among the rest.
The small world was filled with all kinds of high-grade immortal spirit herbs. Except for a few rare ones below grade seven, most were grade seven or above.
Piles of lightning-attribute materials were stacked to one side. There were at least five top-grade immortal spirit veins, but no high-grade ones. What delighted Joe Di most was the sight of a top-grade lightning-attribute immortal spirit vein. As for high-grade immortal spirit crystals, a casual glance revealed at least a billion.
There were countless pills, treasures, and cultivation techniques, but Joe Di wasn’t interested in any of them. His gaze landed on a dark formation flag. Just by intuition, he sensed that this was likely the flag that could break through Thundercrest Continent’s protective array.
Joe Di immediately took the formation flag in hand and sent his spiritual sense into it. The first layer of restriction was quickly refined, confirming that this was indeed the control formation flag for Thundercrest Continent.
After Joe Di refined all the restrictions on the control formation flag, he immediately sensed the location of the Thunder Pearl.
He sighed inwardly. If Iron North Mountain had obtained this formation flag, he was certain Iron North Mountain would have taken the Thunder Pearl in the end.
Moreover, the Thunder Pearl was located right beneath Two Realms Gorge. This made Joe Di suspect that Riley Thunder had deliberately moved it there, so if Thundercrest Continent were destroyed, Riley could escape with the Thunder Pearl through the gorge.
If Riley Thunder couldn’t escape Two Realms Gorge on his own, with the Thunder Pearl’s power, it would be a different story.
Once the Thunder Pearl was taken away, Thundercrest Continent would become just like Quadrant Immortal Continent. The cultivators of Thundercrest should be thankful—the control formation flag for both the Thunder Pearl and the protective array was now in his hands.
“How did it go?” Quentin Qu asked Joe Di urgently as soon as he emerged.
Joe Di grinned. “No problem—the protective array of Thundercrest Continent is now mine. Soon, we’ll open it from Two Realms Gorge and leave Thundercrest.”
When Quentin Qu and Shen Zishun heard that Joe Di had obtained the formation flag for Thundercrest’s protective array, both were delighted. With it, they no longer needed to linger on Thundercrest Continent. They had come to help, but the Alchemist Association now had plenty of matters to attend to as well.
Ever since Joe Di defeated Night Shee and swept through Radiant Lake Palace, the Grand Cauldron Alchemist Association had developed at an incredible pace, changing day by day.
With the protective array’s formation flag in Joe Di’s hands, Quentin Qu and Shen Zishun had no worries at all. They trusted Joe Di would never do what Riley Thunder had done. With their hearts at ease, the three began to discuss the Dao of alchemy.
Joe Di was an eighth-grade Immortal Pill Sovereign, but his experience was far less than that of the two guildmasters. Through their lively discussion, all three gained valuable insights from one another.
Three days later, the spaceship landed at Two Realms Gorge.
Joe Di’s first priority wasn’t to open Thundercrest Continent’s protective array, but to locate the Thunder Pearl. Once he found it, he discovered multiple spiritual imprints within the pearl.
Joe Di guessed these were left by Riley Thunder. That man truly intended to take the Thunder Pearl with him.
Now that he had found the Thunder Pearl, Joe Di unhesitatingly stripped away all spiritual imprints from it, not even leaving his own behind.
The Thunder Pearl did not belong to any one person—it belonged to Thundercrest Continent. If it were lost, not only would Thundercrest vanish, but cultivators seeking ascension to the continent would have no path forward.
After removing all spiritual imprints from the Thunder Pearl, Joe Di began constructing a law-based formation flag, hiding the Thunder Pearl within the void of Thundercrest Continent through the power of laws.
From this day forward, even if someone destroyed Thundercrest Continent, they would never be able to take the Thunder Pearl.
With the formation flag for Thundercrest Continent’s protective array under Joe Di’s control, the passage leading out was quickly opened. Carrying his doubts, Joe Di left Thundercrest Continent with Quentin Qu and Shen Zishun, stepping into the void.
“Brother Joe, it’s nearly a year’s journey from here to Grand Cauldron Free Immortal City. Since you have matters to attend to, let’s part ways here,” Quentin Qu said as soon as they left Thundercrest Continent.
Joe Di voiced his doubts. “Brothers, I find it strange—why doesn’t Thundercrest Continent establish a direct interspatial dock into the void? That way, anyone wishing to leave for trials in the void wouldn’t be trapped here.”
He also thought of Quadrant Immortal Continent, which likewise lacked a void dock.
This meant that powerful cultivators could leave the continent using teleportation arrays, but those with weaker cultivation would likely remain there for life. As for places like Thunder Floating Island, not just anyone could pass through.
Quentin Qu frowned as well; he hadn’t considered this issue before. Since none of the major immortal continents had such void docks, unless...
The three of them realized the same thing at once, exchanging glances in silence. Unless someone didn’t want cultivators from the Four Immortal Continents to leave freely—only a handful of powerful, high-status cultivators ever managed to do so.
Joe Di, knowing more than the others, didn’t press further. He took out a ring and handed it to Quentin Qu. “Brother Qu, this ring is for Jie Huang. He’s my friend—if he ever comes to Grand Cauldron Free Immortal City, please give it to him for me. I’ll take my leave now. Let’s meet again in Grand Cauldron Free Immortal City.”
“Don’t worry. With us in Grand Cauldron Free Immortal City, everything will be fine,” Quentin Qu assured. He knew Joe Di was different from them—whether they stayed or left, their cultivation wouldn’t change much. But Joe Di was still young and had plenty of resources. Staying in Grand Cauldron Free Immortal City would only limit his growth.
Joe Di’s divine sense escape technique was far faster than Quentin Qu and Shen Zishun’s. With his spiritual sense surpassing even ninth-grade immortal perception, it took him only a dozen days to reach Harmony Hall again.
The outer formation flags of Harmony Hall were long gone; even if someone knew its location, they wouldn’t be able to find the entrance.
Joe Di felt deep gratitude toward Harmony Hall. Without it, his cultivation wouldn’t have progressed so rapidly.
With his improved array skills, Joe Di modified the void formation gate outside once again, then stepped into Harmony Hall.
As soon as he entered Harmony Hall, Joe Di headed straight for the third floor. He needed to open the pill gate there and proceed to the fourth floor for cultivation.
Arriving at the pill gate on Harmony Hall’s third floor, Joe Di took out the Grand Cosmos Cauldron and set up over a dozen formation flags.
When Joe Di saw the inscription on the pill gate of Harmony Hall’s third floor, he was stunned. It read: Within one hour, refine a batch of ninth-grade, nine-stripe immortal pills and embed them into the pill gate. If you fail, you must wait another year to try again.
Below the inscription were six pill slots.
Seeing this line, Joe Di—who had been preparing to refine an eighth-grade immortal pill—was caught off guard. Wasn’t eighth-grade supposed to come after seventh-grade? Why had it jumped straight to ninth-grade?