Joe Di said indifferently, "An inch may be long, but a foot may fall short. The things I don't know aren't all that rare, and there are things I know that you might never learn. You're a powerful Heaven-opener, yet you can't see through even this, still showing off before me. No wonder you can't beat Gavin Strider. It seems your Dao cultivation is still lacking."
Gavin Strider didn't take Joe Di's sharp words to heart, only smiling. "You're right, Daoist Joe. I am lacking. Actually, the Darklight World and the Western Bodhi World, to be precise, shouldn't be called universes at all—they're worlds. But these realms truly aren't part of the Five Elements Universe..."
Joe Di looked at Gavin Strider in surprise. If the Darklight World and Western Bodhi World aren't part of the Five Elements Universe, then why do they risk such dangerous paths to reach the Third Step of Dao, sometimes taking millions of years? Gavin Strider has the Reminiscent Bodhi Seed and is hunted for it, but I don't.
Gavin Strider continued, "I understand what you mean. If you really went to the Western Bodhi World or the Darklight World to attain the Third Step, you might end up worse off than if you achieved it in the Five Elements Universe."
"Why?" Joe Di asked. He started his cultivation late and truly didn't know much about things before the Heaven-opening era.
He didn't know these things, yet he'd reached the same level as the Heaven-opener experts, so he had no choice but to get involved.
Birds of a feather flock together, and things gather with their kind—this holds true everywhere and at every level. Once your strength reaches a certain point, even your opponents are those of the same tier. Those of lower tiers simply don't dare provoke you, or if they do, they're swiftly destroyed.
Gavin Strider pointed to the void and said, "The Five Elements Universe wasn't the first to be created. When it was formed, countless other universes already existed in the vast emptiness. The powerful beings in those universes, just like those in the Five Elements Universe, began competing for the Grand Dao and control over their universes. Where there is competition, there are winners and losers.
Many losers were killed, but some with extraordinary means survived—they escaped their original universes and entered others. It's just like how we now use the Universe Ladder to travel to other universes. The Darklight World and Western Bodhi World were brought here by such powerful beings..."
Joe Di asked in surprise, "Old Gavin, are you saying the Darklight World and Western Bodhi World are private domains of outsiders? When they left their original universes, they brought these worlds with them?"