It wasn't that he was nearly crushed to the point of vomiting by his opponent, but rather that the aura grasped from the other side was so foul it nearly made him retch.
Joe Di had never encountered such an aura before; it filled him with utter revulsion.
Boom! The violent clash of divine powers struck together, as if punching a hole in space itself, causing it to cave in. It sounded ridiculous, but that was precisely what happened.
Joe Di understood exactly what was happening. The collision of fists shattered the rules of this space, and before new rules could form, it looked as if the space had collapsed without any structure.
Fragments of violent laws exploded along with the two combatants' divine powers, blasting all the surrounding cultivators away. Even the Fifth Step Paragons had to summon treasures to block the tearing force of these law fragments.
"Immaculate Grand Way..." The long-haired, corpse-faced man descending from the air uttered these four words in surprise, then fixed his gaze on Joe Di, eyes brimming with boundless astonishment.
"It really is the Immaculate Grand Way." Two more figures appeared in the void—a man and a woman. The man looked somewhat plump, while the woman was slender and beautiful.
Joe Di was now certain—the long-haired, pale-faced man attacking him was a Sixth Step cultivator. Yet he felt no fear. The man hadn't gone all out just now, and Joe Di's punch had been a mere probe as well.
"So it's Daoist San and Daoist Wenmo who've arrived. It's been a long time." The paper-thin man, who already looked like a corpse, clasped his fists in greeting to the newcomers.
Joe Di sensed the auras of the two newcomers; neither was weaker than the pale-faced man who had just attacked him. Still, Joe Di was unfazed. So what if there were three Sixth Step cultivators? Even if they joined forces, he still had his trump cards.
Instead, Joe Di's gaze fell on the surrounding cultivators. When the corpse-faced man attacked him just now, the stench he smelled was truly unbearable. He wanted to see if anyone else had noticed it. But all he saw was shock and awe—no one appeared on the verge of vomiting.
Joe Di frowned slightly. So, that nauseating stench from the pale-faced man's grasp seemed only detectable to him. What was going on?
"Old Bai, you haven't made much progress over the years, have you?" The slightly plump man laughed heartily, his tone tinged with mockery.
"You're strong, and your Dao has reached a certain level of perfection. But I didn't even use a tenth of my true power just now. I could still kill you." The pale-faced man glared at Joe Di, snorting coldly.
A Dao perfected to a certain degree? Suddenly, Joe Di understood—the nauseating stench must be the aura of the Broken Way.
Though his opponent was a Sixth Step cultivator, he would never advance beyond this realm. His Dao was fundamentally broken. Even his techniques carried this sickening aura—others couldn't sense it, simply because they hadn't reached Joe Di's level.
Realizing this, Joe Di's spirits lifted. He laughed loudly, "Corpse-face, must you brag or you'll die? My punch just now wasn't even one percent of my true strength. If you've got guts, come at me again!"
To think someone cultivating the Broken Way could act so arrogant.
"Senior, you are the ancient powerhouse of our Coldmoon Clan..." Zhi Zuoling trembled as he approached the long-haired corpse-faced man, bowing deeply.
The long-haired corpse-faced man snorted coldly, "I am Saint Bai Junxiao. Has the Coldmoon Clan fallen so far? Letting outsiders slaughter your kin, not daring to even use your treasures."
"It's the Ancestor Bai..." Zhi Zuoling's hands trembled—who could have imagined the Coldmoon Clan possessed a Sixth Step powerhouse, and one from ancient times at that? From now on, who would dare disrespect the Coldmoon Clan?
The slightly plump man laughed again, "Bai Junxiao, stop boasting. Didn't you just make a move yourself? Your opponent seems perfectly fine. If you can't handle him, how can you expect your descendants to suppress others? Ha, ha..."
Bai Junxiao's expression turned sour, but he remained silent. It was true—he hadn't been able to do anything to Joe Di just now.
The beautiful woman's gaze lingered on Joe Di for a long moment before she spoke, "Brother Bai, the young man who exchanged blows with you just now clearly didn't use his full strength. If you both fought at your best, it's hard to say who would win."
Bai Junxiao was deeply displeased. Of course he knew Joe Di hadn't gone all out—if he had, Bai Junxiao would have attacked again by now. But now, with two more cultivators as strong as he was present, he was even less able to go all out against Joe Di.
Only now did James Wan, the Redlin Patriarch, and the other Fifth Step Paragons dare to step forward, bowing in salute as they said in unison, "Greetings, seniors."
They all knew there were Sixth Step cultivators on this continent, but such experts never showed themselves. These three, aside from one from the Coldmoon Clan, had unknown origins—and no one dared ask.
"This Daoist's Grand Way is truly perfect—the most flawless I've seen in years. I am San Wu, and this is my companion, Wenmo Qingyu." The slightly plump Sixth Step cultivator courteously clasped his fists to Joe Di, introducing himself and the beautiful woman beside him.
Wenmo Qingyu also clasped her fists to Joe Di and nodded.
Joe Di returned the salute. "I am Joe Di. Greetings to both Daoists. I've only cultivated a minor Dao—I'm not worthy of the title 'Saint.'"