A blood-soaked, battered man staggered desperately toward the Imperial Sea, his steps faltering with exhaustion. Not far behind him, a woman whose robe was also torn and tattered pursued relentlessly.
The man's body was smeared with blood, clearly fleeing for his life. In contrast, the woman gripped a longsword, her intent unmistakable—she was hunting him down.
"Fellow cultivator, help me!" The man finally caught sight of a lone figure standing at the edge of the Imperial Sea and called out in desperation. In the next instant, realization struck—what he saw was not a savior but a corpse, long dead, its form covered in gray dust, exuding a sorrowful aura of time's passing.
Suddenly—thud!—the man was halted by an invisible force, collapsing to the ground.
Almost as his own domain was disturbed, Joe Di awoke. He felt the true essence surging within his body, sensed that he could extend his domain at will whenever he wished. In that moment, Joe Di fully understood.
After a hundred years of cultivation, he had finally stepped into the Domain Stage.
Only upon truly entering the Domain Stage did Joe Di realize that all so-called Domain Stage experts in the True Domain were but pretenders.
There were only two distinctions in the Domain Stage: complete and incomplete. The supposed first to ninth levels were merely fabrications.
From his breakthrough into the Domain Stage to achieving its completion, Joe Di spent more than a hundred years. During this time, he integrated the foundational laws he comprehended in the Fivefold Dao Tower, fusing his blade intent, fist intent, primordial thunder patterns, and footprint concepts—all with his Stellar Meridian. Together, these formed a domain reminiscent of the starry cosmos.
The bloodshed and chill of the Immortal Realm stirred a desire within him—to build, through his own path of slaughter, a true immortal domain suffused with immortal charm. Only then could he merge his inner state and the surrounding environment into his cultivation, forging a Starry Domain uniquely his own.
Joe Di opened his eyes. No matter how disoriented he felt, he could at last make out the shapes of living people.
"You still think you can escape?" The woman stepped before the fallen man, her voice laced with mockery.
"Fellow cultivator, we are strangers to one another. All of us are struggling to survive in the Immortal Realm—why must you hunt me to the bitter end?" The man, knocked down by Joe Di's domain, had no time to contemplate how he'd been struck; he was even more confounded that someone's domain could be so overwhelmingly powerful.
He was no stranger to the Domain Stage—he himself was at the ninth level. Yet never had he heard of a domain so strong it could send him sprawling to the ground.
The woman let out a cold, chilling laugh. "Did you think I wanted to refine your essence blood? If I don't, I'll never advance, forever trapped in the Dusk Immortal Domain. I'm not the only one in the Immortal Realm doing such things. You were unlucky enough to run into me, and you aren't even my match. If you don't resist, I'll bury your bones soon enough... Wait—are you alive?"
As she spoke, the woman finally noticed Joe Di's eyes opening, her last words directed at him in sudden astonishment.
The fleeing man stared at Joe Di in disbelief. He hadn't sensed any aura from Joe Di before, and now saw him covered in dust, blending so seamlessly with the space around him that it was as if he had become one with the void. It was no wonder he'd thought Joe Di was long dead.
"Yes, I'm alive. Unlike some who appear to live, but are already dead inside." Joe Di gave a slight shake, and with a cleansing incantation, the dust vanished from his body without a trace.
In that instant, Joe Di looked utterly pristine, as if freshly bathed in the purest water—without the slightest speck of dust.
Behind him, the Azure Veil Blade gave a faint tremor, then soared into the air, gathering a surge of powerful blade intent and ringing out with a clear, resonant chime.
Joe Di felt a surge of joy—he hadn't expected that upon completing his Domain Stage, the Azure Veil Blade would automatically advance to the rank of supreme spiritual weapon. Then again, after more than a century at his side, perhaps it was only natural.
Sure enough, the Azure Veil Blade's length shifted to four feet and one inch, leaving Joe Di a bit helpless. He couldn't help but wonder if one day his Azure Veil Blade would shrink into a mere dagger.
"A self-advancing spiritual weapon?" The woman stared at the Azure Veil Blade floating beside Joe Di, her eyes shining with astonishment.
"Give it to me—or die..." Seeing that Joe Di possessed a blade capable of automatic advancement, the woman's eyes burned with envy. Her longsword flashed with white light as she lunged at him.
But as she entered within a few feet of Joe Di, she felt the space around her abruptly solidify, locking her in place.
A domain? Terror flickered in the woman's eyes. It was absolutely impossible—a mere Domain Stage cultivator shouldn't be able to wield such a terrifying domain. She was certain Joe Di was only at Domain Stage, for he bore no trace of immortal essence.
She had once witnessed the power of a true immortal, but even that immortal's domain was nothing compared to the one before her.
With a sharp ring, the Azure Veil Blade flashed like a blue arc—there was nowhere for the woman to hide as the blade swept past, and a mist of blood exploded into the air.
She barely managed half a move before Joe Di cut her down.
"Senior..." Ben Taylor stared at Joe Di in awe. He had wandered the Immortal Realm for centuries and seen true immortals, but Joe Di was not one—and yet, with a single blade, he had slain the woman. Such strength...
Among his peers, Ben Taylor had never witnessed such strength.
"I am Joe Di. Could you tell me about the current state of the Immortal Realm?" Joe Di withdrew his ring, his voice softening as he spoke.
The man clasped his fists respectfully. "My name is Ben Taylor. I've been in the Immortal Realm for nearly three hundred years now."
At the mention of three hundred years, a hint of loneliness flickered in Ben Taylor's eyes. He sighed before continuing, "When I first arrived in the Immortal Realm, I was greeted by scenes of utter devastation. The spiritual energy here is so thin, it's as if the world has lost its bones—barely enough for me to maintain my cultivation. After wandering alone for over a century, I finally saw signs of life: a massive castle teeming with cultivators and rich spiritual energy, where one could still train. But I had no way to enter—the price of admission was at least ten billion high-grade spirit stones, or a thousand immortal crystals..."
"You couldn't enter the castle? Do you know why the Immortal Realm is in such a state?" Joe Di asked.
Ben Taylor nodded. "That's right. I simply didn't have the qualifications to enter. Over the years, I've met other wandering immortals like myself..."
Ben Taylor gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've been here for centuries, yet I can't even convert my true essence into immortal essence. To call myself an immortal is a bit of a stretch. From what I've learned, after the great slaughter in the Immortal Realm, the world was filled with murderous intent and lost its fortune—abandoned by the heavens. The capable immortals banded together and set up the Fortune Convergence Array. Though it can't restore the realm, it does gather some fortune, allowing those within its bounds to continue cultivating."
"Is the whole Immortal Realm like this?" Joe Di asked, already realizing he lacked the resources to enter the castle, and even if he had them, he might not dare to go.
Ben Taylor shook his head. "No. I've heard that the reason for this desolation is that the Immortal Realm has reached its twilight. After the dusk fell, the survivors left, gathering all fortune in one place—the Sanctuary Domain. The area we're in is called the Twilight Domain."
"Where is the Sanctuary Domain?" Joe Di pressed.
Ben Taylor shook his head again. "I don't know. It's said to be somewhere in the Immortal Realm, but it's separated from us. In all my centuries and travels, I've never met anyone who knows its location. In fact, I've heard that any cultivator from the Twilight Domain who approaches within a million miles of the Sanctuary Domain is killed on sight."
"Why did that woman want to kill you just now?" Joe Di asked.
"She wanted to use my essence blood for cultivation," Ben Taylor replied, his voice falling.
"Was she a demon cultivator?" Joe Di continued.
Ben Taylor sighed. "No, she wasn't a demon cultivator. In fact, there are many like her—wandering the Immortal Realm, preying on solitary cultivators to refine their essence blood, simply because the spiritual energy here has collapsed and can't support cultivation. The only reason she remained so powerful was that she had killed many and absorbed their essence blood."
"Then why don't you do the same?" Joe Di asked, sensing no murderous intent from Ben Taylor.
A look of sorrow flashed in Ben Taylor's eyes. "We all wander the Twilight Domain—preying on fellow cultivators for essence blood is just a way to survive. But even so, I, Ben Taylor, will never violate my conscience. If I ever find a place to settle, I'll stay and eke out a living. If I can't, then I'll fall wherever fate takes me, like so many others."
There are many like me who refuse to refine others' essence blood to maintain their cultivation. Senior Di, I can tell you're not that kind of person either. If you don't mind, I'd be honored to wander the Immortal Realm alongside you."
Joe Di gazed at the setting sun, a wave of sorrow washing over him. Even the Immortal Realm was a place where the strong preyed upon the weak.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Ben, my friend, I hope to one day build a peaceful, worry-free sanctuary like the castle you described. But I've only recently arrived in the Immortal Realm—I need time to study before I can lay down a Fortune Convergence Array..."
"Senior, I, Ben Taylor, would gladly follow wherever you lead," Ben Taylor said, his eyes shining with longing.
Joe Di shook his head. "No need to call me senior. I hope we can search separately, and if either of us finds a suitable place, we'll meet back here or leave a message."
In a world devoid of fortune, rules and communication beads are meaningless. That is why Joe Di and Ben Taylor agreed to regroup here. As for the Fortune Convergence Array, Joe Di still couldn't set one up—but he believed that with the World Tome, it was only a matter of time before he mastered it.
Ben Taylor spoke with renewed determination. "Alright, Joe Di, I will find a place to survive—no matter what."
"No need for formalities. In the Immortal Realm, there are countless like-minded companions waiting to gather. We've only taken the first step." Joe Di patted Ben Taylor on the shoulder.