(The title should be Starhaven City)
Joe Di adhered strictly to the principle of quality over quantity. He was determined to build a true sanctuary here and would never allow bloodthirsty killers into Starhaven City. Even if he had to walk this path alone, he would not lower his standards.
In the end, the remaining one hundred and twenty-three people all agreed to enter the detection array. Joe Di’s array checked for lies and for traces of refined cultivator blood essence. Anyone who had absorbed such blood was immediately exposed upon entering.
As for whether someone had killed for treasure, anyone willing to enter the array would face strict logical questions, combined with aura fluctuations to detect the truth. While it couldn’t guarantee catching every unqualified cultivator, those able to evade such scrutiny were exceedingly rare.
After a round of testing, one hundred and nine of the one hundred and twenty-three were deemed qualified. Clearly, most of the unqualified cultivators had withdrawn early; those who stepped forward for testing knew where they stood, except for a few who held onto a shred of luck.
Joe Di was quite satisfied. Though he was only taking a little over a hundred people, these individuals would form the foundation of the new Immortal City.
“Let’s go. We’re heading to the site of the new Immortal City.” Joe Di summoned a low-grade immortal artifact flying treasure.
This low-grade immortal artifact was something he had just obtained from Zachary Sang’s ring. With Joe Di’s powerful spiritual sense, refining such an artifact took hardly any time at all.
More than a hundred people boarded the low-grade immortal flying vessel, collecting materials from ruined Immortal Cities and sects along the way. It took half a year before they finally returned to the Celestial Bamboo River.
When Joe Di returned with his group, there was still no news from Qu Tong, who had gone to the Imperial Sea.
The Imperial Sea isn’t much farther from the Celestial Bamboo River than Threefold Immortal City, but when Joe Di traveled there, he used spiritual sense flight. Qu Tong doesn’t have that ability, so his speed was several levels slower.
“Is this the Celestial Bamboo River? The ruins of the Celestial Bamboo Sect.” As soon as Joe Di landed the flying vessel, a male cultivator exclaimed in surprise.
Joe Di and the hundred-plus people had become well acquainted along the journey. The speaker was Warren Kee, a Domain Stage cultivator. He had spent nearly five centuries in the Twilight Domain; if he didn’t break through to the True Immortal stage soon, his lifespan would run out.
In those five hundred years, he had traveled to far more places than Joe Di. Though he’d never visited the Celestial Bamboo River, he’d heard of it.
Joe Di nodded. “That’s right, this is the Celestial Bamboo River. Qu Tong discovered this place; he’s out on business and should be back soon. I want to build an Immortal City here. Inviting everyone wasn’t just to boost the city’s population, but because constructing an Immortal City isn’t something one person can accomplish alone.”
Of course, one person could build an Immortal City. That was a lie—it was only a matter of time.
Joe Di had little interest in spending too much time on construction; his true passion lay in the city’s defenses.
When the New Immortal City was first established, it wouldn’t attract much attention. But as the Grand Fivefold Array began to suppress and gather the Immortal Realm’s fate, the city would eventually grow larger and larger.
Once any cultivator in an Immortal City within the Twilight Domain could cultivate normally, it would be impossible for the city not to draw notice.
Joe Di wasn’t too concerned about the cultivators of the Twilight Immortal Era noticing the city. With his strength, he was among the top in the Twilight Domain. What worried him was that once the city’s reputation spread, it might attract the attention of the Sanctuary Domain.
It wasn’t just Ben Taylor who said this. After spending so much time with the many cultivators who had left Threefold Immortal City, Joe Di had also learned about the Sanctuary Domain. Rumor had it that all the immortals who survived in the Immortal Realm had basically gone to the Sanctuary Domain.
To be honest, all the treasures used for fate suppression in the Immortal Realm had been stripped away. Joe Di didn’t believe the Sanctuary Domain could truly be reborn. He was certain that, given enough time, the Sanctuary Domain would become nothing more than an extension of the Twilight Domain.
Once the cultivable territory in the Sanctuary Domain was compressed, fierce competition and slaughter would inevitably follow.
That’s why the Immortal City he was building needed extremely strong defensive immortal arrays—not just to guard against ordinary immortals, but also those who might come from the Sanctuary Domain.
Upon learning that Joe Di intended to build the Immortal City at the Celestial Bamboo River, not all of the cultivators who came with him were optimistic.
In truth, there were many places in the Immortal Realm better than the Celestial Bamboo River. Even the location of Threefold Immortal City, built by Zachary Sang, was superior. In the Twilight Immortal Era, there were countless sites to choose from for building a city. Some didn’t understand why Joe Di chose the Celestial Bamboo River.
“City Lord, are we going to set up a Fortune Convergence Array here?” someone in the crowd asked.
Although most doubted the wisdom of building an Immortal City at the Celestial Bamboo River, since they had followed Joe Di out of Threefold Immortal City, there was no turning back. Joe Di was their leader now.
Standing before the hundred-plus cultivators, Joe Di announced loudly, “I’m not setting up a simple Fortune Convergence Array. I’m building a true Immortal City—one where everyone can cultivate, break through to True Immortal, and even reach higher realms!”
Joe Di’s words caused a stir, followed by a wave of low murmurs. He hadn’t mentioned this during the journey, so his sudden declaration was a shock to everyone.
For them, being able to cultivate and actually breaking through to the True Immortal stage were two very different things. As for what Joe Di said about reaching realms above True Immortal, no one took it seriously.
They had once entered Threefold Immortal City because it was said you could cultivate there. But that just meant absorbing basic immortal energy to maintain your current level.
But Joe Di claimed everyone could break through to the True Immortal realm. That was earth-shattering news.
“City Lord, once the Immortal City is built, can we really convert immortal essence and break through to True Immortal?” a cultivator in the crowd asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Joe Di replied with certainty, “Yes. That’s why this city needs everyone’s effort—it’s not something I can build alone. But let me be clear: the sign of reaching True Immortal isn’t converting immortal essence, but surviving the True Immortal Lightning Tribulation. Those who only convert immortal essence without passing the tribulation are, in my eyes, false True Immortals.”
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After Joe Di finished speaking, the reaction was quite subdued. True Immortal Lightning Tribulation? They’d seen plenty of True Immortal cultivators since coming to the Twilight Domain, but not one had survived a lightning tribulation to reach True Immortal.
“City Lord, just tell us what to do and we’ll follow your instructions.” After Joe Di’s confirmation, more than a hundred people gave their uneven promises. No one minded his exaggeration; as long as this place was unlike Threefold Immortal City, where killing was rampant, they would be satisfied.
Joe Di knew they didn’t really believe him, but he didn’t care. He continued, “Since that’s the case, I’ll be direct. First, as I said before, the New Immortal City must have its own rules. I’ve already drafted the laws; everyone will get a copy, and the city will operate according to these laws—no exceptions. Second, the city’s planning is ready, and Yvonne Liu and Quentin Forde will be in charge of executing it. Third, the Celestial Bamboo River will be incorporated into the city, preserving the original river. Fourth, while building the city, I’ll need to set up the city’s protective array. Yvonne Liu, Quentin Forde!”
As Joe Di called their names, Yvonne Liu and Quentin Forde stepped forward immediately.
Yvonne Liu felt the deepest gratitude toward Joe Di. Not only had he saved her and brought her to this place, but he had also returned the ring that Zheng Sanxing had taken from her.
When Yvonne Liu opened the ring, she found 13,026 lower-grade immortal crystals inside—not a single one missing. From this alone, she could see how upright and honorable Joe Di truly was.
Joe Di waved his hand, scattering over a hundred jade slips, each one landing precisely in the hands of its intended recipient.
"Fellow Daoists, these jade slips contain my plans for the immortal city and its laws. The construction of the city will be overseen by Yvonne Liu and Quentin Forde. I ask that everyone work together with them to build this immortal city."
No one stepped forward to object. Joe Di had invited them here, but it was certainly not to let them act like lords.
"City Lord, we may not have enough materials to build the city." Quentin Forde spoke up after reviewing Joe Di's plans, realizing that the materials they had gathered along the way were still far from sufficient.
Joe Di handed a ring to Yvonne Liu and said, "There’s a large stockpile of materials inside. Use these as the main resources for the city’s construction."
"Yes, Brother Di." Yvonne Liu quickly accepted the ring, knowing this was a sign of Joe Di’s trust in her.
Joe Di had long considered the issue of materials. After defeating two city lords, he had acquired a huge amount of resources from their rings.
"City Lord, since this is a new immortal city, shouldn’t it have a new name?" Warren Kee spoke up once again.
"You’re absolutely right. I’ve already decided—the new immortal city will be called Starhaven City," Joe Di replied.
Joe Di cultivated the Starstream Technique, and after forming the starry sky meridians, he had long surpassed its original limits. Moreover, his Dao Fire was named 'Radiant Starry Sky.' Thus, Starhaven City embodied both his cultivation and his Dao Fire.