Upon hearing the words of the woman in black, Joe Di's heart skipped a beat. Though he had never considered the impact of cosmic laws on alchemy, the moment she mentioned it, he immediately understood. It was as if a thin veil had been pierced—suddenly, everything was clear.
"Are you a Prime Dao Pill Saint?" Joe Di asked immediately. He guessed that her alchemy skills must be extraordinary; otherwise, she couldn't have noticed such a subtle issue. Because of this, Joe Di felt a hint of respect for the woman in black before him.
The Prime Realm is already considered the second major step in cultivation. Mixed Genesis Emperors are rare in this world, and Unity Emperors are even scarcer. This shows that the cosmic laws here indeed halt at the second stage, and even then, those laws are incomplete.
Joe Di was able to grasp this truth from a single sentence because he himself was a Prime Dao Pill Saint. Moreover, he cultivated the Dao of cosmic laws.
With his Dao, as long as he stepped into the Prime Realm, he could refine Prime Dao Pills. But with incomplete cosmic laws, he definitely couldn't refine Genesis Dao Pills—unless he advanced to the Genesis Realm and forged his own cosmic laws.
The woman in black sighed and shook her head. "I'm not an alchemist. The only reason I know this is because I met a friend many years ago. He was a Prime Dao Pill Saint, but he simply couldn't refine Origin Prime Pills. Later, he went to a realm where the cosmic laws were more complete, and only then was he able to easily refine Origin Prime Pills."
"When your friend was a Prime Dao Pill Saint, what was his cultivation level?" Joe Di asked urgently.
The woman in black replied, "At that time, he was only a Dao Forging cultivator..."
Joe Di drew a sharp breath. To be a Prime Dao Pill Saint at the Dao Forging stage—how heaven-defying was that? He had always prided himself on his Dao of cosmic laws. Not only did his cultivation progress rapidly, but his alchemy and artifact refinement skills also soared. While others might need tens of thousands of years to make a little progress, he could achieve the same in just a few years of seclusion.
But even with all his confidence, at the Dao Forging stage, he was still worlds away from becoming a Prime Dao Pill Saint.
"So powerful..." Joe Di murmured to himself. Any trace of pride he once held had vanished; he felt his own shortcomings more keenly than ever.
"You don't need to feel inferior. I've only met two geniuses like him in my life." Seeing Joe Di's odd expression, the woman in black chuckled and added this reassurance.
Joe Di snapped back to himself and smiled faintly. "Inferiority? That's never been part of my mindset."
There was one thing Joe Di didn't say aloud: he believed that one day, he wouldn't be inferior to anyone. Even if that Dao Forging cultivator was a Prime Dao Pill Saint, he couldn't refine Origin Prime Pills in a place with incomplete laws. But Joe Di could refine Origin Prime Pills right now—he didn't need to go to a world with perfect cosmic laws. Every ruler has their limits; every inch has its strengths. Everyone has their own domain.
The woman in black saw that there was not a trace of hesitation in Joe Di's eyes and her heart skipped a beat. This was the third time she had seen such absolute confidence—she had missed two opportunities before...
She quickly shook her head, realizing she was overthinking. Those two people—who in the vast universe could surpass them? If anyone she met could rival them, the world would truly be insane.
"I need to warn you: with your current strength, if you can't refine Origin Prime Pills, yet insist on advertising that you can here, you might lose your life in this place. I've been to the Void Market many times—there are too many strong cultivators here." The woman in black spoke calmly to Joe Di.
Joe Di asked in confusion, "Why are you telling me all this? We're just strangers passing by—we don't even know each other."
The woman in black looked up once more at the hazy Dao Fruit Tower and said softly, "Perhaps it's because we're both human. We come from the same place—maybe we could even call each other fellow townsfolk..."
By the time she finished her last word, the woman's figure had already reached the edge of the Dao Fruit Tower plaza.
Joe Di quickly gathered his spiritual sense and said, "Thank you, friend. May I ask your name?"
"My surname is Nie..." As she finished these words, the woman in black had already vanished without a trace.
Joe Di had wanted to ask who that Dao Forging cultivator—already a Prime Dao Pill Saint—was, but the woman surnamed Nie left so quickly that he missed his chance.
Boom! While Joe Di was still pondering the recent events, his shop erupted with a thunderous roar and began to shake violently.
Someone actually dared to attack his shop? Joe Di frowned and immediately stepped outside.
To Joe Di's surprise, someone had indeed made a move—but not against his shop. The target was the neighboring Ethereal Pavilion, which was now nothing but ruins. His own shop had survived only because of its protective array; otherwise, it would have been reduced to rubble as well.
"Eh? This shabby hut survived? Let your grandpa try again." The speaker was a burly, red-faced bald monk. He radiated golden light and a heavy Buddhist aura, with eighteen beads hanging around his neck.
Joe Di said calmly, "I've done nothing to offend you. Why attack my shop?"
The monk rubbed his head and replied, "You have a point. Wait—why are you so close to the Ethereal Pavilion?"
Joe Di was both amused and annoyed. "By your logic, every shop in the Dao Fruit Tower plaza is close to the Ethereal Pavilion—mine just happens to be a little closer, that's all."
"Hmm, makes sense." The bald monk nodded seriously, then turned away from Joe Di's shop. Instead, he grabbed a Prime Realm cultivator by the neck and lifted him up. "Kid, you dared to scam my friend's Dao Fruit? Are you courting death?"
"Senior Di, please help! You said you'd look out for me before..." The cultivator named Quentin Ho, a Transformation Realm expert, saw the golden monk seize a Prime Realm cultivator from the Ethereal Pavilion and panicked, begging for help.
Joe Di almost wanted to slap himself. Why did he get involved for no reason? Just to say a few words and owe someone a favor—he never expected that someone would really target the beast clan's Ethereal Pavilion.
But he had promised Franklin Young—if he didn't step in to help now, it would be hard to justify.
With no other choice, Joe Di cupped his fists and said, "Fellow Daoist, you haven't explained anything since arriving, yet you destroyed someone's shop. Isn't that a bit unreasonable? Everything should be based on reason—where is yours?"
"Ha! You're just a Prime Realm ant, and you dare to reason with your grandpa?" The monk laughed heartily, his domain surging toward Joe Di.
A terrifying spatial force pressed down, startling Joe Di. This guy was powerful—definitely at the peak of the Genesis Realm, and not just any peak expert, but a truly formidable one.
At this moment, Joe Di dared not be careless. He unleashed his own domain, and the two spatial domains collided in the void, causing tremors to ripple through the space.
This guy is seriously strong...
Joe Di even felt his own domain start to waver, but the bald monk, Jaden Jiao, voluntarily withdrew his oppressive aura.
"You're strong—you remind me of an old friend. Out of respect, I'll clear things up today." Jaden Jiao nodded at Joe Di, admiration in his eyes.
"Jiao Dan?" Joe Di repeated in shock. What kind of name was that? This guy was really one of a kind.
The monk's face darkened. "My name is Jaden Jiao, not Jiao Dan. Back then, a friend called me Jiao Dan and I taught him a lesson—he never dared use that name again. Are you looking to be taught a lesson too?"
After saying this, Jaden Jiao seemed to recall something, and his face grew a little embarrassed.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)