Joe Di did not ask further. He began to comprehend the cosmic laws of this place. According to Cassie Cao’s speculation, Dominic Du could arrive at any moment to seize the Vanished One. He had to take away the Prime Law of the Vanished One before Dominic Du got here.
Cassie Cao saw Joe Di start to attune himself to the laws of heaven and earth, sighed softly, and didn’t say anything more. She had vaguely guessed Dominic Du’s location, and even felt he could appear in the Shaman Realm at any time.
Compared to Joe Di, Dominic Du’s advantage was simply overwhelming. In other words, if Joe Di and Cassie Cao hadn’t stumbled into this place by accident, then no matter how great Joe Di’s fortune, he would eventually be refined by Dominic Du…
At this thought, Cassie Cao was slightly startled. Isn’t arriving here itself a stroke of fortune? Back then, Dominic Du was able to obtain eight Prime Laws—wasn’t that also due to luck?
……
Distant sounds of commotion reached them, and Joe Di opened his eyes. Cassie Cao spoke softly, “Joe Di, your consciousness can connect to the language laws here, right? Connect with my consciousness and help me comprehend the language laws. I can barely guess some words, but I’m still not clear.”
Joe Di didn’t hesitate and connected his consciousness directly to Cassie Cao’s. After a night of attunement, he had grasped more of the basic laws of the Shaman Realm. In a few days, he would form his own divine sense. Once that happened, his cultivation would quickly recover.
When Joe Di’s consciousness merged with Cassie Cao’s, he realized just how reckless this was.
Cassie Cao appeared almost completely exposed in his consciousness; he could even see the crescent-shaped mark on her lower abdomen. Joe Di was both embarrassed and shocked by Cassie Cao’s perfect body. She claimed nothing in the world was perfect, but wasn’t her body an exception?
Cassie Cao’s face flushed red; she also realized she had been reckless. Communicating through consciousness was completely different from using divine sense, and now that her cultivation was lost, everything was exposed within her consciousness.
Fortunately, Joe Di quickly came to his senses, sending his insight into the law of premonition across, then withdrawing his consciousness.
“Thank you,” Cassie Cao sighed inwardly, expressing her gratitude to Joe Di. For the first time, a man had seen everything of hers.
Joe Di waved his hand, “Senior Sister Cao, we’re both in trouble here. Of course we should help each other.”
Cassie Cao said seriously, “Joe Di, from a certain perspective, this isn’t misfortune—it’s tempering. Compared to what Dominic Du has been through, your trials are still lacking. Even compared to me, you still have much to learn.”
Joe Di nodded. Before he could speak, a roar sounded in the distance, and a whip lashed down.
Countless prisoners were driven out of the basin.
Joe Di and Cassie Cao followed the crowd of prisoners. Puzzled, Joe Di asked, “Are we really going to repair the Shaman River without breakfast?”
Soon, Joe Di’s guess was confirmed. Under the watchful eyes of the Great Wing Tribe soldiers, the prisoners began digging earth and carrying stones…
Joe Di and Cassie Cao couldn’t see where the Shaman River was. All they could do was follow the others—digging earth when others dug, carrying stones when others carried.
Everyone here possessed immense strength, yet under the Great Wing Tribe’s supervision, the slaves’ tasks were far too heavy. People were constantly crushed under the weight and died, while others collapsed from exhaustion and were thrown into pits to be buried.
Everyone around, whether the driven prisoners or the Great Wing Tribe soldiers, seemed to think this was normal. Not a single person stepped forward to resist or speak out.
After a whole day without food, aside from Joe Di and Cassie Cao, more and more prisoners died. Joe Di knew he couldn’t do anything about it; all he could do was follow the crowd and try to guess the general direction of the Shaman River.
Perhaps out of despair, after a day of exhausting labor, the prisoners began seeking out women after drinking a bowl of dark gruel.
Some strong prisoners pinned down women and tormented them madly. In this moment, there was no order, no morality—only despair. Any woman without protection became prey. Several burly men targeted Cassie Cao, but after Joe Di knocked each one away with a single punch, no one dared approach again.
In the days that followed, Joe Di kept witnessing prisoners die. He grew numb to it all. The only thing that brought him joy was that, in just a few days, he would be able to generate his first strand of divine sense.
On this day, Joe Di and Cassie Cao were once again with the other prisoners, hauling large stones and digging earth. Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted ahead, followed by shrill screams.
When Joe Di looked up, he was stunned. A massive torrent, like waves pouring down from the heavens, came crashing toward them, sweeping countless prisoners away.
“The Shaman River has breached…” Joe Di finally heard the cries and shouts. At this moment, neither the prisoners nor the Great Wing Tribe soldiers could resist—they were all swept away by the flood and vanished.
Joe Di hadn’t expected that, even though he couldn’t see the Shaman River itself, he could see its waters.
“It really is the Vanished One, it truly is…” Cassie Cao stared blankly at the torrent from the breached river, muttering to herself, not even trying to avoid it.
But Joe Di couldn’t just stand by. He grabbed Cassie Cao and rushed with the crowd fleeing the flood toward higher ground.
No matter what, Joe Di was still a body cultivator who had surpassed the Saint Physique. Even with his cultivation lost, his speed was unmatched. As the massive waves swept over the spot where he had stood, he had already brought Cassie Cao to higher ground.
The roaring waves surged beneath their feet, sweeping countless people away. Those who had been hauling stones and earth for the Shaman River were now gone without a trace.
Cassie Cao was silent. Countless innocent people vanished before her eyes, yet she was powerless to help. All she could do was watch.
Joe Di closed his eyes, sensing the laws within the river water. He felt a surge of joy—the laws of this river were completely different from the water laws he had comprehended in the Five Elements Universe.
He didn’t know how much time passed, but when Joe Di opened his eyes, he saw that the waters of the Shaman River had vanished without a trace.
A tall Great Wing Tribe chieftain stood atop a giant boulder, announcing loudly, “The Shaman River is angry because we were not devout enough. This is our fault—we should never forget to offer a blood sacrifice to the Shaman River…”
Hearing this, Joe Di frowned. He sensed that this man was about to do something truly abhorrent.
Cassie Cao, who was even stronger than Joe Di, sensed it as well. She sighed, turned to Joe Di, and said, “Joe Di, if you ever manage to refine the Shaman River, remember to establish complete cosmic laws for the Shaman Realm. Otherwise, the Shaman Realm will vanish from the universe forever.”
Seeing Joe Di’s puzzled look, Cassie Cao explained, “The people of the Shaman Realm survive because of the Shaman River. Their hardship also stems from the Shaman River. There is no other water in the Shaman Realm except for the Shaman River. So the water they rely on for survival is also the water that can take their lives.”
Joe Di instinctively looked up at the sky, wondering, was there really no rain?
Cassie Cao understood his meaning and continued, “It never rains here. You won’t even see a patch of green. People here survive because of the Shaman River, and they die because of it too.”
The tall Great Wing Tribe chieftain spoke again, “Now, among groups of friends or families, one person must step forward to offer themselves as a blood sacrifice to the Shaman River. If you’re alone, you must sacrifice yourself.”
The survivors immediately panicked, and chaos was unavoidable. Several who tried to flee were shot dead with stone arrows.
Joe Di looked at Cassie Cao and said, “When it comes time for the blood sacrifice, I’ll go.”
Cassie Cao shook her head. “No, I’ll go. Don’t think you can survive the blood sacrifice. Even if your cultivation wasn’t lost, even if you reached the Third Step, you’d still die if you tried to sacrifice yourself to the Shaman River.”
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)