Joe Di's spiritual sense was incredibly powerful; his words instantly spread throughout Fenghorn Fortress. The countless cultivators within the fortress surged out in a frenzy—whether his warning was true or not, escape came first.
However, two Genesis Realm experts charged straight toward Joe Di’s position. They weren’t trying to escape—they intended to crush the arrogant cultivator who had spoken.
Warren Wraith, who was arranging the sealing array, was instantly enraged when he heard Joe Di’s words. He had planned to leave no survivors—these were all precious sources of life and blood energy. Thanks to Joe Di’s announcement, many would surely escape.
Intent on killing Joe Di, Warren Wraith encountered two Genesis Realm cultivators fleeing from Fenghorn Fortress. With a sweep of his black staff, the two had no chance to resist and were instantly slain by Warren.
“Brother Warren, leave this one to me.” A cold, harsh voice rang out as Graham Ming, his face as rough as tree bark, lunged at Joe Di.
The scene of Warren Wraith casually slaying two Genesis Realm cultivators from Fenghorn Fortress was witnessed by countless others. Now, the remaining cultivators fled in utter panic. Even the fortress’s two strongest Genesis Realm experts had been crushed by Graham Ming’s sallow hands—staying here was courting death. Warren had no time to deal with Joe Di, simply replying, “Fine,” before lunging back toward the fortress.
Joe Di sighed and turned to flee.
Even Jason Silentwood, among others, hadn’t expected Joe Di to run.
In their eyes, Joe Di must have some trump card—why else would he be so brazen? Yet this arrogant cultivator fled before even making a move?
Seeing Joe Di escape, Graham Ming grinned ferociously and turned to give chase without hesitation.
If it were any other cultivator—one chasing, one fleeing—Jason Silentwood would have intervened. After coming all the way here, did they really think they could just leave?
But he didn’t stop Graham Ming. He knew Graham Ming had no intention of using this as a chance to escape. If Graham wanted to run, he wouldn’t have come to Thousand Bamboo Sanctuary to discuss the division of spoils with him.
Many have come here, but in truth, the only one he’s secretly colluded with—and discussed dividing the spoils—is Graham Ming.
......
Only after the time it takes half an incense stick to burn did Joe Di finally stop.
“Still running?” Graham Ming mocked, his domain locking down the space around them.
Joe Di drew out his Azure Veil Blade and sighed. “Old tree bark, to be honest, your speed is far too slow. If I hadn’t waited for you so long, I’d already be back at Fenghorn Fortress by now.”
Graham Ming didn’t bother replying. He summoned a massive tree root, which instantly merged with his domain, raising the space to a whole new level.
“Die!” As his overlapping domains locked Joe Di in place, Graham Ming shouted, weaving countless hand seals. Under his command, the tree root fired off billions of razor-sharp spikes—these could not only seal a foe’s life force, but also tear through their domain.
Joe Di didn’t move at all. His Azure Veil Blade swept out, sending forth a blade light that made Graham Ming’s spatial domain groan and crack.
Crack! In the next instant, the spatial restraints formed by Graham Ming’s artifact and domain shattered piece by piece. At the same time, the speed of those tree spikes slowed dramatically.
With a sweep of his hand, Joe Di unleashed the Cosmic Flame, transforming it into a massive wave of fire. As the fiery tide surged forth, the tree spikes crackled and snapped.
“Lawbreaker Slash…” Graham Ming’s terrified voice rang out. Joe Di, a Genesis Realm cultivator, was no weaker than him in divine essence. But even more frightening was this Lawbreaker Slash. No matter how strong Graham was, against this law-severing technique, he was powerless—unless he could utterly crush Joe Di, which was clearly impossible.
As for tearing apart Joe Di’s domain, Graham Ming no longer dared entertain the thought.
Escape—this was Graham Ming’s only thought. He didn’t even dare retrieve his tree root artifact, turning to flee at once.
“Trying to run? Take a punch from me first!” Joe Di snorted, raising his fist and striking out.
The void rippled violently as a tidal wave of force swept toward Graham Ming. In that moment, even his soul trembled in fear.
Peaks gathered like waves, surging in fury. Space itself was compressed by the violent flow and raging tides. Terrified, Graham Ming glanced back and cried out in panic, “Stop! I’m from the Tianmu Clan…”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Punch after punch slammed into Graham Ming, shattering his domain. His soul let out a piercing scream. In his final moments, he understood the meaning behind Joe Di’s earlier words—had Graham not been so slow, Joe Di would have killed him and returned to Fenghorn Fortress long ago. With Joe Di’s skill, how could he possibly give up on the Chaos Lotus?
Joe Di swept up a ring and said coldly, “You don’t even have half the skills of Damon Jin, yet you dare act arrogant before me.”
Honestly, compared to Damon Jin of the Demon Clan, this guy was sorely lacking. If not for wanting to give Jason Silentwood and Warren Wraith a taste of humility, Joe Di wouldn’t have bothered fleeing all the way here.
From the moment Joe Di escaped Fenghorn Fortress, slew Graham Ming, and returned again, the entire process took at most the time it takes an incense stick to burn. In that short span, Fenghorn Fortress had become a living hell.
Aside from Jason Silentwood and a few others, Joe Di saw no other living cultivators in Fenghorn Fortress. Whether some had escaped midway, he didn’t know. Still, he was certain that very few had managed to flee.
These Unity Realm cultivators were truly ruthless. Joe Di sighed—he still didn’t have the strength to stop this massacre.
“Haha, Brother Warren, you’ve worked hard. Once Graham Ming returns, we’ll all…” Jason Silentwood’s words trailed off as he stared in shock at Joe Di’s return. “Why is it you? Where’s Graham Ming?”
The question was purely instinctive. The moment he asked, Jason Silentwood realized: with Joe Di back, Graham Ming returning would be a miracle.
Joe Di chuckled. “I gave Graham Ming a few of my best treasures and persuaded him to leave. Then I came here. What, Island Lord Silent, you don’t seem too happy to see me? Are you thinking of chasing me down again? If so, I’ll have to flee once more.”
Jason Silentwood dropped his pretenses, replying calmly, “Daoist Joe, you certainly keep yourself well hidden. I wonder if any of the others have objections?”
At this moment, Jason Silentwood truly believed that if he fought Joe Di, the latter could injure him. Graham Ming’s combat strength was weak, but he did have one trump card—his artifact could merge with his domain, creating a spatial field that even Jason Silentwood couldn’t easily break. Not only that, this merged domain could also tear apart an opponent’s domain.
If Joe Di really had killed Graham Ming, then Jason Silentwood absolutely could not face him alone right now.
To Jason Silentwood’s disappointment, no one spoke up.
“Since no one has any objections, let’s head inside.” With that, Jason Silentwood led the way into Fenghorn Fortress. In his mind, Joe Di was already a dead man—just not one he could deal with here, and not before using him. What a shame about Graham Ming, his only true partner, now lost to Joe Di’s schemes.
Fenghorn Fortress was now littered with blood and corpses, devoid of the slightest trace of life. Even after death, a cultivator’s vitality and blood essence linger for a time—but here, all of it had been absorbed by Warren Wraith.
The main fortress looked imposing from the outside, exuding a sense of ancient desolation. It was clear that the structure had stood for countless years.
Jason Silentwood tossed out an Array Banner, then slammed down a massive seal. In an instant, the imposing fortress crumbled to dust beneath the seal’s power.
The countless fragments were swept away by the Array Banner, vanishing without a trace. In their place, a faint Bagua Diagram appeared before the group, radiating an ancient aura.
“It’s an Ancient Array Sigil!” Franklin Young cried out in excitement. He knew this was definitely the real thing—every Ancient Array Sigil represented an unparalleled opportunity.