"Are you a True Immortal?" Guy Jinxuan finally snapped out of his shock, blurting out the question instinctively.
The moment he asked, he realized something was off—Joe Di couldn't possibly be a True Immortal. The energy fluctuations around Joe Di were clearly true essence, not immortal essence.
Joe Di, sensing that Moria Lane's spirit had been shaken, didn't make a move against her. Instead, he pulled out several formation flags to shield her, then turned his cold gaze on Guy Jinxuan.
Guy Jinxuan might not be one of those cultivators who practice with the blood essence of others, but Joe Di was certain his intentions for capturing Moria Lane were anything but pure.
"I am Guy Jinxuan, City Lord of Grand Fortuna City. I see you have some skill—if you step aside now, I will allow you to join my Grand Fortuna City." Guy Jinxuan tried to keep his tone even.
Although Joe Di wasn't a True Immortal, the sheer density of his true essence was enough to make even a True Immortal like Guy Jinxuan uneasy.
For a wandering cultivator, joining an immortal city with a Fortune Gathering Array was the ultimate dream. Even if he knew the woman was from Puregate Sect and couldn't stay to cultivate there, using a Puregate Sect disciple as a furnace was pointless.
"This guy is a city lord?" Joe Di's eyes flashed. He summoned the Azure Veil Blade, which transformed into a blue arc and swept directly toward Guy Jinxuan.
Seeing Joe Di attack without hesitation, completely ignoring his words, Guy Jinxuan was instantly enraged. As the long-time lord of an immortal city, how could he tolerate such disrespect?
He unleashed his artifact, and the domain of a True Immortal pressed down on Joe Di. The strength of this cultivator was impressive, but his earlier attack had been rushed. Guy Jinxuan refused to believe that, within his own domain, an ordinary cultivator from the lower realm could possibly withstand his full power.
Boom! Guy Jinxuan's True Immortal domain collided with Joe Di's domain, and both true essence and immortal essence erupted.
Logically, a domain constructed from true essence should be inferior in both strength and resilience compared to one formed from immortal essence. Yet when Joe Di's domain crashed against Guy Jinxuan's, it was Guy Jinxuan's domain that began to crack.
Violent spiritual energy blasted new ravines through the already ruined wasteland. Guy Jinxuan was shocked to find that he could no longer control the space within his domain; instead, his opponent's domain threatened to engulf him entirely.
How could this be? He wielded an immortal essence domain, while his opponent's was clearly true essence...
This upended everything he knew about the path of cultivation. No matter how powerful true essence was, how could it compare to immortal essence? The difference was supposed to be fundamental.
Crack! His True Immortal domain finally emitted an audible shattering sound, signaling its collapse. Then he felt the pressure of his opponent's domain—a vast, starry aura.
Within Joe Di's domain, he was like an insignificant star in a boundless night sky. His shattered domain was nothing but a torn scrap of cloth beneath the starry expanse, ready to vanish into the flowing river of stars at any moment.
Guy Jinxuan had never witnessed a Golden Immortal's domain, but he suspected that Joe Di's domain might not even be weaker than that. If this continued, he wouldn't need to fight—he'd be bound and executed by his opponent's domain alone.
Guy Jinxuan dared not hesitate any longer. His immortal essence surged, and the treasure in his hand transformed into six blinding threads of light, lashing out toward Joe Di.
The six threads of light barely tore into Joe Di's domain before clashing head-on with Joe Di's Bleakwind Blade.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent spiritual energy exploded—another clash of true essence and immortal essence.
Joe Di was shocked by Guy Jinxuan's artifact—a six-prism spinner. He had never seen such a weapon before. His Bleakwind Blade's unstoppable momentum was broken by the six-prism spinner, weakening his blade intent.
The six-prism spinner had six sharp edges and pointed tips. Even after clashing with Joe Di's Bleakwind Blade, it rolled through the air, quickly gathering its deadly force again and attacking Joe Di.
Joe Di quickly threw a punch—Raging Wave.
The force of his punch formed wave after wave of giant surging crests, crashing against the six-prism spinner. The relentless waves finally suppressed the spinner.
Guy Jinxuan could tell Joe Di had never seen his artifact before. Taking advantage of the spinner tearing through Joe Di's domain, he stepped into Joe Di's domain, and the spinner unleashed six sharp edges again.
What a strange artifact. Joe Di stopped using the Azure Veil Blade, though he felt his true essence was no weaker than Guy Jinxuan's immortal essence, and his domain was stronger.
If it came down to a direct clash, Joe Di believed he could still defeat Guy Jinxuan. But since there was an easier way, why risk his life?
Joe Di spread his hands, summoning thousands of top-grade blades.
Thousands of blades formed waves of blade energy in the air, suffused with terrifying killing intent. Even outside the formation, Guy Jinxuan could feel its peerless power.
This is a ninth-level blade formation...
Guy Jinxuan's scalp tingled. This cultivator hadn't even converted his essence to immortal essence, yet could unleash such a terrifying blade formation. What kind of spiritual sense did he possess? No wonder his domain was so formidable.
Guy Jinxuan quickly dismissed the thought, surprised to see that Joe Di's blade formation wasn't aimed at him, but at his rear flank.
Whether his opponent made a mistake or for some other reason, he had to finish off Joe Di quickly. He realized Joe Di's strength was no less than his own, and his domain was far superior; only his immortal essence could compete with Joe Di's true essence.
If Joe Di unleashed the blade formation on him, he would surely suffer a heavy loss and be forced to flee wounded.
Startled by Joe Di's blade formation, Guy Jinxuan felt a thrill. As his six-prism spinner swept toward Joe Di, he noticed Joe Di didn't dodge or block, but instead charged at him.
Is he courting death?
Disdain flashed in Guy Jinxuan's mismatched eyes, his brow dark and sinister. Yet inside, he was thrilled—he'd never imagined he'd be so excited to suppress a mere domain-level cultivator.
Guy Jinxuan's excitement lasted only a moment. Before his spinner could fully trap Joe Di, a giant footprint tore through the spinner's killing field, heading straight for his face. Guy Jinxuan's eyes widened—how was this possible?
After Guy Jinxuan unleashed his six-prism spinner, it spun in the void. Breaking through its killing field by force or evasion was nearly impossible.
Bang! Before Guy Jinxuan's shock subsided, Joe Di's foot landed squarely on his face.
A powerful force swept over him, sending Guy Jinxuan flying. Without his immortal essence and spiritual sense supporting the spinner, it slowed down.
Spatial laws! Guy Jinxuan instantly understood why Joe Di had set up a ninth-level blade formation at his flank—to kick him into it.
If he'd known Joe Di intended to kick him into the blade formation, he would have laughed—only an idiot would try such a thing.
No matter how inferior he was, he was still a True Immortal. Could someone really kick him into a blade formation just by suppressing him with their domain? Impossible.
With a single kick, Joe Di made it clear—not just him, even a Golden Immortal would have no way to escape that kick.
And that was with his true essence limited. If his true essence were converted to immortal essence, that kick could have smashed Guy Jinxuan's head to pieces.
Boom! Blade energy swept over him, and a trace of despair flashed through Guy Jinxuan's heart—he knew he'd fallen into Joe Di's blade formation.
Splat! The Azure Veil Blade turned into a blue arc, slashing into the blade formation. Guy Jinxuan felt a chill at his brow, then his body was torn apart, his soul shredded without a trace.
From beginning to end, he never begged for mercy—he knew it was pointless. No one would let him go at this moment.
Joe Di put away the blade formation and Guy Jinxuan's ring, resolving to convert his true essence to immortal essence as soon as possible. Guy Jinxuan was able to fight him not because he was a True Immortal, but because he possessed immortal essence.
If he had immortal essence, he could have killed Guy Jinxuan with the first strike—no need for the footprint or ninth-level blade formation.
Moria Lane still stood there, dazed, like a statue.
Joe Di took out a Spirit-Nourishing Pill and fed it to Moria Lane, then tapped her brow, causing her to collapse.
Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief and supported Moria Lane.
The Spirit-Nourishing Pill was meant to heal the soul; Moria Lane's condition couldn't be cured by waking her. She needed to rest and recover with the pill's help.
Otherwise, Moria Lane might become truly brain-damaged or suffer from qi deviation—a dangerous state for cultivators when their energy goes berserk.