Jade Vaughn waved his hand, clearly unwilling to revisit the past. "Let's not talk about that anymore, Fellow Daoist Di. The Void Sea is utterly devoid of any trace of life. I hesitated to cross it alone. If you're willing, why don't we team up and try to cross the Void Sea together?"
Joe Di replied, "I plan to check out the Void Vortex. I feel the Void Vortex offers a greater chance of escape than the Void Sea."
Jade Vaughn hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Alright, let's head to the Void Vortex. Which one should we go to first?"
"Either is fine," Joe Di said. To him, any Void Vortex was the same.
Jade Vaughn laughed heartily. "In that case, let me lead the way."
With that, Jade Vaughn turned and sped off without hesitation, leaving his back exposed to Joe Di. For cultivators, exposing one's back usually meant little, but it still signified a certain level of trust.
Jade Vaughn moved swiftly, and in Joe Di's eyes, his speed was no less than the swiftness of his own spiritual sense travel.
Jade Vaughn wasn't the least bit surprised that Joe Di could keep up with him. If Joe Di didn't have such abilities, how could he have reached this universe?
This universe's void was empty and desolate, with hardly a single meteor to be found. In just seven days, Joe Di and Jade Vaughn arrived at the first Void Vortex.
"This is the spot. When I tried probing it with my spiritual sense, I always felt it was dangerous, so I never went in," Jade Vaughn said to Joe Di, pointing at the Void Vortex.
Joe Di gazed at the Void Vortex before him. This vortex was almost identical to the one he’d encountered upon entering the Shaman Realm. As his divine sense probed inside, he was met with a palpable aura of spatial dislocation—not only that, but there were also subtle spatial cracks interwoven within.
"I can sense the spatial dislocation within. Once divine sense enters that dislocation, it’s instantly shredded. Besides the dislocation, there are also faint spatial cracks." Seeing Joe Di scrutinize the Void Vortex, Jade Vaughn spoke from the side.
Joe Di nodded. "That’s right, there’s definitely spatial dislocation here. Still, we could try going in. How about I enter first? If anything happens, Brother Vaughn, you’ll at least have some warning…"
As Joe Di spoke, he abruptly paused, a chill settling in his heart. His divine sense had detected another aura within the Void Vortex—one that was not of the void, but of a universe itself.
Though Joe Di had never directly encountered such a universe aura, he understood it well enough. After stepping into the Third Step, cultivators could construct their own personal universe. The contents of that world were inaccessible to anyone but its creator.
Back when Nora Xiu was ambushed, she burned her soul and escaped into a nascent universe—a prototype of a Third Step cultivator’s world.
Nora Xiu managed this feat thanks to the Dao-Nurturing Pearl and Joe Di’s Rule Dao. These allowed her, even at death’s door, to tear open the embryonic world of a Third Step powerhouse.
But the vortex world before him was no mere prototype—it was a fully-formed personal universe, almost complete in its structure.
Joe Di swept his divine sense over Jade Vaughn, quickly confirming that the universe aura within this world was akin to the Dao resonance of Jade Vaughn’s own spirit. There was no need for further speculation; this Void Vortex was Jade Vaughn’s creation. The rest was easy to deduce: Jade Vaughn intended for him to enter this vortex.
If he entered Jade Vaughn’s world, even with his skills, Joe Di would be completely at Jade Vaughn’s mercy. Every secret he possessed would be laid bare.
Joe Di smirked inwardly. If he hadn’t comprehended his own Dao, he might well have stepped into this Void Vortex, unable to sense the aura of Jade Vaughn’s universe at all.
Jade Vaughn was silent for a long moment before finally speaking: "I wouldn’t advise you to go in, Daoist Di. My cultivation is likely a bit higher than yours, yet I have no confidence I could avoid the spatial dislocation within."
Joe Di pondered for a while, then nodded. "You’re absolutely right, Daoist Vaughn. My youth has cost me plenty—I always thought I could handle anything, but arrogance brought me nothing but setbacks. You’ve been here for hundreds of thousands of years; you must know far more than I do. In that case, let’s look elsewhere."
Even someone as crafty and experienced as Jade Vaughn was stunned by Joe Di’s words. What was going on? Had he really managed to talk Joe Di out of it? Something didn’t add up.
Just as Joe Di turned to leave, Jade Vaughn suddenly blocked his path. The smile vanished from his eyes, and his tone grew flat. "Daoist Di, you’re truly remarkable. To perceive my world while still at the Dao Integration stage—you're the first I've ever met."
Clearly, Jade Vaughn realized that Joe Di had seen through the Void Vortex’s true nature. Since Joe Di already knew, there was no point in keeping up the pretense.
Without another word, Joe Di summoned the Tiansuo Blade. He was eager to see just how much stronger he’d become at the early Dao Integration stage after comprehending his own Dao.
"Ha ha…" Jade Vaughn laughed heartily, his voice full of admiration. "Impressive. Even when facing a stronger opponent, you still have the courage to strike. You must realize, inviting you into my world isn’t because I fear you’ll escape, but because I intend to wring you dry."
To Jade Vaughn, for someone of Joe Di’s cultivation to reach this universe world was no simple feat.
"Enough talk." Joe Di had no patience for Jade Vaughn’s chatter. The Tiansuo Blade swept forth, unleashing a curtain of blade light.
As the blade curtain unfurled, Joe Di felt a surge of powerful confidence wash over him, an urge to roar rising within. In that instant, he knew he was leagues stronger than when he’d faced Zefron Ye.
It was the same Fengxiao Blade technique, yet compared to the previous fierce, unyielding battle intent, this strike felt like a casual brushstroke on a cosmic landscape—effortless, free, and perfectly at ease.
As the blade curtain swept forth, it seemed to draw in the blade intent of half the universe, transforming into a force so overwhelming it locked Jade Vaughn in place. The chill of wind and water, once his own creation, now felt as if it had existed in the cosmos since the dawn of time.
Jade Vaughn let out a cry of astonishment—this strike was beyond anything a Dao Integration cultivator should be able to unleash. He no longer dared to treat Joe Di as an ordinary opponent, yet he didn’t see him as truly formidable either. Rather than retreat, Jade Vaughn advanced, not even summoning his treasures, but instead weaving countless arcane hand seals.
Suddenly, a beam of Twilight descended, barring the path of Joe Di’s Fengxiao Blade. No matter how terrifying the blade force, beneath this Twilight, it grew feeble—its killing intent stripped away, the force dissipating into nothing.
Joe Di’s expression changed; this was the first time he’d witnessed someone wield divine power in such a manner.
That Twilight was suffused with the vast aura of endless years. No matter how unstoppable the Fengxiao Blade, under the corrosion of time, it would collapse and vanish. Although Joe Di’s strike tore the Twilight’s temporal flow, revealing cracks and limits, his blade force was still the first to fall apart.
This was the highest order of time law…
As a cultivator of cosmic rules, Joe Di knew well the terror of time laws. He drew in a sharp breath. Compared to Jade Vaughn’s mastery, his own divine power over time was laughably infantile. If he’d used his own temporal technique, his blade curtain would have collapsed even faster.
He had to escape—this was Joe Di’s sole thought.
But before Joe Di could retreat, Jade Vaughn’s voice rang out: "You’re not my match, but I have no wish to kill you. I believe you’d make a fine ally. Years ago, I entered the Gate of Creation, but was forced out by someone named Ye. I’ve come here seeking something, and I’m certain that if we join forces, we’ll be able to open the Gate of Creation again—this time, for real."